Thin Cooking Loves… Quick Recipes

So, next week I (like everyone else on my course) will be starting my first placement in a secondary school as part of becoming a kick-ass Biology teacher. Common sense and decency prevents me from naming the school on this blog (seriously who does that) but what I can say without any fear of repercussion is that my spare time will take a massive hit which means that as much as I love cooking I won’t want to be spending all my time making dinner like a character from Desperate Housewives (although some stress baking a la Izzie from Grey’s Anatomy may occur).

Therefore for PGCE students everywhere, especially those pressing me for a second blog (you know who you are), this week’s Love post (as well as next week’s recipes) is dedicated to those great recipes that take less than half an hour to make.

It would take me too long to make an exhaustive list of all the quick recipes I have ever made since I have written up over 220 so far but here are a selection of 10 covering as many bases as possible:

1. Chorizo and Roasted Pepper Tagliatelle
2. Orange Chicken
3. Mushroom, Red Pepper and Goat’s Cheese Melt
4. Lemon Pepper Calamari
5. Nasi Goreng
6. Prosciutto, Pear and Blue Cheese Sandwich
7. Taco Salad
8. Penne Alla Matriciana
9. Beef in Oyster Sauce
10. Pad Thai

There you go Laura, go nuts.

Salmon with Crème Fraîche and Peas

I have said it before and I will say it again: one of the best things about all this cooking is when you find you enjoyed food that you thought you really would not.

I am not a big fish fan… this may seem surprising when I have cooked dishes with tuna, monkfish, shellfish and haddock but they have, for the most part, been fried or baked not boiled. I have had issues with boiled fish mainly because my nanna loved boil in the bag fish with parsley sauce and the smell used to really make me cringe.

However, since I have conquered so much this is a minor one to give a go to.

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 leek, thinly sliced
• 250ml chicken stock
• 100g reduced-fat crème fraîche
• 300g frozen peas
• 4 skinless salmon fillets
• a pinch of dried chives

Heat the oil in a large lidded non-stick frying pan and cook the leek for 10 minutes so that it has softened. Pour in the stock and then, after simmering on a medium-low heat for a few minutes, add the crème fraîche with the peas and the salmon.

Stick the lid on (not literally) and simmer for 12-15 minutes then serve with the chives sprinkled on top.

Adapted from here

Verdict: Delicious, and when you consider what it actually in it then it will come as no surprise. What I loved most about this dish (which I served over some microwaved rice) was the creaminess that could be found in the salmon fillet itself as you bit into it.

Since we are using reduced-fat crème fraîche there will always be a slight issue with of it separating out as it cooks. I found that as long as you did not bring the pan to boiling point and simmered the salmon on a low flame in the latter stages of cooking that you can keep separation to an absolute minimum.

Calorie Count: 380 per serving

Paprika Pork

So, this marks the beginning of the last week of college before I start my first school placement. It’s rather scary but by the sounds of it I will be in a decent comprehensive with a goo behavioural record… and did I mention it was all girls? Also that it’s a faith school? Oh me, oh my.

Remember a while ago when I made goulash? It was a long time ago so I excuse you for not remembering but this is essentially a far simpler goulash without the root vegetables and other gubbins. If you want to make this feel really Eastern European you could try to serve this with some spatzle… otherwise egg noodles or tagliatelle is fine.

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 2 onions, finely sliced
• 400g pork shoulder, trimmed of fat and cubed
• 250g chestnut mushrooms, thinly sliced
• 1½ tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp tomato purée
• 200ml chicken stock
• 100ml soured cream

Heat the oil in a large non-stick pan and cook the onions for 10 minutes until they have softened. Add the mushrooms and the cubed pork to the pan and cook for 3-4 minutes until the meat has browned.

Scatter the smoked paprika over the pork then stir in followed by the tomato purée and the stock. Simmer this for about 8 minutes before mixing in the soured cream. Serve this with some tagliatelle (if you have some).

Adapted from here

Verdict: Make sure you remove as much fat from the pork as possible since it will remain pretty much intact after the cooking process… just an advance warning based on experience.

With the pasta this became a filling meal which was somehow not very dominated by the onion and smoked paprika and the cooking method ended up with very tender pork. I would dry this with rice next time and maybe add something like pickled limes to experiment… if only I knew where to find them.

Also, I apologise about the lack of photos… my camera has been out of commission lately.

Calorie Count: 257 per serving

Thin Cooking Loves… Toastie Night

What is the best part of Sunday night?

