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Ensure the air fryer, and especially the paddle, has a light covering of oil spray. Add a very small amount of Rapeseed oil to the bottom of the pan if you wish, for cooking the eggs.
Ensure the paddle is correctly placed in the machine.
Ensure the lid is firmly closed during all cooking times.
Mix 4 eggs with 200ml milk in a jug, and lightly season with salt and pepper.
Pop your mixture into the air fryer and set the timer for 6 minutes.
When the timer is finished, open the lid and use a wooden scraper to take any egg mix from the sides of the bowl and put it back to the bottom. Add the tomatoes.
Set the timer for a further 3 minutes, then check your eggs. Your machine might need a little longer. When the eggs are fully cooked, your meal is ready.
Serve in a pre-warmed bowl, and sprinkle the grated cheese on top. Wait 30 seconds, then eat.
This was much more successful than I ever could have imagined as far as the kids were concerned. All you need is some mince and cheese, then pop them in the oven for a luxurious treat. If you add in some more veg, I suspect these might be a good way to hide some nutritious veg if kids are happy meatball eaters.
This is very much suitable as a leftovers dish too. Mushing up whatever you have would go well with this type of thing. Just make sure it is thoroughly cooked before serving.
Grated Cheese - Use whatever you have. I had about 300g Mozarella in the fridgeso just divided it between the 12 muffin slots I had in my trays.
Instructions
I used some cake release spray to line my muffin trays, but I suspect I didn't need to do that at all. Set your oven to around 160-180 Degrees, depending on which type of oven you have.
Simply put some mince on the bottom of each muffin well, and then pop in the cheese, and cover up with another layer of mince, pressing down slightly.
Bake in the oven until thoroughly cooked. Approximately around 20 minutes, but you all know your own ovens. I covered mine up with a layer of tin foil to prevent the tops from burning.
This was a very interesting challenge for me, given that until recently, we drove down to France on a yearly basis for our summer holidays.
Despite spending months in France, in total, I doubt that we’ve actually even tried anything that remotely resembles French cuisine. In the past, I’ve always thought of frogs legs and yukky green things, and to be honest, never really gave it a chance.
Expedia challenged me to come up with a dish that was inspired by France, and as part of their world on a plate challenge.
They sent me some lovely French ingredients to work with, including duck confit, black truffe paste (I had no idea what to do with this. It took a bit of work to figure something out), fleur de sel sea salt, dried Morel mushrooms, red fruit coulis, a cheese wedge of Beaufort, goose fat, cooked chestnuts, chestnut puree and Perard fish soup.
As much as I tried, I couldn’t persuade anyone in my house to consider trying the fish soup, which is a shame, but it will go to a good home where it will be enjoyed.
The challenge for me, was what to do with those ingredients. They’re not anywhere near my usual staples for cooking, so it did take some thinking.
A chestnut gravy seemed like a good place to start, and that’s where I did go, and used the truffle paste as part of that, to enable those who like the taste to try it, and those who don’t, to leave it off their plate.
As an underground fungi, they’re more like a type of below ground mushroom, and pigs seemingly like them. Finding that out, means that I could add it to my chestnut gravy as a taste booster, or even to soups.
I do have to say though, that at nearly £50 a jar, it’s not something that would be on my shopping list. For that reason, part of me is actually hoping truffles don’t become a taste or flavour that we enjoy too much as a family.
To make our meal, I took the advice on the tin of Duck Parfait, to remove the duck and put it into a roasting dish for cooking. After 20 minutes, it was lovely and crispy on the outside. I’d rubbed the skins with the salt, which added an unusual flavour.
With the addition of some lovely vegetables and a Chestnut Gravy Sauce that I made up on the spot with our ingredients, the meal was actually lovely, and well appreciated by all. These aren’t ingredients I would have chosen originally, but even I was impressed with how good this looked at the dinner table.
I've made the garlic optional, as the truffle paste is very garlicky. It depends how strong you like your gravy sauces.
Combine all in a blender and whizz until as combined as it can get to. Mine ended up with some tiny black dots in the sauce, which gave it a little character.
Heat in a pan until thoroughly hot. If it's a little too strong, add a little cream to dilute it.
As truffles can be an acquired taste, serve in a dish on the side, so that diners can choose how much to use.
Expedia provided or paid for all food in this post. All views are my own.
The week beginning Monday 12th, until the 18th October is National Curry Week.
