Caribbean Cottage Pie with Apple Mash

So here is my vegetarian/lactose free take on a fun cottage pie twist.  Easy bake for busy families or for those just wanting a tasty treat! Don’t fancy “meat free”? Just substitute pork or beef mince (500g)

THE CARIBBEAN BIT:

·      ¾ pack of quorn mince (or pork/beef mince 500g)

·      1 red onion – chopped

·      3 large handfuls of curly kale

·      1 red pepper – chopped

·      1 part boiled and finely sliced carrot

·      1 tbsp jerk paste (tesco is good)

·      1 tbsp lazy garlic

·      Chilli to taste (optional)

Fry lightly in a tbsp of olive oil and spoon into a casserole dish.  Allow to cool whilst working on the mash

APPLE MASH TOPPING:

• ·      Half a jar of apple sauce (or a cup of pre-mashed apple)
• ·      1 handful of lactose free grated mature cheddar  (or just cheddar)
• ·      Splash of lactose free skimmed milk (or normal)
• ·      Salt and pepper to taste

COMBINE AND COOK:

Mash and mix it all together and spread the mash evenly on top of the jerk mixture.  Sprinkle with another handful of cheese and season to your taste.

Place in the middle of a pre-heated ovento 170 degrees oven for 30 mins or until golden.  Serve with veg on the side if you like!

Total prep and serving time – 45 mins

FIT AS A BUTCHERS DOG!!!

Chicken and/or Tiger Prawn Spinach Balti

Scratch Balti (Serving Suggestion)

This is great, you can adjust the temperature according to your audience.  It has took me ages to come up with a decent "indian" curry but here it is.  Lots of fiddly stuff. Lock and load that slow cooker! Serves four - with rice and nan.  (See serving suggestion)

Balti Sauce:

Fry together in coconut oil (any left over oil? Sick it in your hair!)

• 1 pack of Passata
• Fresh coriander (handfuls)
• Lazy Ginger (2 heaps on a teaspoon)
• Lazy Garlic (2 heaps on a teaspoon)
• Squeeze of lemon juice
• Squeeze of tomato puree
• Veg Stock Cube

1/2 teaspoon of the following:

• Fennel
• Crushed chilli
• Cumin
• fenugreek
• Sugar
• Garam Masala

The Curry:

• Diced chicken and/or tiger prawns
• Red Pepper
• Green Pepper
• White onion
• Two handfuls of cherry tomatoes - whole
• More chilli flakes, hot curry powder and add salt (all to taste)
• 3 spoons of indian chutney (homemade ask for recipe)
• Frozen spinach cubes x 5

Method:

After preparing the sauce chuck everything into the slow cooker in a non "Nigella" sexual way and cook on low for 6 hours.  Easy.

Chuck it in shamelessly

Blitz of 6 hours

To Serve:

Cook the rice, heat the nan breads and slap the curry on top.  No frills, just a "back from the pub-worthy" curry!!

Crab and Cherry Tomato Pasta

Yum-tastic!!

Here is a healthy and quick to prepare a two course meal.  So simple but very tasty.  We really enjoyed it and to keep it healthy ditch the garlic bread!  This is for two people, you just double the ingredients to serve more!

STARTER: MOZZARELLA AND TOMATO SALAD

Rocket leaves
A Beef Tomato 
Half a small red onion
Fresh basil leaves
One "ball" of mozzarella
Sliced black olives
Balsamic glaze to finish



Thinly slice the tomato, onion, black olives and mozzarella and place on a bed of rocket.  Tear up the basil and and place on top.  Drizzle the glaze like in the picture just before serving - if you do it earlier it will spread and won't look so pretty!

MAIN COURSE - CRAB AND CHERRY TOMATO PASTA

White Crab Meat (one pot is more than enough
Tin of finest cherry tomatoes (or the equivalent in fresh cherry tomatoes)
4 cloves of garlic (minced)
Teaspoon of dried chilli seeds
One Lemon
Fresh Basil (handful - leaves only)
Spaghetti 




This bit is simple.  Whilst cooking the spaghetti and after draining the juice out of the tin of tomatoes chuck everything in the pan and simmer.  Add the basil and the crab meat at the last moment as well as a squeeze of lemon.  Mix in the spaghetti, sprinkle on dried parsley and parmesan if you want to then serve! 

         

Pea Salad!

Serving Suggestion

As per usual I have come back from Australia brimming with ideas thanks to my lovely lil sis-in-law!  This recipe is made up of a combination of two of her recipes, mainly due to ingredients available here in the winter versus their ingredients in the summer.  We are having salmon, pea salad and some simply salt and pepper baked potatoes on the side for Alex but it is great for bbq's too. 

Here we go!!

