Potatoes, peeled and diced fairly smallish
Red pepper, diced
Onion, sliced
Garlic, minced
Passata
Courgette
Chickpeas (canned or cooked)
Vegetable stock (I used Marigold Bouillion)
Nigella (black onion seed)
And then, mixed in a big teacup with water to make a paste, 1 tsp cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, pinch of nutmeg, 1 tsp ginger, half a tsp cinnamon, half a tsp paprika, 1 tsp garam masala, a pinch of turmeric, salt and black pepper.
Prepare the potatoes, courgettes, pepper and chickpeas and put them into your slow cooker. In a frying pan, brown the onions and garlic, before adding the spice paste and allowing to cook through gently. Then add the passata and the onion seed, mixing it together thoroughly before pouring it into the slow cooker over the vegetables and chickpeas. Finally, top it up with vegetable stock, give it all a stir and then leave it to cook overnight. I did mine on high as I get up so early but you know your slow cooker best, adjust it to suit.
Wednesday, 26 January 2011
Tuesday, 25 January 2011
Day 26 - Pasta with ragout, again
Well, there's not a lot to say for this day either except that it was very lovely and as a variation we added a splodge of Quark...the recipe is the same as we made here :)
Monday, 24 January 2011
Day 25 - Gill's Night Off!
We went to see Black Swan and ended up eating at the Village Cafe in town, so no cooking for me today! (Noodle soup, if you're interested, was what I had).
Sunday, 23 January 2011
Day 24 - Slow cooker chicken and butter bean casserole
Today we had our first day off together in about a fortnight and rather than spend it chained to the cooker I decided to rework this recipe that we made a couple of weeks ago, making it in the slow cooker so we could go out and look at suits for Chris for the wedding.
Today:
Extra Easy, all food free
Chicken thighs - skinless, boneless, and trimmed of all the snorgly bits
Lean bacon, trimmed and fat removed
1 lemon
Onion
Celery
Red peppers
Courgettes
Garlic
Smoked paprika - I used hot rather than sweet today
Pinch of saffron threads
Hot chicken stock - made with a cube is fine for this
Chopped tomatoes
Black pepper
Butter beans
Chop your pepper and courgettes and put them, along with the butter beans, into the bottom of your slow cooker.
In a pan, brown the chicken and bacon thoroughly together, adding the onion, celery and garlic and allowing them to soften. Transfer them to your slow cooker, sitting them on top of the veg. Chop the lemon up and put it in too.
In a big jug mix the tomatoes, stock, paprika and saffron together and then pour it over the chicken, veg and beans. Season with black pepper, stick the lid on and leave it to cook on slow. It's not going anywhere :)
We had it with some broccoli.
Today:
Extra Easy, all food free
Chicken thighs - skinless, boneless, and trimmed of all the snorgly bits
Lean bacon, trimmed and fat removed
1 lemon
Onion
Celery
Red peppers
Courgettes
Garlic
Smoked paprika - I used hot rather than sweet today
Pinch of saffron threads
Hot chicken stock - made with a cube is fine for this
Chopped tomatoes
Black pepper
Butter beans
Chop your pepper and courgettes and put them, along with the butter beans, into the bottom of your slow cooker.
In a pan, brown the chicken and bacon thoroughly together, adding the onion, celery and garlic and allowing them to soften. Transfer them to your slow cooker, sitting them on top of the veg. Chop the lemon up and put it in too.
In a big jug mix the tomatoes, stock, paprika and saffron together and then pour it over the chicken, veg and beans. Season with black pepper, stick the lid on and leave it to cook on slow. It's not going anywhere :)
We had it with some broccoli.
Saturday, 22 January 2011
Day 23 - The Fastest Chili In The West
Today I spent more or less the whole day with my friend who just lost her father, and then went to see my parents who live nearby. With the husband type safely at work with his tasty packed lunch I was rather bereft when I got home, however there was turkey breast mince defrosted so I made a ginormous bowl of barbecuetastic comfort food. It's not classy but it tasted good.
Today:
Extra Easy, all food free
Turkey breast mince
2 trimmed slices of bacon, all fat removed
Pepper
Courgette
Onion
Garlic
Celery
Canned tomatoes
Small can of refried beans
And then my secret weapon: a sachet of Smoky Barbecue Fajita Seasoning. Muahaha.
Serve it with brown rice if you're starving.
So. Stick the rice on. It's brown rice, it'll take about half an hour. You can do the rest in half an hour. Just chop fast.
Brown the turkey and bacon in your pan in some low fat cooking spray. Add the onion, celery and garlic, keeping the heat high but keeping an eye on it. While they are softening, finely chop your pepper and courgette and then sling them in, too. Keep an eye on it, you don't want it to burn. When everything is looking soft, and that won't take long if you've chopped it small, add the tomatoes and barbecue seasoning. The refried beans go in right at the end as they only need to heat through.
