Posts

Pancakes

Image
These pancakes are fluffy and delicious! An absolute win in our house!  I like whipping up a couple of batches then popping them in the fridge for up to 3 days. I don't actually currently own a freezer so these are super convenient to make in advance for a sneaky snack or breakfast!  Ingredients  2 tablespoons of butter 130 ml milk 1 large egg 2 tablespoons of sugar 1 teaspoon of baking powder 135g plain flour  How to do Melt the butter on a low to medium heat in your chosen pan.  Measure out all the ingredients in a jug and whisk together. Lumps are desirable and you don't want to over mix, so if it looks a little lumpy, you're golden!  Once the butter is melted, pour into the pancake mix and fold until combined.  Pop your heat to a medium and wipe the excess butter out of the pan.  Cook the pancakes until you start to see bubbles and flip, they will then puff up slightly once flipped, this is a good sign, don't squish them!  You...

Alfredo Pasta

Image
This pasta Alfredo is absolutely delicious and sooo easy to make. I like to make this when I'm in a pinch as it has minimal ingredients. I normally just need to buy cream and I'm good to go!  This works amazing with some veg chucked in, which I cook in the water with the pasta, or a serving of crispy bacon on top. I normally opt of broccoli and green beans when using veg.  Also worth noting, I have used both hard Italian style cheese and cheddar in my makes, both have worked very well! Just use what you have to hand!  Ingredients  Handful of spaghetti pasta Tablespoon of butter 4 cloves of garlic 150ml Double cream  Handful of grated cheese Grinding of black pepper How to do Cook the pasta to packet instructions and pop the tablespoon of butter in a pan on a low heat. Once melted, mince and add the garlic, stir every so often and just let it cook and mingle in the butter!  Stir in the cream until fully combined and pop up to a low/ medium heat u...

Cheese and Chive Mini-Muffins

Image
Stumped on what to make for lunch today and limited ingredients, I whipped up these cheese and chive muffins!  I opted for dried chives as that's what I had to hand, but mixed herbs or any dried herbs would work just as well!  Ingredients  (Makes about 6–8 small muffins)  120g plain flour 1/2 tsp baking powder 1 tsp garlic granules  1 egg 100ml milk 30g of olive oil (or melted butter) 50g grated cheese 1-2 tsp dried herbs  How to do  Preheat the oven to 180⁰c (160⁰c fan) and prep your muffin cases I just measured out all the ingredients in the same bowl and gently folded until combined Spoon into your cupcake cases and pop in the oven for about 17-20 minutes. Until golden on top and firm to the touch I served ripped up into bite size chunks and with some hummus! 

Marmalade and Mustard Glaze

Image
Enjoy this progress shot of our dinner tonight! I wanted to spruce up this pork loin using what I had in the fridge and boy, did I!  Super easy marmalade glaze is as follows -  4-5 tbsp marmalade  1-2 tbsp wholegrain mustard  2 tsp brown sugar Dash of water Give a good mix and re apply the glaze every 20-30 mins of cooking.  For this particular joint, it was 1.5kg and I cooked for around 2-2½ hours at 180⁰c(160⁰c fan). Basically until the centre was proving around 75⁰c or above!  I chucked some baby potatoes to cook along side the pork to really enhance their flavour. I will be serving with green beans tonight! 

Spiced Chicken Drumsticks with Roasted Sweet Potato & Stuffed Peppers

Image
Bit of a fancier dinner this evening, but with nice and cheap ingredients. The flavour really comes through on this one and we thoroughly enjoyed it!  I opted for olive oil in these recipes; however, normal oil like veg or sunflower will work just as well! I just had this to hand!  I've separated this recipe individually, so you can pick and choose what you'd like to make!  Spiced Chicken Drumsticks Ingredients   Pack of chicken drumsticks 1 tbsp olive oil 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp cumin ½ tsp mixed herbs ½ tsp garlic granules  Grinding of black pepper Juice of ½ a lemon or lime (I use the bottles from supermarkets)  Optional: ½ tsp honey for a touch of sweetness (only if littles are over 1) How to do  Preheat oven to 200°C Mix olive oil, paprika, cumin, mixed herbs, garlic granules, pepper and lemon/ lime juice in a bowl. Coat the chicken drumsticks in the spice mix and marinate for 15-30 minutes (or longer if possible, I did it for a cou...

Vegan Burger Buns

Image
I realised I had burgers the other day, but nothing to eat them in. With limited ingredients, I whipped up these vegan burger buns.  I used warm water in mine instead of warmed plant based milk, as that's all I had! I just opted to add an additional 5ml of olive oil to the mix!  This recipe yields 4 burger buns, perfect for smaller families without having to grab a cook book and do pesky maths!  Ingredients 200g strong white bread flour 10g sugar 4g instant yeast 120ml warm plant-based milk (e.g., soy, oat, or almond) or warm water 15g olive oil 5g apple cider vinegar For the topping (optional): 10ml plant-based milk (for brushing) Sesame seeds or poppy seeds How to do  In a mixing bowl, combine flour, sugar, and yeast. Make a well in the center and pour in the warm plant milk/ water, olive oil and apple cider vinegar. Mix until a sticky dough forms. Transfer the dough to a floured surface and knead for about 8–10 minutes until it becomes smooth and elast...

