Muffins have been on my latest craving list, so making a truck load and storing them in the fridge sounded like a better option especially when I have a pantry full of ingredients to make anything. These are perfect for a healthy snack, tea time and I think the kids will totally enjoy it … and I must also say they are not time consuming and they will be baked to perfection before you know it! These muffins were the perfect combo with our cuppa this morning as K and I admired the mountains from our dining table, taking in the silence of the suburb we live in as we talked about life and the baby on the way. Absolute bliss! Hope you enjoy them like we did

Ingredients:
Vegetables: 2 cups of grated fresh veggies like zuchinni, carrots and potatoes, or you can go for the frozen variety to save time!
Flour: 1 1/2 cups
Grated cheese: 1 cup ( I used colby)
Eggs: 2 lightly beaten
Baking powder: 3 tsps
Olive Oil: 1/3 cup
Milk : 1/2 cup

Preheat your oven to 180C

Mix the veggies and 3/4 cup of the grated cheese (save the 1/4 for later) along with the flour and baking powder. If you are using frozen veggies, thaw them before you add it to the bowl.

In a separate bowl whisk the eggs, oil and milk and add it to the flour mixture. Stir until well combined.

Grease a 12 hold muffin pan, and spoon the mixture evenly into the muffin holes and sprinkle the remaining cheese on top.

Bake for 25mins until golden brown.

The muffins taste great when eaten on the same day, however you can store it in the fridge or freezer and heat it before you eat. You have to eat them warm!

Ingredients:
Rice sticks noodles – 1/2 pack
Onion: 1 medium chopped
Mixed Veggies: Beans, Carrots, corn, Brocolli
Garlic cloves: 3 minced fine
Ginger: 1/2 inch piece
Eggs: 3 whisked well
Meat of your choice: Chicken, Beef, Pork, shrimp or a combo of them all
Bean Sprouts
Soy Sauce: 5 tbsps
Sugar: 1 tbsp
Salt & Pepper
Oil

Soak the rice sticks in some hot water for 20mins or until they turn soft.

If you are using eggs, cook the whisked eggs and season with salt and pepper. Set aside

To some heated oil, add the onion and garlic cloves and ginger. If you are using any meat, add it now. I decided to skip the meat, so the veggies went in next. You can use it frozen or fresh. If its fresh, add a few tbsp of water, cover with a lid, season with salt and pepper and let it cook on low heat.

Next add the soy sauce and sugar followed by the rice sticks. Continue to stir fry for a few minutes until the veggies and noodles are soft and well cooked. Finally add the bean sprouts and the cooked scrambbled eggs.

Serve hot!

Introducing to you my current favourite menu idea – TAGINES! Tagine is a dish from North Africa and is named after the special earthenware pot in which it is cooked (thanks Wiki). I have eaten tagines at restaurants but never attempted to make it at home and I don’t even own a clay pot! With all the research that has been going into finding new menu options lately, I read a few Tagine recipes and decided I would give it a try. This recipe comes out of Express Cook. It’s perfect for a wintery day, and though its summer here in NZ, it been raining cats and dogs lately and the tagine just works great on a cold and rainy day.

Ingredients:
Chicken: 8 drumsticks
Olive Oil: 3 tbsp
Salt and freshly ground pepper
Aubergine: 2 cut into bite-sized cubes
Ground Cinnamon: 1 tsp
Onions: 2 chopped fine
Chillies: 3 chopped fine
Bay leaves: 2
Cumin Seeds: 1 tsp
Tomatoes: 1 can of chopped tomatoes
Tomato puree: 1 tbsp
Lemon: juice of 1/2 a lemon
Coriander: Handful of freshly chopped coriander

Season the chicken with salt and pepper. In a wide and deep non-stick pot, cook the chicken in a tbsp of oil. Allow it to get golden brown, flipping the chicken pieces constantly. Give it about 10mins and then set aside.
Next, toss the aubergine pieces with the ground cinnamon and add it to the pan along with 1 tbsp of oil. Allow the aubergines to cook, should take about 8-10mins and then set aside.

