Chocolate Chilli Con Carne

Chocolate in a main? A sweet twist to the classic Texan dish. Can be served with tortilla chips or rice.

Serves 4


1 Onion, finely chopped
1 Red Pepper, chopped
2 Red Chillies, de seeded and chopped
2 Garlic Cloves, finely sliced
500g Minced Beef
400g Can of Chopped tomatoes
400g Can of Red Kidney Beans, drained
40-50g Dark Chocolate
300ml Beef Stock
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Chilli powder (Mild, Medium or Hot)
1 tsp Cumin
2 tbspn Tomato Purée

Cheese, grated

1. Put a large pan on the hob over a medium heat. Add oil to the pan. Add the onions and fry until softened. Continue to add the red chillies, pepper and garlic to the pan and fry for about 5 minutes.

2. Add the spices to the pan and stir well. Fry for a further minute.

3. Add the mince beef to the pan. Stir to break up the mince. Cook until browned. This should take about 5-10 minutes.

4. Add the chopped tomatoes, beef stock and dark chocolate to the pan. Reduce to a low heat and allow to simmer. Add the 2 tbspn of tomato purée to the pan. Allow to cook for 15 minutes. Stirring occasionally so the contents doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan.

5. Add the red kidney beans. And cook for a further 10 minutes to allow the beans to heat through. Taste the sauce and season if needed.

6. Sprinkle some grated cheese on top. Serve with tortilla chips or rice.

Victoria Sponge Cake

Haven't done a pudding in a while and have always been meaning to bake this. A classic which is good with a cup of tea (Tea tastes better in a china cup, as my nain has always told me).

200g Caster Sugar
200g Butter, softened
200g Self Raising Flour
1 tsp of Vanilla Extract
4 Eggs

Filling
Jam (My favourite is raspberry with the seeds in)
250ml Double Cream, whipped
Icing Sugar (To top)

1. Preheat the oven for 200c/180c fan assisted. Grease 2 cake tins with some butter.

2. Mix the butter, sugar and vanilla extract until its smooth. Then mix in each egg one at a time. Fold the flour in.

3. Divide the mixture between the two cake tins and put in the oven for 20 minutes. They should be a golden brown and the sponge should spring back up when lightly pressed.

4. Take one of the sponges and put about 4 tbps of raspberry jam on. Then add the double cream on top. Then layer with the other sponge. To finish, sprinkle on the icing sugar. Serve with tea

How positively British ^_^

Chicken Pilaf

This dish may not look glamorous but is a great midweek meal, only need one pan and contains about 2 of your 5 a day. Healthy food and less washing up!

Serves 2

1 Medium Onion, finely sliced
2 Chicken Breasts, cut into chunks
2 Tbsp Korma curry pasta
1 1/2 Mug of Basmati rice, washed
2 Mugs of frozen vegetables
1 Mug of frozen spinach
2 Mugs of chicken stock
1 tsp dried coriander

1. Heat olive oil in a frying pan. Fry the onions until soft. Throw in the chicken and fry until the chicken changes colour.

2. Add the curry paste and the rice to the pan. Cook for a minute.

3. Add the chicken stock and bring to the boil. Once boiling reducing the heat and let it simmer. Cook for 10 minutes then add the frozen vegetables. Cook for a further 5 minutes. Add the frozen spinach and coriander, cook for another 5 minutes.

3. The liquid should have reduced and the rice would have cooked. Make sure while cooking this that you stir regularly otherwise it will stick to the pan. Season and serve.

Ham, Cheese and Basil Pasta Bake

A simple dish which may look calorific, but tastes lovely.

Serves 4

1 Medium Onion, chopped
300g Ham, sliced (not the wafer thin ham)
300ml Double Cream
300g Frozen Peas
300g pasta shapes (eg penne, Conchiglioni, fusilli etc)
200g Cheese
Small glass of white whine
Couple of handfuls of basil, roughly torn

1. Preheat the oven for 200c and grease a medium ovenproof dish

2. Heat olive oil in a pan. Fry the onions until softened. Add the chopped ham and fry for a couple of minutes.

3. Add the cream and wine to the pan. Reduce the heat once the mixture begins to boil. Simmer until the mixture has thickened. Add half of the cheese to the sauce. Season.

