Louise's Kitchen
Nibbles

Loaded Hummus Dip
Ingredients: 1 tub Hummus 5 Cherry Tomatoes, chopped ¼ Red Onion, finely chopped ¼ Green Capsicum, chopped ¼ cup Mint Leaves, finely chopped ¼ cup Pinenuts, toasted Extra Virgin Olive Oil, good quality Salt and pepper To serve 1 Continental Cucumber, sliced into diagonal rounds Method: On a flat platter spread out the Hummus with the back of a spoon. Add cherry tomatoes, red onion, green capsicum, mint leaves and pinenuts. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Serve with slices of cucumber on the side.

Classic Slow Cooked Beef Casserole
Here's my no frills, classic beef casserole, which will hit the spot any night of the week! It's even better the next day. This is so sentimental as my mum would make a version of this. Ingredients: 1.8kg beef casserole/chuck steak Olive oil 1 onion 2 carrots 3 stalks celery 3 cloves Garlic, crushed 2 x 400g can Crushed Tomatoes 2L Beef Stock 1/2 cup Red Wine Salt and Pepper Method: Cut beef into large cubes. Heat cast iron pot on stove, add olive oil and brown beef in batches. Put aside. Add more oil into pot and add chopped onion, celery and carrots. Stir and cook for 4-5 mins. Add beef and any juices back into pot. Along with cans of tomatoes, stock and salt and pepper. Stir well. Pop lid on and place in preheated 140°c oven for 4-5 hours. Meat should be falling apart. Serve with mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes.
Vego

Nuoc Cham Dipping Sauce
I love this Vietnamese style sauce (it's pronounced nook-mam) that is awesome for rice paper rolls, pork balls or over an Asian style noodle salad. Ingredients: 3 tbsp fish sauce 1 tbsp white vinegar 1 tbsp caster sugar 2 tbsp lime juice 1 long red chilli, finely chopped 1 garlic cloves, finely Method: Please all the ingredients in a bowl and mix well. Taste some of the sauce to ensure it's seasoned to your liking. If you want it to taste more sour, add more lime juice. If you want it to taste sweeter, add more sugar. Pour into a nice small serving bowl or small serving jug.
Dinner

Baked Chicken Zucchini Patties
I saw these online and adapted them a little. You could also make mini ball shapes and they would be great as a nibble with a dipping sauce. These were super popular when I posted them on my stories. Ingredients: 500g chicken mince 1 medium-large zucchini 1 free range egg, beaten 1/2 cup grated tasty cheese 1 Tblsp onion powder 1 Tblsp garlic powder Salt and pepper Method: In a bowl add chicken mince. Grate zucchini. Squeeze out all moisture. Add zucchini to bowl along with cheese, egg and seasonings. Mix well. Preheat oven to 180°c. Place 1/2 cups full of batter on to an oven tray lined with baking paper. You should get approx 10 patties. Press down patties slightly. Place in fridge for 30 mins to firm up. Remove from fridge and place in oven for 20-25 mins or until golden and cooked through. Serve with sweet chilli sauce and lime.
Vego

Chilli Jam
This is a lot of fun to make and keeps well in the fridge to add on top of your poached eggs, pizza, noodle salads and cheese platters. Thanks to Donna Hay for the inspo. Ingredients: 5 long red chillies, roughly chopped (you can remove the seeds if you like) 1 french eschalot or 1/2 a small red onion, roughly chopped 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped 1 tbs ginger, roughly chopped 2 tbs peanut oil (rice bran or canola if you have an allergy to peanuts) 2 tsp of sesame oil 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar 2 tbs fish sauce 2/3 cup brown sugar Method: Place the chilli, garlic, ginger and eschalot in a small food processor and process until finely chopped (like a paste). Heat the peanut oil and sesame oil in a large non stick fry pan to a medium heat and add the chilli mixture. Cook and stir for approximately 6-8 minutes or until just starting to caramelise. Add the vinegar, fish sauce and brown sugar, stir to combine and allow to bubble away for 3-4 minutes or until slightly thickened. The chilli jam will thicken on cooling. Allow to cool before transferring to a jar or an airtight container. The chilli jam will last up to 3 weeks in the fridge.
Vego

