SUGAR & SPICE

Baileys & white chocolate parfait

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 15:47:00 +0000

We had friends over for dinner a few weeks ago and one of them is a totally fussy so and so with food. It causes great amusement as often we've said that we'll have a curry and she can have beans on toast ! Anyway, this time we found a common ground and I made this for pudding. It's very rich, really you only need small slices. The original recipe says serves 4 but I don't think even I could manage that !

BAILEYS & WHITE CHOCOLATE PARFAIT

serves 6-8

100g broken white chocolate

250ml fresh vanilla custard

3tbsp Bailey's Irish cream

142ml double cream

Melt the chocolate in a bain marie, heat the custard and combine with the chocolate. Allow to cool to room temperature then add the Baileys. Whip the cream lightly and then fold into the mixture.

Pour into a small loaf tin that has been lined with clingfilm and freeze until solid.

To serve turn out of the tin and slice. Serve with raspberries/ raspberry coulis to cut through the richness.

Teriyaki tuna stirfry

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Sun, 15 Apr 2012 15:07:00 +0000

This recipe came about through a catalogue of errors really. Firstly it was meant to be a salmon recipe but the Husband came back from the shops with only 2 salmon fillets and a random reduced tuna steak. So, the kids had the salmon as I know they'll eat it and we had the tuna.

I've made this recipe before and it's very yummy. I can't take credit for the idea as it's off the WW website but I have tweaked it little. Spicy and more veggies than you can shake a stick at. It would have been even better if the Husband hadn't thrown away my dish of marinade before I added it back to the pan. Told you it was a catalogue of errors !

TERIYAKI TUNA NOODLES

serves 2 at 13pp per serving

3 tbsp teriyaki sauce

1 tbsp lime juice

1 tsp chilli powder or chilli flakes

350g tuna steak cubed

1 tsp olive oil / spray oil

1 cloves garlic

4 spring onions

Variety of stir fry veggies - I used baby corn, sugar snaps, pak choi, 1/2 a pack of mixed stir fry etc

2x150g packs straight to wok noodles

150ml chicken stock

Coriander to serve

Marinate the tuna in the lime juice, teriyaki sauce and chilli

Fry the veggies in the oil until soft. Remove from the pan and add the tuna. Stir fry for a couple of minutes

Add everything back to the pan with the noodles, reserved marinade and add the stock - enough to give as much of a sauce as you wish.

Heat through and serve with the coriander.

Tarragon chicken

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 20:02:00 +0000

Well it's been a while. Actually it's been a bl**dy long time.

Since I last wrote we've moved house, we've lost two close family members, son no2 has started school, we've had problems with son no1 and my career has become all enveloping ! So, life has just taken over really but now I'm hoping to get back to blogging and posting my recipes again - and honing my rather poor photography skills.

So tonight I made tarragon chicken. Something the Husband absolutely adores but in it's full fat state is rather calorie heavy. Given I'm back on a health kick (and have lost nearly a stone and a half to date) this is important stuff. Obviously for those of you not with a few lbs to lose half fat can be swapped for full fat etc.

TARRAGON CHICKEN
serves 2

1 tsp olive oil

2 chicken breasts cut into strips

1 onion chopped

Handful of mushrooms sliced

1-2 cloves of garlic crushed

Splash of chicken stock (I used 1/2 a Knorr chicken stockpot)

2 tbsp half fat creme fraiche

Large handful of chopped fresh tarragon

Heat the olive oil in a large pan and stir fry the chicken until browned

Add the vegetables and cook until soft

Add the stock and creme fraiche, season and reduce the sauce until thickened

Add the tarragon reserving some for finishing the dish

I served this with new potatoes, green beans and broccoli.

Seasoning to taste

Chocolate chip cookies

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Sun, 31 Jul 2011 19:16:00 +0000

Again ! We're now stuck in house moving hell - it was all going fine. A completion date agreed and we were ready to roll. Hurrah we thought. No. Suddenly our buyers solicitor started dragging his feet and not returning calls to our solicitor. Our first exchange date came and went and then suddenly we were looking at it being very tight to make our second exchange date and thus completion. After a few frantic phonecalls it would seem that the idiot solicitor can't tell the difference between the 5th and the 15th *imagine me banging my head against a wall here*. SO, the upshot of it all is that we are having to shunt everything on 2 weeks. I am beyond cross and very frustrated about the whole thing. I'd quite like to take out my frustration on said solicitor but I'll just have to imagine that in my head !!

