​My 16 year old asked if I could make something light for dinner, a salad of some sort. It was only the two of us home for dinner, and he had football training in the evening afterwards so he didn't want anything heavy. So off I went looking for something that both of us would like and I found this recipe.

We loved it, the flavour combination is delicious. The chicken had just enough spice and all the other ingredients made every bite delicious.

For those that don't know BLAT stands for Bacon, Lettuce, Avocado, Tomato, an amazing flavour combination.

I've never made a buttermilk dressing before and I love it, it's light, it's tangy.

With the chicken, if your pieces have thick bits, I like to butterfly them open, so cooking time is even throughout your chicken piece.

With the bread, you can either slice the ciabatta thinly or cut it into bite sized croutons. 

​I think I may add some soft boiled eggs, halved, to this one day also.

This is a great midweek meal idea, easy to make and delicious to eat.

Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook 'Light'

Serves 4

4 chicken thigh fillets, each cut into 3 pieces
1 teaspoon dried chilli flakes
1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes
1 tablespoon olive oil
8 thin slices ciabatta (or cut into croutons)
cooking oil spray
4 rindless bacon slices
1 butter lettuce, leaves separated
2 medium tomatoes, sliced
1 medium avocado, sliced

Buttermilk dressing:
1/3 cup (80ml) buttermilk
1/4 cup (60g) sour cream
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh chives
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, crushed
​
Make buttermilk dressing-Whisk ingredients for the dressing in a small bowl until combined, season to taste.

Combine chicken, chilli, salt and oil in a large bowl.

Cook chicken on a heated oiled grill plate (or frying pan) over medium heat for 4-5 minutes each side or until cooked through. When I turn the chicken over I like to cover the pan with a lid (or pizza tray) for 2-3 minutes to make sure it cooks through, then uncover for the final minute or two. Clean grill plate.
​
Spray ciabatta lightly with cooking oil. Cook ciabatta and bacon on heated grill plate over high heat for 1 minute on each side or until golden and crisp. If your bread is cut into croutons, cook on all sides until golden and crisp.
​

Arrange lettuce, chicken, bacon, tomato and avocado on a platter.

​Drizzle with dressing. Serve with ciabatta.

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​My kids love chicken wings so I am constantly on the lookout for chicken wing recipes.

These are delicious, they have a nice, subtle spice to them and they have a great flavour. They are also quick and easy to make.

The green goddess dip I love, it's delicious. Some of my family loved the dip with the wings, some loved the dip on it's own but not with the wings. 

You can marinate the chicken a day in advance if making for a party.

I used sriracha for the hot chilli sauce. If you can't find onion salt, use 1½ tablespoons onion powder and season with salt to taste.

These are easy to make and taste great, something new you should try.

Recipe adapted from The Australian Women's Weekly Cookbook 'Light'

Serves 6-8

2kg chicken wings
1/2 cup (125ml) hot chilli sauce
1/3 cup (80ml) buttermilk
2 tablespoons onion salt
2 tablespoons mild paprika
1/3 cup (75g) firmly packed light brown sugar

Green Goddess Dip:
½ cup (125ml) buttermilk
1 small ripe avocado, chopped
½ cup loosely packed fresh flat leaf parsley leaves
1/2 cup loosely packed fresh basil leaves
4 green onions, sliced
1 small clove garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon sea salt flakes
​white pepper, to taste

baby cucumbers, quartered lengthways, to serve
hot chilli sauce, extra, to serve, optional
lime wedges, to serve


Preheat oven to 240C/220C fan forced. Line a large oven tray with baking paper.

Cut each chicken wing in half at the joint.

Combine chilli sauce, buttermilk, onion salt, paprika and sugar in a large bowl. Add chicken; toss well to coat.

Place chicken, presentation side (skin side) down, in a single layer, on tray. I like to put the pieces that look like mini drumsticks along the edges, with the two bone skinnier pieces (nibbles) in the centre. Brush with any remaining sauce mixture.

Bake for 15 minutes. Turn all the pieces over, continue baking for a further 20-25 minutes or until well browned and the wings are cooked through brushing occasionally with pan juices. Stand for 5 minutes.
​

Meanwhile, make the green goddess dip:-Blend or process the dip ingredients until smooth. Transfer to a bowl. season to taste with white pepper. Cover surface with plastic wrap until ready to serve.
​
Serve chicken with dip, cucumbers, extra chilli sauce and lime wedges.