Even as far up North as we are, we do appreciate a good curry, but in our house, curries tend to be more flavoursome than spicy. My personal favourite is a korma, which has possibly influenced the taste buds of the not so little people in our home. They don’t mind flavour and taste, but blisteringly hot is off the menu.
I was a little surprised, if I’m being honest, as I had no idea that national curry week even existed. When I did a little digging, I found that it started in 1998, to promote the food, and raise money for charities dealing with poverty and hunger. Some of your local curry houses might even have special deals on to celebrate. If you’re a curry fan, it might be worth checking out, or you could even make your own.
Not everyone who likes a curry dish, likes the traditional accompaniments, so I added a slightly different theme to mine, as a way to bring a new flavour for my kids. My curry dish is a curried lamb stew, made with some of the finest Welsh Lamb available. I intended to feed someone who dislikes coconut, so although I’d normally add it to a curry I cooked for myself, I’ve left it out of this recipe.
Curried Lamb Stew, Served with Chips - For #NationalCurryWeek
100gPetit PoisOptional, but my kids love peas in things, so I added them to mine.
Instructions
Saute the onions and brown the lamb in a frying pan on a low heat, taking care not to burn the onions. Allow the mixture to sweat a little.
Break the stock cube over the simmering meat and onions.
Add the cumin and mild curry powder, and mix well in the pan, turning the meat and onions all the time, making sure they don't burn.
Add enough water to almost cover the meat and let the flavours mix together. I added my peas here.
Mix the cornflour into a past with a little water and add to the pan. When the stew begins to thicken, it's ready to transfer into an oven dish for the final step.
Bake in the oven for approximately 20 minutes on a moderate heat.
I was provided with a cut of Welsh Lamb to make this dish for National Curry Week. #nationalcurryweek #welshlamb
Ok, this is the cheats way to do it. I never said I was mega original, did I? Anyway, these taste lush, and have just the right amount of stickiness, but it does mean changing the recommended use of a standard Maggi, Teriyaki Chicken mix.
The Maggi pack, says that it’s made with natural herbs and spices and given that I managed to get 8 large kebab sticks from it, the added seasoning is only 22 calories and 5 carbs per kebab. That’s pretty good when you consider that it makes chicken taste so much better than just salt and pepper, or some added spices.
I’m not sure this is really a recipe, but here you go.
Teriyaki Chicken Kebabs
Lesley Smith
I did not have vegetables available for adding to the kebab stick for this recipe. The fridge needed filling, so we had ours with a little lettuce on the side.
Simply cut each chicken breast into kebab sized chunks. I had large chicken breasts and got several good sized pieces for each kebab stick.
Put your Maggi mix into a good sized bowl and add some boiling water. Not too much, but enough to give you a mixture for coating the kebabs. Stir until the mix is dissolved.
Dip the chicken and roll it around in the Teriyaki mix, then pop it in the fridge for half an hour to marinate.
Slip your chicken onto the kebab sticks, and lay on foil prepared flat baking trays.
Cook at 160C for 20 minutes, or until your chicken is thoroughly cooked. Add your Camembert to the oven at the same time, following the instructions it comes with.
If you know where your mince has come from, then you can be sure that it isn’t full of additives or processed foods. As a low-carb person these days, I also want to know exactly what is in my food, so that I can count it.
I’d been tempted by the Lakeland Burger Press for a while, but to be honest, I hadn’t got round to it before now.
In the past, I tended to simply make a ball with my hands and then flatten it, but the burgers were usually pretty misshapen, and thinner at the ends than in the middle, so I thought it was worth a go.
While I was online for an order, I had to pop this beauty into my shopping basket. It’s simple, yes, but also brilliant at getting regular shapes.
Burgers & Fillers
For my mince, I chose the food from my local butcher, Andrew Gordon, of the The Lean Butcher, who has recently rebranded (previously known as the Fresh Food Guru, online). He has a lean steak mince deal which is perfect for 3KG of mince.
There are 153 calories per 100g and less than 0.1g of carbohydrate. Perfect in my book.
To make my burgers, I simply chopped up some onion, then added a chunk of garlic from our plot. It’s the first time I’ve tried our own garlic, and it beat the shop version hands down.
This is actually really simple. I did not add breadcrumbs, as I wanted a burger without the added carbs. I put my mince and onions in a bowl, along with the chopped up garlic. Don't be scared to get your hands into the bowl, and really work the onions into the mince. I like large chunks of onions, but everyone is different.