Anyway, this has meant that I've been seriously running down the fridge, freezer and cupboards in preparation for moving, only to find I've got another 2 weeks to feed my family before I can do a good restock. This is the explanation of the lack of blog posts. It's hard to blog when you're eating increasingly bizarre freezer teas.

Today in desperation the boy and I made chocolate chip cookies and God they were GOOOOD ! It made everything slightly more bearable. These cookies have the right amount of squidgy and crunch and a batch really isn't going to last the day. I originally got this recipe from a fellow blogger a long time ago. It's so long ago though I've forgotten where and when so I can't even name check them - so sorry to whoever you are and thanks for the greatest cookies !

CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES
makes approx 18

100g butter - I have also used Stork and it was fine
75g soft light brown sugar
2 T golden syrup
175g self-raising flour
1 tsp vanilla extract
100g chocolate chips - you can sub nuts, fruit or anything really here, all yummy.

Cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy
Then add the syrup, vanilla and flour - it will get really tough to mix now ! Finally add the choc chips.
Spoon onto baking trays in little balls and spaced well apart
Bake at 180C for 8-10 minutes. They will be very soft when they come out of the oven but that's fine.
Cool on a wire tray and try not to scoff all at once.

Pikelets

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 20:38:00 +0000

I wanted to make pikelets as I'd just discovered a recipe on a forum I use. When I was a kid my Aunt who had lived in New Zealand, used to make these with me and we'd eat them warm from the griddle or cold with butter and jam for tea.

PIKELETS (with thanks to Jann !)

Make loads but be prepared for them all to be eaten on the same day !

2 cups of plain flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup milk

1 tsp baking soda

1.5 tsp cream of tartar

2 eggs

1 tbsp butter

1 tsp golden syrup

Mix all the ingredients apart from the butter and syrup in a large bowl

Melt the butter and syrup over a low heat and add to the other ingredients

Lightly butter a large frying pan or griddle

Cook the mixture in tablespoonfuls for a couple of minutes each side until brown

Serve warm or cold as they are or with butter and jam or even whipped cream !

Meal planning Monday - July 18th

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Tue, 19 Jul 2011 20:26:00 +0000

Goodness me, another Monday. I am ashamed I've managed the princely sum of no new blog posts since last week - apologies !

So, this week...

Monday : Roasted chicken breast & vegetables with sundried tomato dressing and herbed wholemeal couscous
Tuesday : Meatball and pea pilaff
Wednesday : Salmon tikka naan
Thursday : Bacon & mushroom pasta
Friday : Homemade burgers
Saturday : Toad in the hole
Sunday : Roast chicken and salads - having a little lunch gathering

Meal planning Monday - July 11th

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 21:07:00 +0000

Another Monday rolls around and strangely despite everything being hectic I'm managing to blog more than normal !

So this week is as below :

Monday : It was meant to be herby salmon with couscous but due to traffic it was a rather deconstructed and nowhere near as exciting variation !
Tuesday : Homemade burgers and wedges
Wednesday : Jacket potatoes with smoked mackerel and salad
Thursday : Pizza & salad
Friday : Dinner out somewhere
Saturday : At a really good friends wedding
Sunday : Toad in the hole at the request of son no2

Greek lamb tray bake

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Sun, 10 Jul 2011 19:41:00 +0000

Given our impending house move I really should be running the freezer down so I don't have to beg my friends to borrow a freezer drawer on the big day ! My freezer really is a mine of, well randomness. It's got the usual frozen chips, pizza, fish fingers and frozen peas & sweetcorn plus other veg. It's got an emergency loaf of bread and several packets of Waitrose fresh frozen herbs. All pretty normal stuff I think. Then comes the randomness. Lurking in the depths are 3 egg whites, some tomato innards - left over from salsa making, some breadcrumbs, a parmesan rind and something that looks possibly like red wine ? There are a couple of unidentified bags of something waiting for a "freezer surprise" tea, my poor kids a few weeks ago ended up with boeuf bourguinon with pasta because I could have sworn it was spag bol !!

So, I'm now trying to use up the odds and ends which also include the results of my obsessive buying of reduced meat. I have 3 packs of chicken mini fillets which cost £1.25 each, a pack of veal mince which was the princely sum of 95p and a pack of organic lamb mince which was reduced to £1.50. It was the lamb mince that got used tonight in this really tasty effort from the Good Food website although I had to tweak the portion sizes a little so that the Husband and the kids didn't think I was trying to starve them.

