Boursin and Bacon Pasta

I'm not having the best of weeks, it was my weigh day yesterday and I managed to stay the same this week and that is pretty amazing considering the food thoughts I have been having and the treats I've allowed myself!  Like a lot of the UK population I am really fed up with the manky weather, it seems like the cold dampness has just been going on for too long now....seriously where are you spring???!!!   The weather is bringing me down, which in turn is making me lose some motivation, I feel like this is happening to a lot of people at the moment and any advice to conquer the gloom and boost motivation would be much appreciated!

My current motivation plan is trying to think about summer clothes! There are few material possessions I love more than a summer dress, so I'll keep that in the front of my mind, stop looking at cake on Pinterest and browse clothing instead! I'll let you know how it goes and hope I don't 'accidently' make and eat some muffins later!

So today I tried to expand my love affair with Boursin, someone suggested trying it with pasta and bacon - so I did.  Something to smile about is that Boursin light is only 1.5 syns per 25g so surely its an ideal ingredient  it created a creamy filling and flavourful dinner in the time it takes for pasta to boil, what more could I ask for!  Also maybe I need to get out more, but just using a new pasta shape excited me today....you gotta take what you can!

Boursin and Bacon Pasta

Pasta (I used 250g for 2.5 people)
100g Boursin light
Bacon
Splash of milk

Put your pasta to boil in a large pan of salted water
Whilst thats cooking cut your bacon into strips (fat removed dieters) and fry with some spray oil in a large pan
Once the bacon is cooked add the Boursin and melt over a low heat
Mix in a splash of milk and stir really well
Once your pasta is cooked add to the Boursin bacon mixture toss together and eat immediately

Slow Cooker Taco Chicken

So I think I have mentioned before how (pathetically) food can literally make or break a day for me, and yesterday my day was broken!  In 2 weeks its mine and Jons 5 year wedding anniversary, at this time of year I get sentimental and think a lot about our 'big day'.  We had sausage and mash as our wedding meal, I can't really tell you why, I like a sausage as much as the next person, but like is as far as I'll go.  Then there is the mash, which is the worst offender in my world of potato hatred, so all in all a pretty odd decision, maybe it was for the best though as I couldn't breathe in my wedding dress let alone eat!

So reminiscing about our wedding day meant that sausage and mash was on my meal plan for this week.  This is a real staple family meal for many, but for me (and I always seem to forget) it is my worst cooking nightmare, especially when I am on a diet.  When I am not, I buy mash and stick it in the microwave with frozen peas, I use sausages that I actually like and its a fairly quick tolerable meal.  Now when I'm dieting, I have to faff around peeling potatoes (THE WORST JOB) to make something I loathe so its syn free, I have to eat sausages that taste like cardboard, I decided to steam cabbage and make an onion gravy.  Basically everything was going on all at once and all of it on my small stove top, it was stressful, my tiny kitchen was making life difficult and I had a teething toddler weeping at my feet, needless to say it wont be repeated.

Right melodrama over, todays dinner was a triumph, and this meal always is. It is everything I love and instead of blathering on any more I will simply make a list of its fantastic qualities:

• It is very low budget
• It stretches expensive meat outrageously far
• It is extremely tasty
• It is extremely filling
• It is extremely versatile
• It has 6 ingredients
• It takes 1 minute to prepare
• It is ready when you want it
• Even the leftovers are great
• Everyone loves it
• Its mexican inspired, my absolute favourite

I could keep going but I have to go and get weighed!  Seriously try this it is amazing!

Slow Cooker Taco Chicken

2 Small chicken breasts

1 Tin kidney beans

1 Tin black eye beans

1 Tin tomatoes

1 Tin sweetcorn

1 sachet of taco seasoning (I like Old El Paso)

Simply empty all tins and sachet into slow cooker (drain the beans) and mix

Add the chicken breasts whole

Put slow cooker on high (I left mine for 5 1/2 hours) if you go out to work stick it on low, and maybe add half a tin of water

Half an hour before eating remove the chicken and shred it, mix it back in

Bada bing bada boom.  I dare you to find a quicker satisfying meal

Now to the versatility you could:

• Simply serve on its own or with rice
• Make burritos by loading tortillas with rice, this chicken, salsa, cheese, avocado, spring onions, sour cream and doritos (my personal favourite)
• Make into tacos soft or crunchy with salad and cheese
• Make into tostada pizzas

Really the possibilities are endless.  If you like your food really spicy, add some chopped chilli or extra chilli powder to the mix and it will be devine.