To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/spicy-chicken-wings-with-green-goddess-dip.html 
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Recipe adapted from Millie Tang

Makes 1

30ml vodka
10ml lychee liqueur
10ml sugar syrup (optional)
2 slices cucumber
Ice cubes
Ginger beer, to serve
Mint sprig, to decorate
 
​Place the vodka, lychee liqueur, lime juice, sugar syrup (if using) and cucumber in a cocktail shaker. Use a muddler or a pestle to crush the cucumber until softened.

Add ice cubes. Shake for 30 seconds or until chilled. Add ice cubes to fill a serving glass. Strain the mixture through a fine sieve over ice in the glass.

​Top with ginger beer and decorate with mint to serve.

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This a dish my mother has been making us for years, we absolutely love the combination of pork and sauerkraut.

This I love as after a little prep work, it cooks itself and leaves you free to do other things.

Simple, delicious, and something you should try soon. ​

1 pork belly
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 x 900g jars sauerkraut, rinsed, drain
1 carrot, grated
½ green capsicum, diced
1 small onion, diced
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon vegeta
Salt, pepper
​
Preheat oven to 180C/160C fan forced.

Season the pork belly all over with salt and pepper. Put 1 tablespoon of olive oil on skin and rub all over. Place in the centre of a large baking dish.
 
In a bowl mix together the sauerkraut, carrot, capsicum and onion. Add the extra olive oil, vegeta, salt and pepper, mix well. Place in baking dish around the pork belly.

​Cover the sauerkraut loosely with aluminium foil, do not cover the meat skin.

​Once baked, if you crackling isn't quite perfect, you can turn on the grill for a few minutes to help this along, if it is, slice and serve with the sauerkraut.

To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/roast-pork-belly-with-sauerkraut.html 
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​Blagoslovnica, Pinca, Sirnica, Fogace, all are names for Croatian Easter bread. Growing up my mum called it Blagoslovnica, so I'm going with that one, it's our tradition (my dad recently told us they called it Fogace on the island he is from).

This is something my mother loves, I think it reminds her of times growing up in Croatia. So every Easter she buys one, this year I thought I'd surprise her and make one. She loved it (she even requested one for mothers day coming up in a few weeks). ​Now I love food traditions, it's something that I'm trying to keep going with my kids, it connects us to where we are from. It's something that in the future will be a reminder of our families past.

Blagoslovnica is a sweet bread, it is usually shaped like a small ball with a cut on the top in the shape of a cross as it symbolizes the suffering of Christ. This homemade version I find better than the store bought ones.

This makes 4 smaller blagoslovnice, which I love, because I can keep one or two and gift the others. They are good for quite a few days. They are soft and have a really nice flavour from the citrus zests and the vanilla and the rum. If you can't find Croatian rum, use Captain Morgan's Black Spiced Rum.
​
So here is an easy blagoslovnica that I know I will be making for years to come.

​Recipe adapted from pastrymaestra.com/

Makes 4

500g bread flour
1 teaspoon (5g) salt
100g caster sugar
6g orange zest (zest of one orange)
8g lemon zest (zest of two lemons)
100g milk
7g instant dried yeast
30g honey
100g whole eggs (2 medium eggs)
70g egg yolks (4 egg yolks)
​1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
30g Croatian Rum
30g Croatian Cherry Brandy
200g unsalted butter, cubed, room temperature

Egg wash: 
50g egg (1 medium egg)
1 tablespoon (10g) milk 

Decoration:
​Pearl or Icing Sugar


To make Croatian Easter bread place lukewarm milk into a measuring cup, add yeast and stir well with a whisk.

Place sifted flour into a stand mixer fitted with hook attachment. Add the dry ingredients – salt, sugar, lemon zest and orange zest. Mix on low speed to combine.

​Next, add milk and yeast mixture, honey, whole eggs, egg yolks, vanilla bean paste, rum and cherry brandy. Mix on medium speed for about 10 minutes, until the dough becomes nice, smooth and stretchy.

Now gradually add softened butter mixing well after each addition. Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave it in warm place for about 2.5 hours.

When the dough doubles in size divide it into four equal parts, about 285g each.

Next, form each piece into a ball by folding the dough, flipping it over and rounding using your palms. Place breads onto parchment paper lined baking trays, cover them with a cloth and let the dough rise again for about two hours.

​Brush the breads with egg wash, make incisions using scissors, and finally, sprinkle some pearl sugar or icing sugar on the top.

Bake breads at 180°C/160°C fan forced for about 25-30 minutes, until nicely golden.