GREEK LAMB TRAY BAKE
serves 4

450g lamb mince
50g fresh white breadcrumbs
1 small white onion grated
1 clove garlic crushed
egg yolk
small bunch mint chopped
4 courgettes cut into batons
2 red onions cut into wedges
2 large baking potatoes cut into thickish chips
small punnet cherry tomatoes
olive oil to drizzle
100g feta crumbled

Heat the oven to 200C
To make the meatballs mix the first 5 ingredients and half the mint in a large bowl with some salt and pepper. Shape into about 16 patties and set aside
In a large roasting tin put the courgettes, potatoes and onions, drizzle with olive oil plus s&p and mix well.
Nestle in the lamb meatballs and put in the oven for 20 mins on a high shelf
Remove from oven and turn everything over. Add the tomatoes and put back in the oven for another 20 mins.
When cooking time is up, sprinkle over the feta and remaining mint.

I served this with toasted pittas and a large pot of tzatziki, utterly gorgeous even if I do say so myself !!

Onion tart

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 20:48:00 +0000

In the never ending quest to expand my children's tastes and to challenge the Husband's "a meal needs meat" belief I'm always on the lookout for new veggie recipes.

This was recommended to me from the BBC Good Food website via the Weight Watchers forum ages ago - when I was being good on the diet - but lets move swiftly on !! This is a kind of quiche but uses almost a scone type base which I was a bit skeptical about if I'm being honest, but it worked. The best bit was that the kids ate it all and there were leftovers for lunch the next day. I have in true style done a little bit of tweaking !

ONION TART

serves 6-8

For the filling

4 red onions

2 tbsp rapeseed oil

2 large eggs

200ml half fat creme fraiche

1 tsp thyme leaves

1-2 tsp grainy mustard

40g gruyere cheese

For the base

175g self-raising flour

25g cold butter cut into small pieces

100ml natural yoghurt

4 tbsp semi skimmed milk

Slice the onions into small wedges and heat the oil in a nonstick pan. Cook over a low heat for about 20 mins until caramelised

Preheat the oven to 190C or gas 5

Rub the butter into the flour and then mix the yoghurt and milk before adding to the flour and mix

Roll out on a floured surface and press into a 23cm loose bottomed fluted tart dish

Beat the eggs and add the other ingredients plus some seasoning, mix well

Put 1/2 the onions into the base of the tin and pour over 1/2 the egg mixture, repeat the layers again and top with cheese

Put on a pre-heated baking sheet and cook for 25-30 minutes, leave to stand for 10 mins before serving

Meal planning Monday - July 4th

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Mon, 04 Jul 2011 21:11:00 +0000

Another week, another Monday and my life continues it's great big screeching "anyone know where the brakes are" rollercoaster. Son no2's favourite phrase at the moment when he wants something he knows you're not going to agree too is "It could be fine" - this phrase has been repeated ad infinitum over the last few days.

So, on with meal planning. This week is the first week of my new job so I'm hoping this meal plan is going to hang it all together without reaching for the takeaway menu by the end of the week.

Monday : Salmon tikka naan (again I know but it is one of our favourites)

Tuesday : Roast chicken, jackets and salad courtesy of M&S Dine in

Wednesday : Curried chicken & cashew rice, I've not done this in AGES and I'm looking forward to it !

Thursday : Omelette and salad

Friday : Birthday BBQ for my nephew

Saturday : The Husband has promised to cook !!

Sunday : Nigella's Spanish chicken & potatoes

Giraffe Norwich review

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 18:49:00 +0000

Once upon a time Norwich had a serious lack of lunchtime venues apart from the odd sandwich shop, pub and chain fast food restaurants. More recently there has been an explosion of places to eat which means, on the whole that you don't have to queue for ages at a weekend to get something decent for lunch.

Giraffe is a nationwide chain which promotes food from around the globe. I've eaten at a few Giraffe restaurants before in London and Cambridge and so when Tootsies folded I was quite excited when I heard that it was to become a Giraffe. It's not in a dissimilar vein I suppose !

