Spaghetti meatballs!

I love this dinner!
If i do say so myself - i love my homemade tomato sauce!
A great sauce to whip up in batches for freezing or easy to whip up at a minutes notice.
It's also a great base sauce for so many dishes including bolognese, lasagna, or soups!

Today, I'm teaming it with Aldi's Pork Meatballs.  I am taking the lazy route today in the sense I'm not making my own meatballs.  But I have blogged about these Pork Meatballs before and i find them great to have in the fridge.  They are ready to eat which means they can be snacked on and have a generous amount in them - 19 of them to be exact !
So, for this, they just need to be heated through, making this a very quick and simple recipe!

Here, i am also using Gluten Free Spaghetti and Veg Bouillon.
For a complete  Gluten Free option simply substitute the pork meatballs for some fresh mince to make your own.

As usual, there are so many different variations of tomato sauce and spaghetti meatballs and i for one have so many different ways of adding or omitting ingredients with these dishes - this is just what worked for us tonight.

1. Add a little coconut oil to a skillet, over medium heat and toss a large minced garlic clove - taking care not to burn - and chopped onion just for a minute.  Add 2tbsp tomato puree and mix to combine. To this add a tin of chopped tomatoes.
2. To season, add quite a generous amount of the following: Sea salt; black pepper; fresh basil; fresh parsley; 2tbsp veg bouillon and add about 100ml boiling water for now. 
3. Add in the pork meat balls and simmer for about 10 mins.
   Top up with a little boiling water so as not to burn off if need - your sauce should remain tomatoey and thick. And as always, taste test!
4. I like to cook my spaghetti in a large pot of salted boiling water on high for about 8 minutes. I simply serve my pasta straight from the pot with a tongs into its serving dish.
5. Serve with your yummy meatballs on top, your delicious homemade tomato sauce served over with fresh basil, black pepper and a shake of Parmesan cheese!
   Again, large glass of red wine optional!
   

Note: if you want to use beef mince meatballs or any other raw meatballs, simply brown them off first.  Remove and make your sauce.  Add the meatballs back in, letting pot simmer for about 20-25 mins.  Make sure they are cooked through. 

So, what's on your menu?
happy Friday night y'all! Have a great evening xx

SPAG BOL!

Spaghetti Bolognese has so many variations and flavours you can add or omit.

I also have chosen to use gluten free spaghetti today, making it a Gluten Free option.

Here's what works for us:

1. In a skillet over high heat, add 1tsp coconut oil and seasoning of sea salt and black pepper.  To this add 900g mince beef to brown. Add another seasoning again.
   
2. Once the meat is browned, strain all the excess fat away.  Return meat to the pot and add 2 cloves garlic chopped and 3tbsp tomato puree and stir to combine.
   
3. Add 1 tin chopped tomatoes, chopped cubed carrot; handful of fresh basil and parsley chopped; salt; pepper; dried oregano; all seasoning for meat and about 200ml boiling water. 
   
   The water will evaporate so keep it a little topped up, depending on what texture you like the bolognese mix to be.  We like a fairly thick consistency so i just add the water little by little, as i need it, just to keep it moist enough.  Simmer for 30mins.
   
4. Meanwhile, cook your spaghetti pasta as per instructions.
   
5. Prepare the garlic butter mix for the bread by melting about 50g butter.  To this add a glug of olive oil, 2 minced garlic cloves and fresh parsley chopped.  Mix to combine.
   
   
   Spread over sliced french baguette and when ready, bake in 190degree oven until toasty - about 10mins. 
   
   
6. Strain spaghetti and assemble your dish with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese, fresh parsley and basil and black pepper on top.
   Large glass of red wine optional!
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

CHICKEN & HAM PASTA "CREAM SAUCE"!

Hey Guys!

Hope you're week is treating you well and are looking forward to the weekend!

In our house, pasta in "cream sauce" (even though no cream is used!) is a major hit and a great treat.
My creamy sauce for this dish is a bechamel sauce to which i add a little sneaky ingredient!

Today i cooked it with gluten free pasta and cornflour, making it a great gluten free option.

It really is simple to make but have all your ingredients ready and at hand as there are a few steps going on at the same time!

So here's what i do:

1. Prepare water for pasta by boiling it up in a saucepan, adding a drop of oil and salt to season the water.  Add pasta to boiling water and simmer for about 8 - 10 mins.
2. While that's going on, fry off some chopped up chicken in a little garlic oil in a pan over medium to high heat, adding sea salt and black pepper to season. Cook for about 5 minutes and add some bacon bits cooking for a further 5 mins.
   Add a little drop of water to the pan if it starts to dry off too much.
   Ensure chicken is cooked through.
3. In the meantime prepare your bechamel sauce.  Add 2tbsp butter to a skillet over medium heat and let melt.  To this add 4-5tbsp of cornflour, whisking.  Mix over the heat for about 2 minutes.
4. To this add 200ml milk little by little, whisking to ensure no lumps form.  Once it starts to boil up, turn down to simmer for a couple of minutes, whisking in more milk if it thickens up too much.  Add salt and white pepper to season.
5. Once the bechamel is ready, remove from heat and stir in 1/2 tsp nutmeg.
   You are now ready to assemble your pasta dish by adding your chicken and bacon to the bechamel.  Stir until all combined and spoon over the drained plated pasta. 

