Recipes for fresh vegies

A FEW EASY RECIPES YOU CAN COOK WITH YOUR CHILDREN

Winter is upon us and it’s been cold and wet, so I thought I would share a few winter meals we have enjoyed, mainly using vegetables from our winter garden. These meals are quick and easy and our children and their friends enjoy helping to prepare a meal. They also learn about the health benefits of eating fruit and vegetables.

Nowadays many people choose to buy organic vegetables but by growing your own you can decide what chemicals, if any to use on your plants.

I have added a few photos of the children and their friends, picking vegetables, cooking and eating their meals.

Mince recipe
Meat Patties
Vegetable Soup
Roast Vegetable Chips

INTRODUCTION TO MINCE

I love using mince because it is so versatile and affordable and there are so many ways to prepare it. Mince can be a great way of camouflaging vegetables for little people who do not eat veggies. (Or, not that they know about.)

I have made a bulk amount of this basic recipe and you will see there are many ways to alter it by adding different ingredients.

Mince recipe

2 kg mince
2 packets soup mix (onion/oxtail/mushroom)
2 beef Oxo cubes
2 cloves garlic
2 onions
tomato sauce/puree/pasta sauce
carrot, cabbage
spinach, silver beet
parsley
beetroot, broccoli
vegetable stock

Utilise whatever vegetables you have on hand–in summer use fresh tomatoes and in winter try using frozen ones.

I make my own vegetable stock by saving the water I have cooked vegetables in and freezing any surplus.

Wash and scrub your vegetables, then either grate or cut up finely. (A food processor makes short work of this and children love using them because they are noisy and fast.)

Place prepared vegetables in a large pot, add the mince, salt and pepper, soup mix, half a cup of tomato puree and any fresh herbs you may have on hand such as parsley, chives, basil and oregano.

MIX ALL TOGETHER WELL.

Divide mixture into two equal amounts and put one half aside.

To cook the mince add extra tomato sauce/pasta sauce or puree and enough vegetable stock so that you have approximately 1 to 1 and a 1/2 litres of liquid. Cook on medium heat for 1 to 1and 1/2 hours or until it is well cooked.

This mince can be served on rice or toast.

VARIATIONS

Spaghetti Bolognaise by serving on noodles or spaghetti with grated cheese and sour cream
Lasagne by layering mince with lasagne sheets and cheese sauce
Chilli con carne by adding extra chilli and chilli beans
Nachos by adding chilli beans and serving on nacho chips with grated cheese and sour cream
Meat loaf by adding sausage meat and grated apple

As you can see there are many ways to use mince so experiment and enjoy.
One word of caution, children need close supervision when working near the hot stove or stirring hot food.

Even our little two year old wants to help cook

Cooking mince in pot and Meat Patties in the Electric Frypan

MEAT PATTIES

Using second portion of mince mixture

2 eggs
1 cup cornflakes/weetbix/bread crumbs. (Utilise the crumbs left in the bottom of cereal packets and bread crusts can be dried and made into crumbs)

Mix all well together and form into patties.

Cook in a well oiled electric fry pan on medium heat for 15 to 20minutes until they are well cooked on both sides. They can also be baked in the oven, 20 to 30 minutes at 180c.

Or they can be cooked in a very well greased grill press.

VARIATIONS

These patties can be eaten in hamburger buns, pita bread or tortillas
Meat patties can be served with mashed potatoes and vegetables
Meat patties can also be served on top noodles in a richly flavoured tomato pasta sauce or with saved gravy

Experiment and try using some of your favourite flavourings such as garlic or chilli seasoning.

Rolling up the Mince into Meat Patties

Helping Turn over meat patties

VEGETABLE SOUP

3 carrots
3 parsnips
1/4 pumpkin
parsley silver beet
1 cup broccoli side shoots
2 cloves garlic
2 potatoes
2 onions
2 litres vegetable stock
2 packets of soup mix, mushroom/chicken/onion
salt to taste

You can vary the flavour by adding extra vegetables e.g. pumpkin, carrots.

Process all vegetables in a food processor or grate by hand and finely chop the silver beet, broccoli, leeks and onions.

Place all vegetables in stockpot and cover with stock. Add a little salt and the packets of soup mix.

Cook on medium heat for one to 2 hours until vegetables are well cooked. You may need to add extra boiling water if the soup becomes too thick. Stir frequently. Taste and adjust seasoning before serving.

During winter we often cook this soup on the flat plate on the wood burner and eat the soup with home made bread, cut into chunks for dunking.

This also makes a great after school fill up for the children and their friends before they go off to their after school activities.

VARIATIONS

Chicken and noodles
Roast lamb bones along with some left over roast lamb
Beef bones
Tomato and bacon
Barley and lentils can also be added but the soup will take a longer cooking time

Experiment and enjoy.

Vegies on chopping board are all from our winter garden

Adding soup mix

ROAST VEGETABLE CHIPS

5 potatoes
2 onions
2 tablespoons rock salt
2 cloves garlic
oil
3 parsnips
4 carrots
¼ pumpkin
8 yams
6 beetroot
2 tablespoons rosemary

Cut vegetables into small cubed bits. You can vary the amount of each vegetable to suit your taste. Pour enough olive oil into roasting dish to cover the base and coat the vegetables. Sprinkle with rock salt. Roast in a 200c oven for 1 to 1and 1/2 hours, turning while cooking. (I usually do this and also remove dish from oven)

It is amazing how children enjoy cooking if they are given the opportunity and they are ten times more likely to eat vegetables if they have grown, picked and cooked them themselves.

Give it a try.

Cutting up vegetables into chunks

Vegetable chips