Italian Buffet Leftovers Three Ways

A couple of weeks ago I cooked an Italian Buffet for the girls (which mostly consisted of pizza!) and I had a fair few left over ingredients. There was a couple of chicken breasts left from the Chicken Pesto Pizza, some pasta salad, mushrooms, salsa (from the crisp dipping that always occurs on girls night!) and a few bits from the olive selection. So I decided to use these ingredients to feed me for the next week (just about!) and this is how I did it...

Leftovers 1

On the first day I basically bunged everything into a pan with some chopped tomatoes and a little balsamic and made a lovely rich, slightly spicy, tomato dish.

First off, chop a red onion and throw into the pan with a splash of oil (I actually just poured in the oil from the olive platter, so we already had some of those lovely flavours cooking away!)


Crush any left garlic from the olive platter and another clove for good measure, and stir into the onions. Then dice the chicken and add to the pan. Cook until all of the chicken is sealed, then add in the mushrooms, chopped.

As the mushrooms are starting to shrink, add the leftover salsa, a tin of chopped tomatoes, a dash of balsamic vinegar if you've got it, and some dried herbs. I can't honestly remember what I used but maybe something like basil and a little oregano would work well! Give it a good twist of salt and black pepper as well.

Simmer away then add the olives - chopped so that the flavour spreads throughout the dish. I included the chillies as well, but left out the stuffed peppers (I say left out - I actually ate them as I was cooking!!)

I would then leave with a lid part on for about 10minutes or so, making sure that the chicken is cooked through and has soaked up all of those yummy Italian flavours. But don't overdo it on day 1 as you'll be reheating this dish again!!

I served this with left over pasta salad, shredded iceberg lettuce, garlic bread and some grated parmesan over the top for good measure. Now tell me - does this look like a proper plate of leftovers or what?





Save the rest of the tomato chicken stew in the fridge - you'll need this again!

Then I popped the rest of the pasta salad in a tupperware, ready to take for a working lunch the next day!

Leftovers 2

The next evening I fancied rice instead, so I cooked a portion of rice according to packet instructions and heated up a portion of the tomato chicken. Served with some rocket and a little more balsamic - this was absolutely delicious!

Leftovers 3

The third variation on this dish was in a pasta bake. I cooked a couple of portions of pasta in a pan of boiling water until just underdone. Then mix in with the remaining tomato chicken and grate with a little parmesan. Bake in the oven for about 15minutes at 180degrees, or until the sauce is bubbling away and the chicken is heated through. This pasta bake then did the next night as well!







So there you have it - leftover ingredients from one meal, cooked in three different ways and lasting four dinners and a lunch! Not bad going really!

My best ever Fried Rice Recipe

The other night I made the best fried rice ever... it was tasty, healthy, cheap, easy and lasted me a dinner and two lunches! With just a few bits of veg I had left over in my fridge and a selection of Thai flavours I concocted this yummy dish, and I really didn't expect it to go quite this well... It was that good I probably won't be able to recreate it, but I've done my best to write a bit of a recipe for it here so that you can have a go and so I can try and remember how I did it!! Apologies for the big headedness - you will just have trust me that this was just THAT good!

Ingredients (don't trust these completely, alter as you wish, and feel free to add whatever veg you like!)

Serves 2-3
two white fish fillets (I actually just used cheapo frozen white fish!)
1 portion of rice (about 1/3 cup)
1 large carrot, grated
2 teaspoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of white wine vinegar
2 eggs
olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
about half a broccoli (cut the florets into small pieces)
2 lemon grass stalks, chopped finely
1 garlic clove, chopped finely
1 chilli, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
3spring onions, chopped
1 tablespoon of soy sauce
1 tablespoon of Thai sweet chilli sauce
salt and pepper
a large handful of fresh coriander, chopped roughly

Recipe (or something similar!)

