Saturday 30 November 2013

Gravy from home made stock

I usually start some stock off the day before or in the morning if I am doing a roast dinner for a lovely rich gravy (that probably could qualify as a vegetable in its own right!)

This isn't a fixed list of ingredients or quantities, more of an average and great for using up vegetables that are no longer at their optimum. (But think about how the vegetable tastes and what it will add though; I avoid sweet stuff like parsnips or bitter veg like savoy cabbage, even if they will be part of the meal)

Remember everything is going to be boiled up and mashed, so chopping does not need to be delicate!

Chop a couple of onions and two or three carrots. Cut the stalk off broccoli (only if you have it, not essential) and chop. Add a softening tomato or two if you have some. Add four or five black peppercorns, a bayleaf and some parsley (dried or a good way of using up stalks of fresh).

Just cover the veg with water (a tall thin pan is better than a wide one), bring to the boil, put a lid on and leave on a very low heat to simmer for maybe an hour or so (it is surprising how firm carrots can still be after an hour; it makes me wonder how long my Gran cooked hers for to get them so squishy!). If you are making this in advance, turn off the heat after about half an hour and leave it with the lid on as it will continue to stew.

How involved you get next is up to you...

- you can either just pour off the liquid and use this

- but there is a lot of liquid in the veg, so you can also take a potato masher to them and pour some more off

- or it can be quite satisfying pushing the veg through a sieve for a really thick stock

(If you are roasting some meat, then pour off any fat and add the meat juices to your stock.)

Then just thicken the stock to make gravy in your usual way, with whatever seasoning and herbs. (I either use some yorkshire pudding batter, or some flour mixed with water; and add a bit of stock to this, stir smooth then add back to hot stock and whisk and bring to boil. Or cornflour)


I usually turn any leftover meat and gravy into a curry later in the week




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Wednesday 27 November 2013

Kofta Curry

Serves four

Not authentic, but a great curry-in-a-hurry



The Sauce

Finely chop an onion and soften it in a small amount of butter/spread.

Stir in just under an ounce of plain flour (I don't measure it out, either a flattened tablespoon or rounded dessertspoon is about right) and curry powder to taste (I use about three heaped teaspoons of 'mild'), then slowly add while stirring about 3/4 pint of liquid (water is fine, but if you have any apple juice to hand it is richer using up to about half juice), bring gently to the boil and while simmering add a big dessertspoon of chutney (whatever you have or fancy, mango, branston pickle, homemade...). It is nice to peel and grate an apple in to the sauce too. Simmer for about five minutes. I sometimes add half a beef stock-cube, depending on what else I have added.  If it's too thick for your preference, it goes without saying to just add a bit more liquid.

Either add the meatballs while it's simmering, or let the sauce cool to reheat while you quickly make meatballs the next day. I think the flavour improves for leaving it.

I usually serve it with either rice or naan bread

Meatballs

As they are going into a tasty sauce, I make really lazy unseasoned meatballs in the microwave. This takes most of the fat out and you get meatballs which hold their shape in the sauce.

Divide a pound of minced beef into however many meatballs you want to make (I usually chop a slab of mince into quarters, half each quarter, and then split each piece into two to make 16 fair sized meatballs)

Place evenly on a microwaveable dish and microwave for two minutes (this will release a fair amount of fat from the mince, so don't use a shallow plate).

Turn them over (if some of the ones at the centre aren't as cooked, you might also want to swap them with ones at the edges) and cook for probably about another 30-60 seconds.

They should look brown and still be a bit springy. Don't over cook them in the microwave; they are going into a hot sauce and so will continue to cook.

When they are cooked, add to the sauce while you are waiting for the rice or naan bread.

(You can also pour the fat off and add any meat juices to the sauce if you like.)


Things to have with poppadoms

Potato and/or Cauliflower Curry

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Chilli Prawn Curry

Spicy Prawn Salad

Spicy Chicken Drumsticks

Stuffed Peppers




For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas




Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Saturday 23 November 2013

Things with Basil

Hello!

