Cauliflower Cheese and Gammon Soup

Now if I recall correctly, I once saw a recipe at some point for Cauliflower cheese soup and it slipped to the dark recesses of my mind as one of those hmm one day recipes... but when faced recently with the usual dilemma of er what to make for dinner but even more so as I was far away from home and in my aunties kitchen, and a fridge full of leftovers the filed away thought magically resurfaced with a ooh could I try it out? Would it work? Would it be weird.... 

On the Sunday prior I had made a fairly majestic mustard spiked cauliflower cheese but despite our best efforts, there was a tub leftover... that was until Wednesday, arriving home post a long drive and day to the lovely River Cottage clutching my lovingly hand made Apple, blackberry and Goats cheese soda bread and wondering what I could serve with it, the Cauliflower cheese soup idea came back to fruition and a star was born! I think in future I will have to make extra Cauliflower cheese purely to make soup with its leftovers! It tasted so good and was a perfect accompaniment to my bread! Oh and my home made butter!

Lovely leftovers!

Now I think it was gammon, it was either that or a bacon joint, either way it was another leftover that got added!

Making the finishing touches:

Serves 2

Easy

Ingredients:

400g leftover cauliflower cheese

1 clove minced garlic

400ml vegetable stock

1/2 tsp spicy Polish spicy mustard (if not a little more wholegrain-this is presuming your cauli cheese was already containing mustard too)

50g shredded cooked gammon or bacon

S&P

1 tsp oil

mint leaves to garnish

Heat the oil in a saucepan, saute the garlic until softened, add the cauliflower cheese and stock, cover and bring to the boil, then simmer for 20 minutes.

Add the mustard, then blitz with a stick blender adding the gammon at the very end for a few seconds, season to taste

Serve, garnish with mint leaves if you have some or a similar herb.

As my recipe used up lots of lovely leftovers I am entering it into one of my favourite blog challenges - Fab Food 4 All's Credit Crunch Munch which was born from Fuss Free Flavours!

Pan Fried Basa with a creamy Courgette and Chorizo Sauce

Over the years after many trials and tribulations I have become far more confident with cooking fish successfully, and this time I won the jackpot! I loved everything about this dish, it was dreamt up and fortunately it was a very good dream! The creamy sauce, with smoky chorizo and fresh chunks of sweet courgette works so well with the Basa, a relatively plain, affordable white fish that's ideal for this dish. It was a dish I would be happy to order and eat in a good restaurant!

I tried to keep the dish relatively simple, we had no cream in and as we car share during the week, and B was not home from work yet, so a little improvisation was on the cards! I wondered to myself if I could substitute with a little milk and it worked a treat! By the time it had cooked, and a little flour to thicken it was a really good consistency, smooth and cream like without being heavy or claggy (not often manage to use that word!! I used both dill and thyme in the dish in different stages, partly down to indecision! I wanted the earthy thyme with the rich chorizo but had some lovely fresh dill leftover from a fish pie I made on saturday - in the end I cooked the thmye at the start with the chorizo and then the dill went in to finish the dish. If you can't get any fresh dill I would suggest just use extra thyme leaves instead.

Another bonus is that its also cooked all in one pan so less to wash up! Alongside the fish I made sweet potato mash - always a winner!! Even more so when it involves my beloved Masha toy! If you hate mashing (or have evil elbow joints!) then its a god-send and takes no effort and is surprisingly therapeutic! I've had mine a few years now and wouldn't be without it! 

Serves 2

Easy

Under 30 minutes

Ingredients:

2 Basa fillets (approx. 260g), halved across the middle

70g chorizo, finely sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 large beef tomato, chopped

1 courgette, halved and sliced

2 tbsp plain flour

Sea salt and black pepper

50g butter

1 heaped tbsp. fresh thyme leaves, chopped

1 heaped tbsp. fresh dill leaves, chopped

200ml milk

Sweet Potato Mash:

2 medium sweet potatoes

1 white potato

Salt and pepper

1) Place the flour on a shallow plate and season with salt and pepper, pat the fish dry on kitchen towel and then coat well in the flour mix (don’t discard the flour mix!)

2) Meanwhile boil the potatoes in salted water for 15 minutes, then drain well. 

