Asparagus, Pea, Bean & Rice Bowl

Asparagus Rice Bowl

I am always looking for new ideas to be healthier in my Dinner choices, I used to think healthy meant you’d always be hungry after….lol. In this dish it is the complete opposite, with the addition of the rice & beans it was very filling and kept me satisfied all night, and with only 400 calories & 29g protein per serving, it was super healthy too.

You can always add some flaked Salmon for that extra nutrition.

Serves 2-3

Handful of Asparagus, trimmed & chopped

Handful of Green Beans, timmed & chopped

Handful of Peas

150g Wholegrain Rice (or for quickness, you could use prepacked rice)

100g Baby Spinach, chopped

1 x 400g Tin of Mixed Salad Beans (or any beans that you prefer, just not Baked!)

Zest & Juice of 1 Lemon

2 tsp Dijon Mustard

1 tbsp Olive Oil

Pinch Sugar

Handful freshly Chopped Coriander

Rainbow Pepper or Black Pepper

  1. Cook the asparagus, green beans and peas in a pan of boiling water for 2-3 mins until tender. Drain.
  2. Cook the Rice as per packet instructions and drain.
  3. Heat the mixed salad beans in a pan for 4-5 minutes.
  4. In a large bowl, put the rice, asparagus, green beans, peas, mixed salad beans & spinach, mix through until combined.
  5. In a small bowl, mix together, olive oil, dijon mustard, lemon juice & zest and pinch sugar, pour over the rice bowl and mix through. Sprinkle over some fresh coriander and pepper then serve.
Bowl of Asparagus, Bean & Rice

Chicken & Chickpea Thai Cakes

Chicken & Chickpea Thai Cakes

These little cakes are so easy to make and quick too, a great mid week dinner or even a quick lunch bite. What’s even better is that they are healthy, low in fat & low in calories at just 150 per cake.

Makes 8

2 Chicken Breasts

4 Spring Onions – chopped finely

1 tsp garlic granules or 2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/2 tsp ginger or 1″ fresh ginger chopped finely

1 tbsp dried coriander

2 tsps Soy Sauce

Zest & Juice of 1 lime

Salt & Pepper

1 tin of Chickpeas drained (400g)

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

Sweet Chilli Sauce to serve.

  1. Preheat oven to 180 deg and line a baking tray with greaseproof paper.
  2. Using of food processor blitz the chickpeas and chicken until minced.
  3. In a bowl mix everything together with your hands and form 8 small cakes about 1cm thick, place onto baking paper and bake in the oven for 15 minutes.
  4. Serve with some Sweet Chilli Sauce. Yum!
Chicken & Chickpea Thai Cakes

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.

 


Egg & Spinach Egg Baskets

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Monday morning breakfast was a case of trying to use up leftovers. I had some fresh bread and spinach that needed to be used, so decided on some easy breakfast cups. Quick and easy to make. There are so many flavours you can use for these too.

Made 3 with left overs

1 piece of bread per cup – crustless

Eggs

Baby Spinach

Cheddar Cheese (low fat – optional)

Salt & pepper to season

chilli flakes – optional

1 tsp paprika – optional

1 tbsp butter – melted

 

  1. Firstly preheat your oven to 180 deg.
  2. Brush your bread with the melted butter both sides and cut diagonally, place the bread into the muffin tin overlapping and making sure the bottom is covered.
  3. Bake the bread in the oven for 5 minutes and remove
  4. Place the spinach & cheese with seasoning and chilli into the cups and then crack the egg into them. Sprinkle with paprika and bake for a further 15 minutes.  A bit less if you like your eggs really running.
  5. Scoop out with a spoon and devour! Yummy.

 

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Chickpea Flatbreads with Roasted Tomato & Walnut Sauce

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Oh yum, this little Sunday lunch dish was super tasty and healthy too. Original recipe was adapted from Love & Lemons. I was trying to use up what I had in my fridge so roasted tomato sauce it was to go with. Topped with some fresh scottish mackerel this was so tasty and flavoursome.

 

For the Flatbreads:-

Serves 2

200g Gram Flour

1 tsp sea salt

1 tsp garlic powder

2 tsp Dried Parsley

2 tsp Dried Coriander

1 tsp Ground cumin

1/2 tsp Chilli powder or crushed chilli

2 tsps Lemon juice

6 tsps extra virgin olive oil

300ml water

 

  1. In a large bowl, mix everything together, chickpea flour, salt, garlic powder, dried herbs, cumin, lemon juice, olive oil and water. Allow to sit for about 30 minutes.                                                                                                          20190414_131455
  2. Preheat a pan on the hob to a high heat with a little oil, pour half the mixture into the pan and cook for a few minutes until you see the mixture starting to rise. Flip over and cook for a further few minutes until slightly browned.
  3. Serve with roasted tomato sauce, top with strips of cucumber and some smoked mackerel. Yummy!

