Chorizo Skillet Supper

This recipe showcases Capellini pasta.    Capellini is not something which I have had a very easy time finding here in the UK actually.

Capellini, or angel hair pasta traditionally cooks in a fraction of the time as regular pastas.  I decided to do an all in one pan dish, with the pasta actually cooking in the sauce.  I thought Capellini would be perfect for this because of it's shorter cooking time.

I used fresh chorizo sausage, which was easily crumbled and gave the sauce a bit of a kick.  Feel free to use the dried version as well.  Both are good.

Some tinned chopped tomatoes, a tin of drained borlotti beans, some frozen peas along with onion, garlic and stock and I had a very delicious entree indeed, and all in one pan.

I like it when I can cut back on the washing up don't you???   All in all it made for a lovely and fairly quick supper.  A scattering of grated cheddar on top and we were good to go.  The pasta worked very well and the whole dish was very tasty and colourful.  A pleaser all round!

*Chorizo Skillet Supper*

Serves 6 to 8

Printable Recipe 

A quick and simple supper that is not only easy to make but quite, quite delicious! 

1/2 pound chorizo sausage, cut into 1/2 inch pieces if it is the dried chorizo, skins removed and crumbled if it is the raw sausage like chorizo

1 TBS olive oil

340g of capellini pasta (12 ounces angel hair) or thin spaghetti, broken in half

1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped

4 cloves of fresh garlic, peeled and finely chopped (or to taste)

1 (400g) tin of beans (black bean preferred, or your favourite will do) drained and rinsed.  (15 1/2ounces)

1 (400g) tin of chopped tomatoes in juice, undrained (14.5 ounces)

675ml of chicken stock (3 cups)

1 TBS dried oregano

a coffee mug of frozen petit pois

120g of grated strong cheddar cheese (1 cup)

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste 

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the oil.  Heat and then crumble in the chorizo.  Cook for 3 to five minutes, until golden Scoop out and set aside.  Reduce the heat to medium.   Add the pasta and cook in the drippings for 2 to 3 minutes or until the pasta begins to toast.   Remove and set aside with the sausage.  Add the onions and garlic to the drippings.  Cook for 2 to 3 minutes, until beginning to soften and very fragrant.  Add the tomatoes, chicken stock and oregano.  Return the  pasta and sausage to the pan.   Stir to combine.  Reduce the heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 8 to ten minutes, until the pasta is cooked and most of the liquid has been absorbed.  Stir in the frozen peas and heat through.   Season to taste.  Sprinkle with the cheese and serve immediately.

Honey and Five Spice Chops

   

If there is one thing that the Toddster really loves, it's a good pork chop.  I think out of all the meat on earth he could choose . . . a chop would win for him.  

I admit to not being opposed to eating a nice, tender and juicy pork chop myself.  I prefer the ones on the bone over the boneless ones, with a nice band of fat on the edge.  These are tastier and more tender than the others.  Trust me on this.    

  

These are delightfully moist and spicy . . . and sticky sweet . . . being flavoured with a five spice and honey rub which they marinate in for several hours.   Then they are baked on top of a bed of delicious butternut squash and sweet potatoes.  The two together are bliss.  Seriously scrummy.  

*Honey and Five Spice Chops*
Serves 4

Printable Recipe 

These are moist and sticky and spicy and oh so good.   Seriously scrumdiddlyumptious!  Plan ahead as these need to marinate for a couple of hours before cooking.

3 tsp five spice powder

salt and black pepper

6 TBS clear honey

8 single rib pork chops (about 1/2 inch thick)

1 small butternut squash, cut in half,
deseeded, and cut into cubes

1 large sweet potato, peeled and cut into cubes

a drizzle of olive oil
   

Trim any rind off the chops and slash the fat at half inch intervals with a sharp pair of kitchen scissors. Season the chops lightly with salt and pepper.  Mix together the spice powder and the honey.  Rub this mixture all over the chops.  Cover and refrigerate for two hours.

