Nutty Chicken Curry

For dinner this evening Nutty Chicken Curry was on the menu. I am enjoying trying new recipes and this is another I had bookmarked to try which I tweaked, adding more stock and using fat free Greek yoghurt. Hubby and I loved this flavoursome creamy curry. For those of you worried about whether it is too spicy, the peanut butter and yoghurt combine well to soften the spiciness. Next time I will use crunchy peanut butter to add more texture to the curry and make it more nutty!

Nutty Chicken Curry

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 large red chilli, deseeded
1/2 finger-length piece ginger, roughly chopped
1 fat garlic clove
small bunch of coriander, stalks roughly chopped
1 tbsp sunflower oil (I used olive oil)
4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
5 tbsp peanut butter
150ml chicken stock (I added more stock, 350ml)

200g Greek yogurt (I used low fat)
cooked rice, to serve

Finely slice a quarter of the chilli, then put the rest in a food processor with the ginger, garlic, coriander stalks and one-third of the leaves. Whizz to a rough paste with a splash of water, if needed.

Heat the oil in a frying pan, then quickly brown the chicken for 1 min. Stir in the paste for 1 min more, then add the peanut butter, stock and yogurt. When the sauce is gently bubbling, cook for 10 mins until the chicken is just cooked through and the sauce has thickened. Stir in most of the remaining coriander, then scatter the rest on top with the chilli. Serve with rice.

Beef Stew with mustard and thyme dumplings

The weather has become very cold in the UK, with temperatures dropping to -3 Celsius some nights. Following on from my promise to try new recipes I decided to try out a new beef stew for our Sunday meal. This stew is the perfect comfort food that we crave for during this cold weather. I've never made my own dumplings and couldn't beleive how easy they were to make, they turned out great if I do say so myself. I served the stew with creamy mash and it was delicious.


Beef Stew and mustard and thyme dumplings

Serves 6
Ingredients
1.5kg braising or chuck steak
about 2 tbsp seasoned flour
2 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, peeled and chopped
6 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
sea salt and black pepper
4 celery stalks, sliced
4 large leeks, cleaned and cut into short lengths
1 small swede, peeled and cut into cubes
1 small celeriac, peeled and cut into cubes
1 bottle of robust red wine
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
a bouquet garni of parsley, thyme, rosemary, bay and 2 strips of orange peel, tied together

For the dumplings:
110g self-raising flour
55g beef of vegetable suet
1 tbsp thyme leaves, chopped, or 2 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp grain mustard or 1 tsp Colman's English mustard powder, or 2tp freshly grated horseradish

Preheat the oven to 150oC/Gas 2. Cut the beef into large cubes. Tip the flour into a Ziplock bag, add the meat, lock and shake to coat. Take out the meat, shaking off excess flour. Heat about 1 tbsp olive oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan and brown the meat in batches all over, removing it to a plate when browned and adding extra oil as needed.

Add the onions and garlic to the pan and sprinkle with a little salt. After a few minutes, as they begin to soften, add the celery, carrots, leeks, swede and celeriac, if using. Saute for a few minutes and then return the meat to the pan. Meanwhile, heat the red wine.

Add the tinned tomatoes to the pan and chop them down into the meat and veg. When the liquid is bubbling away merrily, add the wine to just cover. Once the pot has come up to the bubble again, tuck the bouquet garni down into the depths, add a circle of greaseproof paper (a cartouche) to just cover the stew and put the lid on. Transfer to the oven and cook for 2 hours or until the vegetables are tender but not reduced to mush.

Meanwhile, make the dumplings. Sift the flour into a large bowl and throw in the suet. Add the herbs, mustard or horseradish and seasoning, and mix with your hands or a spoon until the dough coheres but is not too wet and sticky. If it becomes too damp, scatter over a little more flour and roll the ball of dough gently. Flour your hands and pull small, walnut-sized pieces of dough from the ball, rolling them between your palms into balls.

About 20 minutes before the stew will be ready, uncover and sit the dumplings on top. Put the lid back on and return to the oven. After 20 minutes, check that the dumplings have swollen and are cooked through. Serve with mash or colcannon.

Spring Chicken in Wintertime

This evening for dinner I decided to make Nigella's Spring Chicken from her cookbook Kitchen. Although this is titled "spring" chicken, it is perfect for this time of the year, a warming casserole is just what you crave at the end of a cold winters day. This casserole has an amazing depth of flavour and would work equally well served with new potatoes, rice, barley or other grains. Alternatively it could be served with a baquette or other crusty bread to mop up the juices. We thoroughly enjoyed this comforting dish and I plan to make it again soon.