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For the Roasted Tomato & Walnut Sauce

12-15 cherry tomatoes – halved

1 tsp ground garlic powder

2 tsps powdered sugar

2 tsps sea salt

1/4 tsp chilli flakes

2 tbsps Walnut Oil

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

 

  1. Roast the tomatoes under the grill or in a pan until soft and slightly browned.
  2. Place all other ingredients into a food processor, add the roasted tomatoes and blitz until you get a smooth puree.

 

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Sweet Potato, Butternut Squash & Spinach Curry Burgers

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Oh yum. In my aim to be eating a bit healthier this year, I took my hand to these little nutritious burgers, they were so delicious and very filling too.

Makes about 6

200g butternut Squash – sliced

200g Sweet Potato – sliced

1 medium onion – finely chopped

1 clove garlic – crushed

1 tsp dried chilli flakes

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp dried coriander

100g Spinach

Salt & Pepper to taste

  1. Cook the butternut Squash and mash up. (I steamed cooked mine using my steam pot for about 6 minutes)
  2. In a bowl mix the butternut squash, wilted spinach, onion, cumin, paprika, coriander, salt & pepper, chilli flakes & garlic.                                        20190211_153656
  3. Place a cutter onto a sheet of greaseproof paper or plate and fill the cutter with the mixture making individual circles. Approx 2 cm thick.                                                20190211_174658
  4. Heat up the Crisperplate for 2 minutes and cook on Crisp setting for 6 minutes, turn then cook for a further 4 minutes (depending on how well you like them cooked, you can cook for a further 2 minutes for extra brownness) Alternatively, fry in a pan for about 6 mins on medium heat each side with a little oil.                              20190211_180637
  5. Serve. Yummy!
  6. I added some potato wedges to my crisperplate at the same time for a one pan meal.

Curried Cod

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This is a tasty little dish and so healthy too. I’m always trying to get more fish into my meals (hard when my partner isn’t a fish fan!), but even he loved this one. Result!

Easy to make and full of protein and iron.

Makes 2 portions

1 tsp oil

1 onion, chopped

2 tbsp curry powder

1 tsp ground mixed spice

2 garlic cloves or 1 tsp dried garlic

1 x 400g chopped tomatoes

1 can chickpeas (optional)

100g Spinach (optional)

1 packet of fresh green peas

2 cod fillets

zest of 1 lemon

handful of chopped coriander to serve

 

  1. Heat oil in a large pan and cook onion & garlic over a high heat until softened and slightly browned. Stir in the curry powder and mixed spice, mix through.
  2. Add in the tin tomatoes, chickpeas and green peas with seasoning to taste.
  3. Cook for about 10 minutes until sauce starts to thicken slightly.
  4. Add in the cod and cover, continue to cook for another 10 minutes until fish is cooked through.
  5. Squeeze on the lemon zest and coriander then serve.  Yummy!

I served with some curry roasted parnsips and carrots.

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Puff Pizza

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I know, I’m going to tell you all about my Crisperplate again….lol! Just 7 minutes bake time for these quick and easy puff pastry pizzas, compared to an oven bake (20 mins), the Crisper does it in more than half the time with the same results.

One my own this afternoon I just wanted a quick lunch, so this was perfect. I decided to use up things in my fridge, so I went for this combo, but you can make any combination you like. (times may vary)

 

Makes 2

1 roll puff pastry (use half if making 2) – cut in half or quarter if making 4

2 tbsp tomato paste

Seasoning

Grated Mozzarella

Mushrooms – I used Chestnut

Little olive oil

 

  1. Pre heat your crisper plate for 2 minutes
  2. Roll out pastry and with each half, score a 1cm border all the way around.
  3. Score a couple of diagonal lines in the middle (do not go right through) then place onto crisper plate.
  4. Place grated mozzarella into the middle, evenly but not too thick. Season.
  5. Then place the mushrooms in a layer evenly and drizzle a little oil over. Season
  6. Cook on Crisper setting for 7-8 minutes or until your desired brownness level.
  7. Yummy!

 


Walnut Bread

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Oh WOW! That’s all I’m going to say, well apart from, you have to try this. I am always looking for something different and this little recipe came from Kitchen Aid . Usually, I follow a recipe then on my second attempt change it up a little and experiment, but not on this one, it simply is delicious. Especially with some vintage cheddar…Mmmmmm.

