Sunday 22 January 2012
Maple Buttermilk Tarts With Hazlenut Crust
Followed an amercian recipe from www.honeyandjam.com and got a bit mixed up with the butter measurement conversion - it only wanted half a stick of butter not 1 and a half! But it was rescued anyway. I added chopped hazlenuts in with the maple buttermilk as well. Really nice 9 out of 10. I have frozen the rest of the maple butter milk as I had too much after a disaster with some of the far too buttery pastry, I hope this survives the freezer?
22nd Jan 2012
Jamie Oliver's Jamie At Home - Creamy Asparagus Soup With A Poached Egg on Toast
I actually followed the recipe exactly which might be a first for me but I'm glad I did as it was really good - 7.5 out of 10.
Jamie Oliver's Jamie At Home - Roasted White Fish & Leeks
I used normal leeks instead and just quartered them lengthways before boiling them. I served it with mini jacket potatoes with sour cream and chives - yummy. 8 out of 10.
I actually followed the recipe exactly which might be a first for me but I'm glad I did as it was really good - 7.5 out of 10.
Jamie Oliver's Jamie At Home - Roasted White Fish & Leeks
I used normal leeks instead and just quartered them lengthways before boiling them. I served it with mini jacket potatoes with sour cream and chives - yummy. 8 out of 10.
Saturday 21 January 2012
21st Jan 2012
Jamie Oliver's Jamie At Home - Beautiful Courgette Carbonara
Made a few changes, added dried thyme as had no fresh stuff and used baby courgettes which I really liked (will use these again), used fresh taglietelle and added pine nuts. I have made this one before and it is now a regular for us. 9 out of 10 Jamie! My cooking skills might be improving but my photography skills are not!
Made a few changes, added dried thyme as had no fresh stuff and used baby courgettes which I really liked (will use these again), used fresh taglietelle and added pine nuts. I have made this one before and it is now a regular for us. 9 out of 10 Jamie! My cooking skills might be improving but my photography skills are not!
Friday 20 January 2012
20th Jan 2012
Jamie Oliver's Jamie At Home - Potato & Chorizo Omelette with a Kinda Parsley Salad
Well I didn't follow it all that closely, we bought sliced chorizo and quartered it and put it into the hot pan with some olive oil and sliced shallotts and a sliced pepper whilst the potatoes were microwaving (14 mins) then chopped and added the potatoes to the pan with a pinch of paprika. We added some dried rosemary to the pan then the beaten eggs some chopped parley and salt and pepper. After a minute transferred it to the grill for 4 mins and served with salad. Lovely! 9 out of 10 Jamie!
Well I didn't follow it all that closely, we bought sliced chorizo and quartered it and put it into the hot pan with some olive oil and sliced shallotts and a sliced pepper whilst the potatoes were microwaving (14 mins) then chopped and added the potatoes to the pan with a pinch of paprika. We added some dried rosemary to the pan then the beaten eggs some chopped parley and salt and pepper. After a minute transferred it to the grill for 4 mins and served with salad. Lovely! 9 out of 10 Jamie!
19th Jan 2012
Jamie Oliver Magazine - Pea & Popeye Pesto Pasta
This was really nice 7 out of 10, perfect lunch box food. It really tasted fresh and of the summer - shame it's January!
This was really nice 7 out of 10, perfect lunch box food. It really tasted fresh and of the summer - shame it's January!
Monday 16 January 2012
16th Jan 2012
Jamie Oliver's Jamie Does (Sweeden) - Split Pea Soup
Yummy! 8 out of 10 Added wholegrain mustard and lemon juice but apart from that stuck to the recipe. Really really easy as well.
Jon's 40th on wednesday and out for dinner tomorrow so also made chocolate and peanutbutter rice crispie cakes: melted some milk chocolate, dark chocolate, wholenut peanut butter, honey and butter in a bowl in the microwave, poured in some mini marshmallows and rice crispies and mixed, lined a caserole pan with clingfilm and poured it into. smothed it out and squashed it into the corners, sprinkled with reeses sprinkles and put in the fridge for an hour, then cut into squares.
Yummy! 8 out of 10 Added wholegrain mustard and lemon juice but apart from that stuck to the recipe. Really really easy as well.
Jon's 40th on wednesday and out for dinner tomorrow so also made chocolate and peanutbutter rice crispie cakes: melted some milk chocolate, dark chocolate, wholenut peanut butter, honey and butter in a bowl in the microwave, poured in some mini marshmallows and rice crispies and mixed, lined a caserole pan with clingfilm and poured it into. smothed it out and squashed it into the corners, sprinkled with reeses sprinkles and put in the fridge for an hour, then cut into squares.
