Something Different

Hello  gorgeous followers, hope everyone is well and happy! I hope everyone has had a lovely weekend too : ) Mine was great, I ran revision on Saturday again (my last Saturday revision and stupidly early start until exam season in June!) then went for my monthly wander around Rochester with co-pilot Clare. We love to take in the quaint little antique and home shops before stopping for a gorgeous lunch in our favourite shop/restaurant! I stayed round Clare's Saturday night and then returned home this morning. Waiting for me were some beautiful Christmas presents from hubby's grandma which I loved and put a huge smile on my face : )

 Later today hubby and I decided to lunch out at Chiquito's which has just opened near our house, there will also be a Nando's soon right next door, by the looks of things today it is very nearly finished, woohoo! We devoured three courses which left us stuffed, so much so that I didn't even want any popcorn when we went to the cinema afterwards! We saw Warhorse which was amazing, I shed a fair few tears as did hubby! ; )

As I like to mix it up from time to time, today's post is a foodie one, a dish that I made recently and enjoyed immensely. Hubby and I both love an Indian takeaway, and I also love making healthy curries in the week too. My recipe for healthy chicken korma comes from my favourite Sally Bee cookbook and is a winner in terms of health and taste.

1) Chop up a range of veg, whatever you fancy and enjoy. I chose green beans, courgette and red pepper.

2) Over a medium heat, heat some olive oil and saute the two onions, a couple of chopped chicken breasts, two crushed cloves of garlic and a peeled and chopped medium apple. Allow to cook for 3-4 minutes and then stir in 4 teaspoons of mild curry powder.

3) Add the chopped vegetables to the pan and cook for about 5 minutes until the veg start to soften and the chicken has sealed in the spice.

4) Add 300ml of chicken stock to the pan, sultanas (if enjoyed, I left them out because I do not like them), and 2 tablespoons of tomato puree. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes.

5) Just before serving, add some chopped coriander and 4 tablespoons of low-fat creme fraiche or fromage frais to the curry and stir in well. Season with freshly ground black pepper and cook for a further 2 minutes but do not allow to boil.

6) Serve with hot cooked basmati rice, adding one spoon of creme fraiche to each portion as you serve.

Very yummy and healthy too! Well that's about all from me today, I am looking forward to a slightly more laid back week, final GCSE until June is tomorrow morning so things will calm down a tad (for a while anyway!) XOXO

Lasagne on a Monday

Hello Dolls, hope the start of the week got off to a good start for you all : ) I had a lazy morning followed by a leisurely afternoon of shopping with my sister, niece and nephew. This afternoon, as I flicked through my recipe books, looking for some inspiration for dinner, I landed upon Sally Bee's recipe for lasagne which I have never tried before. I have made lasagne of course, but was keen to try Sally's 'healthiest ever' lasagne. I have to say, the lasagne turned out completely delicious, which was pleasing after all my hard work preparing : )

Step 1) Chop up an array of vegetables into very small pieces. You can use any veg you fancy, I used 3 carrots, 2 celery sticks and 1 courgette. Cut up an onion and peel 2 cloves of garlic.

Step 2) Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a large pan. Add the onion to the pan and cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes until beginning to soften. Add the rest of your veg to the pan including the crushed garlic, and cook for another 5 minutes.

Step 3) Turn the heat up slightly and add your mince to the pan, stirring until browned and crumbly (this will take about 5 minutes).

Step 4) Stir in a can of chopped tomatoes, 450ml of beef stock, 4 tablespoons of tomato puree, 1 teaspoon of oregano and 1 teaspoon of parsley. Season with a good shake of black pepper and allow to simmer for 20 minutes until cooked through.

Step 5) Towards the end of the cooking time of the meat mixture, you need to preheat the oven to 200 degrees or gas mark 6, and then make your white sauce. For the white sauce, add 3 tablespoons of corn flour (corn starch) to a small bowl. Measure out 600ml (1 pint) of semi-skimmed milk in a measuring jug and add a little to the cornflour. Stir until the corn flour has dissolved, and then pour into a saucepan. Add the rest of the milk to this and stir continuously over a low heat until thickened to the texture of custard. Add a good pinch of nutmeg to the white sauce and stir.