Leftover Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

I think I speak on behalf of the majority of the UK when I say that we are ready for Spring already. I have had the song 'Rainy days and Mondays' stuck in my head all day, its a Monday and its raining around here that means only on thing.....comfort food! I have a funny relationship with leftovers, well its not particularly funny I just don't like them. Leftovers make me edgy and mainly bored, I feel that a new day deserves a new food and I am also married to a human vacuum cleaner - so even if there could be food for two days, there will not be by the time Jon goes to bed. Roast chicken is my only exception, I love cold roast chicken its versatile and amazing. I have been craving chicken pie recently, and this was just the thing to satisfy that craving. I know its not the same, but this is full of the rich, filling and mellow goodness that chicken pie is made of AND its slimming world friendly - unlike puff pastry!

People seem to get a bit uptight about risotto, I think alot of that its based on the snobbery surrounding stock. By all means go ahead and make a killer stock using the bones from your roast, but frankly most of the time there just isn't enough hours in the day and you can buy great stock, I say get over it. I used oxo cubes today, and whilst I'm on the topic, has anyone else found that they are REALLY hard to crumble these days? Another way I'm going to offend risotto connoisseurs is by saying I don't add any parmesan. I find it makes it too rich, but its all about personal taste so stir in a handful of finely grated parmesan at the end if thats what floats your boat.

This made too much for 2.5 people it would have been great for 3 - 4. Also I usually add spinach, but I forgot to buy it!

Chicken and Mushroom Risotto

Butter (optional)
1 Onion
250g Arborio rice
1.5 - 2l Chicken stock
Chicken (however much you managed to save)
Big handful of mushrooms

Start by making up your stock, make about 2l - you may not need it all and you may need a little more. Check the flavour of your stock - basically if that tastes good your risotto will taste good
Chop the onion as finely as you can manage and fry over medium heat in a large frying pan with some spray oil, I used a tsp of butter for flavour - its your choice
Once the onion is transparent, add the rice to the pan and let it mingle with the onion
Now all you need to do is add the stock a cup at a time (as I get bored the quantity gets bigger!)
They key to risotto is just keep stirring.
When the rice has soaked up all the liquid add another cup About 15 minutes in, add the chicken and mushrooms
After about 20-25 minutes have a taste you are checking to see how cooked the rice is and to adjust seasoning
Just keep adding stock until you get the texture you like, (mine took 35 minutes) if you run out of stock just use hot water
Add spinach at this point, if you want, and let it wilt in

Once you are happy with the rice you can add parmesan (or not) and serve and enjoy!

One pan, Lemon Roast Chicken, Veggies and Hassleback potatoes

If Sundays were captured in a smell, it would surely be the scent of something roasting.  We often spend Sundays with my family, but today we are holed up at home keeping warm and dry and enjoying the blissful aromas of roasting chicken.  This is a simplified roast dinner because, like most people, I am of the opinion that my Mum makes the best roast dinner ever - so what is the point in even trying to match it?!

I love the one pan aspect too, because if Sunday was captured in an activity, washing up would be a top contender.  The vegetables and potatoes cook right along with the meat so you don't really have to worry about timings.  Whilst we are on the subject of potatoes, I have to admit that whilst I am not a picky eater at all I hate potatoes, its not just a mild dislike.....I loathe them.  With this loathing in mind, I constantly try to come up with new ways to cook them, just incase I stumble across one that I actually enjoy.  So many of the meals I make still use potatoes, and that is because Jon and Millie like them, but also I want to like them, and these come close.  I used to make them with olive oil, if you can have oil, go ahead and use it because it works great, but don't feel sad dieters spray oil works well too!