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Spray a large baking dish with some cooking spray.  Scatter the cubes of sweet potato and butternut squash on the bottom of the baking dish.   Lay the chops over top.  Roast them in the heated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chops are cooked through and golden brown and sticky, and the vegetables are fork tender.  Allow to rest for about 10 minutes before serving.  Divide the vegetables amongst 4 heated plates, placing two chops on top of each serving.

Irish Supper

 

I don't know about you, but I find that it's getting harder and harder to stretch my food budget these days.  Food just seems to be costing more and more and sizes are getting smaller.  (Don't get me started on that scam!!) I am always looking for ways to make a little bit go further, but at the same time keeping things to the same standard of deliciousness and nutritiousness that we are used to.

 

Pasta is a great meal stretcher.  I know it's not Todd's favourite thing to eat, but he does like the idea of saving money, and so he tolerates it.  Myself . . . I adore pasta, and so these types of meals are my absolute favourites!



Meals which take a little bit of protein, some vegetable and some pasta, combined in a tasteful way.   Simple recipes which make good use of simple ingredients in a delicious way.



I have no idea why this is called Irish Supper.  I am not even sure if this is actually Irish!  Certainly there would be cabbages and sausages in Ireland, but the pasta noodles?   Well, I am not too sure about that!!



What I know for sure it that it makes a little bit of meat go a very long way and that it is delicious.  Two things that are positives!  I do hope you will try it and that you will enjoy it as much as I do!



You want to use a good quality sausage with this.  Not those cheap and nasty ones that are all filler and fat.  You get what you pay for.  Paying a tiny bit more and using a good quality sausage makes sense as you won't be pouring half of it away and they'll also taste a lot better!  Choose a nicely flavoured one!  I am partial to a peppery Cumberland myself!

*Irish Supper*

Serves 4 to 6

Printable Recipe  

I don't know if this is Irish, I only know it's economical, easy and very delicious!

1 pound of wide egg type of noodles, uncooked (I used some German ones I found in Aldi,
but you could use any type, so long as they are wide and flat)

1 pound good quality, well flavoured sausage meat, crumbled

1 small head of white cabbage, cored and finely shredded with a sharp knife

salt and black pepper to taste

1/2 tsp dried thyme leaves

1 tsp sugar

a knob of butter

finely grated cheese to serve

Crumble your sausage into a large skillet.  Cook over medium high heat until it is browned.  I use a potato masher to mash it up as it is browning.  This helps to break it up all crumbly like.  Once the sausage is browned add the cabbage.  Sprinkle with salt, pepper and thyme leaves.   Cook, stirring until it begins to wilt.  Turn the heat to low and cover with a lid.  Cook for about 5 minutes.

While the cabbage is cooking, cook your noodles according to the package directions in a pot of lightly salted water.   At the end of five minutes remove the lid to skillet and turn up the heat and cook stirring, until the cabbage begins to brown a little.  Taste and adjust seasoning as needed.

Turn out the heat and drain the noodles well.  Toss the drained noodles into the skillet along with a knob of butter.   Toss to combine.  Serve immediately without or without cheese as desired to your grateful family which will be sitting at the table drooling in anticipation.

 

Do you think they might approve??  I like to think they would . . . ☺ to be sure, to be sure . . .

Maple & Mustard Glazed Chicken Thighs

I had a craving for something a tiny bit healthy today, and not so indulgent.  It may surprise you but I don't always over indulge.  For the most part, you only get to see the most indulgent of what I cook.  I more often than not eat fairly healthy, but then again, I am not opposed to treating myself from time time.  I little bit of what you enjoy does a person the world of good.



The lighting was really, really poor today, so I apologize for the quality of these pictures. I try always to photograph in natural light. I like the way food looks in natural light. I just think it looks delicious - er. (Is that a word?? Meh . . . it is now!)



Today I had some bone in chicken thighs that I wanted to cook in the most delicious way possible without adding too much fat, calories or bad things to make them taste delectable. It's not all that hard to take the skin and fat off of chicken . . . but I do like to cook it on the bone as often as I can. The bone adds a lot of flavour to chicken and most meats.