Spring Chicken

Serves 4-6

Ingredients
1 tsp olive oil
140g pancetta cubes
12 chicken thighs (bone in with or without skin)
1 leek, cleaned, quartered lengthwise then finely sliced
1 stick celery, quartered lengthwise then finely sliced
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 tsp freeze-dried tarragon
1 tsp sea salt flakes or 1/2 tsp pouring salt
good grinding white pepper
1 x 500ml bottle dry cider
300g frozen petit pois
1 x 15ml tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Little Gem lettuces, suct into strips or roughly shredded
2 x 15ml tbsp chopped fresh tarragon

Heat the oil in a large, wide casserole that comes with a lid and add the pancetta cubes, cooking them until they begin to give off their juices and start to colour.

Add the chicken thighs (skin-side down if yours have skin), tossing the pancetta cubes on top of the meat (to stop the pancetta burning and to make space) as you put the poultry in the pan, and cook for about 5 minutes over a medium heat.

Turn the thighs over and tip in the prepared leek, celery and garlic. Season with the dried tarragon, salt and pepper, then stir everything around a bit, letting it cook for another 5 minutes.

Pour in the cider, then sprinkle in the frozen peas. Bring the pan to the boil then cover, turn down to a very gentle heat and cook for 40 minutes. Do check after 30, though, to see if the chicken is cooked through, and if you are using boneless thighs, then 20 minutes should do it.

Remove the lid, stir in the mustard, and then toss the shredded lettuce over the chicken, letting it wilt in the hot sauce for a couple of minutes.

Scatter the chopped tarragon over the casserole. Serve with new potatoes or rice.

Creamy Pancetta Pasta with Mushrooms & Parmesan

As most of you know I love cookbooks and own an extensive collection but I haven't had a good splurge in months. Receiving a package with shiny new cookbooks and reading through all those delicious recipes is the best feeling for a cookbook aficionado. I came across this delicious pasta recipe in Lorraine Pascale's new book and made it for a quick-fix weekday dinner. It was everything I expected, easy, comforting and a dish that I will make time and time again!

Creamy Pancetta Pasta with Mushrooms & Parmesan
Serves 4

Ingredients
400g papardelle or tagliatelle
100-200g cubed pancetta
175g chestnut mushrooms, wiped and finely sliced
225ml double cream ( I use half fat creme friache)
75g grated parmesan cheese
Freshly ground black pepper

Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions.

Meanwhile, put the pancetta in a medium pan over a medium to high heat. When it starts to go brown, add the mushrooms and cook for about 2-3 minutes, then add the double cream. Once the cream is hot, add the parmesan and stir together well.

Once the pasta is ready, drain and then return it to the pan. Add the creamy mixture and stir through well. Seaon with some pepper and sprinkle over more grated parmesan.

Pop over to The Goddess's Kitchen Facebook Page and join :)

Butternut Squash and Chorizo Linguine

A few weeks backs I decided to try a protein diet and whilst it promised major weight loss, and I did lose some weight, it wasn't the weight loss program for me. Being a lover of pasta and most carbs, I found it tough not having them in my diet. Not to mention missing the odd glass of wine or vodka & tonic during the week. So I've gone back to Weight Watchers which I know works for me as long as I stick with it. Sticking with it is easier as I'm still able to enjoy the food I love in moderation.

Pasta recipes whether in magazines or cookbooks always seem to catch my eye and this Butternut Squash and Chorizo Linguine certainly done just that. The bonus being it is a low fat recipe, even with the Chorizo, and easy to work out the ProPoints value. The sweet nutty taste of the roasted butternut squash and spicy chorizo combined wonderfully with my home-grown sage. This was a satisfying weeknight meal that didn't take much effort and one I will make again.


Butternut Squash and Chorizo Linguine

Serves 4

Ingredients
half a large butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and cut into small cubes
100g piece chorizo, chopped
1 tbsp olive oil
400g cherry tomatoes
large handful sage leaves, shredded
400g linguine or spaghetti
grated Parmesan, to serve

Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas 7. Tip the squash and chorizo onto a roasting tray, season, then toss in the oil. Roast for 20 mins, adding the tomatoes and two-thirds of the sage for the final 5 mins.

Cook the linguine/spaghetti. Drain, then toss with roasted ingredients and juices from the tray. Serve sprinkled with remaining sage and grated Parmesan.

Mushroom and Sausage Pasta

I seriously love pasta and would happily live on it most days would it not be for the need to keep an eye on my weight (which is a constant battle)! I do have my regular pasta recipes that are firm favourites in my home but at the same time I am always on the look-out for new recipes to try. This recipe comes from May's edition of Good Food magazine and screamed out "must try"! I adapted it slightly and used lean sausages and bacon to cut down on calories, it did not deter at all from the flavour. This hearty dish absolutely fulfilled my expectations with all the wonderful flavours it delivered. I've made this twice now and urge you to try it too.

