Key Lime Pie

I have a guest blogger joining me today - my sister, Angela - also known as Jimmy.  She's a great cook and is always up for trying new things - like this Key Lime Pie (or KLP as we affectionately call it!) - she whipped up for a family dinner.  It was scrumptious!  Anyway, here she is...

"A fresh, easy and super tasty dessert.  I first came across Key Lime Pie in season 3 of 'Dexter' - when Dexter visits an old family friend in hospital, and her final wish is for the perfect piece of Key Lime Pie - a very American dessert!

After some recipe searching on Taste.com.au I found this recipe. The few times I've baked it, it's been a big hit. A great summer dessert - perfect for when the lime tree is full!"

Ingredients (serves 6)
250g ‘Nice’ biscuits
100g butter, melted
4 eggs, lightly beaten
395g can condensed milk
2/3 cup (160ml) cream
Finely grated rind and juice of 4 limes

Method
Preheat oven to 170°C. Line base of a 20cm springform tin with baking paper.

Process biscuits until fine crumbs. Add butter, process until combined. Press mixture firmly into the base and 3cm up sides of tin. Refrigerate.

Whisk eggs, milk, cream, lime rind and juice until smooth. Pour into biscuit crust.

Place on tray and bake for 40-45 mins or until set. Cool. Serve with extra lime slices and whipped cream.

Gluten-Free Muesli Slice

I was searching for a gluten-free slice to take along to a group and found this one in the "Generous Helping" cook book.  As I was making it, I started to wonder if oats really are gluten free.  I found this interesting explanation online, which was a perfect answer to the question.  So, for the 1 in 5 people who are gluten free but CAN'T eat oats, I'm sorry - this recipe is not for you!  But for everyone else, it's fabulous!  I've included the nuts in this recipe, but I didn't add them, just so I could keep it gluten, nut and egg-free.  I hope you enjoy this one!  You can hear Liam & Robbie's review at the bottom of this post!

Ingredients
400g tin condensed milk
2 1/2 cups rolled oats
3/4 cup raw peanuts
1 cup mixed seeds (eg pumpkin, sesame, sunflowers)
3/4 dried fruit (eg sultanas, apricots, raisins, cranberries)
3/4 cup desiccated coconut

Method
Preheat oven to 150 degrees celsius.  Line a 20cm square tin with baking paper.

Place the condensed milk in a glass bowl and warm in the microwave (about 30 seconds).  Add remaining ingredients and mix well.

Press mixture into the tin and bake for 1 hour or until golden brown.

Creamy Salmon Pasta

This is another one of those genius mummy moments I had - despite this meal being one threw together using some leftover salmon & cream cheese. You (and the kids) won't believe this delicious, creamy meal is so low in calories! It comes in at just 165 calories per serve - so hard to believe! That's using the slim pasta, but it's still low-cal if you use any old pasta. Fab for the whole family!  Plus hear Liam & Robbie's review below :-)

Ingredients
1/2 large cauliflower, chopped
125g low-fat cream cheese
Olive oil spray
1 red onion, chopped
1clove garlic, crushed
1 tablespoon whole grain mustard
100g smoked salmon
500g slim pasta (I used fettuccini) or 200g any standard pasta
1/2 broccoli, chopped

Method
Steam cauliflower then purée with a hand-held blender or food processor. Add cream cheese & combine.

Steam broccoli. Cook pasta if necessary.

Heat a frying pan over medium heat and spray with oil. Add onion & garlic and sauté until soft & brown. Add mustard and cook 1 minute.

Add smoked salmon & cauliflower mixture and stir. Add broccoli & pasta and stir to combine. Serve.

Honey Soy Chicken Skewers

You can always buy marinated chicken skewers from the shops - but it really is quick, easy and cheap to make your own! You generally pay at least $1 per skewer, but these come in at about 50 cents, so it's definitely good value! And it's only 55 calories per skewer. Kids seem to love food on sticks, so give it a go!

Ingredients (serves 4)
400g chicken breast, diced
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon ginger, grated
Spray olive oil
Salad (I used cucumber, corn & capsicum)

Method
Combine soy sauce, honey & ginger in a bowl. Add diced chicken. Cover and marinade for a couple of hours or overnight.