I used one medium chicken for 2.5 people so we can have leftovers tomorrow, I have left all the quantities open so you can tailor it for your family - just bear in mind how much vegetables shrink when roasted!

Lemon Roast Chicken

Whole Chicken
Lemon
Garlic
Small potatoes
Veggies of your choice I used:
Carrots
Red onions
Mushrooms
Courgettes

Pre heat oven to 180-200 degrees
Place your chicken in the centre of a large pan, cut the lemon in half and put into the cavity along with a whole head of garlic cut in half and beaten up a little
Chop your vegetables, thinking about their cooking time i.e. carrots take forever so keep them fairly small, keep mushrooms whole, red onions and courgettes chunky

For your potatoes, you need to make several cuts across the top of the potato,
Finely slice some garlic and poke pieces of it into the cuts
Surround the chicken with the veggies, potatoes and some crushed garlic and spray them all with oil or drizzle with olive oil

If have a large chicken, you may want to hold back the softer vegetables and add them about and hour from the end
Season everything well with salt and pepper and stick in the oven using the guidelines on the chicken packet
A few times in the cooking process baste everything with the juices
Allow the chicken to stand before carving, in that time you can return the pan to the oven to keep warm

Enjoy!

Meal Plan 18/3 - 24/3

Good morning!  I hope you are all having a good weekend, sorry there was no post yesterday I spent the day in London with my beautiful friend Kitty.  Kitty and I went to university together and we met at Giraffe on the Southbank which is right next to our campus and where we went with another beautiful friend when we first started at Kings College.  Apart from making some good friends, my university experience was overall a ridiculously stressful and extremely turbulent time in my life, which left me a quivering wreck.  With those memories in my mind, it was hallowing being back in a place so familiar, but on the flip side it was fantastic being back in such a dynamic and exciting part of brilliant London.  Everywhere you look there is great food to be eaten, and we certainly ate our fair share!  It is however a new day and a new week and I enjoyed my flexible day yesterday and looking forward to getting straight back to eating well this morning.

Here is this weeks meal plan, we are having roast chicken this afternoon (see post for how later) and using the leftovers tomorrow.  Other than that I have tried to keep things really simple and with a couple of great meals for when you have zero time.  Enjoy your Sunday xxx

Friday night treat; Banana and Chocolate 'Ice Cream'

Happy Friday!!   This week seems to have been endless at times but now its nearly done and its no cook Friday again!  Friday night is movie and take away night, I do like to make something to pick on later in the evening and today I have landed on banana 'ice cream', now these are big inverted commas, if you don't like bananas hit close now!

This idea is all over the place at the moment and first tried it out a couple of months ago and I have to say I was impressed.

Banana and Chocolate 'Ice Cream

Bananas
Hot Chocolate powder (Options/highlights)

Literally all you need to do is chop bananas into slices, and stick them in the freezer for 3 or more hours
Once frozen put the banana into a food processor and blitz
The bananas break into tiny shards and you need to keep scraping the sides down to push the chunks back in way of the blades

Eventually you get a smooth consistency, keep blitzing and it gets a smooth and light texture
Its very edible now but, I like to add a bit of chocolate powder to give it a real treat feel, there are loads of things you can add to make it more exciting, pretend its ice cream and add sauces or whatever you fancy

Since I first made this my freezer permanently has a bag of frozen bananas so we are always just a couple of minutes away from a sweet treat.   I would also recommend you use bananas that are fairly new, the more brown your bananas the more overpowering banana flavour. I also have to warn you if you are following slimming world, this is not a free food, because the banana has been altered you have to count it as syns, but do so in the happy knowledge that its still good for you!

Slow Cooker Sticky Balsamic Pork

Tonights dinner is a really new addition to our family, I only made it for the first time last week and it blew my mind.  I heart sticky sweet anything and this even better because it sits around in the slow cooker for ages.  I have been looking forward to eating this all day, and even when my day got pretty stressful the promise of this meal carried me through, yeah...thats quite sad!