Here are some other recipes using fresh basil

however a supermarket pot will last a few weeks on a windowsill with occasional watering : )

Feta, Mozzarella, Basil and Tomato Salad

'Home Made' Pizzas




For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas




Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Meals with Mozzarella

Hello,

Links to some other recipes with mozzarella...

Feta/Mozzarella Tomato and Basil Salad

'Home Made' Pizzas

Loaded Skins

Stuffed Peppers


For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas




Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Feta, Mozzarella, Basil and Tomato Salad

Good at any time of year, either as a main meal with new potatoes, or as an accompaniment to eg chicken and new potatoes, salmon fillet and new potatoes. (New potatoes go really well with this!)

Image preview



Cut mozzarella and/or feta cheese into bite pieces (I like a mix of both, but you can use either), quantity depending if main meal or side

Rip and crush fresh basil leaves and grind on some black pepper.

Chop in some tomatoes (either salad tomatoes quartered or eigthed, or cherry ones halved), drizzle on some olive oil.

(As a main for four people, I would use two mozzarella balls and a pack of feta and about eight - twelve salad tomatoes or a big pack of cherry toms)


You might also like:








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Wednesday 20 November 2013

'Home-made' pizzas

A bit of a 'cheat' tea

Assembles in 5-10 mins while the oven heats and cooks in about 10.

Spread ready made pizza bases with tomato purée.

(I also make using toasted stotties or breadbuns, but under the grill)

Rip a few basil leaves (I have a supermarket pot from a meal a few weeks ago still growing on the windowsill, but a light sprinkle of dried basil or oregano would be okay) and grind some black pepper over.

Add some veg like frozen sweeetcorn, sliced mushrooms or some chopped peppers (or whatever you have and like)

If you want meat, add on a few thin strips of cooked meat eg sandwich ham, salami or left-overs like chicken or chorizo from another meal, or a sliced stick of peperami ...

Add a bit of cheese to the top, mozzarella if I have planned ahead and bought some, or cheddar or whatever is lurking in the fridge if I am just throwing it together.

Put in the oven according to the pizza base instructions (typically 10 mins) or if using buns just grill until the cheese has melted.


Although it takes longer to prep, this is quite a nice thing to make with kids, who love getting involved. (Tea may be later, but it's a good opportunity to hear about their day while working side-by-side)

If you don't want to use or don't have a ready-made base, as an alternative to making your own dough or a scone base, you can also half and lightly toast bread buns, muffins, stotties... before adding the topping.

(The sauce I use for spaghetti and meatballs can also be used on pizzas.)

Other meals with fresh basil

Other meals with mozzarella



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Tuesday 19 November 2013

Curried Parsnip Soup

Makes 4-6 bowls

Chop a couple of onions (they are going to be blended later, so roughly is fine) and soften them for a couple of minutes in a small amount of butter/spread.

Stir in 2-3 tsps of curry powder, and about two flat teaspoons of plain flour (To be honest, I usually don't add flour, I just use a parsnip or two more than listed below and get the thickness that way).

Once it is mixed with the soft onions, add about a pint of milk, slowly to start with to make a paste.

Bring it gently to the boil then add a couple of large parsnips (three or four if they are little and skinny) and add some black pepper (and a half or whole chicken or veg stock cube if you like).Turn it down to a low heat and leave to simmer with a lid on for about twenty minutes (I would give it a stir once or twice) until the parsnips are really soft.

Blend it to smooth (I use a wand blender in the pan - less washing up).


This reheats well in the microwave, so is also a tasty lunch for work

You might also like:

Tomato Soup

Potato and Bacon Soup

Mushroom Soup

Beef in Beer

Chilli Beef Stew

Stuffed Peppers


For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas




Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Monday 18 November 2013

Loaded skins

Bacon or gammon in a garlic tomato sauce topped with potato wedges and mozzarella.


Serves four (but easy to scale up and down).

Cut four large potatoes (or unsuprisingly more if they are smaller) into wedges (I cut each into eight: cut longways in half, then half and half again. Put in an oven tin, drizzle over a couple of teaspoons of oil then rub all the potato slices together to coat. Spread them in one layer and put them in the oven (about 200c/GM6) for about 45 mins.