Thread onto 8 bamboo skewers (soak skewers in water before use, so they don't burn). Cook on a barbecue or grill pan until brown & cooked through. Serve with salad.

Pizza Dough

I love a good home-made pizza and had been going for the convenience of store-bought bases.  But sometimes I just feel like getting my hands into some dough - for some reason, I find it really satisfying to make things with proper yeast!  So I got this recipe from my new favourite Facebook page - Bread & Butter Mum.  It makes enough for 2 bases, so I put half in the freezer and we used it a week later.  It's a great recipe and I know you'll love it too!  The finished product below is caramelised onion, roast sweet potato & cheese - it was DIVINE!!!

Makes 2 x 32cm diameter pizzas.

Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups plain flour
3 tsp dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
3/4 cup warm water
3 tblsp olive oil

Method
Sprinkle yeast and sugar over water, cover and stand in a warm place for 15mins until frothy.

Mix flour and a pinch of salt and pepper in a bowl.

Add olive oil to yeast/water mix and add all this to the flour mix. It should be a moist dough so add a little extra water if needed. Cover and stand in a warm place for 30mins or doubled in bulk.

Heat oven to 250* Celcius with a pizza stone or oven tray in it so it gets nice and hot.

Divide dough in a half and using a generous amount of flour roll out into your pizza base. Put on top of stone or tray and cover with pizza sauce cheese etc whatever you like. Bake for 15mins or until golden brown.

Chocolate Chickpea Cake

Well, today is my 27th Birthday - yay!!!  I love birthdays and love the opportunity to do fun things and spend time with special people!  The hubby, kids & I are heading off on a little mini-break today, so we celebrated with family last night.  I left the menu completely up to mum, and she excelled herself as usual!  For main course, she made this, as she knows Mexican is my current favourite.

And for dessert, she brought out a delicious chocolate cake.  It wasn't until after we'd eaten, that she revealed exactly what it was.  We were all shocked and amazed!  I would have NEVER guessed that it had chickpeas in it and I couldn't even taste the orange juice!  Mum used dextrose instead of the sugar listed below - it really wasn't sweet, but just had that deep, beautiful flavour of a cocoa-rich dark chocolate.  The nuts are optional (we had walnuts) and you could also use dark chocolate chips instead of the cocoa.  The cherry sauce (listed below) just gives it that extra texture and flavour - a real winner!

This one is worth a try - you'll be amazed!

Ingredients
400g can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
2/3 cup orange juice
4 eggs
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup cocoa
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup hazelnuts or walnuts, roasted and crushed

Method
Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius/160 fan-forced.  Blend chickpeas and orange juice in a food processor.  Add eggs, one at a time.  Add all other ingredients and combine.  Bake in a round 8 or 9-inch tin for 45 minutes.  Let cool in tin.

Cherry Sauce
2 cups frozen cherries
1 teaspoon sugar
1/8 teaspoon cornstarch

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over low heat.  Simmer for 15 minutes.  Spread over cake and serve.

Nana's special helper!

Hedgehog Slice

I had a spare packet of Scotch Finger biscuits in the cupboard, so decided to make this quick and easy, no-bake slice.  I omitted the nuts and the egg and it came out perfectly!  The only advice I'd give is to let it chill before spreading the icing over - mine was still a bit crumbly when I was trying to ice it.  All in all, a quick, easy and yummy slice - thanks to www.kidspot.com.au for the recipe!

Ingredients
250g packet Scotch Finger biscuits
¾ cup chopped pecans (or walnuts or almonds)
1 cup sultanas
125g butter
125g caster sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
2 tbsp coconut
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg, lightly beaten

Icing
1½ cups icing sugar
2 tbsp cocoa
2-3 tbsp water

Method
Grease a slice tin with butter.

Crush biscuits either by hand or in a food processor, leaving some lumps (I just broke them into a bowl then crushed with the base of a drinking glass).

Add nuts, sultanas, cocoa and coconut.

In a small saucepan or the microwave, melt butter, then stir in sugar, and vanilla.

Stir through biscuit mixture and then stir in egg.