3) Heat a tsp of the butter in a large saute pan, fry the chorizo and courgettes gently for 3 minutes until starting to colour nicely, add the tomato and fry for a further 2 minutes, add the thyme leaves and stir through, remove everything using a slotted spoon and keep warm.

4) Add the butter to the pan, melt down over a moderate heat, add the fish pieces in a single layer and fry for 3 minutes, turn over and fry for a further 2 minutes until crispening, spooning over the buttery juices, push to one side of the pan and add the prepared chorizo veggie mix, pour in the milk and simmer for a minute, make a well and sparingly scatter 1 tbsp of the flour mix and cook for a couple of minutes, stirring the sauce constantly until thickened. Add the dill and stir through.

5) Drain the potatoes, and mash, season to taste.

6) Serve up the mash on one side of your plate, with the veggie bits on the other side and gently place the fish on top. Scatter over a little sprinkle of dill leaves to garnish.

My dish was quite frugal and so I am sending my dish into this months Credit Crunch Munch - my Basa was bought half price reduced and my thyme leaves can from my 13p reduced plant! The tomatoes and dill were also bought over by dad so were free to me! This month it was run by Food Glorious Food. It was set up by Fab Food 4 All and Fuss Free Flavours to promote frugal recipes and cooking.

Also I snuck in a lonely, slightly soft tomato and cooked the courgettes all together in the sauce to boost veggie content with minimal washing up! I have entered it in Jen's Food Extra Veg Challenge, created by Fuss Free Flavours and Utterly Scrummy Food for Families:

Last but not least my first entry to Cook Blog Share! This week its held by Sneaky Veg ( I love the name!)

Baked Coley with Parma Ham

For the more avid reader....this dish actually was made last year but was somehow relegated and I stumbled across it lurking in the bottom of my word document for unfinished blog posts! Now its starting to get more summery, I am thinking more summery food and I remembered how easy, and delicious this dish was! Perfect for an easy summer nights meal! I think the night it was made, we had been for a long, leisurely walk around the grounds of nearby parkland and moaning about the inevitable midges and bugs of balmy evenings!

Blogging has been tough this past month, I have been purposely neglecting my internet presence, and trying to reconnect with real life in a hope to understand why I go through such bad bouts of low mood etc...making sure I am not just using the blog etc as escapism... that combined with deciding to come off virtually all my prescription meds and recovering from my mangled index finger has almost driven me to the edge of giving up the blog. The dressing is finally off, though I have numbness and a fear every time I pick up my chef's knife! Giving up though is not an easy decision, after over 8 years of doing it! I love blogging, connecting with others but sometimes I feel a little overwhelmed with it all, all the talk of PA, DA, SEO etc just phases me to the point of erm, should I retire?! Anyway, do please bear with my wobbly moments!

This dish is so easy it takes moments to throw together, and looks like you have made a bit of an effort! We originally had this with creamed spinach and jacket potato mash - can't go wrong really with its accompaniments but something green always complements fish very well!

Serves 2

Easy

2 Coley fillets

4 slices parma ham

6 halved cherry tomatoes

2 tbsp grated parmesan

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Line a baking tray with foil and grease lightly. Pre-heat oven to 200o

Wrap the parma ham around the coley fillets, tucking the seam underneath. Place in the baking tray,  season with salt and pepper, then scatter over the tomatoes and the parmesan. Drizzle with a little oil and bake for roughly 18-20 minutes, or until the fish has cooked through.

The flavours work so well together, Coley is a fairly light, inoffensive tastying fish and the Parma ham gives it a lovely, slightly salty tasting boost!

Crispy Omelette Spaghetti

Sorry for the lack of blogging! After my kitchen disaster on Mother's Day involving my left index finger and my chef's knife, cooking, and typing is a bit more challenging than usual! Its healing nicely, the dressing was changed yesterday but its still having to be dressed, and all cooking involves CSI gloves! Its made our menu planning also a bit of a challenge as stuff I cook, my boyfriend doesn't know and so we have been having lots of quick, simple dinners. Also it blew out my food budgeting, we have spent roughly a third more than normal and April will be frugal month!

