Thai Beef Balls

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Thai Beef Balls

I do love it when an ad hoc recipe comes together. We fancied some Thai tonight but didn’t really have the right ingredients, so I compromised! I am so bad at compromising…..lol….. I am forever adding and changing things to suit what I have in my cupboards…..but that’s where good recipes come from…right?

This was one of them, super tasty and satisfied us for dinner tonight.

Thai Beef Balls & Thai Potato Wedges with Lime & Mayo

Made 18 Bitesize Balls

250g Scottish Beef Mince (you could use Chicken or Turkey)

2 tbsps Soy Sauce

4 Spring Onions – chopped finely

1 tsp Dried garlic granules

1 tsp Dried ginger powder

2 tsps Dried coriander

1 tsp Chilli flakes

Zest of 1 lime (keep lime for juice later)

150g tin Broad Beans (crushed) (Water chestnuts, blitzed in a processor would be nice too)

  1. Preheat oven to 180 deg and place greaseproof paper onto a baking tray.
  2. Mix the Soy sauce, ginger, garlic, chilli, lime zest, coriander, spring onions and seasoning in a bowl. Then add mince & broad beans, mix together with hands until it comes together.
  3. Take a small amount and roll into a ball, put onto baking tray. Bake in oven for 15 minutes. At end of cooking, turn on grill and brown for a few minutes.
  4. Serve with a Lime Wedge. I also served with Thai Potato Wedges (recipe below) and some Lime & Coriander Mayo.
Thai Beef Balls on Baking Tray with Potato Wedges

For the Potato Wedges

Slice your potatoes into wedges and place in a food bag or bowl.

For the coating, mix 3 tbsps olive oil with 1 tsp chilli flakes, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1 tsp garlic and 2 tsps coriander. Season then mix with the wedges and cook as normal. (I use my Crisper plate in my microwave to cook them as it only takes 10 minutes) Check below for info on the Crisperplate. https://www.hotpoint.co.uk/Appliances/Cooking/Microwaves

Thai Potato Wedges

Sweet Potato & Peanut Butter Gratin

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Oh Yum, this dish I found on the Whole Earths website, I just love their Peanut Butter especially the crunchy one….yum!  My curiosity got the better of me because I wouldn’t have thought to put sweet potato and peanut butter together but wow, this was so tasty.

I also used my automatic setting on my Hotpoint Class 9 oven, the Potato Gratin setting. This was great as I didn’t need to worry about what temperature or oven function to set for a perfect bake the oven worked it all out for me.

This made 4 small servings (2 bakes in a 19cm x 30cm baking dish)

3 large Sweet Potatoes

2 tsp Crushed Chillies (or 2 chopped chillies)

100g Spinach – Chopped

300g Creme Friache

3 tbsp Peanut Butter, Crunchy

2 tsp dried coriander leaves

Salt & Pepper to taste

 

  1. If not using automatic programmes, preheat oven on fan to about 200 deg then finish off under the grill to crisp and brown.
  2. Peel & Slice the sweet potatoes to about 1/2 cm thick and place in a bowl, add the chopped spinach, coriander, chillies, salt & pepper.                                              20200210_122807
  3. Mix the creme friache and peanut butter together until smooth ad combined then pour into the sweet potatoes and mix until potatoes are coated.                              20200210_123350
  4. Spray a baking dish with spray oil and then layer the sweet potato in the dish making two rows.                                                                                          20200210_124357
  5. Cover with Tin foil and bake for about 30 minutes, remove the tin foil and continue to bake for the further 30 minutes or until sweet potatoes are softened and slightly browned.
  6. Serve.

 

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Cheesy Tomato Italian Mini Breads

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This little recipe was from Hotpoints Website , a great little find, these were super tasty & I do love Italian flavours so was a perfect little lunch today.

I made the dough yesterday and left in fridge overnight so it was ready to use today.