Thursday was an INSET day for Norfolk schools so I had son no1 with me and with some birthday money burning a hole in his pocket we decided on some shopping in the morning with a treat of lunch out before picking up son no2 from nursery. Son no1 for an 8 year old doesn't have a bad taste in places to eat. It's not all McDonald's and KFC so maybe I am doing something right. His initial choice was Carluccio's but we settled on Giraffe because he likes the plastic giraffes you get in the drinks there !!

We were there early at about 11.50 as we had to get back for son no2. We were shown straight away to a table and son no1 furnished with an activity sheet and crayons. He quickly decided on his meal (sausage, chips and beans) but the kids menu is quite broad with pizza, pasta, chicken and beef burgers, chicken strips and cottage pie plus fish and chips and BBQ chicken wraps. They quite willingly interchange chips and mash and there are veggies too ! Because we were eating midweek we got a drink and main from the kids menu for £4.75 which I thought was excellent value.

I went for the Huevos Rancheros which I utterly adore, yes I know it's more Mexican fare and yes I am possibly a tiny bit obsessed ! I could have chosen from the brunch menu or the lunchtime menu and there was offers again on the adult menu which seemed nice. I can't possibly go into details on the menu here as I'd be here all day but here is a link.

The food arrived quickly and was steaming hot, my only criticism being that son no1's food arrived 5 minutes before mine and no one made any effort to see where my food had got to. Son no1 got two huge juicy sausages, a smallish portion of chips which he supplemented from my side dish and some baked beans. My huevos is pictured above. The salsa was different this time to before and I wasn't quite as keen but it was still a delicious combination of crunchy tortilla, chorizo, cheese, black beans, eggs and salsa - what is there not to like ?? In my opinion though it could be a little spicier with a little more chilli heat but now I'm being picky.

All in all a good experience, fast and friendly service and some yummy food. We were in and out in 35 minutes which given we were in a hurry wasn't bad. The bill arrived super promptly when I said we were pushed for time and came to a not bad £20.85.

I'd recommend for a quick bite of lunch and it gets the kids seal of approval too. Just one thing, if anyone from Giraffe reads this PLEASE bring back your yummy cajun chicken burger, I was distraught when that was taken off the menu !

Birds Eye Rice Fusions review

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 15:11:00 +0000

A few weeks ago I was contacted to review the new Birds Eye product - Rice Fusions. I must also state at the beginning I've not been paid to do this review so it's entirely, 100% my honest opinion.

This is new onto the market at retails at £1.89 a packet and in there you get two packs of rice, each one being a single serving. It comes in 4 flavours: Egg fried rice, Mediterranean vegetable, Country mushroom and Aromatic pilau.

The individual servings are in small pyramid like bags which help the rice to steam through. These go in the microwave and 2 sachets take 7 minutes on 750W - just enough time to cook a stir fry ! Easy.

This review is mainly about the Egg fried rice although we have also tried the mushroom and the Mediterranean vegetable. The mushroom was ok, nice but didn't blow us away. I didn't try the mediterranean vegetable one, but the speed with which the kids put it away I would say it was good. I have yet to try the pilau, I'm saving that for a curry next week !

So, onto my recipe. This is a bit of a make it up as you go type recipe but really quick and healthy. Great for a kids tea.

BARBECUE CHICKEN
serves 2 kids but easily adapted

tsp olive oil
1/2 red onion sliced
1 clove garlic crushed
1/4 tsp easy ginger
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tbsp runny honey
1 tbsp soy sauce
dribble of worcestershire sauce or squirt of American mustard (optional)
juice 1/2 lemon
freshly ground black pepper
handful cold roast chicken or 1 chicken breast sliced and cooked
Frozen peas, sweetcorn, green beans or soya beans - whatever you have in or prefer !

Heat the olive oil and fry the onion, garlic and ginger until soft
Add all the sauce ingredients and bring to the boil
Add the chicken and veg and heat through, then serve on rice or with noodles

***************

So, despite son no 1's dislike of egg he ate this and enjoyed it. I was very impressed that the rice was perfectly cooked, fluffy and not at all sticky. It was tasty and even though the portions may be on the small side for some, it's not a bad way to control calories !!

Now, I will be brutally honest, this isn't something I'd ever normally buy. I may be rubbish at cooking rice but normally the Husband does it so we don't end up with overcooked mush ! I was pleasantly suprised though and I will even admit to now keeping a pack of the Egg fried rice in my freezer for emergencies or severe cases of "can't-be-arsed-itis".

