Seafood Spaghetti

I picked up a pack of cooked seafood from the reduced section in the supermarket today so this is what I came up with for it.

Ingredients (serves 1)
100g cooked seafood
1/2 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, crushed
2 tbsp single cream
85g spaghetti

* put the spaghetti on to cook
* meanwhile heat 1/2 tsp sunflower oil in a small pan and fry the onion and garlic until softened
* add the seafood and heat through
* stir in the cream and season with salt sand pepper
* Drain the pasta and pour over the sauce

Nutritional info:
Calories: 452, Carbs: 70g, Fat: 7g, Protein: 23g

Sultana Soda Bread

I got this soda bread recipe from the New book by the fantastic Jack Monroe(www.agirlcalledjack.com) I added sultanas and cinnamon to the basic bread recipe.

Ingredients (makes 1 loaf)
400g self raising flour
300ml semi skimmed milk
2 tsp lemon juice
1.5 tsp bicarbonate of soda
80g sultanas
1/2 tsp cinnamon

* heat the oven to 180C
* add the lemon juice to the milk and leave for a few minutes to curdle
* weigh the flour and bicarbonate of soda into a bowl, mix together well the stir in the sultanas and cinnamon
* make a well in the centre of the flour and pour in most of the milk
* get your hands in the bowl and mix the milk into the flour to form a soft sticky dough
* tip the dough onto a floured surface and gently knead then roughly shape into a cylinder and place in a greased loaf tin
* bake for 40 minutes. The finished loaf should sound hollow when you knock on the base

Quorn Bolognese

My daughter won't eat minced meat, so quorn is a useful compromise. I've labelled this as vegetarian, but if you're cooking for a real veggie then leave out the beef stock and worcestershire sauce as they are not veggie-friendly!

Ingredients (serves 3)
150g frozen quorn mince
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1tsp vegetable oil
2 large mushrooms
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp ketchup
Herbs - basil, oregano, thyme, paprika
1 beef stock cube
Few big shakes of worcestershire sauce

* heat the oil in a large pan and fry the onion, mushroom and garlic for a couple of minutes
* add the tomatoes, ketchup, stock cube, herbs and worcestershire sauce, then add the quorn mince
* stir well and simmer for 30 minutes or so, then serve wwith pasta, rice or a baked potato.

Sausages and Lentils

I came across this recipe in this month's Tesco magazine. It's quick, easy and satisfying.

Ingredients (serves 2)
4 sausages, any type but I used Cumberland
1 tin green lentils, drained and rinsed
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1/2 onion, chopped
1/2 red pepper, sliced
Herbs etc of choice - paprika, thyme, oregano, black pepper
1/2 tsp vegetable oil

* heat the oil in a pan, add the sausages and cook for around 10 minutes, turning regularly so they brown on all sides
* add the onion and pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes to soften
* tip in the lentils and tomatoes, add your choice of herbs and seasoning and cook for around 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens

Nutritional info:
Calories: 449, Carbs: 33g, Fat: 24g, Protein: 25g

Pancakes

Hey hey hey, it's pancake day!
I love pancakes so will use any excuse to eat them

Ingredients (makes about 8 pancakes)
100g plain flour
1 egg
100ml semi skimmed milk
125ml water

* put the flour in a large mixing bowl and make a well in the centre
* crack the egg into the well
* add the milk and beat well until all the flour is incorporated
* add the water and continue to whisk until there are no lumps
* heat a little oil in a nonstick frying pan
* when the oil is good and hot pour in just enough batter to coat the base of the pan
* when the underside has set, flip or turn the pancake and cook until golden
* roll or fold with your choice of filling or topping

I'm a fan of the traditional lemon juice and sugar, but nutella and banana is also a winning combination.

This year I decided to have a 2 course pancake meal with cheese and bacon filled savoury pancakes for my main course, followed by lemon and sugar for dessert.

Nutritional info (per pancake)
Calories: 60, Fat: 1.2g, Carbs: 9.5g, Protein: 2.5g

Bread and Butter Pudding

Ingredients (serves 4)
4 slices bread, buttered
Several handfuls sultanas or other dried fruit
75g soft brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
2 eggs
450ml semi-skimmed milk

* preheat the oven to 190C and lightly grease a baking dish
* mix together the sugar and cinnamon
* cut the bread into triangles and arrange, point up, in the dish. Between the layers add a sprinkle of fruit and the sugar mix
* mix together the milk and beaten eggs and pour over the bread. Top with any remaining sugar
* leave for 5 minutes so the milk soaks into the bread
* bake for around 35 minutes

As a variation, you could spread the bread with jam or marmalade

Nutritional info:

Calories: 318, Fat: 7.5g, Carbs: 48.7g, Protein: 11.2g

Chickpea and Cauliflower Korma

Ingredients (serves 3)
1 tin chickpeas, drained
1/2 cauliflower, about 250g, cut into florets
1 onion, diced
1/2 red pepper, diced
4 mushrooms, cut into chunks
1/2 jar Korma paste
1/2 tin reduced fat coconut milk
1 tsp vegetable oil

* heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion and pepper for a few minutes until slightly browned
* Add the korma paste and chickpeas and stir well
* Add the coconut milk, cauliflower and mushroom and mix thoroughly
* cover and simmer for 20-30 minutes until the chickpeas and cauliflower are cooked.

Nutritional info:

Calories: 306, Fat: 18.5g, Carbs: 22.0g, Protein: 7.8g