Mushroom and Sausage Pasta

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 sausages, skins removed and meat squeezed out
4 bacon rashers, diced
200g mushrooms, chopped
350g pasta shapes
50g parmesan, grated, plus extra shavings to serve
2 egg yolks
Small bunch parsley, finely chopped
2 tbsp half-fat crème fraîche

Dry-fry the sausage meat in a non-stick pan for 8-10 mins until browned, breaking it up with a wooden spoon, then remove and set aside. Fry bacon and mushrooms for 5-8 mins until golden, return the sausage meat and keep warm.

Cook the pasta following pack instructions. Make the sauce by beating together the parmesan, egg yolks, most of the parsley and the crème fraîche. When the pasta is cooked, drain, reserving a ladle of the cooking water.

Combine the pasta and meat mixture over a low heat and add the sauce. Season and quickly mix, adding a splash of cooking water if it’s a little thick. Spoon into bowls and eat with the extra parmesan shavings and remaining parsley on top.

Pasta Bake

On Friday evening we had our son Jake and his girlfriend Sophie over for dinner. I miss Jake and a huge hole has been left in my life since he moved out but I refuse to be one of those mothers that try and hold him back for my own reasons. I didn’t count on my son moving out so soon and even more so starting a family of his own but I can only admire and be so proud of the man he is becoming. We are all so excited about the arrival of the baby which could be any day now and I can’t wait to meet my grandson! Whenever Jake comes over I always make the food he loves and enjoys, so when I saw this Pasta Bake that Jan at A Glug of Oil blogged about it seemed the perfect choice for Friday nights dinner. We love pasta and this recipe is very similar to one I make which always goes down well. This pasta bake was full of flavour, really delicious and we all thoroughly enjoyed it! This recipe is a keeper, thanks Jan for sharing this wonderful pasta bake!

Pasta Bake (adapted)

Serves 8

Ingredients

500g gigli pasta (or pasta of choice)

500g minced beef

500g minced pork

extra virgin olive oil - a few glugs for frying

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 large carrot, finely chopped

3 fat cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 x 400g tin of good quality Italian chopped tomatoes

3 tablespoons tomato purée (paste in the USA)

350ml of red wine

a good pinch of dried oregano

a pinch of nutmeg

salt and freshly milled black pepper

For the white sauce:
750ml of whole milk
100g of unsalted butter
55g plain flour
100ml double cream
plus a good handful of grated extra mature cheddar cheese and Parmesan to sprinkle over the top

Preheat your oven to 180C/350F or Gas 4

You will need a large frying pan, a large saucepan and a 2.5 litre oven proof dish. And also a balloon whisk and a wooden spoon.

In a large frying pan heat a about a tablespoon oil over a medium heat. Fry gently the onion and carrot for about 10 minutes, moving it around from time to time. Add the garlic and continue cooking for about 5 minutes. Then set this aside while you cook the meat.

Add another glug of oil to the frying pan, turn the heat up and fry the beef and pork to brown it, breaking it up with a wooden spoon. Keep it moving so it browns evenly. When it's browned nicely, now you can put the onion mixture back into the frying pan with the meat. Give it all a good stir. Add the tomato purée and cook for one minute then tip in the tin of tomatoes including the juice, oregano and red wine. Add a little salt and pepper to season. Still stirring, allow it to come up to simmering point. Once everything is simmering away nicely, leave it to cook over a low heat for about 30 minutes. Be sure to give it a stir now and then so you know it's not going too dry. By now you should be well on the way to having a nice thick, reduced concentrated sauce, that has very little liquid left in it. If you haven't - no worries just leave it for another 10 minutes or whatever it takes - you might have the heat a bit too low. Have a taste to check the seasoning, when you're happy with the thickness of the sauce, put the pan to one side and make the white sauce.

Put the butter and flour into a large thick-based saucepan and put it over a medium heat whilst stirring with a wooden spoon. Let the flour and butter cook for a minute or so (or the sauce will be lumpy). Now, remove from the heat and using a balloon whisk, add the milk in a little at a time, whisking all the time. Once all the milk is in, put the saucepan over a gentle heat and whisk continuously until the sauce comes to simmering point and thickens nicely. Add some salt and pepper to season and have a taste to make sure it's okay. Don't leave the salt out or the sauce will have no taste. Then, with the heat as low as possible, continue to cook the sauce for about 10 minutes. When it's nice and thick, remove from the heat and stir in the cream, and a pinch of nutmeg.