 

450g plain flour

50g Rye flour – I used wholemeal

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

45g melted salted butter

1 tbsp treacle

325ml buttermilk

200g walnut pieces

 

  1. Pre heat oven to 180 deg. I used the convection bake setting.
  2. Place the flours, bicarbonate of soda and salt into a large bowl and stir together. Make a large hole in the centre of the flour mixture and pour in the melted butter and treacle, walnut pieces plus enough of the buttermilk to make a loose sticky dough.
  3. Tip the dough onto a lightly dusted work surface. The dough will be quite sticky. Shape it into a large ball with a taut top. Place the dough on a floured baking tray and flatten it a bit. Using a knife, score the bread20180824_100603
  4.  Dust with flour then bake in the oven for 40 minutes, or until the bread is golden brown and has risen.                                                                      20180824_101705
  5. Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack. Serve with some lovely cheddar or simply butter.

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Stir Fry Spicy Beef Noodles

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Delicious quick Friday night dish, or any night for that matter. I do love a good stir fry. Good thing with this dish, is that you could add any type of spice and it would work.

 

Serves 2

400g good quality beef – cut into strips

2 tbsp balsamic vinegar

2 tbsp soy sauce

2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

3/4 spring onions, chopped

1 bag a pre mixed stir fry vegetables

1 bag a fresh egg noodles

2 tsp dried chillies

 

  1. Marinade the beef strips in the vinegar, soy sauce & worcestershire sauce for about 1/2 hour.
  2. Heat a tsp oil in a pan, add the beef and brown all over then add in the chillies
  3. Add in the noodles and cook for a few minutes adding in the remaining sauce mix.
  4. Then add in the stir fry vegetables, along with the spring onions, cook through for about 5 minutes. Serve. Yummy!

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Chickpea, Potato & Spinach Curry

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Oh Yum…yum…this wee dish was so tasty. Using up my home grown potatoes this little throw together dish was perfect and healthy too.

I made some of my homemade Chapati’s , which went perfectly. Oh…and a wee glass of Chardonnay too! lol!

 

Serves 2

1 can chickpeas

6 charlotte potatoes, cut into cubes

100g baby Spinach

1 can plum tomatoes

1 tsp cumin

1 onion, chopped finely

1 tsp ginger

1 tsp dried garlic

1 tsp chilli seeds

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp chilli powder

1/2 tsp gram masala

1 tsp dried coriander

1 tsp olive oil/fry oil

 

  1. Heat the oil in a saute pan, add the onion and cumin fry until the onion is golden. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli’s, coriander, turmeric, gram masala and chilli powder and cook for five minutes.
  2. Add in the cubed potatoes and fry until potato is slightly browned, season.
  3. Add in the plum tomatoes, chop up and mix thoroughly.
  4. Now add in the chickpeas and mix through, simmer for about 20 minutes.
  5. Throw in the spinach and cover with a lid to help wilt down. (roughly 5 minutes)
  6. Serve with Chapati or some rice.

 

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Chicken, Bacon & Spinach cheesy pasta

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Oh yum….that’s all I’m going to say.

I do love one pot meals, quick and easy cooking, especially on a Friday…..you’ve just finished work, weather is awful outside and you just need some home comforts and home comfort food. This is one of my go to recipes just for that occasion. Serve with a chilled glass of chardonnay and its perfection friday.

 

Makes 2

100g pasta – I used pasta twists but you can use any type

2 chicken breasts – cut into bite size pieces

200g Smoked Bacon Lardons

100g Spinach

1 white onion – chopped finely

salt & pepper

1 tsp crushed garlic

1 tsp spiced red pepper

low cal spray oil

1 cup milk (about 150ml)

1 large handful of grated cheese (I used cheddar), it is also delicious with parmesan.

 

  1. Spray a little oil in a pan. Fry off the bacon until slightly crispy, add the onion and fry until golden brown. Remove with a slotted spoon.
  2. Fry the chicken until browned all over.
  3. Add back to the pan the bacon and onion, add the garlic, red pepper, salt & pepper and mix through.
  4. Add in the spinach and mix until slightly wilted
  5. Pour in the milk and bring to the boil, then reduce slightly and simmer until pasta is cooked about 10-12 mins.
  6. Add in the cheese and mix through until melted.
  7. Serve.

Delicious!

 


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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Red Pepper Chicken with Crispy Potatoes & Steamed Vegetables

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Don’t you just love quick and easy cooking? Sometimes, especially on bank holiday Mondays when your relaxed, you just don’t feel like cooking but still want something healthy, nutritious, flavoursome with hardly any washing up? Oh yes, you’ve guessed it……out comes the little Crisper plate, this little dish is so easy and quick with perfect results. I also used my new Steam pot too for extra nutrition. I just love Gadgets that work for me.

