Mexican Chile with a fruity twist

 This is just before banana & apple were added.

I told you I'm obsessed with her didn't I?  It's the flavours, it's the ease in which I can put them together. They are great and makes my mouth all tingly!!!

This beat the usual chilli-con-carne, cumin and kidney beans effort I usually churn out! The recipe wasn't online for this, so I watched the episode over and over again and make notes as I went along.. it was delicious but will need to buy the book and check out the recipe for real!
My effort (and it was a ruddy good one even if I do say so myself was...

Minced pork and beef, (Brown it off)
Add chopped onions
Add a batch of  roast tomato salsa (made up to the whizzed up stage without onions & coriander etc)
Cumin, Cinnamon, Cloves (I used about a heaped teaspoon of each)
Olives (chopped)
Raisins (Handful)
Fresh oregano
Smoked paprika (heaped teaspoon)
BBQ sauce (I used about 2 tablespoons of Jack Daniels BBQ sauce as I had it in the fridge)
Chicken stock (I used just enough to cover)
1 Banana chopped
1 Apple diced

Cook on hob for 20 minutes

Served it with rice, salsa
No photos of the served dish as we were greedy piggies again and scoffed it before I could snap! I will try to remember next time, I'm sure I'll be making it again next week...

How to deglaze your stoneware after roasting meat and make fab gravy!

As anyone who has ever spoken to me for more than 10 mins knows, I love my stoneware, I have nearly every size that Pampered Chef do and I use at least one piece every single day!  The question I get asked most is, 'how do you make proper gravy if you can't put it on the hob (stoneware is for oven use only, no grill or hob allowed!) Well, I'll tell you.... 

Roasting meat in stoneware is so simple, I never use foil and I never have to worry about my meat drying out as the flavour and the moisture stay in the food. I always cook pork in an oven that has been preheated to its highest temperature, roasting it on high for 30 mins until the crackling is crispy and golden. Then I turn it down to 150c for 35 mins for every pound of meat I have... slow roasting is the best! (For best results I dry and salt the pork crackling before cooking)

Once I have roasted the meat, I transfer it to a warm plate to rest. I am then left with my stoneware looking like this (see photo above) All dark and sticky and lovely... this is the bit I need for the gravy. In a regular tin I would put this on the hob and get it hot and add water or stock to it and cook the gravy straight in the roasting tin.  Well,with stoneware, it is already really hot when it comes out of the oven and it will stay that way for nearly 30 minutes, so this is what I do..

I pour off all the fat and juices I can into a pan.... I use my little blue Le Cruet fondue pan as like Stoneware it stays hot long after you've taken it off the heat and its pretty enough to serve it straight to the table. (If you are trying to be healthy, you could drain some of the fat off first!)

I am  now left with the stoneware with no juices in just the sticky bits.... using water from the kettle that is roughly the same temperature as the stoneware, I pour into the pan and using a fork I scrape all the sticky bits from the bottom of the pan. I don't use too much water, just enough to dilute all those lovely bits needed for the gravy... (WARNING!!!!! Don't use cold water on hot stoneware or hot water on cold stoneware...the difference in temperature will crack your dish!!!)

Your stoneware will look like this once you have scrapped the sticky bits off !

 Heat the meat juices in the pan until bubbling

Add a tablespoon of plain flour to these hot juices and mix with a whisk, beating until the flour is cooked, this may look a bit lumpy at first but bear with it..... mix to a smooth paste, then add the sticky water from the stoneware into the pan a little at a time until it becomes a thick gravy....

Now add stock or potato/vegetable water to dilute gravy to the right consistency, boil for a couple of minutes before turning it to a very low heat. If using just potato or vegetable water, add a stock cube. The knorr stock pots give the best flavour.  I also add a large teaspoon of marmite to my gravy, love it or hate it, it gives great colour and an added depth you don't get without it. (marmite haters don't worry you can't taste it but it does make such a difference so don't leave it out.) Allow the gravy to sit on a low light for as long as possible, the longer you leave it the better the gravy is, keep stirring every now and again.  If it looks like its getting too thick, let it down with a little vegetable water or water from your kettle. 

Don't forget to eat as much crackling before offering it to your family members or guests, once it leaves the kitchen you'll only get an empty plate back....

If you make a large pan of gravy every time you roast meat, you can cool and freeze left overs in one cup prep bowls... ideal for mid week meals. 

