Lemon orzo with spiced chicken and aubergine

I'm a big fan of my new griddle pan and will use any excuse to cook on it! The aubergines and peppers softened beautifully and the cumin spiced chicken was delicious. 

Ingredients (per person):

50g orzo

Half an aubergine

5 disks of red pepper

Half a chicken breast

Cumin

Pepper

1 tbsp soft cheese

Half a lemon - zest and juice

Veg to serve 

Recipe:

1. Cook the orzo for 5-6mins

2. Season the chicken and veg with cumin and fry on the griddle pan

3. Mix the orzo with the soft cheese, lemon zest and juice and season

4. Serve the chicken and veg on top of the orzo and with veg, if you chose.

Vegetarian chilli stuffed peppers with guacamole

I love chilli and I'm always trying to convince my flat mate that we should be eating more of it :) luckily if you stuff it in a pepper it goes down well! 

Ingredients:

1 onion

Half a can of kidney beans in chilli sauce 

Handful of sweet corn

Diced veg (whatever you have- I went for for Aubergine and mushroom 

2 peppers 

1 avocado 

Chilli sauce

Veg (to serve)

Recipe:

1. Gently fry the onion until softened, then add the veg and cook

2. Add the key beans and chilli sauce to taste

3. While the chilli mixture is cooking, prepare the pepper and brush with oil - bake at 180 for 10 minutes to soften them

4. Fill the peppers with the mixture and bake for another 20-25 minutes until cooked and turning slightly brown

5. Cut up and blend the avocado in a small bowl with seasoning and a dash of chilli sauce

6. Serve with veg of your choice

Carrot and sesame burgers

Here continues my burger journey....

I managed to find tahini in the supermarket again (it's been out of stock for ages) and so celebrated with a good old veggie burger. I strayed away from my standard sweet potato burger and went for a carrot based one- it was gooood :) make sure you add enough seasoning though and don't make it too thick.

Ingredients:

300g grated carrots

Half a can of chickpeas

1 small onion

1 tbsp tahini paste

1 tsp cumin

1 egg

Olive oil

50g breadcrumbs

Zest of one lemon

75ml natural yoghurt

2 ciabatta rolls

2 tbsp sesame seeds

Juice of one lemon

Salad

Recipe:

1. Place a third of the carrot in a blender with the chickpeas, onion, tahini, cumin and egg and blend into a thick paste

2. Heat oil in a pan and fry the remaining carrot until golden and cooked 

3. Mix the carrot and paste in a bowl and add in the breadcrumbs, lemon zest, sesame seeds and season as you wish

4. Mould the mixture into burger shapes and fry for 5 mins on each side until golden brown

5. Mix the yoghurt with 1 tsp of tahini and lemon juice

6. Spread the yoghurt on the buns and add the burger, then place salad lettuce on top with a drizzle of chilli sauce

Satay chicken skewers with noodle salad

Heads up, although this is from Jamie's 30 minute meals it definitely takes closer to an hour. I think it was worth it though - especially if your a big ol' fan of satay like me!! If your looking for something super simple, I'd go for just mixing peanut butter and soy sauce until it tastes goooooood, then storing that into whatever you fancy - typically chicken noodle stir fry if you are like me. Anyhows, if you fancy making the effort or are looking to impress, read on my friend...

Ingredients:

2 diced chicken breasts

2 nests of egg noodles

Soy sauce

one lemon

2 tbsp peanut butter

A large handful of coriander, chopped

Half a fresh red chilli (or one small one)

Half a red onion

2cm ginger, peeled

50g cashew nuts

Runny honey

Bok choi or similar, to serve

Recipe:

1. In a blender, mix the peanut butter, half of the coriander, 2 tbsp soy sauce and the zest of the lemon with a little water and half of the juice of the lemon.

2. Rub this mixture into the chicken and put onto the skewers 

3. Grill the skewers for 8 mins on each side

4. Meanwhile, cook the noodles in a pan of boiling water for around 6-8 mins then drain

5. In a blender blitz the onion, remaining coriander, chilli, lemon juice and ginger then place in a bowl with a tbsp of runny honey and tsp of both soy sauce and olive oil. When the noodles are cooked add them to the bowl.

6. Place the cashew nuts into a bag and smash them, then put in a pan and toast. Add to the noodle mixture and stir stir stir

7. When the skewers are finished, drizzle with some runny honey and place back under the grill for 2 mins

8. This just gives you time to quickly stir fry the bok choi in the pan you just used for the nuts (or steam it if you prefer)

9. Plate up, sit down, breathe, eat :)

Cauliflower crust, prosciutto, butternut squash and kale pizza

Phew, longest titled dinner ever! And that's without capturing the caramelised red onion and goats cheese elements too :P there may be a lot of ingredients to this but it's definitely one worth trying. The cauliflower crust means it can pass for healthy too which is always nice. I think next time I will bake it for a bit longer (I was worried about burning it) so it can be a 'pick up and eat with your hands' pizza.

Ingredients:

For the pizza base:

Half a head of cauliflower

50g grated cheese of your choice (I went for strong cheddar)

One egg

Salt, pepper and other seasonings of your choice

For the topping:

Finely sliced pieces of butternut squash 

3 slices prosciutto 

A handful of chopped kurly kale

Half a red onion

30g ish crumbled goats cheese

Salt, pepper, seasonings, olive oil

Recipe:

1. Rice the cauliflower using a cheese grater, then place in a bowl (no water needed), cover with cling film and microwave for 8 minutes to cook.

2. Preheat the oven and prep the butternut squash in a tray, season and roast for 10-15 mins

3. Once the cauliflower is cooked, stir in the grated cheese, egg and seasonings and stir until the cheese melts

4. Line a pizza tray with grease proof paper and spray with oil, then pour in the mixture and smooth down until it is a thin square / circle (/whatever shape takes your fancy)

5. Cook the base on its own for 15 mins until turning golden brown

6. Caramelise the onion in a frying pan with a little oil 

7. When the base is ready, place the onions, prosciutto, kale, butternut squash and goats cheese on top and then put it back in the oven for around 10 mins until cooked to your taste 

Caribbean salmon

Yes it's yet another salmon recipe! 

Like spice? Like lime? Like salmon? I do...hence this dish! Tasty and summery for a Sunday in June. Just remember to marinade the salmon half an hour in advance.

Ingredients:

Salmon fillets

100g rice

Diced cherry tomatoes

A handful of sweet corn

Chopped coriander

1 tbsp jerk seasoning

Grated thumb of ginger

1 lime 

100g green beans

Olive oil

Recipe:

1. Zest the lime and mix with the ginger, jerk seasoning and oil. Rub it over the salmon and leave to marinade for at least 30mins

2. Meanwhile, start cooking the rice and prep your veg

3. Mix the rice with the tomatoes, sweet corn and coriander 

4. Cook the beans in a steamer or pan of boiling water for 5 mins

5. Griddle the salmon for c. 5mins until cooked through with crispy skin (mmm) with the lime face down in the pan

Serve up and dig in.

Roast broccoli fettuccine

After a long cold day out I wanted something filling and flavoursome... Plus I hadn't been shopping in a while and there wasn't much in the fridge.... Here is the result!!

Ingredients:

75g pasta

1 small head of broccoli

Half a pepper

1 clove of garlic

Red pesto

Seasonings 

Recipe:

1. Roast the broccoli florets and pepper for 20mins with diced garlic and olive oil

2. Cook the pasta according to the packet instructions then drain

3. Stir pesto and seasonings through the pasta and mix in the vegetables 

Simples, done.