Boiled Mud Crabs

I took the plunge the other day and purchased two live mud crabs even though I didn't have a clue what I was going to do with them. Like I said it was an urge! Whilst in the seafood shop in Springvale, prior to the purchase, I questioned one of the employees about what to do with the crabs. The asian man gave me a graphic detail of killing the crabs with a knife, cleaning and then stirfry in sambal sauce as "you look like a girl who likes sambal". Don't know where that comment came from. Then over came an older asian lady who yelled "don't take the string off until it's dead!" Looking at the claws I could see that was good advice!

I spent several hours of reading up on mud crabs, googling mud crabs and even speaking to friends about the best way to cook them and finally decided just to cook and eat them 'a la natural'. This decision wasn't because it was the easiest option but it was so we could see if we truly like the flavour of the mud crab as we had recently had a bad experience with tinned crab!

During my research, I also found out that the most hummane way to kill a crab wasn't to stab it as told but to put the crabs in the freezer for as long as it takes for them to not move completely, somewhat in a frozen state and then proceed with cooking. I must say I liked this option.

The mud crabs themselves were beautiful in flavour and will definitely be cooked again. As with all crabs they are very fiddly to eat but worth the effort.

Boiled Mud Crabs

Serves: 2

Points per 100g: 1

2 mud crabs 800 - 1000 grams each

salt

ice/iced water

lemon wedges

Place the live mud crabs in the freezer for 30 - 45 minutes for a 800 gram crab, longer if required.

In the meantime bring a huge pot of salted water to the boil. One the crabs no longer move place in the water and boil for 15 minutes per 800 grams.

Fill a large bucket or sink with water and ice. Once crab is cooked place the crab directly into the iced water and leave for a further 15 minutes to cool completely.

Remove from iced water and drain. Cut crab into pieces or serve as desired.

Serve with lemon wedges and Seafood Cocktail Sauce or other dipping sauce of your choice.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Chicken and Prawn Mornay

Firstly I have to apologize for my spasmotic blogging of late.. we have been quite busy especially with the new arrival of Daniel, a second boy for Noel's brother Sean and his wife Vicky and another nephew for us and a cousin for the kids. Needless to say went to visit both Daniel and Vicky last night at the hospital and I am only getting to blog last night's dinner this morning. Plus we haven't eaten out a few times recently leaving me not cooking anything to blog!

We had planned to have left over spaghetti bolognaise from the night before upon returning from the hospital. The kids had a bowl ful before we left but I must admit I am not a fan of leftover dinners. Don't get me wrong I eat them for lunch or freeze for lunches but I don't really enjoy eating the same dinner two nights in a row... not sure why I just don't.

Needless to say I was fancying something different and for some reason creamy! My initial thoughts were "Mornay" and then decided that chicken and prawns would be nice! And it was. Infact I was quite pleased with the outcome and will cook this again for sure.

Chicken and Prawn Mornay

Serves: 4
Points per serve: 7

500 grams chicken fillets, diced
cooking spray
300 grams prawns, peeled and deveined
2 springs onions, sliced
1/2 red capsicum, finely diced
1 tablespoon butter
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 1/2 cups skim milk
1/2 cup dry white wine
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
2 teaspoons dijon mustard
50 grams reduced fat tasty cheese, grated
ground white pepper
1/2 cup parmesan, finely grated

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celcius.

Coat a small frying pan with cooking spray and heat over high heat. Cook the chicken until sealed and slightly browned. Remove from heat.

Spray 4 individual ramekins (1 1/2cup capacity) with cooking spray. Divide chicken evenly amongst ramekins. Divide the prawns evenly and add to the chicken. Top with the spring onions and capsicum.

