Small Steps Living

#2 Lunch #3 Dinner Recipes

Lisa’s Random Pork and Rice

The kids are all eating away and my son proclaims this is spicy but delicious.

“I made it up”, I replied.

He said, “Mum you have to put this online!” 

Here goes – it’s so delicious!

Print Recipe
 Lisa's Random Pork and Rice
Servings
Ingredients
  • 1 brown onion thinly chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic chopped or crushed
  • 3-4 cm piece of ginger peeled and grated finely
  • 2 tbls olive or sesame oil
  • 500 g pork mince
  • 1/2 - 1 tsp medium curry powder
  • 2 tbls tomato paste
  • 3 tbls Tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 tbls rice wine vinegar
  • 3 tbls broth or water
  • 1/4 cabbage shredded
  • rice (enough for your family)
Servings
Ingredients
  • 1 brown onion thinly chopped
  • 4 cloves garlic chopped or crushed
  • 3-4 cm piece of ginger peeled and grated finely
  • 2 tbls olive or sesame oil
  • 500 g pork mince
  • 1/2 - 1 tsp medium curry powder
  • 2 tbls tomato paste
  • 3 tbls Tamari or soy sauce
  • 1 tbls rice wine vinegar
  • 3 tbls broth or water
  • 1/4 cabbage shredded
  • rice (enough for your family)
Instructions
  1. Warm oil over medium heat in large frypan.
  2. Add ginger, garlic and onion - be careful not to burn!
  3. Once onion is translucent add mince and cook through.
  4. Add curry powder and all the wet ingredients. Bring it to a simmer and let it simmer until the mixture loses a lot of the moisture - should take around ten minutes.
  5. Half way through cooking time add your cabbage so it softens.
  6. At the same time, be cooking your rice.
  7. Add rice and pork mixture to a bowl and add vegetable sides, a dollop of natural yoghurt or have it as is!
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#2 Lunch #3 Dinner Recipes

Garlic and Greens Two Ways

I’ve been a bit sniffly this past week. And I have this thing I do to get better.

REST as much as I can.

GARLIC as much as I can.

Reduce SUGAR as much as I can.

Eat FRESH FOOD as much as I can.

Pretty simple formula. Along with a ripper supplement and honey, ginger and lemon tea.

NOTE: I am not in any way a medical professional and this is not intended as medical advice. It’s just my commonsense approach to using food as medicine. It works for me. That’s it.

So I thought I’d share two delicious ways I’ve eaten greens with garlic this week. So good. We have an abundance of baby spinach sprouting in our garden and it’s making me so happy that we get to pull it straight from the plant and onto our plates.

I wish I could take credit for this – but my husband Nick is the green thumb at our place!

What’s even better is that the kids devoured the cabbage and my four-year-old daughter even said “Mum, I will do anything if you make this for all the days!” It might have helped that we named the dish Crunchy Bacon – with no mention of cabbage whatsoever. And when they tried it they realised they loved it.

So, sweet girl – get ready for cabbage every day! haha!

I’d love to hear how you keep yourself well in winter.

Lisa x

Print Recipe
 Garlic and Greens Two Ways
Course Dinner, Lunch
Servings
Ingredients
Zucchini, Garlic and Eggs (serves 2)
  • 50 g butter
  • 2-3 cloves garlic
  • 1 grated zucchini
  • 2 large handfuls baby spinach
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 2 eggs
  • salt & pepper
  • feta cheese optional
  • 8 cherry tomatoes halved
‘Crunchy' Bacon (side dish for four people)
  • 1-2 tbls olive oil
  • 2 rashers bacon chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic diced thinly
  • 1/2 brown onion finely sliced
  • 1/4 cabbage chopped thinly
  • balsamic glaze or balsamic vinegar
Course Dinner, Lunch
Servings
Ingredients
Zucchini, Garlic and Eggs (serves 2)
  • 50 g butter
  • 2-3 cloves garlic
  • 1 grated zucchini
  • 2 large handfuls baby spinach
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 2 eggs
  • salt & pepper
  • feta cheese optional
  • 8 cherry tomatoes halved
‘Crunchy' Bacon (side dish for four people)
  • 1-2 tbls olive oil
  • 2 rashers bacon chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic diced thinly
  • 1/2 brown onion finely sliced
  • 1/4 cabbage chopped thinly
  • balsamic glaze or balsamic vinegar
Instructions
Zucchini, Garlic and Eggs
  1. Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat on the stovetop.
  2. Add garlic and cook for a few minutes - without browning it.
  3. Add grated zucchini and cherry tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes until softening.
  4. Add baby spinach and stir through until wilted.
  5. Squeeze lemon juice onto the mixture and add salt, pepper and feta if desired and then place the mixture onto a plate.
  6. Crack two eggs, sunny-side-up into the pan and cook to your liking.
  7. Place on top of zucchini and spinach mixture.
‘Crunchy' Bacon
  1. Warm oil over medium heat in a pan on the stovetop.
  2. Add bacon, garlic and onion and cook until onion is translucent. Cook for a little longer if you want crispy bacon!
  3. Add the cabbage and cook for another few minutes until soft.
  4. Add a few splashes of Glaze or Vinegar (a little goes a long way so start small and build up so their is a light coating).
  5. Serve as a side dish or as a main dish with egg on top.
Recipe Notes

