Golden Chicken with Potato Gratin

I feel this recipe needs a bit of an advisory warning with it, as its a bit hectic to begin with, and unless you have a big stove, you will not be able to make this effectively. I ended up with 2 pans on the hobs and a roasting tray, plus the grill on, so beware, juggling is a necessity with this dish.

So far, this recipe has taken the longest to make, but at 28 minutes, is still under half an hour, and as it was so delicious I cant really complain. The chicken was juicy, and the smoked bacon added another flavour to it, and I couldn't believe I made a potato gratin in a short amount of time, which actually tasted amazing. This is a must make for any family looking a mid week kinda roast!

The last few weeks that I've been cooking these recipes I've noticed a major issue with the book: there are no timings given. This is fine if, like me, you have watched the episodes on TV, it is clear what the timings should be, but I'm sure not everyone has watched these, so it must be confusing. If anyone who is reading this would like the timings let me know and ill try to add them to each of my posts!

Chilli Con Carne meatballs.

The genius here is to disassemble chilli con carne’s parts (spiced meat, cumin, beans, tomatoey sauce) and cook each part separately. This way you get a “best of” chilli with all the things you love but in a fraction of the time.

I decided to make this dish on a weekday when frankly I was tired and couldn't be bothered, but I persevered  and to be honest, was disappointed. There are lots of changes I think I would make, I definitely enjoyed the meatballs, and would keep these, but the sauce was missing a few elements which I usually enjoy in a chilli con carne. 

I found it quite mild, and coming from a family where unless you're sweating, it's not hot enough! I would be adding some more heat next time, and would also be swapping the smoked paprika, as I wasn't overly keen on the smokey flavour, as it tasted artificial. 

However, I did enjoy the bulgar wheat which was an excellent alternative to rice, it felt much lighter and didn't sit on your stomach and make me feel bloated like rice can do. 

If you enjoy a mild smokey chilli this one is for you.

Chicken laksa

Right, I got in a bit of a mess making this one! In the space of half an hour i went from cooking for two people to six people, and making something for the first time for that amount of people, is not what I wanted to do on a Sunday evening. But I powered through, and eventually conquered. I was so surprised how easy it was for this to come together, I tried to be organised, but I have to say it did look like bomb had gone off in the kitchen once id finished.

One downside was the butternut squash... it broke my grater attachment on my food mixer!!! Was not impressed, but that wasn't going to stop me. I also had to use normal noodles instead of rice noodles, as the supermarket didn't have any, but it still tasted delicious, I think you could also do it with rice, however it would be a bit sloppy!

As he used the same chicken as with a couple of other recipes I found it quick and easy to cook, so could quickly get on with other parts of the dinner. Overall, I was very impressed with the flavours from the laksa, when you only used a few ingredients, and will certainly be making this one again.

Glazed Pork Fillet with Cajun Style Rice and BBQ Sauce

I saw this recipe on the TV show a few weeks ago, and wasn't particularly fussed about making this one, I'm not a fan of pork, but due my boyfriends persuasion I decided to make it.

This, so far, have been one of the easiest meals to make. Like with most of these recipes, unless you are organised, don't bother to be frank! Its all about multi-tasking, while something is cooking, get on with the next thing. And the main thing I have discovered while cooking from the book is, you need to have a tidy kitchen, without this, you can double your cooking time easily.

The rice was delicious, it had some heat from the paprika and the lemon makes it so fresh, while normally brown rice can be a bit bland this transforms it into something completely new. While I was dubious about making my own bbq sauce, this was sweet and sticky while having a nice hum from the garlic. Don't think I will ever be buying bbq sauce again! The pork was so tender, with the brown sticky outside and juicy white inside when you cut it up, this would be perfect on the bbq, or instead of fillet use ribs.

Cant wait to make this one again!

(I did take a picture, but It doesn't do it justice, so I wont post it)