Tag Archives: bacon

chicken, Fingerfood

Crumbed Chicken Balls with cream cheese & bacon

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These crumb chicken meatballs stuffed with cream cheese and bacon are ‘ball number two’ that has evolved from the idea of a ‘crumbed-ball-off’. Number one of the crumbed balls was Turkey Balls with Camembert and Cranberry Red Wine Sauce.

To recap where this idea came from – after Christmas this year, while sailing down Australia’s east coast, we decided to have a ‘crumbed-ball-off’. My son, Jedd, kick-started the idea by saying he would make a turkey and camembert crumbed meatball. Dwayne then piped up that he was going to make a crumbed meatball also.

It soon became known as the “crumbed-ball-off”. All three of us were going to make a crumbed meatball and pick the best one. The winner was not going to have to cook for a week. The “crumbed-ball-off” never happened as Jedd flew back to Adelaide sooner than expected. This crumbed chicken ball was my creation which I came up with by simply using ingredients already in my fridge that I needed to use up. It is super tasty, though.

four chicken meatballs served with salad

Ingredients

For filling
1 rasher of bacon, rind removed and finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 spring onion, finely chopped
1 Tablespoon of finely chopped sun-dried tomato
1 Tablespoon of finely chopped fresh basil
150ml cream cheese

For chicken meatball
1kg chicken mince
100ml fine bread crumbs
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper

For coating the chicken ball
1 Cup of fine bread crumbs

Method

To make the cream cheese filling. Mix all ingredients well. Put the mixture into a container or wrap it in foil. Refrigerate until firm (about 1 hour).

Mix the ingredient for the meatballs well using your hands.

Place a large tablespoon of chicken on your palm and flatten. Using a melon scoop or a teaspoon, scoop about 1 tsp of cream cheese mix and place in the middle of the flattened chicken.

Shape chicken around the cheese and roll into a ball. Coat the chicken ball with crumbs and place it on a plate. Repeat with the remaining chicken mince.

Refrigerate for at least 1/2 hour (or longer).

Cook the chicken balls

Heat the oil in a deep fryer or a saucepan, and heat oil to 190c. When the oil is at the correct temperature, add the balls in batches. Deep fry for 3-4 minutes until golden brown. Remove the chicken balls from the oil with a slotted spoon and place on a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

Serve with salad or vegetables. I served mine with a simple salad of capsicum, cucumber, tomato, olives and sun-dried tomato.

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Breakfast/Brunch, From the galley, New Zealand

Corn fritters with avocado, bacon, egg and warm tomato relish

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Breakfast in New Zealand, the land of my birth, is as varied as the eclectic variety of people representing ‘Kiwis’. Porridge, fruits and yoghurts are popular, as are eggs Benedict and French toast. However, it’s the addition of lambs fry and bacon, savoury mince, and corn fritters on the menu, that indeed reveals you are dining in a New Zealand cafe.

The last time I was in New Zealand, my dad and I breakfasted in Ahuriri, Napier. Dad ordered the corn fritters, served with bacon, avocado and sour cream, and seeing that he enjoyed it so much, I remarked that I could teach him how to make them at home. Therefore this recipe is dedicated to my dad…. time to cook breakfast old boy.

I decided upon serving my corn fritters with avocado, bacon, an egg for additional protein, and warm tomato relish. Make the relish first and have it slowly simmering on the stovetop while you make the fritters. Once cooked (keep fritters warm in the oven), but before you cook the eggs, take the tomato relish from the heat and allow to cool slightly, while you fry or poach your eggs. The following recipe will feed four people.

For the warm tomato relish

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1/2 a small onion, finely chopped (approximately 3 tablespoons)
2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons brown sugar (loosely packed)
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
Salt to taste

Heat oil in a small saucepan and lightly sauté the garlic and onion for a minute or two, do not brown.

Add the tomatoes, pepper, vinegar, sugar and mustard, and simmer gently, occasionally stirring, while you make the fritters. Add water as necessary.

Remove from heat for a few minutes before serving.

For the corn fritters

¾ cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
1 egg, beaten
440g can cream-style corn
440g corn kernels
3 spring onions, finely sliced

Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and pepper into a bowl.

Add the egg, mixing well to combine. Stir in the creamed corn, corn kernels and the spring onion.

Spray a large fry pan with oil spray and heat. Carefully spoon fritter mixture into the pan, creating two or three fritters about eight centimetres in diameter. Cook until golden brown, flip and cook the other side.

Remove from the pan, place on a plate with absorbent paper, put it into the oven, set on low, and keep warm. Repeat until you have eight fritters.

To serve

8 rashers of bacon, cooked to your liking
4 eggs, cooked to your liking
1 avocado, peeled and sliced

Place two corn fritters in the middle of each plate, top with sliced avocado, bacon and an egg. Finish with a couple of spoonfuls of tomato relish.