*Alternatively you can add the egg straight to the zucchini mixture and scramble it all together - both work perfectly and taste DELICIOUS!

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#2 Lunch #3 Dinner Recipes

Potato and Leek Soup

Print Recipe
 Potato and Leek Soup
Course Dinner, Main Dish
Servings
Ingredients
  • 2 leeks thinly sliced
  • 1 brown onion thinly sliced
  • 1 tbls butter
  • 1 kg potato's peeled and cubed
  • 600 ml chicken broth or stock
Course Dinner, Main Dish
Servings
Ingredients
  • 2 leeks thinly sliced
  • 1 brown onion thinly sliced
  • 1 tbls butter
  • 1 kg potato's peeled and cubed
  • 600 ml chicken broth or stock
Instructions
  1. Sweat the onion and leek in butter in a large saucepan on medium heat until soft (approximately 4-5 mins)
  2. Add potato and broth and bring to the boil. Make sure broth is covering potatoes and if not, add a little more. (We like it thick so don’t go overboard with liquid)
  3. Once potato’s are cooked through (break easily when pricked with fork) blend with stick blender or food blender until smooth
Recipe Notes

Optional - add 1/4 cream at the end and mix through. 
Optional - add salt and pepper

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#1 Breakfast #2 Lunch #3 Dinner #4 Snacks and Dessert Blog Recipes

The Ultimate Wholefoods Summer Entertaining Guide!

If there’s one thing I love it’s entertaining.

If there’s one thing I don’t do enough – it’s entertaining!

The weeks seem to disappear throughout the year but after our recent move to Melbourne and to make the most of the gorgeous summer weather – I’m putting a few invitations out there.

I thought I’d share with you how simple and easy wholefoods entertaining can be. I don’t want to spend the whole time in the kitchen when we have guests but I do want the food to be fresh and homemade and impressive!

Keeping wholefoods simple week in and week out is what makes it an achievable lifestyle choice for me. If you need ‘every day’ inspiration find it in my Easy Kitchen Reset. But for now – let’s get the fancy plates napkins out and the playlist cranking and entertain our friends and family!

Here’s a collection of my favourite recipes to help you entertain with ease this summer.

Breakfast Entertaining

How about pre-making my delicious Granola and serving with yoghurt and fresh berries?

As an alternative – pre-soak my Basic Bircher and serve topped with nuts, seeds, cinnamon and fruit.

Or Crepes with a selection of fillings – like berries and cream with maple syrup for a sweet option or smoked trout, spring onion and creme fraiche for a savoury option.

If it’s eggs you’re after then pre-make the base of my Baked Eggs and then pop it, along with the eggs into the oven on the morning of your brunch and make sure to have some crusty authentic sourdough on hand for your guests to mop up the deliciousness!

 

Morning or Afternoon Tea Ideas

If it’s cookies you are after you cannot go past my famous Choc Chip Cookies.

But equally as delicious and a total crowd pleaser are my Ginger Snaps. Have a batch of these on hand in your cookie jar for whenever friends pop by.

Whipping up my simple White Bean Dip and serving that with chopped veggies or rice crackers always goes down a treat. As does this fresh and tasty Basil Pesto.

 

Starters

My Zesty Chicken Balls are a total winner and rolling the Chicken, Carrot and Feta patties into meatball shapes makes them the perfect starter.

The time I cooked a huge batch of Eggplant Chips as an appetiser when entertaining they were a huge hit. Everyone who attended went home to make them.

 

Mains

If it’s a super tasty and super easy one dish wonder you’re after – look no further than this Hummus Chicken Bake. You will not believe how simple and delicious it is!

If you’re after something for the BBQ then Nick’s Lamb Kofta’s are a total winner.