Press into tin with the back of a spoon.

Put a bit of cold water on your fingers to press down the top so it is smooth.

To make icing, combine icing sugar and cocoa in a bowl and stir in enough water to form a spreadable paste.

Spread icing over slice and refrigerate overnight (this makes slicing much easier).

Cut into squares.

Zucchini & Haloumi Fritters

This recipe is from a Coles magazine - I loooove haloumi, so I thought these were delicious!  Just under 300 calories per serve (including salad), so they're a real winner :-)

Ingredients (serves 4)
1/2 cup self raising flour
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
1 carrot, grated
1 zucchini, grated
1/2 cup corn kernels
200g Haloumi, grated
Olive oil spray
1/4 iceberg lettuce, shredded
1/2 cucumber, chopped

Method
Place flour, milk, egg and parsley in a bowl. Stir to combine. Add vegetables and Haloumi and mix well.

Heat a spray of oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Spoon heaped tablespoons of mixture into the pan and cook fritters for 2-3 minutes each side, until golden and cooked through. Drain on a paper towel.

Combine lettuce and cucumber. Drizzle over salad dressing if you wish. Serve with fritters.

Good Food & Wine Show

Today I was fortunate enough to get complimentary tickets to the Good Food & Wine Show in Brisbane.  What a fantastic day out!  I went along with my sister Angela, as well as my big girl, Hope.  We had a blast, sampled a huge variety of foods, sipped on some wines and generally had a lot of fun!  The show's still running for another day, so if you have the chance, definitely get down and check it out!  Here's our day in pictures...

First up, the Celebrity Theatre, where we saw Manu Fieldel in action.  His food looked and smelled amazing and he was a lot of fun! Loved the bean bags at the front for the kids! 

Hope's main request was for yoghurt - so we sampled every yoghurt there!  Delicious, creamy & smooth - she gave it the big thumbs up!  Hope also loved the cheese section (bottom right), where we tasted amazing feta, ricotta and haloumi.

Enjoying an amazing Butter Chicken (top), a glass of wine (bottom left) and my lovely friend Belle working at the Chilli Chocolate stand (bottom right).

At the "Skinny Girl" stand!

Some of the wares on offer 

Goodies I came home with - heaps of freebies and some great show specials !

Chicken Stir-fry with Egg Noodles

This recipe is a fantastic one from Curtis Stone.  It's a Coles "Feed your family for $10" one - so straight up, we know it's cheap and family-friendly.  It's low-calorie too - just 298 calories per serve and DELICIOUS! The original recipe uses prawns, but I substituted chicken and it worked really well - you'll love this one!

Ingredients (serves 4)
Olive oil spray
1/2 medium brown onion
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, finely chopped
1/2 red chilli, thinly sliced
1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
1 1/4 cups pineapple juice
1/4 cup tomato sauce
2 tablespoons soy sauce
4 teaspoons brown sugar
200g egg or Singapore noodles
400g chicken breast, cut into strips
1 carrot, peeled and thinly sliced
1 red capsicum, thinly sliced
200g Chinese cabbage

Method
Heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat and cook onion for 3 minutes, until softened. Add the ginger and chilli and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add vinegar, pineapple juice, sauces and sugar and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until sauce reduces to 1 cup. Remove from heat.

While sauce is reducing, cook noodles according to packet directions.

Place a wok over high heat and spray with oil. Add chicken and cook until browned lightly. Add carrot and capsicum and cook for another 2 minutes. Add wombok and cook for 1 minute, until wilted.

Add the sauce and noodles and toss well. Serve.

Beef & Cabbage Stir Fry

I'm a real wok kind of girl - I love cooking with it and it always seems to end in delicious results! So imagine my devastation a few weeks ago when my el-cheapo wok broke :-( But - there's a happy ending - www.kitchenwaredirect.com.au to the rescue! This wonderful company saved the day and provided me with this shiny new wok, and I'm in love.

I started out using an electric wok, but since getting a gas stovetop, have enjoyed using a stovetop one, but have opted for the cheaper ones. Well, this step up has blown my socks off! It is huge, non-stick (and this non-stick actually means non-stick!), it's dishwasher safe (LOVE!) and cooks superbly.