 

Makes 6

For the Dough:-

400g Bread Flour

7g Dried Yeast

300ml Luke warm water (approx 35-40 deg C)

1 tsp caster sugar

1 tsp salt

 

  1. Pour the yeast and sugar into the luke warm water and allow to activate, approx 10 minutes or until you see it frothing.                                                                              20200124_165138
  2. Sift flour into a mixer bowl with the salt and make a well in the middle. Pour the yeast into the flour and on a low speed start to bring together the dough. Knead in the mixer on low speed for approx 10-15 minutes until it becomes elastic.
  3. Put into a slightly oiled bowl and place in the oven on rising programme for 2-3 hours. (or leave at room temperature for a few hours or until doubled in size)
  4. Remove from oven and knock back, separate into 2 or 3 batches if not making the full 6. I only made 3 and used 250g of dough which I put back into the oven to prove again for 1 hour. I put the other 2 amounts (approx 200g each) into an airtight bag and froze. You can freeze this dough for up to 3 months and use as pizza dough later.

 

For the Filling:-

8-10 cherry tomatoes – halved or quarted

Edam cheese – cut into cubes

2 tsps of Mixed Italian Herbs

2 tsps of olive oil

Salt & pepper

  1. Place the tomatoes, oil, S&P & herbs into a bag (or bowl) and coat.                          20200125_120841
  2. Spray a tin with spray oil and roll out the dough, not too thin, and press dough into the tin, allowing enough for the lid.
  3. Spoon the mixture into the dough case and top with the Edam cheese, pull the lid over and seal.
  4. Brush with a little milk and if you have any left over tomatoes press 2 into the top of the dough.
  5. Bake in a preheated oven at 185 deg for approx 25-30 minutes.

Carrot, Cumin & Coriander Soup with Bulgur Wheat

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Its definitely soup season, I woke to -5 deg this morning….very cold.   Using up some leftovers in my fridge, mainly carrot and onion I decided to make a warming soup. This was delicious and hit the spot right. I used my steampot, so steaming the vegetables made this even more nutritious and flavorsome.

 

Makes 3 Servings

4 large carrots

1 large onion

500ml Vegetable Stock

60g Bulgur Wheat

1 tsp garlic granules

1 1/2 tsp Cumin

1 1/2 tsp dried coriander

Salt & Pepper to taste

 

  1. Chop up the onion & carrots into chunks and place in the steam pot with 200ml of the vegetable stock and cook on steam setting for 8 minutes.                                  20191118_130805
  2. Remove steam pot lid and add in the rest of the stock then blitz with a hand blender until well blended and smooth.                                                      20191118_132702
  3. Stir in the spices/herbs and bulgur wheat and cook on microwave at 750w for 3 minutes.                                                                                                20191118_133322
  4. Remove and stir. Season and serve.

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20191118_134019 you can of course make a big batch and freezer for later.

 

Maple & Teriyaki Glaze Salmon

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Oh Yum. Eating Healthy is a priority for me, it makes me feel good and keeps me alert. Living in Scotland we have amazing fresh Salmon which is classified as an oily fish, salmon is considered to be healthy due to the fish’s high protein, high omega 3 fatty acids, and high Vitamin D.

I’m always looking for new flavours to try and this has got to be one of my favourites.

 

1 Serving

2 tbsp Maple Syrup

2 tbsp Teriyaki Sauce

1 tbsp Hot Sauce

1 Clove garlic

Salmon Fillet

Select of vegetables to serve.

 

  1. I put all the ingredients into a food bag and allowed to marinade for about 1 hour.
  2. Remove food from bag, keeping the marinade.
  3. I used my Crisper plate, place salmon and vegetables on and cook on Crisp function for about 4-5 minutes depending on thickness of Salmon. Alternatively pre-heat oven to 210 deg and place on greaseproof tray and bake for about 10 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, reduce the marinade sauce using a medium heat so that you have a thick sauce to pour over.