No, it isn’t preparing for work/college the next day because it totally sucks ass.

No, it isn’t taking out the recycling.

It’s TOASTIE NIGHT!!!

So, yes we have a rather nifty sandwich press which has made the best toasties that I have ever had and it means that I am able to experiment with as many different combinations that I can think of. However, one thing that I have found out is that never make a cheese toastie without mustard and (if possible) a second cheese. You’re welcome.

Also, chorizo and roasted pepper toasties are truly the food of the Gods.

Beef & Broccoli Stir-Fry

Right, so even though I have yet to even set foot in a secondary school to flex my awesome teaching musculature (results of teaching pending) I am already finding it hard to fit in writing this blog… note to self: invent a time stretching machine.

Due to the anticipated increased workload cooking is now being split up so I will be cooking less often than before; however, I will not be posting less than I am now so do not worry there.

Also, hello new PGCE friends ^^

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 1 tbsp rapeseed oil
• 50g unsalted cashews nuts
• 400g frying beef steak, cut into strips
• 1 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
• 1 large head broccoli, broken into small florets
• 4 sticks celery, sliced
• 150ml beef stock
• 2 tbsp horseradish sauce mixed with 2 tbsp low-fat fromage frais

Season the beef with some black pepper and the five-spice and fry for 1-2 minutes in a wok with the rapeseed oil then set aside. Add the celery and broccoli to the wok and stir-fry for a further 2 minutes before pouring in the stock and then cover and simmer.

Stir the beef back into the wok and then serve with the nuts sprinkled over and with a dollop of the horseradish cream.

Adapted from here

Verdict: I really do not like horseradish. At all. However, the beef does have a nice flavour even if it is a bit dry (horseradish or no horseradish) so I would recommend the addition of more stock or the use of a decent sauce (black pepper would be nice). One thing that I did love was the combination of the beef, five-spice, celery and cashew nuts… this needs a little bit o’ investigating.

Calorie Count: 269 per serving

Brie, Apple, and Rocket Quesadillas

When I made the toasts I bought a sizeable wedge of brie in order to do so and, of course, I had plenty of it left over (something that always happens as I am sure many readers will know). Thus I was very lucky to have had another recipe in my ‘for later’ folder that was brie based.

In order to make this I did make a few minor changes. Firstly, the original recipe calls for a Fiji apple and instead I used an apple of the Jazz variety. I only did this because I could not find Fiji apples. I also used juice instead of cider since I drink juice anyway but not cider…

Ingredients (serves 3):

• 1 tbsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tsps apple juice
• 3 (10-inch) flour tortillas
• 6 ounces Brie cheese, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1 Jazz apple, cored and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 3 cups rocket, divided

Firstly mix the apple juice and mustard together. Spread this equally over the three tortillas.

Warm some low-calorie spray oil in a large frying pan so that it just begins to smoke. Place the tortilla mustard-side up on the frying pan and add 1/3 of the cheese to half the tortilla and cook this for a minute. Add a third of the apple and the rocket on top of the brie and then fold the tortilla in half. Cook on one side for 2 minutes, or until golden-brown, then flip and do the same for the other side.

Repeat for the remaining tortillas and serve with a salad.

Adapted from here

Verdict:  Originally this recipe was more of an appetizer so I doubled the portions so that it could be served as a main. As such there was enough to be filling (as long as a salad was served alongside) but also very tasty.

I really love online recipe guides because they are able to experiment with flavour combinations and I can be all lazy and mooch off of the findings. Fandabadosy.

Calorie Count: 364 per serving

Thin Cooking Loves… Confirmation

I know that I use this to talk about all the different things that I love about cooking  but today, since I just completed my first placement at a primary school this feels like a special day.

Why special? Well, remember how last year I tried journalism and then once I had a little bit of experience in it I found that I really did not want to do it? Well I was borderling about being a teacher (due to nerves) and having completed a week at a primary school I know for certain that this is what I want to do and I can not explain how happy this has made me feel (despite the fact that I have only eight pounds in the whole world).

Now I am just conflicted between primary and secondary… it’s always something isn’t it?

Brie and Aubergine Marmalade Toasts

When my mum is out for the evening, yes I still live with her until teaching works out, I think of all the things I am unable to cook with due to her food hates. The list itself is not too long but by doing this and her “trying a little bit when she gets home” I have been able to throw down a number of food hates (see: Paella and Tuna Noodle Casserole).