Tip - so you don't end up loosing all your prep bowl to the freezer, once your gravy is frozen, dip the bottom of the bowls into hot water to release contents allowing you to free up prep bowls and then store gravy in freezer bags.

Another one of Jamie's 30 minute meals!

Sea bass and crispy pancetta, sweet potato mash, Asian greens, sparkling lemon ginger drink  This really was made in 30 minutes although the kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it, but boy oh boy was it worth it.

The Pampered Chef Reversible Bamboo Carving Board was perfect for mixing the sweet potato dressing on, the dip in the middle meant it stayed where it was suppose to!

The sparkling lemon & ginger drink was really really nice I wasn't expecting it to be, after all its ginger, lemon and a bit of lemonade topped up with fizzy water.... what a great flavoured water so refreshing and left me with a smug.... I made that feeling!!! Can't wait to try the pomegranate one now...

I'm not too confident about cooking fish but I followed his instructions exactly and it turned out absolutely perfect, the skin was beautifully crisp and the flesh cooked just right!  Paul was a little skeptical about the bacon with fish but again, spot on!

Asian vegetables were very easy to do and very tasty, loved the idea of dressing the bowl then adding the warm vegetables, got stuck in with my hands and I loved it! Didn't have asparagus so used french green beans instead.... just as nice!

Didn't make the dessert as Tesco were out of stock of all frozen fruit.... should have gone to Sainsbury's!!!

Jamie's 30 minute meal

I sat watching Jamie O's 30 minute meals on catch up earlier today and watched the one where he makes mushroom risotto with a cucumber and spinach.

I checked the fridge and I had all the ingredients to do the spinach salad but lacked mushrooms for the risotto...

 but I did have asparagus, mint and lemon... so that's what I did, cooking it in the 30 minute style. It turned out fabulous!

 Didn't have the stuff to do the dessert he suggested but did have everything to make a huge banoffee pie!

This was delicious... expertly made by Jo.  The recipe she used as base loosely on this one here however she used butter and kept it plain.

Parish Paella Party Practice!

How's that for alliteration? We are hosting a Paella Party next Friday, to celebrate Pope Benedict's visit to the UK and to welcome all our new parishioners from the ARCC base. Over 20 family are expected to attend and we thought it best to test out our chosen meat paella dish beforehand.  Now I prefer the traditional seafood ladened rice dish but Liz [who's had the original idea to host the party] doesn't like seafood!  We found the recipe for paella de carne on fabulous food website. We were hoping that the name of the website was a good omen, so we both took a copy of the printed recipe home and gave it a try. 

   

This is my version.

Not the best photo I agree, but the flavours of this dish were lovely, the spiciness of the  chorizo oozed into every grain of rice, the chicken was tender the peppers remained crunchy and sweet.  All we have to do is sort out the quantities for 80 people now... wish us luck!

This one isn't much better, but trust me, the flavours were great!

Homemade Beefburgers

Another one of my pampered chef gadgets is the ice cream sandwich maker, fabby little product that make professional looking beef burgers in minutes! (I've never got round to making ice cream sandwiches with it yet!!!) I use good quality minced beef steak add seasoning a clove of crushed garlic and sometimes a herb or spice of choice. I've tried Mexican & Italian seasoning, both with great results! I once had potatoes and veg left over from a Sunday dinner and spend a couple of minutes turning it into bubble and squeak burgers, they were really tasty served with leftover meet on Monday!

Anyhoo, back to my beef burgers, I cooked them in the Pampered Chef griddle pan for about 5 minutes each side and they were delicious!

Open freeze the ones you don't need for another time!

If you use good quality meat they don't shrink to nothing in the pan. Don't you just love the lines on them? They tasted so good!

No photos of the end dish I'm afraid as once I'd popped them into homemade burger rolls with salad, stilton or cheddar and large dollop of homemade mayonnaise they disappeared before I could get the camera out!

Click on the highlighted words for recipes and do let me know if you try them out yourself!

Howzat for a Meze?

Homemade Humous

Tzatziki 

Ezme Salatasi (Turkish Spicy tomato salad

Lamb & Pine Nut Sausages

Homemade Pitta Bread

Fresh & Fabulous!

I have a new toy....

The Ultimate Mandoline is the ultimate in design. The safety feature gives you perfect peace of mind that your digits will be safe throughout your food prep!!!

You see the mandoline slider has to be attached to the base at all times as the slider passes over the blade, it pushes down 2 spring loaded levers on each side of the blade. This raises the blade for cutting, but lowers it flush to the base when exposed...clever huh?

