Vegetarian ChilliWe’re kicking off this series with a recipe from Marg. Thanks Marg! It’s a favourite one of hers because not only does it taste good but it contains lots of store cupboard ingredients and so is easy to do when you haven’t been able to shop. She has suggested some vegetables to use but really you can use whatever you have lurking in your fridge. Just remember to include some protein in the form of beans or lentils (or both!) and some sweet potato or ordinary potato to add a bit of

“substance” to the dish. You could also add quorn or beef or turkey mince if you like... just cook that first before adding the veg. It can be made even easier by just adding a packet of chilli con carne recipe mix to the veggies and beans. This is a great recipe and freezes well so you could make double to have later in the week. Serve with rice or would be great with a jacket potato. Easy, tasty... what’s not to love?

 Serves 2Ingredients

Celery, x 2/3 stalks chopped carrots, x 2 large - chopped sweet potatoes 1 large – peeled and cut into even pieces ordinary potato, x 1 large – peeled and cut into even pieces 1 onion – chopped sweetcorn (fresh or frozen or equivalent to a small tin) 1 x small tin of baked beans small tin of kidney beans large tin of chopped tomatoes 3 tablespoons of tomato puree (thickening agent-add more to achieve required

consistency). 2 teaspoons of chilli powder – adjust to personal taste salt and pepper 1 vegetarian stock cube Easy Cook Rice (of your choice)

 Method

1. Wash peel and prepare all fresh vegetables – boil in a small amount of seasoned water. – don’t discard the stock AS THIS WILL FREEZE FOR FUTURE DISHES

2. Add tinned produce together with3. Chilli4. Tomato puree5. Veg stock cube6. Season with Salt and Pepper to personal liking7. Heat through until piping hot and onions and fresh veg tender8.    Serve with a portion of Boiled Rice of your choice.

Chicken and Black bean Stir Fry

Stir fries are the ultimate fast food. Quick, tasty and easy to cook. I like to use packs of ready prepared stir fry vegetables because not only do they save you having to do loads of chopping but you also don’t have to buy umpteen different ingredients which you then have to find a use for. There are some great mixes available with all manner of colourful vegetables. I tend to prepare all the ingredients before I start cooking as once you get going there is little time to stop and chop anything.

This stir fry is delicious and really easy to make. The cashew nuts add a great crunch to the dish and are a good source of magnesium, essential for nearly every function in our body, and the heart healthy monounsaturated fats.

Serve this dish with rice or noodles. Cook 2 handfuls of uncooked rice or 1 nest of egg noodles per person. There are lots of easy to cook noodles and rice available in the supermarkets which can make portioning easier.

Serves 2Ingredients

vegetable/groundnut oil 2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cubed Handful unsalted cashew nuts chopped fresh ginger 1 packet stir-fry vegetables 2 tbsp black bean sauce

Method

Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a wok or large frying pan until it is smoking hot. Add the chicken and stir fry for 5 mins until browned. Add the cashews and ginger and stir fry for a further couple of minutes until the nuts

are golden and toasted. Remove the chicken, nuts and ginger from the wok and set aside. Give the wok a

quick wipe with some kitchen roll and reheat. Add another 2 teaspoons oil and when hot add the vegetables and stir fry for a

couple of minutes. Add the black bean sauce and chicken mix. Add a little water to thin down the sauce.

Heat through for 1-2 mins. Serve with rice or noodles.

SALMON & COUSCOUS PARCELS

I cooked this recently for myself and a couple of friends and it was a really great recipe. Quick, easy and delicious..... just as I like! I didn’t have any sundried tomatoes so I omitted them and it was still lovely. Since then I’ve discovered quite a few other fish recipes using the same technique which I’ll post in the coming weeks. Salmon is a great fish to include in your diet as not only is it a good protein source but it also

contains omega 3 fatty acids which are beneficial to heart health and brain function and vitamin D, essential for bone health. Current recommendations are that we eat at least two portions of fish a week and one of those should be an oily fish such as salmon, mackerel, trout.

Serves 2Ingredients

110g pack lemon and garlic couscous 

200ml hot vegetable stock

1 tbsp olive oil 

handful chopped fresh parsley

4 spring onions , thinly sliced

4 sundried tomatoes, chopped

2 salmon fillets , approx 140g/5oz each

Method

Put the couscous into a bowl and stir in the stock and oil. Cover with cling film and leave to stand 10 mins, then uncover and fluff up with a fork. Add the sundried tomatoes, most of the parsley and sliced onions. Mix and season to taste.

Heat oven to 200C/fan 180C/gas 6. Cut two large sheets of non-stick baking paper or foil , then divide the couscous between them. Sit a salmon fillet on top of each pile of couscous, top with the remaining parsley and sliced onion and season. Fold the paper over, then twist the edges to seal - like a Cornish pasty. Pop the parcels onto a baking sheet

and bake for 15 mins or until the fish feels firm through the paper. Serve in the bag with some vegetables.

You can also cook this in the microwave. Place each parcel on a microwave proof plate and microwave separately for 3 mins on High. Leave to stand for 2 mins before serving.

Mediterranean Chicken TraybakeI like these kind of recipes where you plonk everything into a pot or dish and throw it in the oven... very Jamie Oliver style! You can get on with something else while dinner cooks and it saves on washing up as well which is always good! This has the flavour of sunshine for me. It reminds me of sunny holidays in France and Greece. I can feel the sun on my back and the sand between my toes and imagine I’m in a little tavern overlooking the blue Mediterranean Sea! Dream on! 

Serves 2Ingredients

 250g baby new potatoes, thinly sliced 1 large courgette, diagonally sliced 1 red onion, cut into wedges 1 yellow pepper, seeded and cut into chunks 6 firm plum tomatoes, halved 12 black olives, pitted 2 skinless boneless chicken breast fillets 3 tbsp olive oil 1 rounded tbsp green pesto

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 200C/ Gas 6/fan oven 180C. Spread the potatoes, courgette, onion, pepper and tomatoes in a shallow roasting tin and scatter over the olives. Season with salt and coarsely ground black pepper.

2. Slash the flesh of each chicken breast 3-4 times using a sharp knife, then lay the chicken on top of the vegetables.

3. Mix the olive oil and pesto together until well blended and spoon evenly over the chicken. Cover the tin with foil and cook for 30 minutes.

4. Remove the foil from the tin. Return to the oven and cook for a further 10 minutes until the vegetables are juicy and look tempting to eat and the chicken is cooked through (the juices should run clear when pierced with a skewer).

Prawn cocktail saladThis dish involves no cooking at all and is probably not really a real recipe but I saw it in a magazine recently and we had it for tea one night when I was really rushed and it was enjoyed by the rest of the family so i thought I would post it here as it’s so quick. I’m also hopeful that we are going to have some nice weather and so a salad of some sort would be fitting. This uses prawn cocktail but any fishy sandwich filler/baked potato topper would be good.

Serves 2Ingredients

Lettuce, i used little gem but any sort would do 1 Avocado, stoned peeled and sliced Cherry tomatoes, halved ( a handful) Couple Spring onions, thinly sliced 200g tub prawn cocktail (with the sandwich fillers in the supermarket)

Method

Pile the lettuce, avocado, tomatoes and onion in a bowl and toss together

Divide between 2 serving bowls

Top with the prawn cocktail

Serve with buttered brown bread