Diet wise, the wouldn't be an obvious choice for many people as it does contain an eye watering amount of sugar but it should be well within your daily allowance of treats.  I am doing slimming world and the pork works out at about 6-7 syns for half this quantity, mainly down to the fact that pork fillet is so lean.  Speaking of quantity, this amount fed 2 starving and very greedy people! Original recipe from Lets Dish.

Sticky Balsamic Pork

350g Pork fillet

1-2 Cloves garlic

Salt 

1/2 cup water

-Glaze-

1/4 cup Light brown sugar

1 tsp Corn flour

2 tbsp Balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup Water

1 tbsp Soy sauce

Take your pork fillet and score with a knife, rub in crushed garlic with a good pinch of salt

Put pork into slow cooker with 1/2 cup water and set on low for 6 hours or high for 4, keep an eye on the water level, it can dry out

An hour from the end of the cooking time, combine all glaze ingredients in a pan, heat gently whilst stirring, it will get thicker

Pour out most of the cooking water, your pork will look kinda manky at this stage but don't panic

Over the last hour baste your pork several times, it should be falling apart by now and starting to look great

 

We had this with ribboned courgettes (zucchini).   To recreate, just hack at a couple of courgettes with a vegetable peeler making loads of ribbons, add to a hot pan with spray oil, pinch of salt and half clove garlic, keep it moving for about 5 -10 minutes and it should be ready to go

Loads of tomato sauce and weigh day!

Good morning everyone!  Wednesday is my weigh in day which is why there was no post yesterday, this week I kissed goodbye to another 2.5 pounds taking my total loss to 2 stone and 1/2 a pound.  I genuinely can't believe it, I'm trying to understand what has changed in my head to make this so successful this time, and I put a lot of it down to allowing myself treats and then eating normally again at the next meal, it really does work!

I had another treat today, lovely Jon looked after Millie and sent me out shopping when he got home from work.  This is the first time I have been shopping for absolutely ages, I walked into the shop in jeans I have never been able to fit in and I already felt great.  I was looking for a dress for a family party and immediately fell in love with one.  I dubiously tried it on and to my amazement it fit and even looked good, this is very rare for me!  I was totally elated, it makes all the adjustments I have made to my eating and exercise seem more worthwhile, and it proved to me that the scales weren't just broken! It reminded me of a quote from Kate Moss 'Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels', I am not nor have I ever been skinny, but I suddenly got where she is coming from, I felt amazing but I can't totally agree - clearly she hasn't been eating the right things....

I'm not someone that starves on weigh day but I don't go crazy and I save my dinner for after the weigh in, so my evening meal needs to be easily stuck into a box so I can munch through it at my group.  This means that Wednesday has become tomato sauce day.  I make tomato sauce in huge quantities and then defrost it and it the ultimate in versatility.  Today I added extra lean minced beef, grated carrot and mushrooms and had it with pasta so simple so tasty so quick.  I know this isn't a new idea but so many people rely on jars of tomato sauce and they can be calorific, this is just the freezer alternative!

My Tomato Sauce

3-4 large onions
5 fat cloves of garlic
Tomato Puree
8 tins of chopped tomatoes
1 carton passata
Salt and Pepper
Sugar

Chop onions as finely as you have patience and fry over medium heat with spray oil or olive oil  (if you are allowed)
Add a big pinch of salt now as it will stop the onions burning
Once translucent add the crushed/chopped garlic and fry for a minute or so
Add tomatoes, passata and a big squeeze of tomato puree
Turn the heat right down and leave to simmer for an hour, have a taste and season with salt and pepper, it may need sugar if so 1/2-1 tsp should do it
Leave for a further 20 minutes check seasoning again and leave to cool
Divide into freezer bags and you are prepared for anything!

Like I said this is SO versatile, I don't add any hers or spices at this time to ensure that it is really flexible.  You could add beans and chilli and mince of your choice to make chilli con carne, you could add loads of veggies to make ratatouille, the combinations of meat, vegetables, seasoning and accompaniments are endless as I'll show you over the next few weeks!