Making the most of our leftovers started today! Over the past few months we have pushing the traditional English breakfast boundaries and exploring other continents and cuisines.. my love of cooking everything and anything, a fabulous friend and her cooking skills and my boyfriend coming around to the idea of not having cheerios in his bowl for breakfast has resulted in some pretty epic breakfasts! Our overall favourite to date involved fried eggs, avocado and Filipino style fried rice but we are also very open to new breakfasts too!

This morning we had leftover cooked spaghetti, from last nights dinner (Creamy sausage and squash spaghetti) and I wondered if we could peruse another new breakfast with it! After a rummage in the fridge, I decided to make an omelette style mixture, add a little garlic as to be honest our breakfasts would not feel right without it nowadays and overall it was a resounding success! Its definitely a new base recipe to add to memory!

I admittedly used a cheat item for the topping - ready fried crispy onions! They give such a lovely savoury note to dishes and are soooo tasty! A definite cupboard cheat ingredient! B gave this breakfast a 7 out of 10 - nothing will beat the fried rice but it was a good 7! 

Serves Two
Easy

225g cooked spaghetti
2 large eggs
25g grated cheddar
2 spring onions, finely sliced
4 cherry tomatoes, quartered
knob butter
1 large clove garlic, chopped
2 tbsp crispy onions

Optional - hot sauce to serve

Method

Heat the butter in a non stick frying pan, add the white part of the spring onion, tomatoes and garlic, Saute for 2 minutes, turning regularly. Slice up the spaghetti roughly and add to the pan, breaking up with a wooden spatula.Fry for about 3 minutes or until lightly golden coloured.

Beat the eggs and cheese together, season with a little salt and pepper. Make the spaghetti mixture into a layer of sorts in the pan, and pour over the eggy mixture evenly. Allow to cook for at least a minute, then gently fold the mixture in on itself, slowly, allowing it to cook through and brown a little for a few minutes.

Spoon into warmed bowls, in the empty pan warm the crispy onions and green part of the spring onions for 30 seconds before sprinkling over the spaghetti mixture.

Spicy Chorizo and Egg Fried Wholegrain Rice

Fried rice in some sort of variation is a staple meal in our household. Fitting easily into a busy lifestyle, its also a great way to use up odds and ends from the fridge too! I really hate wasting anything so it’s a perfect mid-week meal and whilst having spare cooked rice is very handy, it also if not properly chilled and stored can harbour bad things that we really don’t need to eat and whilst it’s a bit of a cheat the Veetee rice trays are a great store cupboard standby! Its quick and easy to make a meal using them and most importantly delicious!

Veetee sent me a box full of goodies (along with some stunning rice bowls that have left me coveting the rest of the range, shown in the last image below!) with the challenge to create a meal using either their Wholegrain or Egg Fried rice trays. Brown rice can be somewhat, earthy and rather too wholesome I find but theirs was surprisingly light and very tasty, stir frying in two minutes meant dinner was on the table in under ten minutes! Very welcome after a late afternoon spent baking all sorts ahead of the weekend to be able to produce something tasty and fuss free!

Now its not often I confess that I have bought ready cooked rice, I find rice so simple to cook anyway its really no bother, plus previous ready versions I have found can be a bit unpleasant texture wise and even worse when they have gone cold. However I was very pleased to discover that the Veetee rice tasted just as good as home cooked rice, exactly as it should be. Its also produced safely and so you can trust that the rice is safe to be re-heated. Cooking for yourself is one thing but when serving to friends and family of all ages you have to be certain of these things! I had heard through friends about Veetee's rice products before how good they were, so it was great to get play with them myself!


Spicy Chorizo and Egg Fried Wholegrain Rice

Serves 2

Quick and Easy

Ingredients:

1 x Veetee Wholegrain rice tray

60g Chorizo, halved lengthways and sliced ¼ cm pieces

2 Spring onions, finely sliced – separate the greener bits into one pile and whitey bits in another pile

½ orange pepper, chopped finely

1 egg

½ green chilli, finely chopped

1 tsp coconut oil

S&P

Beat the egg lightly with a pinch of salt and pepper, stir through half the green sliced onion.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan until melted, add the beaten egg quickly swirling around the pan to form a flat thin omelette. Remove onto a chopping board and roll up tightly.