I turned to one of my favourite books by Ellie Kreiger, The Food You Crave. A seriously good book. I find though that I have to really make some serious adaptions to some recipes because the ingredients in some of them are not readily available over here, but for the most part, I can cook most of them.



And they're good. Really good. Tasty. Delicious. Simple. Seriously simple.



And the stick man Toddster loved them too.  He doesn't even realize when he's eating healthy.  I think that's a good thing don't you?   If you can eat healthy and not know it?  No deprivation there.  It's all good.  He's just one of those really lucky people who can eat whatever he wants, fattening, indulgent, etc. . . . and it never shows. His metabolism burns it all up.

I know . . . it is really annoying to me too.



*Maple & Mustard Glazed Chicken Thighs*
Serves 4Printable Recipe

Chicken thighs baked with a delicious maple mustard glaze. Wonderful flavours! Adapted from The Food You Crave by Ellie Kreiger.

8 bone in chicken thighs, skin and any visible fat removed
85g of grainy French mustard (1/3 cup)
1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced (about 1 tsp)
3/4 tsp dried marjoram
3 TBS pure Maple Syrup

Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Have ready a large baking dish.

Whisk together the mustard, garlic, marjoram and maple syrup. Spread about 1 TBS of the mixture over the top of each chicken thigh, trying to cover as much of the surface as you can. Arrange the chicken in a single layer in the baking dish. Bake until the chicken is cooked through and glazed, about 45 - 50 minutes, basting it several times with the mustard mixture. The juices should run clear when the chicken is pierced in the centre. Serve hot. We had ours with a baked potato and green beans. Delicious!

Note : In the original recipe Ellie says that the mustard/maple mixture will form a crust. Mine didn't, but more like a glaze. My mixture was quite runny and so I just used it to baste the chicken as it cooked. It was utterly fabulously delicious. Todd had three 1/2 pieces!

Roasted Roots and Wheatberries with a Lemon Vinaigrette

I do the same thing every year.  I buy in far too much veg for the holidays and then am left with a surplus which I am trying to use up at the beginning of the new year.   It's usually a whole lot, but not a whole lot of anything, if you know what I mean.



When I looked into my vegetable drawer yesterday I saw a whole lot of normal carrots, a couple of white carrots (Yes, I did say white.   Apparently that's a variety.  I got them in a veg box in December) a few purple carrots (see my last explanation) an acorn squash, a small to medium sized white turnip.a bunch of fresh thyme and a few other odds and sods . . . most not in quantities large enough to cook any one thing, with the exception of the orange carrots. 

 

 I peeled and chopped them into large pieces and added a chopped red onion and then I roasted them in a hot oven along with some garlic, a good grinding of black pepper, a few sea salt flakes, some olive oil and a few springs of that fresh thyme . . .



Then . . . I roasted them in that hot oven for about 20 minutes, stirring them now and then  . . . until they were all nice and cooked through and beginning to caramelize.  There is nothing so tasty as caramelized oven roasted root vegetables . . . and while they were making their magic, I cooked some wheatberries in some vegetable stock until tender . . .



And then . . . I tossed them all together in a bowl . . . the cooked wheatberries and the roasted vegetables and I added a deliciously tangy lemon vinaigrette . . . made with a couple of the lemons from my fruit bowl on the counter . . .



After that I added a few broken up and toasted English Walnuts . . . again leftover from our Christmas Celebrations . . . and a handful of dried cranberries, just for some chewy sweetness and texture . . . and I mixed, them all together, yes I did, and sprinkled some flat leaf parsley over top, leftover again, from Christmas . . . and then . . .  do you know what we did???



We ate it.   With large lumps of buttered crusty bread and some leftover stilton crumbled over top.   And do you know what else???

It was very, very . . . very good.

*Roasted Roots and Wheatberries with a Lemon Vinaigrette*

Serves 6 to 8

Printable Recipe  

I like to cook my wheatberries in vegetable stock to give them more flavour.   You get the nutty chewiness of the wheatberries along with the sweetness of the roasted and slightly caramlized vegetables . . . doused in a tangy lemon and parsley vinaigrette.   This is delicious and pretty and looks fab on the buffet table!  (Not to mention it's a great use for all that leftover extra veg you got in over Christmas!) 