Kids, rushed cooks, people having a try at my shows can all use any of the four blades; straight edge, v-shaped, crinkle, and grater safe in the knowledge that the only thing they will cut is the food.

As you can imagine, it’s been pretty well used since its arrival. We have sliced just about everything with this tool, firm tomatoes for topping a pizza, onions were sliced so thin in seconds for our onion gravy. I’m sure they are going to make onion bhaji's making a doddle next time!

Celeriac and potatoes we prepared with no fuss at all for our dauphinoise potatoes Carrots, cucumbers, green bell peppers, the list goes on and on…

Plus there is a grating feature for cheeses, which coped amazingly with carrot for a salad, courgette for the secret ingredients for my chocolate cake, even beetroot for the added extra in the muffins!!!!

A non-skid foot easel for the counter top means its not going to slip. You can also click the easel flat to slice over a bowl or plate, and all four of the interchangeable blades fit into its own little blade garage which clips on to the unit itself making it all neat and streamline. It has a handle on the top for keeping your grip while in use, or hanging on the wall. I keep mine to hand in the space made for hanging my tea towels, this way its not pushed to the back of a cupboard and will always get used.

I’ve got to say that even though its dishwasher safe, its very easy to wash by hand, just run it under the tap as soon as you’ve used it and then its ready to use again. So simple to clean, much better than my food processor!

Mexican Chicken Pie

WOW-WEE!!! This has been my most requested Pampered Chef recipe this month...its a great dish, ideal for lunch, great with tortilla chips and served with the salsa, or cold served in a lunch box! Adjust the chili to suit your taste.

350g/12oz cooked chicken
25g/1oz pitted black olives
1 garlic clove
115g/4oz mature cheddar cheese
2 tsp chili or green pepper sauce
4 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp Tex Mex chili seasoning
2 fresh tomatoes
1 lime
55g/2oz tortilla chips
2 packets (240g each) chilled fresh dough for croissants

1) Cook chicken in 20cm Saute Pan. Preheat oven to 190°C/Gas 5.
2) Coarsely chop chicken using Food Chopper, place in Classic Batter Bowl. Slice olives using Egg Slicer Plus and add to bowl. Press garlic through Garlic Press, add to mixture. Grate cheese using Rotary Cheese Grater into bowl. Measure chili/pepper sauce and seasoning using Adjustable Measuring Spoons and add to bowl. Using Mini Measure-All Cup, measure mayonnaise and add to bowl. Mix well using Small Mix ‘N Scraper.
3) Seed and remove core from 1 tomato with Core & More and chop tomato using 13 cm Santoku Knife, add to bowl. Slice lime in half and juice one half of lime using Citrus Press and add 1 tsp juice.
4) Place tortilla chips in plastic bag and crush with Baker’s Roller. Sprinkle crushed chips over Large Grooved Cutting Board. Unroll croissant dough; separate into 12 triangles and press each one into chips so they adhere to one side. Arrange triangles in a circle on Medium Round Stone with Handles with chip side down and wide ends of triangle overlapping in centre and pointed ends towards the outside (there should be about 13 cm diameter opening in centre of Stone). Gently press edges of triangles where they meet together to seal.
5) Using Large Stainless Steel Scoop place chicken mixture evenly onto widest end of each dough triangle. Bring outside points of triangles up over filling. Tuck point under wide ends of dough at centre of ring (filling will not be completely covered).
6) Bake 20-25minutes or until golden brown. Cut remaining tomato and lime half into wedges and decorate in pastry gaps. Cut into portions using Pizza Cutter. Serve warm using Mini-Serving Spatula.


Chili Salsa [just mix all together!]
500 g vine-ripened tomatoes, skinned, seeded and finely chopped
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
1 small fresh red or green chili, seeded and finely chopped
1-2 tablespoons snipped fresh coriander
1 clove garlic, pressed
2-3 teaspoons olive oil
Few drops of hot red pepper sauce (optional)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

If you wish to order any of the products used in this recipe please use the contact link at the top of this page or go directly to my Pampered Chef website.

Sweet Mustard Tuna, with garlicky Veg

This was so simple but very tasty, I'd serve this to company it was that good!

To make it IPD (Phase 3) friendly leave out the potatoes and add more green veg.

I found this recipe in an old good food mag, it called for Salmon which is amazing but Tuna works really well too!