Meanwhile heat the pan with a little more oil if required and stir fry the chorizo slices, spring onion white parts and pepper for 4-5 minutes or until the chorizo has released its lovely oil and the vegetables are lightly browned and stir through the rice and chilli. Heat through, season to taste and toss together for 2-3 minutes and serve in your pretty bowls or one big pasta plate for your man!

Slice the reserved omelette finely and sprinkle over with any remaining spring onion to garnish.

Mr B's serving bowl!

My pretty serving bowl!

As mentioned at the beginning of my post, fried rice is great for using up leftovers and odd's n ends and this took care of two neglected spring onions, half a pack of abandoned chorizo and the last lonely egg from the fridge and so I am sending it over to Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary No Waste Food challenge, held by Laura over at 'I'd much rather bake Than' this month. (You can see my July round-up here).

As my rice dinner was also super quick to prepare and cook, plus it stretches out a small amount of Chorizo, I am also sending it over to this months Credit Crunch Munch, created by Camilla and Helen, and held by Elizabeth's Kitchen Diary for August.

Many thanks to Gemma and Harriet at Phipps, and to Veetee for my samples.

Disclaimer: The recipe and images remain the property of Anne’s Kitchen and must not be reproduced without written consent. I received no payment and all opinions are my own.

Chilli Chicken Bean Bowls

Have you heard of Uniform Dating? For those who don't know they are a dating website and whilst I didn't meet my B via there, in these modern times I think dating sites are a great idea to find people with shared interests without having to hang around a bar trying to catch someones eye or some dingy pub batting off the undesirables! I have had my fair share of that and I am so glad to have settled down now! Anyway over the past few months Uniform Dating have been working with Chef Michael Caines to create a new Uniform Foodies dating app, featuring his recipes - and as of today it has my Chilli Chicken Bean Bowls too! It goes live today so do check it out! Its currently only 69p to download in the app store!

Whilst I am not a Nurse, outside of blogging I actually work in a hospital and up until very recently worked as a Healthcare Assistant alongside the Nurses on a busy medical ward, and for my Uniform Foodies recipe challenge I of course chose to create a Nurses favourite meal – which following a national survey by Uniform Dating was salad! (I wont mention how quickly a box of chocolates or biscuits will disappear in when left at the desk!) 

For my salad I wanted to keep it simple but special as when you are working shifts around the clock and often lack time to create something tasty the instant noodle packs become far too appealing – so when planning my salad for the challenge I decided to go with some lean protein – chicken breast and lots of veggies for replacing all those vitamins lost during a busy shift along with some carbs in the form of a tortilla wrap that forms the base of the meal too and kidney beans for extra protein! Its also quick to assemble with fairly normal ingredients to find and can be prepared in advance around your life!

By making my salad a little spicy plus the idea to eat with your hands if desired, you can potentially eat this with your loved one (who you might perhaps find on Uniform dating!) and turn on a bit of caveman instinct getting a little dirty by breaking off chunks of the crispy tortilla to scoop the filling out or simply enjoy by yourself and save the leftovers for lunch the next day! Either way its quick, tasty and super easy to make!

Serves 2

Easy

Ingredients

Bowls:

2 tortilla wraps

Spray oil

Salad:

375g Chicken breast diced into ½ inch chunks

½ red onion finely sliced

120g cooked kidney beans

1 spring onion, finely sliced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tsp Lime juice

1 tsp cumin seed

2 tsp Smoked paprika

½ tsp chilli powder

1 tsp ground coriander

½ Yellow pepper sliced

20g coriander leaves shredded – save the stalkier parts to put with the chicken

6 outer leaves Romaine lettuce

1/6^th Cucumber, halved cored and finely sliced

1 salad Tomato

Salt and pepper

4 heaped tbsp sour cream

Olive oil

Start in advance by making the ‘taco bowls’. There are a few different methods I found on the internet but I used one of our large cereal bowls. Spray with oil soften the wrap in the microwave for about 20 seconds to make pliable and shape around the upturned bowl. Place on a baking tray (it will be easier to get our the oven!) and cook in a hot oven – about 200o for about 10 minutes, until lightly browned and crispy. Allow to cool fully and if not using straight away store in a food bag or air tight container.

Marinade the chicken in a bowl with the lime juice, smoked paprika, chilli powder, cumin, ground coriander, season with salt and pepper and add a teaspoon of olive oil and mix well.

Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a frying pan, sauté the onion until lightly browned, add the chicken and brown on both sides before adding the pepper, fry for a further 3-4 minutes then stir through the beans and tomato slices, cook for a further 3-4 minutes or until the tomato is starting to break up, stir through the spring onion and coriander stalks then turn off the heat and put to one side.

By hand, halve the romaine leaves through the middle. Use the top parts to garnish your taco bowl and finely chop the remainder. Place in a bowl with the cucumber slices and most of the fresh coriander.

Add to the bowl the warm chicken mixture, toss together and fill the taco bowls. Top each bowl with 2 tablespoons of the sour cream and a little remaining coriander to garnish.

My spicy Chilli Chicken Bean Bowls were great fun to make and to eat! I constantly try new things and it ticked the boxes with a tongue tingling chilli kick! Its healthy, affordable and of course very tasty! Don't forget I am on twitter under @anneskitchen and you can also check out other #Uniform foodies on there too!

I am sending my recipe over to this months Cooking with Herbs challenge, held by Lancashire Food this month:

Disclaimer: I received vouchers to cover the cost of ingredients and my time developing the recipe for Uniform Dating

Rum & Chocolate Chunk Bread and Butter Puddings - in under 10 minutes!

Like spiced or dark Rum?

Like Chocolate?

Like puddings?

Short on time?

Excellent stuff.

Say hello to my Rum & Chocolate Chunk Bread and Butter Puddings!!

Whilst making dinner the other night, I remembered my lovely B had bought some scotch pancakes reduced the day before (oh how I love a good yellow sticker!) and the mind started wandering.... it wasn't the easiest of wanders... Having moved house last month, half of my kitchen stuff is still in storage boxes, its semi-organised into an old storage unit but not brilliantly accessible either...I nearly twisted my ankle finding the ramekins but was worth the challenge!! Maybe it could be a future task for the Crystal maze?!! I had nothing to hand either to put the cream in but think my mini jam jar's make a novel pouring tool!

The oven in my new kitchen, to put it bluntly is crap. Nothing seems to brown in a hurry, its possibly older than me and as I live upstairs and the kitchen is downstairs, with my wonky knees going up and down every 5 minutes to check on things is not so good! Also dinner was about 15 minutes from being ready so I needed to make something fairly quick and easy.. I had experimented last year with microwave cakes, with some pretty good results so thought why not try with good old b&b pudding! I gave them 3 minutes, but next time I think I will do at 2.30 minutes for a slightly softer pudding..a lot will depend on the dish size and how powerful the zapper is!

Serves 2
Requires grill and microwave

Ingredients

4 scotch pancakes
butter for greasing/ spreading

1 egg
5 tbsp milk
2 tbsp dark spiced rum
1 heaped tbsp milk chocolate chunks (mine were from Dr Oetker. Some may have got hurt during the testing process...)
1 heaped tbsp vanilla sugar + a sprinkle to finish

Pre-heat grill if particularly ancient to medium-hot

Depending on the size of the ramekins, grease them and then butter the pancakes and cut into 4/ 5 pieces, assemble in dish tightly, scattering the chocolate chunks throughout the layers.

Beat the sugar, egg, milk and rum together, pour over the puddings to cover evenly and stand for a minute. Sprinkle over a little sugar

Microwave for 2-3 minutes or until just cooked - use a skewer to test. Transfer to the grill and brown to a desired shade.

Stand for a minute or two before eating - they will be very hot!!

These little puddings were great! Their texture was pretty similar to the more traditional oven baked variety and smothered in cream sauce were delicious!

As my puddings used up cheap ingredients, and were quick to cook I have put them in this months Credit Crunch Munch created by Fuss Free Flavours and Fab Food for All and the host this month is Fish Fingers for Tea

Many thanks to Dr Oetker for the chocolate chunks :)

Potato, Mushroom and Blue Cheese Melt

Its a little over due this post but just before Christmas I was sent a bag of some lovely red skinned Rudolph Potatoes, which in turn got turned into a few different potato based dishes!

