When it comes to saving time planning meals during the week, mum of three Allie Gaunt has several tricks up her sleeve she wants to share.
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The Bowral resident, who is one of the brains behind the food blog One Handed Cooks, has penned a book with her co-directors Jessica Beaton and Sarah Buckle called The Family Meal Solution.
The book, which will be released on July 5, is full of tasty dishes you can adapt for family members of all ages.
It is the third book after the trio's One Handed Cooks: How to raise a healthy, happy eater - from baby to school age, and Boosting Your Basics: Making the most of every family mealtime - from baby to school age.
Inspired by followers on Facebook who said they were "drowning" in meal prep, the collection of recipes use different methods to save time and money.
"For us, the key part of the book is to make changes but not all at once," Mrs Gaunt said.
When her children were younger, the former nanny and copywriter found she was making different recipes for the little ones and the adults, which was double the work.
"Life is way too busy to cook multiple meals in the night," she said.
Each recipe has portion sizes for babies, toddlers and recommendations for substitution if there are any allergies or intolerances.
Readers will find dishes that uses freezer bags known as 'dump bags' to prep ingredients in for slow cooked meals and bakes, reusing leftovers in creative ways, tray bakes and pre mixes.
Other tips include preparing fruit and veggie boxes, storing ingredients and batch cooking one meal for the table and another portion for the freezer.
Favourites from the book in the Gaunt household include the baked salmon, butter chicken dump bag and Caesar salad.
"I am kind of testing all the time, everything goes really well and [we] keep the good ones for the book," she said.
Take a sneak peek at one of the recipes below:
Pork and caramelised apple sausage rolls
Makes 18
Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 50 minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
- 1 brown onion, finely chopped
- 100 g streaky bacon, finely chopped (optional)
- 2 cooking apples, peeled and
- diced into small (1 cm) cubes
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar or
- maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 500 g free-range pork mince
- 1 tablespoon chopped thyme
- 3 sheets (25 cm 25 cm) frozen
- puff pastry, just thawed
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
(optional)
- salt and ground black pepper
We've sealed the deal on these pork sausage rolls by adding a sweet apple mixture to bring them to life. The kids will enjoy these as a cold sandwich alternative in lunchboxes or as a hot weekend lunch. Plus we love to have them waiting in the freezer ready to be cooked for unexpected guests.
METHOD
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion, bacon (if using) and apple and cook for 3-4 minutes or until softened. Sprinkle over the brown sugar or maple syrup and 1 tablespoon of water and toss to coat. Add the fennel seeds and cover the pan. Cook, stirring often, for a further 10 minutes or until the apple is soft. Set aside to cool. Roughly mash with a potato masher to break up the apple.
Preheat the oven to 200°C (180°C fan-forced) and line a large baking tray with baking paper.
In a large bowl, combine the pork mince, thyme and apple mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
Cut each pastry sheet in half. Place 1/6 of the mixture running lengthways down one of the pastry strips, moulding it to form a long sausage shape. Brush the edges of pastry with water and fold over to enclose the filling. Cut into 3 pieces (or more, depending on your chosen portion sizes) and place on the lined tray, seam side down. Repeat with the remaining mixture and pastry. You can freeze the sausage rolls at this point.
Brush the egg over the tops of the sausage rolls, then sprinkle with the sesame seeds, if using. Bake for 35 minutes or until golden brown and cooked through.
TIP: cooked sausage rolls make a great addition to your savoury baking box.
STORAGE: keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 2 days. Alternatively, freeze cooked or uncooked sausage rolls in individual portions, wrapped in plastic film, for up to 2 months.
ALLERGIES/INTOLERANCES:
- Gluten/wheat: use gluten-free pastry.
- Egg: brush the pastry with your preferred milk instead of the egg. Dairy: use olive oil instead of butter.
- Sesame: simply omit or use poppy seeds as an alternative.
You can find a store that stocks The Family Meal Solution on onehandedcooks.com.au and read blog entries on the site or follow One Handed Cooks on Facebook.
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