Meal planning Monday - June 27th

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:50:00 +0000

Good God it's hot, in fact it's so hot I may be melting. I'm seriously considering moving from my bedroom to the freezer for the duration !

Following on from my last blog post my life carries on blundering through major life events. You know those lists of certain events in your life which rank up there as the most stressful ? Well so far this week 1 house - sold, 1 house - bought. 1 job left, 1 job starting in 4 (eeeek) days time.

I am more than behind with my blogging, in fact I have lists of things hanging out of my blog book which need to be blogged and ideas for themed posts. I just need to find the time to get everything done. But, as a small start will be meal planning for this week..

Monday : BBQ belly pork from Delia's website but done on the BBQ as it was just TOO hot to have the oven on
Tuesday : Stirfry chicken and veggies with lime, chilli and ginger
Wednesday : Dinner out with my Mum, leaving the Husband with a pizza and beer
Thursday : Lemon salmon with couscous
Friday : Chicken curry
Saturday : Something from my Mexican bible
Sunday : Depends on the weather, maybe a summery roast chicken or toad in the hole if it's cooler

Meal planning Monday - June 6th and a bit about me me me !!

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 08:23:00 +0000

Ok, so I know it's Tuesday and I KNOW it's been ages since I wrote. My only defence is that that thing called real life - you know ? The thing that exists outside the internet, pays the bills etc ?? Well it's got in the way as usual.

As a bit of a real life update on me, well where to start ? After 7 years in my current job I am leaving for pastures new. Still the same job with the NHS but in a new place. It's emotional and it's a bigger wrench leaving than I ever thought it would be if I'm being honest. I've not been truely happy at work for quite a while now but it took me a while to find my perfect fit. Now on 1st July I'm off to a new practice nearer home and hopefully slightly more laid back than where I am at the moment. In other news, son no 1 turned 8 this week so the diet has been a write off with cake, fish & chips (his birthday tea request) and a trip to Pizza Hut for his birthday.

So, what's on the menu this week ? My first consideration is that I need to get back on the diet. The jeans are feeling a little snug after last week's indulgences. Secondly it's a busy week with kids after school activities and work commitments so it needs to be quick, easy but healthy so we don't reach for the take away menu on Friday night !!

Monday : Gnocchi bolognese bake
Tuesday : Sausage ragu pasta (this is the most read item on my blog !)
Wednesday : Pizza and salad
Thursday : Tuna and courgette pasta
Friday : Spicy prawn rice
Saturday : I'm at a JLS concert with son no1 as part of his birthday present so something there maybe ?
Sunday : Out for lunch at friends

Meal planning Monday - May 23rd

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Mon, 23 May 2011 19:39:00 +0000

I missed last week, in fact I missed a LOT of stuff last week including my sanity and some sleep. Hence the glaring lack of posts on the blog. I am now building up quite a backlog of posts so hopefully when things calm down a little I'll be able to start posting some of them.

Monday : Nigel Slater's Herbed chicken and asparagus pilaff
Tuesday : Salmon tikka naan
Wednesday : Tuna & bean salad
Thursday : Roasted gammon & homemade oven chips maybe with an egg too
Friday : Spicy prawn rice
Saturday : Out with friends
Sunday : Broad bean risotto

Three new recipes there, the pilaff, risotto and spicy prawn rice - all rice dishes strangely - and then three old favourites. Gammon, egg and chips is a family favourite so the kids and the Husband will love me for, ooh at least a few days for popping that on the menu !!

Trying to build up my followers...

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Thu, 12 May 2011 15:36:00 +0000

It's been a slow old process building up followers so

Follow my blog with bloglovin

Thank you !!

Meal Planning Monday - May 9th

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Mon, 09 May 2011 20:53:00 +0000

Here we go again ! Another Monday, another meal plan.

Now I'm back at work it's all about speed, tastiness and avoiding the pesky takeaway menus to save my diet ! So this week is as follows

Monday : Mushroom tortilla with salad
Tuesday : Chicken tikka skewers with pitta and coleslaw
Wednesday : Crispy chicken with homemade chips and veg
Thursday : Sausages with jacket potatoes
Friday : Chicken parmigiana with something ...
Saturday : Thai fishcakes followed by Thai prawn red curry with jasmine rice and then mango sorbet
Sunday : Broad bean pilaf

Some new things, some old things, some easy things but hopefully all contributing to a loss next week !!