Whilst these snow white centred beauties made excellent mini roast potatoes - one of my favourite ways to cook potatoes - simply tossed in oil - in this case Mr Hugh's Extra Virgin Rapeseed oil, sea salt and some freshly chopped rosemary sprigs:

However, a new personal favourite was this proper fridge raid supper, and in about 20 minutes I had this gorgeous mini roasting pan full of my favourite foods, grilled until meltingly delicious! 

Just before Christmas I treated myself to a small hardy non-stick roasting pan - ideal for one or two portions, if not use a small gratin style or small shallow casserole dish

2 medium sized rudolph potatoes, cut into 2cm chunks

4 chestnut mushrooms, sliced

A few sliced green olives - mine were leftover from Boxing day

Small wedge of gorganzola cheese

S&P

1) Start by boiling the potatoes until just tender – about 12 minutes. 

2) Meanwhile fry the mushrooms in a little oil until nicely browned. 

3) Drain the potatoes well, place in a greased non-stick roasting pan in an even layer, dot over the olives, scattering of the cheese, mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Place until a hot grill until everything is starting to brown and the cheese has melted nicely. 

Serve garnished with fresh parsley and your choice of vegetable – mine was my Christmas favourite of spiced red cabbage, which I made a job lot of before Christmas - it freezes a treat!

Thanks to both Rudolph Potatoes and Mr Hugh's oil for the Samples

Marmite Noodle Soup and its Variations...

In an effort to fit into not one, but two bridesmaid dresses at the end of last year, drast action was needed as what with winter approaching vs bad knees; resulting in a distinct lack of exercise, and thus resulting in being a little curvier than the dresses required, this soup became my trusty dieting friend – and hooray the dresses both did up perfectly!

This is a soup that lacks finesse but makes up for on flavour! I love the savoury kick the marmite gives it, if however you are not a fan, you could substitute soy sauce. It is also a staple meal of mine post working late shift when you are hungry but don't want a heavy meal sitting on your stomach. 

Method:

Start by grabbing your intended serving bowl, fill with water, transfer to a pan and bring to the boil

Then stir in 1 tsp marmite and ½ tsp vegetable bouillon powder, add a handful of soup pasta/ noodles and add in either of the following

Half a grated carrot
Half a grated courgette 

Sliced mushrooms (lightly fry first in the pan)
Handful frozen mixed vegetables
Frozen peas
Sliced peppers 
etc!

Then reduce the heat to a moderate simmer for about five minutes or until the pasta is cooked through. 

If you prefer a thicker soup, add a little cornflour slackened with water to the boiling soup and stir vigorously. You can now serve up or turn it into a more protein boosted version with these optional extras:

Courgette version

Egg versions:

Turn off the heat, crack in an egg, don’t touch for 30 seconds then lightly whisk with a fork and serve immediately, preferably garnished with a little fresh coriander and a twist of black pepper. It doesn't look pretty but it tastes good!

Or quickly fry a one egg omelette, shred into the cooked soup

Prawn:
Once the soup is almost cooked, throw in a small handful of cooked peeled prawns, a little fresh coriander here too is welcome. 

Mushroom and Egg version

Basically the list is endless! Leftover scraps of meat work perfectly well too. It is a great way of using up fridge leftovers and super frugal!

I am also sending this over to Credit Crunch Munch created between Camilla from Fab Food 4 All and Helen from Fuss Free Flavours and also held this month by Helen

Sausage and Sweet Potato Stew

One thing I frequently do is go shopping with a list, then change my mind or spot something on offer that I just can’t resist – on this occasion it was a bag of sweet potatoes for something silly like 65p – how could I say no! Over the following days amongst other recipes I had it cut into wedges and roasted, mashed up with mango chutney (from a Jamie recipe) and also this rather delicious, warming Sausage and sweet potato stew. Like most of my recipes I made it up as I cooked, and it was delicious. It tastes like a barbecue style of sauce and great for a chilly night!

A great little cheat item I discovered last year was Knorr’s herb infusion pots – if like me you have limited space for growing herbs, they make a great little shortcut, adding lots of flavour and minimal effort! I even accidentally added one to a curry I made the other week after getting the coloured lids confused, fortunately it was still as delicious!

This an easy to prepare and make dinner for one, two or more – I froze a spare portion as like to have my own ‘ready meals’ for days when time or energy are in short supply!