300g wheat berries (1 1/2 cups)

2 litres of vegetable stock (I use swiss marigold powder. 2 quarts of liquic)

1 large red onion, peeled and cut into cubes

2 pounds of assorted root vegetables (carrots, swede, turnips, squash, celeriac, parsnips, jerusalem artichokes in any combination)
peeled and cut into 1/2 inch cubes

olive oil to drizzle

a handful of fresh thyme sprigs

fresh ground sea salt and black pepper 

For the dressing:

the freshly squeezed juice of two lemons (about 60ml of 1/4 cup)

125ml of extra virgin olive oil

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1 TBS  finely minced 

To finish:

a small handful of flat leaf parsley, coarsely chopped

60g of dried cherries or dried cranberries, coarely chopped (1/2 cup)

58g of chopped toasted English walnuts (optional, 1/2 cup)    

 

  

Preheat the oven to 220*C/425*F. gas mark 7.   Toss the diced vegetables on a baking sheet with about 2 TBS of olive oil, some salt and black pepper and the sprigs of thyme.  Roast in the heated oven, on the bottom rack for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring them once or twice.  They should be cooked through and beginning to slightly caramelize.

While the vegetables are cooking bring the vegetable stock to the boil.   Add the wheat berries and cook, until tender, but still chewy, about 30 to 35 minutes.

While the vegetables and wheat berries are cooking, measure the lemon juice into a large shallow salad bowl.   Toss iin the minced shallot and seasoning.   Allow to stand for about 10 minutes, then whisk in the oil. 

Once cooked, drain the wheat berries and toss them into the dressing, whisking it first.  Add the roasted root vegetables, discarding any thyme branches.  Stir in the cherries or cranberries and the nuts, if using.   Taste and adjust seasoning as necessary.  Toss in the parsley and serve.

You may serve this warm or at room temperature.  You can make it several days in advance, in which case you should store it in the refrigerator and then bring it to room temperature prior to serving.  Do not add the nuts or parsley until just before serving.  A bit of feta, blue cheese or stilton crumbled over top makes a nice addition!

Hash on a Bun . . . a delicious indulgence, or insanity?

I think the British love sandwiches more than anyone else in the world.  Walk into any shop, and I do mean any . . . and you are sure to find a variety of them, ready made, wrapped and for sale to anyone who feels in the need for some potable and portable sustenance of the this kind.   AND, they come in varities which are suitable for any meal of the day . . . breakfast, lunch, dinner or snack!

 

I recently treated myself to Nigel Slater's latest cookbook, eat.  You all know how I love Nigel and his way of cooking and eating.  That man could make anything look and sound tasty and he is the master as creating delicious and fast food out of just about anything you can get your hands on.   He has one whole chapter in this book devoted to sandwiches and the like.  My kind of guy.  My kind of cooking.



One in particular intrigued me and set my tastebuds to tingling.  This was a sandwich he created using crusty bread, beef drippings and leftover roast from the sunday dinner.  Reading about it . . . made me want one, and reading about it . . . inspired me to create my own version.  I got to thinking hash . . . roast beef hash . . . in a bun.



And so that is what I did.  I made some hash using chopped potatoes, chopped onions, chopped cabbage and some of the leftover roast from yesterday's pot roast.   I seasoned it lightly with some salt and cracked black pepper . . .



Added a touch of herb . . . in the way of summer savoury, and a hint of snap by using some Worcestershire Sauce and a dash of brown sauce.  (steak sauce to you North Americans)  I cooked that all together until the potatoes and onions and cabbage were gilded with little caramelized edges, all golden brown and sweet . . . and the meat was falling apart once more . . .

 

And then I stogged it between two halves of a crisp warm ciabatta roll . . . the bottom spread with just a touch of creamed horseradish sauce . . . a slice of Leerdammer Toastie cheese layed on top of the hot hash, so it melted down into all those gilded crevices, and topped by that crisp  roll-top . . . all that goodness tucked into a tasty and lightly crisped ciabatta suitcase and just waiting for me to tuck in . . .



