Rib Eye Steak With Roasted Root Vegetables

I think, that a nice good piece of steak doesn't need any sauce to go with it. I like to leave the meat speak for itself. It is best cooked pink to taste the flavours better and guarantee a nice juicy, tender steak.

For the Steak

Ingredients

2 rib eye steaks (2cm thick)
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
A knob of butter

For The Vegetables

Ingredients

2 tbsp goose fat
Olive Oil
Seasoning
Black mustard seed
Mustard seeds
3 carrots peeled and cut in half lengthwise
4 parsnips peeled and cut in quarters lengthwise
6 potatoes peeled and halved

Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time : up to an hour
Total Time : 1 hour 25 minutes
Serves 2
Level : easy

Method

Get your vegetables going, as that what is going to take time. The meat will be cooked in minutes.
Peel them and boil them slightly, you want to be able to prick them with a fork. But with a crush to them. You don't won't them sloppy and breaking. In an oven proof dish put the goose fat and put in a preheated oven until melted and bubbling. Oven at 200 degrees. Take it out gently and put the potatoes in, toss them well in the fat, cook for 30 minutes. Take them back out and add the carrots and parsnips. Drizzle some oil, and toss it all around with fat, season and the add mustard seeds. Leave to cook for a further 40 minutes. Now the meat. It's important you leave your meat rest at room temperature for at least 10 minutes before cooking. Season the meat well on both sides, and rub with some oil. Heat up a non stick frying pan don't add any oil to the pan , there's no need. Add the meat to the pan and on high heat sear the meat on both sides for about a minute. Turn the heat down and cook for 5 minutes on each side. Well to be fair I can't be precise on the times. This will depend on the thickness of your meat and even the type of pan you will be using. But approximately using this time your meat will be pink but not runny blood. Turn the heat off and put the meat on a warm plate. Add the knob of butter to the pan and melt it with the all the juices of the meat. Pour over your meat. Serve with your vegetables and maybe a dollop of Dijon mustard on the side of your plate.

Pan Fried Chicken Breast with Brandy Sauce

This week I wasn't really in the mood of spending a day cooking at any point. So I done a few quick meal. Plus gone out for dinner in the weekends , which was even better no cooking and no washing dishes. How do you like that. I kept really simply , but still comes out nice and tasty.

Chicken Breast

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts
Olive Oil
Pepper
Salt

For the Brandy Sauce

Ingredients

2 shallots
4 tbsp Brandy
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
200ml double cream
3 tbsp Worcester sauce
Seasoning
Olive oil

To serve

Baby carrots
Green Beans
Roast potatoes




Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Serves 2
Level: Easy

Method

Rest the chicken on a chopping board, Cut them in half lengthwise, but not all the way. They will look like a heart when flat. Season well both sides and rub with some oil. Heat up a non stick frying pan. Add the chicken to the dry pan and cook each side for about 6 minutes , before turning. It will have a nice brown color.
While that is resting on a warm plate in a warm place, you can start your sauce. The sauce only takes seconds to cook. So your food won't get cold. In the same pan you cooked the chicken , add a little oil, then the shallots. (these have to be chopped really fine, to help cook quicker) Season and add the Worcester sauce. Add the mustard and cook for another 30 seconds. Now the brandy, And flambe. (As soon as you put the brandy in, tip your pan a little sideways and it will instantly catch fire) The flame might be a bit big, don't worry that's fine.) Leave the flame die and add the cream. Give it a good stir and bring to boil. Pour over your chicken and serve immediately. Serve with any vegetables you fancy and enjoy.

A Quick Meat Sauce For Pasta

Most people today have a busy life. Therefore can not afford to spend all day in the kitchen. On the plus side this meal is a cheap meal too. I was meant to do something completley diffeerent today. But I have been so busy this week, this month December is a busy month . I do'tmind it all , makes things interesting . Any way I found out last minute , just when I was strating to cook that I had no eggs left. So I had to change my plans for dinner. I had a quick look in my cupboards, and came up with this.

