Easy Pea and Mint Soup

Home made soup takes some beating. Can you believe that I've never eaten or made a pea and mint soup, that is until now. As you know I'm a bit of a gadgeteer and this soup was made in my Thermomix but if you've bought a soup maker, or are thinking about buying one for the winter months, then this recipe is a great one to try.

Instant Pot Leek and Potato Soup

A delicious bowl of comforting home made soup with a thick slab of bread and butter takes some beating. Leek and potato soup is quick and simple to make and any that isn't eaten can be frozen in a strong freezer bag.

I made mine in the Instant Pot (electric pressure cooker) and once the soup had cooled down I whizzed it in the blender.  I purchased the pressure cooker just before last Christmas and as with all gadgets it's a bit of a learning curve, but so far so good!

Pressure Cooker Cottage Pie

New in the kitchen is an electric pressure cooker!  If you like me bought a stove top pressure cooker years ago and still have nightmares about all that soggy cabbage and worst of all beetroot juices coming from the weights and redecorating the kitchen then to revisit the pressure cooker can be a challenge.

I've made a few recipes now and using a new kitchen gadget can be a little daunting especially when you have memories of old regarding cooking foods under pressure.

An easy recipe of cottage pie is welcoming now the weather has changed and the beef layer took only 12 minutes to cook. I didn't get on too well though cooking the potatoes. I tried cooking them in a bowl but they resisted my attempts, I hadn't got one of those folding stainless steamer trivets so they didn't really stand a chance.  In a last ditch attempt I cooked the potatoes under pressure for 4 minutes but unfortunately if the potatoes are floury they will break up in the water.

A little update: I've just bought a small folding steamer which you sit onto the trivet supplied and the potatoes cooked in 8 minutes, I let the pressure come down naturally.  Perfectly cooked potatoes and ready to mash.  I should have mentioned that the mince beef and vegetables were cooked to perfection.

You can see from the photo that I broke the rules and put warm potato on top of a too runny mince beef layer which hadn't set and when I cooked the pie the potatoes melted into the beef - not great.

Anyway here is the recipe and when made correctly will taste and look amazing!

Note: Never thicken any recipe prior to cooking when using a pressure cooker otherwise it may run out of liquid and burn - always thicken afterwards!

Serves 4

1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion
1 celery stalk
1 carrot
750g lean mince beef
300ml beef stock
1 tablespoon tomato puree
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
seasoning

For the potato topping:
750g potatoes
30g butter
seasoning

1. Finely chop the onion, celery and carrot. Set the pressure cooker to a low or normal saute and add 1 tablespoon of olive oil, cook the vegetables until the onion becomes translucent and the vegetables begin to soften about 5 minutes.. Add the mince beef breaking it up and cook for 5 minutes to brown, add the tomato puree and cook stirring for a couple more minutes.
2. Add the stock, Worcestershire Sauce, salt and pepper. Place the lid on and cook for 12 minutes. If there is too much liquid thicken with a thickening granules or beef gravy. Pour into a large casserole dish, cool slightly and place in the fridge to set.
3. In a clean pot add 250ml of water. Place the trivet in the pot and top with a stainless steel fold up steamer. Cut the potatoes up into small pieces and pressure cook for 8 minutes and let the steam release naturally. Remove the potatoes from the steamer and place in a large bowl, add the butter and mash until smooth. Season and cool.
4. Place dollops of the cooled potato onto the cooled and set mince mixture and spread out to the edges.
5. Preheat the oven to 180C and cook for 30 minutes until bubbling and brown.

You may also like:
Cottage Pie with Vine Tomatoes
Mince Beef and Stilton Pies
Spicy Mince Beef Bake

Salad Bowl Recipe

One of the things I like about a salad bowl is that you can keep adding to it and it's also a great way to have a fridge clear.

If you enjoy looking at Instagram the hashtag #powerbowl and #saladbowl are inspirational and Pinterest is another great source where you're sure to get salad bowl envy. My only comment though is that the bowls are nearly overflowing and there appears to be enough food in them for breakfast, lunch and dinner!

There's no recipe as such - my salad consists of a base layer of mixed leaves, an oven cooked breast of chicken lightly coated in piri piri spices. Bulgar wheat with diced peppers and raisins, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, julienned carrot and courgettes. Lightly toasted pine nuts and a handful of sunflower seeds.

Mix a dressing of your choice to pour over the salad and lastly add a few slices of sliced avocado.

We've just returned from a week away in Caernarfon, North Wales - this holiday we decided to rent a cottage overlooking mountains and coast. Salads were a great way to feed ourselves without spending too much time in the kitchen.

I'm missing this fabulous view from the holiday cottage already and I've only been home for a few days!

Back soon!

Spicy Mince Beef Bake

I've been on holiday, the sun shone and our view from the apartment was a dream whether we sat on the small balcony or looked out through the patio door that spanned the whole width of our living area.  We went to the Mumbles in Swansea and it's a great place to visit for food and views.

No, I didn't make this lasagne whilst I was away, although the kitchen was amazing with everything you could wish for. We ate out for all our meals and why not when you are spoilt for choice in this fabulous location.

This is a great way to make lasagne with a twist by using the last of the tortillas instead of pasta sheets.

The meat base has a spicy kick, tortillas are far lighter to eat than pasta, the indulgent topping is made up of three different cheeses and the finished dish can be frozen.

The recipe is made in the conventional way - I've tried cooking mince beef in the Thermomix and it's okay if you like baby food!

If you are making this with small children in mind it's easy to leave out the chilli and simply puree the onions and red pepper to hide them.

Adapted from Mary Berry's Foolproof Cooking

You will need: 1.5 litre shallow ovenproof dish.

For the mince layer
1 tbsp olive oil
2 large onions, chopped
500g/1lb 2oz beef mince
1 mild red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp ground coriander
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp mango chutney
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
1 small bunch fresh coriander, chopped
salt and freshly ground black pepper
To assemble
3 large tortilla wraps
250g full-fat mascarpone
100g mozzarella, grated
100g cheddar, grated

Method
1. Preheat the oven to 160C.
2. Pour the oil into a large ovenproof pan over a medium heat, add the chopped onions and fry for 3 minutes. Turn up the heat, add the mince beef and fry until brown, breaking up the meat.
3. Add the chilli, red pepper, garlic and spices and fry for 5 minutes, or until all the moisture has evaporated and the mixture is quite dry. Stir in the tomato purée, mango chutney, tinned tomatoes and salt and black pepper. Cover, bring to the boil and place in the oven for an hour.
4. Remove the pan from the oven and stir in half the chopped coriander. Raise the oven temperature to 200C.
5. Spread a third of the cooked mince beef mixture over the bottom of the ovenproof dish and lay one tortilla wrap on top. Spread a third of the mascarpone over the tortilla and sprinkle with a third of each of the mozzarella and Cheddar cheeses. Repeat twice more so you have 3 layers.
6. Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbling. Set aside for 5 minutes before serving and garnish with the remaining coriander.
7. Serve with a salad.

Traybake Chicken Dinner - Steam Combination Oven

After a visit to Bridgnorth market there's nothing to beat a one tray roast chicken dinner and cooked in the steam combination oven it saves time and a load of washing up, the whole meal took approximately one hour to cook.

The potatoes take the longest and from freshly peeled they are tossed in oil, seasoned and added to the tray.  After 15 minutes I added the chicken legs, and then for the final 15 minutes the onions and carrots.  I cooked the sprouts in a pan before adding to the tray because to date I haven't experimented cooking these on the steam combination setting, these were also added to the tray for the last 15 minutes of cooking at 200ºC.

The Good Food Show Winter in Birmingham is just around the corner, I don't know if there will be any demo's using these ovens but I wouldn't be without mine.

More steam combination recipes:
Potato Boulangere
Traybake Vegetables

Christmas Panettone Pudding - Recipe

Panettone pudding isn't just for Christmas, it's so delicious and luxurious given the chance I would eat it all year. So here we have a luxurious but quick and easy pudding.

Cut two slices of panettone

Break into cubes

Pour over a mixture of sugar, eggs and double cream

Serves: 4
You will need:  300ml double cream, 1 tsp vanilla extract, 2 eggs, 1 tbsp sugar, 2 large slices of panettone cut into cubes.

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. Butter an ovenproof dish.
2. Whisk the eggs, single cream, milk, vanilla extract and sugar.
3. Add the cubes of panettone into a large dish and pour over the egg mixture. Leave to stand for 30 minutes.
4. Place the dish into a large roasting pan, fill half way with hot water. Bake for 30 minutes or until softly set.
5. Dust the panettone with icing sugar.

Raspberry and White Chocolate Brioche Pudding - Recipe

I love this pudding, it's easy to make, you don't need to spend loads of time in the kitchen and it's perfect for this time of the year when we are all beginning to feel festive. It's lightweight to eat compared to panettone pudding and I've substituted some of the cream for semi-skimmed milk to cut down on calories.I bought a pack of 8 brioche rolls from the shop that sells everything for a £1, they are really light and perfect for this pudding, I only used four of the rolls and popped the remaining four into the freezer for another day.

White buttons are best or white chocolate chips because the chocolate needs to melt quickly.When I came to make the pudding I found I had ran out of buttons and used chunks of chocolate.

I used frozen raspberries, which have a good amount of tang to them compared with fresh and for some Christmas spirit I marinated the frozen raspberries in brandy for a few minutes!

Serves: 4

You will need:  150ml semi-skimmed milk, 150ml whipping cream, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 eggs, 4 brioche rolls sliced horizontally into two, 100g frozen raspberries, 1 tbsp brandy, 25g white chocolate buttons

Method:
1. Preheat the oven to 170°C.  Butter a dish which is large enough to take four brioche rolls.
2. Whisk the eggs, milk, cream and vanilla extract together.
3. Tip the frozen raspberries into a small bowl and stir in the brandy.
4. Place the cut brioche into the dish and pour the egg mixture over. Sprinkle over the raspberries and chocolate.
5. Place the dish in a roasting pan. Pour in enough boiling water to come halfway up the sides of the dish. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes or until just set.
6. Dust with icing sugar.

The Technical Challenge: Ciabatta by Paul Hollywood - Recipe

Why didn't I try this easy recipe before?  My inspiration came from seeing Paul Hollywood on TV demonstrating this technical challenge from The Great British Bake Off.  He made it look easy enough, but with his skills, he makes everything look easy.

This is one occasion when you need a mixer with a dough hook, the mixture is so sticky I'd lose patience if I tried to make it by hand. If you don't have a mixer with a dough hook, but haven't used your bread machine for ages, let the dough setting do all the hard work for you.

I'm not in possession of a square plastic container to rise the dough, mine is deep and oblong, it was still okay and sometimes you just have to compromise.  After all, Paul Hollywood isn't about to knock on my front door any time soon to make sure I use a square container.

The dough is really easy to work with and I was more than a bit chuffed with my baked loaves of ciabatta, they don't have to look bakery perfect, but hubby thought I'd bought them!

Fresh from the oven

The bread doesn't take long to make, the kitchen is filled with the heady aroma of bread, it freezes well, can be warmed briefly in the microwave (don't tell Paul), and you can find the recipe on the BBC Food website.

I hope you too will have a go at this challenge!

Back soon with some fab product reviews........including making soup to go with my bread.....

The Perfect Raspberry and Almond Cake - Recipe

Why triple almond? Ground almonds, almond extract and flaked almonds

Hooray! My raspberries didn't sink - joy of joys.  This cake has been very kind to me, it was moist, has a tender crumb, is full of lovely flavours and I used the last of the autumn raspberries.

It's an all in one cake mix, which means less time spent in the kitchen if you have limited time on your hands, and it's a wonderful cake-cum-dessert. For dessert pop a slice into the microwave on a low setting to heat through.

The cake is also delicious dusted with icing sugar and served with either a dollop of cream or creme fraiche.

We liked the cake with a dusting of icing sugar

Recipe:
115g self-raising flour
½ tsp baking powder
2 large eggs beaten
115g softened butter
115g caster sugar
1tsp almond extract
40g ground almonds
175g fresh raspberries
2 tbsp flaked almonds

You will need:  20cm base lined round cake tin, greased with butter and floured.

1. Preheat the oven to 150ºC Fan.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large mixing bowl, add the beaten eggs, almond extract, butter and sugar.  Beat together with an electric whisk for 2 minutes.  Fold in the ground almonds.
3. Dollop the cake batter into the tin.  Level the mixture, scatter over the raspberries and flaked almonds.

All it needs now is a scattering of flaked almonds 

4. Bake for 45 minutes until golden.  Leave the cake in the tin for 10 minutes.  Remove the cake from the tin and cool on a wire rack.
5. The cake can be cut into slices and frozen.

Plum Cobbler - Recipe

The hot pudding is fabulous served with ice cream

The leaves are starting to fall off the trees, the nights are drawing in and Plum Cobbler is one of those comforting puddings we will soon be craving for.

This cobbler topping is beautifully light and airy, it is quick and easy to make and is a great alternative to a crumble topped pudding.

The recipe from Baking Mad's Autumn Recipes uses damsons but where I live they are ridiculously expensive and I used red plums with great success, but they must be ripe, otherwise they'll have to be pre-cooked for longer than the recipe suggests.

I placed the cobbler onto the plums in craggy blobs to make the pudding look lovely and homely or instead of one large pudding it can also be cooked in individual ramekins.

It's quite a large pudding and once cooled it can be cut into individual portions and frozen.

Disclaimer:  BakingMad.com have sent me a selection of products for this posting.

Parmesan Crusted Chicken with a Chilli Cherry Tomato Sauce - Recipe

Neither me, hubby or this blog can live on cake alone.........although I would if I could.  Hence a recipe for an easy midweek meal.

Photographing hot meals can sometimes be a bit of a challenge, whilst I'm faffing about with the camera in the kitchen the food is getting cold, I mostly give hubby his meal whilst I'm taking photographs and then it's me who has to suffer cold food.

The bashed out chicken breast fillet is topped with a Parmesan and parsley crust and today a warming chilli tomato sauce served with a heap of spaghetti was perfect.

I didn't use fresh tomatoes but opened a tin of cherry tomatoes, next time I make it though I'm going to open a tin of chopped tomatoes and cook a few fresh cherry tomatoes in the sauce, I'm not really a fan of tinned cherry tomatoes.

Serves: 2

2 skinless fillet chicken breasts
2 tablespoons flour
1 egg beaten
50g fresh breadcrumbs
2 tbsp chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
50g grated Parmesan cheese
freshly ground salt and pepper

For the Tomato Sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion finely chopped
1 crushed clove garlic
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
Tin of cherry tomatoes or
12 cherry tomatoes and a tin of chopped tomatoes
2 tbsp Worcester sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
freshly ground salt and pepper
chopped parsley to garnish

To serve:
Spaghetti

1. Taking 3 shallow bowls or plates - place the flour into a shallow bowl. Beat the eggs in a shallow bowl. Take another bowl and mix the breadcrumbs and parsley together, add the Parmesan cheese and seasoning.  
2. Bash the chicken breast between two pieces of clingwrap - coat the chicken on both sides in the flour, then the egg and lastly the breadcrumb mixture.
3. Cover a plate in clingwrap and place both coated chicken breasts onto the plate.  Cover with clingwrap.  Place in the fridge.
4. Make the sauce by heating the oil in a pan.  Add the chopped onion and garlic.  Cook gently on a medium heat for a few minutes until the onion has softened.  Add the tomatoes and chilli and then add the Worcester and soy sauce, salt and pepper.  Simmer for 25 minutes.
5. Drizzle a little oil over the chicken and either pan fry or grill for approximately 5 minutes each side.
6. Garnish the finished dish with extra chopped parsley.

Easy Recipe: Smoked Haddock and Spinach

Why I won't be dieting this year.......In my house we couldn't possibly think about cutting back on sugary foods until the end of January. We've got a stash of Christmas cake, meringue nests, chocolates, biscuits and lots of other wonderful goodies to get through and as I type this blog post I'm enjoying a bag of Galaxy Minstrels, delicious they are too.

I've just come across a recipe which uses ¼ of a banana, what's going on here, what am I supposed to do with the remainder if I was to embark on a serious New Year diet.  We don't do diets in my house but try to cut back on sugary treats, eat more soup and generally serve up smaller portions.  I went on a low fat diet many years ago and craved fish and chips on a daily basis, I'm now convinced that the no-diet diet is the only one that works.

A friend has enthusiastically thrown herself into every diet known to man but as usual she is now back to her normal weight plus a few pounds more thanks to the diets that don't work. Her venue for the group dieters was opposite an Indian Restaurant and after the dieters group hug she went straight over the road for a meal.  She was also buying ready made dieters meals.  She brought a friend along to one of our lunch get togethers and said friend counted points all throughout the meal - annoying.

Apparently most diets only last for 24 hours and some dieters fail because they go out for meals with friends who aren't on a diet.  I find it's dieters who spoil meals for those of us who don't do silly diets. The only sensible diet aid I have ever come across is a diet plate which helps with portion control for those with no control.  In my house we bought smaller dinner plates years ago and practice portion control. Make a cake, slice into portions and freeze, we don't eat the lot in one go......

I'm a huge fan of smoked haddock and this recipe can be made in a microwave safe dish in just 8 minutes or if you have a steam oven it cooks successfully too.  The creme fraiche and cheese turns into a cheesy sauce and for a minimum of effort here is a delicious meal. All you need is a small bag of fresh spinach, top with a piece of smoked haddock, spread a few tablespoons of low fat creme fraiche on top, sprinkle over mature grated Cheddar cheese, top with slices of spring onions and grind over lots of fresh ground pepper.  Serve with poached egg, new potatoes and garden peas.

The perfect healthy midweek meal

Cottage Pie with Roasted Vine Cherry Tomatoes - Recipe

Comfort food

Easy midweek family meals, made from a few quality ingredients, inexpensive and cooked from scratch - that's why we love cottage pie.

I'm a bit of a cheat when it comes to chopping vegetables into small pieces and use my trusted kitchen gadget. I like the way it effortlessly cuts the vegetables into precise cubes - it doesn't take much to please me. I thought it would be one of those gadgets which remained at the back of the cupboard collecting dust but it does get used on a fairly regular basis. My knife skills aren't the best and when I went on a course at the local college the lecturer always said I cut vegetables like a housewife which used to make me laugh, although he did have a point!

You will need:

1 tbsp olive oil
1 red onion
1 celery stalk
1 carrot
750g lean mince beef
2 tsp plain flour
300ml beef stock
1 tablespoon tomato puree
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
seasoning

For the potato topping:

750g potatoes
30g butter
seasoning
Vine cherry tomatoes

1. Finely chop the onion, celery and carrot. To a large pan add 1 tablespoon of olive oil and cook the vegetables until the onion becomes translucent and the vegetables begin to soften. Add the mince beef and cook for 5 minutes, add the tomato puree and cook for a couple more minutes, stirring to break up the mince.
2. Stir in the flour and cook for a couple of minutes, add the stock, Worcestershire Sauce, salt and pepper. Bring the mixture to the boil. Cover the pan and simmer for 45 minutes. Pour into a large casserole dish and cool.
3. Cook the potatoes, drain, add the butter to the pan and mash until smooth. Season.
4. Place dollops of potato onto the mince mixture and spread out to the edges. Place the vine cherry tomatoes on top.
5. Preheat the oven to 180oC and cook for 30 minutes until bubbling and brown.

Glazed Gammon Steaks with Pineapple Salsa

Remember Gammon and Pineapple?

This recipe is by those lovely chaps The Hairy Bikers - they make cooking fun and I love their recipes too.

Can you remember gammon, pineapple, egg and peas from the 70's? I used to eat this at the Leicester branch of Berni Inn which served British classic food, I'm surprised pubs still serve this retro classic.

The Hairy Bikers have given this classic a twist and poshed it up, they have glazed the gammon with honey and grain mustard (I used Dijon mustard), the fresh pineapple salsa takes this dish to another level.

No chips this time round but potato wedges, fried egg and of course peas.

The recipe can be found on the BBC Food Website.

Eating Places APlenty Back in the 1970's in Leicester - I have very fond memories of some of these places especially the Pancake House.

Easy Food Recipe: Stilton Beef Burgers

Making your own burgers is really easy and home made are always best. I have always made mine because I like to know exactly what goes into them. For those moments when you crave a burger this freshly made easy food from the kitchen for a stay at home Friday or Saturday evening, is perfect. The melting Stilton Cheese in the burgers is simply delicious.

I like my bacon well done for this recipe but if it looks too well done for you, then simply cook for less time. Left over Stilton Cheese and the uncooked burgers will freeze perfectly.  To take this food to another level I would make the burger buns and the coleslaw but for fast food days Marks and Spencer is my one stop shop.

Serves: 2

250g best quality lean mince beef
1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
50g cubed Stilton cheese
25g fresh breadcrumbs
1 tbsp chopped chives
1 tsp Worcester sauce
pinch chilli powder
1/2 beaten egg
2 rashers smoked back bacon
Mayonnaise
Salad leaves
2 Burger Buns

1. Preheat the oven to 200ºC.
2. Mix the mince beef, onion, breadcrumbs, chives, Worcester sauce, cubes of Stilton cheese and chilli powder together. Add half the beaten egg to the mixture. Season.
3. Shape into two burgers. Line a tray with clingwrap place the burgers on the lined tray and place in the fridge for 30 minutes to chill.
4. Remove the burgers from the cling wrap, grease the tray, place the burgers on the tray.
5. Grease a small tray and place the bacon rashers on.
6. Place both trays in the oven and cook for 20 minutes, turn the bacon over half way through the cooking time.
7. Cut the burger buns in half and toast one side only.
8. Spread mayonnaise over each bun half. Place a layer of salad leaves on the base, top with a cooked burger, take a bacon rasher and place on top of the burger.
9. Serve with potato wedges sprinkled with paprika.