PEA SALAD INGREDIENTS:

Half a pack of frozen garden peas (frozen is fresher!!)
One medium red onion chopped finely
Half a cabbage, thinly sliced
Pancetta cubes
Half a pack of feta cheese

Heat for 10 minutes

Cover the peas, cabbage and onion with water (and either semi-dried basil or mint) and simmer for 10 minutes then place in a glass bowl.  Then lightly brown the pancetta and add to the mix.  Let the mixture cool down before adding your tiny cubes of feta.  

THE DRESSING (best made the night before):

Olive Oil or Rapeseed Oil
Two garlic cloves
Cider Vinegar
Wholegrain Mustard
Canadian Maple Syrup
Salt and Pepper to taste

Take a jar and place two parts of olive/rapeseed oil to one part of cider vinegar with the garlic cloves.  Add a teaspoon of wholegrain mustard and two teaspoons of maple syrup along with your personal preference of salt and pepper. 

Finished Salad

As for the salmon, best keep it boring as the dressing will do all the hard work!!

Totally simple and ridiculously yum ... I hate veg, but this is pretty nice!

Orange Pepper Soup (veggie friendly)

Serving Suggestion

Oh yes!!

Easy and effective, this always goes down well with family and guests alike. It makes a classy starter for any dinner party and It's also a healthy (no fat) way to scoff for comfort purposes and works just as well with red peppers and green peppers.  So easy and for most this is a simple store cupboard soup.  We have orange peppers left in the veggie drawer before Mr Tesco visits, hence it is orange pepper soup today!

INGREDIENTS

2 large orange peppers
1 Red Pepper
1 large white onion (red for red pepper soup)
4 cloves of garlic
3 medium potatoes
2 Vegetable Stock cubes in boiling water (or homemade stock which is better)
1/2 can of condensed milk (not the cream stuff you use for desserts and not if you want fat free- try skimmed milk or naff all)
Teaspoon of Basil
Salt and Black Pepper to taste
Fresh Basil for the garnish (optional)

METHOD

All the veg should be chopped roughly don't finely chop anything!!

Chuck it in the pot!!

Lightly soften the peppers in fry light and put into a big pot with the potatoes (uncooked)and garlic and onion (also uncooked).   Cover with the vegetable stock.  If their isn't enough to just about cover the veg, add a splash or two of water to top it up.  

Bring the pan to the boil momentarily then turn the heat right down, put a lid on it and leave to simmer for at least 40 minutes.

Blitz and add Basil, black pepper and condensed milk to taste later on

Blitz the mixture using a hand blender (being careful not to splat yourself with hot soup) then leave settle for a while (or not if you're in a rush).  Just before serving, warm the soup through gently adding salt and black pepper and the dried basil.  Then take the condensed milk and give the soup a healthy swirl. The soup shouldn't be too thick, if you have followed the recipe you will get a lovely consistency.

Serve piping hot with fresh, crusty bread or ciabbata and a sprig of basil. 

PREPARATION: 10 minutes
COOKING TIME: 40 minutes
FINISHING TOUCHES: 5 minutes 

Yum! My soup got a "restaurant rating" from my Mummy so I must be doing something right!

Lil Bro's Chocolate Brownie

This simple recipe has been in our family file for at least twenty years thanks to my little brother who started it all those years ago!

This morning Mum and I worked together on producing this little dirty b*stard (though why she cleaned the prep area first I have no idea as there are still chocolate spray marks up the wall from my last attempt!) Here is how it goes ...

A few tips from me would be to add a few white chocolate buttons, ensure the cocoa and butter mix is hot when mixing with the other ingredients and cook for no more than 20 minutes to ensure it has a proper gooey, dirty consistancy.  As soon as the top crisps, wap it out!!!(Oh and fruits with a sprinkling of icing sugar makes it look nice)

So much history on one piece of paper - Mum worked for Immuno (a decent place) and lil bro's handwriting had finally become legible (shame about the spelling though)!! 

Linguine Carbonara For Busy People

Another quick and simple recipe for those hectic days.  I love this one so much it hurts!


THE SAUCE:

• A small pot of double cream
• A generous blob of Mascarpone
• 2 fist full's of fresh Parmesan
• 1 vegetable stock cube
• 1 pack of pancetta
• Garlic (not too much because it needs to be delicate)
• Heaps of dried parsley if you have it
• Half a pack of diced baby mushrooms (optional)
• Seasoning to taste
• 1 Egg (whisked)

Lightly fry the pancetta and mushrooms in a tiny bit of olive oil and add the stock cube. Then chuck it all in a saucepan (larger the better) and heat through very slowly whilst cooking the linguine.  Add the linguine and stir into the sauce making sure all the pasta gets coated evenly.  It is important not to burn the sauce whilst you gradually add the egg.  Keep the hob low to stop the eggs becoming scrambed - it is minging!

Quickly serve along with ciabatta and a green salad.  Totally yum!!

SERVES 2-3

PREPARATION TIME: 5 MINS

COOKING TIME: 20 MINS