This month we've pulled together some amazing tips, tricks and secrets from nzgirls all over, to bring you the very best in tried & true recipes for success. Click here to find out more...
Stuck for healthy, nutritious dinner ideas that are easy to make and taste great too? We've got some recipes to help you along...
Herb Grilled Chicken
To make the marinade:
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey
2 tablespoons of chopped tarragon
Marinade 500g chicken breast cut into strips for one hour minimum or overnight for maximum flavour. Place on a baking dish and bake at 180 degrees Celsius until cooked. When cooked the juices in the chicken should be clear.
Rice Salad This is the easiest, tastiest rice dish I’ve made and it always gets rave reviews.
Serves 6-8
1 large onion
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup of basmati rice
½ cup red lentils
3 tablespoons of vinegar
2 teaspoons of chicken stock
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons wholegrain mustard
3 cups boiling water
Chop onion finely and put in microwaveable dish along with garlic and olive oil. Microwave on high for 2 minutes.
Add remaining ingredients and cook for 20 minutes at medium power.
Vegetable Frittata
Serves 4 -6
6 eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 cooked kumara diced into 2 cm pieces
1 cooked potato diced into 2 cm pieces
½ cup cooked mushrooms
½ cup cooked spinach
2 tablespoons parmesan cheese
¼ cup grated edam cheese
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 onion finely diced
1 tablespoon oil
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add herbs, kumara, potato, mushrooms and spinach. Season with ground pepper and the two cheeses. In a fry pan heat oil. Add garlic and cook for a few seconds. Combine into the egg mixture. Put mixture into a large quiche dish. Cook for half an hour or until set.
Serve with a big salad and some crusty bread.
Beef Stroganoff
There’s no recipe for this one – buy a packet of Maggi Beef Stroganoff mixture and follow instructions on the packet. Easy peasy. Serve with rice and steamed green veges.
Chicken and Mushroom Fettuccini
Serves 4
300g of dry fettuccini (about 2/3 of a packet)
1 teaspoon oil
300g chicken breast, skin removed
1 cup of mushrooms
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
375 ml can Carnation evaporated milk light and creamy
1 egg yolk Cook pasta as per instructions on packet. While pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a pan, cut chicken into small pieces and brown in a large frying pan. Add garlic and mushrooms, and cook until chicken is done. Add the Carnation Evaporated Milk and bring to the boil, stirring the mixture. Add the egg yolk and quickly stir in to the mixture. The egg yolk will help thicken the mixture. Add the cooked pasta and mix through the sauce. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Homemade Pizzas Serves 4
These are a really simple dinner and a healthier way to eat pizza. Buy a packet of wholemeal pita breads to use as your pizza base. Spread on tomato paste or pizza sauce. Top with toppings of your choice and sprinkle lightly with grated Edam cheese.
Topping ideas:
Olives
Shredded Chicken (cook before putting on pizza)
Sun dried tomatoes
Shaved Ham
Sliced cooked Mushrooms
Low Fat Bacon
Roasted Red Capsicum
Feta Cheese
Cook in oven at 180 degrees celcius for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Fish Cakes
Serves 4
425g tin of tuna
1 large kumara, mashed with a little milk
1 tablespoon sweet chili sauce
Breadcrumbs (enough to be able to shape the fish into cakes)
Put kumara in a pot of boiling water and cook until tender. Mash with a little milk. Drain tuna well and add to mashed kumara. Add in the chopped onion and sweet chili sauce. Mix together well. Add enough breadcrumbs so you can make patties. Season with salt and pepper. Mould the mixture into patties. Heat around 2 teaspoons of oil in frying pan and cook the fish cakes for 5 -7 minutes, turning only once, until hot and golden. Serve with steamed veges or salad.
Orange Beef Stir Fry
Serves 4
2 cups broccoli florets
2 carrots cut into small batons
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 cloves crushed garlic
Finely grated rind of ½ orange
400g lean beef steak
1 tablespoon oil
200g mushrooms finely diced
2 tbspns oyster sauce
Juice of one orange Steam broccoli and carrots until almost tender. Cool under cold water drain and put aside. Mix ginger, garlic and orange rind through the meat. Heat oil in a wok or large pan. Add meat and mushrooms and stir fry until browned. Mix in cooked vegetables, oyster sauce and orange juice. Mix through with big spoon until heated through. Serve with rice.
2 tsp liquid honey Heat oil in pan over medium heat. Brown chicken, remove from pan. Add vegetables to pan and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. In a bowl combine cornflour, water and CARNATION Light & Creamy Evaporated Milk and mix, Pour mixture into pan and bring to boil, stirring. Return chicken to pan, simmer covered 5 minutes, stir in mustard and honey, serve immediately.
Spinach and Ricotta Cannelloni
Serves 4-5
125g frozen spinach
1 container of ricotta cheese
¼ cup parmesan cheese
¼ cup grated edam cheese
Packet of Cannelloni tubes
1 ½ cups pasta sauce
1 can chopped Italian tomatoes
Place frozen spinach in a medium sized microwave proof bowl and defrost in microwave. Push the spinach with a spoon to remove excess water and pour off. Do this a few times so spinach is not watery. Add the ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese to the spinach and mix together. Season with cracked pepper. Pour the can of tomatoes into an ovenproof dish. Stuff the cannelloni tubes with spinach and ricotta mixture and put on top of tomatoes in dish. When all the tubes are stuffed, pour over the pasta sauce.
