Family Mess Hall - whole food meals dinners recipes

Yellow chicken curry - Malaysian style This most basic yellow chicken curry is mildly spiced but packed with flavour. Any yellow curry blend can be used but I love this combination of turmeric, fenugreek, coriander, chilli celery and black pepper. It's a quick and easy one-pot curry that's great for weeknight dinners and includes a good serve of low cost vegetables.  Ingredients: 1 tbsp vegetable oil 2 medium onions ((roughly chopped)) 2 tsp garlic ((minced)) 2 tsp fresh ginger ((minced)) 1/4 tsp belanchan ((optional)) 2 kg bone-in thighs or drumsticks 2 tbsp Keen's curry powder ((or your own favourite yellow curry blend)) 3 medium carrots ((sliced 0.5cm thick, skin on)) 5 medium potatoes ((4cm / 1 1/2 inch dice, skin on)) 2 stalks lemon grass ((left whole)) 1 cinnamon stick 1 cup reduced fat coconut milk 2 tbsp tamarind paste ((optional)) 1 cup stock 1 tsp salt 1 tsp sugar 1/2 cup roasted peanuts ((optional garnish)) 1 cup fresh coriander leaves ((optional ...

As a family of four we rarely finish a whole chicken in one sitting.  It's good to know then, that there are so many ways to re-purpose leftover chicken.  This easy chicken pot pie recipe creates a delicious meal with leftover roast chicken. Chicken pot pie with cheese scone crust Cheese scone crust 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour 3/4 cup grated cheese ((plus extra for the top if you desire)) 3 tsp baking powder 1 egg 3/4 cup milk 1 tsp thyme 1/2 tsp ground black pepper Pot pie filling 1 1/2 cup potatoes ((1.5cm (1/2 inch) dice)) 1 1/2 cup large sweet potato ((1.5cm (1/2 inch) dice)) 1 1/2 cup carrots ((1.5cm (1/2 inch) dice)) 1 cup peas 1 tbsp butter 2 tbsp all purpose flour 1 cup milk 1/2 cup cream 1/2 whole cooked chicken (rotisserie, roast or bbq) ((shred skin and meat)) 1 onion ((chopped)) 1 tbsp dijon mustard 1 tsp thyme 1 chicken stock cube salt and pepper to taste Make the cheese scone topping In a bowl, mix together the wet ingredients, thyme and grated cheese.  Si...

My dad is a huge fan of seafood so when the family gathers, there's usually at least one seafood dish on the table. With all of our family around during the school holidays, I made this delicious and simple one pot seafood stew for everyone.  It's much like Italian-American cioppino which calls for wine, tomatoes and a mixture of regionally sourced seafood. Family seafood stew This family seafood stew with tomatoes and fennel is a delight to eat.   It consists of  fish fillets, mussels, calamari and prawns (shrimp) gently simmered in a tomato, white wine and fish stock broth.  It's delicious served with buttered sourdough bread.  Use it to mop of the broth as you eat.  Ingredients: 3 tbsp virgin olive oil 1 stalk leek (white stalk only) ((thinly sliced)) 2 tsp garlic ((minced)) 1 medium bulb of fennel ((thinly sliced)) 1 red capsicum (bell pepper) ((finely sliced)) 1 chorizo sausage ((finely diced)) 1 cup white wine 1 litre fish or chicken stock...

Toad in a hold Hop over to merry old England to enjoy a spot of Toad in a Hole today. Dress up your pork chipolatas in crispy popover batter and onion gravy. Make the yorkshire pudding / popover batter Ingredients: 1 cup all purpose flour 1 cup milk 4 eggs 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp dried thyme 12 tsp oil / animal fat ((eg lard or beef fat)) 600 grams pork chipolata sausages ((one package usually contains 680g - 16 sausages)) Make the onion gravy Ingredients: 1 tbsp butter 1 onion ((finely sliced)) 2 tbsp all purpose flour 1/2 cup red or white wine 1.5 cups stock ((beef or chicken)) 1/2 tsp dried or fresh thyme 1 tsp dijon mustard Method: Melt the butter in a small saucepan and heat to medium high heat then add onions and cook until soft. Add the flour to make a roux (thickening paste).  Stir and continue to cook for a minute then deglaze with wine while whisking vigorously.  Add the stock, thyme and mustard.   Continue simmering and whisking for five minutes to ...

Pork Adobo Pork Adobo is an extremely flavoursome braised meat dish that plays on sweet, sour, deeply savoury and creamy flavours. Soy sauce provides the salty and savoury base while the creamy, sweet coconut cream offsets the sour vinegar. Whole peppercorns add a little spice and bay leaves, an earthy herbal aroma. Ingredients: 1 kg pork shoulder (1 inch dice) 80 mL soy sauce 80 mL Chinese black (Chinkiang vinegar) 2 - 4 tbsp brown sugar (add to taste) 1 cup water 1 tin coconut milk 10 whole black peppercorns 2 bay leaves 1 tsp minced ginger 2 tsp minced garlic Method: Marinate the pork in all other ingredients except 1 cup of water, over night. Heat a wide pan to medium high heat. Add a little oil and brown the pork in the pan to seal. Add all ingredients (or the saved marinade plus water) to the pork and bring it to a simmer. Cover the pan with a lid for 20 minutes then remove the lid and continue to simmer for another ten minutes or until the sauce is well reduced, thickened and in...

Cauliflower, bean and carrot bechamel bake Here is a lusciously creamy cauliflower, bean and carrot side dish to roast or bbq meats. It's more delicate in flavour and lighter in calories than classic cauliflower cheese due to the complete omission of cheese. The result is a gently sweet and creamy steamed vegetable bake that sits perfectly beside heavily spiced, salted (eg corned beef) or marinated meats. Ingredients: 2 carrots (sliced) 1/2 large head of cauliflower (cut into florets) 200 grams green beans (topped and tailed then halved) 500 mL whole milk 50 grams butter 50 grams all purpose flour ((2 tbsp and a bit)) 1/2 tsp nutmeg or mustard powder Method: 1. Preheat oven to 180C / 350F. Make the bechamel (white) sauce Melt the butter in a saucepan and then whisk in flour to make a roux (thickening paste).  Continue to whisk and cook for a minute. At a medium high heat, add the milk to the roux and whisk until the sauce has thickened. This may take ten minutes o...

Mex-tinged chicken schnitzel rice bake Ingredients:  Chicken schnitzel 2 skinless chicken breasts 1 1/2 cups breadcrumbs 3/4 cup flour 2 eggs (beaten) 1/2 tsp each of ground cumin, coriander and paprika (chilli powder to taste is optional) 1/2 tsp salt Mexican spiced tomato sauce 1 tin crushed tomatoes 1 tsp garlic (minced) 1 tsp each of ground cumin, coriander and paprika 1 tsp cocoa powder 1 tsp sugar Rice and vegetable mixture 3-6 cups cooked rice (cold or hot) (adjust this amount to suit your own rice to vegetable ratio) 1/4 cup fresh coriander (chopped) 1 onion (chopped) 1 green capsicum (chopped) (Option: dice or slivers) 1 tin black or red beans (drained and rinsed) 1 tin corn kernals (or 1 cup fresh from the cob) Optional toppings 1-2 cups grated cheese (Adjust the amount of cheese to your liking) 1 cup sour cream or plain yoghurt 1/4 cup fresh coriander (chopped) tabasco sauce (to increase the the chilli factor) Method: Preheat your oven to 180 degrees C / 350 degrees F. M...