Scones

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Sun, 08 May 2011 13:55:00 +0000

What a lovely day and no evidence at all for the rain we've been promised. After a long bike ride this morning and a lovely lunch with two glasses of wine, I decided to do some baking this afternoon to fend off the impending wine induced snooze. Chocolate tiffin done and chilling I thought about scones so here we go...

SCONES

Makes about 10

This is my Mum's recipe. I have yet to have a duff batch from this recipe and they are some of the best I've tasted too.

8oz self-raising flour

1 level tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1.5oz butter

1.5oz sugar

2oz sultanas

1/4 pt of milk

Pre-heat oven and baking sheet to 230C

Rub butter into flour

Stir in sugar and fruit

Add milk and using a knife mix to soft dough

Turn onto floured surface, knead lightly and roll out to about 3/4 inch thick

Cut out scones and brush tops with milk

Put onto hot baking sheet and bake for about 10 mins until risen and golden.

Slow cooked chilli

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Sat, 07 May 2011 19:48:00 +0000

You can so tell that I've been back at work this week. Blog posts have been conspicuous by their absence and according to the Husband I've been grumpier than normal, cheek ! Meals this week have been on the quicker side of normal and I've been trying to avoid the lure of the takeaway menu. On the weight loss front this week it's not been good. Well I suppose it could have been a lot worse but I maintained which I'm not surprised about but would have preferred a loss - well wouldn't you ?!

A few weeks ago we all went to Yellows for lunch (review pending !). The Husband had something called Cinicinatti chilli 5 ways. After some research on the internet and Delia's cheat ingredients aside, it seemed as if it was a slow cooked chilli with cinammon and allspice but served with spaghetti rather than anything else. This wasn't the way Delia did it and I don't know about you but spaghetti with chilli ? Not sure. Slow cooked chilli however is something I've wanted to try for a while but after getting some stewing steak really cheaply at Waitrose I thought I'd finally get around to doing it. It's based loosely on my Kick ass chilli recipe but with a few tweaks. I haven't added any beans to the chilli as I've served it with them on the side but you could easily add some in before the slow simmer.

SLOW COOKED CHILLI
serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
500g stewing steak
2 onions chopped
2 chillis chopped (leave the seeds out if you want it milder)
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 tsp each of ground coriander, ground cumin and dried oregano
2 beef stock cubes
2 x 400g cans chopped tomatoes
1/2 tsp sugar
good squirt tomato puree
fresh coriander to finish

Heat the olive oil in a large pan
Brown the beef and remove to a plate
Add the onions, chillis and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes
Add the herbs & spices and cook for a minute or so
Add the beef back to the pan and then add the rest of the ingredients apart from the coriander
Simmer over a low heat for at least 2 hours.

I've served this with pinto beans, sour cream, Monterey Jack cheese, red onion and Ritz crackers so the "5 ways" that Delia talks about. It was so delicious but not really an everyday way of doing it. The left over portions going in the freezer will probably just be served with a jacket potato and sour cream for a quick and easy week night dinner.

Spicy bird tacos

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Tue, 03 May 2011 12:58:00 +0000

Well, after all the speculation about these I thought I should probably post the recipe !!

This carries on with my Mexican obsession and is from my Mexican cookery bible. I've made these before with fresh chicken breast but as we'd had friends over for lunch on Sunday and I had quite a lot of left over chicken this seemed like a perfect solution. I did these as burritos instead of tacos and added some black beans into the burrito as I had a tin open but they're not essential. You may also notice from the picture the ends of the burritos are a little singed - I was side tracked while cooking them by the small people ! It didn't affect the flavour at all really.

On the Weight Watchers scale it's not so good, coming in at 16pps per portion but is fine if you're careful the rest of the day !!

SPICY BIRD TACOS
serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil and a knob of butter (I reduced these to try and reduce the fat content)
1 large onion sliced
salt & pepper
1 tbsp brown sugar
generous pinch each of ground allspice and cinnamon
2 fresh bay leaves
2 fat cloves of garlic chopped
2x400g cans of chopped tomatoes
2 tablespoons of chipotles en adobo (I used Discovery chipotle paste)
600-800g leftover roast chicken
16 small corn tortillas or 8 larger ones

Heat the olive oil and butter in a pan and then add the onion, seasoning, sugar, spices and bay leaves and cook for 15 minutes then add the garlic cloves and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes and chipotles and simmer for at least 15 mins over a low heat. Finally add the shredded chicken and check the seasoning. Remove the bay leaves before serving !

