AUSTRALIAN MEAT PIZZA (Steak & Cheese Pie)

This recipe is from a little 1970s cookbook entitled Simple Mince Steak Recipes, which Mum and Dad’s bowling club put out as a fundraiser. Obviously the 1970s bowlers had no idea what a pizza actually was, as this would seem to be meat and cheese pie and nothing remotely like a pizza. That’s not to say that it wouldn’t taste good……

SUPREME RICE PIZZA

The concept of cooking the rice in beer for the base of this pizza is something I’ve never heard of before and I’m not sure I think it’s a good idea, but that could be because I’m not a beer drinker. It would certainly add some flavour, but maybe with all the yummy toppings you don’t need the beer. I think I’d make it cooked in chicken stock, but that’s just me.

ITALIAN MEAT LOAVES

I recently made some gluten free mini meat loaves to take to the track for the Melbourne F1 GP. They had rice and curry in them and tasted quite good, but were a little dry. I wish I’d found this recipe though, as I think they’ll have a lot more flavour and can easily be GF if I use GF cereal. Maybe next year………

CHICKEN BALLS WITH THAI DIPPING SAUCE

These are a great little idea – basically no chopping. Except for the chicken mince and the shallot the ingredients are things you’ve probably got in the fridge or cupboard. It’s just a matter of combining, shaping and frying the chicken balls and mixing up the sauce – easy as. While this recipe is for nibble size balls, you could easily turn them into patties for an easy entree.

SWEET POTATO AND SPRING ONION SCONES

Scones are something I’ve never been all that good at making. I suspect it’s because I over work the dough, something that this recipe clearly says not to do. I do like the combination of sweet potato and spring onion though, so perhaps I’ll give them a try. I’m sure those with better technique will end up with a very tasty scone.

CHEESE AND VEGETABLE SLICE

On a visit to a farm in Central Victoria that friends recently moved to they were telling us of all the lovely produce that they are growing – pears, quinces, zucchinis and garlic just to start with. When I got home I started going through Mum’s cuttings and books to dig out some recipes for them. Fresh pear recipes and quince ones have been hard to find and I didn’t even try for garlic as Mum was not a fan. Zucchini have been the easiest and this one was among them.

RICE CRUST VEGETARIAN PIE – Gluten Free adaptable

If you substitute GF plain flour for ordinary plain flour in this recipe you have a pie that works equally well for Vegetarians and Gluten Free eaters. Finding a good pie base that is GF can be a bit of a challenge and while this has a vegetable filling there’s no reason why some bacon or chicken couldn’t be added. The rice crust makes a good alternative to a flour based crust.