SWISS STEAK

I’ve been making this recipe for years. It comes from a booklet put out by the Australian Meat Board in the 70s. The Meat Board printed several of these booklets, which were full of great meat recipes. I don’t think they do them these days, although you can find individual recipes on the counter at the butchers sometimes. This recipe uses round or rump steak. The long cooking time tenderizes it and the result is a very tasty piece of steak with a great sauce.

BROCCOLI & BLUE CHEESE SOUP

This won’t be everyone’s favourite soup, but for those who like broccoli and blue cheese it’s a winner. It’s easy to make, looks and tastes good and is a great dinner party starter. Best to check if they like broccoli and blue cheese before you serve it up though!!!

CHICKEN RISSOLES

Chicken rissoles can be a little bland, but this recipes throws in tomato, carrot and French Onion soup to really give them some zing. Mum must have added Parsley as well, as she’s written that in. I don’t know if she served them hot or cold, but I think they’d work well to take on a picnic.

HOT TAMALE PIE

It’s easy to think that International dishes are something that are new to our food scene, but that’s not the case. When I look back at my old 1970s cookbooks there’s a whole section on International food and Mum was cautiously trying out different recipes before that. This Mexican Tamale Pie recipe was published by the New Idea in 1980 and is just as good today as it was then.

HERBED SURPRISE EGGS

I haven’t tried these out yet myself, but it’s certainly a different way to cook eggs and rice. It suggests serving them as an entrée or light luncheon, but I think they’d also be an excellent fancy breakfast dish as well – maybe a Mother’s Day or Father’s Day treat.

RICE BUBBLE AND SQUEAK – Gluten Free

Traditional Bubble and Squeak in our household has always been leftover mashed potatoes and vegetables fried up with an egg. This rice version is a little fancier. Although it says to bake the potatoes, kumara and carrots in the oven, I think I’d speed the process up a bit and just microwave them. You might lose a little flavour, but not enough to make much difference and it would be just that bit easier.