Add a tbsp of oil, saute the onions, chillies, bay leaves and cumin. Season with salt and pepper and cook on low heat for 5mins. Next return the chicken drumsticks and the cooked aubergines along with the canned tomatoes and the tomato puree. Cover with a lid and cook on low heat for about 20mins. Add some water if it gets dry.

Finally add the juice of 1/2 a lemon, and the coriander and stir. Your Tagine is now ready! Serve it along with some couscous, or brown rice or even white rice if you don’t have couscous at home.

Our Christmas holiday this year has been fabulous. We didn’t travel and that was a first for us to not leave our city during a holiday. We had lots of house projects, so getting that done was just perfect, and getting a head start on the nursery and the baby closet has been SO much fun.
Staying at home also meant more time spent in the kitchen and I definitely had lots of inspiration for making different meals. I know I have tried to move away from Indian recipes but those following the blog were quite keen on those, however right now with me being preggers and not feeling Indian food at the moment, all the different spices are taking a break while I get to cook what I would really love to eat otherwise.
Maybe for a short while from here on you will get to read some non-indian recipes,and I hope those following eaterspot for the indian recipes would still love me Hope you enjoy this one, real basic, very easy and vegeterian friendly!

Ingredients:

THE EGGPLANT:
Eggplants: 2 medium cut into 1/2 inch thick rounds
All Purpose floor: 1/2 cup
Eggs: 4
Freshly ground pepper
Whole Milk: 3 tbsp
Breadcrumbs: 4 cups
Dried Oregano: 1 tbsp
Thyme leaves: 1 tbsp
Cheese: Shredded amounts of parmesan, provolone cheese grated about 2 cups.
Oil for frying

THE SAUCE:
Onions: 3 medium, cut into thin slices
Whole Tomatoes: 3 cans
Garlic cloves: 6 minced fine
Salt for seasoning
Red pepper flakes – 1 tbsp
Oil

Begin by making the sauce. Saute the onion and garlic in the oil and season it with salt and red pepper flakees. Cook until the onions are translucent.
Next add the canned tomatoes. With a wooden spoon break the whole tomatoes if any and continue to cook for another 10-15mins on medium heat.
Season more if needed and let it cook for a few minutes and remove from the heat.

With the sauce done, its time to get the eggplant prepped.

Put the floor in a bowl and season it with salt and pepper. In another whisk the eggs and the milk and season it with salt and pepper.
In a third bowl, combine the breadcrumbs along with the thyme, oregano and the salt and pepper. Dip each eggplant in the flour, shaking off any excess, next it goes into the egg mixture,
finally dip it in the breadcrumbs making sure both sides are well coated. Repeat with all the eggplant slices.

Pour enough oil in a large fry pan, and cook the egglant slices until they are golden brown on either sides. Drain the eggplant slices on paper towels.

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Spoon 1/4 of the tomato sauce in a 9 by 13 baking dish. Top with a layer of the eggplant slices, its ok if the eggplant slices overlap. Sprinkle the cheese mixture on top. Spoon some more sauce and repeat it with
the eggplant slices and more cheese. Repeat if there are more eggplant slices, and the top layer needs to have enough cheese.

Bake for 40mins until the cheese is bubbly. Serve hot!

I made some of these to go in the cookie plates I have been giving out to my friends, colleagues and neighbours and they were SO easy to make! I am assuming most homes should have the ingredients listed, so you’ve got to give this a try! I am sure if you have issues with Peanut Butter, you can always substitute it with Almond Butter or any other nut butter for that matter . Hope you enjoy this as much as I did baking and eating them too!

Ingredients:
Peanut Butter: 1 cup, crunchy or creamy
Sugar: 1 1/3 cups
Egg: 1
Vanilla Extract

Preheat your oven to 180C

Combine the peanut butter, 1 cup of sugar, the egg and vanilla and mix well. Make walnut size dough balls and place them on a non-stick baking sheet. With a fork, make a criss-cross design on each cookie – use the 1/3 cup of sugar if the dough gets sticky ( I didn’t have to). Bake for 12 mins ( it bakes faster than you think, so don’t go far away). Remove from the oven, and sprinkle some of the sugar on the cookies.

Store any left overs in an air tighter container.