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​I love to cook, I find it fun and relaxing. But even I have nights when I just don't want to cook, or I don't know what to cook.

As a family we sit down and have dinner together every night, some nights someone might have plans and won't join us, but whoever is home, we sit down together for dinner and then spend about an hour just chatting away about what's happened that day. For me Thursdays are difficult, my husband and two of my kids get home after 6pm, at that time I'm already at soccer training with my youngest which finishes at 7pm, I'm not home until 7:30pm. Now on organised days, I'll have slow cooked something earlier in the day and someone will reheat it for my 7:30pm arrival and we sit down and eat as soon as I get home. But when I'm not organised, it's chaos, by the time I start cooking it's 9pm before we eat dinner.

This soup came about as I had no idea what to cook one day and I just didn't feel like cooking, I needed something that was quick and easy to make. I went through my cookbooks and found one called Faking It, I thought perfect, flicked through the book, saw this recipe and had to try it. Now we love pho, but it usually involves hours of cooking, this one takes about 20 minutes. Was I concerned it would be bland, absolutely, was I wrong, absolutely. If I didn't tell my family this was a 'cheats pho', they wouldn't even know.

With the meat, I have never even thought to use sliced rare roast beef (which you buy at the deli). I have eaten it before, but never thought you could cook it. It worked beautifully. I added some thinly sliced fresh eye fillet also, but you can just use the rare roast beef if you like.

So here is a midweek meal idea that we loved and no one will know you haven't spent hours in the kitchen making it.

​Recipe adapted from the cookbook Faking It by Valli Little

Serves 5

250g flat rice stick noodles
1 tablespoon sunflower oil
6 spring onions, sliced on an angle
2cm piece ginger, peeled, very thinly sliced
1 small red chilli, seeds removed, finely chopped
4 cups (1 litre) beef stock (or consomme)
​200g shitake mushrooms, sliced
1/3 cup (80ml) fish sauce
1/3 cup lime juice
200g bean sprouts
1/4 cup coriander leaves, plus extra to serve
1/4 cup mint leaves, plus extra to serve
250g thinly sliced rare roast beef
250g eye fillet steak, thinly sliced
Chilli Jam or Sambal Oelek, to serve, optional
​
Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the spring onion, ginger and chilli and cook, stirring, for 2-3 minutes, until onion is soft. Add the beef stock and 1 cup (250ml) water, then bring to the boil. Add in the shitake mushrooms, decrease the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, soften the noodles in a bowl of boiling water​ according to packet instructions.

To the soup, stir in the fish sauce and lime juice. Taste the soup, here I added an additional 1 cup (250ml) water as I found the flavour strong, this optional and to taste.

Divide the noodles, bean sprouts, coriander, mint, rare roast beef and eye fillet steak among soup bowls, then ladle over the broth. Add extra herbs if you like. 

To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/quick-beef-pho.html 
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​This to me is the perfect salad, the flavour combination in this salad is just delicious. It's a hearty salad, yet it's still light. For me this is a great lunch idea.

The salad is a great party salad, as you can prepare things in advance, then just assemble before serving.

The ingredients, this is my favourite version, but you can omit things you don't like and add other things if you do like. For instance I have to add anchovies, but you don't have to. You could add onions, cucumbers or capsicums to the salad.

There are few things that do have to appear in the salad:

Canned tuna in olive oil is the best, in all honesty don't use a brine or springwater one here, the olive oil one has more flavour. The two brands I love are Adriatic Queen Tuna fillets or Sirena Tuna.
Eggs, hard or soft boiled, whatever you prefer, I prefer soft boiled. If you soft boil them, just halve them so you don't lose all the yolk. If the yolk is set, you can quarter the eggs so it looks like there is more on the platter.
Baby potatoes, if you can't find baby potatoes, cut up larger ones, though you may have to peel them.
I love kalamata olives here, with pips, they taste better.
Tomatoes-they need to be ripe, you can use large tomatoes or cherry tomatoes.
Beans-cook them how you like them.
Baby cos, I prefer baby cos to the large variety. I like to make the salad cover the entire base of my platter.
​
This a great lunch idea that I know I'll be making for years to come, hope you do to.​

​Recipe adapted from www.recipetineats.com/

Serves 4

8 baby/chat potatoes
120g green beans, trimmed, cut into bite sized pieces
2 tomatoes, each cut into 8-10 wedges
1 baby cos lettuce, cut or torn into large bite sized pieces
3 medium-hard boiled eggs, peeled and quartered
100g unpitted black kalamata olives
250 – 300g canned chunk tuna in oil, drained and broken into large chunks
8 anchovies, to taste, optional

​Lemon Nicoise dressing:
1½-2 tablespoons lemon juice
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 small garlic clove, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
Pinch black pepper
​

Dressing: Shake the dressing ingredients in a jar.