Stand by for the most amazing dinner tonight Sticky Balsamic pork!

Super Speedy King Prawn Linguini

Tonights dinner is our family's favourite meal.  I pretty much say that every evening, but for my husband Jon defiantly this is it (until tomorrow night).  We love a bit of chilli in the Steel household, I have to admit I find cooking with fresh chillis a bit daunting simply because you never really know how hot each chilli is.  I find they differ greatly even when they are the same type, I made this a few weeks ago and the chilli just tasted more like a pepper, I used 2 (seeds and all), tonight even though the chilli looked exactly the same, it would have blown my head off if I used that much.  Luckily for me, I am married to a man who could eat a whole raw scotch bonnet without any reaction apart from enjoyment, so I have him test each chilli and heat rate them so I know how much to put in.

This meal is very simple and obviously the prawns are the star but with so few ingredients it is really important that you use good linguini, DeCecco is my favourite.  I used a bit of olive oil for the flavour and to give the pasta a beautiful gloss, before these diet days I would have used butter as well for added flavour, so those are your options, choose wisely!!

King Prawn Linguini

Raw King Prawns (200g for 2+toddler worked great)
Red Chilli(s) dependant on heat  1 - 2
2 fat cloves of garlic
Olive oil
Glass of White Wine
Squeeze of Lemon
Linguini

Start by boiling your linguini in a big pot of boiling salted water
Whilst that is cooking, test your chilli and finely chop along with the garlic
Heat olive oil over a medium heat and once hot add garlic and chilli, cook for a few minutes making sure the garlic doesn't burn.
Add wine with a good pinch of salt and turn the heat up
Check your pasta, it should be nearly done
Chuck the prawns into the pan with the chilli garlic and wine with a little squeeze of lemon, drain pasta
The second the prawns have turned pink get the pan off the heat, add the pasta and combine
Serve and enjoy immediately.  We have extra chilli chopped on the table to add if it needs more of a kick

Hope you enjoy it as much as we do! Tomorrow I am getting ahead and filling my freezer with versatile tomato sauce, see you then!

Boursin Chicken Kievs

Monday is a funny old day, it is impossible to get up and you have to kiss the beautiful weekend goodbye, but it is also a fresh start, an opportunity to have an even better week than the one before.  I find that on Mondays I do all the things that in my mind an exceptional housewife does, I clean, I organise, I sit and give quality time to Millie playing games that will expand her in every way, I put great effort into our dinner and welcome my husband home with a percolator of coffee.  It doesn't matter that by Tuesday the house is in chaos and I recline in my pyjamas flicking through Pinterest whilst Millie stares at a wall...on Mondays I am virtuous.  Dinner on a Monday normally goes one of two ways, it is either very quick and easy pasta because I am so busy being domesticated, or I try out something new.

There is nothing ground breaking about this dinner, but there is something special about breaded chicken.  Its crispy on the outside and in the middle its the oozy, creamy, garlicy magic or Boursin.  All in all a great family meal that you can whip up when you have a second, and stick in the oven 40ish mintues before you want to eat, perfect.

Boursin Chicken Kievs

Chicken Breasts
Boursin cream cheese (I used light)
Wholemeal bread
1 Egg

Start by making your breadcrumbs in the food processor (I used 2 pieces of bread for 2 breasts)
Make a cavity in the chicken breast, as big as you can without going right through
Cram as much boursin in as you can manage (25g fit perfectly) and squeeze together tightly
Spray a baking sheet with spray oil
Beat an egg in a shallow bowl and carefully coat the chicken with the egg before dipping it into the breadcrumbs
Put your crumby chicken onto the baking sheet with the cut side up

Stick into a oven pre heated to about 180 -200 degrees for around 30 - 40 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
We had our with really crispy (well, burnt) home made potato wedges and green beans

We loved it, hope you do too!  Tomorrow we are having the extra fast and delicious king prawn linguini...get excited!

Cupcakes and being bad to be good!