I served these in tortillas with a spoon of black beans and then topped with sour cream and grated cheese which went all melty and gorgeous.

Meal Planning Monday - May 2nd

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Mon, 02 May 2011 09:00:00 +0000

Monday again and the second bank holiday Monday in a row. It's lovely and sunny and life is good !

Last week I stuck to my meal plan pretty well actually, no major changes and no hiccups. The bonus point being I also lost 4lbs last week too ! This week I'm back to work after my sick leave for my hand surgery so I'm back to planning quick and easy meals so we don't resort to the takeaway menus.

Monday : Spicy bird tacos
Tuesday : Asian salmon with rice and pak choi
Wednesday : Pizza and salad
Thursday : Chicken tikka skewers
Friday : Quesadillas
Saturday : Cincinnati chilli - this is left over from last week as we had steak instead !
Sunday : Nigella's chicken and chorizo bake

As usual I will be blogging about some of the above, watch this space.

Chocolate tiffin

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 14:15:00 +0000

aka chocolate refridgerator cake, chocolate cement call it what you will but it is a memory that most of us will have from our childhood. Infact Prince William (keeping it topical, see what I did there ?!) has requested a chocolate fridge cake at his wedding reception.

Normally I have a wedge of this at Costa with my latte at about 10000 calories a slice but dammit it's good. As I am trying to use up the Easter Egg mountain my children seem to have amassed I thought I'd try making it at home. I've already made a batch of chocolate crispy cakes and we still have 3 eggs to use up. That's before we've started on the other 4 eggs that are still in their boxes.

So, a rather make it up as you go along recipe here but it tastes good and cut into 16 squares only works out as 5 weightwatchers pps, happy days.

CHOCOLATE TIFFIN
makes 16 squares

225g digestive biscuits
110g butter
50g raisins
1 tbsp sugar
2 tbsp golden syrup
1tbsp each of drinking chocolate and cocoa - if you prefer dark choc use two of cocoa
150g milk chocolate

Crush the biscuits in a bowl to smallish pieces
Melt the butter, sugar and golden syrup in a pan and then add the raisins and cocoa and bubble for a few minutes
Mix with the crushed biscuits and stir to combine
Press into an 8 inch square tin and press down
Melt the chocolate and smooth over the top. This makes a thin layer but just use more chocolate if you want a thicker layer
Leave to set for a couple of hours in the fridge, cut into squares and try not to eat all at once.

Wroxham Barns - a great day out !

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Wed, 27 Apr 2011 14:09:00 +0000

It was the first weekend of the school holidays and the sun was shining. We wanted to take the kids out somewhere but it wasn't quite warm enough for the coast and we didn't really want to spend ££ either. After doing a bit of research we plumped for Wroxham Barns.

Now, I've been going there since I was a kid and I was rather shocked to see that it opened in 1982 ! When I used to go with my parents it was nothing like what it is now but somewhere I still loved to go. We've been there once with son no1 but that was nearly 5 years ago !

It's really easy to find even though it's down a little country road but it's very well signposted from Wroxham. We arrived just after 12pm and decided to make lunch a priority before looking around the rest of the place. If it had been warmer we would have considered a picnic as there are plenty of places to do so but we decided to try their restaurant. We'd only had tea and cakes last time we went so we were interested to see their lunch options.

There were plenty of tables free as we were quite early and our very friendly waitress showed us to a table by the window and promptly took our drinks order. There is a good kids menu which doesn't feature "chips with everything" which is a great relief and even better they say they will do a smaller portion of anything off the adults menu if the child would prefer ! My two plumped for the sausage and mash with beans while I went for a jacket potato with tuna and the Husband went for a ham baguette. There were plenty of other hot options including something yummy sounding with pork belly and bruschetta.

The food arrived promptly and was steaming hot. The kids food looked lovely and a sneaky taste of the mash proved to be very tasty too. The two sausages were fat, juice and rare breed. My potato came with a decent side salad and was filling and tasty while the baguette was declared delicious. The whole thing came to just over £30 which included two lots of (soft) drinks. I didn't mind paying that much though as it was good, freshly prepared food.

From there we went to the Junior Farm. This is quite pricey to get in for a family of 4 (£22) but you can come and go all day with the wrist band and bearing in mind you don't have to pay to get in to the Barns, it's not so bad.