Step 6) Pour half of the meat mixture into your dish, then layer several pasta sheets over the top. Continue with another layer of meat and another layer of pasta.

Step 7) Pour over your white sauce, and lastly 40g of grated low fat cheese. Put your lasagne in the oven for 4o minutes until the top of the lasagne is nicely golden.

Step 8) Remove from the oven, your lasagne should look something like this!

Step 9) Serve with a nice green salad or extra vegetables (I decided on tenderstem brocolli, sweetcorn and home-grown white cabbage).

Really yum, and super healthy. A good choice for anyone who wants to try a healthy take on an old favourite : )

Something a little different : )

Today has been a lovely day of time spent with my sister, niece and nephew, shopping and domesticity! Shopping today centred around the home, I purchased some 'needed' items (muffin baking trays x2, new dishcloths and a micro-fibre cleaning mitt!) and some 'wanted' items (a little 'home' sign to hang in my hallway and a little votive for my bookshelf). I love being on school holiday because I have so much more time to browse, completely at ease, no rushing around and dashing from one place to the next! Even food shopping becomes more of a pleasure! On our way home, my sister and I stopped off at a lovely local farm shop called Perry Court Farm where I finished my shopping by buying over a weeks worth of fruit and veg (and all under £9!)

Back at home, I decided to try my hand at a couple of new recipes from one of my favourite cook books: Sally Bee: The Recipe for Life. I also have Sally's previous book The Secret Ingredient, and I love them both in equal measure. If you have not heard of Sally Bee, in a nutshell, she is a survivor of an almost fatal heart attack which she suffered in her 3os - with the help of a nutritionist, she has gone on to devise heart healthy recipes for all the family, and she shares these recipes in her books. I love to make these recipes and have adapted many of my old favourites to the 'Sally' way, with extra healthy ingredients added in. Nutrition and exercise are extremely important to me, and I get a huge sense of achievement out of feeding myself and hubby such healthy, home-cooked food. My latest fad is for home-grown veg, which I am receiving a steady flow of, courtesy of my sister's neighbour and his allotment - this organic produce makes me feel even healthier and quite saintly! I really hope to pass this healthy attitude towards food on to my children one day. I always loved vegetables and still do: I really hope I don't end up with children who turn their nose up at broccoli and refuse to eat it!

Anyway, back to dinner! I decided to make a tomato and red lentil soup as a starter, with enough left over for both our lunches tomorrow. The soup was pretty simple and had a nice kick thanks to the addition of a couple of teaspoons of curry powder. For our main meal, I made Sally's chicken korma with rice.

1) Finely chop a red pepper, courgette and a good handful of green beans. Put these to one side for now.

2) Chop up 2 medium sized onions and set to one side. Peel and dice a medium sized apple (any type will do, I used a golden delicious). On the stove, add a splash of olive oil to a large heavy based pan, and saute the onion and apple for 3 minutes, until the onion starts to soften. Add 2 crushed cloves of garlic and let cook for another minute or so.

3) Add the vegetables from earlier to the pan, and cook over a medium heat for another 5 minutes.

4) Add 2 teaspoons of medium curry powder to the pan and stir in. (If you like things spicy, add another teaspoon). Stir in 2 diced chicken breasts, and stir quickly, allowing the chicken to pick up and seal in the curry powder. Let the chicken cook thoroughly ensuring there is no pink left (about 5 minutes)

5) Make up a chicken stock with 3 chicken stock cubes and 350ml of boiling water. Pour this into the pan and add 2 tablespoons of tomato puree and one teaspoon of garam masala. Bring to the boil and then turn back down to a low heat, allowing to simmer for 25-30 minutes.

6) Stir in 4 tablespoons of low-fat creme fraiche. This will make the sauce creamy but will not add too many calories or fat. Cook for another 2 minutes but do not allow to boil. Lastly, add a good shake of black pepper and stir.

7) Serve with basmati rice, and add another tablespoon on creme fraiche on top of the curry if desired.

Just thought I would share as this turned out very yummy indeed, and hubby loved it! The apple keeps everything nice and sweet and you can rest assured knowing that this is a wonderfully healthy recipe too : ) Hope you are all having fun weeks xoxo