Ingredients:

2 smallish sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1cm cubes
500ml passatta/ sieved tomatoes
1 tsp English mustard
1 tsp smoked paprika
8 sausages
Knorr Herb infusion pot
S&P
1 courgette, diced into 1cm chunks
½ red pepper, sliced
1 onion
Spray oil

1) Fry the onion and sausages for 10 minutes, until browned and the onions are soft and golden, adding more oil as necessary.

2) Stir in the sweet potato cubes, courgette and peppers, fry over a moderate heat for five minutes until just softening.

3) Stir through the stock pot and passatta, mustard and smoked paprika, cover and simmer over a gentle bubbling heat for about 15 minutes, add a splash of water if it looks a little dry. Test the potato using a sharp knife - if it pierces easily then its time to eat!

Serve with some nice carbs, I used groats and my home made chilli cheese bread but rice or mash would be equally good here. When I reheated one of the portions I grated over a cloud of grana padano, which was a delicious addition!

Jam and Coconut Microwave Bundt cake

Some time back whilst perusing the homeware’s selection in the local hospice shop my eyes settled upon a microwaveable bundt cake pan! My heart did a little skip and I swiftly grabbed it and handed over my shiny £1 for it! A pound very well spent as after it sat in the cupboard for a good year, I recently had a want for cake but lacked energy to put the oven on etc and remembered it was stashed away, following a quick wash its now been used several times and no longer gathering dust in the recesses of the cupboard!

One of the cakes I most frequently bake is jam and coconut. It is my favourite of cakes and so it was an obvious choice to test the bundt pan out! My mum recently put me onto Sainsbury's basics mixed fruit jam – is perfect for cakes and a bargain at around 27p a jar and ideal for this cake.

I was a little wary of how the microwave cake would taste for something so quick but it really does hit the mark and thanks to the pretty jam and coconut flake topping it doesn’t look anaemic at all and is so quick and easy. A little custard doesn't go amiss either!

Ingredients

Sponge:

2 large eggs (at room temperature)

125g soft butter/ stork margarine

125g self raising flour

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

4 tbsp dessicated coconut

 

Topping:

3 tbsp coconut chips

3 tbsp mixed fruit jam

1) Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy, beat in remaining ingredients to make the cake batter

2) Sprinkle the coconut chips into the bottom of the bundt pan and dot over the jam. Spoon over the cake batter, smooth over and microwave on high for 6 minutes in a 700w oven or until it bounces back and a skewer comes away clean.

3) Allow to stand for 5 minutes, then turn onto a plate, gently tap to loosen and serve warm 

Turkey and Black Olive Roulade

Some nights I eat relatively quick and simple meals..some nights I feel like making more of an effort, and this was one of them! However it still was ready in under 20 minutes so not really too much effort was needed!

Serving meals up that look good on the plate always help I think, you do eat with your eyes after all as the saying goes! Also most importantly when cooking for one, you really do have artistic licence and you should make a little effort to treat yourself! Recently on a food forum we were discussing the highs and lows of cooking for one, and its a constant balancing act, however this is a perfect meal for one - you don't have leftovers for three days or even more tupperware to squeeze into the freezer and as it looks pretty, it feels that bit more special. As I used the rice water to poach it in, it also equalled less washing up - never a bad thing!

Prior to this I’d never made a roulade before and not even sure why I thought about it at the time, however I was glad I did. It actually was very easy to make, the only scary bit was trying work out how long it would take before it was cooked through due to my inexperience! Luckily my judgement paid off and the turkey was beautifully moist. This would also work really well with chicken breasts.

Ingredients:

1 turkey breast fillet, 

Heaped tbsp black olive pate

Couple of freshly basil leaves

Method:

Start by covering the turkey in cling film and bash with a rolling pin evenly, until about 1/2cm thick and spread with the pate, tear over a couple of the basil leaves

Carefully roll up the turkey really tightly in the cling film, a little like a Christmas sweetie and firmly pinch/ tie the ends together.

I was cooking rice anyway to go alongside the turkey, so also went in the roulade and boiled gently for about ten minutes, then very gently unwrap on a paper towel lined board. Alternatively simmer in boiling water.

Once the cling film has been removed, then brown the roulade in a hot lightly oiled pan to make it look pretty and golden all over. 