Boil potatoes until tender. Drain and leave to fully cool. Slice into halves.

 Blanch Beans: Boil green beans until tender or done to your liking, 3-4 minutes is what I do. Drain and refresh under cold running water to quickly cool. Drain.

Arrange the cos leaves on a large, wide plate.

Scatter and layer the remaining ingredients artfully around the plate, finishing with the eggs, olives and chunks of tuna. Drizzle with dressing and serve.

To save the recipe to your favourites go to www.whatscookingella.com/nicoise-salad.html 
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​Here is another one of my mum's recipes she has shared with me. This is very popular with my family and friends. The aromas you get around the house while this is cooking is lovely. For anyone that loves cuttlefish, you should give it a try. Once the risotto is done, the cuttlefish may still have a bit of bite to it, it isn't super soft, but it is very tasty.

Surprisingly my kids love it to, I say surprisingly as lots of kids won't even try things. I find starting them early on new foods makes everything normal. My 6 year old is a big foodie, and devours this. Nothing is too hot or spicy for him, nothing disgusts him. He is driven by flavour alone and will try anything. He makes me laugh, eating gives him such joy, quite funny.

Now I've noted that you need 1.5kg cleaned cuttlefish. We have a great friend who goes fishing and brings us cuttlefish, which is just amazing for us. The cuttlefish are usually really big. So I put them in two freezer bags, body in one, tentacles in the other, then freeze them until I need them. The risotto I make could be 1.5kg of tentacles only or just the bodies. If buying from the fish shop, use smaller one and use the whole lot in the risotto.

I have added Ajvar to the recipe, which is a Croatian Vegetable relish. If you decide to use it, the leftover relish is lovely on sandwiches. If you prefer not to buy it, just add an extra tablespoon of tomato paste.

With the water I have added the measure as, 'as needed'. What I do is I boil up water in my kettle. Then after the wine has been added, and absorbed into the rice, I add 1/2-3/4 cup water, just enough water to cover the rice, then allow that to absorb into the rice, then I keep adding water and allowing it to absorb, until the rice is cooked to my liking, it takes about 20 minutes, stirring regularly, but not constantly.

Vegeta is a vegetable stock powder, use it to taste, if you need more add more.

With the rice, you could make it with 2 to 2 1/2 cups of rice and it will still be lovely. Arborio rice is the best for this but I've also made it with medium grain rice and paella rice when I forget to but arborio. Now it's not creamy with different rice, like it is with arborio, but it still tastes great.

This is an easy recipe that is absolutely delicious, give it a try.

​​2 tablespoons olive oil
1.5kg cleaned cuttlefish, about 2kg uncleaned
1 onion, diced
1 red capsicum, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 long red chilli, finely chopped
2-3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 bay leaf
3 cups arborio rice
1 tablespoon Hot ajvar
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 cup white wine
3 teaspoons vegeta
Water, as needed
Salt and pepper, to taste

Place your cleaned cuttlefish into a large saucepan. Fill it with cold tap water to cover the cuttlefish completely. Bring to the boil over high heat. Once it comes to the boil, simmer for 2 minutes, then turn off the heat, leave the cuttlefish to sit in the water for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes has passed, drain away the water, roughly dice up the cuttlefish.

Add oil to a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, sauté for 5 minutes. Add the capsicum, sauté for 3 minutes then add the garlic, chilli and parsley, sauté for another 2 minutes.

Add your diced cuttlefish, stirring, regularly, sauté for 10 minutes.

Add the rice, give it a stir. Add the ajvar and tomato paste, give it a stir. Then add the wine, allow it simmer away and be absorbed by the rice. Add in the bay leaf.

Add your first 3/4 cup of boiling water, stir it through the rice, it should just cover the rice. Season with salt and pepper, add the vegeta, start with 2 teaspoons of vegeta, you can always add more if needed. Allow the water to nearly disappear into the rice before adding your next lot of water. This whole process takes about 20 minutes, don't leave the pot it can burn easily. Repeat adding water, allowing it absorb, until you feel the rice is cooked to your liking. Keep tasting the liquid for seasoning, adding more if needed. Serve immediately.

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