Tag: foodporn

Quick & Easy Chicken Con Carne
Stylemesisteradmin
December 7, 2018

 

Speedy Chicken Mince Con Carne.

Sometimes we need to get dinner on the table asap and I’m no exception to that. My girls love meat. As much as I would love them to eat more lentils, pulses and vegetables red meat always wins.

I serve this awesome family favourite with basmati rice, minty yogurt and a few other trimmings.

The key to the speed of this meal is the fact the protein I am using is chicken mince. It’s healthy, quick to cook and also cheap.

To make a speedy Chicken Mince Con Carne for 4-6 you will need the following ingredients:

500 grams chicken mince
2 small onions sliced
5 cloves of garlic-crushed or 1 tsp garlic granules
2 TBSP rapeseed oil
1 400 grams tin of chopped tomatoes
1 400 grams red kidney beans rinsed and drained

Herbs & Spices:
1 TBSP oregano
1 TBSP cumin powder
1 TBSP coriander seed powder
1 heaped tsp of dried coriander leaves (feel free to use fresh if you have them as I keep dried herbs as they are easier to keep on hand).
1 TBSP salt
1/2 TSP red chili powder
1 TSP paprika
NOTE: for those looking for a real fast meal replace all the herbs and spices for half a sachet (check how much protein the recipe calls for on the packet. If it says 1 kg use half the pack. If it says 500 grams just use the whole pack) of any of the following spice mixes: Fajita/Taco/Chili Con Carne.

To serve (use what you have available this list is just a suggestion):

Cooked rice (boil the rice alongside the Chili cooking to save yourself time)
Tortilla chips
Chopped tomatoes
Sliced tomatoes
Jalepenos
Sour cream
Grated cheese
Sliced radishes
Shredded lettuce
Wedges of lime

Minty yogurt:
To make minty yogurt place 250 ml of low fat yogurt, a pinch of salt (or more if that’s what you use) juice of 1 lime and 8-10 mint leaves in a processor with a jug attachment (I use my smoothie maker as I often use it to make myself lassi-it’s about making equipment work hard not making you work harder). Whiz the ingredients and voila! Minty yogurt.

1) Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and fry for two minutes. Now add the chicken and fry for 5 minutes. Add the garlic.

2) Whilst the chicken is frying place the kidney beans on a chopping board and chop them up.

3) Add the chopped up kidney beans to the mince mixture. Fry for a minute. Add the herb and spice mix. Fry for a further one minute. If the mixture starts sticking to the pan and if that happens add 3 tablespoons of water.

4) Now add the chopped tomatoes. Stir well. Bring it to the boil and then turn the heat down.

5) After 20 minutes cooking time your chili con carne is ready.

6) Serve!

Additional notes:
Leftover mince can be served with Tacos or as filling for enchiladas.
If you like extra heat add another 1/2 spoon of red chili powder
Like a smoky flavour? Add liquid smoke to the chili
Fresh herbs can be used instead of dried. Fresh herbs are less intense in flavour so you’ll need double the amount of fresh ingredients compared to dried.
As long as you use fresh mince (and not pre-frozen) this recipe freezes well for up to 3 months.
For fussy eaters BLITZ the red kidney beans to a pulp and add them to the mince. This is a great way to get fussy eaters to eat more beans (it works on my 5 year old and if you end up reading this; Mama loves you Boo).

My take on Chicken Daube
Stylemesisteradmin
November 30, 2018

Mauritian inspired Chicken and Potato stew
(inspired by Daube de Poulet/Chicken Daube).

The humble chicken. For me personally it doesn’t get enough credit. Literally. In my opinion it’s one of the most versatile proteins (and healthier than red meat too). However I don’t think it gets enough credit for what it is.

We bung it in the oven and tell it to come out as a perfect roasted chicken for the family to enjoy at the weekend. But give it a bit of love and the plain old chicken can be transformed into a pot of warm, comforting fair suitable for the colder months ahead.

I personally would prefer for my family to eat more chicken over red meat….but alas we haven’t got to that stage quite yet.

So here is my take on a Mauritian classic Daube de Poulet/Chicken Daube. I’ve adapted this classic to make it suitable for the slow cooker however you can easily cook it on the stove top.

I have a system where I try to prepare a weeks worth of meals in a couple of hours. In this session I will also brown off any meats I will using during the week and I will either store them in the fridge or freezer depending on when I will be needing the product.

Now for some people this will seem insane; for me it opens up many opportunities of using the slow cooker even on a really busy morning as there’s no need to ‘brown off’ meat on the stove before putting it into the slow cooker. But this is something I do and it works for me.

You can of course skip the browning step if you wish to. The flavour in my opinion isn’t as strong (rather mellow).