Good things happen when Nigel inspires me.   Tasty things.   Things I want to indluge in again, and again . . . and again.   I am never disappointed.

*Roast Beef Hash Buns*

Serves 4

Printable Recipe  

A delicious way to stretch the leftovers from Sunday lunch even further.  

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped coarsely
a handful of chopped cabbage

two medium potatoes, peeled and chopped coarsely

1 small clove of garlic, peeled and minced

2 TBS hot beef stock or water

an amount of leftover cooked roast, cubes (an equal to the amount of potatoes)

1 TBS vegetable oil

1 TBS butter

fine sea salt and black pepper

1 tsp of either dried thyme or summer savoury

1 TBS Worcestershire Sauce

Brown Sauce to taste  

To finish:

4 warmed ciabatta rolls

Horseradish sauce

4 slices of toastie cheese  

Heat the oil along with the butter in a large skillet.   Toss in the onions, cabbage and potatoes.   Cook stirring until they begin to turn golden brown.  Add about 2 TBS stock or hot water, a bit of seasoning, the Worcestershire sauce, brown sauce, summer savory,  and the garlic.  Turn the heat to very low, pop a lid on and cook for about 15 minutes, checking every so often to make sure they don't catch.  At the end of that time they should be knife tender.  Uncover and toss in the beef.  Cook and stir over medium heat, frequently turning it over until the meat is heated through and all is golden brown.   Taste and adjust seasoning as required.   While you are doing this, pop the ciabatta into a hot oven to heat through.


To serve, slice each ciabatta roll in half.  Spread the bottoms with some horseradish sauce (if desired) and then pile an equal amount of the hot hash on top.  Top each with a slice of toastie cheese and then the top of the rolls.  Serve immediately.  Pass the brown sauce or ketchup if desired.

Dad's Pot Roast

It's a simple recipe which basically cooks itself into a tender juicy pot roast with beautiful flavours . . . fork tender it is.   Absolutely delicious.  I got the recipe from off a packet of dry onion soup mix back in the 1970's and have tweaked it through the years to make it my own.   An improvement on the original, which was really very good to begin with I think.

I cook the beef on a bed of carrots, onions and swede, which help to flavour the resulting gravy . . . and give you the added bonus of deliciously cooked vegetables to serve up with your meat.  Sometimes I mash some of them into the gravy for added flavour.

I like meals like this . . . they cook themselves.  They're economical.   They're delicious and they're easy to do.  I like to serve some peas and mashed potatoes on the side, which pleases my meat and potatoes loving husband to no end!  Using this gravy mix added a slightly different flavour to the finished dish, which we both quite enjoyed and which may come a regular thing from now on!

*Dad's Pot Roast*
Serves 8

Printable Recipe  

This is a recipe I have been using for years and years.  It always turns out fork tender. It is a delicious way to prepare a cheaper cut of meat!

1 (2 to 3 pound) rolled brisket of beef roast

8 medium carrots, peeled and quartered

1 small swede, peeled and cut into chunks

2 medium onions, peeled and quartered

1 tsp ground black pepper

2 tsp dried thyme leaves

1 package of dry onion soup mix

1 bay leaf, broken

apple juice

500ml of beef stock (2 cups)

225ml of boiling water

1 envelope of gravy mix

Preheat the oven to 230*C/450*F/ gas mark 8.

Place the onions, carrots and swede in the bottom of a roasting casserole that has a tight lid.  Nestle the brisket amongst them.  Sprinkle the dry onion soup mix over all, along with the pepper, and thyme.  Add the beef stock and enough apple juice so that the liquid comes halfway up the sides of the roast.  Cover tightly.

