Pantry Revisited

This week in our Eating with Ellie group, Chaya chose the Japanese Vegetable and Shrimp Pancakes.  Due to my shellfish allergy, I just simply left the shrimp out of these.  I had my doubts about these while they were cooking, but we ended up really enjoying them.  The photo does not do them justice.  The sauce gave them a little kick that they needed.  I think they might have even been better the second night.  I halved the recipe and it made nine pancakes for us!!  They were really easy to mix up.  Napa cabbage, eggs, flour, scallions, carrot, a little soy sauce and ketchup for the sauce.  Just fried up in a little olive oil.  And they are healthy which is an additional reason to try them!!  Makes a really good side dish or I am sure with the shrimp added would be a quick and delicious entrée for a busy weeknite. You can find the recipe in Ellie's Weeknite Wonders cookbook or online here: http://www.eatyourbooks.com/library/recipes/1220297/japanese-style-savory-vegetable

I am really enjoying the Donna Hay recipes that I have made so far.  This week we made this chicken that was covered with Dukkalah.  I had no idea what that was, but after much googling, I decided to make my own rather than go looking for it in the grocery.  It was toasted seeds and nuts and a few spices.  Was not hard to make and it was quite tasty even on its own.  I overcooked my chicken a bit though so it was kind of dry.  I forgot to photograph the tahini yogurt that was supposed to be served with this.  The couscous was also easy to make and it was more flavorful than I had expected. If you want to see what the other members of the group did with their chickens, check it out here: https://wwdh.wordpress.com/ If you want the recipe, you will need to email me.  I do not think this one can be found online.

It was my pick this week in our Eating with Ellie group.   I chose this pasta dish because it looked tasty and would serve well for a night when we wanted to go meatless.  Or, it would be a great side dish for almost any entree.  I am extremely pleased with this dish.   It is healthy, easy to prepare, and delicious! Not to mention it is a pretty enough dish to serve guests.  It is definitely going to be on our menu rotation! You can check out the rest of our group at this link:   ewellie.wordpress.com We do not post recipes but you can find it in Ellie Kriegers Weeknite Wonders book or you can find it here. http://www.recipelink.com/msgbrd/board_31/2014OCT/56886.html  It is made with penne pasta, garlic, spinach, grape tomatoes and topped with grated parmesan. HEALTHY!

This is only the second recipe I have tried of Donna Hays.   Sarah chose this slow cooked beef ragu for our Wednesdays with Donna Hay group.   I substituted a chuck roast for the brisket.  The recipe called for instant polenta and that was not to be found at the grocery near me.   So I googled polenta and made it from scratch.   It is just cornmeal, water and butter boiled for a few minutes.   It was a delicious addition to the ragu.  Really easy to prepare!  The ragu was so flavorful.  We really loved this recipe.   I cannot wait to eat the leftovers tonight!  The beef was cooked for several hours in the oven with tomatoes, red wine, rosemary, carrots, garlic and onion.  The recipe can be found here https://www.donnahay.com.au/recipes/slow-cooked-beef-ragu Check out what the rest of the group did by clicking here:  https://wwdh.wordpress.com/2015/02/03/slow-cooked-ragu/#comments