Meat sauce

500g minced meat
3 rashers of bacon
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 red pepper
1 tbsp oregano
1 jar chili and tomato sauce
1 tbsp tomato paste
A pinch of sugar
A splash of water
Olive oil
Seasoning

Serve with

Pasta ( I used Tagliatelle)
Parmesan Cheese
Freshly ground Pepper

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Total Time : 30 minutes
Serves 4
Level: easy

Method

Heat up some oil and add the onion . Gently fry the onion until soft. Add the bacon and the mince. Turn the heat up a little. When the mince is brown add the crushed garlic and the peppers. Fry for a further minute or two. Add the jar of sauce and the tomato paste. Fill half the jar with water and add to the pan, along with a pinch of sugar. Season and add the oregano. Bring to a boil and simmer for about 5 minutes. Mix with pasta and sprinkle over some grated cheese.

Cajun Pork Chops with a Sweet Corn Salad

I had this recipe inspied from a Jamacian. Hot and spicy , I do like a kick in my meals. Gives all another dimension to food. This works really well with chicken legs too. Today I had Pork chops avaliable in my freezer.

Pork Chops with Cajun

Ingredients

6 pork chops
2 tbsp cajun spice
2 tbsp oive oil
juice of a lime

For the sweet corn salad

Ingredients

1 tin sweet corn (big)
2 chopped tomatoes
A piece of cucumber diced
1/2 a red onion diced
Chili flakes
Extra virgin olive oil (drizzle)
Seasoning

To serve

Asparagus
Savoury rice
Chips

Preparation Time: 10 minute
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
Marinate Time: 30 minutes
Total Time : 1 hour 10 minutes
Serves 4
Level: Easy

Method

Who said you can't have a nice yummy dinner after a days work! With not much to do.
No fuss , but yet so delicious and a colorful plate. If you want the taste to be more intense I suggest that you marinade the chops for at least 30 minutes before cooking. Get all the ingredients ready and prepare the marinade first. Get a small bowl and mix in the Cajun spice, olive oil and lime, season. Get a brush and using the marinade, brush both sides of the pork chops. Use all the marinate , cover with cling film and leave in the fridge for 30 minutes. Turn your grill on low and put the chops in. Turn them half way through. They should take about 15/20 minutes to cook. But this will be determined with the thickness of your meat. You don't want to over cook them, as they will be dry therefore chewy.
While the pork is cooking away in your grill, you can start your salad.  Open the tin of sweet corn and drain. Add in a salad bowl, chop the tomatoes, cucumber and onion. Add with the sweet corn in the bowl. Add the flakes of dried chili, the oil and season to your taste. Serve on the side with your chops. There you go dinner is served. You can now chill and enjoy your evening. Maybe with a nice glass of wine .

Hot and Sour Pork Stir Fry

Who doesn't like a Chinese take away.  I now I do , the only problem is that they are so greasy . So I like to do my own every now and then . It's just as delicious, but on the plus side, it only has half the fat it would have when you buy it ready from a take away. It only takes minutes to cook and not even much of a messy kitchen as it's all done in the same wok. I'm doing mine with pork fillet , but you can easily do it with chicken. So lets get started.

Hot and Sour Pork Stir Fry

Ingredients

450g pork fillet cut in strips
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 juice of a lime
4 tbsp clear honey
4 tbsp cornflower
1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 yellow pepper
1/2 a red onion
1 chili (deseed) I leave the seeds in mine
A splash of water
Toasted sesame seeds

To serve

Noodles
Prawn crackers

Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Serves 4
Level: Easy

Method

Mix the corn flour in a bowl with the soy sauce and the lime. Leave a side .  In hot and sizzling wok add some oil. Then brown your pork all over add the peppers, the red onion and the chili. Fry for a further 3 minutes. In the meantime cook the noodles following the instruction on the pack. And dry fry the sesame seeds until brown but not black, and mix them in with sauce mixture. Add the sauce mixture to the pan stir and it will be really thick, add water little by little until you get your desired consistency. It should be a thick and sticky. Bring the noodles to the pan and stir fry altogether. Serve and eat immediately while hot. They go really nice with some prawn crackers on the side.

