Mucho Minestrone...

What a grotty week.  I am feeling like stink, my youngest is sick again for the 3rd time in 2 months, the weather sucks, it's all so truly uninspiring.  My body is begging for healthy food but I feel so wiped out that I am finding myself over-dosing on easy access carbs and am feeling like a true fatty baloomba.  Anyway today I forced myself to make some minestrone as this really is the best you can eat in a bowl as it's loaded with veg and a bit of protein and carbs.  Just what the doctor ordered!

Minestrone Soup

Ingredients
1.5 red onions diced
2 carrots diced
2 celery sticks diced
200g smoked back bacon diced with fat removed
3 cloves of garlic
2 courgettes diced
2 x 400g cans diced tomatoes
1 glass of wine
500g chicken stock
1/2 bag frozen free flow spinach (175g)
1 can cannellini beans drained and rinsed
60g soup pasta (I use Ditali Lisci as it's the perfect size for this soup)

Method
Put the onions, carrots, celery, bacon and garlic in a saucepan with some olive oil and sweat over a very low heat for about 30 minutes or until soft.  The key is that the veg must be soft.  Add the courgettes, wine and tomatoes and cook for a further 30 minutes on a very low heat.  Add the stock, spinach, beans and pasta and continue to simmer until the pasta is cooked.  Season to taste if necessary.  I find a good grind of black pepper and some parmesan shavings over the top equals soup perfection.

Slow cooker winner... a seriously good Dahl

On Sunday I spent the afternoon parked around a wood fire pizza oven eating pizza and discussing food with friends.  As I have recently purchased a slow cooker I am on the hunt for good recipes.  This recipe came highly recommended by the hostess.  I tried it for dinner last night and it was very good.  Quite spicy so I'd recommend halving the chilli if you can't handle your spice, or eliminating it altogether if children will be eating too.   I ended up cooling down my bowl with some greek yoghurt.


Tomato and Coconut Dahl

Ingredients
1 tablespoon oil
1 large onion chopped
3 cloves garlic minced
1 diced carrot
2 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
1 teaspoon minced ginger
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon chilli for a medium curry (or 1/2 teaspoon for a mild curry or no chilli for children)
1 teaspoon garam masala
250g split red lentils
400ml stock
400ml light coconut milk
1 can chopped tomatoes

For serving
fresh limes for squeezing
chopped coriander
chopped toasted almonds
greek yoghurt
salt and pepper

Method
Fry the onion in the oil until soft.  Add the garlic, carrot, cumin, mustard seeds and ginger.  Fry for a few minutes.  Add the rest of the spices and fry for a further few minutes.  Transfer into the slow cooker.  Add the lentils, tomatoes, stock and coconut milk to the slow cooker.  Slow cook until the lentils are soft.

Serve in bowls topped with a squeeze of lime, toasted almonds, coriander and yoghurt

Cottage Pie for weary people

Today I am making a comfort dinner for some very tired people in my family who have been nursing very sick babies.  I am working from home at the same time so hopefully it's not going to end up charred in the bin!

I am just going to scribble down the recipe as it's so easy, I don't really have the time today for layout precision!

You need 3 onions, 2 carrots, 2 celery sticks, 2 cloves of garlic, 50g butter, 1kg mince (beef or lamb), salt and pepper, worcestershire sauce, thyme, chicken stock (1 cup), sprig fresh thyme.  Peas(optional), 2 tablespoons of plum sauce/chutney, 1 kg frozen mash from the supermarket frozen section (or make your own mash if you have the time.

In the blender, blend the veges until slightly more chunky than mush.  Transfer in a saucepan with melted butter and cook slowly for about 30 minutes until soft.  Add the mince and brown, add a few dashes of worcestershire sauce, thyme, salt, pepper, stock and cook slowly for about an hour.  I usually also add a couple of tablespoons of plum sauce at this stage.  I don't know why, just like the taste it brings to the dish.  As I have no plum sauce in my pantry today, I have added some spicy mango chutney instead.  Add some peas if you wish before transferring into a baking dish.  Top with defrosted mash and bake at 180 for about 30 minutes

The Bolognese that just keeps on giving...

