Fruity Coconut Oat Flapjacks

Oats, sultanas, chocolate chips, glace cherries and coconut (stuck together with honey) ..... a PERFECT combination :o)

I've made these flapjacks a few times now, and they are always a hit :)



Ingredients:
125g butter, melted
1 cup (90g) rolled oats
2/3 cup (110g) sultanas
1/2 cup (45g) coconut
chopped glace cherries
1/2 cup (75g) self-raising flour
1/2 cup (110g) caster sugar
2 tablespoons honey



Method:
- Grease 23cm square slab cake pan, place strip of baking paper (grease-proof paper) to cover base and extend over 2 opposite sides.
- Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl and mix well.
- Press mixture into prepared pan (I used a potato masher to press the mixture down firmly)
- Bake in moderate oven (180c) for about 20 minutes or until golden.
- Cool in pan, refrigerate before cutting.
- ENJOY :o)

My Chicken Curry

I cooked chicken curry tonight ... all from scratch. It came out really well :o)



Ingredients:
- 400g chicken chunks
- 5 small carrots, sliced
- broccoli
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- salt and pepper
- 1 tsp madras curry powder
- 1 tsp chili
- 1 tsp cumin
- half tsp of cinnamon
- 1 tsp of saffron
- tomato paste
- garlic paste
- mixed herbs
- olive oil



Cooking Method:
1- Make the curry paste first. Warm some olive oil in a pan and fry the onions and garlic. Add the herbs and spices and tomato paste. (You can add half a tin of chopped tomatoes if you like). Stir together to make a paste.
2- Add the chicken and stir well. Lower the heat and cook the chicken.
3- Add some water, carrots and broccoli and keep cooking on low for 12 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
4- Meanwhile cook the rice and add some saffron for colour.
5- Serve rice and chicken with your choice of naan bread, salad or yoghurt.

Gordon Ramsay's Sticky Lemon Chicken

Gordon Ramsay is one of my favourite TV personalities at the moment.... I think he is a brilliant chef.... his recipes are creative, easy to follow, tasty, healthy and really good.

I've watched him cook on TV many times, and watched him cook this recipe on youtube yesterday ..... (I'm a bit sad I know haha).



Ingredients:
1 large chicken jointed into 8-10 pieces (I used chopped chicken breasts)
Sea salt and black pepper
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 head of garlic, halved horizontally
Few thyme sprigs (I used dried Thyme)
Splash of vinegar
2 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 tbsp honey
1 lemon, finely sliced
Bunch of flat leaf parsley, chopped (I didn't have any)



Cooking Method:
1) Season the chicken with salt and pepper and heat the olive oil in a large sauté pan. Brown the chicken pieces (in batches if necessary) over a high heat with the garlic and thyme for 2–3 minutes on each side until golden brown. Return all the chicken to the pan, add the vinegar and bubble until reduced by half. Drizzle over the soy sauce and honey and shake the pan to mix.
2) Pour in a good splash of hot water and add the lemon slices. Let the liquid bubble and reduce down until syrupy, which will take about 10 minutes or so. By now the chicken should be cooked through.
3) Transfer the chicken to a platter and sprinkle over the chopped parsley.
4) Serve with mashed potato (boil potatoes, add milk and butter and mash together, add cooked peas and carrots and some thyme).

vegetarian spaghetti bolognese

For a healthy Saturday lunch, I cooked a vegetarian spaghetti bolognese.
Served with some salad and a fruit smoothie (unfortunately salad and smoothie are not in the photo).



Ingredients:
- spaghetti
- 1 onion
- 1 leek
- 4 cloves of garlic
- either a jar of prepared bolognese sauce if you are lazy, or a can of chopped tomatoes
- tomato paste
- mixed herbs
- salt and pepper
- olive oil

Cooking Method:
- Place spaghetti in boiling water, add salt and olive oil. Bring to the boil, then simmer for 11 minutes (check the packet for details)
- Slice the onion, garlic and leek.
- In a separate pan, add some olive oil and gently fry the onion, garlic and leek. Add some salt and mixed herbs.
- Add the tomato paste and stir
- Add half the jar of bolognese sauce, or the tin of chopped tomatoes.
- If using the jar, it'll be quicker to cook (just a few minutes), if using the tin of chopped tomatoes then cook for 10 minutes on low.
- Drain the spaghetti and add the rest of the tomato sauce.
- Serve with your choice of salad, garlic bread, olives etc.

Another one of my favourite stir fries

Prawn Stir Fry

Ingredients:
- prawns
- 5 spring onions
- 1 leek
- 1 red pepper
- 4 handfulls of fresh spinach leaves
- 3 cloves of fresh garlic
- salt and pepper
- A packet of your favourite stir fry sauce
- soy sauce
- Noodles for 2 people
- olive oil



Cooking Method:
- Heat some olive oil in a wok, and stir fry the garlic, spring onions, leek, red pepper and spinach for 4 minutes.
- Add salt and pepper
- Add the prawns and stir fry for 2 minutes.
- Add some soy sauce and stir
- Add your favourite stir fry sauce and stir well.
- In a separate pan cook the noodles for 4 minutes in water, drain the water and add some of the stir fry sauce to the noodles.
- Serve and enjoy (I always love eating green olives with a stir fry ... a bit weird I know, but very tasty)

Stuffed Courgettes

This is a Syrian / Lebanese dish.



Cored courgettes stuffed with rice and mince meet.

Use the pulp to cook a side dish.



Ingredients:
- 8 courgettes
- half a cup of rice
- 250g of mince meat (beef or lamb)
- salt and pepper
- teaspoon of dried mint
- 2 tins of tomatoes



Cooking Method:
- Wash the courgettes, slice off the top and bottom of each one. Carefully hollow out pulp using a corer (reserve pulp to use in another dish)
- Thoroughly mix the mince meat, rice, salt, pepper and dried mint with 3 tablespoons of water.
- Stuff each courgette with the mixture, leaving 2 cm at the top. It's best to do so with your hands, shaking the courgettes and lightly pressing the mixture down.
- Place filled courgettes in a saucepan and cover completely with water. Add salt. Bring to the boil.
- Add 2 tins of tomatoes and bring to the boil.
- Reduce the heat to low and cook for 1 hour.