Kale Chips

For a low-fat and unprocessed snack you can't go past Kale chips. Kale is so cheap and all you need is some olive oil and seasoning of your choice! These chips are seasoned with paprika, chilli flakes and salt. I make 2 oven trays at a time. You need space because the pieces shouldn't be touching one another. They do shrink though so you may think it looks like a lot, but it won't be in the end.

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius and grab a bunch of kale (about 250g)
2. Line oven trays with baking paper
3. Place the kale leaves (stems discarded) torn into bite size pieces into a large bowl
4. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil
5. Sprinkle with paprika
6. Sprinkle with chilli flakes (add more if you like your snacks hot)
7. Sprinkle with salt and toss the lot
8. Lay the leaves out onto oven trays so they don't overlap...the oil needs to dry the leaves so they go crispy
9. Cook for 15mins swapping trays around half way, or cook until they go crispy.

Pork Chops with Orange and Maple Syrup Glaze

This recipe is from the $120 Food Challenge Cookbook and is wonderfully moist, tasty and affordable. After marinating the pork for 30mins, cooking only takes about 10mins so it's quite a fast meal. This serves 4 with a salad or steamed veg on the side.

Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup orange juice
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• Spray oil for cooking
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed or finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped coriander (I used dried)
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon smoky paprika
• 4 pork chops (I used heart smart steaks)

Method:

1. Mix all ingredients, except the pork, in a small bowl
2. Remove 3 tablespoons of the marinade and set aside
3. Place the remaining marinade in a non-metallic bowl, add the pork and coat well
4. Cover and marinate for about 30mins (or overnight for extra flavour)
5. Remove the pork from the marinade and pan-fry in spray oil 5mins each side (I used a griddle)
6. Alternatively you could BBQ or grill them
7. Brush remainder of marinade over the pork while cooking

This was a winner with the family and will become a family staple.  D-E-L-icious  XD

Spicy Nut Mix

I was given this recipe by a friend of a friend about 20yrs ago. I enjoyed it then, but for some reason it was forgotten. I found it recently, made it and we devoured it in one sitting. The blend of raw nuts, salty rice crackers and sweet Nutrigrain make this mix something special. You can taste sweet, salty, nutty and spicy all at once like an explosion in your mouth...seriously!

Ingredients:

• 375g raw mixed nuts
• 2 cups Nutrigrain
• 1/2 packet plain rice crackers
• 125g melted butter
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 tablespoon worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon smoky paprika

Method:

1. Combine dry food in a large baking dish (it doesn't have to be deep, just a large surface area)
2. Mix the melted butter with the sauce and spices
3. Pour over the dry food in the baking dish
4. Stir through to ensure everything is coated
5. Cook at 150 degrees celsius for 30 minutes
6. Stir twice during cooking
7. Remove from oven and let cool
8. See if you can not eat all of them before you put them in a dry container!

Absolutely D-E-L-icious  XD