Roast in the preheated oven for 1/2 hour, then reduce the temperature to 165*C/325*F/ gas mark 3.  Continue to roast without disturbing for about an hour and a half.   At the end of that time, flip the roast over carefully.  Recover and roast for another hour and a half. (Check periodically to make sure it is not going dry.   Don't worry if the liquid is reducing somewhat.  That's ok.  You just don't want it to go dry.)  Flip the roast for a final time and cook for a further hour to hour and a half until the roast is very tender.  Remove the roast and vegetables from the pan, leaving any cooking juices in the pan, and discarding the bay leaf. Tent with foil to rest and help to keep it warm for about 20 minutes.  Add the boiling water and then whisk in the gravy mix.  Cook on top of the stove to thicken.  Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.  Serve the roast cut into slices along with a portion of the vegetables for each person.  We like to have mashed potatoes with this.

Alternately - if you can't get any gravy mix you may shake together 3 TBS of flour in a jar with 125ml (1/2 cup) of cold water in a jar until smooth and whisk it into the hot pan juices and boiling water.  Cook, stirring constantly until the mixture bubbles and thickens.   Taste and adjust seasoning as required.

Tuna Casserole (All natural ingredients)

 

I am not overly fond of oily fishes, except for salmon and tuna . . . and although the fresh is best, I always have tins of those fishes in the larder.  They come in really handy for casseroles and sandwiches, salads, etc.



Tuna Casserole is something which I have always loved . . . but I have never been overly fond of using too many processed ingredients in making it, like tinned soup, etc.  I like to make my own sauce and it's really not that hard to make a sauce from scratch and tastes so much better.



I remember an old Italian woman telling me one time when I was in the grocery store buying tuna that I should only ever buy Albacore tuna.   She said the other stuff was garbage.  This was a very long time ago as I was a very young wife and mom at the time.  Since then I have only ever bought the Albacore.  I figure it an old Italian woman thought it was the best then it probably was the best.



I know it does come at a premium price, but I think somethings are worth paying a bit more for them.  It also tastes a LOT better than the cheap stuff . . . and like the L'Oreal product commercials say . . . I'm worth it!



This has a delicious creamy sauce, flavoured with cream and cheddar cheeses along with sauteed fresh mushrooms, onions, garlic and green peppers . . .  crunch buttery cracker crumbs and cheese on top . . . peas . . . noodles and the tuna. 




It's really a nice casserole that we both enjoy.  Yes . . . even the so called pasta hater.  I like to serve some vegetables or a salad on the side.  I hope you will give it a go and that you enjoy it as much as we do!

*Tuna Casserole*

Serves 4

Printable Recipe  

A delicious casserole which does not use tinned soup.  You make the sauce from scratch.  It makes a big difference.  Fabulous!

1 small punnet of button mushrooms, cleaned and sliced

(about 1 cup)

1 clove of garlic, peeled and minced

1 small onion, peeled and minced

1/2 medium green pepper, trimmed and chopped

(You can chop the whole thing and freeze half of it.  That's what I do.)

1/2 pound of flat pasta (I used taggliatelle, but you can use any flat noodle)

3 TBS butter

2 TBS flour

280ml of milk (about 1 1/4 cups)

125g of cream cheese (4 ounces)

1 tin of tuna, undrained

(I use the solid albacore in brine)

a mug full of frozen peas, thawed

fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

120g of strong cheddar cheese, grated (1 cup)

2 TBS finely grated Parmesan Cheese

crumbled buttered cracker crumbs

Melt 1 TBS of the butter in a large skillet.   Add the mushrooms, onions and green pepper.  Cook, stirring, until the vegetables have softened.  Add the garlic and cook, stirring, for about 30 seconds until fragrant.  Add the remaining butter.  Sprinkle the flour over top and stir to combine.  Add the milk slowly, stirring until you have a smooth and thick sauce.  Add the cream cheese, stirring until it melts.  Stir in half the cheddar cheese. Season to taste with salt and pepper.   Crumble in the tuna and it's brine.  Stir in the peas.  Set aside and keep warm.



Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*f/ gas mark 5.  Cook the noodles according to the package directions.   Drain well and then stir the cooked noodles into the sauce.  Butter a shallow casserole dish and pour the mixture into it.  



Sprinkle with the remainder of the grated cheddar cheese.  Scatter the crumbs over top along with the Parmesan.  Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, until heated through and golden.