 

Makes 2 servings.

For the Crisper Plate:-

2 Chicken Breasts – cut into large bite size pieces

2-3 potatoes – cut into bite size chunks (skin on)

2-3 sweet peppers – cut into wedges

1 red onion – cut into wedges

Handful of plum tomatoes

Salt & Pepper

Red Pepper Chilli flakes

Garlic & Parsley seasoning

 

  1. Pre-heat the Crisper plate for 2 minutes on Dynamic Crisp
  2. Place all above ingredients (except the tomatoes) into a bowl or food bag and drizzle with a little oil, shake to coat chicken, potatoes and veg.                      20180402_181839
  3. Place onto the Crisper plate and cook for 12-15 minutes (depends on thickness of potatoes and chicken or how crispy you like it)
  4. After 6 minutes, add in the plum tomatoes and cook.                                          20180402_183113_001
  5. Serve…..Yummy!

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For the Steamed Vegetables:-

Your choice of vegetables, I choose broccoli, asparagus and spinach.

Place broccoli and asparagus onto the steam pot grid and fill the pot with 200ml water. Place into the oven and select sensor steam, cook for 5 minutes.

2 minutes before cooking is due to finish, place the spinach in the pot and continue to cook.

 

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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

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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Maple Bacon & Spinach Hasselback Chicken with Crisperplate potatoes

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Having some Maple Bacon Jam left after Xmas, I decided to try it with Chicken and it was delicious, perfect combination. I also used my Crisper plate to cook some crispy potatoes, perfect accompaniment.

 

Serves 2

For the Chicken

2 Chicken Breasts

1/4 jar of Maple Bacon Jam – bought from The SweetBeet Co. Maple Bacon Jam

50g Spinach

Salt & pepper to taste

For the potatoes

6-8 charlotte potatoes – cut into quarters or halves (depending on size)

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt & pepper to taste

 

  1. Preheat oven to 200 deg
  2. Make openings in the chicken breast 3/4 way down, don’t cut all the way to the bottom                                                                                                                                                20180113_164845
  3.  Wilt the spinach on the hob and mix in a bowl with the maple bacon jam.
  4.  Stuff the mix into the chicken slits and then season the chicken with salt & pepper.
  5. Wrap the chicken losely in tin foil and bake in oven for 30 minutes. The last 5 minutes of cooking, open up the foil to allow to brown slightly.
  6. Meanwhile, preheat your crisperplate for 3 minutes on dynamic crisp setting (hotpoint oven only).

  7. Place uncooked cut potatoes into a food bag and pour olive oil in with plenty seasoning and shake to coat. Pour onto preheat plate and bake for about 12-13 minutes.
  8. Serve both together….yummy!   I used a drizzle of Maple Syrup over my chicken…delicious!

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Cajun Spiced Scrambled Eggs

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Told you I was on a mission to eat healthier without compromising on flavours! Another cracker of a wee dish, I had this for brunch today (I needed a lay in..lol!) Bonus:- Under 400 calories!

 

Serves 2

4 eggs

75ml Light Single Cream

Low calorie Spray

1 red onion – finely chopped

1 green pepper – finely chopped

50g kale – shredded

50g Spinach leaves – I used baby

2 tsp Cajun spice mix (1/2 tsp garlic, 1 tsp all spice, 1/2 tsp thyme), (my all spice mix was:- 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, 1/2 tsp smoked paprika, 3 cloves)

salt & pepper to taste

 

  1. Beat together Cream and eggs with salt & pepper
  2. Heat spray oil in a fry pan on medium heat and cook through onion and green pepper (3-4 mins)
  3. Add kale with a splash of water, cook for a few minutes. Sprinkle on the Cajun mix and add seasoning, then add in the spinach, cook until spinach has wilted.
  4. Spray the mixture with some spray oil and add in the egg mixture, allow to sit for 1 minute then stir through until you have scrambled egg effect. Serve immediately.

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Poached Eggs with Spinach and Tomatoes

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I just love Lazy Sunday mornings, no alarm, no rushing, relaxing healthy breakfast with a good fresh cup of coffee, no better way to start the day. This little breakfast is so tasty and quick to pull together but also very nutritional:-

Spinach (Spinacia oleracea) is one of incredible green-leafy vegetable often recognised as one of the functional foods for its health benefiting nutritional, antioxidants and anti-cancer composition. Its tender, crispy, dark-green leaves are one of the favorite ingredients of chefs all around the world. It is very low in calories and fats (100 g of raw leaves provide just 23 calories). Fresh 100 g of spinach contains about 25% of daily intake of iron, one of the highest for any green leafy vegetables. Fresh leaves are a rich source of several vital antioxidant vitamins like vitamin-A & vitamin-C.

