Chipotle Cranberry Barbecue Sauce

I have a whole list of ends of jars to use up. The first is cranberry sauce, so I made a barbecue sauce with it. This was lightly spicy and would be really good with pulled pork. I served it over meatballs. I apologise for the awful photograph, I was hungry! I served it with purple mash.

2 tsp chopped fresh ginger
1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tbsp oil
250g tomato ketchup
250g cranberry sauce
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tsp chipotle powder or paste
1 tsp pepper
juice 1 lime

In a frying pan over a medium-high heat, fry the ginger, onions and garlic in the oil until soft but not browned.

Combine the remaining ingredients in a food processor or blender with the ginger garlic mixture. Process until smooth.

Refrigerate until ready to use.

Jamie's 15 Minute Meals: Swedish Meatballs with Celeriac and Spinach

I tried another Jamie Meal, I really am whopping though this cookbook, I made a major change to this recipe and left out the rice because I ate so much chocolate during the day that I decided I didn't need the rice too! Nevertheless and despite using 3 pans this was a really tasty meal. My meatballs actually stayed together and resemble meatballs and that must be the first time that's ever happened! Also much cheaper than the crab/smoked trout recipes.

Swedish Meatballs with Celeriac and Spinach (from Jamie's 15 Minute Meals)
(Serves 4)

1 celeriac
olive oil
a few sprigs of fresh lemon thyme
200g baby spinach

Meatballs
200g lean beef mince
200g lean pork mince
1/2 bunch of fresh dill
2 tsp caraway seeds
1 swig of vodka
4 tsp cranberry jam
4 tbsp single cream
4 tbsp fat-free natural yoghurt, to serve 

Carefully trim the knobbly end of the celeriac, remove the skin, then dice it into 1cm pieces. Put into the casserole pan with 1 tbsp of oil, a pinch of salt and pepper, the thyme leaves and a splash of boiling water. Put the lid on, turn the heat to high and cook, stirring regularly. 

Put all the mince into a bowl with a pinch of salt and pepper, finely chop and add most of the dill, then mix and scrunch together with clean hands. Divide the mixture into 4, then pinch and quickly roll out 5 balls from each piece with wet hands. Pour 1 tbsp of oil into the hot frying pan, add the meatballs and caraway seeds, turn the heat up to high and toss regularly until the meatballs are golden. 

Stir the spinach into the casserole pan, then season to taste. Add a good swig of vodka to the meatballs, carefully light it with a match (if you want), let the flames subside, then add the jam, cream and a few good splashes of water, and simmer. Season and serve with the rice, scatter with the remaining dill leaves and yoghurt. 

Turkey Stuffing Casserole

So I left the thanksgiving meal with loads of leftovers! Thank you Daniela! I practically ate Turkey for most of last week and changed my menu plan almost completely. Smudge the cat also enjoyed eating turkey! The first thing I made was a Turkey Stuffing Casserole. Although we didn't have stuffing with our meal I had a box of stuffing mix in and used that. I'm not if it was meant to be pre-cooked but I didn't bother and just put the mixture in wet which worked fine. his is one tasty casserole and a perfect use of those leftovers.

Turkey Stuffing Casserole (from The English Kitchen)

(Serves 4-6)

1 box stuffing mix, prepared
450g leftover cooked turkey, shredded
9 tbsp good quality mayonnaise, divided
3 tbsp whole berry cranberry sauce
650g leftover mashed potatoes
150g mozzarella cheese, grated

Preheat the oven to 190C and butter an 8 inch square casserole dish.    

Spoon half of the stuffing mixture into the bottom of the dish and spread it out to cover. Sprinkle with the turkey pieces.   

Whisk together 3 tbsp of the mayonnaise and all of the cranberry sauce. Spread this mixture over top of the turkey. 

Beat together the remaining mayonnaise, the mashed potatoes and the mozzarella cheese. Spoon this over top of the turkey, spreading it over to cover. Sprinkle the remaining stuffing over top.

Bake for 40 mins, or until bubbling and heated through. Allow to stand for 10 mins or so before serving. Delicious!