This Stir-fry is the perfect pre-prepare meal for entertaining. Make a big batch and add whichever protein suits your guests. This is a dairy-free, gluten-free and potentially vegan recipe (replace honey with maple syrup in the sauce and enjoy with tofu or just veggies), so really versatile and crazy tasty.

If there’s kids coming over then crumbing a batch of chicken drumsticks will have them licking their fingers!

 

Sides

This Broccoli Mango Salad has become almost legendary. The reason I like it is because it involves no cooking! Yep – raw broccoli for the win. Try and and see.

This Sneaky Veggie Side is the ultimate in versatile sides too – the addition of lemon rind and parmesan – YES PLEASE!

Fancy up any salad with one of my Three Favourite Dressings. The Tangy Dressing is my ultimate go-to.

 

Desserts

My Chocolate Raspberry Cake with a dollop of fresh cream is absolutely divine.

But sometimes it’s just as easy to pop out a cheese and fruit platter for your guests to nibble on as you chat the night away. Add a few Almond Bliss Balls to the platter and they’ll be thanking you for keeping things light.

And if you’re after a tipple, then a big shout out to Small Stepper Amie Kalleske whose family runs a organic and biodynamic winery in the Barossa Valley. Look for Kalleske wines and enjoy a quality product (in moderation, of course!)

#2 Lunch #3 Dinner Recipes

Rich Tomato and Chicken Pasta

It’s always the small, simple things that can make the biggest difference….

Heartfelt hugs,

A stunning sunset,

Messages from friends asking how you are,

An ‘I love you’,

The feeling of a project complete,

A walk in nature,

Freshly painted toenails,

…. and a final addition of red wine in a pasta sauce!

I love my pasta sauces to be rich and tasty and kid-friendly – this recipe fits the bill. The wine takes it to the next level.

It’s just so simple, as the best things often are…

Print Recipe
 Rich Tomato and Chicken Pasta
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Dish
Servings
Ingredients
  • 1 tbls olive oil
  • 3 rashers bacon chopped
  • 1 brown onion thinly diced
  • 3 garlic cloves thinly diced or crushed
  • 1 bottle tomato passata
  • 1 tin tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp tamari or a few good dhakes of salt
  • small handful fresh basil thinly sliced
  • 2 good glugs of red wine
  • Leftover roast chicken
  • pasta of choice
  • parmesan to sprinkle
Course Dinner, Lunch, Main Dish
Servings
Ingredients
  • 1 tbls olive oil
  • 3 rashers bacon chopped
  • 1 brown onion thinly diced
  • 3 garlic cloves thinly diced or crushed
  • 1 bottle tomato passata
  • 1 tin tin chopped tomatoes
  • 1/2 tsp sugar
  • 1 tsp tamari or a few good dhakes of salt
  • small handful fresh basil thinly sliced
  • 2 good glugs of red wine
  • Leftover roast chicken
  • pasta of choice
  • parmesan to sprinkle
Instructions
  1. Heat oil on medium heat in a saucepan.
  2. Add onion, garlic and bacon and cook until onion is translucent and bacon slightly browning.
  3. Add passata, tinned tomato, basil, sugar, tamari, red wine and cook for 10-15 minutes to reduce.
  4. At the same time start boiling water for your pasta and cook it once boiling.
  5. After ten minutes add leftover chicken and cook for another five minutes (if you want to use fresh chicken just add 3-4 sliced chicken thighs when you are cooking the bacon, onion and garlic).
  6. Once cooked add it to the top of pasta and sprinkle with Parmesan.
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#2 Lunch #3 Dinner Recipes

Chinese Chicken Pancakes

I’ve been in experimentation mode with my Savoury Crepes. The kids LOVE them so I thought I’d start getting creative with fillings.

I had a flash reminder of Duck pancakes – you know – those awesome ones you get in restaurants. But I didn’t have duck.
Never fear – chicken drumsticks to the rescue!

Enjoy this simple and tasty marinade – add some extra heat with chilli if you so desire!