 

 

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Creamy Pumpkin Soup

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It’s Halloween Season, my favourite time of the year, beautiful crisp air, colourful leaves on the trees, dark cosy nights, everything spooky and weird, and amazing food flavours around. To be honest this is my first time with Pumpkin, I’ve never cooked it before myself, I thought I would try steam cooking it for more flavour and making a creamy soup as it was a really cold day here today. Was delicious.

Makes 1 large portion

250g chopped pumpkin

30g sliced leek

30ml double cream

300ml vegetable stock

30g Bulgur Wheat

Salt & pepper to taste

  1. Place the pumpkin and leeks with 100ml of the stock into the bottom of the steam pot and cook on dynamic steam for 8 minutes. Otherwise, place stock in a pan with pumpkin & leeks, & additional 100ml stock then bring to boil, reduce slightly & cook covered until soft.
  2. Remove lid and pour in the rest of the stock and the cream, season with salt & pepper and blend with a hand blender until smooth.
  3. If using pot its the same method as above.
  4. Add in the Bulgur Wheat to the creamed soup and cook on microwave 900w for 3 minutes.
  5. Or simmer in pan for 5 – 7 minutes.
  6. Remove from microwave/pan and serve with some toasted pumpkin seeds and a drizzle of olive oil.
  7. You can also add in some toasted croutons if you like.

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Chocolate & Almond Marble Bundt Cake

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Oh yummy! I fancied something a little naughty with my coffee this weekend so thought I’d try out my new Bundt cake tin. It was supposed to be marbled, however, I think I put to much chocolate into the mixture and swirled it too many times…….lol! The flavour was fantastic though.

A Bundt cake  is a cake that is baked in a Bundt pan, shaping it into a distinctive ring shape. The shape is inspired by a traditional European cake known as Kugelhupf, but Bundt cakes are not generally associated with any single recipe. The style of mould in North America was popularised in the 1950s and 1960s, after cookware manufacturer Nordic Ware trademarked the name “Bundt” and began producing Bundt pans from cast aluminium. Publicity from Pillsbury saw the cakes gain widespread popularity.

 

Ingredients for 1 Bundt tin

180g softened butter

225g caster sugar

3/4 tsp almond extract

2 tsp baking powder

180 g plain flour

75g ground almonds

3 large eggs

2 tbsp milk

3 tbsp cocoa powder with 3 tbsp water – mix to a paste

100g dark chocolate chips

Icing sugar to decorate

 

  1. Pre heat your oven to 180 deg or if you have a cake setting, set to Marble Cake setting. Brush the Cake tin with melted butter, ensure it is thoroughly covered.
  2. Cream the butter and sugar together until fluffy, stir in the almond extract.  20190830_183238
  3. Mix together the flour, baking powder and ground almonds together. Beat in the eggs one at a time to the butter mixture with 2 tbsp of the flour mixture, repeat until all eggs have been added then fold in the remaining flour mix.
  4. Stir in the milk and mix, then spoon 1/2 of the batter into a separate bowl and mix in the cocoa paste into 1 and the chocolate chips into the other.            20190830_184820
  5. Add spoonfuls of each batter alternately to the cake tin and drag a handle of a spoon through the mixture to create the marble effect, do not over do this.        20190830_185255
  6. Bake in the oven for about 40-50 minutes until a knife comes out clean
  7. Let it cool for about 10 minutes in the tin before turning out. Once cooled, sprinkle with icing sugar and serve. Yummy!

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Quick Sweet Potato Fries

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My little Crisperplate from Hotpoint is fantastic, it cooks food so quickly saving time and energy. For more info click see Hotpoint video Crisperplate & Hotpoint website.

 

1 Sweet Potato (medium size)

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

Optional to add any herbs or spices (rosemary goes well as a herb and paprika as a spice)

 

  1. Cut off skin and slice into strips about 0.5 – 1cm wide
  2. Coat with the oil and season.
  3. Preheat crisperplate on crisp function for 2 minutes and place fries onto plate, bake for 8 minutes.