Lamb and Pork Cannelloni

This recipe is going to look like a lot , a big meal. But don't worry ! What I done is, froze half the meat sauce in freezable container. Write what it is and the date on it too. This will last for about three months in the freezer . I'm sure at some point you will have a busy day and find it really handy . Just put it in the fridge to defrost for at least 12 hours.
HINT:  You want it quicker then filling every tube one by one you can easily layer it like a lasagna :]

Lamb an Pork Cannelloni

Ingredients

18/20 tubes of cannelloni
500g lamb mince
500g pork mince
1 tin kidney beans
1 carrot
1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
2 tins chopped tomatoes
1 chili chopped (deseeded if you want)
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 tbsp tomato puree'
Olive oil
Seasoning
Cheddar cheese

For the white sauce

Ingredients

50g butter
50g plain flour
2 hand fulls of baby spinach leaves
350ml vegetable stock
350ml milk
Pinch of nutmeg
Seasoning

Cooking Time: 35 minutes oven , 15/20 minutes hob
Serves 8
Level : Medium

Method

In some oil fry your mince until brown all over. Drain all the fat (I picked it up with a slotted spoon and rinsed the dish before used it again) and put it on some kitchen towel. Set aside. Add some more oil and fry gently the onion garlic and carrot until soft. Add the chili and paprika, stir in and cook for a minute or two. Bring back the mince to the pan and add the drained kidney beans ( I unfortunately forgot them on the side and didn't add them ) But next time when I use the other half that's in the freezer, I will add kidney beans while warming it up. Now add your tomatoes and the puree'. Make sure everything is warm and well cooked , take off the heat and put aside t cool , while you can start the white sauce. Melt the butter gently in a pan, as we don't won't burnt butter. It taste bitter and ruins the flavour of the sauce. Add the flour and stir it in well for about a minute. Take off the heat and add the milk a little at a time, Stir in well every time you add a little milk. If you don't do this step well , you will end up with a lumpy white sauce. I'm sure you don't want that, as it will end up down the drain. Put back on the hob and add the stock. Warm trough on a flame, stirring constantly , until thick. Add the nutmeg , spinach and season. Give a last stir, cover and set aside. Turn your oven on, to preheat, on 180 degrees.
You can now start filling your cannelloni tubes as the meat mixture has cooled down. If you don't need to use all the meat sauce , transfer half of it in a container and use another time. This bit to fill the tubes will be a bit tricky. You just need a lot of patience ad time too :] . Layer them in your oven proof dish, preferably you want to tug them in nicely on one level if possible. Scoop all the white sauce over everything and grate a generous amount of cheddar cheese to cover. Season , and in the oven for 35 minutes. Leave to sit for 15 minutes before serving . Serve with steamed broccoli, cauliflower and garlic bread.

Baked Macaroni (pasta)

I must be feeling a little home sick lately,been cooking a few Maltese dishes. This is a traditional Maltese pasta dish. Very easy to make and quite tasty too. All basic ingredients that one should have in the cupboard or fridge. So if you're one of those that stress out what to cook everyday. You will like this . Well I used to be terrible. I'd wake up everyday with a thought in my head. WHAT SHALL I COOK TODAY. I hated it , I came up with a timetable now. I do it on Wednesday's normally. So then I'm sorted for the following week. In the morning I just open my diary and check what needs to come out of the freezer. Stress free!

Baked Macaroni

Ingredients

300g of pasta (macaroni)
500g minced beef
3 rashers of bacon
2 boiled eggs
1 beaten egg
1 onion
1 carrot
2 garlic cloves
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbs tomato puree'
1 tbs curry powder
2 bay leaves
200ml of double cream
Seasoning
Cheddar cheese

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time: 35/40 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour
Serves : 6
Level : Easy

Method

Boil some water and drop in two eggs , to hard boil them. They need about 6/7 minutes to cook. Then leave them aside to cool before pealing them and using them. Chop all the vegetables and fry in a deep pan for about 10 minutes on a low flame. Add the mince and the bacon, turn the heat up a little. Keep an eye on it. When brown all over ,add the curry powder and the bay leaf. Drop in a good splash of Worcester sauce, you can use a glass of wine if you like. As I already said before, in this case I find it a bit of a waste. Break a vegetable stock cube in and add the chopped tomatoes and the paste followed by a pinch of sugar. Fill the tomato can with water and pour in the sauce. Leave to simmer for about 15 minutes uncovered. Boil your pasta al dente , drain and leave on the side. Peel the eggs and chop them up. In the same pot you boiled the pasta, tip the pasta back in and stir in the sauce (remove the bay leaves) and the eggs. Season. Beat an egg in. Get the oven proof dish and start transferring your pasta in the dish. I do it in thirds and in between I drizzle a third of the double cream. Dish will keep it nice an moist in the middle trough the cooking time. Cover with a lot of cheese on top and put in a preheated oven 190 degrees for 35/40 minutes . Leave to cool for ten minutes before dishing in your plates.