Tuesday 24 December 2013

Spicy prawn salad

Image preview


This will do about 300-400g of prawns (so just scale up or down as required).

Serve with garlic bread (focaccia is good) or your choice of bread (and chopped cucumber, tomatoes, peppers...)

Mix one and a half to two teaspoons of brown sugar, three heaped teaspoons of ground coriander, about half to one teaspoon of paprika or cayenne pepper (according to taste, but even one teaspoon of cayenne is quite medium) with about three tablespoons of lemon juice. Add some chopped spring onions (to taste, at least three or four, or just stick the bunch in) and a big handful of chopped fresh coriander. (If you are not using garlic bread, maybe add in a couple of cloves of crushed garlic. If you like a thicker dressing, add a couple of teaspoons of vegetable oil in too. It is still tasty if you don't have any fresh coriander.))

Leave the dressing to stand if you have time to let the flavours develop. Taste it and adjust lemon juice/sugar etc if necessary.

Stir in the prawns about five to ten minutes before you serve.


(This quantity is generally enough for the amount of prawns, but bear in mind if you are using tiddly ones it will not go as far, or if you like to soak up the tasty dressing you might want to make more)

(I made this as a starter for the first meal I prepared for the now Mr TT. It's still a favourite)


A teaspoon = 5 ml

A tablespoon = 15ml

300-400g = 3/4 to a pound (ish...)

You might also like:

Chilli Prawn Curry

Salsa Salad

Ribbon Salad


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 14 December 2013

Chicken and Bacon Casserole

This is a really simple to prepare dish that tastes like you have worked hard in the kitchen all day


Chicken and Bacon Casserole

Serves four

Gently soften two chopped onions, one or two chopped green peppers and three or four cloves of crushed garlic in a teaspoon of olive oil for a few minutes, then take out of the pan.

Add another teaspoon of olive oil, then lightly fry about a pound of chicken (breast or thigh) chopped into pieces and about six slices of chopped up bacon (I prefer smoked) for a few minutes.

Sprinkle on about an ounce of flour (a big heaped spoon) and one or two teaspoons of paprika, and stir for a couple of minutes.

Then stir in (starting slowly) about a pint of liquid (at least half white wine, the rest water) and put the onions, pepper and garlic back in, with some black pepper. (You can add in a half a chicken stock cube if you like, but the bacon is already quite salty.)

You can either simmer this gently for about three-quarters of an hour, or put it in the oven (200c/GM6) for about the same length of time.

If you are feeling indulgent and have some, you can stir in a splosh of cream before serving, but it still tastes great without.

Serve it with rice, baked potatoes or crusty bread.

Other recipes you might like

Beef in Beer

Chicken Kebabs

Potato and Bacon Soup

Chicken, chorizo and prawn rice

Chilli Beef Stew

Stuffed Peppers



1 ounce is about 25g

a pint is about 450mls

1 teaspoon is about 5mls




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 : )

Wednesday 11 December 2013

Christmas Song Quiz (pt 2)

Guess the Christmas Carol or song from the initials of its title, first or key line. Eg JBJBJATW would be Jingle Bells…
IWICBCED

OCAYF

AIAM

IDOAWC

LDLDOTDR

WWYAMC

GKWLO

WTKOOA

RTRNR

DTHWBOH

TFNTADS


GRYMGLNYD



Good Luck!

Here are some seasonal things for kids


Please feel free to browse my blog for recipe ideas : )



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 9 December 2013

Christmas Song Quiz (pt 1)

Guess the Christmas Carol or song from the initials of its title, first or key line. Eg JBJBJATW would be Jingle Bells…


WIAWW

WSGSUTC

WSWTFBN

SNHN

LCIGYMH

FTWLTKIC

YBWOYBNC

THATI

RATCT

OLTOB

CTMAW

OIRDC



Good luck! - Here is part two : )

Here are some seasonal things for kids



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 8 December 2013

Salads

Hi,

These are links to salads on my blog

: )


Feta, mozzarella, basil and tomato salad

Salsa Salad

Spicy Prawn Salad



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 : )

Salsa Salad

This is good at any time of year.

We usually have it with grilled chicken and tortillas to make wraps; it also goes nicely with tuna steaks or salmon fillets and new potatoes.