Sunday 15 January 2012
15th Jan 2012
I lost 3lbs this week - half a stone in two weeks! To celebrate I ate a bar of Hotel chocolate I had been hiding from myself since Christmas and I did enjoy it but I got a headache, heartburn and felt guilty so don't think I will have anymore chocolate for a while!
Made a lovely soup for lunch from my scrap book - Sweetcorn and chilli soup. I added two dried chillis instead of one fresh one, some more lemon juice and lots of black pepper then thickened it with cornflour paste. Really nice served with grated cheese and the last of the half fat sour cream.
Made a lovely soup for lunch from my scrap book - Sweetcorn and chilli soup. I added two dried chillis instead of one fresh one, some more lemon juice and lots of black pepper then thickened it with cornflour paste. Really nice served with grated cheese and the last of the half fat sour cream.
Honey & Lime Tilapia - recipe from onelovelylife.com served with my spur of the moment rice. I cooked a boil in the pag rice. made a three egg omelet with dried chilli and chopped chived and stir fried some chopped baby corns and sugar snaps with sesame oli, lime juice, honey and soy sauce.
Mini Cupcakes!
I used a basic vanilla cupcake recipe and used half in a 48 hole mini cupcake tray in cases. Then I but some nutella on all of them and used a skewer to swirl it in and put them in the oven on 180c for 7 minutes. Then while they were cooling I added a large table spoon of nutella to the rest of the batter and a lot of red food coloring to turn them into mini red velvet cakes and cooked these. I but the rest of the nutella which was about a large tablespoon into a bowl with some 3tbs butter a table spoon of philadelphia and some icing sugar and cocoa powder and mixed till a nice very tasty chocolate frosting was created. I miked a half a tub of philadelphia with icing sugar and butter and red food coloring to make a nice pink cream cheese frosting for the red velvet cupcakes and went sprinkle crazy!
14th Jan 2012
Leftovers lunch, really liked the sweet potatoes yesterday so made them again and served with the salad we had left in the fridge from other recipes which was romanie and red chicory with a sliced yellow pepper and made a dressing using lime juice, olive oil, salt, pepper, chopped parsley, wholegrain mustard and honey which was nice and zingy on the crunchy salad and also had some deli meat my mum had given me. Was a damn good lunch!
13th Jan 2012
I cooked made steak coated with steak seasoning which I will not use again, we both agreed the steak would have tasted better without it or just with som,e garlic and salt and pepper. I served it with baked sweet potatoes topped with salt and pepper, grated red Leicester, half fat sour cream and chives and with roasted peppers and red onion. It was a nice friday night meal but would like to make my own steak seasoning for next time. Love loaded sweet potatoes though as an alternative option.
Wednesday 11 January 2012
11th Jan 2012
Spicy Roasted Parsnip Soup - From The BBC Good Food Website
We made used half a tin of tomatoes instead of fresh as we had none and at the very end I added 100mls of double cream and a crumbled dried chilli (not the seeds). Seved with a drissel of cream and extra virgin olive oil and some croutonns. Really enjoyed it, a very warming winter supper.
We made used half a tin of tomatoes instead of fresh as we had none and at the very end I added 100mls of double cream and a crumbled dried chilli (not the seeds). Seved with a drissel of cream and extra virgin olive oil and some croutonns. Really enjoyed it, a very warming winter supper.
Dinner at mums tomorrow so what to cook for Friday night? Also what cakes to make for Saturday?
Tuesday 10 January 2012
10th Jan 2012
Felt lazy so made vegy quesidilla's: chopped some muchrooms, an orange pepper, a red onion, 2 cloves of garlic. Heated some oil in the griddle pan and and crumbled in a dried chilli, added the veg and cooked for 3 mins. Put on two wraps each with a spoonfull of leftover ricotta and a handfull of greated red leicester, top each with another wrap and toasted each side till the cheese had melted, cut each quesidilla into 6 sections and served with salsa, sour cream and guacamole, yummy, cheap, fast and easy!
Sunday 8 January 2012
8th Jan 2012
I have lost 4lb this week!!!!
To celebrate I am making the porridge. Didn't have pecan or hazlenuts so have used walnuts and have swapped figs for dates. Wow it tastes like a warming winter pudding 9 out of 10 - Bill knows how to make breakfast! We served it with tinned pears which went reallly well.
I might try to see if I can make it without the cream next time, quartering the recipe and swapping the mike and cream for soya milk, could still be good? Maybe? ..
Going to have leftovers of the jerk chicken for dinner tonight and I know they will be damn good leftovers.
