Lamb burger

This burger is so good served with  yogurt and pittas with lettuce and grated carrot. After you have made this once you can play around with different flavours by adding a pinch of cumin and fresh corainder or mint to give it a moroccan taste, even change the lamb to beef.


   Lamb Burger Ingredients:
   loz butter
   ½ onion
   1lb/450g minced lamb
   ½ teaspoon thyme
   ½ teaspoon parsley chopped
   1 egg beaten
   Salt and pepper
   Method:
  1) Fry onion in butter, cool, and then add the other ingredients.  
  2) Shape the size you require.
  3) Fry in a shallow pan in sunflower oil.
  4) Cook to liking.
  5) Serve in a Pitta.

Healthy pitta pizzas

This recipe is great because it's a quick dinner and once you have the pittas and tomato base you half way there.
After that you can use up any bit of cheese, peppers, onions, ham, chicken thats in your fridge

 

Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 1 pack of pitta breads any size will do and cut in half.
• 100g of any grated cheese
• 1/3 of a chorizo sausage sliced
• 1/2 red pepper
• 1-2 tbsn sweetcorn
• 6-8 tbsn of seasoned passata. (sieved tomatoes can be bought in any super market in jars )
• Dried oregano.

 

Method :

 

Preheat the oven to 200oC
Place the halves of pittas on a baking tray.
Smear the passatta on each one then layer the cheese, veg and chorizo and sprinkle with oregano
Bake for 8-10 minutes.
Serve with chips and salad.

Sweetcorn salsa

Makes a big bowl

Ingredients:

•   2 small tins of corn,drained
•   1 fresh chilli deseeded and finely chopped (optional)
•   2 medium-sized ripe tomatoes ½ a red pepper finely chopped
•   2 spring onions finely chopped or 1 red onion finally diced
•   ½ clove of garlic minced or grated
•   1 tablespoon of soy sauce
•   Juice of 1 lime
•   4 tablespoons of olive oil or sunflower oil
•   A handful of chopped fresh coriander

 

   Method:

1.    Put your corn on to a very hot dry pan and lightly char them.       
2.    ( If you dont have time just add all ingredients together it will still taste really good )
3.     Mix all the other ingredients in a bowl and add corn.
4.     This salsa is great with chicken, fish or served with bbq food.

 

 

Spicy Hummus

Hummus is a puree/paste from the Middle East made mostly from chickpeas and tahini paste. Tahini paste is a bit like peanut butter however it’s made form sesame seeds not peanuts. If you cannot get a hold of tahini a peanut butter is good replacement. Hummus is yummy in sandwiches or served with crudités (raw vegetable sticks) or with crackers and biscuits even in a tortilla wrap with couscous and rocket for a healthy lunch. This recipe is for a spicy one you can leave out the chilli if you don’t like heat maybe replace it with a roasted red pepper skinned, peeled and chopped up.

 

  Makes a smallish bowl
  Ingredients:

•   400g of tin of chickpeas
•   1-2 dried chillies or a pinch of dried chilli flakes
•   1 teaspoon of tahini
•   3 tablespoon of olive oil
•   1 garlic clove ½ the juice of a lemon

  Method: 

1.   Place all the ingredients in a food processor and whizz .
2.   Stop when the mix looks like a paste if it looks a little thick add a drop a cold of water.
3.   Check for seasoning and your done this will keep for about 2 days in the fridge.

Speedy lemon pudding

I know alot of people detest microwave food but this recipe can even turn the most discerning food snob around,(well we can try ). For a dessert it seems a bit strange however if you have forgot to buy or make a dessert and have a few of these ingredients knocking about its a perfect life saver and tastes so good with vanilla ice cream and cream.

Ingredients: 100grm/4oz golden caster sugar 100grm/4oz softened butter 100grm/4oz self raising flour 2 large eggs Zest of one lemon To serve: 4 tsp of lemon curd Ice cream Method: 1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl 2. Then place in a microwave pudding basin 3. Heat in microwave for 3 minutes 4. Turn half way through the cooking time 5. When risen leave to cool for 1 minute 6. Heat lemon curd in the microwave for 30 seconds 7. Pour over pudding serve with ice cream

Indian Spiced Chicken Goujons Recipe

Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 4 medium chicken breasts sliced into goujons
• 3-4 teaspoons of mixed spices such as ground coriander, ground cumin, chili powder and paprika
• 10 tablespoons flour
• 2 eggs beaten
• 150ml milk
• 250 breadcrumbs homemade or shop bought will be fine

Method:

1. Add the spices into a shallow bowl with the flour and mix
2. Mix your beaten eggs with the milk in another bowl
3. Place breadcrumbs in a third bowl
4. Then place your bowls left to right flour, eggs, and breadcrumbs
5. To start the bread crumbing process dip the chicken places into the flour then the egg and finally breadcrumbs
6. Repeat the process until all your chicken is crumbed
7. Have your deep fat fryer to 180oC
8. To check the oil through in a piece of bread if it turns brown you’re ready to cook your chicken
9. Fry off the chicken in small batches so you don’t over load the fryer because they will stick
10. When they are golden brown they should be fully cooked, however if you are unsure take one out and cut it through the middle.