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Pork, Oat & Chive Square Sausage

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There is nothing more I like than a lazy sunday morning breakfast (well after my little morning workout to wake me up). Good breakfast, fresh coffee and orange juice, catching up with the world, reading a little, planning my meals.

Today, I was using up leftovers in the fridge so pork sausages it was, with a little bit of cookingwithluce twist. 🙂

 

Made 2

2 Pork Sausages (meat removed from skin)

1 tbsp scottish oats

1 tbsp chopped chives

1 tsp nutmeg

Salt & pepper

 

  1. Mix everything in a bowl, take a small handful and flatten to about 1cm thick
  2. I used my Crisperplate to cook these and it took just 6 minutes. (Turned after 4 minutes)
  3. I also added a few cherry tomatoes onto plate.
  4. I then added 1 large egg onto the crisperplate 1 minute before sausages were ready.
  5. Serve. Yummy good protein breakfast.

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Avocado, Spinach & Pea Mash – served with steamed teriyaki salmon

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My healthier eating continues this month. I got some lovely bits of Scottish Salmon recently so came up with this idea of a healthier mash using whatever I had in my fridge. It was delicious. Best bit, it only took 6 minutes to cook and put together.

 

Makes enough mash for 2-3 people

80g baby spinach

1 avocado

50g garden peas – cooked

juice of 1 lemon

1 tsp Sea Salt

Garlic clove – minced

1 tsp coriander – dried

1 tsp olive oil

(optional if you like spice, add in 1 tsp chilli flakes)

 

  1. Place everything into a blender and mix until just combined.
  2. Serve. Simple as that!

I steam cooked some salmon that I marinated in Teriyaki Sauce overnight. Yum!

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Butterfly Chicken Pizza

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Friday night is mostly pizza night in our house, but as I’m on my Detox this week it was finding an alternative for me and why not Butterfly chicken? I have to say this dish was so delicious and very healthy and nutritious too. Win, win for me!

 

Makes 2

2 x Chicken Breasts

1 onion – chopped

handful of sweet peppers – chopped

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tsp Italian herbs

1 tbsp tomato paste

Salt & pepper to taste

30g Goats Cheese

 

  1. Butterfly your chicken and flatten the thicker part so it will cook evenly. 20181130_171848
  2. Add the chopped onion, peppers, chilli flakes, olive oil and all seasonings into a food bag and make sure all are coated.
  3. Take 1 tsp and spread onto each chicken breast evenly                                        20181130_180704
  4. Next add the onion & pepper mix and spread evenly
  5. Preheat your Crisperplate for 2 minutes on crisp setting then place the chicken breasts on and cook for 5-6 minutes (depending on size of your chicken)                                                                                                      20181130_181046
  6. Remove crisp plate and crumble on the goats cheese evenly, put back into the oven and cook on crisp for a further 3 minutes.                                                      20181130_181803
  7. Serve. Yummy!

(If you don’t have a crisper plate, bake in oven at 200 deg for about 15-20 minutes)

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Eggy Puff Breakfast Baskets

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Another quick yummy breakfast for a sunday morning. I always try to use up leftovers, so having some puff pastry left this is what I decided to do this morning. Again I used my lovely little Crisperplate to cook these. Have I told you how much I love this little bit of Technology?? I do love gadgets that simply work in your favour to help save time in the kitchen. You can get more information here

 

Makes 6

1 Roll of Puff Pastry

7 eggs (1 for wash)

Grated Cheddar Cheese (I used 1 tbsp per basket)

Salt & pepper

Flavourings as per your choice (I used smoked paprika, but you could use chives, chilli, parsley, the list is endless)

 