Made the Bill's Basics Baked Orecchiette with Sausage and Cavolo Nero, didn't have the right pasta so just used what we had in the cupboard. I haven't tried it yet as it's for lunches during the week (has filled 5 lunch boxes). 6 out of 10 was a very nice lunch but don't feel I can judge it fairly as only tasted it reheated.
To celebrate I am making the porridge. Didn't have pecan or hazlenuts so have used walnuts and have swapped figs for dates. Wow it tastes like a warming winter pudding 9 out of 10 - Bill knows how to make breakfast! We served it with tinned pears which went reallly well.
I might try to see if I can make it without the cream next time, quartering the recipe and swapping the mike and cream for soya milk, could still be good? Maybe? ..
Going to have leftovers of the jerk chicken for dinner tonight and I know they will be damn good leftovers.
Made the Bill's Basics Baked Orecchiette with Sausage and Cavolo Nero, didn't have the right pasta so just used what we had in the cupboard. I haven't tried it yet as it's for lunches during the week (has filled 5 lunch boxes). 6 out of 10 was a very nice lunch but don't feel I can judge it fairly as only tasted it reheated.
Saturday 7 January 2012
What to make next?
I am planning to make Baked Orecchiette With Sausage & Cavolo Nero (I have loads of Cavolo Nero left from the soup recipe) from Bill's Basics and from my scrap book (magazine cuttings) Sweetcorn & Chilli Soup. I also really really want to try the Baked Porridge recipe from Bill's Basics but it has double cream, sugar and nuts in it and I'm really trying to be good....
7th Jan 2012
Jamie's 30 Minute Meals - Killer Jerk Chicken.
We have cooked this twice before so already knew it was amazing but had obviously forgotten just how amazing it was 10 out of 10 Jamie! We stuck to the recipe almost completely, I added a tsp of honey to the salad dressing and we used jiff lime not real limes but it didn't matter at all. Obviously this 30 minute meals business is rubbish, it took two of us well over 40 mins but it's more than worth it.
We have cooked this twice before so already knew it was amazing but had obviously forgotten just how amazing it was 10 out of 10 Jamie! We stuck to the recipe almost completely, I added a tsp of honey to the salad dressing and we used jiff lime not real limes but it didn't matter at all. Obviously this 30 minute meals business is rubbish, it took two of us well over 40 mins but it's more than worth it.
Friday 6 January 2012
6th Jan 2012
Bill's Basics Berlotti Bean & Cavalo Nero Soup - made acording to the recipie for one! 7 out of 10 - love the cavalo nero, will definately use this again!
Thursday 5 January 2012
5th Jan 2012
Disaster! Went to make the bean soup and read that I have to soak the beans overnight!
So decided to make the baked potatoe soup but this was onna take a while and I was starving so I made a starter. I made Jamie's Guacamole:
To make the guacamole I use 2 or 3 ripe avocados, 2 or 3 ripe deseeded tomatoes and a couple of deseeded red chillies, and I throw all this into a food processor with a handful of peeled and chopped spring onions and a good handful of fresh coriander. Once this has been chopped up nice and fine, I add a couple more chopped tomatoes, a good pinch of salt and half of another avocado, chopped, to give it a nice chunky texture. Transfer everything into a bowl and season carefully with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and a good squeeze of lemon or lime juice.
I used cherry tomatoes and left the seeds in and I think this was fine. I cut 2 seeded wraps into 8 and then spread them on the grill pan, drisseled with olive oil and baked for 10 mins. It was a very yummy starter!
Baked potato soup from the Jamie Oliver Magazine - amazing! We didn't bother waiting for the potatoes to cool and I don't think it mattered and we also didn't blend it as we don't have a stick blender we just used a masher. We didn't have bacon so we fried some black forest ham and very thinly sliced some spring onions instead of chives. I didn't like theses cheese with it but the sour cream was great - we used half fat. 8 out of 10. Might become aregular this one, will definately make soups with parmesan rind in again.
So decided to make the baked potatoe soup but this was onna take a while and I was starving so I made a starter. I made Jamie's Guacamole:
To make the guacamole I use 2 or 3 ripe avocados, 2 or 3 ripe deseeded tomatoes and a couple of deseeded red chillies, and I throw all this into a food processor with a handful of peeled and chopped spring onions and a good handful of fresh coriander. Once this has been chopped up nice and fine, I add a couple more chopped tomatoes, a good pinch of salt and half of another avocado, chopped, to give it a nice chunky texture. Transfer everything into a bowl and season carefully with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper and a good squeeze of lemon or lime juice.
I used cherry tomatoes and left the seeds in and I think this was fine. I cut 2 seeded wraps into 8 and then spread them on the grill pan, drisseled with olive oil and baked for 10 mins. It was a very yummy starter!
