Nutty quinoa salad

Ever have a craving for peanut butter and also want to be able to kid yourself your being healthy (ie. not just eating the peanut butter straight from the jar with a spoon.....yeah don't pretend you've never done it!!)

Anyway...here's a pretty scrummy salad with peanut sauce and cashews, vaguely inspired by Thai food which is one of my favourite cuisines :)

Ingredients:

50g quinoa

One small carrot

A handful each of broad beans, and chopped tomatoes, cucumber and celery

A slice of red cabbage, chopped

One tbsp of peanut butter

A squeeze of honey

One tbsp of lemon juice

Aha ful of cashew nuts

Recipe:

1. Rinse the quinoa in cold water then boil for 15-20mins

2. Mix the peanut butter and honey and microwave for 10 seconds, then mix in the lemon juice and season to taste

3. Chop the salad vegetables and place in a bowl with the cashew nuts

4. Once cooked, drain the quinoa and add to the bowl - mix thoroughly 

5. Plate up a portion of salad and top with the peanutty sauce. Enjoy!

Chorizo and butter bean hot pot with flatbread

This was my speedy 'grabbing stuff from the cupboard before rushing out for the evening' dinner. I wasn't planning on blogging it, but it was too tasty not to share! 

Ingredients:

Half a can of butter beans, drained

Half a can of plum tomatoes

50g chorizo, roughly chopped 

Half an onion, chopped

One egg

Flatbread mix (see previous post on flatbreads!)

Seasonings

Recipe:

1. Heat oil in a frying pan and gently fry the onions, then add in the chorizo and cook until it's crispy and letting off oils 

2. Add the plum tomatoes and crush slightly, season to taste

3. Add the butter beans and cook for 5 mins

4. Boil water in a small pan then reduce to a simmer and swirl the water slightly (add a drop of vinegar if you need to) then poach the egg for 3 mins

5. Roll out a lemon-sized handful of dough and cook in a frying pan over a high heat for 2 mins on each side until brown spots appear

6. Serve up the butter bean and chorizo in a bowl, topped with the egg and with the flatbread on the side for dipping :)

Cajun chicken with salsa

So my housemate has gone away for a week and left me to attempt 'cooking for one' for the first time in months...this has led to me eating essentially enough for two people for the past few times! However, tonight I managed to cook a one person sized portion and my celebrations were doubly exciting as it was also fabbbbbbulous!!

Ingredients:

One chicken breast

One small sweet potato and carrott

Half an avocado 

A handful of cherry tomatoes

50g sweet corn

Balsamic vinegar

Cajun spice mix

Seasonings

Recipe:

1. Season the chicken breat with the Cajun spices and pound with a rolling pin to flatten it

2. Chop the sweet potato and carrott into small chunks and boil for 10 mins, then mash with seasonings and milk

3. Heat a griddle pan and then cook the chicken on a high heat, 2 mins each side

4. Chop all of the salsa ingredients and place in a bowl, season and dress with balsamic vinegar 

5. Serve by placing the mash onto a plate and place the chicken on top and the salsa around the edge

Tuna steak nicoise

In

I know it's getting winters now so it's not really the time for a salad, but when I spotted a tuna steak in the reduced section I had to have it! I'm probably one of the few people in England who prefer a tuna steak to a normal steak....contraversial :P

I'm not a big fan of potatoes either so you won't find any of them in this recipe either - but if you wanted to boil a few new potatoes you could easily add them in.

Ingredients:

1 tuna steak

1 egg

A handful of olives

Lettuce

A handful of cherry tomatoes

Salt, pepper

Chilli flakes

Soy sauce 

Recipe:

1. Start by seasoning your tuna steak with salt, pepper, chilli flakes and a dash of soy sauce and heating up your griddle pan

2. Place the egg in boiling water and cook for 3 mins (I like mine soft boiled)

3. Place the tuna into the griddle pan and cook for around 2 mins on each side 

4. Chop up all of your salad and plate up

5. Peel the egg and add to the plate

6. Slice the tuna diagonally and place on top of the salad, dress if you fancy

Smoked salmon, avocado and egg bagels

This is the ultimate Sunday brunch :)

2 of my favourite things are scrambled eggs and avocado so this was always going to be a winning combination!

Ingredients:

1 bagel

2 slices of smoked salmon, chopped

Half a avocado, chopped

2 eggs

A splash of milk

Salt and pepper

Recipe:

1. Crack the eggs into a bowl and whisk with milk, salt and pepper

2. Scramble in a frying pan

3. Meanwhile, toast the bagel and butter

4. Spread the chunky avocado onto the bagel and top with the scrambled egg

5. Top the bagels with the smoked salmon and season

6. Serve (with ketchup if you're like me!)

Baked meatballs and polenta

Oh you can tell its winter when the meatball dishes come out to play! Plus in this recipe I use Swedish meatballs, because let's face it, why wouldn't you?! Using polenta and some veggies takes the classic meatballs and pasta dish into the 'healthy and nutritious' realm too, so you don't have to feel guilty after a big plate full! 

I've used shop bought Swedish meatballs here (I was feeling a bit lazy :) ) but you can make your own if you feel so inclined! 

Ingredients:

One small red onion

6 Swedish meatballs

Half a can of plum tomatoes

4 cherry tomatoes

Any veg to go with it (here I've used courgettes and lentils but peppers work well too)

50g polenta

100ml boiling water

100ml milk

Seasonings

Pinch of chilli flakes

Recipe:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees

2. Chop the onion into large chunks and place in an individual baking dish along with the vegetables and meatballs, season and bake for 15 minutes

3. Take the dish out of the oven and mix in the plum tomatoes (and lentils, if using). Return to the oven for 10 minutes

4. Meanwhile, put the polenta into a small saucepan and add the water and milk, along with a pinch if chilli flakes. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer for 3-4 minutes.

5. Spoon the polenta onto a plate and pour the tomato, veg and meatballs mixture into the centre.

6. Season with salt, pepper and some fresh basil and serve