  1. Preheat your Crisperplate for 2 minutes on Crisper setting.
  2. Place a sheet of greaseproof on the plate once heated.
  3. Roll out the pastry and using a round cutter, cut out 6 circles.
  4. Using a smaller circle cutter, gently press into the middle of the circle pastry – dont cut right through. (This makes the outer edge of the basket)
  5. Using a fork, press the centre to prevent it from rising too much. Brush with egg wash.                                                                                                       20181125_101734
  6. Place the pastry onto the crisper plate and cook for 4 minutes.
  7. Remove and gently edge the inner circle using a spoon and press down to make bottom of basket.
  8. Place your cheese into the basket and flatten, crack the egg in, gently using a knife pierce the yolk (this prevents it from popping) and season with your flavourings.
  9. Place back into the Combi Oven and bake for a further 2.5 mins – 3.5 mins, depends how you like your eggs cooked.  Serve. Yummy!

 

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10 minute pineapple cake

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Oh I know I keep going on about it, but this Crisperplate is just magical, it has saved me so many minutes in my kitchen and has given me perfect cooking results every time. This time it was a little afternoon treat.

 

Makes a 12″ cake

150 g Caster Sugar
225g Self Raising Flour
100ml milk
110g butter softened
2 eggs
1 tin of pineapple rounds (drained)
1 tsp vanilla extract
Whipping cream to serve
1. Mix everything together (except pineapple) in a mixer until smooth
2. Preheat Crisper for 2 mins, then pour on batter evenly
3. Place pineapple on top
4. Bake on Crisp setting for 10 minutes.
5. Serve with a large dollop of whipped cream.

 

Steamed Mexican Rice

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You know by now that I love my One Pot meals and this is another that is so easy & so tasty. I decided to use my Steam pot and it cooked perfectly in just 20 minutes. Yummy Spicy flavours and full of nutritious benefits.

 

Makes 2 large portions or 4 side portions

1 can black beans

1/2 can red kidney beans

1/2 can sweetcorn

1 red onion – finely chopped

150g wholemeal brown long grain rice

300ml veg stock

2 heaped tbsp chopped tomato

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp dried chillies

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp cumin

salt to taste

 

  1. Place everything in the steam pot and mix together. Put lid on.
  2. Place into your combi microwave and select Recipes, Pasta & Rice, Rice then programme 20 minutes.
  3. Perfectly cooked mexican rice dish. You can serve this on its own or with some pitta breads or even in a wrap.

 

Crisperplate Sweet potato fries

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Oh I do love my little crisper plate from Hotpoint. It just cooks and bakes most things in half the time with the same results as an oven or hob. I wanted something quick for my lunch and needed to use up some veggies, so sweet potato fries it was. Just 10 minutes!

 

1 sweet potato – cut into fries

1 tsp olive oil

Salt & pepper

1 tsp paprika

 

  1. Preheat your crisper plate for 2 minutes
  2. Coat the sweet potato fries with oil and season with spices.
  3. Bake for 10 minutes. Yum!

Carrot, Courgette & Ginger Seabass Salad.

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Oh yummy! Nice little healthy quick mid week meal.

I do love a good gadgets, and I used my Kitchen Aid Mixer with Grater attachment and also my Steam Pot for steam cooking in my microwave combi oven.

 

Serves 2

250g SeaBass

1 Carrot

1 Courgette

6 Spring onions, sliced diagonally

small piece of ginger, grated

Small bunch or fresh coriander, chopped

1 juice of Lime

3 tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

 

  1. Season the seabass and place into the steampot and cook on Sensor steam for 8 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, place the attachment onto your mixer (if you have a spiralizer that would work too) and shred the carrot & courgette into a bowl.
  3. Slice the spring onions diagonally into small pieces and place into bowl with the grated ginger, coriander, lime juice and 3tbsp olive oil. Mix together.
  4. Slice the sea bass and allow to cool then mix through the vegetable mix. Serve.

