Sausage & Pea Risotto

Ingredients
1 smoked sausage or 8 sausages, sliced
400g rice
250g peas
1 1/2ltrs chicken stock

Method
Heat oil in a frying pan and cook the sausage slices.  If using sausages you may find it easier to part cook the sausages before slicing, this will make them easier to cut.
Add the rice and stir for one minute.
Add 1/2 ltr of the chicken stock and simmer until fully absorbed.
Add a further 1/2 ltr of stock and simmer until absorbed.
Add the remainder of the stock and cook until all liquid is absorbed.
Serve.


Sausage and Pea Risotto

My recipe is featured on Foodista

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Bacon and Mushroom Pasta

Ingredients

• Pasta shapes or spaghetti (about 50g to 75g per person)
• 6 rashers bacon, chopped
• 10 mushrooms, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 25g (1oz) butter
• 25g (1oz) flour
• 1/2 pint of milk
• Handful of grated cheese

Method

1. Cook the pasta in boiling water according to packet instructions.
2. Meanwhile, fry the bacon, mushrooms, onion and garlic for 10 mins, until done.
3. In a separate pan, melt the butter and add the flour. Gradually stir in the milk, whisking to get rid of any lumps.
4. Bring the sauce to the boil, then simmer. Add the cheese and allow it to melt.
5. Take the sauce off the heat, mix in the bacon, mushrooms, onion and garlic. Pour over the drained pasta and serve.

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Toad in the Hole

Toad-in-the-Hole
Serves 4

Heat oven to 200oC/fan 180oC/gas 6.

Put 8 sausages and two onions (cut into wedges) into a baking dish. Drizzle with 2 tbsp of oil and season with salt and pepper. Cook for 20 minutes until everything is browned.

Put 150g of plain flour and 2 tsp of English Mustard Powder into a bowl and season. Whisk 2 eggs and 300ml milk to make batter.

Pour into the hot dish with the sausages and cook for 30-40 minutes until golden.

Grilled Chicken & Vegetable Stir Fry

Thought I would share this wonderfully easy, wonderfully simple dinner with you! Take one chicken fillet per person and, using a sharp knife slice (not all the way through) slices into the chicken, so taht it kind of fans out. The splash on some soy sauce, fresh black pepper and salt then place under a hot grill until cooked through.

To make the base, I cheated this time, I bought a pack of pre-prepared stir fry vegetables, so you can do the same and cook enough rice for the number of mouths.

Lightly stir fry the vegetables, around 3-4 minutes dependant upon quantity, you are looking for heated through and crunchy rather than soft. Once the rice is ready, drain well and add to the vegetables and stir fry briefly. Mix well.

Spoon the rice mixture onto your serving dish and place the chicken on the top!!

Enjoy!

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Fish Pie

Ingredients 3 medium potatoes 450g cod fillets 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 large onion, sliced 1 tbsp oil 40g margarine 40g flour 1/2tsp mustard 1 pt milk salt and pepper 30g low fat cream cheese breadcrumbs from 2 slices 2 tbsp sweetcorn

Method

1. Slice potatoes into rounds and par-boil.
2. Arrange fish a serving dish and cover in the lemon juice. Cook on HIGH in the microwave for approx. 4mins until fish flakes easily.
3. Lightly fry the onion until soft, add the sweetcorn and heat through.
4. Melt the margarine in a saucepan and add the flour, stir to form a thick smooth paste. Add half the milk and stir until smooth. Add the rest of the milk and combine well.
   
5. Add the cream cheese to the sauce and mix well.
6. Flake the fish in the serving dish and add the onion and sweetcorn.
7. Lay the potatoes on the top and pour over the sauce. Sprinkle on the breadcrumbs and bake in the oven (190oC) for about 20 mins, or until top is browned and it is piping hot.
8. Serve

This recipe serves four and works out at 7 1/2 points per serving. As you can see we ate it with a nice fresh salad. Another little tip, I Love croutons with my salad so a healthy aternative, toast some bread, chop into cubes and crisp them up in a frying pan with a couple of sprays of cooking oil, season with salt and pepper! Yummy!!

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Turkey Meatballs

Hey, another low fat recipe for you, I am serving this one with a Sweet Red Pepper Sauce and wholemeal Pasta! Enjoy!!

