Family Mess Hall - whole food meals dinners recipes

Festive stuffed pumpkin with rice, bacon, dried fruit and spice This stuffed pumpkin with rice, bacon, dried fruit and spice is absolutely delicious and luscious.  It's an amazing addition to your festive spread and can be served either warm as a salad or hot from the oven.    Ingredients: Roasted pumpkin 1/2 large pumpkin (approx 4kg) ((ie. use 2kg of pumpkin) ) 2 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp salt 1 tsp cinnamon 1 tsp dried thyme 1/2 tsp allspice 1/2 tsp ground coriander Rice stuffing 1 cup rice 1 rasher fatty bacon ((chopped) (optional)) 2 tbsp butter 1 tbsp honey 1 onion ((finely diced)) 1/4 cup mixed dried fruit ((raisins, currants, sultanas, citrus peel)) 1/4 cup chopped nuts ((almonds, pecans, walnuts)) 1 cup water / stock 1 cup plain greek yoghurt ((for dressing)) 1 cup fresh coriander leaves ((for garnish)) Method: Preheat oven to 180C / 350F Slice your 4kg pumpkin in half horizontally and scoop out the seeds to create a bowl shaped cavity.  Driz...

Ricotta, cinnamon and apple muffins It's always a challenge to find tasty lunchbox recipes that pack nutritional punch.  These apple, ricotta and almond muffins are delicious to eat and are packed with fresh fruit, protein, dairy and superfood (almonds).  They're gently spiced with cinnamon and fragrant with lemon zest.   Ingredients: 2 cups all purpose flour 1/4 cup brown sugar 2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt 1 egg 150 mL milk 1/4 cup vegetable oil 1/3 cup honey 2 cups ricotta 1 tsp lemon zest 1 cup diced apple ((0.5cm cubes with skin on)) 1/2 cup flaked almonds Method: Preheat oven to 180 C / 350 F Place dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and then add wet ingredients excluding apples and almonds. Mix to combine. Gently fold through apples and almonds.   Bake muffins for 25 minutes or until golden and inserted skewer comes out clean.  

Pecan, oat and chocolate chip cookie These pecan, oat and chocolate chip cookie are crisp and sweet. Their nutty and caramelly goodness is nicely enhanced by an all important dash of salt. This recipe will yield two dozen (48) cookies. I like to bake half and  freeze the other half in a flat disc.  I save that for a rainy day.  When that rainy day comes, simply defrost your cookie dough for about 30 minutes and then cut your dough into pieces then bake. Ingredients: 3/4 cup brown sugar 3/4 cup white sugar 175 grams butter 2 eggs 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 tsp salt 1/2 - 1 tsp ground cinnamon ((add to your liking)) 2 1/2 cup all purpose flour 1/2 tsp bicarb soda 1/2 cup oats 1/2 cup pecans ((roughly chopped )) 1 cup dark chocolate chips Method: Preheat oven to 180C / 350F In a bowl, mix together softened butter and sugars until creamy. Mix in salt, cinnamon, egg and vanilla extract. Fold through flour, bicarb soda to combine to form a soft dough.   Mix through oats,...

Date and pecan banana bread This date and pecan banana bread is richer in flavour than my basic date loaf due to the addition of banana, pecans and cinnamon. It's a great snack. Ingredients: 1 cup dates (chopped) 1 cup boiling water 3/4 cup brown sugar 2 bananas ((1 mashed and the other sliced lengthways into thirds)) 100 grams butter 2 tsp baking powder 1 3/4 cup all purpose flour 1 cup pecans / almonds ((roughly chopped)) 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 egg 1/2 tsp cinnamon 1/2 tsp salt Method: Preheat oven to 180C / 350F. Mix together dates, sugar, butter and boiling water in a bowl.  Allow dates to soak for five minutes. Add egg, vanilla, mashed banana, salt, pecans, flour, baking soda and cinnamon.  Fold to combine. Transfer date loaf batter into a lined loaf tin.  Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until an inserted skewer comes our clean.   Cool, slice and serve spread with butter.