Print Recipe
 Chinese Chicken Pancakes
Servings
Ingredients
  • 6 Chicken drumsticks
  • 2 tbls tomato paste
  • 1 tbls honey
  • 1 tbls tamari
  • 2 Crushed garlic cloves
  • 2cm knob of ginger grated finely (optional)
  • 1 tbls apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp Chinese five spice
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 2 spring onions julienned or cubed
  • 2 cucumbers julienned or cubed
  • 2 red chilli's (optional)
  • 1 batch of Savoury Crepes (see recipe link above)
Servings
Ingredients
  • 6 Chicken drumsticks
  • 2 tbls tomato paste
  • 1 tbls honey
  • 1 tbls tamari
  • 2 Crushed garlic cloves
  • 2cm knob of ginger grated finely (optional)
  • 1 tbls apple cider vinegar
  • 1 tsp Chinese five spice
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 2 spring onions julienned or cubed
  • 2 cucumbers julienned or cubed
  • 2 red chilli's (optional)
  • 1 batch of Savoury Crepes (see recipe link above)
Instructions
  1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees.
  2. Mix tomato paste, honey, tamari, garlic, ginger (if using), apple cider vinegar, Chinese five spice together in a small bowl to form a paste.
  3. Cover drumsticks with the paste and marinate for half an hour - or just put straight in the oven on a baking tray.
  4. Cook for half an hour or until cooked through.
  5. While the chicken is cooking in the oven make the Savoury Crepes.
  6. Remove chicken from the oven. Shred the meat off the bone and mix through the marinade. Add the juice of a lime to the mixture.
  7. Place pancakes flat onto plates, and add chicken, spring onion, cucumber and chilli (if using) and roll into a log. Enjoy!
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#1 Breakfast #2 Lunch Recipes

Savoury Crepe

These crepes were created on an afternoon when we had to be at soccer training at 5:30 pm and I wanted the kids to have something in their tummy before we left.

I thought it might be exciting to add some veggies inside. Turns out that flopped (you can only try!) but I’m not giving up yet.

The pic is when I topped them with lemon curd and strawberries. Obviously that went down a treat.

Usually the kids smother with butter and a bit of maple syrup, but Nick and I have filled them with:

– cooked mushrooms and scrambled eggs

– butter and garlic baby spinach and grated zucchini

– baked beans

Print Recipe
 Savoury Crepe
Servings
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups sifted spelt flour (or wheat, gluten-free or buckwheat flours)
  • 2 cups milk (dairy or non-dairy)
  • 3 eggs
Servings
Ingredients
  • 1 1/2 cups sifted spelt flour (or wheat, gluten-free or buckwheat flours)
  • 2 cups milk (dairy or non-dairy)
  • 3 eggs
Instructions
  1. Whisk eggs and milk together in a large bowl.
  2. Add the flour and whisk well for two minutes.
  3. The mixture will be runnier than normal pancakes, but it should be thicker than water.
  4. Heat a medium size frypan and add a teaspoon of butter.
  5. Add mixture to pan once the butter is melted and pan is warm and spread it out so it's nice and thin.
  6. Flip once cooked through (won't take long) and cook quickly on the other side.
  7. Remove from pan and start your stack!
  8. Repeat until all mixture is used.
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#2 Lunch Recipes

Lunch in a Fry Pan

Sometimes I throw a bunch of things in the fry pan for a delicious lunch. Here’s one example!

Obviously – this could be breakfast or dinner too! Sometimes we overcomplicate food – don’t you agree?

Enjoy lunch from a fry pan!

Print Recipe
 Lunch in a Fry Pan
Course Lunch
Servings
1 person
Ingredients
  • Handful baby spinach
  • 1/4 red onion thinly sliced
  • 1 rasher of bacon sliced
  • 6 mushrooms sliced
  • 1 tomato diced
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • feta
  • Dash of balsamic vinegar (optional)
Course Lunch
Servings
1 person
Ingredients
  • Handful baby spinach
  • 1/4 red onion thinly sliced
  • 1 rasher of bacon sliced
  • 6 mushrooms sliced
  • 1 tomato diced
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tbsp butter
  • feta
  • Dash of balsamic vinegar (optional)
Instructions
  1. Warm butter in a pan over moderate heat
  2. Add bacon and onion and cook until onion is soft
  3. Add mushrooms and tomato and cook for 3-4 minutes
  4. Move ingredients in the pan to the side and crack your egg in the other side
  5. When vegetables and egg are cooked to your looking, remove from heat
  6. Put baby spinach on the bottom of a plate, add vegetables and top with egg. Sprinkle feta over the top and add a splash of balsamic vinegar is desired
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#2 Lunch #3 Dinner

Liz’s Fried Rice – with a twist!

My mum is a legend. Not kidding. She has legendary status for the following things:

Always welcoming people at her house with open arms (and having a bottle of wine on standby for such occasions).

Her roast potatoes are out-of-this-world.

Her ability to make anyone in her company feel loved and listened to is well recognised.

The hugs she gives are a cure all

And she’s legendary for partying like the best of them.

But it’s the little things, like her fried rice, that perhaps only her children know about. it’s always the little things with mums, isn’t it? It’s that she always knows exactly when to call and checks in with an uncanny ability of knowing something’s not right in my world.

I love her.