We had a good wander around, the kids fed the sheep and donkeys. We saw the pigs and had to explain to son no1 that the "REALLY BIG FAT PIG" was actually pregnant and not just fat. They then went and made faces at the goats to try and get them to bleat (don't ask !) and finally got to hold a guinea pig. Son no1 loved this but son no2 wasn't quite so sure. We could have also gone to the feeding session for the lambs but we were side tracked by the funfair. There is also a new soft play area within the Junior Farm but we didn't go in this time.

not the "really big fat pig"

Off to the funfair which is a token operated affair with a few, well maintained rides, a little train and some slot machines. My children's favourite was the big bouncy slide by a long way ! There is also a new mini golf and a small adventure play area too.

Finally I insisted on a mooch around the shops. With the boys entertained with an ice cream I enjoyed a leisurely look around the shops. The Gallery has always been my favourite with all it's lovely quirky little bits. There is a decent toy area and some nice house-y stuff too. The other shops were great too, a good kids clothing shop and some more crafty shops. There is a food shop too but I was disappointed there wasn't some fresh cakes or other fresh produce available too. That aside I spent quite a bit on the local chutneys and relishes ! Next door there is also a brewery which was under construction when we were there.

We spend a good few hours at Wroxham Barns. The kids had a great time, we were well fed and watered and I even got some retail therapy in too. Definitely somewhere we'd go back to and I hope my kids have as good memories of the place as I do.

Meal planning Monday - April 25th

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 17:57:00 +0000

Yet another Monday rolls around. Last week my meal plan was blown out of the water ! This week is going to be trickier as I am back on the WW wagon - again *sigh*

Monday : Leftovers lamb curry

Tuesday : Cheat's spaghetti bolognese

Wednesday : Tuna fishcakes

Thursday : Roasted cherry tomato pasta

Friday : Summer chicken

Saturday : Slow cooked chilli loosely based on Delia's 5 ways chilli but not with the cheats ingredients !

Sunday : Roast chicken

Salsa & guacamole

noreply@blogger.com (SarahR) — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 15:48:00 +0000

Oh my goodness, how glorious has this weather been the last few days. It's only the end of April and we've had blisteringly hot days, BBQs, the paddling pool out for the children. It's been more like July than April and it's been fantastic !

My meal plans haven't really been reflecting this sudden, rather unseasonal change in weather so there has been much chopping and changing of meals and impromptu barbecue-ing which has been great. I am only hoping and praying that this continues, for at least another week anyway. I fear however, with the Royal Wedding looming at the end of this week that we won't be that lucky. I believe they are forecasting rain.

Anyway, back on topic. I have previously alluded to my love of Mexican food and this weather makes me want to eat big salads full of burstingly ripe tomatoes, soft and silky avocados with juicy bbq-ed chicken which indeed I did on Saturday evening. Faced with left over tomatoes and avocados I made some salsa and guacamole to mop up the alcohol from our rather boozy family lunch yesterday.

I swear these are the best salsa and guacamole I have ever made or eaten. After you've eaten this guacamole you'll never go back to the shop bought stuff again.

Both these (tweaked) recipes are taken from Thomasina Miers book which I have mentioned, oh at least a couple of times before !

FRESH TOMATO SALSA

8 large ripe, flavoursome tomatoes
Small handful of coriander, stalks removed
1 small red onion finely chopped
1 red chilli chopped
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1-2 limes squeezed
1 teaspoon soft brown or demerara sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Put a small cross in the base of the tomatoes and put in a bowl of boiling water for 1 minute
Remove and take off the skins. Quarter, deseed and chop roughly
Stir in the coriander and then add the other ingredients but only 1/2 the lime juice
Check the flavour and add more lime juice, salt and pepper to taste
Leave for 20 mins for the flavours to develop

GUACAMOLE

1/2 a red onion very finely chopped
2 red chillis chopped
1 teaspoon sea salt
3 ripe Hass avocados
juice of 1-2 limes
small handful of coriander leaves chopped
black pepper

Put 1/4 of the onion and 1/2 the chilli in a pestle & mortar with the salt and mash to a rough paste
Cut open the avocados and add the pestle & mortar with 1/2 the lime juice and mash
Add the red of the ingredients and season with plenty of black pepper
Keep tasting and adjusting seasoning/ lime to taste