Indian Spiced Goujons

These chicken goujons are delish and perfect for adults, children, parties, in salads, in pitta breads with grated carrot and hummus or just served with some chips chutney and natural yogurt and mixed leaves on the sides . With this basic recipe the variations are endless. Maybe you can add your own inspiration and change the spices to herbs or lemon even sesame seeds. You need a deep fat fryer for this recipe however you can pan fry them and finish the cooking in the oven or you can place them on a baking tray and cook them fully in the oven if you’re trying to eat healthily. I would recommend the fryer as they don’t dry out as much and cook a lot quicker. They freeze extremely well always handy for dinner if you have had a long day and need a quick dinner.

mexican hotpot

MEXICAN STYLE HOTPOT On cold rainy days all we want to eat is comfort food. This recipe is adapted from a traditional hotpot my dad use to make us when we were kids, it’s probably one of five recipes he has in his repertoire when he made this my sister and I absolute loved it and would ask him every day to make it again. My mum would slave away over the stove everyday and we took that for granted think it made her a little jealous but it was just the novelty of having dad at home and mum at work, any way I’ve turned this recipe into a Mexican style one by adding a bit of chilli and cumin and kidney beans to the base sauce. You can change this recipe by adding omitting the spices and kidney beans and adding basil and chilli and using mozzarella on the potatoes or use diced chicken breasts and chorizo instead of mince beef to have a Spanish themed hotpot. The left over’s are yummy in tacos with crispy iceberg lettuce and sour cream or on top of bake potatoes. This will freeze perfectly.

Mexican style hotpot

Serves 6-8 hungry people.450g mince beef 2 carrots diced 1 white onion diced ½ cup of frozen peas 1tsp of chopped garlic (I use the one in from the supermarket ready chopped in oil)2tbsn olive oil 2 tins of tomatoes1 tbsn tomato puree 1 tin of kidney beans 2 beef oxo cubes 1 tbsn Worchester sauce ½ Tabasco (optional)2tsp ground cumin ½ tsp chilli flakes or chilli powder (Id add more because l Love chilli so use this spice to your taste)1 tbsn chopped fresh coriander 2 finally sliced scallionsFor the top:6 medium potatoes washed, peeled and slice quite thinly.50-75grm of sliced cheese any kind will do.

Pre heat the oven 170oc Heat your pot with 1tbsn of the oil and add meat fry until well browned 5-6 mins Drain off excess fat Add the final 1tbsn of olive oilAdd the vegetables to the meat and cook off for a further 5 minutes Add the stock cubes, Worchester sauce, Tabasco, tomatoes and kidney beans Stir well Add cumin and chilli flakesCook for 6-8 minutes to let all the flavours develop and marry Throw in coriander and scallionsTransfer to an oven proof casserole dish Place sliced potatoes on top Cook in oven for 30 minutes then for the final 10-15 minutes add grated cheese and turn up the heat to 190ocServe piping hot with salad, baked beans or more potatoes.Some sour cream would be lovely on the side too.

Yummy Fish Pie

 

Fish pie is comforting after a long days work. You can make it as expensive or cheap as your like. Add different veg. Of your feeling really lazy buy cooked mash potatoes from the super market and top the pie with them. Same effect no peeling spuds for hours.

 

Ingredients:
Serves 4-6

 

 

• 800g-1kg of mixed diced fish(cod, salmon,haddock etc )
• handful of defrosted tiger prawns
• 1 onion diced
• 1 small carrot diced
• 2 sticks of celery diced
• 300g baby spinach or 6 nuggets of frozen spinach if you cant get fresh
• 2 tbsp of olive oil
• 100ml of white wine
• 1/2 lemon zest
• 50g of chopped parsley
• 3-4 large potatoes cooked and mashed

 

White sauce

• 50g butter
• 50g flour
• 500ml low fat or fat free milk

 

Method:
Pre heat the oven 180C

 

1. Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the vegetables cook but do not colour.
2. When the veg is translucent add the white wine simmer until the wine is almost evaporated.
3. Take off heat and add lemon zest and parsley.
4. Boil the kettle.
5. Place diced fish in a pot add boiled water and cook on medium heat for 2-3 Minutes and drain
6. Add cooked fish, prawns and cooked veg to your oven proof dish
7. Next make your white sauce.
8. Melt butter add flour and stir until you have a paste on a low heat.
9. Then gradually whisk in the milk to the roux. Cook it out on a medium heat.
10. Add salt and pepper.
11. Pour on top of the fish and veg mix.
12. Top with the cooked mash potatoes.
13. Add grated cheese and bake for 30-40 mins until golden brown.

This is perfect with a fresh salad and a lovely glass of white wine. Enjoy.

chutneys

Everyone needs to know how to make good chutney. This recipe is a real all rounder and if you have a food processor it will do all the hard chopping work for you. If you wish to keep the chutney for a long time you will need a couple of sterilised jars. The dish washer set on a high heat will do the job for you. If you don’t have a dishwasher then wash the jars in soapy hot water then place in a preheated oven for 5-6 minutes at 160 degrees. Place the lids in a bowl of boiling water. Carful not to touch the inside of the lid or jar as it will have to be sterilised again. Also because of the high vinegar content in the chutney if your lid is not lacquered it may corrode the lids and not last as long. So place a waxed disc on each jar before putting on the lid. Be sure to label and date all chutneys that you make this one will last 3-4 months or more if you can resist eating it. Perfect with cold meats, cheeses, pate and terrines or just in a sandwich with your favourite filling.