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Dry Rub for Steak

 

It’s Friday and we are having steaks which can sometimes fail to live up to the hype if flavour is a little lacking.

This is a tasty dry rub that you can make up, keep in a jar and rub on your steak or other meat before grilling or barbecuing. It’s a variation on the whole30 mocha rub, but I’ve omitted the ground coriander and cocoa.

At this point I feel I have to mention my measuring spoons which make me very very happy! They fit in the spice jars 😉 I love them, really.

 

2 tblsp instant coffee

1 tblsp maldon salt

1 tsp ground black pepper

1 tblsp garlic salt

1 tblsp dark brown sugar

1/2 tsp cayenne

1/4 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp ground cinnamon

Mix all ingredients in a jar and store until needed. Rub on your meat and leave at room temperature for 20-30 minutes before cooking. I prepped mine this afternoon with the spuds and wrapped the meat in cling film in the fridge. I then unwrapped at room temp before cooking.

Then, obviously, cook your steaks to your liking 🙂 I have a trusty chargrill pan which I use to sear the steaks and then finish them off in a hot oven, but everyone has their own routine.  I served the steaks this evening with gratin potatoes as I could prep these in advance and leave in the oven and also some sautéed spinach and mushrooms.

 

 

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Breakfast Pancakes

Pancakes are a favourite weekend breakfast here (and sometimes midweek if I am feeling motivated!) They are very easy to make and you can incorporate all kinds of fillings and toppings to please everyone! The recipe below would be a nice hit this Sunday (hint hint!) These are US style puffy pancakes as opposed to the crepe style ones and are especially yummy with maple syrup and your favourite fruits, or even bacon if you are going to come over all Canadian! Best place for purchasing maple syrup is Aldi or Lidl – it’s the best value and pure 100% with none of that maple flavour golden syrup rubbish, which I am sure is a crime somewhere.

 

Pancakes (makes roughly 12- 16 depending on size, which serves about 2 adults and 2 kids who aren’t totally ravenous!)

1 and 1/2 cups plain flour (I sometimes use half plain and half fine wholewheat, no-one notices and I feel virtuous)

1 tblsp sugar

pinch salt

scant 3 tsp baking powder (i.e. use just under the third teaspoon)

1 large egg beaten

1 and 1/4 cups milk

2 tblsp melted butter, plus extra for the frying pan

Ideas to add to the pancakes: A mashed banana added into the batter after it rests, before cooking (maybe a few choc chips!) … some blueberries … my fav – very thinly sliced apple with a little sprinkle of cinnamon placed on top of the uncooked batter in the pan just before you flip it over … toasted nuts … I could go on but you get the picture!

 

Mix the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk the milk and egg together and gradually add into the dry ingredients and mix well. Don’t worry too much about the lumps, but do make sure there’s no flour lurking in there.

Leave this mix to sit for 10 minutes – use this time to prep the fruit you’ll serve.

Now whisk in your two spoons of melted butter (and mashed banana if using). Heat a little butter (with a touch of oil to stop it burning) in a large pan to medium/high and pour about 2-3 spoons of batter in per pancake.  (When they have set a little, then is the time to carefully place your really thin apple slices on top if using) They will be done on one side when little bubbles rise to the surface of the batter, so flip over and cook through for a minute or two more.

Keep the first batch warm (or feed everyone while you make more!)

Serve warm with maple syrup and any fruit of your choice. Also serve with lots of coffee if it is Father’s day and you are up making this breakfast very very early!

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Simple Moroccan Chicken with Olives and Lemon

 

Another week, another menu plan! We were away at the weekend so I am sort of starting this week on the back foot – yuck! It’s nice to have a quick recipe like this one to hand when you are feeling less than inspired of a Monday! Feel free to add extra chicken – the recipe is quite forgiving in that regard. Oh and if you are 7 years old, scrape all the olives and mint off first before eating.

Ingredients to serve 4

8 chicken thighs (skinless and boneless)

2 tblsp plain flour

3 tsp ground cumin

good pinch salt (Maldon is great)

2 tblsp olive oil

250ml (1 cup) chicken or vegetable stock (I use Marigold Bouillion)

Juice of half a lemon and about 1/2 tsp of zest (or to your taste)

50g (1/2 cup) sliced black olives (I use the jarred ones in brine)

small handful of mint, chopped

 

Get a large ziplock bag and add the flour, cumin and salt. Seal and shake to mix. Add the chicken and seal and shake to mix again, coating the chicken with the cumin mix.