This is my second mothers day as a mother, and I'm still trying to work out what makes a perfect mothers day for me.  Second to going to a spa by myself for the day, (with help from Jon and obviously) I've landed on breakfast in bed and cup cakes for lunch!  What really surprised me is how much I enjoyed making them.  I love cooking, but there are 2 greater loves for me and they are casually baking and singing so I cranked up my music sang and baked my way into contentment.

I knew I was allowing myself a sweet treat this weekend, and all week I have been trying to decide what that should be, cake, cookies, brownies....it was quite the dilema! When I landed on cupcakes, the problem wasn't over, should I stick with simple but mindblowing vanilla, or get more adventurous, in the end I did both!

I can't take any credit for the cake recipe I used.  When I cook, I add a little or lot of whatever I fancy but when it comes to baking, its much more important to follow recipes and measure carefully.  I love the Hummingbird Bakery basic vanilla cupcake recipe and used that for the base of all the cakes, then got a little more creative.

Lemon Meringue Cupcakes

12 cup cakes

Lemon curd (I bought mine)

4 egg whites

1/4 cup cold water

1.5 cups caster sugar

Bit of lemon

Bit of lemon juice

Gouge a hole in the top of each cake and fill with lemon curd

Put a large bowl over a pan of simmering water, make sure the bottom of the bowl doesn't touch the water

Wipe the inside of the bowl with a slice or lemon to remove any grease that may be lurking

Into the bowl put egg whites, sugar, water

All you need to do is whisk with an electric whisk for 10 - 15 minutes on high

Keep tasting it (like you would be able to resist) I found it eye wateringly sweet (du'h) and decided to add a little lemon juice to take the edge off

Once the mixture is extremely stiff, remove from the heat and beat some more until it has pretty much cooled

Pipe onto your cupcakes, go at them with a blow torch if you have one or stick them under the gril to brown a little.  My pictures are pre browned, I plan to steal my Mums blow torch this afternoon and will post pictures of their bronzed beauty.

Sometimes I feel like you have to be bad in order to be good, give yourself a treat so you don't feel deprived, enjoy it 100% and then get on with your next healthy meal! Enjoy! 

Meal Plan 11/3 - 17/3

Happy mothers day!!  I hope all you mothers are having a relaxing and luxurious morning, I was woken up with a cup of tea, a lovely breakfast and an excited toddler! I always plan our weeks food on a Sunday morning so that is when I'll upload our meal plan.  I'll tell you how I make each meal in the evening, hope you like it!

Leek and Potato Soup (Comfort in a Bowl)

The long transition between winter and spring always puts me in need of some comforting food, and nothing is better at warming the soul than soup.  Leeks are in season AND half price in Sainsburys at the moment, which is great news for me as leek and potato soup is my all time favourite.  However exciting spicy and highly flavoured food is, there is a lot to be said for the mellow, subtle flavours of this soup, it is unapologetically simple and it hugs you from the inside!  There is no stock so you are really relying on the natural flavours of the few ingredients you use, the absolute key is seasoning, salt turns it from a watery mush, to a delicately flavourful delight.   I use butter in this as it adds a really lovely low rich flavour, and this recipe makes about 4 - 6 servings so you aren't eating loads.  If you are worried about the calories, you can use cooking spray instead.

Leek and Potato Soup

Butter (about 1 tbsp)
1 large onion
3 leeks
2 bigish potatoes
(like I said really simple!)

Roughly chop your onion and sautee in the butter over a medium heat
Whilst onion is cooking chop the potatoes into cubes (I don't peel them) and cut leeks, length wise first then into 1-2cm chunks
Once the onion is soft, add the leeks and potatoes and let them cook down into the buttery goodness for 10-15 minutes

Turn the heat right up and add boiling water until the vegetables are just covered
Bring to the boil, turn the heat on low, cover and leave to simmer for 30-45 minutes
Leave to cool down before you blitz with a hand blender
Once the soup is at the consistency you like, its seasoning time, Start with a big pinch of salt stir well and taste, you may need to do this several times, remember you can't take it out if you over do it!