Bake the fish in the oven for 15-20mins depending on the size of the fillets. Boil a pan of water and add your rice. Cook until it is soft and then drain. Mix the grated carrot with the sugar and white wine vinegar. Crack the eggs into a jug and whisk with a fork. Leave all these to the side for later.

Put a dash of oil in your wok over a medium-high heat, then add the onion and broccoli and fry until the onion starts to soften a little.

Then add lemon grass, garlic, chilli and red pepper and fry for a couple of minutes.

Add the carrot mixture and spring onions and fry for a further minute before tipping the veg into a bowl, leaving the wok empty.


Put another dash of olive oil into the wok and add your whisked eggs. Keep moving it around with a wooden spoon until the eggs begin to cook, making sure that none of it sticks to the pan.

Add the ready cooked rice and mix in. Make sure all of the egg is cooked, then add your veg mixture.

Mix in your soy and sweet chilli sauces and season with salt and pepper.

Finally, throw in as much coriander as you like (it's my favourite herb and an essential flavour to this dish!), mix altogether and serve.

YUM!!!!!

First Meal in my New Flat

I'm back!!! I finally have internet in my new flat so I have loads to share with you... There's still some meals from my trip around Eastern Europe and a family holiday to Pollenca and, of course, tons of recipes from my own cooking and books!

I thought the best place to start would be the first meal I cooked in my new kitchen... it's a lovely open plan kitchen/dining/living room - perfect for entertaining as I can cook while still chatting to my friends! So the dish is just a very simple Chicken Tikka Masala - not fancy but absolutely fool proof and very tasty! So welcome back everyone, pour a glass of wine and enjoy the recipe!

 

Chicken Tikka Masala

Serves 3 (great for 2 people with leftovers for the freezer!)

olive oil
2 chicken breasts

1 onion (I used red this time but I normally use white)
large tablespoon of tikka masala paste
2/3 cup of rice
1 red pepper
6-8 mushrooms
tin of chopped tomatoes
handful of flaked almonds (optional)
handful of fresh coriander leaves
1 naan bread
2 tablespoons of natural yoghurt (optional)



Chop all of the ingredients and get a pan of water boiling ready for your rice.

Put a deep frying pan on a medium heat and add a dash of olive oil. Add the chicken and fry until it has turned white.

Add the onion. As the onion softens add the tikka masala paste and stir until it is covering all of the chicken.

Cook the rice according to packet instructions (I usually put it on at this stage and the timings tend to work well).

Add the peppers and mushrooms to the pan and fry for a few minutes, mixing with the chicken, onions and paste.

As the veg softens, add the tin of chopped tomatoes, most of the almonds and coriander. Leave to simmer and absorb all of the flavours for about 5 minutes. If you are serving with naan bread then put it in a preheated oven.

If you want a creamier curry then add natural yoghurt, but it is still delicious without!

Drain and serve your rice and spoon on your curry. Sprinkle the remaining almonds and coriander over the dishes and eat!



So there you have it... the simple and tasty dish that I made for my friend as the first meal in my new kitchen! It's a really great basic recipe that you can mix up with different meats, different veg and chilli if you want to add some more spice - delicious with spinach added towards the end of cooking if you fancy a tikka saag!

A good one for a Saturday evening if you fancy making it tonight or it can even be a fairly quick mid-week meal... have a lovely weekend folks and enjoy!

Saturday Night Curry... Tasty Lamb Rogan Josh

 My Recipe for a simple Lamb Rogan Josh

A tasty curry I made for dinner on Saturday night with red pepper and spinach, washed down with a cold ginger beer... yum!

I took the recipe for marinating the lamb from a Jamie Oliver Recipe, but then decided to simplify the rest of the ingredients and cooking methods just because we were hungry and wanted to eat!!

I had no chilli so didn't make mine very spicy - but if you like spice then just add 1 or 2 in with the red pepper. The Pataks curry pastes are really good for making quick, flavoursome curries when you don't want to bother with all the spices yourself...

