Southwestern Pinto Bean Salad

This salad is kind of Tex-Mex I guess, Southwestern covers Texas anyway and it definitely feels a bit Mexican to me! It is lovely and colourful and brightened up the grey day outside. It was really simple to make all it really involved was a little bit of chopping. The orginal recipe uses black beans but I only had pinto beans so used those instead. I had it for lunch and it was really good with a packet of tortilla chips! You could also serve it as a side dish or in smaller quantities as an appetizer to go with drinks.

Southwestern Pinto Bean Salad (adapted from Skinny Taste)
(Serves 4)

1 400g can pinto beans, rinsed and drained
2 ears of corn, roasted or grilled and then shucked
2 medium tomatoes, chopped
1 small red onion, chopped
2 spring onion, chopped
 juice of 1 1/2 - 2 limes
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp coriander, finely chopped
salt and pepper
1 avocado, diced

In a large bowl, mix together the beans, corn, tomato, onion, spring onions, coriander, salt and pepper.

Squeeze over the lime juice to taste and stir in olive oil. Marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes. Add avocado just before serving.

Fish Pie

I love fish pie, it reminds me of childhood and being at home as it's what my Mum always makes when there's going to be a crowd and her fish pie is delicious. When I asked her for the recipe she said she just does it by feel, she's been making it so long! So I kind of created one of my own using measurements for the bechamel sauce from a macaroni cheese recipe I was making at the same time!

Fish Pie is one of those warming dishes and definitely what I need with this nip in the air at the moment. It's also such a versatile dish, you can use any fish, but the smokiness of the smoked haddock just adds a little something extra, you could also leave out the mustard or use a different type. I threw in some extra veg (cabbage and leek) to the fish bechamel mixture but it's just as good without it. I also added in the spinach to the mash. I do like my veggies!

Fish Pie
(Serves 2)

200g potatoes, peeled
butter
milk
50g spinach, wilted

350ml milk
25g butter
25g plain flour
1 tsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
1 salmon fillet, cut into chunks
1 smoked haddock fillet, cut into chunks
80g cooked king prawns

Preheat the oven to 180C.

Cut the potatoes into chunks and place in a pan of water, bring the pan to the boil and cook the potatoes for 15-20 mins until soft. Drain and return to the pan. Mash the potatoes with some butter and a little milk. Stir through the spinach.

Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan and stir in the flour, cook for a minute to cook out the flour and then add the milk  a bit at a time and stir, turn the heat up and stir all the time until the sauce has thickened. Stir in the mustard and parsley and add in the fish.

Transfer to a baking dish and cover with the mash.

Bake in the oven for 30 mins or until the top is golden.

Meal Planning Monday

It's the last week at school this week before half term! So there will be no plan next week as I'm wondering about the country seeing people. Last week's plan was mostly eaten, things were moved around a bit as I went to see The Great Gatsby on Friday rather than Thursday. The only thing that's moved to this week is the Asian style burger.

I didn't think much of The Great Gatsby, I'm not sure that trying to put hip hop and 1920s music together works and I think Baz Luhrman rather missed the point of the book. Also doesn't Leo look old?!

I also got out in the garden over the weekend. Saturday was spent at Hyde Hall RHS garden, where I could have bought up half the shop, the gardens were lovely though, it was nice to see all the spring plants out and even though it's that funny time of year between spring and summer, there was still a lot to see. Sunday I spent in the garden planting tomatoes, courgettes, cucumbers, squashes, beans, peppers and chillis as well as some of the flower tubs.

So this is what my garden looks like now! Much more cheerful now there are a few things in bloom and the veg have gone in. I'm waiting for some sweetcorn plants to arrive and thinking about what to put in some of the smaller tubs. I have also added a bit of fruit to my repertoire, and I got 2 blueberry plants and blackberry to add to the loganberry bush, plum, cherry and pear trees. The plum tree even has little tiny fruit on it! So I'm hopeful for lots of fruit this summer.