In the last week that I've had my new wok, I've used it to make: a stir fry, chow mein, caramelised onion jam, a chickpea and vegetable curry and spaghetti bolognese. Let's just say, I have a new best friend! Thankyou Kitchenware Direct! (And I hope you enjoy the step-by-step photos!)

Anyway, onto today's recipe - this one came from www.taste.com.au. It's a weeknight winner - quick and easy and the kids ate it all. It came in at just 260 calories per serve for 4 serves, but I ended up getting 5 serves out of it, so it was even less than that, but really filling at the same time.  And what did Liam & Robbie think?  Check out the Family Show Taste Test below!

Ingredients
olive oil spray
1 onion, finely chopped
3 sticks celery, finely diced
400g lean beef mince or pork mince
45g packet chicken noodle soup
1/2 cup long-grain rice, raw
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup water
1/2 chinese cabbage, finely shredded

Method
Heat oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.

Add mince and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, for 4 to 5 minutes.

Add soup, rice, curry powder, chicken stock and water. Season with salt and pepper. Stir until well-combined. Bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, covered, for 25 minutes.

Remove lid and place shredded cabbage over top of mince mixture. Cook, covered, for 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir through cabbage and serve immediately.

And how did Liam & Robbie rate it?  Listen to the Family Show Taste Test here:

Chicken Potato Curry

This recipe from Good Taste Magazine is fast, fresh, healthy and easy - a perfect weeknight meal!  And only 250 calories per serve.

Ingredients (serves 4)
2 tsp olive oil
500g coliban (washed) potatoes, cut into 2cm chunks
2 medium brown onions, halved, thinly sliced
1 tbs curry powder
500g chicken thigh fillets, trimmed of excess fat, cubed
250mls (1 cup) vegetable stock
125mls (1/2 cup) water
250g green beans, trimmed, halved diagonally
225g (1 1/2 cups) frozen peas
1/2 cup fresh coriander leaves, washed, dried
2 naan bread, to serve

Method
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add potatoes, onions and curry powder and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes.

Increase heat to high, add chicken and cook for 3 minutes. Add stock, water, and beans. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Add the peas and cook for a further 5 minutes. Stir through the coriander. Warm naan bread following packet directions. Serve the curry with warm naan bread.

Zucchini Choc Chip Muffins

From the mum who brought you the delicious recipe for Apple & Oat Muffins, comes a new and delicious recipe! Anisia is back with another family-friendly winner :-)

"Thought I'd send through this recipe I found (and slightly altered) from allrecipes.com. Both of my kids (now 16 months and 2.5 years) are very picky eaters and my biggest struggle is getting them to eat vegetables!! Soooo, I searched around for a recipe that would mask some veg for them. I found these Zucchini Chocolate Chip Muffins! Chocolate is a special treat in our house (for the kids that is!!!) so they were very excited about these. My eldest started by picking away at the choc chips but then ended up eating the rest of it anyway. He also ate his sister's leftovers. I consider this a big success!!!!"

Ingredients
1 1/2 Cups plain flour
1 tsp Baking powder
1/2 Cup Raw sugar
1 tsp Carb soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 Cup vegetable oil
1/4 Cup milk
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 Cup finely grated zucchini
1/2 Cup chocolate chips
1/2 Cup chopped walnuts (I used almond meal as i didn't have walnuts)

Directions
Preheat oven to 180 degrees C. Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with patty pans. Alternatively, you could use mini muffin pans (makes 24).

Combine flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Mix egg, oil, milk, lemon juice, and vanilla extract in another bowl; stir into dry ingredients until just moistened. Fold in zucchini, chocolate chips, and walnuts. Fill prepared muffin cups 2/3 full.

Bake in preheated oven until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 15-20 minutes.

Vanilla (and Chocolate) Kisses

A simple, gorgeous little treat that's sure to impress!  You can spice these up with some flavour variations - my suggestions are at the bottom of the recipe.  But most importantly - what did Liam & Robbie think?  Listen to their controversial verdict in the Family Show Taste Test below!