I usually leave them for about half an hour, then check them and begin making the next bit. If they aren't yet cooked through (stab a thick one to make sure it's soft) and starting to go a bit crispy yet (depends on how thick the slices are and how packed the tin is), you might need to leave them in a bit longer, or turn the oven up a bit.

(If you are using leftover cooked gammon or bacon, make the sauce and then add it)

Cook the bacon or gammon chopped into small bite-size pieces for a couple of minutes in a pan. (You probably won't need to use any oil, as the meat will release some fat if you start cooking it gently.) You can use sliced bacon, chopped up bacon or gammon steak, lardons et cetera. I usually find cutting a bacon or gammon joint up is the best value and freeze the rest for another meal. How much is up to you, a pound of meat (450-500g) is more than enough for four, and less wouldn't seem mean in this dish. Especially if I am using chunky pieces from a joint, I sometimes take the meat out of the pan and spread over the oven dish I will be baking it in and pop it in the oven while I make the sauce to give them a roasted taste and texture.

Chop a couple of onions (I usually chop one fine to thicken the sauce and one a bit chunkier) and soften them in the pan for a couple of minutes with some crushed garlic (up to you how garlic-y you like it, I usually use about half a bulb).

Then add a tin of tomatoes, some black pepper, a big pinch of oregano and a squirt of tomato purée (2-3 tsps). Bring it to the boil and let it simmer for a few minutes so it is thick and not runny.

Mix the sauce and meat and spread evenly over an oven dish. Put the lightly crispy wedges over to cover and then thin pieces of mozzarella here and there over the potatoes.

Put back into the oven for about ten minutes for the mozzarella to melt and bubble.

You might also like:

Potato and Bacon Soup - this is an idea for any unused meat

Other meals with mozzarella

Beef in Beer

Chicken and Bacon Casserole

Chilli Beef Stew


Stuffed Peppers


For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas




Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Sunday 17 November 2013

Tomato Soup

Makes 4-6 bowlfuls of a tasty and filling 'everyday' tomato soup.

Put a tiny amount of oil in a pan, roughly chop a couple of onions (three if they are small) and a clove or two of garlic (it's all going to be blended later, so no need to be dainty) and soften for a couple of minutes.

Add a tin of tomatoes then refill the tin with water and add this to the pan too. Bring to the boil adding a couple of chopped carrots (three or four if they are small). Add some black pepper, a pinch of parsley, a pinch of basil and a squirt of tomato purée (about 2-3 tsps). Leave to simmer on a low heat for about 20 minutes, until the carrots are soft.

If I am making this is in advance I usually switch the heat off at this point and leave it to cool for an hour or so before sticking the wand blender in. Taste it and adjust the seasoning (it may benefit from a pinch of salt and a pinch of sugar).

If I was going to serve it straight away I would probably simmer it for an extra 5-10 mins and then blend.

If you don't have a blender, then give it a good bash with a potato masher (and push it through a sieve with a spoon if you want it a bit smoother)

This reheats well and is fine in the microwave, so is good to take to work for lunch. It should freeze okay too.





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Saturday 16 November 2013

Beef in Beer

Serves four

Gently heat a tiny drop of oil and dot of butter/spread in a heavy casserole pan that will go in the oven (if you don't have one, use an ordinary pan and transfer it into a oven dish later) and lightly brown 1lb of stewing/casserole/shin beef. Stir in an ounce of flour (I don't measure, a rounded tablespoon or a heaped dessert-spoon is about right), cook it gently stirring for a minute or two and then slowly add a can of beer (a pint, 440 - 500mls), stirring into the flour paste.

(It is up to you what beer you use, stout and bitter is rich and strong, and best made the day before to let flavours develop, lager is fine too and has a sweeter taste.)

Add a couple of crushed cloves of garlic and a couple of large onions (I usually chop one fine to disappear into the gravy, and chunk the other). You can also chop a carrot or two in if you like.

Add a small pinch of nutmeg, a teaspoon of brown sugar (and a bit more if using stout or bitter), a large pinch of dried thyme and parsley, some black pepper and a bay leaf (you can add a half or whole beef stock cube too if you like).