This weeks menu plan majors on quick and easy, using a lot of stuff already made from the freezer. I'm doing zumba most nights, my Mum's coming to stay on Tuesday before she goes to Chelsea and I am gutted that I can't go with her, and then I'm going to the theatre on Friday and Wimpole Hall on Saturday. How on earth I fit in housework and gardening I'm not sure yet, it'll all just have to wait till the weekend after!

Monday
Veggie Chilli with Doritos
Trout Burger with Salad

Tuesday
Miso Prawn Skewers and Rice Salad
Ham, Pea and Mint Pasties with Salad

Wednesday
Spaghetti Salad with Sausages, Tomato, Olives and Basil Vinaigrette
Asian Style Burger

Thursday
Sweet Chilli Chicken Wrap with Crisps (WW Magazine Clipping)
Spiced Salmon with Coriander Mash

Friday
Mushroom Pasta Salad
Out at the theatre

Saturday
Out at Wimpole Hall
Veggie Sausages with Cauliflower Mash

I'm linking up with other meal planners at Mrs M's Blog, head over there to check out more.

Mini Banana Cupcakes

There was an over-ripe banana lurking in my fruit bowl that had ripened much quicker than the others. I hate over-ripe bananas, I like my bananas yellow, just on the cusp of ripening with no brown bits. I can't stand the mushyness! The only thing that sprang to mind for the banana was cake! I remembered Nigel Slater's Black Banana Cake, but as I didn't want to eat the whole thing myself, but take it into school for the book club to devour, I thought this might be a bit difficult to chop up. Plus it has nuts in it and I can't take nuts to school. So I thought mini cupcakes! One of the sixth formers who helps me run the club laughed and said "most people see an over-ripe banana and think bin, you see an over-ripe banana and think cake!"

I used a Good Food recipe, one for full sized cupcakes but adapted it to smaller ones. I had one small problem. I only have one 12 cup mini muffin tin so I was filling the cases, cooking, then taking the cakes out the tin to do another batch! It was a little bit fraught and time consuming! But they turned out well and I got lots of compliments from the girls and some went back for seconds and even thirds!

Mini Banana Cupcakes (adapted from Good Food March 2011)
(Makes about 40)

100g caster sugar
100g butter, softened
140g self-raising flour
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 very ripe banana
100g icing sugar
water

Preheat oven to 190C. Line mini muffin tins with cases.

Put the sugar, butter, flour, eggs, vanilla and banana in a big bowl together. Beat with an electric whisk until banana is mashed and everything mixed. Divide between the cases and bake for 10-12 mins until a skewer poked in comes out clean. Leave to cool.

To decorate, mix the icing sugar with enough water to be spoonable, but not too runny or it will dribble off the cakes. Spread some over each cake and leave to dry.

Portobello Mushroom Burger with Spicy Wedges

Ok, so, technically this isn't a burger, but it feels like a burger and is a great alternative to a veggie burger which I often find can be a bit dry. It oozes all the lovely juices of the mushroom and also the melted cheese, just delicious. The spicy wedges were also a lovely compliment to the burger.

Portobello Mushroom Burger with Spicy Wedges
(Serves 1)

150g potatoes, cut in half and then into three
cooking spray
1 tsp Old Bay or cajun seasoning
1 large portbello mushroom, stalk removed
1 heaped tsp pesto
1/2 small ball mozzarella cheese, sliced
1 bread roll, sliced in half
1/2 roasted red pepper
lettuce

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and put the potatoes on the tray. Spray again with cooking spray and mix the potatoes around so they are covered in the spray, sprinkle over salt, pepper and the seasoning and bake in the oven for 30-40 mins until golden and crispy.

Meanwhile heat a little oil in a frying pan and cook the mushrooms for 3-4 mins each side until golden.

Place the mushroom, gills side up on a baking tray. Spread the pesto over the mushroom and then place the cheese on top. Bake in the oven for 10 mins until the cheese is melted.

