Baked Potato Pleaser July 16, 2010

My mom used to make this for Sunday afternoon braai’s (BBQ’s) – it was my favourite part of the meal as a child! In South Africa we have a spice called Aromat which is brilliant in this. I’ve never found anything similar in the UK, but regular salt and pepper do the trick almost as well. The recipe below serves one – the trick to making more is just to make sure you have equal amounts of margarine and cottage cheese…the rest you can add as you want!

 

What you need

2 tablespoons cottage cheese (unflavoured)

2 tablespoons margarine

A finely chopped spring onion (a little bit of chopped onion will do too)

A sprinkle of chives and/or parsley

Seasoning (salt, pepper, etc)

 

What to do

1. Mix the margarine and cottage cheese.
2. Add the onion and herbs. Stir well.
3. Season to taste.
4. Spoon liberally on a freshly baked potato and serve.

 

Other Ideas

Cheesy Half Baked Potatoes

Great comfort food to combat Sunday blues.  These little taste treats are fantastic with soup or salad (depending on the season), and are also a great addition to kid’s meals.

Make the Baked Potato Pleaser as above. When potatoes are baked cut in half and scoop the potato flesh into a bowl, leaving the skin intact. Mix a few spoons of the Pleaser mixture with the potato flesh and scoop back into the skin. Top with grated cheese and grill until the cheese melts. Serve as you please.

Pesto Pasta Salad July 13, 2010

This recipe comes with special approval from my boyfriend- it’s his favourite! It’s one of mine too though… it’s really easy to throw together and is full of flavour. The recipe below cooks enough for two people, with a little left over for lunch the next day!

 

What you need

Half a jar of basil pesto

Around two cups of pasta

Lemon juice

Two tablespoons mayonnaise (I use the low-fat variety, gotta try to keep it healthy!)

One chicken breast, cut into strips

4-5 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

One quarter red/yellow pepper, sliced

1 clove of garlic

1 spring onion, chopped finely

 

What to do

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degree celsius.
2. Put the pasta to cook as normal.
3. Rub the pepper slice in olive oil and roast (in oven) until soft.
4. Put some butter or olive oil in a saucepan and heat. Add the chicken and cook through.
5. Throw the garlic and the spring onions into the pan with the chicken and flash fry.
6. Put the chicken, spring onions, garlic, roasted peppers and sun-dried tomatoes in a salad bowl and mix in the mayo with a splash of lemon juice.
7. Once cooked, strain the pasta and run it under cold water
8. Return the pasta to the pot and add up to half a jar of pesto (depending on how strong the pesto is)
9. Mix the pasta with the rest of the ingredients and allow to cool before eating.

 

Other ideas

Try serving this recipe as a side dish by taking out the chicken and adding a tablespoon of onion marmalade.

Orange and Roasted Red Pepper Salad

There are few salads that are as bright as a summer day but this is one of them! It’s a lovely sweet and fresh accompaniment to any BBQ and a great addition to a simple meal.

 

What you need

Half a red pepper

One orange

Lettuce

Olive oil

  

What to do

1. Preheat the oven to 150 degrees celcius.
2. Rub the red peppers down in olive oil and put them to roast in the oven. Cook until they are soft and the skin goes slightly black.
3. Peel the orange and cut into segments.
4. Put the lettuce into a bowl and arrange the orange segments around the edge.
5. Once roasted, slice the peppers and add to the lettuce and orange.
6. Serve with some balsamic glaze (see sauces)

Balsamic Glaze

This is a bit thicker and sweeter than normal balsamic vinegar. It’s great on most salads, and goes really well on the Orange and Roasted Red Pepper Salad.  The trick to this recipe is to cook it slowly – if the heat is too high the sugar will burn and the glaze will be become bitter. This is a bit of a trial and error recipe so, as with most of my sauces, adjust the proportions to suit your liking!

 

What you need

2 teaspoons of butter

1 teaspoon of honey

Balsamic vinegar. I usually just pour some in, it’s about half a cup though.

1-2 tablespoons of sugar. Start with one, and add more to thicken.

 

 

What to do

1. Melt the butter and the honey together on a low heat.
2. Pour the balsamic in and stir. 
3. Add a tablespoon of sugar and keep stirring. The sauce should begin to thicken into a glaze. Keep adding sugar as necessary.
4. The glaze should be thick and shiny. Once it’s ready pour over salads and enjoy.