Bring it to the boil and let it simmer for about half an hour. It needs time for the flavours to develop, so it will end up smoother and richer than it tastes now, before putting it in the oven for a couple of hours, about 130c/GM3.

If you are making it in advance, you can either put it straight in the oven and then just reheat tomorrow, or switch it off and do in oven tomorrow. (Or you can leave the oven off all together and just leave it on a very low heat with the lid on for a couple of hours, stirring every 15-20 mins.

This is really nice with mashed potatoes and vegetables. Or Yorkshire puddings. Dumplings would work too.

You might also like:

Chilli Beef Stew

Chicken and Bacon Casserole

Stuffed Peppers


For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas


Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Thursday 14 November 2013

Things to have with poppadoms

It's so nice to have a few little bowls of things to load onto poppadoms.

Here are a few quick-to-make ideas to go alongside plain yoghurt and jars of mango chutney and lime pickle.


Finely slice an onion, mix with a spoonful of mint sauce out of the jar diluted with a little bit of lemon juice (best made and left to soften for at least half an hour)


Cut a piece of cucumber in half longways and scrape a spoon along to take out the wet seedy centre. Chop it into matchstick pieces (cut along each piece once or twice, then cut across), stir into some plain yoghurt and add a sprinkle of garam masala.


Spring onion finely sliced into plain yoghurt


Red or green chilli chopped into plain yoghurt (some fresh coriander in too is nice)


Please feel free to share your own favourites in comments!


You might also like

Potato and/or Cauliflower Curry

Chilli Prawn Curry


For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas




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Wednesday 13 November 2013

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Whether for spaghetti and meatballs or as an accompaniment to grilled chicken or steak, this quick and easy tomato sauce recipe won't let you down.



Tomato Sauce (Spaghetti and Meatballs)

Serves four

The Sauce

Chop one or two onions as finely as you can, and soften on a low heat in a small splash of olive oil.

Crush some garlic (I think about half a bulb is right) and add to the pan to soften.

Blend a tin of tomatoes (I use a wand blender, as less washing up), and then strain through a sieve into the pan, pushing it through with a spoon to remove the pips and any skin. (This just takes a couple of minutes but if you are short on time and effort, you could just pour the tin straight in and mash it up with the spoon, but I think this is better with a smooth sauce.)

Stir in a big pinch each of dried oregano and parsley, some black pepper and about half a teaspoon of sugar while you bring it to the boil. Stir in a squeeze of tomato purée (about 2-3 tsps) and let it simmer for about five minutes, and adjust the seasoning to your taste.

This can be made the day before and reheated, it also freezes well. (Although the sauce doesn't take long to make, reheating it is one less thing to sequence when also making meatballs and boiling spaghetti)

(I sometimes make this as a sauce to go with grilled chicken, roast or new potatoes and eg green beans/mange-touts/sugar-snaps)


Meatballs

As they are going into a tasty sauce, I make really lazy unseasoned meatballs in the microwave. This takes most of the fat out and you get meatballs which hold their shape in the sauce.

Divide a pound of minced beef into however many meatballs you want to make (I usually chop a slab of mince into quarters, half each quarter, and then split each piece into two to make 16 fair sized meatballs)

Place evenly on a microwaveable dish and microwave for two minutes (this will release a fair amount of fat from the mince, so don't use a shallow plate).

Turn them over (if some of the ones at the centre aren't as cooked, you might also want to swap them with ones at the edges) and cook for probably about another 30-60 seconds.

They should look brown and still be a bit springy. Don't over cook them in the microwave; they are going into a hot sauce and so will continue to cook.

When they are cooked, add to the sauce while you are waiting for the pasta to finish cooking.

(You can also pour the fat off and add any meat juices to the sauce if you like.)