Homemade Basil Pesto
Nothing tastes better than home made from your own kitchen. I had a big bunch of basil so I decided to make this for the first time and now its on rotation! Thanks to Nagi for the inspo. Ingredients: 2 Tbsp pine nuts 2 cups fresh basil leaves, tightly pack measuring cup (this is approx. a whole bunch) 1/2 cup (50g) parmesan, finely grated (tightly pack the cup) 1/2 tsp salt 1/4 tsp black pepper 1 garlic clove, small 7 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil, best quality Method: Preheat small pan over medium high heat (no oil). Add pine nuts and toast until light brown. Let cool slightly. Place all ingredients in a small food processor or hand held blender stick. Blitz until finely chopped and smooth. Store in a super airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days, or freezer for 3 months.
Dinner

Homemade Oven Baked KFC Chicken
This is different to the Hubby Cooks version (you can find that recipe here as well) as there's no yoghurt involved. The fact that it looks like actual KFC just astounds me! Ingredients: 1 kg boneless, skinless chicken thighs 1/2 teaspoon sea salt 3 tablespoons plain flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 11/2 teaspoons Chinese five spice powder Olive Oil Spray Method: Preheat oven to 180°c Cut chicken thighs in half. In a bowl add the rest of the ingredients (except the olive oil spray) Mix well. Add the chicken thighs and toss with tongs so all the chicken is coated well. Place chicken on a lined baking tray in a single layer. Spray with olive oil spray. Cook 25-30 mins or until golden and cooked through.
Sweet

Berry Christmas Pavlova Wreath
After finally mastering how to make a Pav a few years ago, (I was scared of separating eggs!) I always make one for Christmas. This year I've created a wreath shape that will look perfect on any Christmas table. Add any fresh toppings you like that works with your Christmas theme! Ingredients: 6 Holbrook Paddock Eggs, Room Temperature 1 1/2 Cups Caster Sugar 2 Tsp Cornflour 1 1 /2 Tsp White Vinegar 600ml Thickened Cream Mix of Strawberries, Blackberries and Raspberries Icing Sugar Method: Preheat oven to 150.C Draw a 22cm circle on a sheet of non-stick baking paper and place it on a baking tray. Separate eggs (use the yolks for another recipe) Place the egg whites in the bowl of an electric mixer and whisk on high speed until stiff peaks form (about 4 mins) Gradually add the sugar, half a cup at a time, whisking for 30 seconds before adding more. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and whisk for a further 10 minutes or until stiff and glossy. Place the vinegar and cornflour in a small bowl and mix to combine. Add to the meringue and whisk for 2 minutes or until glossy and combined. Place 8 heaped spoonfuls of the meringue mixture on the tray around the circle to create a ring. No need to be too precious with this; the more rustic the better! Reduce the oven temperature to 120°C and bake for 1 hour. Turn the oven off and allow the pavlova to cool completely in the oven with the door closed. (I often leave in overnight for a sleepover!) Whisk cream until soft peaks form and then add generously to top of pavlova wreath. Decorate with berries (or your fave toppings) And don't forget to dust with icing sugar. Serves 6-8.
Nibbles

Roasted Garlic Hummus
I buy a lot of Hummus and recently I decided to make my own. Of course I hit up Nagi and her Recipe Tin cookbook and I'd like think I nailed it! I roasted the garlic to give it an extra sweetness - and it worked! How To Roast Garlic: Heat oven to 210°C Grab a whole bulb of garlic and carefully cut the top off exposing the garlic cloves. Place on a piece of aluminium foil and drizzle garlic with a little oil. Wrap it up with the foil. Place in oven 30 mins. Remove and let cool. For the Hummus: In a small food processor, add 1 can of drained Chickpeas (keep 1/4 cup), 1/4 cup lemon juice, 1/2 cup tahini, 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, squeeze out the roasted garlic from the bulb (this is a bit messy but fun!), salt and pepper. Blitz for 2-3 mins, scraping down sides with a spatula. Add reserved chickpea water and blitz again until combined. Taste and add more lemon or salt and pepper if needed. To serve, smooth a cup of Hummus out onto a platter and add chopped cherry tomatoes, red onion, cucumber and toasted pine nuts, along with the reserved chickpeas. Finish it off by drizzling extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.
Sweet