Once that's done you can turn off the heat and cook your pasta - following the instructions on the packet. Go for very slightly undercooked 'al dente' because the pasta will continue to cook when it goes in the oven.

Drain the pasta and reheat the white sauce, stirring all the time. Tip the pasta into your meat sauce and gently give it a stir to coat it well - you don't want the pasta to break up.

Put half of the mixture into your oven proof dish (2.5 litre in size) and spoon over a little of the white sauce. Don't fuss about the evenness of it, just pour over randomly. Add the rest of the pasta and meat mixture. Now pour the rest of the white sauce over to cover the pasta as best you can.

Sprinkle the top with a good amount of grated cheddar and Parmesan.

Chilli Con Healthy

I recently purchased Sally Bee’s cookbook, The Secret Ingredient: Delicious and Easy Heart-Healthy Recipes that might just save your life. At the age of 36 Sally suffered 3 heart attacks in a single week, she had never smoked, didn’t drink and was fit and healthy. But she was to find out that she had a rare heart defect that had gone undetected, SCAD (spontaneous coronary artery dissection) and is usually diagnosed post-mortem! Sally survived against all the odds. Determined to stay alive, she revolutionised her diet and through this book she now shares her secrets about healthy eating for life. The recipes in the cookbook are all eye pleasing, easy, filled with fresh ingredients and flavoured with herbs and spices. I’ve booked marked many recipes but decided to try out the Chilli Con Healthy first. I love chilli but for years have always used the same recipe, I have now been converted and will be using this recipe here on in. This chilli was amazing and my idea of comfort food. I served it along-side basmati rice and dollop of low-fat crème fraiche, which gave it a creamy texture. A must-try!

Chilli Con Healthy

Serves 4

Ingredients
450g extra lean mince beef
extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
2 fresh red chillies, deseeded and chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp paprika
pinch of cayenne pepper
400g can chopped tomaotes
1 level tbsp tomato puree
600ml beef stock
freshly ground black pepper
400g can red kidney beans, drained
chopped fresh coriander, to serve
low-fat natural yoghurt or crème fraiche (optional), to serve

In a large, lidded saucepan, dry-fry the minced beef until brown over a hight heat. Drain off any fat. Turn down to a medium-low heat and add a splash of olive oil and then add the onion and garlic and cook gently until softened.

Add the chillies and all the spices and continue frying, stirring occasionally, for 2-3 minutes.

Add the canned tomatoes, tomato puree and stock. Stir well and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 15 minutes, or until the liquid is slightly reduced.

Season with pepper and add the drained kidney beans. Cover and heat through gently for another 30 minutes, adding a little extra stock if required.

Serve hot, sprinkled with chopped coriander leaves and a dollop of yoghurt or crème fraiche, and accompanied by basmati rice or a fresh salad.

Moroccan Chicken with Sweet Potato Mash

Last night hubby and I enjoyed another healthy dinner, Moroccan Chicken with Sweet Potato Mash. It is a recipe from this month’s Good Food magazine, which I have had my eye on. It ticked all boxes for my healthy eating objectives. The dish delivered so much flavour for a relatively basic recipe. The caramelised onion sauce added depth of flavour to the spiced chicken seated upon the sweet potato mash. I thoroughly enjoyed creating and eating this. Another successful day in the Goddess’s Kitchen!

Moroccan Chicken with Sweet Potato Mash

Serves 4

Ingredients
1kg/2lb 4oz sweet potatoes, cubed
2 tsp ras el hanout, or a mix of ground cinnamon and cumin
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 fat garlic clove, crushed
200ml chicken stock
2 tsp clear honey
juice of ½ lemon
handful green olives, pitted or whole
20g pack coriander, leaves chopped

Boil the potatoes in salted water for 15 minutes or until tender. Mix the ras el hanout with seasoning, then sprinkle all over the chicken. Heat 1 tbsp oil in large frying pan, then brown the chicken for 3 mins on each side until golden.

Lift the chicken out of the pan. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 5 mins until softened. Add the stock, honey, lemon juice and olives, return the chicken to the pan, then simmer for 10 mins until the sauce is syrupy and the chicken cooked.

Mash the potatoes with 1 tbsp oil and season. Thickly slice each chicken breast and stir the coriander through the sauce. Serve the chicken and sauce over the mash.

Chicken and Broccoli Noodles

I’m really proud of myself, I have stuck with my healthy eating for a whole week without falling off the wagon. I for one know how hard it can be to get back into the swing of things when you’ve spent the last couple of weeks indulging in not so healthy food. But I’ve gotten through that craving food all the time cycle, which was getting ridiculous and I’m starting to feel better again. I’m actually having fun looking for and planning new recipes to make and realising once again that cutting down on fat doesn’t mean you have to miss out on delicious food. Last night for dinner we enjoyed this Chicken and Broccoli Noodles, another instalment from 101 Low-Fat Feasts. It was quick, very tasty and one more to add to my definitely will make this again list!