1lb new potatoes

1 tbsp whole grain mustard

Juice of 1 small orange

2 tsp clear honey

2 Salmon fillets (or Tuna)

2 Red peppers

9oz sugar snap peas [I use a mixture of french beans, asparagus, mange tout]

2tbsp olive oil

Method

Pre-heat oven to 180c, MAKE THE MARINADE, Boil potatoes for 10 mins, Whisk the mustard, juice, and honey together in a bowl, turn fish fillets in the marinade, de-seed the peppers and cut into thick strips.

BRING EVERYTHING TOGETHER

Drain potatoes and tip into roasting tray with peppers and sugar snap peas, drizzle over the oil, and salt and pepper, put fish on top of veg and pour over the marinade

Bake for 20-25mins

Don't you just love fresh prawns?

Garlic prawn stir fry

This was such a tasty dish! If you click on the link above it will take you to the recipe. In it you will see it calls for cashew nuts, you will no doubt come back here to the photo to see if you can see them....you won't!!! After nomming [slang word for scoffing...lol] the dish I went back into the kitchen to find them sitting in a little bowl waiting to be added to the wok! Woops...I forgot them...they would have added an extra crunch to the dish but it was very nice without so I didn't miss them too much.

Cauliflower Pizza AGAIN!

For all who follow my IPD friendly recipes, I feel as if I've neglected you some what over the last few months. I am still eating healthy, carbs are low, weight is maintaining but new recipes are thin in the ground at the moment.

Since Mr TF went to work away I must admit to not being very adventurous, I pack up his weekly food on a Sunday evening then concentrate on feeding the rest of the family in the week. I am eating lots of salads, lots of IPD friendly picky bits and maybe some good carbs once or twice a week, alcohol consumption has fallen dramatically as I don't tend to drink on my own but that's all good too!

A firm favourite of mine has got to be the cauliflower pizza, the flavours are just unbeatable, the fennel in the base just take it to another level. Its also great cold or heats up well so the left overs can be packed up for Paul. I'm going to start making these in individual sizes and freeze them so I've always got something to hand!

cauliflower & fennel pizza base ready for the oven.

Pre cooked base, edges turning brown and crispy!

Homemade sauce grated cheddar and mozzarella then topped with pepperoni

Crispy base with crunchy browned edges, just how I like it!

The base crisps up nicely on the pampered chef pizza stone.

Abel & Cole Organic Tzatziki

I usually make this myself, takes a bit of time draining the yogurt but when I was sent this from Abel and Cole I thought I'd try it.

Creamy but light with a cucumber and mint flavour. texture was great too! I served

it as part of a mezze and it was nearly as good as my own! [I said nearly..lol]

Sausage Casserole & Steamed Spring Greens

This is one of Bee's tried and trusted recipes...sausage casserole served with steamed spring greens. What I love about this recipe, apart from it being super quick to make is it has great flavours and leftovers are even nicer!!!

My palate is now craving summer dishes, lighter salady type dishes so this will be put on the back burner until the autumn months while I serve summer seasonal food.

Hot chilli prawns with melting cheese & pak choy

This recipe came from 'peckish' in the Pig2Twig forum - this is what she says about it...

An IPD-friendly dish from Delia. We just tried it tonight. Yummy but pretty rich - give yourself lots of green leafies or salad to balance it. Quick and easy to do. We'll definitely have it again.


I thought I'd give it a try too and taking her advice served it with lots of crispy green pak choy and I totally agree with her...I will definitely have it again, quick easy and very very tasty!

Thanks 'Peckish' I hope you don't mind me posting the recipe here?

Printable recipe here

Jan's Jambalaya made the low carb way!

Jan is one of my zaars friends so her recipes are not IPD friendly but I really liked the look of her jambalaya so made a few changes so it would be with great results.

Click here to take you straight to Jan's brilliant website where you can find the original recipe

I was a little concerned by the colour but taking another look at Jan's her rice was a little tainted by the colour of the paprika and chorizo too. The cauliflower just took on a little more.

I followed Jan's recipe except I used only one fresh red chili and one teaspoon of the ground chili (We are weaklings in the chili stakes...not like Jan) I replaced the 300g of rice with 300g grated cauliflower and only needed 300ml of chicken stock.

The taste was fab and the texture while very different to a jambalaya made with rice was more than acceptable. I will defiantly make this again and the addition of fresh prawns is wonderful...can't beat them!

Thanks Jan for posting!

Adapting Madhur Jaffery

Madhur Jaffery's Lamb Biryani

This has lots of step to make it but you can cut corners to make it quicker. I made this version with rice as instructed but I think it would be good made with 'cauliflower rice' making it IPD friendly.