In a medium saucepan, melt butter and remove from heat, add flour and mix into a roux. Return to medium heat and add milk and wine gradually, stirring continuously with a whisk ensuring a smooth sauce. Add the garlic, mustard and tasty cheese. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Pour the sauce over the chicken and prawn mixture evenly. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Cook for 15 - 20 minutes in oven or until cooked through and cheese golden.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Tropical Pork with Mustard

Before I start this post I really need to apologize for my photo's of late... they have actually been quite bad and it's because I have stopped using my light box and tried using my "daylight" globes in the kitchen but I am not getting the same results.... so I guess it's back to the lightbox for me!!

So on to this recipe... hmmm this is going to be an interesting one to explain. I started off wanting to cook Pork with Orange and Mustard Glaze but when I got home there was no orange juice in sight. In fact the only juice I had was tropical but that wasn't going to stop me.

Needless to say I made this whole thing up and have to say both Noel and myself were pleasantly surprise. Not quite sure if this is the right name for the dish but we'll go with it for now.

Tropical Pork with Mustard

Serves: 4
Points per serve: 5.5

8 pork medallions, 100g each
1 cup tropical fruit juice
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup wholegrain (seeded) mustard
1 tablespoon thyme leaves
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ginger, crushed
freshly ground black pepper

In a large ceramic bowl or snap lock bag place pork medallions.

In a small jug combine tropical fruit juice, honey, mustard, thyme, oil, garlic and ginger. Mix well, ensuring the honey has dispersed in the sauce, season with pepper. Pour over pork and allow to marinate for at least 2 hours, longer if time permits.

Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.

Heat a large frying pan over a medium high and coat with cooking spray. Remove pork from the dish and reserve marinade. Fry pork medallions for 3 minutes on each side or until nicely browned. Place in a casserole dish or baking tray, place in oven and continue to cook for 5 minutes or until pork is cooked to your liking.

Meanwhile add the reserved marinade to the frying pan and cook over a medium heat, stirring, until reduced by half. Serve pork with glaze.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Spiced Honey Chicken Stir Fry

I had really been fancying something different when I decided to cook a stir fry for dinner tonight. We are not normally eaters of sweet sauces although using honey in the sauce was luring me.

Armed with chinese five spice, honey, hoisin sauce and a few other ingredients I came up with Spiced Honey Chicken Stir Fry. I cannot really say where I got this combination from except from several different recipes mixed together.

However, it was nice. Everyone enjoyed it and will definitely be on the menu again. We served this with Sesame Noodles.

Spiced Honey Chicken Stir Fry

Serves: 6
Points per serve: 3.5

600 grams chicken breast, diced
1 teaspoon chinese five spice
cooking spray
2 carrots, peeled and cut into 4 cm lengths
200 grams broccoli, cut into small florets
1/4 cup water
1 red capsicum, cut into 4 cm strips
6 spring onions, cut into 4 cm lengths
125 grams snow peas, trimmed and halved diagonally
2 teaspoons ginger, grated
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/4 cup soy sauce

Toss the chicken with the chinese five spice to coat. Coat a work or large frying pan with cooking spray and heat over high heat. Add chicken, in batches, stir fry until sealed and cooked. Remove to a plate and set aside.

To the same pan add the carrots, broccoli and ginger. Stir fry for 3 - 4 minutes, adding the water after 2 minutes. Add the capsicum and cook for a further 2 minutes or until just tender. Add the spring onions.

Return the chicken to the wok and add the combined honey, hoisin sauce and soy sauce. Stir fry until heated through and fully combined.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Sesame Noodles

I always have a soft spot for noodles and when I saw this dish there was no exception. I came across it while reading Pam's blog, For The Love Of Cooking, and immediately knew this would be cooked soon. And it was, infact this is the second time I have cooked it and there will be many more servings of these I am sure.

Simple and quick to cook it was the perfect partner for Spiced Honey Chicken Stir Fry last night.

The amazing thing about this recipe is that there are no noodles used at all. Instead it's pasta, novel as it sounds, the pasta worked well. As it's a lot firmer than some noodles, cooking with it didn't end up in a mosh of broken up noodles. I do have to confess though I used angel hair pasta tonight and it was too thin - my advice would be just to buy thin spaghetti.

