Chicken tortilla soup

Now. I have never made chicken tortilla soup before but I woke up wanting some yesterday and couldn't stop thinking about it, so before I did the grocery shopping this morning I went forth to the magical interwebs and the first recipe I found was this one from Ree Drummond.  It looked exactly what I was after but being in the UK I had to improvise with some of the ingredients, so this is my version of her recipe exactly as I did it; just tweak, I reckon!

3 small or 2 big chicken breasts
Half a red onion, chopped, plus a few spring onions, chopped (left over from making fajitas the other night)
2 small green bell peppers, chopped
2 cartons of chopped tomatoes with peppers and chili
2 400g cans of black beans (from Caribbean section in ASDA); one drained, one not
1large can of unsweetened sweet corn
1litre of chicken stock
About 1/3 jar of  hot salsa (I just got Aldi's own) - maybe two heaped tablespoons worth
2-3 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 big tsp paprika
1 big tsp cumin
Small handful basmati rice (about 60g)

To finish/serve:
Bunch of coriander, chopped
Grated cheese
Avocado
Soured cream
Tortilla, grilled and cut into strips...whatever you like really (I had tortilla and avocado)

You literally just put it all in a saucepan except for the rice, bring it up to boil and then let it bubble til the chicken is cooked. At that point take the breasts out and shred them with forks, and add them back to the pot.  Stick your rice in then and leave it to cook, covered, til the rice is done.  Add your coriander in, give it a stir and serve. I reckon you could easily do this in the slow cooker (I will try that next time).

Easy fish pasta bake

This is a new one that I made after a request for fish pie for dinner and, because I am an idiot, I forgot to buy the sodding potatoes.  So this is technically fish pasta and in an attempt to make it more pie like I baked it.  In the pie dish.  *eyeroll*

1 pack of prepared "fish pie" fish.  I got mine from Morrisons and it had haddock, salmon etc in it.
1 small pack of small prawns
Onion
Lemon
Courgette
Big handful of frozen peas
Half a tub of Philadelphia with salmon
Half a tub of low fat soft cheese
Splash of milk
Small clove of garlic
Pinch of black pepper
Sprinkle of Cheddar (or your favourite) to go on top

Stick the oven on to 180.  Put your fish into a baking dish that will be big enough to put everything in (pasta, sauce etc) - saves on washing up.  Pop it into the oven while you do everything else.  It'll only need a few minutes so watch it.

In the meantime cook your pasta in a big pan with lots of water.  When it's firm but cooked, drain it and put it to one side.

In a large frying pan, soften the onion, lemon, courgette, and garlic together.  Squish the lemon about so the juice and oils come out of it, but try to contain the pips or you will have a most unpleasant cronschy surprise!!

When they're softened just stir in the baked fish, prawns, peas and soft cheese.  Use the milk if you need to thin things out.  Stir the pasta through and stick it all back into the baking dish.  Grate a bit of cheese over the top if you're going for the "I promised you a pie and I'm sorry!" effect and stick it back in the oven for a few minutes.

I promise this tastes very nice although it sounds terrifying.

Pork, Fennel Seed and Oregano Baked Pasta

This was a Friday night experiment and it came out really nicely, I thought.  Sadly it was SO nice there were no photos (also I was pooped by the time I'd got it into the oven - long, long day).  On the other hand it was so nice we will definitely be making it again.

It DOES look like a lot of ingredients but actually most of it were things we had knocking about in the cupboard or fridge; I would highly recommend getting the herbs and fennel seeds in anyway as they are reasonably inexpensive and you can make so many things using them.  Veg-wise, you can mix it up how you like really.  No mushrooms?  Fine, use an extra pepper.  No courgettes? Whatever, you'll live.  You see how I mean.

Ingredients:

1 pack lean pork mince
2-3 rashers streaky bacon
3 cloves garlic
1 large onion
2 carrots, grated
2-3 sticks celery, sliced
1 green or yellow pepper
1 large courgette
1 pack mushrooms (about 200g), sliced or quartered, however you like them
1 carton (or can - about 400g) chopped tomatoes in their juice
Squirt of tomato puree
splash balsamic vinegar (optional)
pork stock cube (if you've got one)
Dried oregano (I would have used fresh, they had none in ASDA, I used dried, it was great)
Fennel seeds - a heaped teaspoon
Dried marjoram

For the topping:

1 large carton of plain cottage cheese
Parmesan for dusting BUT -if you have none, just use a bit of whatever cheese you've got in the fridge.  Seriously, you just need it to give it a bit of a textured top.

Also, enough pasta to fill you up - you're going to make the sauce, cook the pasta, stir the two together, pop them in an oven dish covered with the instant cheesy topping and bake it for 20 minutes so I suggest just doing your normal portion size.  As an aside, if you don't have an oven dish I noticed in the supermarket the other day that Bacofoil do 2-packs of re-usable sturdy reinforced foil oven "dishes" for a couple of pounds so you could give this a shot in one of those.  I reckon you could fit at least 2 or 3 portions in so if you are a couple or a small family they would be adequate, especially with a bit of salad, or bread on the side.  Anyway, I've digressed.

Frazzle the bacon to within an inch of its life in a large pan, and add the pork mince, breaking it up so it browns.  While that is happening slice up your onion and crush your garlic and add them in.  While you're at it add the fennel seeds and the oregano - a VERY generous shake, probably a heaped teaspoon.  I also like to melt the pork stock cube in at this point and swizz it about.  If you haven't got a pork stock cube don't sweat it.  When everything is looking like it's cooking down a bit add a little slosh of balsamic vinegar (not the expensive stuff, just the cheapy version from the supermarket) and give it a good stir.  Add your grated carrots and celery, stick the lid on, and get on with preparing (ie chopping up) the mushrooms, courgette, pepper etc, opening your tomatoes and so on.