Ingredients 1 red pepper 2 slices of wholemeal bread 500g turkey breast mince 1 egg, beaten 100g sweetcorn 1 tsp dried parsley 1 tbsp olive oil 1 small onion, finely chopped 400g can of chopped tomatoes 300g wholewheat pasta

Method

1. Preheat the grill to high. Cut the pepper in half and remove the core then griil, cut-side down for 5 - 8 minutes until the skin is blackened and blistered. Transfer to a plate, cover with a tea-towel and set aside to cool.
2. Put the bread into a food processor and make fine breadcrumbs (you can, like me, use your hands to do this if you haven't got a food processor). Add the turkey mince, egg, sweetcorn, parsley and season. Whizz it again (or smoosh it up with your hands!!). Shape into 20 balls.
3. Heat the oil in a frying papn and cook the onion for 5 minutes until soft. Add the can of tomatoes and then add half a can's worth of water. Bring to a simmer then carefully place in the meatballs.
4. Skin the pepper, cut into strips and add to the pan. Part cover with a lid and simmer very gently for 20 minutes, or until the meatballs are cooked through.
5. Cook the pasta and serve.

This recipe serves four people (5 balls each).

Had this tonight and for once remembered to photo it before eating it!! We really enjoyed this and although it doesn't look much when you first serve it out it is definately filling!!

Happy Cooking Folks!!!


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Tuna Pasta Bake

Ingredients 120g Pasta 1 onion, chopped 200ml skimmed milk, boiling 1 tbsp cornflour 70g peas 2 small tins of tuna 2 tbsp grated half fat cheddar 2 tbsp breadcrumbs Cherry Tomatoes, halved

Method

1. Cook pasta with the onion then drain and set aside.
2. Make white sauce by boiling the milk and adding the cornflour, keep stirring until thick and smooth.
3. Add the peas and tuna.
4. Mix in the cheese and the pasta and onion.
5. Transfer to an ovenproof dish and sprinkle with breadcrumbs, and parmesan (optional).
6. Top with cherry tomatoes and grill until golden and crispy.

This recipe tasted great!! The above is for 2 people (WW Points of 8 per serving) but we found that we didn't eat it all, so there is some left!! Excellent!!!!

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Chicken Risotto

Ingredients 250g risotto rice 8 large mushrooms 1 red onion, sliced 3 cloves of garlic, crushed 4 rashers of bacon, diced 500ml chicken stock 300g cooked chicken salt and pepper

Method

1. Fry the onion and mushrooms together with the garlic in a little vegetable oil for about 6 minutes.
2. Move the onion to the side of the pan and add the rice. Fry until brown, keep the rice moving all the time.
3. Once rice is browned mix together with the onions and mushrooms. Season well with the salt and pepper.
   
4. Add the bacon and allow to cook.
5. Mix the mixture together with the stock and allow to reduce until all of the liquid has gone.
6. Add the chicken and allow to heat through.
7. Serve with grated cheese and a nice crusty loaf.

This is a great recipe to use up the rest of that Sunday roast. I even used the chicken remains to make my own stock!! This is a really filling and tasty recipe, definately one for the cold nights!!

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Simple Chilli Nachos

Ingredients 1 tbsp oil 2 medium onions 1 green pepper 1 garlic clove , peeled & crushed 1 heaped tsp hot chilli powder (or 1 level tbsp if you only have mild) 1 tbsp flour 1 large tin of red kidney beans 1 beef stock cube 2 tbsp tomato puree 400g tortilla chips grated cheese, sour cream and salsa to serve.

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 oC.
2. Chop the onion and add to a frying pan with the garlic and the oil. Fry for 6 - 8 minutes.
3. Add the minced beef to the onions and brown. Add the flour, this will absorb the liquid that has been produced.
4. Using the stock cube make 1 pint of stock. Add the tomato puree to the stock and mix well. Add to the beef and onion mixture.
5. Drain the kidney beans and add, along with the Chilli powder.
6. Transfer the mixture to an oven proff casserole dish and cook for 1 hour.
7. Remove from oven and add the chopped green pepper.
8. Return the mixture to the oven for another 30 minutes.
9. To serve: line the bootom of your serving dish with the tortilla chips, spoon your chilli over the chips. Top with grated cheese, return to the oven breifly to allow cheese to melt fully. Top with soured cream and salsa.