Pam, doesn't stir fry her's but I did as I wanted really hot noodles. I have made this once before and it was really nice but I thought I would experiment a little further with the recipe ~ hope you don't mind Pam? LOL!!

So this is my version, but if you would like to see Pam's original version please click here warning her photo looks much nicer ~ in fact Pam's blog is fantastic! Please go and visit her as it's well worth doing so.

Sesame Noodles

Serves: 8
Points per serve: 3.5

500 grams thin spaghetti
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoons sugar
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 teaspoons pure sesame oil
1 teaspoon hot chilli sauce
1 tablespoon canola oil
4 tablespoon hot water
3 to 4 spring onions, sliced thinly

Cook spaghetti according to packet directions. Drain and set aside.

Mix together the soy sauce, sugar, garlic, vinegar, sesame oil, chilli sauce, canola oil and water in a jug. Taste and re-season if desired.

Heat a wok over high heat add combined sauce and noodles. Toss for 2 - 4 minutes until noodles are completely coated. Remove from heat and toss through spring onions. Serve.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Low Fat Hollandaise Sauce

I have to admit that Hollandaise Sauce is my favourite sauce of all time. Guaranteed if it's on a menu I order that meal with an extra serve of sauce on the side.... I know it's bad considering the sauce base is butter and lots of it.

Thankfully I have come across a recipe that is a mock Hollandaise and there is no butter involved. Not quite as silky smooth as a good Hollandaise but fits nicely into a diet plan that's for sure.

This recipe makes approximately 1 cup and can be kept in the fridge in an air tight container for up to a week.

Low Fat Hollandaise Sauce

Serves: 8

Points per serve: 1

1/4 cup water

2 tsp cornflour

1/2 cup light thickened cream

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1 egg, lightly whisked

Place water and cornflour in a saucepan and stir until smooth. Add the cream and stir to combine. Use a balloon whisk to whisk constantly over medium heat for 2-3 minutes or until mixture boils. Remove from heat.

Whisk in lemon juice, mustard and egg until well combined. Return to heat and cook, whisking constantly, for 2 minutes or until mixture thickens slightly (do not overcook). Remove from heat.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)

Sweet and Spicy Lamb

When I first read the ingredients for this dish I wasn't sure what we would think of it. It had spices that we use in a lot of our cooking but it also had apple and sultanas so I think I was unsure how "sweet" it actually would be.

Another quick and easy dish to cook, this recipe is from The Symply To Good To Be True collection and I have to say it pleased everyone in the house, as well as surprised Noel and myself. It was pleasantly sweet but not overly spicy either. I thought it could have been a little more spicier and will probably add a little chilli powder the next time I cook it. The kids gave it the thumbs up which is always a good sign.

I served this with Vegetarian Fried Rice but would be perfect with steamed rice or even couscous.

Sweet and Spicy Lamb

(recipe source: Symply To Good To Be True # 3)

Serves: 6

Points per serve: 4

600g lean lamb steaks (or strips)

1/3 cup almond slivers

cooking spray

1 teaspoon crushed ginger

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

1 cup onion, sliced

1 cup peeled apple, diced

1/2 cup sultanas

1 teaspoon cardamon

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon dried coriander

1 teaspoon turmeric

2 teaspoons chicken stock powder

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon cornflour

1 x 375ml can evaporated light milk

1 teaspoon imitation coconut essence

Cut lamb into strips (if required).

Toast almonds on a sheet of foil placed under a grill until browned, set aside.

In a non stick frypan or wok that has been coated with cooking spray saute lamb, ginger and garlic until meat is nearly cooked. Remove from wok. Add onion, apple and sultanas and cook for 2 minutes. Put cardamom, cumin, coriander, turmeric, stock powder and tomato paste into pan. Mix cornflour into the milk add the essence. Add to frypan stirring continuously until boiled. Return lamb to the pan and heat through.

Sprinkle almonds over top.

NOTE: for a thinner sauce reduce the amount of cornflour to 2 teaspoons.

(click here for a printable version of this recipe)