Upsidedown Fish Pie

Image
This upsidedown fish pie was absolutely lush! With a garlic and parsley mash topped with creamy fishy goodness.  I actually don't currently own a freezer, hence why I've opted for tinned peas. This can easily be substituted for a few handfuls of frozen peas. So I opted to use some fresh parsley after it was substituted onto my food shop. If you don't have any, the dried stuff will do fine or something mixed herbs! Opt for 2 tsp.  I didn't add any cheese to this recipe, but you're more than welcome too!  Ingredients  Fish pie Oil 1 head of garlic 2/3 sticks of celery 1 onion 3 carrots 1 tin of peas (frozen also works)  1 Tbsp Plain flour  Handful of parsley 1 vegetarian/ chicken stock cube (low salt) 600ml milk 1 pack of frozen fish fillets  Mash  2-3 potatoes  Parsley 1 tbsp butter  Dash of milk How to do You want to preheat the oven to around 180⁰c, cut the top off the garlic head, drizzle with some oil and wrap in tinfoil. ...

Fresh Tomato Sauce

Image
I had some salad tomatoes in my fridge which were looking particularly sad. Same goes with the basil. What better than to use these sad looking veg to muster something up!  This is quite similar to my universal tomato sauce, if you only have Passata or chopped tomatoes to hand, check out that one!  I made this tomato sauce with what I had in the kitchen. I put 4 salad tomatoes in the recipe as that's all I had. Saying that, I know they come in packs of 6 and 6 would also work!  I used a stick blender in this recipe. If you're unable to blend, I recommend reducing the tomatoes for longer and dicing the onions.  To serve to my little lady, I paired this sauce with some orzo and mozzarella!  Ingredients  1 onion  4 salad tomatoes 1 tbsp tomato puree 2-3 garlic cloves  Handful of spinach Handful of fresh basil Grinding of black pepper  How to do Half and slice the onion nice and thin, pop in a saucepan with a little oil on a low heat ...

Cheats Curry and Saag Aloo

Image
I don't know if this can technically be called saag aloo, but it's spiced potatoes and spinach and slightly resembles it!  I call this my cheat Curry, because it's so easy to make! Minimal ingredients for great flavour. Some recipe notes!  If using bone and skin chicken thighs, de skin them but leave the bones in! This will add to the flavour  This can absolutely be done in a slow cooker, whack on high for around 4 hours or low for about 6, until the chicken is probing above 75⁰c This can also be made vegetarian by swapping the chicken for cauliflower and chicken stock for vegetable stock! To serve for my little lady, I thoroughly mashed the saag aloo and shredded some chicken. I served with basmati rice.  Ingredients  Curry - Chicken thighs (I used 1kg) 150g ground almonds 1 onion 400-600ml chicken stock 2 tbsp curry powder (I used mild) Saag aloo - 3 potatoes Bag of spinach  1 tsp curry powder  1 tsp tumeric  Chilli + coriander (opti...

Tortilla Quiche

Image
What a hack right?! Tortilla quiche! This took me all in all about 30 minutes to make from popping the bacon in to serving.  My little lady also LOVED it! The fillings are incherchangeable, just keep to the egg, milk and cheese base measurements. Fancy broccoli and stilton? Chuck them in there. Fancy a more cheesy quiche? Try 100g of cheese!  Ingredients  3 large broccoli florets  3 bacon rashers ( I used streaky)  4 large eggs Dash of milk  50g grated cheese  1 tortilla  Grinding of black pepper How to do Preheat the oven to 180⁰c fan (200⁰c) Pre cook the bacon.  In a bowl, crack 4 eggs, measure the amount they weigh and add milk to bring the total to 250g. (I used 4 large eggs and around 20ml of milk)  Chop the dark green bits off the broccoli florets into the bowl, add cheese. Dice the bacon once cooked and chuck in. Give a good whisk, season with black pepper. Using a 20cm cake tin, line with a tortilla, pour in the mixtu...

Chicken Broth with Dumplings

Image
This fridge raid chicken broth is absolutely fantastic at using up what ever veg you have in your fridge! Literally whack it all in! A good base of this would be carrots, celery and onions. But honestly, experiment! Below is what I used for this particular one. But think of it more as guidelines than laws!  And the bread dumplings, so easy to make yet so delicious!  The Italian seasoning in this recipe can be switched for mixed herbs. To serve to my little lady, I mashed the veg into a lumpy paste, shredded the chicken, sliced the dumplings into cubes and served with a little broth in the bottom of her bowl.  Ensure your chicken is fully cooked at the end by probing it, it should reach 75⁰c or higher. If it's still not cooked, leave it for an additional 10 minutes.  Ingredients  Broth 3/4 large carrots Bunch of spring onions  1 head of broccoli  1ltr low salt chicken stock 2 tsp Italian herbs 2 bay leaves  Chicken thighs (I used 1kg)...

Broccoli and Cauliflower Soup

Image
Quick, cheap and easy! This broccoli and cauliflower soup definitely hits the spot for a light meal or lunch!  Perfect as is or with some croutons for a little more filling meal.  I used a stick blender in this recipe to create a smooth-ish soup. Ingredients  2 medium/ large potatoes 1 bag of broccoli and cauliflower heads (alternatively, 1 small head of broccoli and cauliflower or 1/2 a medium to large ones) 1 Low salt veg stock cube 1 tsp garlic puree or 2 garlic cloves  1 ltr of boiled water Grinding of black pepper Handful of grated cheese How to do Prep the veg by removing the cauliflower and broccoli from the stalks, peeling and chopping the potatoes into 1cm cubes.  Chuck into a deep saucepan along with the garlic cloves/ puree (leave whole if using cloves), stock cube, water and a good grinding of black pepper.  Give a little mix and simmer on a medium heat for around 20 minutes, until the veg and potatoes are tender. Remove from the hea...