Heat the oil in a wide pan (with a lid for later) and add the chicken lifting it out of the bag with tongs, gently shaking off the excess flour before adding it to the pan. Brown the chicken until golden, 3-4 minutes each side. Now add the hot stock to the pan, together with the lemon juice and zest and stir gently. Bring to a gentle simmer, then put the lid on and simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Check again, stirring in the olives and mint and letting simmer for the last 5 minutes. Check the thighs are cooked through. Serve with cous cous or quinoa (our fav!) and vegetables.

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Strawberry Muffins

These muffins are just the thing for a rainy Wednesday afternoon. I had a punnet of Irish strawberries, so recently lovely that had all of a sudden become a little tired looking and were in need of a little extra attention in the form of butter, sugar and flour. Muffins are just the thing, only taking 20 or 25 minutes in the oven and (mostly!) only needing a bowl. The crumbly streusel topping added a little crunch, because well, WEDNESDAY!

I like to melt the butter slowly in a small saucepan, letting it brown, foam and become slightly nutty. Brown butter is a wonder! Watch it doesn’t burn though. Don’t worry though – this is not a necessary step if you don’t have the time or inclination for it.

A note: I like to use US cup measurements – I’ve tried to include equivalents where I can.

Ingredients to yield 16-18 muffins:-

250g or 2 cups strawberries, finely diced.

445g  or 3 cups plain flour

1 tblsp baking powder

1/2 tsp bicarbonate of soda

300g or 1 1/2 cups caster sugar

225g or 1 cup butter, melted and slightly cooled.

3 large eggs

300ml or 1 1/4 cups milk

Streusel topping:

50g butter, cold

4 tblsp plain flour

4 tblsp brown sugar

 

Preheat your oven to 180C and line your muffin tins with liners.  Make the streusel topping. I like to grate the cold butter into the mix of the flour and brown sugar and bring it all together with a fork and or fingers until it resembles coarse breadcrumbs. Set aside for later.

Add the flour, sugar, baking powder and bicarb of soda to a large bowl and mix. In a large jug/bowl, mix the milk, eggs and melted cooled butter together.

Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the wet ingredients in, folding them efficiently. Make sure they are all well incorporated, but don’t over mix. Now fold in the chopped strawberries.

Divide equally in the cases, filling 3/4 way. Spoon a generous tablespoon of streusel topping on top of each muffin.

Bake for 20-25 minutes. Check after 20 – mine were done at around 21 minutes – golden and springy to the touch.

Let cool for 5-10 minutes in the tin, before removing to cool on a rack.

Put the kettle on and enjoy!

 

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salmon and veggies with lentils

Our favourite go-to is salmon. There are lots of easy ways to elevate this already tasty quick accessible item into something special, even if you are serving it up on a rainy Tuesday. I happen to do this on a lot of rainy Tuesdays after football – it’s 20 minutes in the oven and the lentils, serving two are microwavable in a pouch, which makes it handy and even faster than a takeaway and healthier to boot. We are also a teeny little bit obsessed with roast sprouts these days. Roasting imparts a deeper nuttier flavour and any dinner that means one tray or dish gets a thumbs up from me. I say the following recipe serves 2 – I eat a fillet of salmon and my better half eats 2 and takes leftovers to work for lunch the next day. You would certainly serve four serving one fillet each and upping the quantity of vegetables.

Roast Salmon and veggies with a side of lentils
Serves 2 -ish!
4 fillets of salmon
1 net of brussel sprouts
1 large red pepper
Schwartz Perfect Shake Italian Garlic and Herb
1-2 Tblsp olive oil

Preheat your oven to 180C. Prepare your roasting tray by covering with foil.
Prep the veggies by cleaning and chopping to even size pieces (see the picture) Drizzle with 1 tblsp of oil and sprinkle with a small amount of the herb shake.
Roast the veg for 5-8 minutes in the oven. You will then add the salmon into the hot tray (careful!) sprinkling same with some of the shake and a drizzle of oil. Carefully mix the veg while you do this. Return the tray to the oven for 15 minutes. Salmon should be done when it is firm to the touch and pale through.
I served this with a pouch of the microwavable puy lentils – they also work really well cold in a salad – the possibilities are endless!

