This was so, so, so easy to make. It was really good too! I made the tomato sauce a couple days before and kept it in a jar in the fridge! It tastes better once it's had time to mature and marinade. :) The sauce started off as some garlic cooked in olive oil, then I added some chopped tomato passata to the garlic, let it bubble away for awhile on the hob, I then added some salt and pepper to season, and some fresh basil leaves. That was all I did for the sauce, and the flavour you get from the garlic and basil is so good! I then cooked some pasta, drained it, poured my sauce over the top, put it back on the heat to warm through, and then finished it off with some more fresh basil leaves and some flakes of cheese. Was delicious!
This was really easy to make. Just roasted some mushrooms, tomatoes, peppers and a large round courgette (cut like a sort of flower), in some garlic and olive oil. I gave the courgette a head start because it was slightly thicker than the other veg and would take longer. Whilst all of the vegetables were cooking in the oven I put on the couscous. Once the vegetables were almost done I left the couscous to cool and added some lemon peel/juice and coriander to it for extra flavour! I placed all the yummy roasted vegetables mostly in the courgette and served it with the couscous. So good!
These are my slightly homemade cheese and marmite straws. To make this I used some ready made puff pastry that I had left over. I rolled it all out thinly until I had as much as I needed or wanted, ideally you want it at a thickness of about 1cm, so that it's not thin and hard to pick up. I then coated the whole lot in marmite and sprinkled some good Cheddar cheese over the top. Then cut along the pastry in strips of a thickness just a bit larger than your index finger. Then pick up either end of the pastry strip and TWIST! This is the slightly messy yet fun part. Then once you've made all your twists give them all an egg wash, place them on a baking sheet and cook them in a pre-heated oven for about 25-30 minutes or until golden brown! :)
This is my homemade steak and vegetable pie served with honey roasted parsnips. This was nice and easy to make. It basically starts out like how you'd make a stew. Brown off the meat first, remove it from the pan, chuck in your vegetables (I used swede, carrot and potato), cook them off for a bit, add the meat back to the pan, cover it with some beef stock, and bring it the boil. I also added a teaspoon of honey for sweetness. Then leave it either on the hob with a lid on to simmer for about 1 hour and 30 minutes, so that the meat is tender, or alternatively pop it in a pre-heated over for the same amount of time. After about an hour, remove the lid, that way you can reduce the stock down. Then leave your mixture to cool. I used ready made puff pastry, so you have to remember to take this out of the fridge 20 minutes before you need it! - I then placed the cooled meat and veg mixture in to an over proof pie dish, give the edges an egg wash before you carefully place your pastry on top, then crimp the outside and edges how you like, give it all an egg wash and cut away the excess pastry. You can also use some pastry for decorations, which is what I tried to do. Then cook this in the oven for about 30-40 minutes until golden brown! :)
Here is a photo of my homemade cheese burger. I had some left over mince that needed using up, and I just fancied one of these! I didn't do anything too special to it, just the usual mince meat, onion, salt and pepper! If I had more time and ingredients I may have added some thyme and honey! They were just right though, simple and satisfying. :)
I'd like to apologise for the number of 'egg' posts. As you can probably tell, I'm a bit of a fan. You can also tell that I'm getting slightly good at cooking them! - So for that reason alone, I have to share them! :) I hope they inspire you to do something with eggs- whether it's using them in baking, boiling them or buying chocolate ones! Have a crack at something... Oh dear... :)
This was another Lorraine Pascale recipe attempt. I altered it slightly because I didn't have red wine or balsamic vinegar! But it was still awesome! You basically brown of the meat first, whilst simmering a mixture of beef stock, vinegar (I had to use malt... so only a little) and garlic (I also added a spoon of raspberry jam, for sweetness!). Then you plonk the lamb in the stock etc. Chuck in a some chopped carrots and onion. Then put it in the oven for an hour with the lid on! (If your doing more than one, you'll probably need to do it for longer.) After the hour, place in some sliced chorizo and more garlic! I cooked it away for another 40 minutes. 40 minutes later I put on some potatoes to boil to serve with it! I also removed the lid to let the sauce thicken for the last twenty minutes. Then finally- strain off the meat and veg, keep it warm, and bring the remaining sauce to the boil on the hob. This makes a lovely rich gravy! And then- plate up, serve with the mash! Delicious! :)
This was my Mum's first ever attempt at making carrot cake. It was... ruddy amazing! So, so nice. Even better the next day. I would give you the recipe, but I don't know it. Plus I think, we may practise again soon, refine it, change it possibly. For now, sorry, it is our secret. :) Shame... it went mighty well with a cup of tea.
This was a slightly Spanish/Mexican influenced brunch. Although the bread was technically Italian... Anyway, bread toasted under the grill, covered with a mixture of tomato and garlic puree (made before), topped with Serrano ham, a poached egg and coriander. Oh- and some extra side baby plum tomatoes. Refreshing and satisfying! :)
This is a photo of the fish pie created by my Mum and I. Was so yummy! Very simple ingredients, haddock (poached), white sauce, pastry, DONE. With the topping of a little fish, bubbles and seaweed made out of pastry of course. :) (I hope you noticed!) We enjoyed this with celeriac & potato mash, broccoli and green beans. (P.S if you don't like celery, you may not like celeriac!)
This is my Dad's recipe for a really tasty, simple stir fry. First of all you have to marinade chicken (or whatever meat you fancy!) in chopped garlic and soy sauce. That part is really important! It gives the meat all of the flavour. Then, you can add whatever vegetables you want with it - We normally go for mushrooms, peppers, and onions! - Mainly because they're easy, but you could go all out and get some spring onions and pak choi (that would also be nice!) My Dad doesn't tend to add chilli or ginger in this recipe, even though with garlic they are the three main ingredients to any Chinese dish (pretty much). Once you have browned off the chicken, put it aside and then stir fry the veggies. Meanwhile get a pan of water on the go for either your noddles or rice. (We often have noodles). Then once the vegetables are about cooked add the chicken back to the pan, taste as well, to see if you need any more seasoning or soy sauce. Then once the noodles have boiled for a couple of minutes, drain them off, toss them in some oil (peanut is nice) and then combine it with the other ingredients. Finish with some fresh coriander. Voila! ...Plus, I like this with some green tea. :)
Wednesday nights dinner- Lovingly homemade cottage pie: Minced beef, diced onions, finely sliced carrot, fried off with some bisto and covered with a little liquid. Finally placed in an oven dish, topped with fluffy mashed potato, and grated Cheddar cheese (YUM)! Served bubbling and golden alongside some vegetables. Tasted just like my Mum's. :) (Which is a good thing...very!)
Tuesday nights dinner- Classic beef stroganoff: with fine (Argentinian) beef steak, button mushrooms, onions, tarragon, creme fraiche and as an alternative to rice, spaghetti! The addition of tarragon in this was really nice. :) Try it!
After the heavy snow fall we had over the weekend, I thought it was about time I did something with these Venison and Pork sausages with port, thyme & citrus zest (posh!). They were just sat in the fridge... I really wasn't sure what to do with them! It was a perfect winters day for Sausage and wholegrain mustard mash, with some meaty accompaniments; mushrooms and bacon. So, that is what I did. If your a venison lover, or a fan of game, you'd probably love this! :)