You might also like

Kofta curry

Stuffed Peppers




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Tuesday 12 November 2013

Stir Fry Sauce

Try this with stir-fried chicken and vegetables (for example onions, peppers, baby or frozen corn, courgettes, tinned bamboo, tinned water chestnuts, whatever you have or fancy), stir in at the end after you have added any noodles or rice; just enough to coat (it is too rich to have as a 'gravy')

(I often make a small pot of this to drizzle over or dip spring rolls into)

Equal quantities of honey and Worcestershire sauce

a dash of Tabasco to taste

(a pinch of dried coriander leaf or a few fresh leaves if you have some growing)

I sometimes also grate in some root ginger with the vegetables (root ginger freezes well, peels easily with a potato peeler and can be grated from frozen into dishes)


You might also like:

Things to have with poppadoms

Spicy prawn salad

Ribbon Salad


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Monday 11 November 2013

Mushroom Soup

Makes four generous bowlfuls.

Put a tiny amount of vegetable oil and butter/spread into a pan, just enough to soften two chopped onions for a couple of mins (can be roughly chopped as it is going to be blended later).

Add 8-12 ozs of mushrooms (if they are big, chop them roughly or tear them up as you add to the pan) and soften with the onions for a couple of minutes, then lower the heat and put a lid on for five minutes to keep softening.

Then stir in about an ounce of plain flour (I don't measure it out, a heaped dessert spoon or a rounded tablespoon is about right) and let it cook while stirring for a minute.

Add a pint of liquid slowly at first while stirring to mix in flour paste . This can be all milk if you like it creamy, but can be mixed with water (I would recommend you use at least half milk).

Add in a pinch of dried basil and some black pepper (you might also want to add in about a half a vegetable or chicken stock cube) and bring it to the boil, stirring occasionally.

Turn heat down low and let it simmer for 10-15 mins partly covered (ie put the lid on but leave the spoon in), giving it the odd stir.

Finally, blend it to however smooth you like. (I use a wand blender; it's far less washing up). Have a taste and add more basil, pepper or salt/stock to taste. If it is too thick, add a bit more milk or water and reheat.


(This reheats well. so I usually make it the day before, when I'm cooking that night's tea, as it doesn't take a lot of preparation or attention, and just leave it simmering or switch it off while eating, and come back to blend quickly after. It also reheats in the microwave quite well, so is good to take to work for lunches, but I wouldn't imagine it would freeze well.)


You might also like:

Potato and Bacon Soup

Tomato Soup

Mushroom Rice

Potato/Cauliflower Soup

Curried Parsnip Soup


For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas




Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Sunday 10 November 2013

Smoked fish (and prawns) in a lemony white sauce

This is a lovely filling for a baked potato. Serves about four. It is easier to make than it sounds!

Gently heat some butter/spread in a pan (about an ounce)

Chop an onion or two (depending on size) and soften for a couple of minutes, then stir in about an ounce of plain flour (I don't measure this out, a heaped dessert or rounded table spoon is about an ounce) so it combines with the flour and then cook it gently for a minute or two.

Add about 2-3 tbsp lemon juice (depending on how sharp you like it). This is about the juice of one lemon if you are using fresh and not bottled.

Now start to add a bit of milk slowly while stirring, then add some more and stir, more and stir as you make a sauce from the paste...

This is the slightly tricky bit as lemon juice and milk are not natural friends, but be bold and stir fast - if the milk splits to start with, the mixing it with the flour paste does bring it all back together, honest!)

Keep adding the milk until you have as much milk in as you want sauce (probably up to a pint*) and let it cook on low for a minute or two to thicken and until it starts to gently bubble. Grind in some black pepper while it heats. (If you do use a fresh lemon, grating the zest into the sauce is really nice too.)

Add chunks** of smoked fish (eg cod/haddock/coley, about 1lb. I prefer un-dyed) with the skin removed*** and stir carefully to coat the fish with the sauce (you want the fish to stay in chunks as much as possible) then put the lid on. Check after about five minutes and carefully stir again. It might need a couple more minutes, depending on the size of the chunks)

Once the fish is cooked, stir in any prawns if you are using them (bear in mind that if they are still frozen it will add more liquid and salt, probably worth thawing first, or at least giving them a quick rinse in a sieve under the cold tap and patting gently with some kitchen roll)

Give them a minute or two to heat through, then add in any frozen veg (sweetcorn, peas, green beans) to heat through too. (Or it's nice served with courgettes, or fresh green beans/mange-tout/sugar-snaps)


*You want the sauce to be a bit wet so it cooks the fish, but also bear in mind that the fish and any prawns and veg you add will also add liquid, so keep it quite thick at this stage. (I usually add a little bit of milk around the edge of the pan just before I add the fish so it steams)

** Big chunks take a little longer to cook, but if you start big and the chunks break up, at least you are left with smaller chunks and not mince-y fish rubble. I usually start with inch-pieces.