Raspberry Passionfruit Impossible Pie
I often use this recipe and just change out the flavours. I had plenty of fresh Passionfruit I needed to use. A super simple dessert for the family or a long lunch. Ingredients: 1 cup desiccated coconut 1 cup caster sugar 1/2 cup plain flour 4 eggs, at room temperature 100 g unsalted butter, melted and cooled 1 cup milk 1 punnet fresh Raspberries 2 large Passionfruit icing sugar, to dust Method: Preheat oven to 180°C (160°C fan-forced). Grease a 28 cm (base measurement) ceramic quiche dish. Combine the coconut, sugar and flour in a large bowl. Put the eggs, butter, milk and passionfruit pulp in a separate large bowl and use a balloon whisk to whisk until evenly combined. Add the coconut mixture and stir until just combined. Add the raspberries into the prepared dish and carefully pour in the batter. Bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes or until lightly golden, firm to the touch in the centre, and a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove from the oven and stand the dish on a wire rack for 1 hour or until cooled to room temperature. Place in the fridge for 1 hour or until chilled. Dust with icing sugar and serve chilled with cream or Greek yoghurt mixed with a little honey.
Sweet

Banana Zucchini Bread
This is one of the recipes I made on The Morning Show with Larry & Kylie. It's the Banana Bread that I make on rotation but I added some grated zucchini in for fun! Ingredients: 4 over ripe bananas, masked with a fork ½ cup vegetable oil 3 free range eggs 1 ½ cups brown sugar 1 tsp vanilla extract 1 ½ cups SR Flour 1 tsp ground cinnamon 1 small to medium Zucchini, grated Method: Preheat oven to 180.C Place mashed banana in a large bowl. Add oil, eggs, sugar and vanilla. Mix to combine. Add flour and cinnamon and mix to combine. Do not over mix. With clean hands, squeeze handfuls of the zucchini to remove excess water. Or alternatively place in a clean, dry tea towel and squeeze. Add zucchini to mixture and combine. Grease a loaf tin and line with baking paper. Pour in the mixture. Bake 55-60 minutes or until cooked when tested with a skewer. Cool in tin 5 minutes then place on a wire rack to cool.
Dinner

Lazy Lasagne with Spinach & Ricotta
I've made a version of this many times before but then had the idea of adding spinach and ricotta...and it worked! Ingredients: 2 Tblsp Olive Oil 1 Brown Onion; Chopped 3 Cloves Garlic; Crushed 500g Beef Mince 2 Carrots; Chopped 1 Zucchini; Chopped 2 Tblsp Tomato Paste 700ml Bottle Passata Salt And Pepper 375g Pack Fresh Lasagna Sheets 2 Cups Tasty Cheese; grated 300g Spinach Leaves 250g tub Ricotta Cheese Method: Preheat oven 180.C Heat oil in pan and add onion to cook for 3 mins. Add carrot and zucchini and cook 2 minutes. Add garlic, stir until aromatic. Add beef mince and break up until no lumps. Add tomato paste and passata. Stir and season with salt and pepper. Simmer on low for 20-25 mins. Meanwhile bring a large pot of water up to the boil. Tear lasagna sheets up (the more rustic the better!) and add to water. Cook for 5 minutes until al dente. Add cooked bolognese mixture along with drained lasagne sheets to a large oven dish. Mix well. Turn a sauce pan on to medium heat and add spinach leaves. Slowly let the leaves wilt (won’t take long). Once cooled place in a bowl and add ricotta cheese. Mix well. Now back to the oven dish, add half the grated cheese over bolognese, then add spoonfuls of spinach ricotta mixture on top. Then add the rest of the cheese. Add to a preheated 180 °c oven for 15-20 mins or until golden on top and cheese bubbling.