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Goat Cheese Salad with Apples and Almonds

 

This is a super quick starter to make – it’s on the table in a matter of ten minutes and is super tasty. We had it on Friday with a cold glass of white – very welcome prelude to a tasty steak dish which I will post about later! There’s nothing like low effort high reward food at the end of the week and once you’ve a few bits in the fridge it all comes together very quickly. I used a small packet of goat cheese from M&S – the rind holds it together when it’s baking in the oven, it easily cut into three generous slices.

 

Ingredients (serves 2):

Goats cheese with rind, a small log sliced into 1 inch slices

2-3 tblsp of chopped almonds

1 egg, beaten

1/2 red onion, sliced into very fine rings

1/2 apple, either green or golden delicious, sliced into matchsticks

couple handful of lettuce leaves of your choice (I used red gem)

Dressing:

2 tblsp olive oil

1 tblsp balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

2 tsp maple syrup

salt, pepper and snipped chives to serve

Set up your small baking tray, lined with a little foil or parchment and preheat oven to 170C. Whisk the egg in a small bowl. Place the chopped almonds on a small saucer and working from one side to the other dip each cheese slice firstly in the egg, then the nuts gently pressing them in to stick, then gently on the tray. Bake in the oven for 7 minutes approximately. Watch them closely. They will go from sturdy to melted in a nanosecond! Prepare the salad. Whisk the dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. (You can do this before the cheese goes in the oven if you like) Plate up the (washed!) leaves, onion and apple sticks. Drizzle the dressing over. Place the baked cheese on top and sprinkle the snipped chives to serve. Arrange to eat in the sunshine if you can!

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A Spin on the Bakewell.

 

Blueberry Coconut cake

A spin on the bakewell.

There’s nothing like a slice of cake with a cuppa is there? This one I came up with, adapting a recipe that I have almost worn out from baking (if that’s possible!) from BBC Good Food. It’s a cake version which takes the pressure off performing any kind of pastry miracle. This is almost always a good thing! It never fails. I chose to change it around a little, swapping the raspberries for blueberries and adding a little coconut for a change. I’ve also used strawberries and mixed berries in the original, which is a winner.

 

Ingredients:

100g ground almonds

150g butter, softened to room temperature

140g caster sugar

140g self-raising flour

50g dessicated coconut

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

250g blueberries (fresh or frozen are fine)

2 tblsp flaked almonds

 

Preheat your oven to 180C or fan 160C. Butter and line the base of a 26cm loose bottom tin with baking parchment. Place the butter, ground almonds, sugar, flour, coconut, eggs, and vanilla into a food processor and blitz until smooth and well mixed. Smooth half the mix into the base of the tin. Place the berries on top of the mix, scattering fairly evenly. Smooth the rest of the mix over the berries and sprinkle the flaked almonds on top. Bake for 50 minutes until golden. Cool in the tin then remove carefully to plate. Dust with icing sugar and serve with a dollop of cream.

 

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the first bite.

Welcome welcome. I’d like to think that you’ll find something inspiring here. Eventually. It’s my first foray into this, so I have a few recipes up my sleeve and I am frantically thinking of some witty anecdotes to dovetail nicely with them. You know, interesting things!! Although as we all know, when thinking of dinner ideas, interesting is often sacrificed for quick and whatever-they-will-all-eat.

 

With that in mind, I’m sharing a handy little number that I often feed my troops. It’s in the oven in a few, takes 25 minutes to cook and I like to serve it with spuds/rice/quinoa and whatever vegetables are in the fridge or those that are the least hateful as far are the kids are concerned. That can change on a daily basis, believe me. It’s even nice served cold in slices with a salad if you’ve any leftovers.

Tasty Parmesan Chicken

Serves 4

 

Ingredients:

4  chicken breast fillets

4 tablespoons natural yoghurt

2 teaspoons honey

2 teaspoons dijon mustard

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

4 tablespoons grated parmesan

Salt and black pepper to season

 

Preheat your oven to 180C. I like to line a shallow baking tin with tinfoil and brush it with a little oil. Of late, I’ve even discovered the nonstick Bacofoil which is pretty handy! Minimise the washing up! Set this aside. Place the chicken breasts between two pieces of cling film and bash them with a rolling pin to flatten them a little. Place the flattened chicken breasts on the lined tray and season.

Mix the yoghurt, honey, mustard and garlic powder in a small bowl. Spread a spoon of the mixture on each flattened breast, taking care not to go over the edges. Sprinkle a spoon of parmesan on each chicken breast.

 

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes or until golden and bubbling, making sure they are cooked through. Check the thickest part of each breast – any juices should run clear.

Enjoy!