Place the mushroom on the bottom half of the bread roll, top with the pepper, lettuce and the top half of the roll. Serve with the wedges and your favourite condiment.

Pesto Pasta Salad

This is another tasty store cupboard pasta salad recipe, easy to make and adaptable to anything you have hanging around. It's easy to throw together in just a few minutes as well, as I had to do when I found out that the lunch I thought was being provided wasn't, and that I was going to be rather a long way from any shops! I think I made it in about 10 mins flat!

The salami that I used is from Grasmere Farm and is called Grasmere Grunta. It is absolutely delicous. Grasmere Farm is a traditional pig farm in Cambridgeshire and they make and sell as wide range of pork products. They've been going since I was a child and make the best pork and apple burgers and sausages. Their salami is also one of my favourite snacks and I always stock up when I'm round that way.

Pesto Pasta Salad (from The Pioneer Woman Cooks)
(Serves 4)

240g dried pasta shapes
6 tbsp pesto
6 tbsp Parmesan, grated finely
6 tbsp low fat mayonnaise
6 tbsp low fat sour cream
2 tbsp milk, more for thinning
salt and pepper
1 head romaine lettuce, shredded
24 cherry or baby plum tomatoes, halved
24 green olives, halved
100g salami, chopped
110g cheese, cubed (could use cheddar or mozzarella whatever you have)
4 tbsp pine nuts, toasted
extra Parmesan for sprinkling

Bring a large pan of water to the boil and cook the pasta in salted water according to package instructions. Drain and rinse under cold water. Allow pasta to dry slightly, then toss in a bowl with 4 tablespoons pesto. (Add more if you want the pasta to be more coated). Add the Parmesan and toss. Cover and refrigerate the pasta until it is cold.

Make the dressing by whisking together the mayonnaise, sour cream, and milk with the rest of the pesto. Add salt and pepper, then taste and adjust seasonings as needed. The dressing needs to be  pourable in order to coat the lettuce and pasta later. Set the dressing aside.

To assemble the salads, make a bed of lettuce in a bowl, then add a generous layer of pesto-coated pasta. Add tomatoes, olives, salami and chunks of cheese. Spoon a good amount of dressing all over the top; it should be thin enough to seep down into the salad, not so thick it will stay on top of everything.

Sprinkle salads with pine nuts and a little extra Parmesan and serve.

Sardines Stuffed with Orange and Bay Leaves

I have a love hate affair with sardines. I love the taste of them but I hate picking out all the little bones, or the feeling of swallowing them, So I have tended to avoid them for most of my life or bought canned skinless and boneless sardines. However as I've been told to eat more oily fish, I am trying to find more interesting things than just mountains of salmon, so I thought I'd give them a go.

I still didn't like all the bones and it was such a pain to pull them out! But the flavour was fantastic, they were lovely and slightly charred by the grill and the orange worked really well too. I served them with a garlicky potato salad and a green salad.

Sardines Stuffed with Orange and Bay Leaves
(adapted from Olive Magazine June 2005)
(Serves 4)

4 large sardines or 8 small, scaled and gutted
2 oranges, 1 thinly sliced and slices halved, and 1 juiced
4 bay leaves or 8, depending on the number of fish
olive oil
4 tsp smoked paprika

Preheat the grill.

Stuff the sardines with 2 or 3 slices of orange, a bay leaf and season well. Rub with a little oil and dust with paprika.

Cook the sardines under the grill for a few minutes on each side (about 2 minutes for small ones and 4 for large ones). Squeeze over some orange juice and serve.

Herby Tomato Pasta Salad

This pasta salad is so simple to make and in the summer the flavours of the tomatoes are amazing. However, it being May and feeling like it's still winter, the tomatoes were not quite as tasty as they will be later on, but I love the simplicity of this dish and the bright colours of the tomatoes.