And enjoy with a grind of black pepper and some basil leaves (optional)

Large glass of chilled Pinot Grigio optional!

Jamie Oliver inspired POTATO SALAD

This is a great delicious little quick potato salad with the volume turned right up! 
Inspired by Jamie Oliver's potato salad.

The amount of ingredients depends on how much you want to make.
Here i have made enough for 2-3 people.

Simple combine:

• BABY POTATOES - warm and halved
• OLIVE OIL - a drizzle
• SALT & PEPPER
• LEMON - grated zest and juice
• FRESH PARSLEY
• SPRING ONION
• YOGURT - i used 2-3tbsp "Glenilen Farm" natural live yogurt
• MUSTARD - just 1/2tsp
• SALAMI - chopped small and fried to crispy.  Could also use bacon or chorizo

Check out my video on You Tube here:

Thick & Tasty CHICKEN CASSEROLE - and it's Gluten Free!

Chicken Casserole

Hi Guys. This Casserole is super easy.  I tend to just go with the flow when cooking sometimes and just add things in that will seem to go together.  Or flavours i fancy on the day!
This casserole is one of those days!  But super tasty.
And is great for GLUTEN FREE diets as I'm using Cornflour to thicken instead of flour and "Knorr" chicken stock pots, which are also Gluten Free.

Chicken is such a versatile meat.
Chicken Legs i find great for curries - baking them beforehand and shredding the chicken from the bone.   They have lots of flavour.  
The breast meat is great for sambos and salads.  But i also find them great for casseroles like this. 

So, here's what i did:

1. Preheat oven to 200degrees.
   In a large skillet/pot, add a little Rapeseed Oil on a med-high heat.
   To this add a shaking of: chicken spice; meat spice; salt; pepper and mix. 
2. Place chicken breasts in and brown on one side for 4 mins. Add same spices to top side of chicken and then turn when ready to brown off.
   (Tip here: Do not be tempted to lift the chicken up before it's browned off as it will only stick to the pot.  You'll know when it's ready to turn as it won't stick and will easily turn.) Remove when browned and set aside.
3. Add a squeeze of Flora Cuisine to the pot and give it a stir to get all those yummy flavours and juices infused.  Next, saute chopped red onion for about a minute. 
4. To this, add a good splash of white wine and a clove of garlic, grated.  Cook until the wine is cooked off and then mix in 2tbsp of cornflour, mixing for about 30 secs. 
5. Add about 200ml water with a chicken stock pot, mix and return the chicken breasts to the pot. Finally, add some chopped carrot to the pot, bring to a boil and place in the oven for 25 minutes. (check on it and stir it after about 15 mins)

Serve with your favourite sides
Suggestion: boiled potatoes and broccoli

My tips for the perfect Roast Chicken & a top tip to me from Michel Roux Jr!

Hi Guys  

CHICKEN is all i would eat growing up!  My parents told me and i remember, that everywhere i went, all i would eat from a menu was Chicken!  Happy to say, I've come a long way since then!
However, i still love chicken.  And for me, there's nothing better than a good Roast Chicken dinner.

A Roast chicken can go along way too.  Make the most out of it.

• Use leftovers for curry or sambos for lunch
• Use the carcass for making stock

I had the privilege in asking Michelin Star chef and Masterchef judge Michel Roux Jr a question in a Q&A once.  I asked him:

"When you have family time and are home, what do you like to cook for dinner?"

His answer?: 

"Alot of time is spent on the road and eating out but when home it would be a Roast dinner like Chicken - but not just any Roast chicken, make it the BEST roast chicken you have ever made!".

So, with a top tip from a Michelin Chef, i make my roasts the BEST I've done! ~Everytime!
There are many many ways to cook the "perfect" roast and for me it's whatever works for you and whatever flavours you and your family prefer.
Whichever way you like your roast tasting, here are a few simple tips that may help you in creating the best outcome and that work well for me.

NOTE:
adjust steps/times with the meat size. Smaller - less, larger - more.
For these steps, i am using a small chicken. 

