Hot Stuff! Stuffed Chillies

Not for the faint hearted, stuffed mild chillies great served with mint yogurt dip & mango chutney

Serves 2 as main course with side salad

You will need:-

2 mild large chillies
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1/2 small onion finely diced
1 teaspoon of finely diced fresh ginger
2 small new potatoes, boiled and diced
1 mushroom finely chopped
1 cherry tomato, finely diced
1 tablespoon of peas

1/4 teaspoon of the following;
ground coriander
ground cumin
ground turmeric
teaspoon of garam masala
onion seeds
cumin seeds

1 tablespoon of chopped fresh coriander

In a small frying pan heat the oil over medium heat and when hot quickly fry the chillies for approx 1 minute each side then remove from pan.

Add the onion and ginger to the pan and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the spices together with the potato and stir. Cook for a further 2 minutes then add the peas, tomato, mushroom and chopped coriander, stir to mix. Stirring frequently cook for a further 2 - 3 minutes and then remove pan from heat.

Halve the chillies length ways and remove seeds, unless you it fiery hot! Stuff each half with the onion potato mixture and place on baking tray. Cook in oven for 15 - 20 minutes (gas mark 5 or electric 200).

Serve hot.

Green Lentil & Chickpea Stew

A very simple tasty vegetarian dish, good on its own or could be served as side dish to accompany meat

You will need:-

1 large tin of green lentils
1 small tin of chickpeas
1 large tin of tomatoes, chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
3 cloves of garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
4 new potatoes, skin left on, washed and quartered
100g diced okra
1 tablespoon of butter or ghee
6 fresh basil leaves and 6 fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon of curry paste
salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan heat the butter over medium heat, when sizzling add the onion and stir fry for a couple of minutes,

then add the chopped ginger and garlic to the pan, stir and cook for a further 3 minutes, until onion is starting to brown, then add the chopped tomatoes, lentils and chickpeas, cook for a further 3 mins and then add the curry paste and okra. Mix in the potatoes and half a cup of cold water, stir well, cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Stir again and add the basil and mint together with salt and pepper and cook for further 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender, (add further small amounts of water if mixture starts to stick to bottom of pan). Serve hot.

Serves 4

Roasted Veg

Healthy side dish and also transforms basic root veg into very tasty alternative to boiling or steaming, they also taste great cold mixed with a little balsamic vinegar and black pepper, and chive sour cream dip

In a roasting pan put 2 tablespoons of olive oil together with a small bunch of fresh herbs such as thyme, mint, coriander, parsley, rosemary and two or three whole cloves of garlic (not peeled or chopped, just left whole in their skins), place roasting pan in hot oven (180 - 200 or gas mark 5) for 2 -3 mins until oil start to sizzle

Meanwhile prepare the veg, roughly chop:-

2 carrots and (scrubbed and not peeled) into approx 5 pieces each, you want big chunks rather than thin slices,

1 red onion, cut into quarters

1 red pepper and 1 yellow pepper, each seeded, halved and each half cut into 4 pieces

6 cherry tomatoes left whole

8 new potatoes, cut in half if large ones

Remove roasting pan from oven and add the veg, mixing with the oil to ensure that they are completely coated with the oil. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper, return to oven and cook for approx 45 mins to 1 hour

You could also add other veg such as parsnips, sprouts, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, fennel, mushrooms or asparagus (the mushrooms and asparagus can be added in last 20 mins of cooking as they don't require as long to roast).

Serve with chargrilled meats, fish, your Sunday roast or with crusty bread and side salad

Dinner for 2 - Yogurt Baked Beef

Great super easy recipe, tastes great and takes only minutes to prepare

You will need:-

300g diced casserole/stewing beef
1 small onion roughly chopped
4 cloves of garlic, peeled and left whole
1 tablespoon of curry paste
200ml natural yogurt
1/2 fresh lime
freshly ground black pepper and salt to taste


In a casserole dish mix together the yogurt and curry paste. Add the diced beef and stir to coat. Put the diced onion and garlic cloves on top, do not stir into mixture. Squeeze over the juice from the half fresh lime and season with freshly ground black pepper. Cover and cook in oven at 180C or gas mark 4 for 1 1/2 hours, or until meet is tender. Stir and serve with rice and side salad.

As an alternative to the curry paste you could use wholegrain mustard or handful of freshly chopped herbs

A few side salads for hot summer days

Mango Salsa

You will need;

1 large mango - peeled and finely chopped
3 tomatoes - seeds removed and finely diced
1/2 red onion - finely diced
1/4 cucumber - seeds removed and finely diced
1 red chili - thinly sliced
1 handful of finely chopped fresh coriander
1 tablespoon of finely chopped fresh mint
1 tablespoon of chives thinly sliced

Mix all of the above together in a large bowl, freshly squeeze over the juice from half a lemon or lime along with some ground black pepper, mixing well. Pour ingredients into serving dish and chill in fridge for half an hour before use.

