Portobello Mushrooms

Great for starters and they're really quick and easy to make. This recipe serves four.

INGREDIENTS: 
* 4 large  Portobello mushrooms
*1 finely chopped large pepper
* 1 ball mozzarella
*1 tomato- chopped into small squares
*1tsp of crushed chillies (optional)
*2 tsp finely chopped  pine nuts.
*pepper
*olive oil
METHOD:
1.) Place the mushrooms in a lightly oiled ovenproof dish.
2.) Place the peppers, tomatoes and pine nuts into the mushrooms, before tearing the cheese and dividing it between the mushrooms. Then sprinkle the chilli, peppers and olive oil on to the mushrooms, before placing them into the grill for 8-10 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling.

Tomato, Chicken and Basil Pasta

It can sometimes be extremely difficult to cook anything impressive or avant grande when you're stuck in a kitchen with basic foods, as I experienced yesterday thanks to the snow.
Therefore, I resorted to making something simple given the circumstances. The Pasta took me an hour to make and was far better than the frozen pizza that I had contemplated eating before.

INGREDIENTS:
*3 whole plum tomatoes-roughly chopped.
*2 tins -400g of chopped tomatoes
*squeeze of tomato purée
*2 TBSP of natural yoghurt
*2 cloves of finely chopped garlic
*1 whole onion-finely sliced.
*1 TBSP of dried Rosemary
*2 TBSP of oregano
*1 TBSP of paprika
*1 TBSP of crushed pepper and 1 TBSP of salt
*Handful of finely chopped basil.
 *4 precooked breast fillets, chopped into chunks
*1 TSP of crushed birds eye chillies
*500g of pasta of your choice.
*Sunflower oil
*2-3 TBSP of plain flour
* A Finely chopped Zucchini
METHOD: 
1.) Begin by pouring the tinned tomatoes into a bowl, along with the purée and chopped fresh tomatoes. Then add the yoghurt too, and mix the ingredients together, so that the yoghurt blends in. 
2.) Next place the sunflower oil into a frying pan, when its heated add the chopped onions and half the garlic in. Allow 3-4 minutes for the onions to transform into a golden colour.
3.) Then add the tomato mixture into the hot frying pan and stir for a while, before placing a lid onto the pan.
Leave on a high heat for up to 5 minutes, before lifting up the lid and adding the flour to the bubbling mixture. Take care to fold the flour in gently, it should thicken the sauce (if it doesn't try adding more flour, in small quantities though)
4.) Now place a saucepan with kettle-hot water on the hob and pour in the pasta. This should take up to 15 minutes to cook until soft. 
4.) Next, add the cooked and chopped meat in, as well as the Zucchini to the tomato sauce.
As well as adding the: rosemary, paprika, oregano, chillies and basil.
Stir the mixture well, adding salt and pepper to enhance the taste.
The cover the sauce and leave on a low heat, and wait until  the pasta has been cooked.
6.) Once the pasta is soft, take it out of the water and place back into the draw saucepan. Pour a generous helping of olive oil on top of it and add the remainder of the garlic. Mix well and then place the garlic-y pasta into the pan with the sauce mixture.
Spend a few minutes, folding the pasta into the sauce, and then heat it for a few more minutes, before serving.

When serving, garnish the pasta with olive oil, pepper and parmesan for the best result.

Spicy home-made BBQ sauce.

Out of all the popular sauces that I have had, BBQ sauce ranks amongst my top three. 
Not only can it be eaten with virtually anything, however, as I recently discovered, it is simple to make. It's not complicated and can be stored for up to a week in the fridge.
The reason that I decided to share this recipe was because a friend of mine, Phoebe mentioned that it was a great combination with the hot Chinese ribs that she claims are her speciality. 
Not only is this home-made version tastier than the bottled sauce, but it is far healthier due to the reduced salt levels within it.  

