#RationFriendly Lockdown Recipes with FLAIR

When Lockdown started, I was excited to try all the recipes! I dusted off my old recipe books, and thanks to Instagram and TikTok, I had another 100 new ideas I wanted to try. Fancy, hard, easy, rationfriendly, limited ingredients; it all!! But – I’ll be honest – the novelty wore off quickly – and we were back to our normal meal recipes. And soon after that – as many of you can probably relate – I was so sick of making food for my family of 6, and we went to doing cereal for any meal of the day, 2 minute noodles, and eggs on toast.

I’m finally focused again on feeding my family nutritional meals, but instead of going crazy, I am focusing on #RationFriendly recipes that I can add a little flair to.

[In stepped Fair Cape Dairies]

Fair Cape has challenged me to come up with a few #RationFriendly recipes that I can spice up for my family, using any of their products. Instead of re-inventing the wheel, I decided to take some of my favourite go-to meal and snack recipes, and add a little fun to it!

So here they are – you absolutely won’t regret making any of these!!

SNACK TIME

Amasi Scones

What You’ll Need:

• 2 cups self-raising flour
• 1 tablespoon caster sugar
• pinch of salt
• 60g butter [chilled, and chopped]
• 3/4 cup Fair Cape Amasi
• extra Amasi for brushing
• jam for serving
• cream for serving

Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 220C. Line a baking tray with baking paper, or lightly sprinkle flour instead. Make sure your oven rack is in the middle, or slightly higher.
2. Sift the flour, sugar, and salt into a bowl. Add your butter, and with your fingertips, rub the butter into the flour mixture. Some people like the mixture to resembles fine breadcrumbs, but my mom taught me the pieces of butter makes for better scones, so I adapted my recipe to be somewhere inbetween.
3. Create a little well in the middle and and add your Fair Cape Amasi to your mixture. Use a flat-bladed knife, and stir until a sticky dough forms.
4. Turn this mixture onto a lightly floured surface, and knead gently until smooth. Lightly flour your rolling pin, and gently roll dough out until 2cm thick. Using a round cutter, cut out scones. Press leftover dough together. Repeat until all the dough is used. Be #rationfriendly!
5. Place scones on prepared tray. Brush with buttermilk. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden and hollow when tapped on top. Serve with jam and cream!

2- Ingredient Donuts

What you will need:

• 1 cup self-raising flour
• 3/4 cup Fair Cape Plain Yoghurt
• oil for frying

Method:

1. Mix the flour and the Fair Cape Plain Yoghurt together. It should be a stiff ball of dough.
2. Scoop it into a piping bag, or a large ziplock bag, and cut off a little corner.
3. Heat your oil on the stove in a large pan, or pot.
4. Squeeze small amounts of the donut mixture from your bag into the very hot oil. (I used a pair of scissors to cut pieces off as they are squeezed out of my bag)
5. Fry until they are a beautiful golden brown colour and place them on a piece of toweling paper to absorb any extra oil.
6. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, or dip in melted chocolate! DISCLAIMER: they are highly addictive and perfectly #rationfriendly!

DINNER TIME

Chinese 5-spice and Lemon Chicken

What You’ll Need:

• 1 onion, chopped
• 125g mushrooms, chopped
• oil/butter for frying
• 4 Chicken Fillets cut into strips or blocks
• Chinese 5-Spice
• 1 – 2 cups Fair Cape Plain Yoghurt
• juice of 1/2 lemon

Method:

1. Fry your onions and mushrooms in a large pan on medium heat, for about 5 minutes, or until they start to brown.
2. Spice your raw chicken with Chinese 5-Spice to taste (I like a whole lot!) Add your chicken pieces and allow to cook quickly for one minute before adding your Fair Cape Plain Yoghurt. The more yoghurt you add, the more sauce you’ll have. I like mine with loads of sauce, so I’ll easily add all the yoghurt. Adapt yours to make it #rationfriendly. You can always add more yoghurt if you feel it’s too little.
3. Allow you chicken to cook in the yoghurt for about 10 minutes, stirring often.
4. Add the lemon juice to help thicken your sauce. (TIP: If your sauce tastes too lemony, add more yoghurt)
5. Serve with rice, or pour over pasta!

Mac & Cheese for people who don’t like Mac&Cheese

What You’ll Need:

• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1 teaspoon diced garlic
• 1 pack of diced bacon
• 2 tablespoons flour
• 60ml butter/marg
• 250ml Fair Cape Fresh Cream
• 500ml warm milk
• Mixed herb spice, or salt/pepper to taste
• 3 cups grated cheese
• paprika
• 1 bag (500g) of macaroni (or any beautiful type of pasta you like!)
• Boiling water

Method:

1. Fry your bacon in a non-stick pan until beautifully brown (without burning), and then fry your onions and garlic in the bacon grease. Set aside.
2. Warm your milk in the microwave.
3. This next part requires you to move FAST. Melt butter in a separate pot on medium heat, and when completely melted, add the flour and quickly begin to whisk. It should form a paste consistency. (if too floury, add a little butter. if too much butter, add a little bit of flour)
4. Add a splash of your warm milk to the butter and flour paste, and whisk again to form a smooth consistency. Add a little bit of milk again, and whisk. Repeat this until all your milk is added.
5. Pour in all your Fair Cape Fresh Cream to your sauce.
6. Let your sauce cook for a few minutes, continually stirring.
7. Add your salt/pepper or dried herb spices to taste, and add ONE cup of grated cheese.
8. Cook your pasta, as normal in a separate pot. Drain pasta after cooking.
9. Add your bacon & onion mix to the cooked pasta, mix well. Pour over your sauce, and give it a good stir again.
10. Pour your Mac & Cheese into an oven-proof serving dish, and evenly place the rest of the cheese over your Mac & Cheese. Sprinkle a touch of paprika over it all – just enough to give a colour.
11. Bake in the oven at 180C until cheese is melted or browned (To your taste) and serve!

I absolute know you’ll love these recipes and can’t wait to see you try them too! Please tag me in your creations! For more #rationfriendly recipes, head over to Fair Cape Dairies.

Stay safe!

Love,

Simone

PS. If chocolate is more your thing, check on my blog on The Only Chocolate Recipe to Give You a Girl-boner!