As I am writing this I have already decided that my blog will be coming to an end within the next few months. It’s sad in a way because it has been a rather large (and slightly dominant) part of my life but I originally meant for this to be just a blog which acted as a weight loss incentive by shaming myself publically if I decide to cheat with a tin of Roses.
I will, however, be continuing this on until I hit 365 days and then this will remain online as some form of recipe folder for anyone to dip in and out of. I guess that in 2 months I will be able to start repeating recipes once again. That’ll be nice.
Ingredients (serves 4):
- 1 1/2 cups low-salt chicken stock
- 1 tsp olive oil
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, crushed
- 300g lean lamb mince
- 1 cup basmati rice
- 1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
- 1/3 cup sultanas
- 400g butternut squash, peeled and cut into small cubes
- 125g green beans, trimmed and halved
- 3 medium tomatoes, chopped
Add the oil to a large saucepan on a medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic in the pan for 6-7 minutes so that the onion has softened. Add the mince and cook this for 5 mince; keep it stirring so that it breaks up and browns. Add the cinnamon, stock, rice and sultanas then bring to the boil. Cover the saucepan with a lid, lower the heat and cook for 12 minutes.
To cook the squash add it to a Pyrex dish with ¼ cup of water then microwave on high until it’s tender. Do the same with the beans using only 2 tbsp of water.
Mix the squash, beans and tomato into the rice and cover for 5 minutes before serving. Remember to remove the cinnamon stick as those are a bit chewy.
Adapted from here
Verdict: I had a bit of an issue when it came to the instructions this website gave for cooking the squash and green beans. I have written up what I did in an attempt to make it go well but, in the end, I would recommend boiling the squash for 7 minutes and the beans for 4 to make sure it is not too chewy since that is not the point of the dish. Also, make very sure that you get lean lamb mince for the pilaf otherwise it will taste extremely greasy. As long as you get it all right this will taste good. It is not the best recipe in the world but it’s a nice difference.
Calorie Count: 463 per serving