*** Start at the tail end with a sharp knife and cut down at a slight angle to the skin. Hold the tail firmly and pull it while sliding the knife along towards the other end. If you've done it a few times, you can do this while the sauce is heating up, as it does only take a minute or two to skin and chop if you have a bit of confidence. Otherwise maybe do this before you start the sauce, or switch the heat off while you are doing it.


1oz = 25g
1tbsp = 15ml
1pt = 450ml
1lb = 450g




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Quick Baked Potatoes

I don't often have time to bake potatoes from scratch in the oven (yes, I know I could set the oven to timed, but it would mean just one more thing to do in the morning, and doesn't work for gas ovens either), but I do like the crisp jacket of a proper oven baked potato that a microwave just can't achieve

Apologies for a fairly simple post, but when I mention combining the methods, people do often say they have never thought of this.

Prog your potatoes and put them in the microwave on high for five minutes. Switch the oven on to about 200c/GM6 and start preparing the filling.

After five minutes, stab the potatoes to see how they are getting on. You'll probably need to turn them over and pop back in for another couple of minutes. Keep checking, and when soft through, put them into the oven to crisp while you finish off the filling.

Even just five minutes to dry out and crisp off really makes a difference, ten to fifteen is ideal.


Things to have with baked potatoes:

Chicken and Bacon Casserole

Smoked fish and prawns

Chilli Beef Stew



For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas




Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Saturday 9 November 2013

Chicken Kebabs

Quick and tasty. Serves 4
Image preview



Marinade (to cover 1lb of chicken cut into bite size pieces)

2tsps ground coriander

2tsps ground cumin

(I am a bit more generous with the coriander, rounded spoons for coriander, flat ones for the cumin)

1tsp turmeric

¼ - 1 tsp paprika or cayenne pepper (according to how spicy you like it)

Crushed garlic (depends on how garlic-y you like it– I think half a bulb is about right!)

Lemon juice, add enough to make a thick paste, but not sloppy, about 1-2 tbsp

Add chicken and mix to coat. Leave for about 10 minutes while grill heats up.

Foil line a roasting tin, spread chicken out and cook under a hot grill for 5-10 mins. Cut into a big piece to check chicken cooked through (ie no pink remaining)

Serve with toasted pita breads, yoghurt (I think greek is best) and chopped peppers (the marinated chicken is lovely on its own, but the peppers and yoghurt work brilliantly together stuffed in pita bread).

This is also good in tortilla wraps.

It is tasty cold on a picnic as well.


1tsp = 5ml
1tbsp = 15ml
1lb = 450g


You might also like

Spicy Chicken Drumsticks

Chicken and Bacon Casserole






For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas





Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Friday 8 November 2013

Bacon and Potato Soup

Quick, simple, cheap and tasty

This will serve four but it scales up and down easily according to how hungry you are, how many it has to feed and what you have to hand.

Bacon – how much is up to you, I would suggest at least a slice or a couple of rashers per person. Smoked bacon recommended. Chopping up part of a raw bacon/gammon joint into small pieces can be more economical and tasty than sliced bacon. Lardons work well. Pieces of leftover roast gammon or bacon is fine too, but doesn’t flavour it quite so well. Wiltshire cured bacon doesn’t seem to work particularly well though.

New potatoes – again, depends how filling a soup you want, about 1-2 per person. The more you add, unsurprisingly the chunkier or thicker the soup. You can use up cold ones, which is quicker to make but the flavour is much better if they go in raw, as they soak up the soup flavour.

Onion finely chopped – at least 1 medium or large, or a couple of small

Milk – about a pint.

Parsley – dried or fresh

Black pepper

Chop the bacon into bite size pieces and put in pan. Start off on a gentle heat to release some of the fat so no oil is needed. Cook for a couple of minutes stirring occasionally.

