Sausage Casserole

I've been meaning to blog this one for a week or two but have been prompted into doing it now as I am currently making it for tonight's tea - no time like the present then!

I'm not sure where I found this recipe but it's very tasty and perfect for chilly evenings. You can serve the casserole with pretty much anything that takes your fancy - rice, bread, pasta or my personal favourite, mashed potato.

When I first made this I was a little hesitant as it's quite tomato-based and Himself is not really a fan of tomato heavy food but it's got such a lovely flavour, the tomato isn't that overpowering. The Bambino's weren't so keen which was strange considering they have an obsession with sausages - they do tend to be creatures of habit though and I think second time around it will go down easier, they just weren't used to seeing their beloved sausages all chopped and smothered in sauce.

This recipe serves 4 (*ahem* dwarves) and is very good as leftovers the next day.

Ingredients

8 good quality pork sausages, cut into bite size pieces
tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
handful of chestnut mushrooms, sliced
4 sundried tomatoes, chopped
175ml red wine
500g tub of passata
1tsp sugar
1/2 tsp paprika
handful of chopped basil

Method

Gently fry the sausages in a large pan in the olive oil until cooked through and golden brown.

Remove the sausage and keep to one side. In the same pan fry the onion and garlic until softened. After 5 minutes or so add the peppers, mushrooms and sundried tomatoes and cook or a further few minutes then return the sausages to the pan.

Turn the heat up high, add the red wine and cook for a few minutes to reduce slightly.

Add the passata, sugar, basil and paprika and simmer for 30 minutes.

Season to taste and serve with your preferred accompaniment!

Our wedding highlights

Blue Cheese Stroganoff

Someone somewhere mentioned in passing "Blue Cheese Stroganoff" and something in me went "mmmmmmmmm why have I never had that before?!" so off I went and duly Googled until I found a recipe.

I cooked this last night - I very nearly didn't as it had been a long day at work and then a troublesome bedtime with the children so it was nearly an emergency Chinese night but I decided, no, there's rump steak in the fridge and it must not be wasted! So I made it and was a little apprehensive that Himself wouldn't like it (he can be a little fussy at times) but what's not to like - it was absolutely delish, even if my rice did go a little sticky.

This recipe is definitely a keeper and will be made again and again I am sure, even maybe just as a sauce to go on a steak. It was so tasty I could've licked the plate!

This recipe serves 1 but obviously easily doubled, tripled, quadrupled.....

Ingredients

1 tsp olive oil
75g rump steak, sliced into strips
1/4 red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, finely sliced
50ml hot chicken stock
1 tsp white wine vinegar
100ml double cream
50g blue cheese, crumbled
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the beef strips and fry until browned.

Add the onion and garlic and fry for 2-3 minutes until softened.

Add the hot chicken stock, bring to the boil and deglaze the pan by stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.

Add the white wine vinegar, cream and blue cheese. Boil to reduce the liquid volume by half, then season to taste with salt and pepper.

And voila! you are done. It's immensely easy and just so tasty.

Missing in action....

So I realised that it's been a while since I have updated my blog and I apologise profusely if anyone is still out there reading. I've had a very busy few months with children starting pre-school & nursery and GETTING MARRIED! Yes, he finally made an (almost) decent woman of me.

Anyway, I'm back ready to blog again, it's taken me a while to work up the enthusiasm but never fear I have been photographing my dinners in earnest so have a small backlog to catch up with in the next day or so.

Love to all x

Jamie Oliver's Mini Shell Pasta

Keeping in with the spirit of Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food, I am going to do as he asks - learn a recipe and pass it on!

I made the "Mini Shell Pasta with a Creamy Smoked Bacon and Pea Sauce" for the first time tonight after looking for yet another quick and easy tea that I can knock up after work. It looked simple and easy and it was, and surprisingly tasty seeing as the ingredients are very basic.

I really enjoyed this, as did Himself and it will definitely be one I make over and over again so I recommend it to you all to try! The recipe serves 4-6 but is easily halved. Jamie suggests serving it with a simply dressed green salad, I however served it with some yummy garlic bread!

and to save me the hassle of typing the recipe up - Jamie has kindly provided it on the Ministry of Food website!

Mini Shell Pasta with a Creamy Smoked Bacon and Pea Sauce Recipe

PS I didn't have any mini shells so I just used big ones!

Easy Chicken Caesar Salad

I made this salad for a quick and easy tea last week. I love Caesar salad but it's just not something I ever make, or even choose to eat when we go out so I thought it would make a nice change. This was so simple but really tasty, it went down very well with Himself and I know it will be something I will make time after time.