Chicken and Broccoli Noodles

Serves 2-3

Ingredients
250g packet egg noodles
350g broccoli florets
2 tbsp olive oil
2.5cm/1inch piece fresh root ginger, grated
4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
2 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
bunch of spring onions, trimmed and cut in half horizontally, large ones cut in half again vertically
3 tbsp soy sauce
200ml chicken or vegetable stock

Cook the noodles in a pan of salted boiling water for 5 minutes, adding the broccoli for the last 2 minutes. Drain.

Meanwhile, heat a wok or frying pan until very hot. Add the oil, then stir in the ginger and garlic. Cook for 30 seconds, stirring. Add the chicken strips and cook for 5 minutes, stirring often, until tinged brown. Add the spring onions and stir briefly to heat through.

Mix the soy sauce and stock together and stir into the pan. Tip the drained noodles and broccoli into the pan, season with black pepper and toss everything together. Serve immediately.

Low-Fat Spaghetti Carbonara

What does a girl need when hubby is yet again away on business (Dubai this time)? Well this girl needs comfort to make up for missing her hubby, the food type of comfort! This month’s Delicious magazine came to the rescue with this great version of the classic spaghetti carbonara but with a slimmed-down twist. It has half the fat and 125 fewer calories compared to a typical carbonara and you’d never know the difference! This certainly delivered the comfort I needed and I could quite easily eat this everynight. I will be making this for hubby and moi when he gets back.

Low Fat Spaghetti Carbonara

Serves 4

Ingredients
400g dried spaghetti
2 tsp olive oil
6 rashers back bacon, rind and fat removed, chopped
1 garlic clove, lightly squashed
3 medium free-range egg yolks
5 tbsp low-fat fromage frais
50g Parmesan, grated
½ tbsp chopped fresh flatleaf parsley

Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the spaghetti according to the pack instructions.

Meanwhile, in another large frying pan, heat the oil and fry the bacon with the squashed garlic clove, until the bacon starts to brown. Remove the garlic clove from the pan with a slotted spoon and discard. Turn the heat off but keep the pan warm until the spaghetti is cooked.

While the bacon is cooking, mix together the egg yolks, fromage frais, half the Parmesan, the parsley and some seasoning in a bowl.

Using tongs, transfer the cooked, drained spaghetti to the pan with the still-warm bacon. Pour in the egg mixture, moving the spaghetti with the tongs to coat the pasta and thicken the egg mixture.

Taste and adjust the seasoning if need be, then serve the spaghetti carbonara sprinkled with the remaining Parmesan.

Your probably wondering why there is rainbow colours reflecting off my pasta? the reflections come from my sun-catcher crystals that I have hanging in my kitchen window. I think it looks pretty, don't you?

Chicken Katsu Curry

It has been a lovely bank holiday weekend, celebrating my birthday on Sunday (I was thoroughly spoilt) with a fun packed day of shopping, sunday roast lunch at our local pub and a trip to the cinema to watch The Expendables. Today I was feeling a tad tired and lazy after doing a big food shop in the morning, hubby told me to put my feet up with a glass of wine and he would cook dinner for us. I had book marked this recipe in “Gizzi’s Kitchen Magic” and it is a dish I have wanted to try for a while. Hubby found the preparation basic and said as long as he had the ingredients ready up front it all came together really well. This chicken katsu curry, as Gizzi says, is “wickedly wonderful” and “what makes it stand out from other curry’s is that the meat is breaded and fried before having a luxurious curry sauce slathered all over it”. I have to agree with Gizzi and this goes down as a firm favourite, especially with hubby who thoroughly enjoyed it.

Chicken Katsu Curry

Serves 4

Ingredients
100g flour, seasoned with lots of salt and
pepper
1 free-range egg, beaten lightly
200g Japanese panko breadcrumbs
4 boneless chicken breasts
100ml groundnut or vegetable oil
steamed rice and salad to serve

For the curry sauce
1 tablespoon groundnut or vegetable oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
5 whole garlic cloves, peeled
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons plain flour
1 tablespoon medium curry powder
600ml chicken stock
2 teaspoons honey
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 bay leaf
½ teaspoon garam masala

To make the sauce, heat the oil in a small pan. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes, then throw in the carrots and sweat slowly for 10 minutes with the lid on, giving the odd stir, until softened and starting to caramelise.