I recommend scooping it all into an enormous bowl, making a big glass of squash and eating it with a spoon while you slump on the sofa and watch Ace of Cakes. Ah Geof Manthorne, be still my heart, and thank God you will never see me devouring a huge bowl of turkey chili like I've been starved. Haha.
Today:
Extra Easy, all food free
Turkey breast mince
2 trimmed slices of bacon, all fat removed
Pepper
Courgette
Onion
Garlic
Celery
Canned tomatoes
Small can of refried beans
And then my secret weapon: a sachet of Smoky Barbecue Fajita Seasoning. Muahaha.
Serve it with brown rice if you're starving.
So. Stick the rice on. It's brown rice, it'll take about half an hour. You can do the rest in half an hour. Just chop fast.
Brown the turkey and bacon in your pan in some low fat cooking spray. Add the onion, celery and garlic, keeping the heat high but keeping an eye on it. While they are softening, finely chop your pepper and courgette and then sling them in, too. Keep an eye on it, you don't want it to burn. When everything is looking soft, and that won't take long if you've chopped it small, add the tomatoes and barbecue seasoning. The refried beans go in right at the end as they only need to heat through.
I recommend scooping it all into an enormous bowl, making a big glass of squash and eating it with a spoon while you slump on the sofa and watch Ace of Cakes. Ah Geof Manthorne, be still my heart, and thank God you will never see me devouring a huge bowl of turkey chili like I've been starved. Haha.
Friday, 21 January 2011
Day 22 - The Pasta Salad of Misery
You know...I barely know why I am posting this except that I said that I would put everything I eat on here. This was a combination of bare cupboards, extreme hunger, and having too much other stuff to do.
Today
Extra Easy, all food free
Tuna
Pasta (preferably wholegrain)
Cucumber
Salad leaves (whatever you've got)
Baby plum tomatoes
Sliced sweet onions
Sliced beetroot (yes, from a jar)
Er...cook the pasta. Open the tuna. Put everything in a bowl and stir. Eat, wishing you'd had the forethought to put soup in the slow cooker, but being silently determined not to crack and go to the chippy. Wedding dress, honeymoon! Wedding dress, honeymoon! *sigh*
Today
Extra Easy, all food free
Tuna
Pasta (preferably wholegrain)
Cucumber
Salad leaves (whatever you've got)
Baby plum tomatoes
Sliced sweet onions
Sliced beetroot (yes, from a jar)
Er...cook the pasta. Open the tuna. Put everything in a bowl and stir. Eat, wishing you'd had the forethought to put soup in the slow cooker, but being silently determined not to crack and go to the chippy. Wedding dress, honeymoon! Wedding dress, honeymoon! *sigh*
Thursday, 20 January 2011
Day 21 - Cottage pie!
Today:
Extra Easy, all food free - except for MINIMAL Syns for a spoonful of wholegrain mustard.
Extra lean ground beef
Optional couple of slices of bacon with all fat trimmed and removed
Carrots, sliced thin
Mushrooms
Onion
Kallo beef stock cube OR Marmite
Black pepper
Potatoes!
Wholegrain mustard
Salt and pepper
Oh man....okay it's a cottage pie. Boil the potatoes, drain, and mash, seasoning and adding the mustard. Lovely.
Make the filling by browning the bacon and beef in low fat cooking spray, and add the onions, cooking until soft and golden, along with the Marmite or stock cube. Finally, pop the carrot and mushrooms in; add a bit of water so it all stays moist and doesn't stick. When it's done, just pile it into the bottom of your oven dish and put the mash on top. Do it like my nan and rake it about with a fork so it's all rough and goes crispy in the oven.
This will go happily into the fridge or even into the freezer til you're ready for it; it needs about 45 minutes from chilled in the middle of the oven at around 190 degrees, or until a knife poked into the middle and held against your bottom lip is piping hot.
Extra Easy, all food free - except for MINIMAL Syns for a spoonful of wholegrain mustard.
Extra lean ground beef
Optional couple of slices of bacon with all fat trimmed and removed
Carrots, sliced thin
Mushrooms
Onion
Kallo beef stock cube OR Marmite
Black pepper
Potatoes!
Wholegrain mustard
Salt and pepper
Oh man....okay it's a cottage pie. Boil the potatoes, drain, and mash, seasoning and adding the mustard. Lovely.
Make the filling by browning the bacon and beef in low fat cooking spray, and add the onions, cooking until soft and golden, along with the Marmite or stock cube. Finally, pop the carrot and mushrooms in; add a bit of water so it all stays moist and doesn't stick. When it's done, just pile it into the bottom of your oven dish and put the mash on top. Do it like my nan and rake it about with a fork so it's all rough and goes crispy in the oven.
This will go happily into the fridge or even into the freezer til you're ready for it; it needs about 45 minutes from chilled in the middle of the oven at around 190 degrees, or until a knife poked into the middle and held against your bottom lip is piping hot.
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