Sunday tea, made in a snap - Vegetable Chowder and Cheesy Olive Toasties

We all know the Sunday night tea scramble. Tired after a busy weekend, dwindling supplies, and everyone has already had a large lunch. This is a great little store cupboard standby: tasty and quick to make. It's also a great vegetarian option after you've had your big Sunday roast or if you want a wholesome meat free mid-week meal option. 

Vegetable Chowder with Cheesy Olive Toasties

1 onion

2 carrots

2 potatoes

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 tablespoons flour

3 cups boiling water

1 can of cream corn

1 cup corn - fresh or frozen 

1 cup peas - fresh or frozen

1 vegetable stock cube

Dice the onion, peel and slice the carrots and peel and dice the potatoes. 

Saute the onion in the oil. Add the carrot and potato and cook for a few minutes. Add the flour and stir until well combined. Continue to stir the mixture until the flour starts to sizzle.

Take the pan from the heat and add half the water, stirring constantly until the mixture starts to thicken. 

Return the pot to the heat and continue to stir while adding the remainder of the water. 

Add the creamed corn and the stock cube and reduce the heat to a simmer. Gently cook, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes.

Add the corn and peas and continue to cook until the potato and carrot are tender. 

Check the soup for seasoning and add salt as required.

While the soup is simmering prepare the Cheese and olive toasts:

2 cups grated cheese 
about 12 olives - pitted 
1 egg 
1 tablespoon wholegrain mustard 
2 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce 
a few good grinds of black pepper 
8 large slices of cob loaf or whatever equivalent you have handy

Combine the toasty ingredients and spread them onto the bread.

Bake in a hot oven - 180 deg. C. for about 10 minutes until golden and bubbly.

Cut the toasties into manageable sizes and call the family for tea. 

This recipe serves 6 people for a light Sunday tea, or 4 people for a more substantial mid-week meal. 

It can also easily be reheated for lunch the next day.

Simple Store Cupboard Pizza

Mid-week meals can be the bain of any working mother. What to make and the time to make it before our darling children start making systematic raids on the fridge. We all know that a child's hunger is like a wolf on the loose in the hen house. The other morning Little Miss 4 announced that she was so hungry her stomach was "about to eat itself".

Believe me, she is far from starved. She loves to help us in the kitchen, and keen to divert her from the television, I suggested she help make pizza for dinner.

This is a simple no wait base recipe that utilises store cupboard and fridge ingredients for a simple, quick and satisfying dinner solution. 

Simple Pizza Base

500g strong flour

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon dried yeast

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water

2 tablespoons olive oil

Sift the flour into a large bowl and make a well in the centre.

Pour the water and oil into the flour well and stir in the yeast, salt and sugar. Once the yeast has dissolved stir in the flour to form a dough. Once the dough has formed turn it out onto the bench and knead to combine.
Knead the dough until it is elastic. It should spring back into shape when pressed.

Oil the bottom of the original bowl and put the ball of dough back in. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp cloth and set into a sink of warm water to rest while you prepare the toppings.

Set the oven to 225 deg. C.

Once the toppings are done, tear off a chunk of dough and press it out onto a piece of baking paper. It should be about 5mm thick, but doesn't have to be a regular shape.

Once the toppings are on, bake for 15 minutes until golden brown. The base should be crispy.

Pizza Toppings:

Home made tomato sauce

sliced spring onion

Bocconcini - a type of baby mozzarella

lamb mince made into meatballs with crushed garlic and salt and pepper

fresh basil leaves

We made enough to bake 3 pizzas and store enough dough in the freezer for another pizza to make later. 

Little Miss 4 is looking forward to having left over Pizza for "hot lunch" tomorrow.