honey soy chilli chicken with vegies

Chicken thighs in the oven for 45 mins with soy sauce, honey, garlic, ginger, chilli.... courgette, capsicum added in the last 20 mins..... on a bed of brown rice, steamed broccoli and beans!

Lamb Shanks

Ingredients for the shank pot:
3 Lamb Shanks (a shank per person but just add more for more guests)
5 cloves of garlic roughly chopped
1 cup red wine
2 cups beef stock
6 tablespoons tomato paste
1 large stick of celery roughly diced
1 large onion roughly diced
4 tablespoons of oil
1 tablespoon of Rosemary leaves(fresh is better but dried works well)
1 tablespoon of Thyme leaves(fresh is better but dried works well)

Side dishes:

Baby Carrots

Green Beans

Broccoli

Directions:
Preheat oven to 180°C

Place oil in pan and heat until med-high. Brown lamb shanks on all sides quickly, remove using tongs and add to your casserole dish.

I use a heavy cast iron dish but you can use a regular deep-ish oven dish,

I then fry onion and celery pieces, add garlic cloves for a few minuets, then tip into iron dish.

Add the wine, beef stock, tomato paste and herbs into the casserole dish and roll the shanks over a few times, add salt and pepper. Cover and place in the oven for 2 hours approx, meat should be tender and almost falling off the bone!

I check my dish every half hour and turn the shanks over to even out moisture, taste to check seasoning.
I served mine on a bed of mash, baby carrots tossed in butter (pre cook the carrot) and steamed green beans and broccoli.

This is a hearty, tasty meal and I am very pleased with my first attempt! xo

feta stuffed chicken wrapped with pancetta on a bed of spinach risotto

I know I always make risotto.... but its one of my favourites and so well suited to this chilly weather! I stuff chicken breasts with Danish feta... creamy and delicious !  Wrap pancetta around the breasts , in the oven with a few garlic pieces. In the oven for 20 mins.... meanwhile I toss the arborio rice in the pan with some butter and red onions.... slowly pour in chicken stock ... repeat.. repeat.. you know the drill.... when the rice is cooked add in chopped baby spinach, stir and turn stove off, spinach doesn't need long to cook so there should be enough heat already in the pan to do the job. Serve and enjoy.. OOooo if you have some pancetta left after the breasts have been wrapped, chop into small pieces and cripsy these up to sprinkle on the top once the risotto is dished up xx

Tacos

Messy to eat, tasty to eat, tacos are one of my favourite meals. I use chicken instead of beef mince...I find it less fatty and jalapeños are a must !

Sunday lunch

 After a productive day of cleaning and gymming I decided that a delicious lunch was well deserved, a no fuss, nice and easy sandwich. Ciabatta with Moroccan chicken breast pieces, bacon, baby spinach and avocado.

I also made a open wholemeal pita version using the same ingredients for the ladies who are carb concious !

chicken breast stuffed with spinach, ricotta and wrapped with prosciutto

Slice chicken breasts in half and open -rub garlic on the inside, stuff with baby spinach and ricotta , fold over and close breast and wrap slices of prosciutto. In the oven for 25 mins, served on some risoni and a tomato based sauce drizzled on top xx

My adapted version of Jamie Oliver's "Jools's favourite beef stew" (just for Bridge)

As the chilly weather is creeping up on us , I thought this meal would be the perfect way to end the week .. it also meant that we could have some for lunch the following day ! Casseroles, stews are never the prettiest meals to eat but they sure are tasty and hearty. But what really bought this recipe to my attention was the previous day my friend Bridge told me how she accidently bought the wrong cut of beef for her stir fry and the beef she had used was in fact casserole meat, so this is just for her... next time she accidently buys the wrong cut of beef she can put it to good use by following this recipe.  This recipe is from one of  my Jamie Oliver books but you can also get it on line http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/beef-recipes/jools-s-favourite-beef-stew. I was a bit naughty and didn't stick to the exact recipe.... I didn't use sage leaves, instead used broken up sage seasoning and served it with mash potatoes instead of having the potatoes in the stew. I found that though I began the cooking process to the exact recipe , I infact needed to add extra beef stock and red wine over the 4 hr period. After 4 hrs of patiently waiting for the meat pieces to soften to the point they broke apart at a stab, she was ready  to serve! Served on a soft, creamy mash with sage and butter, side of steamed beans and broccoli... she really was the perfect way to end the week xx