Worth the work!!!

The flavours are homely, comforting and get better the longer it is left. I had it for lunch the next day and everything had melded together and tasted that little bit better.

You will need
· 450ml cooked long grain rice, (Or large fresh cauliflower grated)
· 3 tbsp
· 3 tbsp Salt
· 1 tsp saffron strands or 1 tsp turmeric
· 2 tbsp Milk, warm
· 2 large Onions, peeled
· 4 garlic cloves, peeled
· 2 level tsp ginger
· 2 tbsp ground almonds
· 2 tbsp slivered almonds
· 10 tbsp vegetable oil
· 3 tbsp sultanas
· 500g boneless shoulder of lamb, cut into 2.5cm cubes
· 250ml natural Greek yogurt
· ½ tsp Cloves
· 0.5 tsp black peppercorns
· 0.5 tsp cardamom seeds
· 1 tsp cumin seeds
· 1 tsp coriander seeds
· ½ tsp cinnamon stick
· ¼ tsp nutmeg
· 25g unsalted butter
· ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
· 3 eggs, hard-boiled, peeled and at room temperature
Method
1. Put the warm milk in a small cup. Crumble the saffron into the warm milk and soak.

2. Cut 1 of the onions into fine half-rings. Set these aside. Chop the remaining onion coarsely. Put chopped onion, garlic, ginger, and ground almonds and 3 tbsp water into the container of an electric blender. Blend until you have a paste.

3. Put 6 tbsp of the oil in a non-stick frying pan. When hot, put in the onion half-rings. Stir and fry them until they are brown and crisp. Remove them with a slotted spoon and spread them out on a plate lined with kitchen paper.

4. Put the sultanas into the same oil. Remove them as soon as they turn plump - which happens immediately. Set aside on kitchen paper.

5. Put the slivered almonds into the oil. Stir and fry them until they are golden. Remove and spread out beside the sultanas. Set aside for use as the garnish.

6. Now put the meat cubes, a few at a time, into the same hot oil and brown them on all sides. As each batch gets done, put in a bowl.

7. Add the remaining 4 tbsp of the oil to the frying pan and turn the heat to medium. When hot, put in the onion-garlic-ginger-almond paste from the blender. Fry, until the paste turns a medium-brown colour. If it sticks slightly to the bottom of the pan, sprinkle in a little water and keep stirring. Add all the spices and fry for 2 minutes. Add the yogurt, 1 tbsp at a time, stirring well between each addition.

8.Now put in 1.25 tsp of the salt and 150ml water. Return the meat to the pan. Mix and bring to a simmer. Cover, turn heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes.

9. When the meat has cooked for 30 minutes. Cover again and continue to cook on low heat for 30 minutes. Remove cover, raise heat to medium and cook, stirring all the time, until you have about 200ml thick sauce left at the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat and spoon off as much grease as possible. The meat should be pretty well cooked by now.

10. Spread out the meat and sauce in the bottom of a heavy casserole. Cover and keep warm.

11. Pre-heat the oven to 150C/gas 2.

12. Bring 3.6 litres water to a rolling boil in a large pan. Add 1.5 tbsp salt to it. Drain the rice and rinse it off under running water. Slowly, scatter the rice into the boiling water. Bring to a boil again and boil rapidly for exactly 6 minutes. Then drain the rice.

13. Work fast now. Put the rice on top of the meat, piling it up in the shape of a hill. Take a chopstick or the handle of a long spoon and make a 2.5cm wide hole going down like a well from the peak of the rice hill to its bottom. Dribble the saffron milk in streaks along the sides of the hill. Lay the pieces of butter on the sides of the hill and scatter 2 tbsp of the browned onions over it as well. Cover first with aluminum foil, sealing the edges well, and then with a lid. Bake in the oven for 1 hour. Remove from the oven. If left in a warm place, this rice will stay hot for 40 minutes.

14. Just before you get ready to serve, quarter the eggs, lengthwise. Mix the contents of the rice pan gently. Serve the biryani on a warmed platter, garnished with the eggs, remaining browned onions, sultanas and almonds.

Note: make it IPD friendly –ish - don’t use the sultanas and I use a natural 0% fat Greek yogurt (this has a very low Carb count) Instead of the rice I will use grated fresh cauliflower baking for only 30-40 minutes. (Checking to make sure the cauliflower is cooked but still has that ‘rice’ texture after 30 mins.)