It can be served hot or cold, you could also add in a bit of red onion or some cucumber to the dish; both make fantastic additions. You could also add a bit of olive oil in if you fancy it, a really versatile, quick lunch or supper to have up your sleeve and a great way to use up the glut of tomatoes from the garden when summer finally gets here!

Herby Tomato Pasta Salad (adapted from WeightWatchers Fresh and Easy Everyday)
(Serves 1)

60g dried pasta shapes
1 small clove of garlic, crushed
150g yellow and red cherry tomatoes
50g roasted red peppers, chopped
1 tbsp basil, chopped
1 tbsp chives, chopped
1 tbsp parsley, chopped
salt and pepper

Bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the pasta according to packet instructions, drain and then run under cold water.

Mix the pasta with the rest of the ingredients and pack into your lunchbox.

Daring Cooks May 2013

Our lovely Monkey Queen of Don’t Make Me Call My Flying Monkeys, was our May Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to dive into the world of en Croute! We were encouraged to make Beef Wellington, Stuffed Mushroom en Croute and to bring our kids into the challenge by encouraging them to create their own en Croute recipes!

I don't have any kids but I kind of made up my own recipe anyway, based on the mushroom one, but using what I had in the house. This was delicious, although I did have a bit of a disaster as I didn't have any eggs so I used milk to stick the pastry together. It didn't stick properly so most of my cheese leaked out as you can see at the bottom! However I just scraped it up and had it on the side and the dish was still delicious. I served it with roast squashed new potatoes and salad. I love things en croute so this was a fantastic challenge!
















I've also just realised that this is my 700th post! That's pretty good!!

Mushroom Wellingtons
(Serves 4)

4 large portobello mushrooms
4 tbsp olive oil
1 garlic clove, chopped
200g spinach leaves
200g chard leaves
a dusting of flour
500g block all-butter puff pastry
140g Harrogate Blue cheese, sliced
1 egg, beaten

Preheat the oven to 200C.

Remove the stalks from the mushrooms. Heat half the oil in a large frying pan and sizzle the mushrooms for 3-4 mins on each side until golden and cooked. Lift the mushrooms out onto kitchen paper to drain.

Place the same pan back on the heat with the rest of the oil. Fry the garlic for a moment, add the spinach and chard to the pan, then cook for 2-3 mins over a high heat until completely wilted. Season with salt and pepper, then tip the spinach and chard into a large sieve to drain thoroughly.

On a lightly floured surface, roll the pastry out to the thickness of a £1 coin. Cut the pastry into 4 rectangles and on half of the pastry place the spinach and chard mix and then top with a slice of cheese, then a mushroom top side up and then more cheese.

Brush the border  of the pastry with egg, then gently fold the other half of the pastry over the mushroom, trying not to trap any air, then press the edges together with a your fingers or a fork.

Trim the edges with a knife if you want, then brush each generously with egg. Bake for 30-40 mins until golden, then leave to cool for a few mins before serving.

Salmon Rarebit

This was the second meal I made with the pot of cottage cheese I had and it was much better than the first. Putting the cottage cheese on top of the chunky salmon made the curds seem less obvious somehow and the addition of cheddar pepped up the flavour. I would definitely eat cottage cheese in this way again. I think I might try using it in a lasagne or baked pasta dish and see how I like that.

Salmon Rarebit (from Good Food Magazine February 2006)
(Serves 1)

1 slice granary or wholemeal bread
½ can salmon, drained and flaked
1-2 spring onions, thinly sliced
pepper
2 tbsp cottage cheese
1 tsp grated horseradish
1 tbsp coarsely grated cheddar or red Leicester cheese

Preheat the grill.

Toast the bread lightly in a toaster or under the grill.

Mix the salmon and spring onions together and season with pepper. Spread onto the bread. Mix together the cottage cheese, horseradish and cheese. Spoon on top of the salmon.

Grill for 3-4 mins or until the topping starts to brown.