Stir in the flour and curry powder and cook for a minute. Slowly pour in the stock until combined (do this gradually to avoid getting lumps). Add the honey, soy sauce and bay leaf and bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 20 minutes, so the sauce thickens but is still of pouring consistency. Add the garam masala, then pass the sauce through a sieve (unless you prefer a chunky sauce).

Now prepare the chicken. Lay the seasoned flour, egg and breadcrumbs on separate plates. Coat the chicken in the flour, then dip into the egg and finally into the breadcrumbs.

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the breaded chicken breasts for 5 minutes on each side, or until golden and cooked through. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and leave to drain on kitchen paper. Slice the chicken diagonally and serve with the sauce drizzled over, steamed rice and salad.

Light Chicken Korma

Friday night = This delicious Light Chicken Korma served with rice, naan bread and followed by a few Grey Goose voddy’s and tonic. I really fancied a curry and after a quick search on Google for a low fat version I came across this recipe on the trusty BBC Good Food website. This curry was a delicious success and a big hit with hubby and I. It’s another quick and easy low-fat meal to rustle up, which doesn't lack in flavour one bit. I served it with basmati rice and low-fat naan breads, perfect Friday night meal!

Light Chicken Korma

Serves 4

Ingredients

small knob fresh ginger, peeled and finely sliced

1 garlic clove

1 onion, sliced

1 tbsp vegetable oil

4 skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

1 tsp garam masala

100ml chicken stock

3 tbsp low-fat fromage frais

2 tbsp ground almonds

handful toasted, sliced almonds, to serve

plain rice, naan bread or chapatis, to serve

Cook the ginger, garlic and onion into a large pan with the oil until softened. Tip in the chicken and cook until lightly browned, about 5 mins, then add in garam masala and cook for 1 min further.

Pour over the stock and simmer for 10 minutes until the chicken is cooked through. Mix together the fromage frais and ground almonds. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the fromage frais mixture. Sprinkle over sliced almonds, garnish with coriander and serve with boiled rice, chapatis or plain naan bread.

243kcalories per serving.

Chicken Tagine

Our weekend at the family country lodge was really lovely and it was great catching up with everyone. The cakes I made, which I promise I will be blogging about in the next few days, were a hit, loved and devoured by all. During 3 days of over indulging my healthy eating certainly went out the window but it was totally worth it. Before I end up pilling back on all the pounds that I have managed to lose recently, I thought I better get back to my healthy eating. Although that is quite difficult to do after a long weekend of indulgence and will admit that I have not done well this week so far.

So after spotting this recipe in my “Good to Know Recipes” magazine I had to make it and use it as my motivation to get back on track. This meal reminded me I can still enjoy tasty and satisfying food while it remains heathly for me.

This chicken tagine recipe was very quick and simple to make, only 340cal per portion, absolutely delicious and bursting with flavour. You would never have guessed this was such a low calorie dish. It is definitely one I urge you to try.

Chicken Tagine

Serves 4

Ingredients
For the tagine:
1 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, peeled and sliced
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
1 tbsp tomato purée
1 tsp Moroccan spice mix (or use ½ tsp cumin, ½ tsp coriander and ⅛ turmeric)
200g tin chopped tomatoes
210g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 tbsp granular Canderel (artificial sweetner)
300g chicken breast, diced
Salt and pepper

For the couscous:
125g couscous
200ml hot chicken or vegetable stock
Juice and zest ½ lemon
Handful freshly chopped coriander (I used fresh parsley)

Heat the oil and cook the onion for about 3 mins until starting to soften. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a further 2 mins. Stir in the tomato purée and spice mix and cook for 1 min, stirring often until everything is well coated.

Pour in the tomatoes, chickpeas, Canderel and season. Bring to the boil, then add the chicken and leave to simmer for 10-15 mins until the chicken is cooked through and the sauce has thickened.

Meanwhile, tip the couscous into a large bowl. Pour over the hot stock, cover the bowl with clingfilm and then leave for 10 mins. Squeeze over the lemon juice, add the lemon zest and coriander and mix in, fluffing up with a fork. Serve immediately with the chicken tagine.

Italian-Style Pork Steaks with Sage and White Wine

One of my favourite blogs is “Cooking at Marystow” by the lovely Lucie, her blog is always an inspiration with all her mouth-watering delights. When I spotted this recipe over at her blog I knew I had to make it. Lucie said this was “totally delicious” and she was spot on! This dish has lots of flavour with the sage, garlic and white wine sauce which works wonderfully served with the fresh pasta. It’s a quick meal too, always another bonus if you’re hungry and tired from a long day of shopping (yep I hit TK Maxx this morning and got some lovely kitchenalia). Thanks Lucie for sharing this yummylicious recipe with us, keep them coming!!