Eggs Eggs are an all-natural source of high-quality protein and a number of other nutrients, all for 70 calories per large egg. One egg has varying amounts of 13 essential vitamins and minerals plus 6 grams of high-quality protein. The high-quality protein in an egg is essential for building and maintaining lean body mass.

Tomatoes are also an excellent source vitamin C, biotin, molybdenum and vitamin K. They are also a very good source of copper, potassium, manganese, dietary fiber, vitamin A (in the form of beta-carotene), vitamin B6, folate, niacin, vitamin E and phosphorus. They are usually red when mature, but can come in a variety of colors, including yellow, orange, green and purple. The water content of tomatoes is around 95%. The other 5% consist mainly carbohydrates and fiber. One medium sized tomato (123 grams) contains only 22 calories.

 

2 Large eggs

100g Spinach

Mixture of tomatoes

Rainbow pepper

oil 1 tsp

Chopped Chilli (optional if you like a bit of spice)

 

  1. Heat a little oil in a fry pan on medium to high heat, half tomatoes and place face down in pan, cook for about 4-5 minutes or until browned and softened.
  2. Meanwhile bring a pan of water to boil then reduce to a simmer and place eggs in one at a time to poach, I make a swirling motion in water to help bring the egg together. Poach for about 3-4 minutes.
  3. Add the spinach to the tomatoes and place a lid on for about 1-2 minutes until spinach is wilted.
  4. Place spinach and tomatoes on to a plate, top with poached eggs and season with rainbow pepper and chilli. YUMMY!

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Hash Browns and baked eggs

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Breakfast at the weekends are my favourite……..long lazy mornings, the smell of fresh coffee, listening to some morning relaxing music on the radio, (oh I sound old…I should say Spotify!….lol!) a good homemade filling breakfast that sets you up for the day……sound perfect? It’s even more perfect when you have a gadget that simply works everytime, and only 1 pan to ever wash up….now that sounds perfect….does it not?

I’ve made hash browns before using a fry pan on hob, but thought I’d try on my crisper plate and wow, so easy, cooked to perfection, no oil used so therefore its healthier, no turning over and non stick………I’ve said it before but I love this little plate.

Makes 2

2 Potatoes – I used Maris Pipers with skin on, all the flavour is in the skin – don’t peel

Salt  & pepper

Knob of Butter

Choice of spices or herbs (I used Turmeric for this one, 2 tsp)  I’ve also made it with crushed red peppers for some spice and also a little curried powder.

  1. Wash potatoes then grate using the large holes on a grater
  2. Preheat the crisper plate on dynamic crisp for 3 minutes, remove from oven and put knob of butter in to melt.
  3. Sprinkle the potatoes over the plate, leaving small gaps (like a spiders web), this allows the steam to escape and the potatoes to crisp up nicely  20171104_095913
  4. Season with Salt & pepper & your spices or herbs
  5. Bake on dynamic crisp setting for 6 minutes
  6. Remove from oven and crack 2 eggs on top of potatoes, put back in and bake for 1m30sec for runny and 2m for hard egg.  20171104_095941
  7. When you slide it off of the plate it should all stick together like a web.    20171104_101548
  8. Serve….yummy…yummy!

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Venison and Chorizo Casserole

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On my travels back from Inverness this week, I stopped at the House of Bruar near Blair Atholl, they have an amazing Food Hall with everything Scottish and some.  I picked up some lovely venison from Highland Game, Purveyors of fine foods in Dundee. With some Chorizo left over I decided this recipe, which was absolutely delicious and rich in flavour.

Serves 2

300g Diced Venison

75g Chorizo – sliced/diced

1 onion chopped

1 crushed garlic

1 tbsp smoked paprika

salt & pepper

250ml beef stock

100ml red wine (I used Merlot, perfect with venison)

1 Bay leaf

1 carrot sliced or you could use butternut squash

1 tbsp flour

 

  1. Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a pan, light coat the venison with flour and add to pan to brown all over. Season.
  2. Add the Chorizo, garlic and onion and stir through for few mins until golden.
  3. Sprinkle in the paprika and add the carrots, pour in the beef stock and red wine, bring to the boil, cover and simmer for 2-3 hours.                                                                                                                            20160409_173408
  4. I served with some wild rice but it is also lovely with boiled potatoes and green veg.

YUMMY!

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