Ingredients
125g butter, softened
1/2 cup caster sugar
1egg
1/3 cup plain flour
1/4 cup self-raising flour
2/3 cup corn flour
1/4 cup custard powder

Vienna cream
60g butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup icing sugar
2 teaspoons milk

Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius (180 fan-forced). Line oven trays with baking paper.

Beat butter, sugar and egg in small bowl with electric mixer until light and fluffy. Stir in sifted dry ingredients, in two batches.

Spoon mixture into piping bag fitted with 1cm-fluted tube. Pipe 3cm rosettes on trays, about 3cm apart.

Bake biscuits about 10 minutes; cool on trays.

Make Vienna cream: beat butter and extract in small bowl with electric mixer until as white as possible; gradually beat in sifted icing sugar and milk, in two batches.

Sandwich biscuits with Vienna cream (I like to pipe it on).

Variations: mix 2 tablespoons cocoa with 2 tablespoons water and add to mixture at the end. Flavour Vienna cream with essence like strawberry, coconut or peppermint instead of vanilla.


How did Liam & Robbie rate them?  Here's the Family Show Taste Test:

Chai Tea

My dear friend Anita made this Chai for our mum's group a couple of weeks ago and I was so impressed!  She even sent us each home with our own little sample (which didn't last too long in my house!)  It is so easy to make, then you can just keep it on hand in a container in the fridge and spice up your standard cup of tea - perfect!

Ingredients
2 teaspoons honey
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
395g can sweetened condensed milk

English breakfast tea bags

Method

Combine honey, spices and milk in a small bowl.  Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate.

Make a cup of tea, discard tea bag and stir in 1 teaspoon of the spiced milk mixture.  Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Choc Chip Biscuits

Not much to say but these are amazing!  Thanks to Canary Girl for the recipe!

Ingredients
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt
1 cup chocolate chips

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375ºF (175ºC).  Line a cookie sheet or two with parchment.

Cream butter and sugars until creamy, then add egg and vanilla and beat until smooth.  Add Peanut butter and continue to beat until combined.

Add flour, baking powder and salt and stir to combine.  Add chips and stir again.

Drop small spoonfuls of dough onto parchment.  Bake 12 minutes or until just golden.

Remove from oven and allow to rest on the sheet 1 minute before removing with a spatula.

Sweet & Sour Meatballs

This recipe came from a book called "A Generous Helping", which is an ABC publication that came out post-floods last year.  I decided to try this one and it was super tasty - sweet and sour really is a winning flavour combo!  I'm never very good at meatballs, they always seem to fall apart on me.  These ones were not too bad, but I did have a few crumble!  Most importantly, kids LOVE meatballs and it's a great way to get lots of veges in.  The rice adds a bit of crunch and texture - although I was a little confused as to whether the rice should have been pre-cooked - can anyone shed some light?  Hubby thought it was just fine raw, so I'm happy to leave it like that!  This serves 4 and comes in at 325 calories per serve.  The original recipe suggests serving with spaghetti, but I didn't find it necessary.

Ingredients
Meatballs
500g lean beef mince
50g brown rice
1 onion, grated
1 carrot, grated
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
salt and pepper
olive oil spray

Sauce
400g tin tomato soup
1/4 cup cider vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 capsicum, finely chopped

Method
Combine all of the meatball ingredients (except oil) in a bowl and form into small balls.  Heat oil in a large frying pan and saute until browned on all sides - this may need to be done in batches.

For the sauce, combine all ingredients in a saucepan and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes.  Remove cover and simmer a further 5 minutes.  Add the meatballs to the sauce and heat through before serving.

Mediterranean Chicken with Cous Cous (& the Kidsafe Cook-off!!)

 Today I had the honour and pleasure of cooking in Brisbane's King George Square for the annual Kidsafe Cook-off!  Kidsafe is a wonderful organisation, focussing on preventing unintentional death injury to kids, for which I am an ambassador - yay!

The 96five "Mums in the Kitchen"

Anyway, they hold an annual cook-off to raise awareness and to have some fun!  I was in a team with 3 of my workmates - Anny, Amy and Anna - and we were aptly called 96five Mums in the Kitchen!  The judges were celebrity chefs Dominique Rizzo and Damian Heads - who are also Kidsafe Ambassadors, and all-round great people!

