CORE Chilli Carne Soup

Serves: 8 as starter course, 4-6 as mains

This bulks out well with vegies if you need it to stretch out. Fresh, frozen or leftover vegies, throw them in...

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 250g premium mince
• 1 garlic clove, chopped/grated/pressed
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 6 cup beef stock
• small sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1cm cubes (approx 300g)
• 1 x 400g mixed beans or kidney beans, rinsed
• 1 x 400g tin crushes/diced tomatoes
• 2 cubes frozen spinach (100g)
• 1 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper *
• 1 cup frozen beans
• 1 cup frozen corn kernels (or tin)

*Go easy with cayenne pepper, it's powerful stuff! You can always add more, but you can't take any out! At 1/2 tsp, it is quite mild, so try this first.
I use 1 1/2 tsp cayenne as I like a bit of spice

Method:
Brown beef, onions and garlic in 3 TB of water.
Add tomatoes, tinned beans, frozen spinach, stock and sweet potato and simmer for 20 minutes.
Add rest of ingredients and simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.

Not on Core? The total for this recipe is 17 points.

CORE Fruit Salad Pudding

This dessert (or brekkie) separates into layers - a base of rice topped with fruit and custard.

Serves: 6

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 1 cup arborio rice
• 820g can of fruit salad in juice
• 175-200g tub diet yoghurt (I used Yoplait ForMe apricot)
• artificial sweetner, equiv of 12tsp sugar
• 1 tsp mixed spice
• 3/4 cup nonfat milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla essence

Method:
Drain juice from fruit into a large mixing bowl. Add egg and beat until fluffy.
Add rest apart from fruit and rice and beat.
Stir through fruit and rice and pour into a large casserole dish
Sprinkle with some more mixed spice and bake at 180*C for 60 minutes.
It's done when you wiggle the dish and it doesn't wiggle back.
Allow to sit for 5 mins before serving.

Not on Core? The total for this recipe is 18 points

CORE Ricotta Quiches

Serves: 10 mini quiche

Difficulty: Easy

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, beaten
• 1 x 250g Perfect Italiano Light Ricotta
• 10 slices of smoked leg Ham - see note
• 1 carrot grated
• 1 zucchini grated
• 1/2 cup corn kernels
• 3 TB chopped parsley
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• ground pepper
• 1 tsp dried Italian herb mix
• 5 cherry tomatoes, halved

Optional - you could also add finely chopped capsicum, mushroom, aparagus etc.

Note re ham
To get a nice scalloped shaped shell for the quiche, I recommend using small round ham. I used a 100g packet of Don's Honey Ham from the dairy cabinet.

Method:
Spray 1/2 cup muffin tins with oil spray and place a slice of ham in 10 holes
Mix eggs and ricotta well, then add all ingredients apart from cherry tomatoes and mix.
With a soup spoon, distribute mix into ham shells.
Top with half a cherry tomato sprinkle a few flakes of Italian herbs on the tomato.
Push the tomato down into the ricotta mix with the back of the spoon.
Lightly spray top with oil.
Bake at 180*C for 35-40 mins.
Put under griller if you want more golden colour

Any left over mixture can be baked in a greased muffin tray without the ham for a yummy patty.

Not on Core? The total of this recipe is 9 points, or 1 pt per quiche