Enjoy!

Baked Onion Bhaji's

Its Friday hooray!!  Even though I don't work, and very little changes for me at the weekend, I still can't shake the joy that comes with a Friday and I wouldn't want to! Friday evening is a hallowed time in our house, its anticipated and enjoyed.  Once Millie is in bed at 7 Jon and I get take away or some other non home cooked treat, we watch a movie and generally hang out with our reclining sofa.  There is one obstacle however, Movie watching requires snacks, snacks are a potential diet danger zone.  These little onion bhajis fit the bill nicely though, they are flavourful and moreish and fill the Dorito shaped hole in our evening.  They also are great served with the chicken tikka made earlier in the week.

There are a couple of ways you can make these, this recipe uses mashed potato, you can use shop bought mash to cut out the boring peeling, boiling and mashing (I think aunt bessies frozen is amazing!).  Your other option is to switch the potato for a can of chick peas pureed in a food processor, I however find using the chick peas gives you more of a gritty texture, but it is quicker if you can't used ready made mash.

Baked Onion Bhajis

300g ish mashed potato (2-3 medium potatoes)
2 large onions
1 egg
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp ground corriander
1/2 tsp mild chilli powder
1/2 tsp garlic powder
salt

Pre heat oven to 200 degrees
Peel and boil potatoes, leave to dry out for a few minutes before mashing, so the bhajis aren't soggy
Whilst potatoes are boiling cut onions in to thin half moons, spray frying pan with spray oil and fry slowly until they are a golden brown colour about 10 minutes
Leave the mash and the onions to cool down for a few minutes then combine in a bowl with the egg, spices and a good pinch of salt
Get your hands in and make sure all the ingredients are incorporated well
If you can bare the wait, leave the mixture in the fridge for a bit to firm up,  I was impatient and is was very messy shaping them!
Spray a baking tray with oil and shape the mixture into little balls

--------The size you make them will depend on your crispiness to stodge preference, mine were about the size of a golf ball but smaller I think would be better---------

Spray the bhaji balls with a little more oil and cook for around 20/25 minutes, turning in the middle if you have the inclination (I always forget!)

Eat whilst hot with sweet chilli sauce or more authentically, mango chutney

These would be easy to make in bulk and would freeze well, then you will only ever be a few short minutes from oniony goodness! I hope you enjoy them!  

And they were gone as quickly as they came!!

Molten Cheddar Burger

I am a huge fan of burgers in all their glorious forms.  From gourmet to fast food, and everything in between I love these hearty and occasionally questionable lumps of meat.  I have noted (from the outrageous number of food programmes I watch), that the makings of a great burger is a hot topic amongst chefs at the moment.  Do you keep them simple, or add a load of flavours, do you go for beef or venture out into other meats or even vegetables and beans.  These partcular burgers are simple and delicious, and I feel that once you have mastered a really good burger base you can move on to brighter and more adventurous ingredients.

The fat content of burgers is important, fat gives flavour and juiciness.   If you have space for a little extra beef fat in your life you go for it, and use regular mince (fat content around 20%), I however am on a diet, and use mince that is either lean (less than 12% fat) or extra lean (less than 5%).  My personal preference is usually towards lean, but as I am stuffing these little lovelies with a load of cheese I have chosen extra lean today as the cheese will give extra flavour and amazingness!

Molten Cheddar Burgers

500g beef mince (your choice of fat content)
1 egg
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
salt
pepper
1 onion
60g (ish) extra mature cheddar cut into small cubes

Put mince into a large bowl, add the egg, worcester sauce and seasoning
Peel an onion and grate on a coarsely
Add the onion to your bowl and roll up your sleeves, with clean hands squish the mixture until totally combined
This amount makes 4 huge or 6 more modest burgers....the choice is yours!
Divide mixture into 4 or 6 balls and split the balls in half

Flatten one half out, put some cheese cubes in the middle and top with the other half (see photo)

Squeeze the patties tight, (especially with extra lean meat) to prevent crumbly burgers
Refrigerate for as long as you have 1 hour+ is best
To cook, heat your pan to a high heat, spray with cooking spray or olive oil and hear the burgers sizzle, turn heat down after 5 minutes
Be extremely careful as you flip the burgers
Cooking time depends on size around 15 - 20 minutes
Serve with bread and toppings of your choice, enjoy!

