Quick and easy meal 3: Rosemary for 2

I am obsessed with rosemary's scent and taste since I bought a pack of these fresh lovelies last week for only AUS2.45. The dried version costs about AUS2.00 for a mini jar of which I also do have for emergency situations;)

Firstly, some puppy pictures from Rundle's pet shop. They are so adorable, playful and cute. I get upset whenever the puppy I like is no longer at the pet shop..I want a house!!;(

Labrador~~sooooo cute!! My second choice if I can't get a bernese mountain dog in australia..or maybe I should get both?? hehe

Beagle and shih tzu playing around~

Beagle vs labrador~apparently the beagle stole the labrador's toy bone so they ended up "fighting"

I didn't get a picture of the labrador biting the beagle's tail=/

Sniff sniff~

Resting after chasing the beagle around~

Okok, enough puppy-ing around. I have included 2 rosemary recipes (in case some of you guys are afraid of not fully utilizing them). However, do be cautious as the second recipe is more challenging but should be attempted if there's ample time to spare:)

Baked Maryland

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 2.5 hours (inclusive of baking time of which you don't really need to watch the oven every second)
Difficulty rating: 1/5

I completely forgot to take pictures of the entire process. Sorry guys! Here's the recipe:

2 pieces of maryland chicken, cleaned
A splash of olive oil
3 cloves of garlic
1tbsp of rosemary leaves
1/2 tbsp of thyme
1.5 tsp Dijon mustard
3 tbsp lemon juice
Pepper and a bit of sugar for seasoning

All you need to do is marinate the chicken with all the above ingredients and don't forget to cut lines on the chicken to allow better absorption of the flavours. You can marinate 2 days ahead and leave it in the fridge. When you're ready, just place them in the oven to bake at 150C for 2.5 hours. You need to "wash" the chicken with the released chicken juice in the baking pan after about 1 hour. Other than that, there's nothing too difficult to handle;)

I've made egg rice and simple spinach with mushroom to compliment the dish. Here's the recipe for the gravy:

1 small cube of butter
3 tbsp of plain flour
1 bowl of chicken stock
1 bowl of released chicken juice

Melt the butter and add plain flour until it becomes a creamy texture. Slowly incorporate the chicken stock until no lumps are seen. Finally, add the chicken juice and stir well:) This took about 6 minutes? Hehe

Shepherd's pie
Recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver but with modifications~

500g minced lamb
1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion
3 cloves garlic
1 stick of celery
2 carrots
25g pancetta
Rosemary
200g tomatoes
1kg potatoes, peeled
200mL milk

I've marinated the lamb with sugar, pepper, salt, rosemary and some olive oil a few days before just for easy preparations~

Fry the onion cubes with olive oil while allowing the potatoes to boil in salted water. Add the garlic and fry until fragrant. Add the pancetta and fry for about 5 minutes before adding in the minced lamb. Allow to cook until the meat is cooked before adding in the chopped carrots and tomatoes. Once completed, allow to bake in the oven for about 15 minutes