Here is the way I try and replicate her fried rice.

Not sure what she’ll think of the cauliflower!?

Enjoy (like mum would) x

Print Recipe
 Liz’s Fried Rice - with a twist!
Course Dinner, Lunch
Servings
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 brown onion diced thinly
  • 2 - 3 cloves of garlic diced
  • 2 rashers of bacon sliced
  • 2 - 3 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cauliflower cut into florets (or basmati rice)
  • Vegetables of choice broccoli, succhini, squash, carrot, peas, corn
Course Dinner, Lunch
Servings
Ingredients
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 brown onion diced thinly
  • 2 - 3 cloves of garlic diced
  • 2 rashers of bacon sliced
  • 2 - 3 tbsp tamari or soy sauce
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cauliflower cut into florets (or basmati rice)
  • Vegetables of choice broccoli, succhini, squash, carrot, peas, corn
Instructions
  1. Heat olive oil in wok over medium heat
  2. Once warm, add onion, garlic and bacon to pan
  3. Once onion is translucent, push all ingredients to the side and crack your eggs into the pan. Move the eggs around like scrambling them. Once cooked, mix onion, garlic, bacon and eggs together
  4. Add the tamari to the pan and all the vegetables. If required, add more oil or tamari so that the vegetables can sweat. You want a bit of liquid at the bottom
  5. While vegetables are cooking, add the cauliflower florets to your blender. You want to pulse them or grind them to the point they are like little grains of rice
  6. Add them to the pan with the vegetables once veggies have softened and cook away for 4-5 minutes or until the cauliflower becomes soft
  7. If you want to use rice instead of cauliflower then follow the packet instructions for cooking and add to the pan once veggies are soft
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#2 Lunch #3 Dinner Recipes

Nick’s Lamb Kofta’s with Tzatziki

I love the fact that my husband likes to cook. But here’s the thing…

When Nick decides to cook dinner it’s usually a weekend, he researches and googles and comes up with ideas and makes the most of what we have in our kitchen.

It always seems to taste delicious.

He always starts and finishes with a spotless kitchen (and cleans as he goes – WEIRD!)

And I always need to entertain the children because cooking + kids is not possible for him.

It reminds me that it’s rather extraordinary I manage to get dinner up most nights with the chaos of three little kids, having done breakfast, school lunches, morning teas, my lunch, afternoon tea… Honestly, how do we do it!?

Part of my food routine is to make a quick plan and keep things super simple. And when Nick experiments and it works – well – he’s just doing my blogging for me!

So here are the crazy delicious Lamb Kofta’s he put together when I told him all we had left in the freezer was some lamb mince.

Bless that man!

Enjoy.

Print Recipe
 Nick’s Lamb Kofta’s with Tzatziki
Servings
Ingredients
Kofta's
  • 1 kg lamb mince
  • Two spring onions thinly sliced and diced
  • 1/2 bulb of garlic crushed
  • 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Handful of parsley chopped finely
  • 2 cm knob of ginger grated
Tzatziki
  • 1 cup Natural yoghurt
  • 1/4 cucumber diced in very small pieces
  • 2 teaspoon fresh dill finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoon fresh mint finely chopped
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
Servings
Ingredients
Kofta's
  • 1 kg lamb mince
  • Two spring onions thinly sliced and diced
  • 1/2 bulb of garlic crushed
  • 1 teaspoon chilli flakes
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
  • 1 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • Handful of parsley chopped finely
  • 2 cm knob of ginger grated
Tzatziki
  • 1 cup Natural yoghurt
  • 1/4 cucumber diced in very small pieces
  • 2 teaspoon fresh dill finely chopped
  • 2 teaspoon fresh mint finely chopped
  • Juice of half a lemon
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
Instructions
Kofta's
  1. Add all ingredients to a large bowl and mix together with your hands to combine well.
  2. Roll into kofta shapes. (Can do it around a skewer, make round balls or the longer kofta shape)
  3. Add olive oil to a pan on medium heat or the barbecue and cook the kofta’s, rotating all the time for an even cook.
  4. They would also work in the oven at 180 degrees for ease - just give the pan a jiggle after 15 minutes and leave them in there until cooked (half an hour)
Tzatziki
  1. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl and serve alongside kofta’s with salad or added to wraps with kofta’s and salad. YUM!
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lisa-optin

Lady Get Your Groove Back

5 Simple Steps to reconnecting with your Cha Cha.

Feel like a failure at healthy? Let me walk you a through simple, and more achievable way of creating a healthier life for the whole family. Minus the pressure for perfect. Change is yours.

I'M IN!