Chicken Tikka

For me Indian spices are as good as it gets!  This chicken is packed with flavour and warmth and is the perfect example of how a good 'diet' meal doesn't have to compromise on punch.  It can be made as spicy or mild as you like and is extremely versatile.

Chicken Tikka

6 boneless chicken thighs
1 tbsp lemon juice
120g fat free natural yoghurt
3 fat garlic cloves
10g grated root ginger
1/2 tsp mild chilli powder (or to taste, this gives flavour without too much fire)
1 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp salt

In a large bowl mix all the marinade ingredients, taste to check for the heat of the chili (it is very salty at this stage, don't panic)
Remove any excess fat from the chicken thighs and cut into large chunks
Add chicken to the marinade, cover and put in the fridge overnight, or as long as possible
Pre heat oven to 200 degrees, spray baking tray and chicken with spray oil and cook for 20-25 minutes or until chicken is cooked through
Finish the chicken under a hot grill, traditionally it should be charred nicely, but watch it carefully so it dosen't end up like a lump of coal!

This chicken could be served with any number of accompaniments  We ate it (as pictured below) as a lettuce wrap with shredded cucumber, red onion and tomato, natural yoghurt and sweet chilli sauce.  I also made some onion bhajis, the flavour was spot on but the texture needs work, but watch this space they are coming!

My Food Philosophy

So here is my first ever post!  As you may come to notice, I am the most disorganised person you are ever likely to meet, there is however one thing that I have to control and that is, you guessed it.....food!  I am an obsessive food day-dreamer, and from that comes my ability to organise my food! One of the reasons I decided to start this blog was when a number of friends asked me to help them with their weekly meal planning.  My own weekly food plan is what I live my life by (I know its sad), it hangs in pride of place in our kitchen, and fills each day with the promise of an enticing meal once we have faced whatever the day will throw at us.  Ever since I got married, which is nearly 5 years ago, I have organised our food the same every week.  Sunday morning finds me, wearing pyjamas and sipping a cup of tea and food planning, I choose meals (that I have been dreaming of) and order everything I'll need online to arrive on the next day.  Over the last 5 years, my husband and I have faced some dizzyingly high highs and devastatingly low lows, and melodramatic as it may seem, knowing that our evening meal is sorted was such a great comfort.  Through the madness of having a baby, moving house and family illnesses my planner has stood like a beacon of hope.  Is food a comfort? Stupid question, for me, defiantly yes!

My beloved meal planner

The quality and variety of the food we eat can take a real battering from what life throws at us, and the most common three barriers in my house are; lack of money, lack of time and diets.  Like many families with small children we survive on one salary, and our food budget is strict.  On the flip side, one of the benefits of being one salaried is that I am at home in the day so I can pick the times when Millie is napping or happily occupied to get cooking.  Right now time is a luxury I do have but I remember all too well the stress of finishing work late and having to produce a minor miracle and get some food on a plate at the end of a long day.  

The last barrier is the dreaded D word!  Dieting is something that many cooks are contending with, and it is food whilst dieting that I feel most passionately about.   It is this that my main focus will be on, as it is the most relevant to me. No surprise that my love of food has led to me needing to lose a considerable amount of weight!  I am currently dieting and to my own surprise am still enjoying a huge variety of tasty and filling foods.  This is the second reason I wanted to start a blog, I feel that all too often people feel they need to lower their standards when trying to eat healthily or diet and end up compromising the meals they eat. I believe that you can have serious culinary treats and still lose weight.  I also think that people who use food as a comfort (like me) will be fighting a losing battle by trying to banish that habit,  and it is my opinion that you can embrace the comforting aspect of food without compromising your diet too much.    I'll share my plans and recipes with you, and hopefully inspire you along the way!