This was really tasty and great for munching while you are watching a film!! It is also a nice simple recipe for anyone wanting something easy and impressive. As you can see it is quite a long cooking time so, give yourself time - unlike me who started it about 8pm! Oh and watch the tops of those tins, VERY sharp, I know!!!

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Steak Parcels

Ingredients (Makes 3 Parcels) 3 Minute Steaks 1 Red Pepper 4 or 5 mushrooms 3 tblsp soft cream cheese 3 rashers bacon (either smoked or unsmoked) salt and pepper

Method

Place the a steak onto a piece of grease-proof paper. Slice the pepper and mushrooms into bite sized chunks. Put a tablespoon of cream cheese onto the steak ans sprinkle over a third of the peppers and a third of the mushrooms. Cut a bacon rasher into strips and place them onto the steak. Season with salt and pepper.

Fold the greaseproof paper around to make a parcel and place on a baking tray. Repeat with the other two parcels. Place in a very hot oven, 200oC for around 20 minutes. If you want to brown the meat slightly then open the parcels a bit for the last 5 minutes.

To serve you can either remove the steaks from the paper, as shown in the picture, or for a bit of interest why not serve the steak in the paper.

Want to give it a go? Download the .pdf version, easier than writing it out!!

This happened as a result of me planning one meal and then finding out I didn't have the ingredients I needed! That's the first step for cooking, be prepared...

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Honey Barbeque Sauce

After all the excitment of cooking those Barbeque Skewers I decided to have a little bit of creative time when it came to cook those old, cheap chicken legs from the freezer. These things were left over from a barbeque a few weeks ago. The usual, buy one get one free pack, one gets eaten, one goes in the freezer and forgotten about!!! So I decided to release the chicken! I wanted to do a roast on Sunday but hadn't the time to cook a whole chicken, so I defrosted those legs and roasted them!! But I created my own spicy honey glaze for them, read on...

Ingredients

(for 7 chicken legs)

3tblsps clear honey

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp cayenne pepper

salt

black pepper

couple of drops of tabasco sauce

I roasted the chicken legs as normal, with a bit of olive oil and salt and pepper.

To make the glaze I just mixed all the ingredients above together.

Then 20 minutes before the end of their cooking time I poured on my glaze, making sure I covered all of the legs.

Back into the oven. Don't worry if it looks like the glaze has all run off the chicken, the honey will boil in the oven, bubbling over the chicken legs and caramalize on them as it does so. Turn the legs once after about ten minutes.

Don't worry about burning, or charring of the skin, makes them taste better!!

I am afraid that I don't have a picture this time, but I will try to get one as I want to try these on the barbeque at the Fireworks party!! Along with making that Baked Toffee Apple Tart. If anyone tries this let me know how it goes. I may try altering the spices to make it a bit spicier next time, this could turn into a challenge.

Honey Glaze Challenge, take the base above and add to it to make your own creation! Come back here and share it with everyone!!!

Barbeque Skewers

Ingredients ½ teaspoon cumin seeds 1 teaspoon fennel seeds 2 cloves 1 heaped tablespoon sweet smoked paprika zest and juice of 1 orange a small bunch of fresh thyme, very finely chopped 4 garlic cloves, peeled and very finely chopped 150ml/5½ fl oz Heinz organic tomato ketchup 6 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 4 x 400g/14oz pork fillets sea salt and freshly ground black pepper a handful of fresh coriander juice of 1 lemon

Method

1. Crush up the cumin, fennel seeds and cloves in a pestle and mortar and mix with the paprika, orange zest and juice, thyme, garlic, ketchup and balsamic vinegar.
2. Season the pork fillets with salt and pepper, then toss them in most of the marinade until completely coated. Feel free to marinate for half a day, but at least an hour.
3. If you have metal or wooden skewers, lay the fillets side by side and skewer them together about 2.5cm/1 inch apart.
4. When you're ready to cook, simply put the meat on to a barbecue or under a hot grill for 15 to 20 minutes or until nicely charred.
5. Every time you turn the meat, brush it generously with the leftover marinade so you build up a sticky, blackened glaze.
6. Slice the meat between the skewers, or just slice each fillet in half, and sprinkle over some chopped coriander or squeeze over some lemon juice if you fancy.