Baked potato soup from the Jamie Oliver Magazine - amazing! We didn't bother waiting for the potatoes to cool and I don't think it mattered and we also didn't blend it as we don't have a stick blender we just used a masher. We didn't have bacon so we fried some black forest ham and very thinly sliced some spring onions instead of chives. I didn't like theses cheese with it but the sour cream was great - we used half fat. 8 out of 10. Might become aregular this one, will definately make soups with parmesan rind in again.
Wednesday 4 January 2012
4th Jan 2012
This plan is off to a rocky start! Had to work late so got Mike to cook the recipe - Coq Au Vin from Bill's Basics which was really tasty 7 out of 10, he used 1kg chicken breasts with skin on because I don't like eating meat on the bone (yes I am a wimp) and used dried thyme as we had none fresh but I don't think that would have made much difference. I really love cooking but it is very nice to be cooked for!
Tuesday 3 January 2012
3rd Jan 2012
Tilapia fillets (skin on) marinated in lime juice for 20 mins then put in seasoned flour with thyme leave (recipe from the internet) then shallow fried for 2 mins each side served with corn on the cob and boiled rice mixed with salt, pepper, butter and boiled chopped green beans and spring onions. I feel healthier already.
Food shop is arriving tonight so will cook one of the recipes tomorrow night.
Monday 2 January 2012
2nd Jan 2012
Failed at the diet again - rubbish!
Nearly ordered pizza but have decided that home cooked food is much better (with a little persuasion from Mike) and decided to invent something out of what we had in which turned out very well. Sometimes when you think you have nothing in, a tasty pasta dish is hiding in the cupboard!
We chopped up some bacon and put it in the pan with a bit of olive oil for a few minutes then added chopped celery, and paprika for a few more minutes. The the end of a bottle of white wine, some thyme that was nearly dead, and some dried oregano. Next we added some leftover chopped peppers and mushrooms and the end of a jar of Jamie's chilli and garlic pesto. Once the veg had softened I added a couple of jars full of water then the end of a tub of Philadelphia and let this melt in. Next the end of some grated Cheddar and finally a couple of ladles full of the pasta water followed by the pasta with some black pepper and gave it all a good stir - done (yes Mike I'm glad we didn't get pizza in the end but do hate it when you are right).
Nearly ordered pizza but have decided that home cooked food is much better (with a little persuasion from Mike) and decided to invent something out of what we had in which turned out very well. Sometimes when you think you have nothing in, a tasty pasta dish is hiding in the cupboard!
We chopped up some bacon and put it in the pan with a bit of olive oil for a few minutes then added chopped celery, and paprika for a few more minutes. The the end of a bottle of white wine, some thyme that was nearly dead, and some dried oregano. Next we added some leftover chopped peppers and mushrooms and the end of a jar of Jamie's chilli and garlic pesto. Once the veg had softened I added a couple of jars full of water then the end of a tub of Philadelphia and let this melt in. Next the end of some grated Cheddar and finally a couple of ladles full of the pasta water followed by the pasta with some black pepper and gave it all a good stir - done (yes Mike I'm glad we didn't get pizza in the end but do hate it when you are right).
Sunday 1 January 2012
1st Jan 2012
Well I'm quite dissapointed in myself today, I have not cooked anything and have eaten pretty badly, maybe I was more hungover than I thought?
I had fruit juice, coffee and a bacon, egg and chilli ketchup English muffin for breakfast and another coffee and half a pizza for lunch. should I try to redeem myself at dinner or sod it and try harder tomorrow?
I am a failure on day 1.
Just had Chinese takeaway and Toblerone - tomorrow will be different!
One good thing I have done is tear out all the recipes I want to keep from all the food magazines I had (now in recycling bin) and am ready to organise into a scrap book. How to sort them though, just in a random order or by meat, fish etc or snacks, dinners, desserts?
I had fruit juice, coffee and a bacon, egg and chilli ketchup English muffin for breakfast and another coffee and half a pizza for lunch. should I try to redeem myself at dinner or sod it and try harder tomorrow?
I am a failure on day 1.
Just had Chinese takeaway and Toblerone - tomorrow will be different!
One good thing I have done is tear out all the recipes I want to keep from all the food magazines I had (now in recycling bin) and am ready to organise into a scrap book. How to sort them though, just in a random order or by meat, fish etc or snacks, dinners, desserts?
D-Day is here!
It's 2012 and I am more than ready to start eating healthily. Last night I had a glass of champagne (well maybe a tiny bit more than that), curry and all that goes with it, christmas chocolate and cheese and crakers, I ate so much I couln't sleep. But surprisingly I don't feel tired or hungover so a very good start to the year!
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