Serves 4 - 6



Mushrooms with garlic and parsley

For this recipe you can cheat by using ready made salad dressing of your choice, although I would opt for a French Dressing or other vinaigrette

You will need 1 whole packet of mushrooms, sliced thinly, 2 cloves of garlic - crushed and two handfuls of freshly chopped parsley. Place all the ingredients in a mixing bowl and in a glass jug either pour in 1/4 pt of bought dressing or the following;

4 tablespoons of olive oil
2 tablespoons of vinegar
1 teaspoon of sugar
1 teaspoon of mustard powder
pinch of salt and generous amount of freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons of lemon juice

mix together all the above dressing ingredients together with 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise (or the dressing of your choice with the mayo) and pour over the mushroom mixture, mix together well and transfer to serving dish, sprinkle over some finely chopped fresh herbs and serve.

Serves 4 - 8


For a great fiery taste - one packet of watercress, half packet of thinly sliced radish with a tablespoon of capers and lemon juice sprinkled over also makes a great simple salad - goes well with barbecued fish


Pasta salad - also great for any occasion - mix together enough cooked pasta for 3 people as main serving with a jar of pasta sauce such as a pesto, you can add chopped tomatoes, olives, onion, herbs, even mayonnaise etc, only takes minutes to make but looks and tastes great and will serve at least 6 as side dish


And don't forget the garlic bread - one French stick or baguette with garlic butter (2 or 3 tablespoons of butter or marg mixed together with 2 0r 3 cloves of garlic, crushed and 1 teaspoon of dried basil and 1 teaspoon of dried oregano); part slice through the bread at intervals of approx 1 inch and spread a generous helping of the garlic butter in these slits. Cook either wrapped in foil or without foil for approx 12 minutes depending on whether you want a crispy crust. Eat and enjoy!

Chocoholics Chocolate Pudding

Great recipe, very simple to make and tastes too good to share with the kids! From Marie Claire cookbook, tried and tested and confirm tastes delicious. Well worth a try and uses only simple ingredients that we all have in our cupboards.

You will need:-

60g unsweetened cocoa powder
90g soft brown sugar
2 eggs
150g castor sugar
50g butter
100g dark chocolate
125ml milk
125g self raising flour
cream or custard to serve

In a large jug mix together 40g of the cocoa powder, brown sugar (I used castor sugar as didn't have brown and it turned out fine) with 300ml of boiling water.

In a large bowl mix together the caster sugar and eggs.

In a small saucepan add the chocolate, milk and butter and heat gently until all have dissolved and leave to cool slightly.

Add the flour and remaining cocoa powder to the egg and sugar mix and mix together, stir in the melted chocolate, mix well.

Pour into either one large deep dish or individual ramekins. Spoon over the cocoa water mixture.

Bake for 30 minutes or until firm to touch.

Serve with cream or if you want to be very naughty you could top with melted Mars Bar mixed with a little cream, or even chocolate custard for the chocoholics.

Enjoy, tastes so good!!!

Sweet Minty Lamb One Pot Special

After a busy day at work this is a good way to cook a great family meal for 4, not quite fling it in the pan but not far off, best bit is it leaves you time to sit down, relax and enjoy a glass of wine while dinner cooks itself. Preparation time is approx 5 mins, chopping onion, pepper, courgette, garlic and potatoes. Adding ingredients to pan approx 10 minutes. Cook and enjoy!

You will need:-

500-600g lean diced lamb or lamb escalopes
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 yellow pepper cut into bit sized chunks
1 courgette, thinly sliced
A handful of black olives, pitted and halved lengthways
3 medium potatoes peeled and thinly sliced
2 cloves of garlic peeled and thinly sliced
3 tablespoons of natural yogurt
1 teaspoon on mint sauce
1 lamb stock cube mixed with 200mls of boiling water
1/2 teaspoon of rosemary
1/2 teaspoon of thyme
1 tablespoon of olive oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste


In a large frying pan or saucepan heat the oil, when hot add the onion, chopped pepper, courgette, olives and garlic, gently fry over medium/low heat for 5 mins, stirring to ensure it doesn't stick to bottom of pan. Add the thyme and rosemary, stir to mix.

Place the lamb evenly on top of the onions, peppers, courgette etc and cover. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Pour stock over lamb. Turn heat down to low and arrange sliced potatoes over the lamb so that lamb is completely covered with potatoes. Gently tilt pan to coat the potatoes with stock.

Mix together the yogurt and mint sauce and spread evenly over the top of the potatoes. Cover and cook for approximately 30 - 40 minutes, until potatoes and lamb are tender.

Serve.

Great on its own but a green salad or some fresh crusty bread would go really well with it, or maybe even some extra veg such as mashed carrots or roast parsnips.

Sweet Chicken Soup

Nice warming soup, sweet potatoes give it a sweet taste, easy to make and serves 4-6

You will need:-

1 small chicken breast cooked and finely chopped
3 sticks of celery, washed and roughly chopped
2 sweet potatoes cut into small chunks
3 carrots peeled and roughly chopped
1 onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 teaspoon of mixed herbs
1 stock cube
1 tablespoon low fat margarine such as Flora
salt and pepper to taste
fresh coriander finely chopped (optional)


Place a large pan over medium heat and melt the margarine, add all the chopped vegetables and cover, cook stirring occasionally for approx 10 minutes.

Add the stock cube together with mixed herbs, garlic and 2 pints of boiling water, stir pan and cover, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and using hand blender blend contents of pan until smooth. Add chopped chicken to the pan and return to the heat, leave pan uncovered and cook for a further 15 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper and add the chopped coriander if using.

Serve with fresh crusty bread.