Serves 4

Finely chop one or two green chillies (I usually stick my hand in a sandwich bag, cut the stalk off, cut in half lengthways, scrape the seeds out and then use a rocker-chopper (mezzaluna) to chop without getting covered)

Chop finely a good big handful each of fresh parsley and fresh coriander (again I use the rocker-chopper as it's quicker)

Slice a bunch of spring onions, thin slices for the white bits, short lengths for the green bits.

Grind in some black pepper then add some lemon juice, about a tablespoon or two, you want it moist without being sloppy.

(If you are making it in advance, stop at this point and put it in the fridge. It will get too soggy if you add the cucumber and tomatoes too early)

Cut a cucumber in half longways and scrape a spoon along to take out the wet seedy centre. Then chop into small chunks. (I cut each piece into three or four lengthways and then cut across)

Cut a box of cherry tomatoes in half. (You can use big tomatoes chopped too, but they tend to be a bit too chunky if you are doing wraps, so I would serve on the side if this is what you are using)

I know this amount of chopping seems like more effort than a salad should be, but it really is worth it!

Quantities are very adaptable, it's not going to suffer if you only have two or three spring onions or fewer tomatoes for example, and the amount of chillies, parsley and coriander is very much to taste.



You might also like spicy prawn salad

Ribbon Salad

Spicy chicken drumsticks

Barbecue Ideas

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 : )

Tuesday 3 December 2013

Seasonal things for kids

Hope you don't mind a non-food post.


As that time of year approaches, I thought I would share some resources for kids (because let’s be honest, children and quiet get along like nature and vacuums!)

This is quite a good free personalised video message from the man himself http://www.portablenorthpole.com/home (There is a charge on the iPad app, but it's free on the website)

The NSPCC do a nice letter from Santa for a suggested donation of £5 http://christmas.nspcc.org.uk/santa

(You can also get a free one here: http://www.moneysavingexpert.com/deals/free-santa-letter-video


These singing and dancing reindeer that you can control appeal to small people (headphones recommended!) http://www.icq.com/greetings/cards/66/ (This link no longer works - am trying to find another)

Those of you who do Twitter, may be aware of @MooseAllain ; he has drawn an advent calendar to colour in here: 
http://www.worldofmoose.com/products/world-of-moose-advent-calendar

Mix up some washing powder with a bit of water to make a thick paste, it's great to clag on to a window to create a snow scene (sledges, snowman hats et cetera made out of card or foil stick well to it and you have lovely sparkling windows in the New Year when you scrape it off and wipe them down!)

NORAD Santa Tracker http://www.noradsanta.org/ has some good games and activities for the run up and of course watching his progress on Christmas Eve (especially if they need a bit of encouragement to go to bed as they can see how close he is getting!)

There's a winter scene made out of ice cream here, with other cooking ideas http://tyne-teas.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/cooking-with-kids.html

Make a Yule Log - cut the end off a swiss roll at an angle and stick it on the side of the main bit to look like a branch, then cover the whole lot in chocolate butter icing (4oz butter/marge creamed, 6oz of sieved icing sugar and 2oz of sieved cocoa powder). Use a fork to drag bark markings on it. You can also sieve some more icing sugar on to look like snow

Make Christmas Tree cakes (ordinary cupcake/fairy cakes) but with butter icing with green food colouring piped on in a swirly cone and then add ball bearing sprinkly things to look like decorations

Reindeer Hand Biscuits
http://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/graham-campbells-reindeer-hand-cookies.html 
(you can do these any time of year, varying the decorations to other animals)

Right – that should be a start to buy some hush, feel free to share yours!



(It's more for grown-ups, but you might also enjoy my Christmas Song Quiz)



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 1 December 2013

Leftover roast meat curry

Finely chop an onion and soften in a tiny amount of oil/spread. Add some curry powder (I use about three heaped teaspoons of 'mild') and stir. Stir in leftover gravy made from homemade vegetable stock (no thickening is needed, as the gravy already is) and gently bring to boil.

If it is for leftover roast chicken, I usually stir in some tomato purée (about two or three teaspoons). I tend not to if it is for leftover roast beef (There is no good reason for this, either tastes fine!)

Serve with slices of leftover roast chicken or beef and either boiled rice or toasted naan bread.

(If you add the meat to the curry sauce, make sure you heat it through thoroughly before serving.)

Sometimes if we have eaten all of the meat or have used it with a cold meat salad, I make the same curry sauce from the gravy, but make meatballs to go in - see Kofta Curry


You might also like:

Kofta Curry

Things to have with Poppadoms

Potato and/or Cauliflower Curry



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 : )