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Bacon & Vegetable Quiche

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Sometimes you want home cooked food without the hassle of trying to decided how to cook it and what temperatures etc to use, this was one of those days for me. Sundays are generally my lazy days, a day for recharging the batteries so to speak. I wanted a good home cooked quiche and decided to let my oven do the rest of the work and thinking. Hotpoint have designed a range of ovens with Automatic Recipe settings, the settings are already pre-programmed to control temperature, function and browning control……amazing, I know….right? Oven Range

I used the quiche setting and it was cooked and evenly browned perfectly due to the Multiflow Technology

I also used the Combination Oven with the Crisperplate to cook crispy potato wedges in just 12 minutes, perfect with a tasty quiche.

 

Makes 1 quiche

1 ready roll puff pastry

200g smoked bacon – diced

1 leek – sliced

handful of asparagus – chopped

200ml milk

200ml single cream

150g grated Gouda cheese

4 eggs

Salt, Pepper & Paprika to season

 

  1. Grease a quiche tin and lay pastry in covering base and edges.                                  20180819_171101
  2. Gently fry the smoked bacon until slightly browned, remove from pan. Add to the pan the leek and saute for a few minutes.
  3. Meanwhile blanch the asparagus in a pan of salted boiling water.
  4. In a bowl whisk the eggs with the milk and cream.
  5. Start to layer up the bacon and vegetables on pastry, then some of the cheese                   20180819_171204
  6. Then pour in the egg/milk mixture and rest of the cheese to top, generously season with salt, pepper and paprika                                                                 20180819_171534
  7. Place on shelf 3 in oven and select auto recipes, quiche setting. The oven comes up 43 minutes but will sense temerature and auto adjust if necessary.

    8. Serve….Yum!

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Egg, Bacon & Spinach Pastry Bites

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OMG!, these were absolutely delicious. I don’t normally eat pastries but I was trying out some new recipes for an event and my first idea didn’t go to well, so I got my thinking cap on and tried out these instead……oh wow! they were so tasty. I was so naughty though as I couldn’t stop my hand from grabbing one then another then another….lol! But we are allowed on occassions……aren’t we?

 

Makes 12

1 x ready rolled puff pastry

2 tbsp grated gruyere cheese

1 tbsp creme friache

4-6 smoked bacon rashers – chopped into bite size pieces

100g baby spinach

2 large eggs

Salt & pepper to taste

 

  1. Heat a little spray oil in a pan and cook bacon until slightly brown, remove with slotted spoon and keep to the side.
  2. Place spinach into the bacon and wilt down (will take a few minutes)   20180804_092158
  3. Meanwhile mix the grated cheese with creme friache
  4. Beat the eggs and season well, pour over the wilted spinach and stir until scrambled in pan, remove from heat.                                                                                             20180804_092417
  5. Cut the pastry into 12 small squares about 4″ x 4″ roughly
  6. Place 1 tsp of the cheese mixture on base, then top with bacon and spinach mix, season well.

     

  7. Wet your finger in water and run your finger along outer edge of pastry square, carefully lift 1 corner and pull over mixture making a diamond like shape, take the opposite corner and pull over the pastry corner you have just moved and seal. Make sure they are sealed well or they will open when cooking.                                                                               20180804_093424
  8. Refrigerate for about 10 minutes as this will help the pastry puff better.
  9. When ready to cook preheat your crisper plate for 2 minutes on dynamic crisp setting and then bake for 7 minutes or until browned. If you don’t have one of these, then you could cook on baking tray at 200 deg for about 16-18 minutes or until golden.

 

 

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Sweet Chilli Salmon with Zingy Basmati, Quinoa and veg salad

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I got this little Jamie Olive cook book recently and have been trying out some recipes, which I have to say have been delicious. Tonight, I thought I would take my inspiration from Mr. JO but put my own twist to this. I have to say it was rather tasty…..Mmmmmm.

Using a combination of my Crisper plate and my steam pot, this little dish was made in under 20 minutes. Quick and easy meals.

