carbonara

In a frying pan cook a diced onion, a clove of chopped garlic, a handful of mushrooms and about 300g diced bacon until cooked. In a separate saucepan cook 400g-ish of pasta according to packet instructions. Drain the pasta when cooked and add to it the cooked bacon mixture and 6 egg yolks, 160ml cream and about 70g grated/shaved parmesan. Cook on a very low heat (if you over cook it the eggs get a bit scrambled) until the egg/cream mixture is thicker and has evenly coated the pasta. Add some cracked black pepper and more parmesan before serving.

Husband rated this $1.80. Apparently it would have been nicer with spaghetti instead of penne. I like penne, less messy to eat. The kid will have this for lunch tomorrow. She's had it before and loved it (but she doesn't like bacon).

french onion soup

Melt some butter in a saucepan and add 4 thinly sliced brown onions and a clove of crushed garlic (I was too lazy, just used a spoon of chopped garlic this time). Cook for about 2 minutes or until the onion becomes transparent - don't let the onion brown. Add 1 tablespoon of plain flour and coat the onion well before adding 2 tablespoons of brandy (I use dry white wine that I have in the cupboard). When the alcohol has evaporated add 1 cup of beef stock (I use campbell's reduced salt beef stock) and cook for another minute or so. Put this mixture into a slowcooker with a further 3 cups of beef stock. Cook on the low setting for about 6 hours. You're supposed to serve this with a baguette with some cheese on it, but I forgot to buy the bread so instead served it with toasted bacon and cheese sandwiches.

Husband rated this $2. It's not very filling, but very tasty. The kid won't get to try this one - it's too salty for an 11 month old.

my version of chicken rice

Trim the fat off some chicken maryland pieces. Put them into a saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring to the boil, then put the lid on and take it off the heat. Let it poach like this for 40 minutes. I think I left mine for 2 hours because I totally forgot about it. To check if it's cooked, skewer the meat in the thickest part and if blood comes out it's still not cooked. When it's cooked save a cup or so of the water so you can use it to cook the rice. Rinse the chicken under cold water until cool. Remove the bones from the chicken cut into slices. Top with thin strips of fresh ginger and spring onion, sesame oil and soy sauce. Husband likes to eat it with his home made chilli sauce and soy sauce. Serve with steamed rice and slices of tomato and cucumber.

I always get full marks for this one. And the kid loves the chicken too.

garlic chicken wings

To make the garlic marinade: Separate, but don't peel, the cloves from 2 heads of garlic. Put them in a small saucepan with cold water, bring to the boil and boil for 10 minutes. Let them cool (easier on your hands) then push the cloves out of the skins and into a food processor. Add some lemon juice (about 2 or a good squeeze of the bottle stuff like I did) and process the garlics until it's smooth. Add some olive oil (the Nigella Lawson recipe I got this from says 400ml, but I think that's too much so I add enough to make it thicker but not too much to use up my whole bottle of oil) and process until milky-white. Pour the mixture over 16 chicken wings and leave covered in the fridge, fleshy side down, for 36 hours. I usually only marinate them for 24 hours. Who really has the time to prepare this kind of thing in the morning??

Take the wings out of the fridge about an hour before cooking. Empty out into a disposable foil tray (unless you like scrubbing baking trays or want to save $1) and cook in a preheated 210 degree C oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour until the wings are crispy and brown. You can periodically baste them, or just leave them alone and play with your kid instead.

I usually make a double batch of the marinade and freeze it. It makes this a super easy dinner to make down the track.

This dinner always gets full marks. I usually serve it with some oven cooked potato and sweet potato. The kid LOVES this chicken.

chicken, pumpkin & corn no-stir risotto

Preheat oven to 190 degrees C. Place 2 cups arborio rice, 1L chicken stock, 60g butter, 700g diced pumpkin, and the kernels from two corn cobbs into a large ovenproof dish. Cover and bake in the oven for 40 minutes or until the rice is soft. While the risotto is cooking, cook 3 sliced chicken thigh fillets in a frying pan with a little oil. When the risotto is cooked, remove from the oven and stir the cooked chicken, 1/2 cup grated parmesan, salt, pepper and 2 tablespoons chopped parsley (i didn't bother because with this step because i didn't have any) through it continuously for 5 minutes or utnil the risotto is creamy.

This isn't as nice as a risotto that you have to stir, but oh well, sometimes you just need dinner on the table. The little kid loved it - a nice way to sneak vegies into the diet.

silverbeet and feta pie / vegemite & cheese palmiers

Chop a bunch of silverbeet and then wilt it in a saucepan with a little bit of water. Combine 6 eggs, 1 cup grated cheese (I used cheddar, mozarella, parmesan and fetta) and the spinach (let it cool a little first). Place into a casserole dish or ramekins and top with a sheet of puff pastry. Bake in a moderate oven for about an hour or until the pastry is crispy

I can't remember what this rated. But it was quite low. I knew that was going to happen because there was no meat. The little kid ate her lot though - unfortunately that was not enough to entice her father.

With the leftover puff pastry I made some vegemite and cheese palmiers. Lay out puff pastry, spread with vegemite and grated cheese, roll it up, then slice into 1cm wheels. bake in the oven on about 180 for 20 minutes. These rated well.

my version of eggplant parmigiana

Slice eggplant into 1cm rounds, then spread the slices on a baking tray lined with baking paper and brush with olive oil and sprinkled with salt. Put under a hot grill until golden-brown (i think about 6-7 minutes). Turn over, oil and salt and grill for another 5-6 minutes or so.

While the eggplants are cooking, make some tomato sauce. I did a super lazy version and just reduced a tin of chopped tomatoes with some salt, pepper and sugar. It was good enough.

When the eggplant is ready, on a fresh tray with baking paper lay out half the number of eggplant slices and spread some pesto on them (i made some earlier in the week just blending fresh basil, parmesan, pine nuts, garlic and olive oil - forgot to photograph it though, so will post it the next time i make it), then some tomato sauce, then some grated mozzarella cheese, fresh basil and grated/shaved parmesan. Repeat with a second layer.

Cook in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for about 5 minutes or until the top is brown and the cheese is bubbling.

I served this with some proscuitto (wouldn't get full marks without any meat!) and pesto toast. I knew husband would rate this well (full marks!) because the little kid polished off her serve for dinner. who would have thought a 10 month old would like eggplant?