Chicken satay

Sorry I haven't posted on here in a while, been a bit busy! I have recently been experimenting with a few Jamie Oliver recipes, mixing and matching with some from other books, and I came across one for his 30 Minute Meals collection. Now, if you are an avid reader of my blog you may have noticed I am not a huge fan of this collection, but my parents often make his satay recipe, and I have to say it's delicious! I've adapted the recipe a bit, but thought I would share this as it is super quick and simple and packs a major flavour punch (as Jamie would say!)

I make the satay in a food processor but you could make it chunky and do it by hand, use whatever you have available!

Makes 4 servings

For the satay sauce

• Small bunch of fresh coriander,
• 1 fresh red chilli,
• Clove of garlic,
• 3 heaped tablespoons peanut better (good quality if available),
• Soy sauce,
• Thumb sized piece of ginger (I like it gingery),
• Juice of 2 limes

Cut up 4 chicken breasts into bite size pieces and pour the satay sauce over them, using your hands to coat the chicken. 

Thread these onto skewers and pop under the grill, until they are cooked (keep an eye on them as the satay tends to burn quickly)

I serve these with a simple noodle salad with some coriander sprinkled on top!

Enjoy xxx

Table for one please...

I've found this past week quite difficult, as the boyfriend is away with work I've struggling with what to eat (anyone that knows me, knows that food is my first thought in the morning, and my final thought before I go to sleep). Cooking for one is depressing, so I thought i'd share a few tips with you all!

1) Use it as an opportunity to eat food your partner doesn't like. I use my boyfriend being away as an opportunity to eat veggies. I've pretty much eaten vegetarian this week, plus it helps with the weight-loss!

2) See your family and friends! When your in a long term relationship its easy to be so wrapped up with each other, you forget about your loved ones. I use it as opportunity to see my friends one evening, even if its just for a drink or dinner. I also try and see my parents, its a bit more difficult now they have moved away, but suggest meeting half way! And, they may pay for dinner, hint, hint Mum and Dad, for when you get back from Florida!!!

3) Use meals for one. Most people think packaged meals are a waste of time and don't taste nice, but I have recently found some good ones! Marks and Spencers Fuller for Longer range has some good options, their Thai green chicken curry is delicious, and the Singapore noodles are amazing. I also like Covent Garden soup, there are a range of flavours, and are only about 300 calories for a full pot. Plus, they don't break the bank.

4) Most supermarkets now do some sort of meal for two deals, I like to get these in advance and then freeze the second portion, great for when you've had a late night at work!

If anyone else has any good ideas for meals for one, then please let me know!

Twitter

I have decided to create a Twitter account for the blog... @15minutemeals Ill be putting links up to the blog with photos and lots of other cool stuff. So, please follow xxx

Lamb Kofte

Mid-week meals are always a bit tricky, you want to eat well, but don't want to spend hours preparing a meal, so what do you do? I would gladly take advice from anybody that can manage this for 5 days in the week, but throughout this journey I think I've cracked it! Without breaking the bank! Yes, you have to buy quite a few new ingredients, but i'm now using these in most of my meals, even ones which I'm not using the recipes for.

This meal I found was great, because I had all of the ingredients already, meat in the freezer, rice in the cupboard, spices in the spice rack, I didn't need to buy anything. So off I delved into the world of middle eastern cooking, And I found this was one of the easiest dishes to make, I changed the cous-cous to brown rice, as my boyfriend doesn't like it, and added a bit of lemon. The best part is it only took 15 minutes :) . I enjoyed the aspect of stuffing the pittas with all of the lamb and adding some yogurt and rice, and just eating an easy, laid back meal, that looked like I spent hours making it.

The lamb is also so versatile, these could easily be made as a canape at a dinner party, or a starter to be shared with friends, it wasn't extremely spicy but packed in lots of flavour.

I urge you all to make these ASAP!!!

Chicken Fajitas

Hi Everyone,

Sorry I haven't posted anything since December, been super busy! Spent Christmas and New Year in Australia, which was the most amazing experience, I don't think I can put into words just how exceptional it was. I had some unusual food, such as Kangaroo burgers and fillet, and soft shell crab, which was delicious. Enough about my holiday lets get down to the nitty gritty...

I'm a huge fan of Mexican food, but never enjoy it when I eat out, so enjoy cooking it at home. I usually use a kit from the supermarket, but I don't think I will be anymore. I made a few adjustments to the usual recipe such as the salsa as I couldn't find most of the ingredients, so found a different recipe, which was still great! I also couldn't find any sweet smoked paprika (is normal smoked paprika okay?) so instead I used a mix of different spices, which worked really well.

Cooking the chicken breasts whole, as opposed to thinly slicing them beforehand, made them so juicy, even though it does add a bit extra cooking time, I will most definitely be doing it this way next time. I was a bit unsure about the rice, as I usually just cook fajitas, but I found the rice was a welcome addition to the dish, and wasn't bland at all, as the lemon juice gave it a bit of zing, which was delicious!

Overall, if you are looking for a alternative to your usual bland chicken fajitas, than look no further, this is the recipe for you!

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.