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.

Spicy tomato, pepper and courgette chutney

Ingredients:

Makes a 1 litre jar

 

• 2 tins of good quality tomatoes
• 200 yellow or red peppers, chopped
• 1 courgette medium to small size, deseeded and diced
• 100 g raisins or sultanas
• 250 g apples, peeled, cored and coarsely chopped
• 250g sugar
• 275ml vinegar
• 2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground mixed spice
• 20g grated fresh ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
• 1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes

Method:

 

1. Place all the ingredients in a large stainless steel saucepan and heat gently until the sugar has dissolved completely.
2. Bring to the boil, stirring, then simmer on a low heat, stirring regularly (to make sure the mixture does not burn on the bottom of the pan) for about 1 hour or until thick and pulpy.
3. Pour into hot sterilised jars and cover.

 

This will keep for months. It's perfect with cold meats , pâté, terrines and cheeses.
Best eaten 2 weeks after being made.
It's a lovely homemade christmas present to give.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Homemade store cupboard

I love home made store ingredients that are cheap to make and can turn any boring dinner into something yummy
So here's one to get you started.

Chilli and garlic oil

Ingredients:
200 mls of oil. Preferably groundnut or sunflower
1 heaped tablespoon of hot chilli power
2-3 crushed cloves of garlic

Method:

Heat oil on a medium heat until hot
Turn off heat
Add chilli and garlic
Leave to cool
Strain through a fine sieve 3 times until the oil looks clear
Pour the oil into a clean glass bottle.
I use empty ketchup bottles that have been washed in the dish washer
Keep in a cool cupboard.

Uses:
Add to marinades for a spicy kick
Use in dipping sauces for spring rolls or prawns
Simply use as a condiment for Asian food if you like a hot kick like me.