1. GOOD QUALITY / PREPARE:
   Making sure you have a good quality chicken.  And i usually buy mine prepared and washed already.  Otherwise you must clean out the cavity and wash it thoroughly.
2. STUFFING:
   Make a  tasty stuffing and fill your chicken with a lemon half and 2 cloves of garlic, to give it flavour and create moisture.
   I make a simple stuffing by taking breadcrumbs and adding seasoning; herbs; garlic; butter and oil, forming a mould and stuffing the cavity of the chicken.
   You can close the cavity with some tooth pics to make sure it doesn't escape.
3. BUTTER/OIL & SEASON:
   
    Brush some melted butter and oil (helps brown), i use flora cuisine, over the chicken and season with salt; pepper; rosemary and thyme.
   The skin protects the chicken from drying.  Seasoning the skin will make the skin tasty and create great juices for your basting and gravy.  It will not however season the chicken meat.  So if you want this, you would need to create a butter and season mix and push it up under the skin to coat.
   
4. SLIT THE LEGS:
   
   
   Make a slit through the skin of the top of the legs.  This will help it cook through and give you an indication of cooking progress.  Optional.
   
   
   
   
5. ADD WATER:
   
   
   Add a little water to your roasting dish to give moisture and prevent the chicken from sticking.  It adds liquid for your juices also.  Just enough water to coat base of dish.
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
6. TEMPERATURE:
   
   
   
   
   I start my chicken roasting at 200 degrees for the first 20 minutes, baste the meat and then turn the heat to 180 for remaining time.  Depending of the size of the meat, the small chicken takes about 1 hour - 1hr 10mins.  Adjust time according to size and by checking the meat.
7. BASTING:
   
   
   For me, this is an important step.  Basting means using the meat juices to pour over the chicken throughout the roasting process.  It flavours it and prevents it from drying out.  These juices at the end will be great for making your gravy.
   
   
8. COVER:
   If you find the meat is browning too much and may burn, you can cover it with tin foil while roasting.
9. CHECK IF COOKED THROUGH:
   There are many ways to see if your meat is cooked and ready.  My steps are by slicing further down into the leg - the juices should run clear, there should be no trace of pink/red.  To double check, i cut through the breast part also.  You may use a temperature stick also.
10. REST:
    Once you are happy the chicken is cooked through, set it aside to rest for 10-20 minutes, covering it firmly with tin foil to absorb all those juices and to remain moist before carving and serving your perfectly cooked chicken and stuffing.
11. GRAVY:
    I think a thick flavoursome gravy is a must for a Roast chicken dinner!  Use the juices the chicken has produced and pour them into a saucepan to make the gravy, along with any other juices you may have from cooking your roast.  You can use granules or a beef gravy stock pot to make your sauce. 

"Make it the BEST roast you've ever made!"
Chef Michel Roux Jr

Chocolate Oat Bars

Weekends always seem to be about treats and nice things.
So this weekend I've decided to make healthier bars to have in the house for a guilt free treat.

I tend to pick up lots of bits and pieces in my shopping and have them stored in the press.
I keep 2 baskets in the press for Nuts/Seeds/dried fruit etc.
It's handy when i want to pop some seeds on cereals or add to baking etc - they are to hand easily.
I like organisation !



You may think there are alot of seeds and nuts in this and that you may never have all of these in the cupboard.  But i literally had all this stuff stored in those baskets!
You can omit or add anything you fancy to these bars.
These ingredients are just what seemed  worked for me today.

One of my favourite kitchen applicances is my little blitzer!
John picked it up for me at a market almost new!  I whizz up my pestos and dressings in it and here it's great for blitzing up the nuts.  It's a great little thing!

These bars are sweet and moist - delicious and perfect for the weekend.

So, here we go:

1. In a large mixing bowl combine:
   - 1 cup porridge oats)
   - handful of dried cranberries
   - handful chopped walnuts
   - handful chopped almonds
   - handful chopped plain cashew nuts
   - handful sultanans
   - handful Cacao powder
   (Cacao is a healthy ingredient to add in to make it chocolaty!)
   - 2x handfuls medium desicated coconut
   - 1tsp chopped pistasios
   - 1tbsp chia seeds
   - 1tbsp flaxseed
   - few shakes of cinnamon
   - 15 or 16 Dates (soften in a bowl of boiling water first for few minutes - then blitz them)
2. Melt gently together:
   
   -70g butter
   -1tbsp golden syrup
   -1tsp coconut oil
   
   
   
   
   
3. Pour into oat mix and combine thoroughly for a minute.  
   
   
   Topple into greased and base lined dish (i used a glass oven dish)  
   
   and bake in pre heated 170degree oven for 20 minutes.
4. Remove from oven and leave to cool in dish.  It will harden as it cools so don't be worried that it is still soft.
   
   
   While warm, drizzle about 2tbsp golden syrup over the top.
5. Melt your favourite chocolate (i would probably use dark salted chocolate if it was just for me!), just enough to coat in a thin layer on top - today i've used milk chocolate.
   
   
   Leave to set and firm in fridge.
   Cut into squares and serve!
   (If there happens to be any leftover, keep stored in airtight container in the fridge, with greaseproof paper to seperate them.