Making croutons was a revelation - that sounds very stupid, I know but it's just not something I've done before but now I'd never buy shop bought again. Tesco didn't have any Cos lettuce so I used Iceberg and it worked just fine and I've always been a little scared of anchovies but I faced my fear and really, the dressing wouldn't have been the same without them.

You could adapt this recipe as you wish - it's not necessary to top with bacon and of course you could make a vegetarian version. This recipe was meant to serve 4 but as a main meal I'd say it serves 2 hungry people!

Ingredients

1 medium ciabatta loaf
3 tbsp olive oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
1 large cos lettuce, leaves separated
6 rashers streaked smokey bacon

For the dressing;

1 garlic clove, crushed or minched
2 anchovies from a tin
medium block parmesan for grating and shaving
5 tbsp mayonnaise
1 tbsp white wine vinegar

Method

Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Tear the bread into big, ragged croutons and spread over a large baking sheet or tray and sprinkle over 2 tbsp olive oil. Rub the oil into the bread and season with a little salt if you like. Bake for 8-10 mins, turning the croutons a few times during cooking so they brown evenly.

Rub chicken breasts with remaining oil and season. Place pan over a medium heat for 1 min, until hot, but not smoking. Lay the chicken on the pan and leave for 4 mins. Turn the chicken, then cook for 4 mins more. Check if it's cooked by poking the tip of a sharp knife into the thickest part; there should be no sign of pink and juices will run clear.

Meanwhile, grill or fry 6 rashers bacon until very crisp and leave to cool.

Mash the anchovies with a fork against the side of a small bowl. Grate a handful of cheese into the bowl and mix with garlic, mayonnaise and vinegar. Season to taste. The dressing should be the consistency of yogurt - if it comes out thicker, stir in a few tsps water to thin it.

Shave the cheese with a peeler. Tear lettuce into large pieces and put in a large bowl. Pull chicken into bite-size strips and scatter half over the leaves, along with half the croutons. Add most of the dressing and toss with your fingers. Break the bacon into bite-size pieces and toss through the salad along with the rest of the chicken and croutons, then drizzle with the remaining dressing. Sprinkle the parmesan on top and serve straight away.

It really is that simple. I didn't get far mashing anchovies so I decided to pull out the Kenwood Mini Chopper and whacked the anchovies and garlic in there so it was truly minced! That thing is definitly one of my favourite kitchen items. It's perfect for small kitchen jobs and I'd recommend it to anyone.

Salmon and Lemon Risotto

Himself and I have decided that we ought to eat more fish. Generally speaking, outside of fishcakes, a tuna sandwich or haddock from the chip shop fish doesn't really feature in our diets much. I therefore thought I would try this risotto from BBC Good Food. It looked simple and tasty and had good reviews (note; I always read the reviews on BBC Good Food before cooking anything. Not only to find out if it is any good but also because people leave helpful advice on how they would change or adapt the recipe).

The main problem is an error in the recipe. it simply states 1 and a half boiling vegetable stock. Err, one and a half what?! I had no idea if we were talking pints or litres. I'd guess litres as normally the recipes say "ml" but in the end because I used less arborio rice I settled on two pints which worked well.

All in all this recipe was good, nice flavour which tasted better the more lemon juice I added. I only added lemon zest to the risotto and sliced up the lemon to serve with the meal, that way you could as much or as little lemon as you like. Himself gave it an 8.5 out of 10 so not too shabby even though initially he turned his nose up when told what he was having for tea!

Recipe serves 4.

Ingredients

1 onion, finely chopped
2 tbsp olive oil
350g risotto rice
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1.5 litres boiling vegetable stock
170g pack smoked salmon, three-quarters chopped
85g mascapone lite
3 tbsp flat-leaf parsley,
chopped grated lemon zest, plus squeeze of lemon juice
Handful rocket

Method

Fry the onion in the oil for 5 mins. Add the rice and garlic, then cook for 2 mins, stirring continuously. Pour in a third of the stock and set the timer to 20 mins.

Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the stock has been absorbed, then add half the rest of the stock and carry on cooking, stirring a bit more frequently, until that has been absorbed.

Pour in the last of the stock, stir, then simmer until cooked and creamy.

Take from the heat and add the chopped salmon, mascarpone, parsley and lemon zest. Grind in some black pepper, but don't add salt as the salmon will be salty enough.

Leave for 5 mins to settle, then taste and add a little lemon juice if you like. Serve topped with reserved salmon (roughly torn) and some rocket.