Veggiesmuggling - Spicy Lamb and Bean Rissoles

Our next win with Veggiesmuggling is Spicy Lamb and Bean Rissoles from (of course) the Vegiesmuggling website.  Miss 4 year old 'just feed me meat' loves these patties. Little does she know they are chock full of veggies *meh, heh, heeeehhhh*  The little one doesn't 'do' tomatoes or cucumber etc so I just let her have the rissoles with mash and some chapatis.  Of course the adults love this recipe too:)

Spicy lamb & bean rissoles (from Vegie Smugglers)

1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion, diced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 cloves garlic, crushed
2 slices multigrain bread
400g can four bean mix, rinsed, drained
1 carrot, peeled, roughly chopped
500g lamb mince
1 egg
2 tbsp vegetable oil, for frying

To serve
Flatbread or burger buns
Cream cheese
Tomato chutney
Cucumber, sliced
Lettuce

Dig out the big food processor to make this recipe quick and easy.

Heat the olive oil in a small frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4-5 minutes until softened. Add the cumin, coriander and garlic and fry another minute. Set aside.

Blitz the bread in the food processor into breadcrumbs. Remove and set aside.

Add the four bean mix and carrot to the food processor and whizz well. Add the onion mixture and lamb and blitz. Add the egg and breadcrumbs and blitz further until combined.

Use wet hands to form 5-6cm rissoles (warning – remove the processor blade before you handle the mixture!). Heat the vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Cook the rissoles for 4-5 minutes each side until cooked through.

Spread flatbread with cream cheese and chutney. Top with rissoles, cucumber and lettuce.

MAKES 16 RISSOLES

Veggie Smuggling - Zucchini via Cheese Puff

Here is another success from the Vegie Smugglers website.  Cheese Puffs that contain lots of zucchini.  Again I was very dubious that my meat loving four year old would have a stress attack if she saw anything green on her plate however she nommed these up without any hesitation.  They are also great for lunch boxes and the Daddy Chook liked them so much he took them to work too:)

Here is the recipe...

Cheese Puffs

• ½ cup milk (soy is fine)
• 1 egg
• ½ tsp smoked paprika
• 1 zucchini, wazzed in the food processor (peeled first if your kids hate green)
• 2 spring onions, finely chopped (I recommend wazzing them)
• 2 cups grated cheese (cheddar is best)
• 1 cup self-raising flour

Preheat the oven to 190C.

Line a baking tray.

In a large bowl, whisk together the milk and egg.

Add the paprika, zucchini, spring onions and cheese. Sift over the flour. Mix well (it becomes a thick paste).

Dollop out portions.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until deep golden brown and cooked through.

Store in the fridge in an airtight container for several days.

MAKES 16

Veggie Smuggling - Chicken Sausage Rolls

I have been veggie smuggling my butt off this last week trying to convince our four year old that veggies are indeed a nice thing to eat.  I will be posting my successes in the hope that it helps other parents feed their veggie-denying offspring:) 

Thanks to the website Vegie Smugglers I have found a great deal of clever recipes on how to smuggle veggies. I must say I was completely dubious about the whole process. If my four year old even gets a whiff/eye boggle/hint of any vegetable on her plate, she will refuse to carry on with dinner.  At times she will even dry reach *sigh*  BUT these recipes work. I can't believe it.  I think the secret to it is wazzing it in a food processor.  If you don't have a food processor use a grater.  The other thing I found with these recipes is that they are not as time consuming as I first thought, seeing as you can cut veggies into lumps and throw them in the food processor - usually together.

The following is the 4 year old's favourite recipe based on the Vegiesmuggles recipe of Sausage Rolls.  The other thing I have found is that the adults also like these recipes. Very tasty:)

CHICKEN SAUSAGE ROLLS

5 sheets frozen puff pastry

500g chicken mince

1 carrot, peeled, wazzed in the food processor

1 zucchini,  wazzed in the food processor 

1 onion,  wazzed in the food processor 

400g can brown lentils, rinsed, drained

1 egg

2 tbsp chopped fresh herbs (basil and chives are good)

Salt & black pepper

1 egg, whisked, for glazing

Preheat oven to 200C. Lay out your pastry sheets on a bench. Cut each in half to make 2 rectangles.

Mix together all the remaining ingredients until combined

.

Spread the mixture lengthwise along the middle of the rectangles. Ease pastry over from one edge, brush egg along top side then roll other edge over to seal.

If cooking immediately, cut each stick into 4 pieces, place on an oven tray lined with baking paper, brush with egg and cook in middle of the oven for 25 minutes until golden and cooked through.

I froze most of these. I kept the sticks whole, wrapped them immediately in plastic wrap and froze immediately.  To thaw, put in fridge 24 hours ahead of cooking.  This is important!! I accidentally took them straight from the freezer and put them in the oven and they turned into a sloppy mess:(  Once thawed, cut into four pieces, brush with egg and cook as per normal.

MAKES 10 STICKS (40 PIECES)