Getting some pointers from Damian Heads

The challenge had two parts - firstly, Damian gave a cooking demonstration of his Mediterranean Chicken (recipe below), then we had 30 minutes to cook it ourselves.  The second part was a mystery box, where we were given several ingredients and had 20 minutes to create two desserts.

Our delightful desserts!

We had such a great time!  Unfortunately our team didn't win, but it really was a blast!  I was so proud of food we made and the team effort - we'll just have to keep practicing for next year!

Dom & Damian judging the mains

So here's Damian's recipe - as best I could remember it!  It was absolutely delicious and would make a perfect weeknight meal that the whole family will love.  Thanks again to everyone involved today!

Ingredients
Olive oil
2 chicken breasts
1 red onion, chopped
1/2 zucchini, diced
1 red capsicum, diced
1 teaspoon chilli paste
1 teaspoon crushed garlic
3/4 cup passata
1/2 cup olives, pitted and sliced
2 teaspoons basil paste
3/4 cup cous cous
15g butter

Method
Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat.  Place seasoned chicken in pan and cook for approx 10 minutes, until golden brown.  Add onion and turn chicken over.  Cook for another 5 minutes.  Add chilli, garlic, zucchini, capsicum and passata and cook, covered for about another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, boil 3/4 cup water.  Add a pinch of salt and a splash of oil.  Take off heat, add cous cous, cover and stand for 5 minutes.  Add butter and fluff with a fork until butter is melted and there are no lumps.

Remove chicken from pan.  Add olives and basil to vegetables and toss to combine.  Slice chicken.

Arrange cous cous on plate, followed by chicken and vegetables.  Season with salt and pepper and a drizzle of oil.  Serve.

Roast Vegetables with Creamy Spinach Polenta

This recipe is adapted from the Women's Weekly Best Recipes book. It would have to be one of the most filling low-calorie meals I've had (just 240 calories per serve!) We all really loved this one, kids included - it really ticks all the boxes for me! Oh and try not to get so preoccupied with making pasta necklaces for your kids that you let the milk boil over on the stove and have a huge mess to clean up - sigh...happens to the best of us!

Ingredients ingredients (serves 4)
2 zucchini, diced
300g pumpkin, diced
1 cup sliced mushroom
2 cloves garlic, crushed
Olive oil spray
1 tablespoon Moroccan seasoning
2 cups low-fat milk
2 cups water
1 cup polenta
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
250g frozen spinach, thawed

Method
Preheat oven to 220 degrees Celsius/200 fan-forced.

Combine zucchini, pumpkin, mushrooms, garlic and seasoning in a large baking dish. Spray with olive oil. Roast for about 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Meanwhile, combine the milk and water in large saucepan; bring to the boil. Gradually add polenta, stirring constantly. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring, about 5 minutes or until polenta thickens.  Stir in cheese and spinach.

Divide between plates; top with roast veges.  Sprinkle with extra Parmesan if you like.

Chicken, leek & pumpkin lasagne

This is a tasty lasagne dish that's light on calories but big on flavour!

Ingredients (serves 4 at 280 calories per serve)
400g pumpkin, cubed
Olive oil spray
250g chicken breast, cubed
2 leeks (white part only), sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
15g whole grain mustard
1 cup mushrooms, sliced
150g low-fat ricotta
2 teaspoons dried oregano
50g finely grated Parmesan
3 fresh lasagne sheets (150g)

Method
Preheat oven to 200 degrees Celsius/220 fan-forced. Spray pumpkin with olive oil and place in a baking dish. Roast for about 25 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, heat a frying pan over medium heat and spray with olive oil. Add leek and garlic and sauté until soft. Add chicken and cook until browned. Add mustard and mushroom and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Combine ricotta with oregano.

Layer ingredients in a a lasagne dish - begin with 1 lasagne sheet, top with half the pumpkin and half the chicken mixture. Follow with another lasagne sheet, half the ricotta and half the pumpkin. Finish with remaining ricotta, chicken and then Parmesan.

Bake in moderate oven for about 30 minutes or until browned.