Stir in salt and pepper. We all know how much we prefer, so I just add a level teaspoon of both and mix that in too. You might prefer to do without, or add more.
I split my mix into six even sized portions, ie rolling into a ball, then pressed each one into my burger press and push it down with a spoon, to make it firm.
I've heard people worrying about getting their burgers out of the burger press, but I find it quite simple. When I push the top to release the burger from the base, I simply slide a long and narrow bladed knife into the place where the burger press and the burger meets. I've never had a failure yet, even though I don't use additional binders.
Cook any way you like. I bake mine in a moderate heat for twenty minutes as my children like their meat well done, but you could flash fry or grill.
For me, this is just a throw it all in kind of meal. Fast, simple, and fills hungry bellies.
It’s a favourite of my eldest in the evening if he’s peckish.
This Egg Pizza is a five minute low carb meal. Yes, it’s fairly high in fat, but if you’re eating low carbs, then you’re fine. This comes in around 7.3 carbs for the whole thing, which is low for a fairly hefty meal and most people will eat half a portion. It really does count if you’re keeping to very low carb levels, ie around 30 a day. Also a perfect meal for diabetics doing LCHF (Low Carb, High Fat)
For everyone else, it’s a luxurious meal that you can use lower fat alternatives for fewer calories.
Not everyone likes pastry, or wants the calories and fat that come from making it. It doesn’t mean we have to do without quiche style dishes. This version is made using a regular oven dish, with all the ingredients just placed in.
PASTRY FREE POTATO, CHEESE, ONION AND TOMATO QUICHE (CRUSTLESS QUICHE)
Step 1 Set your oven to approximately 160 – 170 c.
Step 2 Wash and smother the baby potatoes in garlic butter. Place them on a microwave safe plate and cook them for 10 minutes. Remember to pierce each one, or you could end up with exploding tatties. If you don’t have a microwave, simply boil them for ten to fifteen minutes, then drain and let the garlic butter melt on the skins.
Step 3 Beat your eggs and mix in the milk. Have your chopped onion ready to go into the dish. Feel free to saute your onions in a little olive oil if you like them done that way too. I would have added mushrooms, but my mother wouldn’t eat the meal and she’s eating with us tonight, so it’s a mushroomless variety.
Step 4 Slice the baby potatoes into evenly thick slices. I usually get about three or four slices from a baby potato.
Step 5 Pour around 1-2mm of the egg/milk mix into the bottom of your dish. Mine is approximately 10 inches by 8 inches in size. You could use a couple of smaller oven dishes just as easily.
Step 6 Place a layer of sliced potatoes onto the bottom of your dish, then layer some cheese on top and add some tomatoes. repeat with some more potato and then the cheese, until you run out of ingredients.
Step 7 Top up the dish with the remainder of the egg/milk mix, making sure to pour slowly, with the intention of not disturbing the filler too much.
Step 8 Pop in the oven and bake until the egg is set. Usually around 20 – 30 minutes.
Chicken enchiladas are a great way of getting some protein into children, by the chicken and cheese, but for me, I wanted to add a little more veg, so the passata was added as a base, and to spoon over the dish.
Instead of finger food, it does take a knife and fork to eat while it’s hot, unless you’re happy to have tomatoey fingers spreading the red stuff everywhere, though as a cold snack, it’s fabulous finger food.
1Medium - Large ChickenPre-cooked and cut up or Shredded.
500gCheddar CheeseGrated
pinchParsley
Coriander
Pepper
200gSour Creamor Sour Cream and Onion Dip
100gOnionsChopped
Instructions
Pre Heat the oven to around 350 degrees F or 175 degrees C.
Pre-Cook your chicken in a pan until cooked through. Add onions, sour cream, half the cheese, some parsley, coriander, pepper and chilli powder to the pan. Cook until the cheese melts into the mixture.
Use a large baking dish, layering the bottom with tomato passata. Lay you tortilla's out, so that you get two with each tortilla wrap. Fill each one with mixture, then arrange in your baking dish, on top of the passata. Use a spatula or teaspoon to spoon some passata over the top.
Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of the enchiladas and bake for 20 minutes.