Italian-Style Pork Steaks with Sage and White Wine

Serves: 2

Ingredients
15g butter
1 tbsp olive oil
2 Pork Shoulder Steaks
6-8 fresh sage leaves
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
100ml Dry white wine

Method
Heat the butter in a frying pan with the oil until sizzling. Add the steaks and cook over a medium heat for 14 minutes, turning once until the meat is lightly browned on both sides.

Pour off any fat from the pan and add the sage leaves, garlic and plenty of seasoning. Cook for 1 minute then add the wine. Cover the pan and simmer gently for 2 more minutes.

Transfer the steaks to warmed serving plates, increase the heat and simmer the juices until reduced to half. Season to taste and pour over the steaks. Serve with fresh tagliatelle or fettuccine pasta and roasted tomatoes

One-Pot Lemon Chicken with Thyme Rice

Today I got the greatest surprise. My best friend whom I haven’t seen in 5 years since she moved to Barbados conspired with my hubby to pay a surprise visit. We had a lovely afternoon/evening catching up and it was so wonderful to see my good friend again, I've really missed her. I didn’t want her to leave but we will catch up again during the week before she returns.

Still unaware of the impending visit I had planned to try out this One-Pot Lemon Chicken with Thyme Rice recipe which I had book-marked from Fay’s Family Food cookbook. I made this for lunch and my son and his girlfriend (typical teenagers that don’t appreciate good food) didn’t like it so there was plenty of left-over’s. It worked out great as it gave me a lovely meal to offer my friend without taking me away from catching up. We all really enjoyed this meal and were in agreement that it’s a casserole full of flavour.

One-Pot Lemon Chicken with Thyme Rice

Serves 4 adults

Ingredients
6 chicken pieces (thighs and breasts work well)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
150g pack Italian pancetta cubes
2 large garlic cloves
280g brown basmati rice (I didn't have brown so I used white)
700ml chicken stock
Juice and zest of 1 ½ lemons (unwaxed)
2-3 bushy sprigs thyme
250g frozen broad beans (a couple of handfuls)
Freshly ground black pepper

4 litre ovenproof casserole dish, with lid

Set the oven at 200oc fan/220oc/gas mark 7. In your casserole dish, brown the chicken pieces in a little olive oil. Remove and set aside.

In the same oil, fry the onion and pancetta for a couple of minutes. Then crush the garlic and add. Keep stirring for a minute, being careful not to burn the garlic.

Put the rice in and stir to coat.

Add the stock, lemon juice and zest, thyme, the broad beans and a twist of black pepper.

Bring to the boil, then pop the chicken pieces on top. Put a lid on and stick in the oven for 50 minutes.

Serve straight from your dish. Season on your plate.

Chicken, Courgette and Lemon Pasta

Yesterday during one of my regular visits around the blogs I love to frequent, I came across this amazing looking recipe on Lucie’s blog; Cooking at Marystow (a gorgeous blog, definitely worth a visit). It was love at first sight and even more so because it ticked all the boxes in my healthy eating quest. I couldn’t wait to make this and today while in town I popped into Waitrose to pick up the ingredients, along with a bagful of pink kitchen goodies from TK Maxx that I couldn’t resist (that shop is dangerous for my bank balance).

This recipe is pretty straight-forward and spending the time at the start to prepare all the ingredients (measuring, chopping and grating) will make life easier during the assembly stages. Which means, within 10 minutes of preparing the ingredients you will be enjoying the results of you labour. This recipe was everything I imagined it to be, absolutely delicious, light & full of flavour and the perfect meal for a summer’s evening. This is one pasta dish I will definitely be making again. Thanks Lucie for sharing this wonderful recipe.

Chicken, Courgette and Lemon Pasta

Serves 4 (I halved the recipe for 2)

Ingredients
4 large Portabello mushrooms ( I used normal mushrooms as I don’t like the Portobello ones)
350g dried linguine
300g courgette, grated
300ml low fat crème fraîche
200ml low fat Greek yoghurt
1 large free-range egg yolk
35g Parmesan cheese
Zest of 1 unwaxed lemon
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
250g cold roast chicken, shredded
A small bunch of fresh chives, snipped

Heat a pan and spritz in a few spritzes of olive oil. Fry the mushrooms then remove from the pan and set aside. Fry the grated courgette for a couple of minutes. Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil and cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet, but cook it for a minute or two less so it's a little underdone.

Meanwhile mix together the crème fraîche, yoghurt, egg yolk, Parmesan, lemon zest, salt and pepper.

Drain the cooked pasta, leaving a few tablespoons of water in the bottom of the pan. Return the pan to a low heat and pour in the sauce.