Bon appétit

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Popular New Zealand breakfast dish. Delicious and easy to make! #corn #creamedcorn #avocado #bacon #egg #tomato #relish #recipe #food #cooking #cookingonaboat #cookingatsea
Campfire Cooking, eggs

Bacon, Feta and Spinach Quiche

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When we left Darwin I had some pastry and feta leftover and wasn’t sure what to use it for. Once I had taken stock of what our esky held I decided to cook quiche. I had never baked quiche in the camp oven before, so I was thrilled that it turned out so well. Very delicious!

Camp Oven quiche

Our Camp Kitchen

We cooked this delicious quiche in the Florence Falls Camp Ground at Litchfield National Park in the Northern Territory.

Waterfall Northern Territory Australia

Ingredients

10 sheets of filo pastry
Baking paper
1 onion, chopped
250g bacon, chopped
8 eggs
1/2 cup of milk
60g feta, chopped into small pieces
60g baby spinach leaves, roughly chopped
Grated cheese
Cracked pepper

Method

Prepare the camp oven. *Camp oven should be oiled. With two strips of baking paper line the bottom and sides of the camp oven, this will help get the quiche out when it is ready. Then line the camp oven with pastry going up the sides by 1 or 2 inches. The depth of your quiche will depend on the size of your camp oven. For this recipe, I used a 9-quart camp oven and the quiche was about an inch high.

Saute the bacon and onion in a frypan and set aside.

Whisk the eggs and the milk.

Add the feta, spinach, bacon and onion to the eggs and mix well.

Pour the egg mixture into the prepared quiche base, spread evenly, using a fork. Top with grated cheese and cracked pepper.

2020 May 20 Litchfield 12

Cooking in a camp oven

To bake the quiche, we put a few hot coals or heat beads under the pot (our camp oven has three short legs) and about three times as much on top of the camp oven. Check after 15 minutes to see if you have the right amount of heat. If you think you need a higher temperature, add and few coals (if cooking too hot, remove coals). We cooked ours quite slow, and it took about an hour. We will cook it a little hotter the next time, but thought since it was our first time baking a quiche, to err on the side of caution.

Cooking in your oven – Cook for 35 – 45 minutes at 190 degrees celsius. 

Australia campfire cooking

Note: *We always wash our camp oven when we are finished with it, heat it over the fire to dry and then rub oil into it using a paper towel until well coated – if you do that at the end of every use you will find your camp oven will be ready for use every time you want it and it will not rust.

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Campfire

Bacon and Feta Quiche recipe

Fish, Soup

Smoked Fish Chowder

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After our first attempt smoking fish in our make-shift disposable smoker, I had a craving for smoked fish chowder. I based my chowder on the type of chowder I had made before, using smoked haddock or cod. The smoke perch or barramundi from the previous recipe was just perfect. This chowder had nice chunky bits of fish, potato and a smoky creaminess to die for!

chowder

Ingredients

2 Tbs of butter
2 cloves of garlic, crushed or finely diced
1-2 rashers of streaky bacon, finely diced
1 stick of celery, finely diced
2 Tbs of plain flour
1 cup of white wine
4 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 cups fish or vegetable stock
2 cups of water
1 tsp crushed peppercorns
400g smoked fish
1 cup of cream
fresh parsley, finely chopped

Method

Melt the butter in a large saucepan, add bacon, onion, garlic and celery. Sauté for a few minutes to soften then add the flour and cook stirring continually for a minute.

Add the white wine and simmer on low heat until it starts to thicken. Then add the stock, water and potatoes. Bring to the boil and then cook uncovered until potatoes are cooked.

Add the smoked fish and cream and bring almost to the boil. Add the black pepper and some chopped parsley. Continue to heat until warmed through and of good consistency.

Serve with another sprinkle of fresh parsley.

OMG! This is perfect after a long sail, or on a cold night. Serve with some crusty bread for a perfect “comfort food” meal.

Bon appetite!

Chowdder2

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Smoked fish chowder #recipe #dinner #soup #fish #chowder #creamy #potato #smoked #smokedfish

Cooking Our Catch, Shell Fish

Oysters Kilpatrick

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With oysters we collected on Forbes Island I made oysters Kilpatrick. You will notice that the oysters are not grilled in the oyster shell. When collecting oysters off the rocks we take them out of the shell, so I have collected a few odd shells to enable me to do my favourite grilled oyster recipes.

Oysters Kilpatrick with bacon

For my Kilpatrick oysters I fried up some diced bacon in a small saucepan to crisp it a bit. I remove it from the heat and then add Worcestershire sauce and a bit of tomato sauce.

Oysters Kilpatrick, bacon

I place an oyster into each shell, add some of the sauce and the bacon, then grill it for a couple of minutes.

Dwayne diving in to the Oysters Kilpatrick

Delicious!