Tues 10 Jan

Salmon topped with pesto served with asparagus and potatoes.

Get a large square of tin foil.  Put some asparagus in a single layer in the middle.  Lay salmon on top of asparagus (I normally use green beans), top with a generous spoonful or two of green pesto and add the juice of one lemon.

Wrap up parcel and cook in the oven at 180 for 15mins.

Serve with boiled or oven roasted potatoes.

Surprisingly tasty for such a quick meal.

Mon 9 Jan

Tilapia fillets in an Asian style glaze (bought these ready made from Waitrose) with Pad Thai style noodles

Pan fry the fish until done.  The glaze was very mild but caramalised nicely.

For the noodles I put in a pan:

2 packets of Sharwoods straight to wok pad thai noodles, one egg beaten, the juice of one lime, a large glug of fish sauce (I love fish sauce), some sliced green beans, some sliced mushrooms, two chillis.

Heat for about 4mins until hot and serve the fish on top.  It was dead tasty and healthy but I was still rather hungry all evening.

Sun 8 Jan

Venison casserole with parsnip and swede mash

I started this off in a pan and then finished it in a slow cooker.  Left it over night and then ate it the next day.

Overall I was disappointed.  Was more like a normal beef stew.  Next time will leave out the veg, add some bacon at the beginning and some mushrooms at the end.

Sat 7 Jan

Tortellini with pesto and pine nuts

Boil ready made tortellini for 4 mins (I used Sainsburys wild mushroom).

Drain then stir in some pesto.

Sprinkle with toasted pine nuts and shavings of parmesan.

Goes well with spinach and watercress if you have some too.  Just stir it in to wilt.

Super quick tea.

Fri 6 Jan

Fajitas (whispers out of a packet)

This was a ridiculous thing to buy.  As I rather annoyingly said all through making them ‘I could have made these better myself’.  But the pack was 50% off in Sainsburys and I had some left over poached chicken from the Asian poached chicken I had made on Tuesday.

The pack comes with 8 flour tortillas, a sachet of salsa and a spice mix.  You add some chicken, peppers and onions.  I also added some grated cheese and some crème fraiche (this was in the fridge and made a substitute for sour cream).

You then fry the chicken (if raw, mine was cooked) and the veg with the spice mix for a few mins, microwave the tortillas and serve.

The salsa tasted of very little so I added coriander, chilli, fresh tomatoes, salt (too much salt as the lid of my grinder fell off – I have now finally thrown it out) and lime juice.  This helped but it still tasted watery.  Should have made it myself!

The spice mix was ok.  Smokey BBQ taste but not as good as the spicy fresh one I make myself!

Saying that though they were ok and made for a bit of a naughty Friday tea.  The cat was very excited by them – she is a junk food kitty.

Thurs 5 Jan

Prawn and chorizo paella

250g raw prawns

Some sliced chorizo

1 onion

2 red peppers

Crushed garlic

Chicken stock

200g Arborio rice (I didn’t have enough so used mostly basmati)

Smoked paprika

Tumeric (in place of saffron)

Frozen peas

Fry onion in oil until soft, add garlic for a min, add chorizo and fry for a couple more mins. 

Add smoked paprika and tumeric, stir round. 

Add stock cube, rice, peppers and enough boiling water to cover. 

Cook without stirring until the rice is almost done. 

Then add the prawns and peas and cook until done. 

Serve with chopped parsley and lemon for squeezing.

I’m sure this is not in the least bit authentic but it does the job for a quick and tasty tea.

Weds 4 Jan

Stuffed trout with potato bake

Get someone else to scale and prepare fish (in my case this is a Bob).

On a square of foil put some sliced mushrooms, lay fish on top.  Stuff trout with lemon slices.  Top with sliced shallots.  Pour over a large glug of white wine and some pepper.  Wrap up foil parcel and bake at 180 for about 20mins.

Sprinkle with parsley and serve with potatoes and green veg or rice.

I layered up sliced potatoes and onions with lots of seasoning cooked in stock for about 40mins.  Came out soft and gooey inside with nice crusty potatoes on top. 

Tues 3 Jan

Poached Asian chicken. 

Take a whole chicken.  Put it in a pan with some chopped onion, spring onion, carrots, celery, star anise, Schezwan Peppercorns & black peppercorns.  Top with cold water.  Bring to the boil.  You are supposed to boil rapidly for 20mins and then turn the heat off, cover and leave for 3-4hrs.  The chicken should then be cooked and still hot.

I didn't have time for this so I simmered on the heat for about 2hrs.  Skim any impurities that come to the surface.

Then shred the chicken from the bones.  Sieve the stock and discard the veg.

Put the chicken bones in the oven for about 20mins at 180 until golden brown.  Add to the stock and simmer for another hour.

I used some of the shredded chicken and stock to make a chicken noodle soup.

Sharwoods straight to wok pad thai noodles.

1.5pts stock from the poached chicken

Ginger, chopped into slivers

1/2 tsp Schezwan peppercorns

Spring onions, chopped

Chilli

Pak choi

Soy sauce, glug of

Fish sauce, glug of

Lime juice

Boil the stock, ginger & peppercorns.

Add the rest of the ingredients and heat through.

Serve in big bowls and slurp like crazy.

All very healthy and yummy but not sure the rigmarole of poaching the chicken is actually worth it.  I got the recipe from another blog where people raved about it.  Admittedly I didn't follow the recipe exactly but I suspect it wouldn't have made much difference.