So to make a classically inspired dish that easily serves 6 (I get 8 portions out of this recipe) you will need:

1 kilogram of chicken drumsticks (skin off)
1 tablespoon oil (I used rapeseed oil)
3 medium potatoes cut into medium pieces (smaller pieces will cook faster and essentially turn into mush)
1 large onion chopped or 4 TSBP of pre-fried onions (available in most Asian supermarkets-they’ll be cheaper in bulk too!)
1 can (approx 410 grams in weight-check the tin) tomatoes-chopped.
200 ml water or chicken stock
1 heaped teaspoon smoked paprika (or plain paprika if that’s all you have).
1 heaped teaspoon garlic or garlic paste
1 small piece of ginger (around an inch)-whole
1 cinnamon stick
Salt-amount will depend on your own preference.
1 teaspoon dried thyme or 1 tablespoon fresh (dry herbs are more concentrated in flavour).
Variation (remember this recipe is inspired by NOT an authentic copy of the original) you can use other herbs. For a French twist try Herb de Provence. Again use 1 teaspoon.

OPTIONAL: 1 dried chili (for a bit of a chili flavour)

Note: the French variation can contain wine however a lot of Mauritian folk follow an alcohol free diet.

1) Heat the oil in a pan over a medium flame. Add the chicken, cinnamon stick and ginger and fry until opaque and a bit brown (bits will be brown but not the full chicken). Take off the heat.

2) Add all the ingredients to your slow cooker and stir to mix well. You’ll note that there doesn’t seem to be lots of liquid. That’s fine as cooking in a slow cooker uses less liquid (evaporates less).

3) Now you have two options.
Cook on high for 3 hours
Cook on low for 5.5 hours

4) Once cooked serve! The flavours literally develop more overnight. As you have the potatoes in the dish I haven’t suggested serving with potatoes or rice. Why add to the carbs?!

Enjoy.

Winter Fruit Sponge
Stylemesisteradmin
November 23, 2018

Winter fruity Sponge Bake

Crisp colourful leaves on the ground. Bit knitted tops. Bowls of tomato soup and darker evenings watching box sets. Yes that pretty much sounds like Autumn. I love every season going and when the seasons change I often dream about what will happen in this season. Autumn to me is about comfort, appreciation and preparing for ‘come what may’. The colourful leaves followed by the crazy colourful fireworks have me lusting for this season a lot.

And as a baker with children with a sweet tooth I love experimenting with flavours and in Autumn I love gently spicing food with cinnamon, ginger and cardamom. The warm aroma makes me feel safe and snug.

What says ‘hey it’s Autumn’ to me is the combination of apples and blackberries. So here I have an awesome recipe for winter fruit sponge. It’s not too sweet, not too tart and has a spongy warm layer that says Autumn has arrived.
Serve this beauty with lashings of custard….or if you are still pining for Summer a scoop of vanilla ice-cream!

Ingredients:

For the fruity layer
500 grams Apples, Blackberries & plums
175 ml water
60 grams sugar
1 small cinnamon stick

For the spongy top:

125 grams butter at room temperature
125 grams castor sugar
125 grams self raising flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg whisked
50 ml milk

1) Place the apples, cinnamon and sugar in a pan and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and cook for 5 minutes.
2) Add the blackberries and cook for a further 2/3 minutes. Turn off the heat.
3) In a large bowl beat together the sugar and butter until creamed together. Add the egg and beat further.
4) Add the flour baking powder and ground ginger and beat. Don’t worry if it looks a bit lumpy that will be fixed later.
5) Now add the milk and stir in.
6) Take the baking tin and place the apple and blackberry in it. Spread evenly. Remove the cinnamon stick.
7) Pour over the sponge mix and spread evenly with a spatula.
8) Bake at 170 for 25 minutes (or until golden brown).
9) Take out of the oven and serve warm with custard.
10) Enjoy!

Dead mans ribs…
Stylemesisteradmin
October 26, 2018

Dead man ribs

I’m a huge fan of ribs but the sugar content of marinades puts me off…So here we have a recipe that is sweet, sticky but also a bit tart (thank you lemons).

I originally made this recipe for Halloween 2017; but I love it any time of the year.

I first cook the ribs in the slow cooker…and finish them off in the oven. You can just cook them i the oven if that makes it easier for you (I just wanted the meat to fall off…completely.

These guys actually taste awesome the next day too.

Serve with lots of napkins!

Ingredients:

1 KG mutton ribs (we asked for them to be chopped up)
1 1/2 cup ketchup
OR 1 cup ketchup & 1/2 cup chili sauce (if you want a fiery rib baby)
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup lemon juice
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 TBSP garlic powder
1/2 TBSP onion powder

1) Wash all the ribs and dry.
2) whisk all the ingredients together.
3) place the ribs in a ziploc bag (plastic food bag that can be sealed) and pour in 80% (the majority of the sauce) into the bag. Seal carefully and massage the ribs to get them covered in the sauce.
4) Leave to marinade overnight or for at least 3 hours; in the fridge.
5) To cook in the slow cooker: place the marinated ribs (and the sauce in the bag) into your slow cooker and cook on high for 3 hours.
6) Remove from the slow cooker (leaving any liquid in the slow cooker to dispose of) and place on a baking tray lined with greaseproof paper. Brush over the sauce you kept at step 3.
7) Bake in the oven at 180 for 15 minutes turning once and brushing with any remaining sauce.
8) Serve with plenty of napkins! The meat will be falling off….