Bolognese with Garlic Chickpeas and Spinach

Every week I try and make a vat of Bolognese as it's one sure fire way of getting vegetables into my fussy children.  I freeze if off into portions to make a multitude of meals from spag bol, mince and cheese pies, mincy rice, cottage pie, mince on toast etc.  Today I made a batch and fed the kids spaghetti bolognese.  I then fried up some chick peas in garlic, added some baby spinach leaves, and then some bolognaise to create a tasty gluten free dinner.   Served with a sprinkling of parmesan cheese and a green salad, all that was missing was a fat glass of wine.  I have decided to avoid alcohol until I can't stand it anymore to kick start the weight shift.


Bolognese Recipe

Ingredients
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
2 courgettes
2 carrots
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 kg lean beef mince
100g fat free chopped bacon bits
1 fat glass of red wine
2 400g cans chopped tomato
Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

Method

Put the onions, garlic, carrots and courgettes  into a food processor and whizz into a mush.

Heat the olive oil in a pan and add the vegetables and bacon, sauteeing for 10 minutes on a low heat.  Turn up the heat and add the mince, stirring until browned.  Add a few splashes of Worcestershire sauce during this browning process.  Add the wine, chopped tomatoes and season with salt and pepper.  Simmer for 2-3 hours until rich.  Sometimes I add a cup of milk to the bolognaise along with the wine just to make it even richer and luxurious, but it's not necessary.

And the next day...

This afternoon my children requested mince and cheese pies made in the little pie maker my son gave me for mothers day.  Honesly with left-over bolognese it takes all of 5 minutes to make these pies.  Firstly you need an electric pie maker.  These make nice little pies, a good size for children. 

You also need some reduced fat pre-rolled pastry, leftover bolognese and some low-fat cheese.

Cut the pastry with the rings that come with the pie maker, one large ring for the base, one small for the lid.

Place the pastry base in the pie maker, one for each pie.  Add a spoon of Bolognese to each pie, and top with some grated cheese.  Finally top with a pastry lid.  Close the lid of the pie maker, and leave for 5 minutes to cook.

And finally you have two tasty, but healthier than the pie shop pies enough to please the most fussy little and big eaters.  BTW The reduced fat pastry has 4 weight watchers pro points which is roughly the same as 2 slices of regular bread)  But not for me today, as I'm not eating wheat.

Thaislaw

It's mid-week and I'm trying to control my calorie intake as I seem to have overdone the naughties over the weekend. Had a peek in the fridge in the hope of finding some kind of healthy but tasty ingredients. Spotted a bag of coleslaw - ie ready shredded carrots and cabbage with a couple of sachets of dressing which inspired me to whip up some of my favourite asian flavoured coleslaw...

Thaislaw

500g shredded cabbage and carrot (ready bagged from the supermarket or do it yourself)

3 Tbs freshly squeezed lime juice

2 Tbs sweet chilli sauce

1 Tbs fish sauce

1 Tbs oil

1 handful coriander leaves

additional chilli if required

Open bag of coleslaw and empty contents into a mixing bowl. I discard the dressing sachets straight into the rubbish as they usually have that fake mayonaissy taste which I really despise. In another bowl mix the remaining ingredients to make a dressing. You will need to check the balance of salty/sweet/spicy flavours and adjust accordingly. If chilli is your friend, add more in the form of fresh birds eyes, or the dried variety. Toss the dressing through the slaw to thoroughly coat all the vegetables and leave to infuse for about 20 minutes. Serve with your favourite cold cuts. I find cold shredded roast chicken or beef works pretty well. Today I added some shaved beef from the deli. If you really want to posh it up, you could add some dried shrimp and crushed roast peanuts. This dish is reminiscent of my favourite thai green papaya salad.