Add the onion and continue to cook until the onion is soft (about 2-3 minutes).

Add milk and chopped potatoes, and parsley and black pepper to taste. Heat and then simmer gently until potatoes are soft (about 10 minutes if raw used, depending on size of pieces) stirring occasionally. (If you like your soup thicker, bash the potatoes up a bit when stirring.)

(If using leftover gammon, start by softening onions in a little oil, then add it with the potatoes)


A handful of frozen sweetcorn can be added when it’s simmering if you want to include some veg.


Loaded skins


Mushroom Soup

Tomato Soup

Mushroom Rice

For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas




Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

The best toasted sandwich

Take a couple of slices of bread and spread with a sauce (I favour Reggae Reggae sauce, but anything with a bit of a kick, or brown eg HP if spicy isn't for you). Spread one slice thin and the other a bit thicker.

Put a slice of ham onto the thinly spread slice. Add cheese, either thin slices or a bit grated. (I like extra-mature cheddar, but whatever you have is good, even those little plastic sausages of Austrian Smoked thinly sliced)

Put the thicker sauced slice on top of cheese.

This bit can get a bit messy, but basically you need to lightly butter (or whatever spread you use) the outside of the sandwich before toasting it. This makes it lovely and crunchy. (I usually butter one side, put that side down on the grill and then butter the top.

For best results if you have a George Forman grill (about two minutes) or sandwich toaster, use that (with thinner spread slice with ham on the bottom down so cheese is less likely to try to escape through bread and weld to appliance), otherwise put under the cooker grill, or you can put it into a frying pan (no oil) and turn when crsipy.


(My second favourite toasted sandwich is cream cheese with some thinly sliced spring onion in - sounds a bit odd but is very nice!)


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Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Thursday 7 November 2013

Rice with chorizo and prawns (sometimes also with chicken)

Not really a risotto or a paella, but v tasty.

This serves three to four hungry people sometimes with leftovers for lunch the next day.

Takes twenty to thirty mins, depending on how fast you chop.

Quantities of meat and veg up to you, be as economical or indulgent as you like to make what you have go round.

(If you are using chicken chop it into small pieces and cook it before you add in the onions)

Chop an onion or two (depending on size) soften in a big pan with a tiny bit of butter/spread/oil, stirring on a gentle heat.

While onion is softening, chop some peppers  (I usually do one and a half to two, but whatever you have to hand and your own taste) and add to the pan to soften too, stirring.

Boil the kettle. Weigh out rice (about 8 ozs. I usually use basmati, but it doesn't really matter) and stir it into the pan.

Add about 15 fl oz to a pint of boiling water (just to cover) and add some oregano, black pepper and a stock cube (chicken or veg, I usually just add a half,, you probably won't need one at all if you are using a fair bit of chorizo) while bringing back to the boil.

Give it a good stir, lower the heat and stick a lid on for about five minutes while you chop the chorizo into chunks. (You can use a pack of sliced, but I think the cooked sausage ones are better value)

Take the lid off, give it a good stir, especially making sure it isn't sticking to the bottom. (If there's not much liquid left, you might need to add a little more, but beware too much especially  if you are adding frozen stuff in a few minutes)

Add the chorizo, stir and put the lid back on for 2-3 mins.

Check it, if the rice is just about cooked through, add in some prawns (frozen is fine, just they will add more liquid and it'll be saltier than if they are defrosted and drained) and any frozen veg you fancy; sweetcorn, peas, green beans.

Another good stir and cook for another couple of mins until prawns and veg hot through. (Usually with lid back on, but if it is looking a bit wet, leave it off and keep stirring)

Eat!

(8ozs is aprox 250g, 15 fl oz is about 400mls)


You might also like:

Spicy Chicken Drumsticks

Mushroom Rice

Spicy Prawn Salad

Chicken Kebabs


For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas





Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )


Intro

I often get asked for the recipes of what I cook, as well as how I manage to cook meals quickly when I get in from work. This blog is to share this.

I hope you enjoy it; please feel free to leave comments, suggestions and questions.



For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas