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This recipe worked really well, and cooked in next to no time, so I was really pleased with it.

Ingredients:
Two Chicken Breasts
3 Extra Large Mushrooms
Cherry Tomatoes
Pesto
Fresh Spinach Tagliatelle. (Or other pasta of choice)

Chop chicken and mushrooms, and put into a pan adding the excess oil from the top of pesto rather then adding an extra oil, and cook as much as the chicken requires.

Cook the pasta.

Drain the pasta, put back in the pan, and pour over the cooked chicken and mushroom, and add the cherry tomatoes halved.

Stir in the Pesto.

Serve.

Dead easy, and for me turned out exactly as I had hoped and was extra tasty. Careful when buying the pesto, as some jars have more oil in the top then others, so try to get a more oily one.

This did for two people but would have stretched to 3 without any problems, and probably 4 if you added garlic bread on the side as well.

And yes, I used a jar of pesto – I really have no desire to make it myself so just picked up a decent organic one from the shop.

The best thing I can say about this recipe is that the salad was really tasty. The falafel part though was my first real cooking disaster.

Falafel:
1 can chick peas
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 small onion chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon paprika
lemon juice

Salad:
1 cucumber chopped into chunks
1 pack cherry tomatos, halved.
1/2 small onion, chopped
Mixed Olives
lemon juice

Serve in warmed pita bread with hummus (I used Asda’s extra special pesto topped hummus – which is tasty good)

Falafels were made by blending all the ingredients together, spooning the mush into balls and trying to fry them. However, they just disintigrated in the oil – I strongly suspect due to a combination of too much lemon juice making them wet, and the oil not been hot enough. After a few failed attempts I just oven baked the remaining falafels.

The oven baked falafel was okay, but tasted a bit bland and squigy, but the salad helped a lot as it was really yummy.

So, my first real attempt at cooking something outside my comfort zone, and not very successful, and off putting as it made a lot of mess with all the equipment needed etc. Still, at least I tried

3 Leeks
1 Fennel
4 Parsnips
4 Medium Potatoes
Pinch of ground Ginger
Big Pinch of Pepper
Good Pinch of Mixed Herbs
2 Veg Oxo

Chop it all up, put it in the pressure cooker with water to cover, cook for 10 to 15 mins. (Give it 30 in a normal pan)

Once cooked, waz it with a blender and eat with fresh bread.

Came out with a nice sweet and spicy flavor which I was very happy with. Though I think if I was doing it again, I’d add a bit more potato to thicken it a little bit more, and bit a little less trigger happy with the blender to keep it slightly lumpy.

4 Sweet Potatoes
4 Chicken Breasts
3 Onions
1 Can Chick Peas
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 Chicken Oxo
Couscous

Slice and dice the chicken and onion, and heat in a pan with a little oil until chicken is cooked.

Add chopped sweet potato, drained and rinsed chickpeas, 1 Oxo and seasoning with boiling water to just cover the contents of the pan.

Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until sweet potato is cooked.

Prepare couscous as per instructions, but add a chicken Oxo to the stated amount of water to add some extra flavor to the couscous.

Serve together in a bowl.

A very simple and tasty recipe which I really enjoyed, as it’s very different from most of the things I eat. In fact, a friend who was visiting liked it enough to ask for the recipe to try herself.

Should produce about six servings.

Served on the Sunday between Christmas and New Year.

Should be the first thing but wasn’t this time due to bad planning: Open the wine, pour slowly into jug ensuring no sediment gets in, then pour into decanter, place on table for later.

Leg of Lamb: Cooked as per instructions, season by cutting slits into the meat with a small knife and filling with whole cloves of garlic and rub the rosemary all over it. Baste every 20-30 mins.

Roast Potatoes: Boil for 20 mins, drain, shake in drainer to break up the surface which makes them more crispy then roast in oven for an hour or so, turning and basting every 20 mins. Roast for longer if possible.

Glazed Parsnips: Cut parsnips into long strips, place inside a foil package and pour over De Bortoli Show Reserve Muscat and seal. Cook along side the roast potatoes and baste at same time. (This recipe/idea actually came from the wine shop ;o)

Gravy: Bisto instant from a jar, with juices and stray rosemary from Lamb added.

Boil up some carrots and more parsnip.

Cut, dish out and throw onto plates.

Serve to friends with Monte Real Gran Reserva Rioja from 2001(Magnum), 1978 and 1964.

Follow up with chorizo and other tapas style cuts of meat, olives and cheese.

Although the food and wine was incredibly decadent, we were actually eating sitting around on couches with plates on our knees. Which was way more fun then acting all fancy and sitting at a dinner table (Not least because I don’t have a dinner table)

Of all the wines the ‘78 came out as I think everyones favorite, though the ‘64 did have a very distinctive and complex taste and was very easy to drink (As they all were)

3 Large Garlic Cloves
4 Small Red Onions
800g Organic Lean Mince
8 Rashers Smoked Bacon
4 Carrots
Handful of Mushrooms (frozen)
2 Glasses of Red Wine
3 400gram Tins of Chopped Organic Tomatoes
3 Teaspoons of Paprika
Large Pinch of Italian Herbs
2 tablespoons of Tomato Puree
Dash of Worcestershire Sauce

1) Brown mince with chopped onions and bacon, along with the garlic and a good pinch of ground black pepper.
2) Add wine and simmer slightly for a minute.
3) Add tomatoes, chopped carrots, and herbs and spices.
4) Cook it all for 40 mins.

Served with fresh wholemeal spaghetti and rocket salad.

• The garlic was chopped, rather then pressed as I couldn’t find our garlic press.
• There was a bit too much carrot for my liking, so I’d probably reduce that to just 2 next time. Tasted fine, but looked a bit too busy.
• Could have done with more cooking time, and perhaps a bit less wine to aid in reducing down more. (Half is in freezer so will see how this comes out reheated and cooked more)
• Will try with some more paprika and tomato puree next time.
• Will try using dry mushrooms to add some better quality to the mushroom side of things. (I’m too lazy to prepare fresh mushrooms!)
• Perhaps using unsmoked bacon next time.

250 grams Red Lentils
4 Carrots
3 Parsnips
1 Onion
1 Tin Of Chopped Tomatoes
2 Veg Oxo Cubes
6 Rashers Of Smoked Bacon
1 Medium Potato (Which you wouldn’t normally use, but it needed eating and looked lonely)

• Chop and remove rind from the bacon, cook in pan.
• rinse lentils with cold water
• Add all ingredients in to the pan and add water to cover.
• Bring to boil and simmer for 25-30 minuets.

Turned out very tasty, if very parsnipy, so I think next time a little more carrot and a little less parsnip would work, and the potato didn’t work really, but didn’t mess it up either it just sort of sat there feeling out of place. Normally I’d use the full 8 slices of bacon too, but I wanted a bit for tomorrow’s recipe.

So a success all in all. and even had enough to freeze and use later in the week.

1 Large Potato Per Person
1/2 Onion Per Person
1/2 Leek Per Person
1 Large Carrot Per Person
1 Can Corned Beef Per 2-4 People (Depending on how meaty you want it)
1 Beef Oxo Cube
1 Glug of Worcestershire sauce
1 Pinch black pepper
1 Pinch Mixed Herbs

• Peel/Chop/Dice all the Veg into rough blocks, the onion wants to be chopped small, but the rest keep nice and chunky.
• Add into a pan and fill with boiling water to just about cover the contents, add Oxo, Worcestershire sauce and seasoning.
• Stir, Cover and bring to simmer for 30 mins, stir occasionally.
• Dice Corned Beef into 1 inch cubes and add to pot.
• Cook for a further 10 mins.
• Serve in a bowl with hot crusty rolls – Put them into cook when the meat goes in assuming about 10 mins cooking time – and pickled red cabbage.

I used to love this as a kid when my Mum made it, and as winter sets in I really fancied some – so had a look for the recipe online and found a few variations which I pulled together into this. It worked really well, dead easy to do, easy to vary the differing amounts (All the measurements above are mine, hence the non-specificness) and turned out extra tasty.

Notes:
It can be cooked MUCH quicker with a pressure cooker. (Throw it all in at the same time then)
Before opening the corned beef (carefully) puncture a hole in the bottom of the can with a strong knife so the meat slides out easily with the vacume broken.
I used Sainsbury’s Premium Corned Beef – After checking it had the least salt and fat content compared to the alternatives.

I’m on a bit of a health kit right now, encourage by my future housemate (And in turn encouraging her) and hit by total boredom of eating take away so much. (We are talking sometimes 4 times a week! Gah!) Cooking more is the way to go, it’s not even like I can’t cook, or don’t enjoy cooking, so I just need to make the effort to have things available and kick myself out of the rut I’m in.