So if you want a simple, tasty recipe, this is the one. If you're after something with a bit more depth and preparation, then head over to Jamie's recipe - it will make a truly delicious curry I'm sure!!
 

 

Ingredients

Makes 3 portions

Marinade
2cm square piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 large tablespoons low fat natural yoghurt
black pepper

Curry
3 lamb steaks, cut into big cubes
2 tablespoons Pataks Rogan Josh curry paste
1 red onion, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
1 fresh red chilli, finely chopped (optional)
tin of chopped tomatoes
2 handful spinach leaves
small handful fresh coriander, chopped


rice, naan, poppadoms, mango chutney, iced cold ginger beer... whatever you fancy, to serve!

Method

Combine all the ingredients for the marinade in a plastic tupperware or bowl. Add the lamb and mix to coat all of the meat. Leave in the fridge overnight or as long as you have time for.


Add the curry paste into a deep frying pan (or wok). Fry for a couple of minutes on a medium heat until the oils begin to leak out of the paste, then add the onion, red pepper and chilli (if using).

As the onion begins to soften, add the lamb and marinade and mix to combine the flavours.





Pour in the chopped tomatoes and a small cup of water (if needed). Add the spinach leaves and mix as they soften. Add most of the fresh coriander.

Put a lid on the curry and leave to simmer away on the hob or slow cook in the oven (ideally on a low-medium heat for a couple of hours). You want the lamb to be cooked through but still tender.

Cook your rice and naan as the curry is in the oven. Serve with extra coriander sprinkled on if desired. Enjoy!

Keepin' it Simple Paella

Paella is one of those dishes that tastes exquisite when cooked traditionally, in a huge pan with loads of different sea food and complex, rustic flavourings. I also think it can be bloody delicious cooked nice and simple with a few key ingredients.

For me, a chorizo and prawn combo captures the typical flavour of the dish, so I don't bother/can't afford to add in all the mussels or even chicken! This is a fairly quick recipe, and when you've got all the ingredients in, you can kind of just leave it to bubble away and soak up the stock. I actually chop one ingredient, throw it in the pan, then chop the next and so on, so there's not much prep involved! These quantities (only rough guides as normal) made enough for me and my boyfriend - he eats A LOT so it is probably enough for three! Here I have also used risotto rice, which makes it more creamy than you would get in Spain, but is yummy anyway!!  Enjoy!

Ingredients

small white onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped or grated
1 red chilli, chopped (optional)
paprika
salt and black pepper
100g chorizo, chopped
half red pepper, chopped
1 chicken stock cube
risotto rice (2 portions as indicated on the packet)
6-10 king prawns (I like to remove all of the shell to avoid faff when eating, but whatever your preferences are!)
a handful of frozen peas
a small handful of fresh parsley, chopped

Recipe

Boil the kettle ready for the stock.

In a large frying pan (I actually used a wok!), fry the onion in a dash of oil until it starts to soften. Add the garlic, chilli, a healthy sprinkle of paprika and seasoning.

Fry for a minute or two, then add the chorizo.

When the chorizo begins to brown a little, add the chopped pepper.

Make your stock by mixing the cube with the boiling water in a jug, measuring out the water. The stock will need to cover all the ingredients and more... usually about double the quantity of rice (follow the instructions on the rice packet), but I always end up adding more water as it seems to soak it up like crazy!

Stir the risotto rice in with the chorizo and other ingredients, making sure it is all coated nicely in the red colouring. Fry for a couple more minutes.

Then you can add the stock, prawns and peas, mixing it all together.

Then this can just bubble away for about half an hour, until all the rice is soft. You will need to keep an eye on it, give it a stir every now and again, and add more water if needed... but pop an episode of Friends or Big Bang Theory on and kick back for a bit!

Finally, stir most of the parsley into the paella, dish up, and then sprinkle a little on top of each plate with a quick twist of black pepper. Simple!