 

Serves 2

80g Basmati & quinoa rice (I used Tilda)

2 x Scottish Salmon Fillets

4 tsp sweet chilli sauce (I always use Blue Dragon, I find they are the best)

2 tbsp sesame seeds

3 spring onions

1 fresh red chilli

60g sugar snap peas

2 carrots

4 springs of fresh coriander

2 tsp toasted sesame oil

1 lime (juice only)

80g smoked beetroot

1/2 cucumber

 

 

  1. Place the basmati rice into the steam pot with 200ml water and cover, cook on the Automatic rice setting on microwave for 18 minutes. Remove and keep warm (keep lid on till other food is ready)                                                                                       20180529_175113
  2. Meanwhile, rub the sweet chilli sauce into the salmon then sprinkle the sesame seeds over making sure they stick by pressing slightly.
  3. Finely slice the spring onions, sugar snap peas, chilli then julienne the carrot, cucumber, beetroot using a julienne peeler (if not you can coarsely grate). Place all into a bowl with the coriander.                                                                                     20180529_161951
  4. Place the salmon (skin side down) onto the crisper plate and cook on dynamic crisp setting for 7 minutes or until slightly crispy and cooked.
  5. Pour the basmati rice into the salad bowl and mix through with the toasted sesame oil, lime juice and 2 tsp of sweet chilli sauce.                                                             20180529_175433
  6. Serve up the salad and place the salmon when ready on top. Amazing, Tasty little dish. Yummy!

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Rotisserie Beef

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I do love a good Sunday Roast Dinner. I got a lovely bit of Scotch Beef Topside and decided to cook it Rotisserie Style, O.M.G! it was delicious. Meat was still Juicy on the inside with a lovely crispy outside. If you haven’t tried this cooking method, you are missing out…..seriously this is the only way I will cook this now.

I am lucky as my oven has a built in Rotisserie to it, such a great accessory. Check them out here Hotpoint Rotisserie Oven.

 

1kg Topside Scotch Beef

Rock Salt, Cracked Black Pepper and a little oil to season.

  1. Rub the seasoning into the meat and leave at room temperature for 15 minutes.
  2. Skewer the meat onto the Metal Skewer and insert into the oven.
  3. Select Turbo Grill and a medium heat. Place a pan of water underneath to catch any fat (which can be used for the gravy).
  4. Cook for about 1 hr 15 minutes for medium.

I also cooked some crispy potatoes using my crisperplate in my Combi Microwave. Perfect match.

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You can of course marinade the beef the night before in any spices you like, but I believe that when you have a really good bit a meat, salt & pepper is all you need.

 

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Chicken & Pasta Bake (with a mexican twist)

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Two exciting things happened today, I used my new pasta toy from Kitchenaid and made fresh pasta for the first time, then I created an amazing bake and baked it using my automatic baked pasta setting on my Hotpoint oven……such a great day in my kitchen today. I love it when new Technology just work!

 

Serves 2 large portions or 4 smaller portions

150g cooked pasta (see my Fresh pasta Recipe)

2 chicken breasts – cut into bite size pieces

1 yellow and 1 red pepper – cut into slices

1 red onion – cut into wedges

200g Quark

120ml Chicken Stock

1 tsp dried garlic granules

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp dried oregano

Salt & pepper to taste

1 tin chopped tomatoes

Grated Cheddar Cheese – quantity to suit your tastes (We love our cheese here…lol!)

 

  1. Heat a little oil in a pan on the hob, medium to high heat.
  2. Gently brown the vegetables, chicken, spices and season.
  3. Meanwhile cook your pasta.                                           20180203_155437
  4. Spoon about 2-3 tbsps of the tin tomatoes into a baking dish, then start to layer up the bake. I put pasta on next, then chicken, then vegetables, then rest of tomatoes.
  5. Make up the stock and mix the quark in to make a thick sauce, then pour over the bake in the dish.                     20180203_160435
  6. Set your oven (if you have a Hotpoint Class 9) to Baked Pasta and Cannelloni setting. If not, try 180 deg for approx 25-30 minutes.                 20180203_170123
  7. When you have 15 minutes left, sprinkle on the grated cheese and bake until golden and crisp on top.                                      20180203_172013
  8. Serve. Yummy!