This makes a very orangey glaze so if you aren't that keen just leave out the orange. As you can see I just served it with rice which was nice, its neutral taste against the strong flavours in the pork marinade. It says to blacken it, setting it alight certainly does this (*cough*) but I don't recommend it!!!

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Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients 455g lean steak mince Beef Stock Cube 1 Large onion, chopped 2 Carrots, diced 4 medium potatoes, chopped

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 180 oC
   
2. Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a pan, add the chopped onion and cook until soft.
3. Add the mince and cook until brown.
4. Add the carrots and 200ml of beef stock, bring to the boil and reduce the heat and simmer for 15 minutes.
5. Peel and roughly chop the potatoes. Cook in boiling water until soft. Drain and mash with a little milk and a knob of butter.
6. Transfer the mince into a shallow oven proof dish. Spoon the mash potato on top and cook for 30 minutes.
   

Sunshine Kebabs

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts, cut into chunks
• 45 ml soy sauce
• 60 ml dry sherry
• 1 tbsp honey
• 3 garlic cloves, skinned and chopped
• 2.5 cm of fresh ginger, finely grated
• ground pepper

Method

1. Mix soy sauce, sherry and honey with all of the ginger, garlic and pepper. Add 2-3 tbsp of warm water.
2. Add the chicken and mix well. Chill for at least an hour, turning occassionally.
3. Put the chicken chunks on to skewers and grill for 10 - 15 minutes.
4. Serve with Raisin Rice.

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Zesty Cod Parcels

Ingredients

• 4 thick cod fillets
• 8 rashers of bacno
• 1 red chilli
• 4 garlic cloves
• Fresh Chives
• Salt & Pepper
• Grated Lemon zest

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200 oC.
2. Remove the skin from the cod fillets and trim the fat from the bacon.
3. Finely chop and deseed the chilli and finely chop the garlic. Snip the chives into small pieces.
   
4. Season the cod fillets on both sides, spinkle over half the garlic, chilli, chives and lemon zest.
5. Wrap each fillet in two rashers of bacon and place on a baking tray.
6. Sprinkle over the remaining ingredients and bake for 20 minutes, or until the fish is cooked through
7. Remove and serve with steamed vegetables.

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Chestnut and Cranberry Stuffing Roll

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 Bramley apples , approx 140/5oz each, peeled
3 x 450g packs good-quality pork sausage
2 x 200g packs vacuum-packed chestnuts, roughly chopped
small bunch parsley, leaves roughly chopped
small bunch sage, leaves roughly chopped
small bunch thyme, leaves stripped
1 egg
100g white breadcrumbs
175g fresh or frozen cranberries
24 rashers streaky bacon
butter , for greasing

Method

1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, then gently fry the onion for 5 mins until softened. Finely chop the apples either by hand or in a food processor.

2. Squeeze the sausagemeat from the sausages into a large bowl, then add all the other ingredients, except the cranberries and streaky bacon. Season generously, then get your hands in and mix well. Weigh out 450g of the stuffing and mix a handful of the cranberries into it. Use to stuff the neck of the turkey.

3. To assemble, butter and season a large sheet of foil. Stretch out the bacon rashers slightly with the back of a kitchen knife, then overlap 12 rashers on the foil. Spoon half of the stuffing mix evenly over the bacon, leaving a border of about 3cm. Scatter with half the cranberries, then pat them in. Tuck the long edges of the bacon over the stuffing; then, using the foil to help, roll the stuffing up into a log shape. Repeat to make a second roll.

4. Heat oven to 190C/fan 170C/gas 5. Put the foil-wrapped rolls onto a roasting tin and roast for 45 mins. Unwrap, draining off any juice, then finish roasting for 15 mins until the bacon is crisp.

Get ahead
The rolls can be prepared up to 2 days ahead and kept, raw, in the fridge, or frozen for up to 1 month. Roast up to 1 day ahead if you wish, then reheat, wrapped in foil, for 30 mins while the turkey rests and your vegetables finish cooking.

I made this an it was a hit at both the Christmas Dinner table and also at my Christmas Buffet!! I did have problems getting the roll to stay together (it unrolled) which is why I have borrowed a photo of it. It still tasted great though!!

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