When the onions, celery and carrot have cooked into the meat, add all your other veg and tomatoes and tomato puree, along with the marjoram and a generous seasoning of black pepper, stick the lid on and turn your attentions to your pasta.

Measure it out accordingly and stick the kettle on.  While you are at it, put the oven shelf in the middle of the oven and put it on to about 180-190 degrees.  Get a pan out for your pasta and heat it up so the boiling water from the kettle doesn't have to reboil when it hits a cold pan.

Cook the pasta to your liking.  I used pasta twists but shells, macaroni, or whatever you've got are fine.  I wouldn't use long pasta but actually if it's all you've got you could just break it up.  Your call!  My preference is for wholemeal pasta since I like the texture better.

When your pasta's cooked, stir it into your sauce so it's all well mixed together.  Then transfer it into your oven dish and smooth it over.  Open your carton of cottage cheese and carefully pour off any watery whey from the top, then carefully using a big spoon smear it as evenly as you can over the top of your pasta to make a creamy cheesy layer on top.  Grate a bit of parmesan over and finish with a final sprinkle of oregano, then stick it in the oven for 15 minutes for the cheese to melt and for it all to bake in together.

Enjoy!  It's very nice, and a lighter alternative to a traditional beef ragout.

Also...FREEZING!   As with all the non-creamy sauces here the meat sauce bit, without the pasta and the cheese, is perfect for freezing so if you wanted to make a big batch and pop some in the freezer for an easy dinner one night then this is great for that.  All you'd have to do is go from the cooking your pasta and heating up the oven stage.  And of course, you COULD just eat it as is with some pasta  or even on a baked potato - it's pretty easy going :)

My mom's hot and sour soup

1 corn on the cob

veg oil

1 red chilli

1 shallot

2 stalks lemongrass

3 baby leeks or slicing spring onions

1 red pepper    

400ml coconut milk (I used light)

11/2 pints veg stock

175g fine egg noodles

juice of 1 lime

bunch coriander

(this is supposed to serve 4)

Fry corn, spring onions, pepper, shallot, chilli, (all chopped) and lemongrass (bruised) in oil for 3-4 minutes

add coconut milk and veg stock, season and bring to boil and simmer 15 minutes.

cook noodles and add to pan.

Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and coriander. Serve straight away.

Easy peasy and we had this with some chicken and I added extra noodles to make a main meal.


I'm trying the fennel and bulgar wheat tonight so I'll let you know how it turns out. Dad's having a jacket potato - he's tried one new recipe this week.

Slow cooked venison

This is rather like a Beef Oxford, but with venison; we have a very good local farm shop where they sell all kinds of game.  Last week when we went they had diced venison, so we bought some and this is what I made with it (we're having it for dinner later).

500g diced venison, trimmed
Sliced smoked bacon - probably 3 or 4 slices
Slug of balsamic vinegar
Mushrooms, halved or quartered
2 red onions
Small bottle red wine
Carrots, halved lengthways and cut into bite size pieces
Green pepper, chopped
Garlic, 2-3 cloves, crushed
Fresh rosemary
Salt and black pepper

This really is a bit of a one-pot wonder; as long as you've sealed the meat, all is well.

Frazzle the bacon, and then add the venison.  Once it's nicely sealed, pop the onions, garlic, and a slug of balsamic vinegar in and let it cook down.

Add the wine and let the alcohol bubble off, and then put the rest of the veg and the rosemary in, put the lid on, turn it down and go and do something else for a bit.  At least an hour :)

We'll be having some of this with some baby potatoes and some sauteed courgettes I think.

Smoked haddock chowder a la Jamie Oliver

This is another of the recipes from Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals and it was very easy (and something a bit different as we don't eat fish all that often unfortunately).  Again, I think I'm about right but I was writing it down, and this is as I made it (and it came out dish-licious).

For 2-4 people you need...

1 good sized fillet of smoked haddock (or other smoked fish) with the skin off and the pinbones out
250ishg of potatoes, scrubbed and chopped into small, 2cm ish pieces
Some sliced spring onions
4 corn cobs, with the corn kernels sliced off ready
3 bay leaves
4 rashers of streaky bacon
teaspoon thyme (I am sure Jamie used fresh but I didn't have any)
1 litre of chicken stock (with a cube is fine)
small bag frozen prawns (or a small pack of non frozen ones, no rules!)
teeny carton single cream

So....

Frazzle the bacon in the bottom of your saucepan and then add the onions and potatoes, stirring them about so they start to soften.  Then, add the stock, the piece of fish (don't bother faffing about breaking it up, just whack it in), and the sweetcorn.  Jamie Oliver demonstrates how to prepare them - just take a sharp knife and run it down the sides of the cob to shave the kernels off.  If you do this onto a clean tea towel it stops them bouncing about and onto the floor :)  Also, put in your bay leaves and the thyme and bring it up to a boil before reducing it to a simmer.

It should take about 12-15 minutes; when your potatoes are soft and cooked through you're good to go.  Add the prawns and give them a couple of minutes to reheat through throughly.  You don't need to defrost them first, they are only little.  Take your bay leaves out, pop your cream in, make sure it's piping hot, and it's ready!  You might like to get a potato masher and mash one third or so of the pan to give it a bit more of an interesting texture, but it's your call.

Serve it with some of those big Matzo crackers broken up to thicken it.  Super quick and easy and it tastes amazing.

Chili chicken soup, again

I made it again, and took a better photo :)