 

Other Ideas

Balsamic Roasted Veg Salad

Here’s an easy cheat for a fabulous salad. Buy a tray of ready to roast mediterranean veg. Once roasted place on a bed of lettuce and drizzle with the balsamic glaze. Serve with roasts or grilled chicken. It’s unusual and appetising.

 

Sweet ‘n’ Spicy Chicken Marinade

This is a fantastic and simple way to make grilled chicken a bit more exciting.  The recipe below can be adapted depending on how much chicken you have, or how spicy you want it.

 

What you need

1 lemon. Alternatively use lemon juice.

3-4 tablespoons of BBQ sauce

Half/whole chilli, finely chopped. Alternatively a teaspoon or two of dried chilli flakes.

 

What to do

1. Squeeze the lemon juice into a bowl and  mix well with the other ingredients.
2. Pour over chicken and leave to marinade for about an hour, turning occassionaly.
3. Grill or BBQ the chicken as normal.

 

Mexican Chicken

I originally picked up a version of this online, but played with the recipe quite a lot to make it a quicker, easier meal. You can make this as spicy as you want it by buying either mild or hot jalapeno’s and salsa. 

 

What you need

2 chicken breasts, cut into strips.

Half an onion, chopped.

Half a pepper (any colour you fancy), cut into strips

One jar of salsa

A handful of jalapeno’s, cut up

Half a lime

Salt and pepper

One clove of garlic, finely chopped

 

What to do

1. Season the chicken with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lime
2. Add some oil or butter to a pan and gently fry the onions, peppers and garlic.
3. Add the chicken to the hot pan and fry. Ensure that the chicken is fully cooked, and not pink inside.
4. Pour the salsa into the pan and add the jalapeno’s. Simmer until hot.

 

Other ideas

Serving suggestions

This recipe serves two, and is a great meal for a lazy night in or a weekend with friends. Pop the mexican chicken in a wrap and serve with salad for a healthier option. Else, buy some tortilla chips, put them in an over proof dish and cover with the chicken. Top with cheese and grill in the oven until the cheese melts for easy nachos.

Little extras

This is a great one pot wonder meal, and an easy recipe to adapt to whatever you have in your kitchen. Other great additions to the basic recipe include spring onions, chopped tomatoes and chilli.

 

Crunchies

This was one of the first things I ever learnt to cook, and is an old favourite at South African bake sales, since it’s easy to make in a hurry. Here in the UK these would be called flap-jacks, but the South African version is, as the name suggest, a bit more crunchy than chewy. The recipe makes a family size batch of crunchies, and I have included some of my favourite variations on the basic recipe – the Chocolate Peanut ones are always popular!

 

What you need

1 cup margarine or butter (needs to be suitable to baking)

3 tablespoons golden syrup or honey

1 teaspoon vanilla extract or vanilla essence

2 cups self-raising flour

1 cup sugar (I like using brown sugar, but any sugar will do)

2 cups oats

1 cup coconut

 

What to do

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius.
2. Melt the marg/butter softly, and add syrup/honey and vanilla. Stir well and set aside.
3. Sift the flour into a large bowl before adding the sugar, oats and coconut. Stir until all four are mixed.
4. Pour the butter mixture into the dry ingredients and mix well until it feels like dough. If necessary, add a little more butter.
5. Grease an oven-proof dish (the best is to line the dish with foil or baking paper, else just rub it down with butter). Press the mixture evenly into the tin.
6. Bake for 15-25 min, or until golden brown.

 

Other Ideas

Chocolate Peanut Crunchies

Add two table spoons of peanut butter to the butter mixture.

When the baked crunchies have cooled cover them with chocolate icing and allow to cool. To make chocolate icing mix icing sugar, cocoa and a little water. The mixture could be a medium consistency, and can be as chocolatey as you want it to be! Alternatively, melt some chocolate and drizzle it over the top of the crunchies.

Apple, Raisin and Cinnamon Crunchies

Peel an apple and chop it into chunks. Add these, with a handful or two of raisins and a sprinkle of cinnamon to the batter and bake as normal.