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Apple & Raisin Filo Parcels

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I had some left over apples and filo in my kitchen so it was obvious it had to be little apple parcels. These were so tasty and so quick to cook using my little crisper plate……..oh did I tell you how much I love this little crisper? lol!

 

Makes 4

2 Granny smith apples – chopped into small chunks

3 sheets of filo pastry

1 beaten egg for wash

small handful of raisins

70g light brown caster sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

Fry oil – light

2 tbsps Icing sugar to finish

 

  1. Spray a fry pan with oil on a medium heat
  2. Gently fry the apple, sugar, cinnamon and raisins until just caramalised (about 8-10 mins) Remove and allow to cool.                                                                   20180127_151141
  3. Lay your first sheet of filo on a worktop and brush with the egg wash, then take your 2nd sheet and lay onto, brush with egg wash, and then your 3rd sheet as above.  Then cut vertically into 4 sections.                                                                                               20180127_163457
  5. Preheat your crisper plate for 3 minutes on dynamic crisp setting
  7. Once cooked, remove from plate and allow to cool slightly. Sieve some icing sugar over the parcels and serve. These are lovely with ice cream, whipped cream or even caramel sauce. oh so yummy!

You can of course bake these in a 190 deg oven for about 20 minutes.

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Rose Harissa Chicken

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This little dish is now becoming another go to dinner in my house, it so easy to prep, has a lovely taste and using my crisper plate is ready in under 15 minutes. I do love easy cooking sometimes.

 

Serves 2

2 Chicken Breasts

1 tbsp Rose Harissa

4-6 charlotte potatoes – halved

3-4 sweet peppers

1 red onion – cut into wedges

1 clove garlic – crushed

Salt & pepper to taste

1 tbsp olive oil

 

  1. Cut chicken into large bite size pieces and place in a bowl with the harissa, mix to coats evenly.
  2. In a separate bowl place the potatoes, onion and peppers with garlic, pour 1 tbsp olive oil then season with salt & pepper.
  3. Preheat your crisper plate for about 2-3 minutes on dynamic crisp setting
  4. Place the chicken and potato mix onto the crisper plate and cook for a further 12-14 minutes on dynamic crisp setting.
  5. Mix and serve. Yummy!

 

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Omelette Pockets

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Have I ever told you how much I love this Crisper Plate by Hotpoint, LOL!, and have I ever told you how much I love breakfast time? Well my saturday morning was a case of up and out so I need something quick but filling, this little omelette pocket only took 4 minutes to cook and so tasty and filling. Mission accomplished!

Serves 2

6 eggs

50g Spinach

5-6 slices of smoked cooked ham

handful of grated cheddar cheese

Salt & pepper to season

Chives (optional)

 

  1. Preheat the crisper plate for 2 minutes
  2. Beat eggs together with seasoning
  3. Pour onto crisper plate, lay evenly the spinach, ham, cheese and season to taste (you can of course use any combination of filling you like)
  4. Cook on dynamic crisp setting for 4 minutes or until eggs have set.
  5. Cut in half and fold over, serve. Yummy!

 

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My perfect Saturday morning Brekkie…..:)

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Crisper plate Burgers

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I know I’ve said this before but I do love this little Crisper Plate from Hotpoint, it really does cook your food in a fraction of the time and the plate is so easy to clean as it’s non stick. Check out their range at Hotpoint

 

This was the cooking instructions on the packaging for the burgers:-

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As you can see 14 mins is minimum time up to 30 mins in oven. With an added time of around 5-10 mins for the grill or oven to heat up first.

Using the Dynamic Crisp setting you preheat the plate for only 2 minutes, then I cooked the burgers for 8 minutes for a nice crisp finish. Amazing! Dinner in 10 minutes.

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