Yeasted cardamom and cinnamon doughnut recipe These yeasted cardamom and cinnamon doughnuts are crispy on the outside and both airy and chewy on the inside. The heavenly aroma of cinnamon and cardamom made them irresistible and this batch didn't last five minutes in our household. Doughnuts Ingredients: 1 1/14 cup milk ((microwave for 30 seconds or until lukewarm)) 2 1/2 tsp dry yeast 3 tbsp sugar ((raw or white)) 2 eggs 100 grams butter ((melted)) 4 1/4 cup all purpose flour ((plus extra for shaping doughnuts)) 1/2 tsp ground cardamom 1/2 tsp salt Method: Add lukewarm milk, raw sugar and yeast to a mixing bowl and stir to combine.  Allow to rest for ten minutes to activate the yeast.  The mixture should become foamy.   Whisk in the eggs and melted butter. Add flour, salt and ground cardamom to the yeast mixture and combine to form a sticky dough.  You can do this quickly by hand with a wooden spoon. Drizzle over one teaspoon of oil and cover with a da...

Blackberry and blueberry pie recipe Ingredients: Pie crust 250 grams butter 2 1/2 cups plain flour 1 tsp salt 1 tbsp sugar 1/4 cup water Pie filling 2 cups frozen blackberries 2 cup frozen blueberries 1 tsp cinnamon zest of 1/2 an orange 3 tbsp brown sugar 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar / lemon juice 2 tbsp plain flour Assembling the pie 1 tsp raw sugar 50 grams butter Method: Pie crust In a bowl, rub cold butter into flour until is resembles fine breadcrumbs.  Add salt and sugar. Add water and mix to create a soft dough.  Place in an airtight container and chill in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Pie filling Combine apple pie filling ingredients in a bowl and allow berries to defrost until the crust is prepared.   Assemble the pie Remove the pie crust dough from the refrigerator and divide it into two pieces - one (2/3 of dough) in size and one (1/3 of dough). On a floured surface, roll our large piece of dough until it is the right size for your pie dish.  I use ...

These honey almond cookies have a delicious honey nut flavour and are lightly scented with warm cinnamon and vanilla. They have a crunchy in texture and are quick and easy to make. Enjoy a honey almond cookie with a hot cup of tea or coffee or pop them in your lunchbox for a tasty, sweet snack. These one bowl cookies are very easy to make and result in a deliciously golden and crunchy cookie.  Ingredients: 2  cup   self raising flour 1/2 cup ground oats 175   grams softened   butter 1   egg 1/2 cup   honey 1/2   cup   brown sugar 1/2   cup   white sugar 1/2   tsp   cinnamon 1/2   tsp   salt 3/4 cup ground almonds Method: 1. Begin by preheating your oven to 180 C.  2. Combine the wet ingredients and spices in a bowl.   3. Fold through your flour to form a crumbly dough and set it aside to rest for ten minutes.   4. Roll dough into golf ball sized balls and flatten slightly by pressing...

Ingredients: 2 eggplants 2 zucchinis 1 cup long grain rice 1 tin crushed tomatoes 0.5 tsp allspice 0.5 tsp cumin 0.5 tsp dried oregano 2 tblsp chopped parsley 1 small onion (finely diced) 1 tsp crushed garlic 2 tblsp olive oil 250g ground beef (or other ground meat) salt and pepper to taste 0.5 cup vegetable stock Method: 1. Preheat oven to 180C.  Slice vegetables in half, lengthways.   2. Scoop out the centres of the vegetable to create a shallow well and place in baking dish.  Chop the excess vegetable and place in bowl. 3. Add onions, garlic, spices, herbs, ground meat, rice, salt and pepper to chopped eggplant and zucchini.  Mix until ingredients are evenly distributed throughout. 4. Drizzle olive oil over vegetables. 5. Loosly stuff vegetables with filling. 6. Pour over combined crushed tomatoes and stock. 7. Drizzle with a little extra olive oil and cover dish with foil. 8. Bake for 45 minutes or until vegetables and filling are cooked through.