Lots of foods
With it being Easter weekend just recently, I had plans to make lots of yummy meals. A lot of things aren't readily available so I had to be quite a bit flexible. As cooking is a bit of a trending topic at the moment, I'm going to display my amazing cooking skills for you all to make you mad jealous and wish you were in my house right now. I hope you're not too hungry...
Sausage and bean stew
I've made this several times before, but one of the ingredients is a tin of mixed beans in spicy sauce. I could only get hold of a tin of Heinz baked beans in chilli sauce so I tried that. It was very tasty but also seriously hot!
Sultana scones
My mother mentioned wanting a scone a few weeks ago. After much hunting, I managed to get a bag of gluten free self-raising flour so I made her some scones. I've not made them with gluten free flour before so it was quite an experiment. They didn't rise a lot for some reason so they've ended up quite thin, but they all split in the middle which was odd.
Box grater salad
We had a scone for dinner so I made a nice healthy salad to counteract all the naughtiness in the scones. I'd seen Jamie Oliver's recent Keep Cooking & Carry On programme where he'd made a box grater salad so I thought I'd try that. It involved grating some lettuce, carrot, and an apple. I had the same kind of lettuce he'd used but it all turned to mush when I tried grating it so I just chopped it finely instead. I added in some cherry tomatoes, chopped pepper, a few grapes and a tin of tuna with lemon and thyme. It was so yummy and so quick and simple to make!
Pilau rice
I had bought some turkey steaks to make pilau rice but as I started to chop up the turkey, I realised that it had gone all grey and did not look good at all. I'd got all the other ingredients ready so I had to find something else to replace the turkey. Luckily, I had a tin of chickpeas so I used those and added some frozen spinach too. It was actually really nice! My mother approved, she said she didn't miss the meat in it at all.
Lemon meringue pie
I found a packet of filling mix left over from the last time so I made another pie. Yummy.
Sweet and sour vegetables
The turkey steaks were supposed to make two meals, the second being pan-fried turkey with Italian potatoes, so I had to come up with an alternative meal. I had a bag of frozen peas, sweetcorn, and broccoli, so I used that along with edamame beans and peppers to make sweet and sour vegetables. The sauce has far too much vinegar in it, so I usually add pineapple juice to balance it out but I didn't have any. I did however, have a bag of frozen tropical fruit for smoothies, so I picked the pineapple out and added that as well.
Old El Paso's one pan rice meal
Bit of a cheat because this was a meal kit. I'd found a box of Quorn pieces in the freezer which needed eating up, so I used them in this rather than chicken. I had to put twice the amount of water in because the Quorn absorbed all the first lot, so there was none for the rice to cook in. The Quorn was a bit mushy but it still came out nicely. I actually had the leftovers for my dinner at work the next day with some cherry tomatoes and it was nice cold too. Two meals from one is a definite bonus, especially when it means I don't need to make something for work!
Sausage and bean stew
I've made this several times before, but one of the ingredients is a tin of mixed beans in spicy sauce. I could only get hold of a tin of Heinz baked beans in chilli sauce so I tried that. It was very tasty but also seriously hot!
Sultana scones
My mother mentioned wanting a scone a few weeks ago. After much hunting, I managed to get a bag of gluten free self-raising flour so I made her some scones. I've not made them with gluten free flour before so it was quite an experiment. They didn't rise a lot for some reason so they've ended up quite thin, but they all split in the middle which was odd.
Box grater salad
We had a scone for dinner so I made a nice healthy salad to counteract all the naughtiness in the scones. I'd seen Jamie Oliver's recent Keep Cooking & Carry On programme where he'd made a box grater salad so I thought I'd try that. It involved grating some lettuce, carrot, and an apple. I had the same kind of lettuce he'd used but it all turned to mush when I tried grating it so I just chopped it finely instead. I added in some cherry tomatoes, chopped pepper, a few grapes and a tin of tuna with lemon and thyme. It was so yummy and so quick and simple to make!
Pilau rice
I had bought some turkey steaks to make pilau rice but as I started to chop up the turkey, I realised that it had gone all grey and did not look good at all. I'd got all the other ingredients ready so I had to find something else to replace the turkey. Luckily, I had a tin of chickpeas so I used those and added some frozen spinach too. It was actually really nice! My mother approved, she said she didn't miss the meat in it at all.
Lemon meringue pie
I found a packet of filling mix left over from the last time so I made another pie. Yummy.
Sweet and sour vegetables
The turkey steaks were supposed to make two meals, the second being pan-fried turkey with Italian potatoes, so I had to come up with an alternative meal. I had a bag of frozen peas, sweetcorn, and broccoli, so I used that along with edamame beans and peppers to make sweet and sour vegetables. The sauce has far too much vinegar in it, so I usually add pineapple juice to balance it out but I didn't have any. I did however, have a bag of frozen tropical fruit for smoothies, so I picked the pineapple out and added that as well.
Old El Paso's one pan rice meal
Bit of a cheat because this was a meal kit. I'd found a box of Quorn pieces in the freezer which needed eating up, so I used them in this rather than chicken. I had to put twice the amount of water in because the Quorn absorbed all the first lot, so there was none for the rice to cook in. The Quorn was a bit mushy but it still came out nicely. I actually had the leftovers for my dinner at work the next day with some cherry tomatoes and it was nice cold too. Two meals from one is a definite bonus, especially when it means I don't need to make something for work!