4. While the sauce is cooking, put pasta in a pan of boiling salted water. This should take about 10 minutes. Halfway through cooking add the peas to the pan.

5. Drain the pasta and peas. Return to the pan. Add the sauce to the pan with pasta and stir. Pour into the over proof dish. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of the pasta. Put in the oven for 20 minutes.

6. Serve with the torn up basil on top of the pasta

Sausages in a Cider Gravy

I absolutely love cider and wanted to put it in one of my meals. The combination of pork sausages, apples and cider make a tasty meal.

Serves 4:

8 good quality pork sausages
1 Medium white onion, cut into wedges
2 Apples (Cox, braeburn, any eating apples)
    cored and cut into wedges
2 tbp redcurrant jelly
100 ml of Vegetable Stock
200ml of Cider
2 tsp French mustard
1 tsp Sage
Vegetable Oil

1. Heat oil in a frying pan. Poke holes in the sausage with a fork and fry them in the pan for 5 minutes. Turning them regularly.

2. Add the onions to the pan and fry these until soft and golden. After this throw in the apples and fry these until they begin to colour.

3. Make the 100ml mixture of vegetable stock (using either powdered or cubed stock), add the 200ml of cider to the mixture. Stir in the mustard and redcurrant jelly. Pour into the frying pan. Let the mixture boil and then reduce the heat.

4. Add the sage. Let the mixture to simmer for about 10 minutes. The sausages should be cooked and the gravy would have thickened. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Hearty Fried Rice

Jam packed full of different things and will fill you up. You will need to prep this the night before.

Serves: 4
Sesame Seed Oil
3 medium eggs, beaten
1 Medium onion, cut into edges
300g Ham (thick sliced), cut into cubes OR lardons
300g Rice
Mug of frozen peas (Boil in a pan of water before adding the wok)
2 tbps soy sauce
4 Spring Onions
250g pack of Cooked Prawns

1. The night before, wash and boil the rice. Once cooked through, store in the fridge over night.

2. Heat the oil in a wok. Add the egg to the pan. Once the egg has just set, break apart in the pan with the spatula or spoon and set aside.

3. Add a bit of oil to the pan and fry the onion until soft (this should take a couple of minutes). Once softened, add the ham/lardons and stir fry for a minute. Then add the rice and peas and stir fry for a couple of minutes.

4. Then add the eggs, soy sauce, spring onion and prawns and heat through. Serve.

Spicy Breaded Chicken Strips, Chips and Mushy Peas

You can get breaded chicken strips in the supermarket, but they do taste better when you make them yourself.

Serves 4

Breaded Chicken Strips

3 Chicken Breasts

4 slices of bread, blitzed to make breadcrumbs

1 Egg, whisked

4 Tbps plain flour

The red bottle next to the spices is Chilli Oil. Splashed some
on the chicken breast (optional). Gave it a bit more spice.

2 Tsp Cayenne

2 Tsp Chilli Powder

Chips

4-5 Large Potatoes, peeled and sliced

Olive Oil

Salt and pepper

Mushy Peas

2 Mugs of Peas

1 Potato, peeled and chopped

Knob of butter

Mint

Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 200/180 fan assisted. Peal and slice the potatoes into chips and blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes.

2. Drain the water from the pan. Put 2 tbps of olive oil and seasoning into the pan. Shake until chips are covered.

3. Tip the chips onto a baking try and put in the oven for 40 minutes. Turn halfway.

4. While the chips are cooking, place the chicken breasts between 2 cling film sheets. Flatten with a rolling pin.

5. Slice the chicken into strips.

6. Place the flour, egg (with a bit of water) and breadcrumbs (with the chilli powder and cayenne) onto separate plates. For each strip roll in flour, dip in egg and then roll in breadcrumbs and place on a plate.

7. Put the chicken in the oven to cook for 25 minutes

8. For the mushy peas, boil a potato and the peas in a pan of water. Once cooked all the way through, drain. Mash with the butter and the mint.

9. Serve