Today also marks my second day in an actual school observing lessons. I would like to openly thank the primary school hosting me… but there is probably a legal issue there. Anyway…

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 6oz aubergine, finely chopped
• ¾ tbsps sugar
• 1 ½ tbsps red wine vinegar
• ½ tsp brown sugar
• a pinch of salt and pepper
• 8oz low salt vegetable stock
• ½ garlic clove, minced
• 6oz baguette, cut in half
• 2oz Brie, cut into 4 slices

Add the aubergine, sugar, brown sugar, salt, pepper, red wine vinegar and stock to a small saucepan and bring to a boil over a medium heat. Reduce the heat to as low as possible and then simmer for 30 minutes, stirring every 2-3 minutes. Take this off the heat, stir in the garlic and allow to cool until room temperature.

In the meantime pre-heat the grill and then, after this has been achieved, toast the baguette until lightly toasted. Evenly split the aubergine mix over the bread and top with equal amounts of Brie. Stick these until the grill until the Brie melts (this can greatly vary depending on the grill). Serve hot.

Adapted from here

Verdict: I’ll be honest when I say that it could have done with more Brie… but if you serve this with a large salad you can easily afford to add an extra slice. The really interesting thing was the ‘marmalade’ which tasted a lot different from what I had expected. In fact this was REALLY nice. However, it is worth noting that you need to make sure the bread is properly toasted to prevent the marmalade from soaking the bread too much.

Calorie Count: 346 per serving

Tuna Noodle Casserole

It is all well and good cooking low fat and low calorie meals that are filled with vegetables, fibre and other such healthy but there are times where you really needed a good batch of comfort food which is even more comforting because it will not inflict damage to the waistline.

So, what makes comfort food so comforting? Cheese usually helps… especially when it’s melted. That’s why beefaroni continues was such a rousing success and I hope the same will be said of tonight’s tuna noodle casserole.

Ingredients (serves 4):

• 3 tbsps spring onions, finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
• 300g can condensed tomato soup
• 1 tsp medium chili powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 cups dried vermicelli
• 1 1/4 cups reduced-fat mature Cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 tbsps breadcrumbs
• 200g can tuna, drained and flaked

Preheat the oven to 175^oC and pre-grease a baking dish with low calorie spray oil. Cook the vermicelli according to the packet instructions then drain and set aside.

In a medium-large saucepan fry the spring onions for 2-3 minutes until browned. Add the condensed soup, chili powder, Worcestershire sauce and salt then simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes. Mix in the noodles, tuna and 1 cup of cheese and stir on the heat until the cheese has melted. Spoon this into the baking dish and stick in the oven for 30 minutes; halfway through the cooking time top with the cheese and breadcrumbs and place back in the oven.

Adapted from here

Verdict: Deeelicious. I have not made a tuna bake for the blog since my mum openly told me when I started this that she hated tuna… then I made this for myself and the boyfriend and she wanted a bite and the rest is history. In fact this tasted even better cold the next day since the sheer bulk of the vermicelli turned this from a plain old pasta bake into what can only be described as cold spaghetti pie… it’s a good thing.

Calorie Count: 342 per serving

Thin Cooking Loves… Repeats!

 

One of the main reasons that my first blog was doomed to fail, although I did have a fair stab at it, was the pressure to constantly find new recipes so I could meet my quota of five posts a week. Whilst this did help me try out many things I may not have (Boka Dushi anyone?) things did get desperate (ew… Bisque). Now, however, the pressure is more or less off and this allows me to something I could not previously do… repeats!

So, what recipes from this blog have I repeated? Here is a list:

• Garlic and Coriander Rice (also delicious without the coriander)
• Oyster Mushroom Noodles
• Virgin Mojitos and Sangria
• Cobb Salad
• Chips
• Ham and Mango Quesadillas
• Gumbo
• Chorizo Paella
• Thai Asparagus
• Snickerdoodles
• Mushroom Risotto
• Kofte Wraps
• Beef in Oyster Sauce
• Macaroni Cheese Souffle
• Beefaroni
• Custard Tartlets
• Squash Linguine
• Honey Mustard Burgers
• Fideua
• Halloumi Wraps
• Chorizo and Pepper Pasta
• Bacon, Tomato and Watercress Gnocchi

It’s a bit of a long list but that just goes to prove what an essential catalogue of recipes this have developed into for me. Anyway, I would write more but someone just bought a book of mine on Amazon Marketplace and I need to head out before the Post Office closes.

Until next time.