We gratefully received a Tesco Berndes Cookware cast iron casserole dish, from the Tesco Kitchen range, with the challenge of creating a meal in one pot. I’m familiar with one pot cooking by using my slow cooker, but cooking a meal in the oven as a casserole hasn’t been a common occurrence for me. The only casserole dish I owned, was not quite able to hold a full meal for six people, so my new dish was perfect for the job.
I really like the large handles at either side of the pot, as they make the dish easy to remove from the oven. I could fit my hands with oven gloves on around the handle.
Don’t forget to put an oven glove back on to lift it again though. Four of my fingers suffered when I made that rookie home cook mistake.
The Berndes Casserole dish has received 5 out of 5 in a recent review on independent.ie, beating some big name rivals! Read the review here. There are three sizes, the 20cm, 24cm and the biggest, which is 29cms.
Berndes 20 cm Casserole Dish
Berndes 24 cm Casserole Dish
Berndes 29cm Casserole Dish
In-Store Sticker Promotion:
Tesco are running a sticker promotion between 29th September – 25th January 2015 where you can save up to 70% on exclusive Berndes cookware products at Tesco. For every £20 you spend online OR in-store you can collect a sticker, once you’ve collected five stickers you can use these to save up to 70% off professional kitchenware items.
The Berndes range of casserole dishes starts at £119, up to £134.99. You can save up to 70% off the Berndes cookware range with 10 stickers at Tesco, find out more at bit.ly/1uwNo3f You can use your stickers up to Sunday, the 11th of January 2015.
Giveaway
I’m also giving one of these fabulous dishes away. For the giveaway, the colourful 24cm dish is the prize, and it’s a lovely one, worth £120. Keep an eye out on the blog, as it will be live later today.
Berndes 24 cm Casserole Dish
Tesco Challenge For Me:
To create a meal in a pot and share the recipe with them.
1200gMixed VegetablesI used baby potatoes, leek, carrot, turnip and red onion.
1Colemans Chicken Casserole Sachet
5Chicken BreastsDiced
3heaped teaspoons Cornflour
3tablespoonsCold Water
Instructions
Set the oven to 220 Degrees C.
Add the olive oil to a shallow frying pan, then sear the chicken to seal the meat. Add the onions and carrots towards the end to lightly fry those.
Add the chicken and vegetables to the casserole dish. Top with the chicken casserole mix and stock pot. Fill the dish to almost three quarters of the level of contents, stir, then cover the dish with a lid, or tin foil.
Reduce the heat of the oven to 180 Degree C and cook for up to 2 hours, or the chicken and vegetables are fully cooked.
If you prefer a thicker gravy, remove the casserole from the dish about ten to twenty minutes before the end of cooking. Mix cornflour with a little water until it is fully dissolved. Add it to the dish and fold into the casserole. Put the casserole back in the oven until the gravy has thickened.
Stir fry chopped onions and green beans in a frying pan with some rapeseed oil until they soften. If you plan to add some flavouring, this is the time to add it.
Use a slotted spoon or spatula to put onions and green beans into a shallow baking tray.
With the remains of the oil used for the onions, lightly fry your turkey bacon until is cooked to your taste. With the barbeque flavouring still in the pan, ours took on that flavour.
Pop the chopped peppers and turkey bacon into the baking tray and bake at 180C for twenty minutes, or until the peppers are cooked through.
Three of the six of us who live here eat mushrooms regularly. To make a change, I thought some stuffed mushrooms would go down well when we had family round and not much time to prepare anything nutritious, filling, and enough for us all to eat.
Cue, the stuffed mushrooms, stuffed just with what I had in my fridge.
Take the mushrooms, wash them thoroughly and cut off any stalks, before placing them on a baking tray covered with a tin foil sheet. You could also take out the inside of the mushroom to make it a bigger hollow if you wish.
Grate the cheese into a bowl, or break it into small pieces. Mix with the garlic and herbs and philidelphia.
Put the mixture into the microwave for a minute or two if the butter and cheese is not mixing properly.
Roll dollops of the cheese mixture together and place them on top of the washed mushrooms. Pat down the mixture gently so that it flattens into the mushroom. Sprinkle the OXO Italian Shake & Flavour over the top of the mushrooms.
Pop in pre-heated oven at 200C for around 15 - 20 minutes.
Newest Comments:
Nice post!
Looks delicous...thanks for sharing the wonderful receipe...
Nice post!
Looks delicous...thanks for sharing the wonderful receipe...
Looks so delicious....thanks for sharing...