Bake at 200 degrees Celsius for 20 – 25 minutes. Take out and sprinkle over ¼ cup of grated edam cheese. Return to oven for another 10 minutes. Serve with steamed vegetables.
Spaghetti Bolognese Serves 4
400g lean beef mice
1 teaspoon oil
1 onion finely chopped
1 400g can chopped tomatoes
1 grated zucchini
1 grated carrot
1 500g can of pasta sauce
1 packet of spaghetti
Heat the oil in a fry pan. Add chopped onion and cook until tender. Add in mince and cook until browned. Add the can of chopped tomatoes, grated zucchini and carrot. Simmer for 15 minutes. Add can of pasta sauce and heat for a further 5 minutes. While beef mixture is simmering, cook spaghetti as per instructions on packet. Drain spaghetti, serve into bowls and add bolognaise on top. Sprinkle with a little parmesan cheese
Homemade burgers Serves 4 - 5
300g lean beef mince
1 egg
3 tablespoons of BBQ sauce
1 tablespoon tomato sauce
Ground pepper
½ teaspoon Paprika (optional)
Burger buns
Salads of your choice to add to burger buns
Put all ingredients in a big bowl and mix with hands until combined. Add breadcrumbs until mixture is at a consistency suitable to roll into balls. Roll the mixture into balls and then flatten to make into hamburger patties. Cook in a hot frying pan until cooked through. Serve the patties in burger buns with sliced cheese, lettuce, tomato and beetroot along with tomato relish and low fat mayonnaise.
Grilled fish and Wedges
This is an easy one. Buy a packet of crumbed fish and a packet of potato wedges from the supermarket. Look for ones with the heart foundation tick. Cook as per instructions and serve with a fresh salad.
Bean and Beef Wraps
Serves 4 -5
300g premium beef mince (lower fat than regular mince)
1 onion diced
1 425g can of kidney beans drained
1 sachet of burrito seasoning
Packet of burrito wraps
To serve:
Lettuce
Tomato
Low fat sour cream
Grated cheese Brown mince in a large frying pan. Drain any fat and water. Add diced onion and cook till soft. Add the drained kidney beans and mix into the mince. Next add the burrito seasoning as per instructions on the packet. Simmer until mince is cooked. Place the beef and bean mix in the burritos with lettuce, tomato, sour cream and a sprinkle of grated cheese and roll up.
Stuffed Potatoes
Serves 4
4 medium potatoes, washed with skins on.
1 tablespoon milk
1 teaspoon margarine
Spring onion
Ham
¼ cup grated low fat cheese
Prick potatoes several times with a fork. Cook in microwave uncovered for 12 minutes or until tender when pricked with fork. Gently cut the top of the potato and leave to cool a little for 5 minutes. Carefully scoop out the potato from the skin, being careful not to break the skin. Put the scooped out potato into a bowl and mash with the milk and margarine. Chop spring onion finely, add some chopped ham and half the grated cheese and mix in with the mashed potatoes. Spoon into the potato skins. Sprinkle the remaining grated cheese and microwave again for 3 minutes.
Serve with Herb Grilled Chicken (recipe #1 )
Mexicana Baked Potatoes
Serves 4
4 medium potatoes washed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion finely diced
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
1 x 425g can of chilli beans
1 x 425g can of chopped tomatoes
Prick potatoes several times with a fork. Cook in microwave on high for about 12 minutes or until potatoes are tender. While potatoes are cooking, prepare filling. Heat the oil in a frypan and cook the onion and garlic until soft. Add the chilli beans and chopped tomatoes. Cut a cross shape in the potatoes and gently pull apart a little. Fill with the bean mixture and top with a little grated cheese and low fat sour cream. Serve with coleslaw.
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1 large onion
Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius. Beat eggs in a large bowl. Add herbs, kumara, potato, mushrooms and spinach. Season with ground pepper and the two cheeses. In a fry pan heat oil. Add garlic and cook for a few seconds. Combine into the egg mixture. Put mixture into a large quiche dish. Cook for half an hour or until set. 
Put kumara in a pot of boiling water and cook until tender. Mash with a little milk. Drain tuna well and add to mashed kumara. Add in the chopped onion and sweet chili sauce. Mix together well. Add enough breadcrumbs so you can make patties. Season with salt and pepper. Mould the mixture into patties. Heat around 2 teaspoons of oil in frying pan and cook the fish cakes for 5 -7 minutes, turning only once, until hot and golden. Serve with steamed veges or salad.
proof bowl and defrost in microwave. Push the spinach with a spoon to remove excess water and pour off. Do this a few times so spinach is not watery. Add the ricotta cheese and parmesan cheese to the spinach and mix together. Season with cracked pepper. Pour the can of tomatoes into an ovenproof dish. Stuff the cannelloni tubes with spinach and ricotta mixture and put on top of tomatoes in dish. When all the tubes are stuffed, pour over the pasta sauce. 
Prick potatoes several times with a fork. Cook in 
Prick potatoes several times with a fork. Cook in microwave on high for about 12 minutes or until potatoes are tender. While potatoes are cooking, prepare filling. Heat the oil in a frypan and cook the onion and garlic until soft. Add the chilli beans and chopped tomatoes. Cut a cross shape in the potatoes and gently pull apart a little. Fill with the bean mixture and top with a little grated cheese and low fat sour cream. Serve with coleslaw.