Slice the roulade into rounds and serve with whatever you fancy. I had rice and roasted vegetables with a little onion gravy, which worked very well. Making nice gravy too can be a bit of effort for a single serving, however I tart up instant with a spoonful of onion marmalade - works a treat!

N.b. The olive pate was one of my random purchases for 75p reduced from about £3 – I do love a bargain! If you can't lay your hands on some, something like tapenade would be suitable.

Quick and Creamy Pasta with Ham and Tenderstem broccoli

Recently I was sent a supply of Tenderstem broccoli, with the challenge to create a dish using the Tenderstem broccoli, in under ten minutes…

...Now I will be quite honest in that I am quite laid back in the kitchen, and rarely time my cooking but I decided to try and keep to the ten minute challenge, armed myself with the timer, and surprised myself by managing to get my dinner on the table pretty much on the dot of 10 minutes! Whilst I would normally prefer the taste of fresh onions, I do keep a sneaky bag of frozen diced onion which are ideal when 90% of the time you are only cooking for yourself, plus they are a great time saver too!

The Tenderstem broccoli is really quite delicious, its sweet, fresh tasting and has a tasty crunch to it – there is no waste either as you use the whole stem. Though personally I never waste broccoli stems anyway, choosing to normally use them in stocks and soups instead or even just to nibble on whilst making dinner! My dad was very taken with it too when I simply boiled it alongside a separate meal, and has even said since how much he preferred the taste of it against regular broccoli!

For the Tenderstem in Ten challenge, I really fancied using pasta but most of my stock were the 15 odd minute variety, hence ruling them out but after a rummage through the depths of the kitchen draw (a little like jenga) I found a packet of Turkish vermicelli pasta which cooks in less than 5 minutes – perfect! I can have pasta!

This is also my entry into Presto Pasta Nights #272- a great weekly Pasta challenge, this week its being held by Culinary Vibes. I have entered a couple of times before but have been bad this year at remembering but now college has finished am slowly reclaiming some brain cells!

 

So here is my finished lunch - Creamy pasta with ham and Tenderstem broccoli - delicious, quick and easy and all yours in less than ten minutes!

Serves one

Ingredients

5 Tenderstem broccoli stalks, sliced into 3
Glug white wine
3 tbsp double cream
3 sprigs tarragon, leaves removed and finely sliced
50g vermicelli pasta
75g cooked ham, torn into shreds
1 heaped tbsp. frozen onion
Spray cooking oil
s&p

Step 1: Bring a saucepan of water to the boil. Meanwhile heat a frying pan, spray with oil and fry the onion for a couple of minutes, then add the ham to heat through.

Step 2: Add the vermicelli to the boiling water and cook as per packet instructions.

Step 3: Meanwhile add a good glug of wine to the ham mixture, allowing the alcohol to evaporate.

Step 4: Add the broccoli to the pasta and count to 3 minutes. Reduce the heat in the frying pan, add a good tbsp of the pasta water and stir in the cream, being careful not to boil. Stir in the tarragon and season to taste with salt and pepper. Drain the broccoli, stir into the sauce and serve immediately.

Thanks to Melissa at Pam Lloyd for my Tenderstem samples

Its A Wrap!

Now don't get me wrong, I know they are popular but I just really don't 'do' sandwiches, especially the ready made variety, two slices of white cheap bread with an indifferent filling smothered in cheap mayo, no thankyou! However this week we had some wraps that needing using up and not wanting to waste decided to have for my lunches.

Here are two easy, quick and tasty ideas for lunchtimes:

Wrap 1 - take half a tin of mixed salad beans and drain well, smother a (herby) tortilla wrap with low fat soft cheese (I like sainsburys BGTY one!), place the drained beans on one half and roll up carefully from that end snugly, until rolled up, slice in half and eat! Surprisingly tasty for something very simple. The leftover beans can be kept for up to 2 days in the fridge.

Wrap 2 - Thinly slice 4 closed cup mushrooms, heat 1 tsp olive oil in a frying pan, add a bashed clove of garlic and when browning discard, now fry the mushrooms for no more than 2-3 mins until a nice golden colour, drain on kitchen paper until cooled, season with black pepper and a pinch of chives if you have them, smother the wrap with low fat soft cheese and place mushrooms on half of it then roll from that end, slice as before and serve.