INGREDIENTS: 
2 tbsp sunflower oil 
4 1/2 cloves of crushed garlic
2 tbsp of smoked paprika
1/2 tsp of crushed birds eye chilli 
Sprinkle  of crushed pepper
1 1/2 tbsp of honey
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp mustard
2 tbsp red wine vinegar 
200g Tomato ketchup
1 small chilli, finely chopped
1 1/2 tbsp muscovado sugar 
1 tsp ground cumin

METHOD! 
1.) Begin with heating the oil in a saucepan, on a medium heat, once the oil has heated, add the garlic and fry until it transforms into a golden colour
2.) Next form a paste, by adding the paprika, chilli, pepper, honey, salt, mustard, sugar and cumin. Stir well together so that the garlic is mixed into the paste. 
3.) Next, add the mustard, red wine vinegar and ketchup. Combine these liquids into the mixture carefully and simmer for around 8-10 minutes, until the mixture has formed a thick consistency. 

Spicy chicken thighs

Gemma's Chicken 

Earlier on this week, I promised myself that I would make a Mexican themed dinner as was suggested by my good friend, Gemma. 
(I've known Gem for around 2 years now, her surname is identical to that of a popular film character-when I first met her I thought she was a crazed film fanatic who had changed her surname to somehow make a connection with the particular character.
She also has a wonderful dog, one who I prefer to her at times)
However due to a lack of minced pork and tomatoes and cheese, I decided on something far simpler, a basic dish of chicken and potatoes.
Its hardly imaginative but I realised that I finally had to use the chicken thighs in the fridge to some use, hence my creation of spicy chicken thighs and a side dish of King Edward potatoes. Simple but effective, a bit like Gemma really.
This recipe serves six people approx.

INGREDIENTS for chicken: 
*6 chicken thighs
*2 TBS of smoked paprika
*1TSP of crushed chillies
*3 TBL of soy sauce
*Honey
*1 TBS of salt
*Pepper
*1 TSP of tomato purée
*1TSP of muscadavo sugar
*1 TSP of chilli sauce
* Half squeezed lemon
*1 TSP of rosemary
*Salt
*1 TSP ground corriander
*Sunflower oil
*2 finely chopped cloves of garlic
FOR GRAVY: 
*Few leaves of mint
*Few leaves of Basil
*500 ml of hot water for chicken stock
*Chicken stock cube
*1 TSP of crushed chillies.


METHOD: 
1.) Place the chicken into a large mixing bowl and pour a liberal helping of salt across it. 
2.) Then add the Paprika, muscadavo sugar, crushed chillies, salt , ground coriander and tomato purée in. Proceed to mix, so that the marinade covers all parts of the chickens. Next add the lemon and Rosemary.
3.) Once the spices have been spread across the chicken, add the soy sauce, honey, chili sauce and sunflower oil. Spread the marinade across the chicken and squeeze the lemon juice in. 
4.) Once the chicken is covered, place a sheet of cling film on top and leave it in the fridge until you need to cook it. 
***********
5.) Once the chicken has been taken out of the fridge (within half an hour or longer), place a frying pan on to the stove, and add a liberal gush of oil into it. 
When the oil and surface of the pan have become hot, place the marinated chicken in for 10 minutes. 

Turn sides regularly, to ensure that both are being tended to. 
6.)  Next create the chicken stock, adding chillies to it, before splashing it into the frying pan, so that it covers the chicken pieces, 
Leave for a few minutes, so that it saturates the juices from the chicken. 
7.) Next place, the chicken pieces into a casserole dish and add the garlic slices, before covering and placing into the over at 180 degrees. 
8.) Keep the stock in the frying pan for later and add in the basil and mint, it provides a great gravy to accompany the dish. 
Check up on the chicken regularly, occasionally adding oil to ensure that it doesn't get too dry. 

9.) Within 30 minutes, the chicken should be made. It should be a golden colour, ready to serve with roast potato- or mash.