Toss the pasta in the sauce, then add the roast chicken and chives, giving it all a good mix round until it’s evenly incorporated

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Friday night = Spaghetti alla carbonara, voddy & tonic and Lost, after a long but lovely day of baking for a family gathering tomorrow. I’m supposed to be counting points but at times you need comfort and nothing is more comforting than a plateful of spaghetti carbonara, I swear I could eat this every night! I’ve tried a few versions of carbonara but this recipe by Nigella Lawson wins hands down, it’s absolutely divine! I halved the recipe as I felt the quantities were too much for just hubby and me (I can be greedy but Nigella is known for her huge portions). Normally I would use dried pasta but hubby suggested we try out the fresh spaghetti pasta and I have to say it worked wonderfully, delivering what seemed to be a creamier finished dish. If it’s comfort food in a hurry that you’re craving, look no further, I can guarantee you will want to eat this every night too!

Spaghetti alla Carbonara

Serves 2

250g spaghetti, dried or fresh
275g pancetta or lardons
1 tsp olive oil
30ml dry white wine or vermouth
2 eggs
30g Parmesan, freshly grated
Black pepper
30 to 50ml double cream
Freshly grated nutmeg

Put a large pan of salted water on to boil for the pasta. Fry the pancetta cubes in the oil until crispy but not crunchy. Chuck over them the white wine or vermouth and let it bubble away so that, after a few minutes, you have a small amount of salty winey syrup left. Take the pan off the heat.

In a bowl, beat together the eggs, Parmesan, cream and some pepper. Cook the pasta more or less according to the packet instructions. Put the other pan, the one with the bacon cubes, on the heat and add the drained pasta, tossing well to coat with the syrupy pancetta. Take the pan off the heat again and add the eggs and cheese mixture, swiftly tossing everything to mix. Grind over some more pepper and grate over the nutmeg. Sprinkle with more grated parmesan.

Cottage Pie with Guinness

I hope you all had a great St Paddy’s Day and went easy on the black stuff. Unfortunately for me the Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes proved too much temptation and I caved in but it was utterly worth it (back to the diet today)! To continue the celebrations and Guinness theme I made this recipe for dinner, Cottage Pie with Guinness. I came across this recipe by Gordan Ramsey on Google and I’m not usually a fan of his recipes but this sounded delicious, plus adding Guinness to the pie intrigued me. It turned out to be amazing, it tasted just like you would want a cottage pie to taste, full of flavour! I did adapt the recipe and added carrots and celery, only because I thought it lacked the vegetables required. My son had his friend over for dinner and there wasn’t a scrap left on none of our plates. Hubby was pleased to see there was left-over’s for him to take to work for his lunch today. This recipe for Cottage Pie is definitely a keeper and one I would recommend you try!

Cottage Pie with Guinness

Ingredients
2 tbsp olive oil
900g lean minced beef
Sea salt and black pepper
1 medium onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 carrots, peeled and diced

2 celery sticks, diced

A few thyme sprigs, leaves only
2 tbsp tomato puree
330ml bottle of Guinness
5 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
300ml chicken stock
1kg floury potatoes, such as Maris Piper or King Edward, peeled and roughly cubed
50g butter
2 tbsp finely grated cheddar cheese, plus extra for grating
1 large egg yolk


Place a large frying pan over a high heat and add a thin layer of olive oil. Season the mince with salt and pepper and fry, stirring, in two or three batches, until nicely browned. Once cooked, tip the mince into a sieve or colander to drain off the fat.

Place another large pan over a medium-high heat and add a little olive oil. When hot, fry the onions, carrots, celery, garlic and thyme, for 8-10 minutes until soft and golden. Add the browned mince, and tomato puree. Stir constantly for 4-5 minutes.

Add the Guinness and Worcestershire sauce and boil until the liquid has reduced by half. Pour in the stock and return to the boil.

Turn the heat down and simmer for 20-25 minutes, by which time the mixture should be thick and glossy. Continue to simmer for another 5-10 minutes if it doesn’t seem quite thick enough. Remove from the heat.

Preheat the oven to 180°C/Gas 4. Meanwhile, add the potatoes to a pan of salted water, bring to the boil and cook until tender. Drain and return to the hot pan for 15 seconds or so, to dry out, then take off the heat. Pass the potatoes through a potato ricer back into the pan or mash smoothly. Mix through the butter, cheese and egg yolk. Taste and adjust the seasoning.

Spoon the mince mixture into the bottom of a 2 litre pie dish. Spoon the mashed potato on top and rough up the surface with a fork. Grate over some extra cheese and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until bubbling and golden brown.