This is a really easy recepie for Chilli which we have been cooking for many years in our house! This is very simialr to our Bolognese Sauce recepie with a few additions and bits taken out.
You can add whatever you like to this but here are the ingrediants we use.
This should serve 4 easily with left overs you can freeze for another day.
What you will need
350g of minced beef
1 Medium / large Onion
1 Red pepper seeded
1 Green pepper seeded
1 Yellow pepper seeded
2 Garlic cloves
2 Tins of chopped tomatoes
1 squeeze of tomato puree
1/2 Teaspoon chilli powder (to taste use less if it's too hot)
1/2 Teaspoon Cayenne pepper - this gives it a real kick
2 Teaspoons Paprika
1 Tin Red Kidney Beans, drained and rinsed
How to make your Chilli con Carne:
I find it easier to chop everything first then cook, but if you are in a rush you can do several things at once!
Chop the onion and peppers in to small chunks - how small is up to you as we have small children we find it best to chop into small squares about the size of a 5p piece.
Place the mince in a large pan - non-stick if you have it but it isn't important. You will notice that we haven't included any oil in the recipe as mince tends to be quite high in fat so once it starts to cook you really don't need any.
Keep stirring the mince until brown, you will notice quite a lot of fat in the pan once the mince is brown. You can either drain this fat off, if you are feeling really healthy, or leave in for a bit of extra taste.
Once browned crush the garlic cloves and add to the pan along with the chopped onion. Stir these together over a high heat until the onion starts to change colour (it will start to go a bit see through). You only need to soften the onion don't cook it too long or it will burn.
Add the chopped peppers to the mixture and stir in well. If the mince has gone a bit dry at this point you can add a splash of water to stop it sticking. (You see you really don't need any oil unless you like your food greasy).
Keep stirring the mixture and add the spices - Chilli powder, Cayenne Pepper and Paprika.
Add the tinned tomatoes and tomato puree and stir well. You can add more water by rinsing the tomato tinns out to give a bit more sauce.
Cover and simmer for about an hour - the longer you leave it the more infused the flavour will be.
Don't forget to taste, you may want to add some more spices depending on your taste and if you must put some salt in!
Your Chilli con Carne should now be ready to serve with rice (brown or white) and some warmed Pitta Bread.
Saturday 23 October 2010
King Prawn Risotto
King prawns are great to cook with - we always have the pre-cooked version for speed but you can use raw ones or you can replace the prawns with chicken if preferred.
I have also cooked this with salmon fillet so the possibilities are kind of endless.
This should serve 4 easily, if you want more just up the quantities.
What you will need
300g Arborio risotto rice
750ml hot stock (either chicken or vegetable)
1 Medium onion
2 Garlic cloves
40g Butter
150ml White wine or Vermouth
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
3-4 Broccoli spears
3-4 Mushrooms
1 Handful of petit pois
How to make the Risotto
Melt the butter in a large pan - non-stick if you have one.
Add the rice and fry until it goes a bit see through.
Add the onion and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes. At this stage if things are starting to stick add a little stock or lemon juice.
Add the mushrooms, peas and broccoli and keep stirring.
Add some stock, lemon juice and white wine (if using) enough to just about cover the mixture.
Keep stirring now and then and make sure it doesn't stick.
Once all of the liquid has been used the rice should be creamy with a little bit of bite.
Add the cooked prawns and stir in for a few minutes to heat but don't overcook them or they will go rubbery.
Once cooked serve with grated parmesan cheese.
I have also cooked this with salmon fillet so the possibilities are kind of endless.
This should serve 4 easily, if you want more just up the quantities.
What you will need
300g Arborio risotto rice
750ml hot stock (either chicken or vegetable)
1 Medium onion
2 Garlic cloves
40g Butter
150ml White wine or Vermouth
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
3-4 Broccoli spears
3-4 Mushrooms
1 Handful of petit pois
How to make the Risotto
Melt the butter in a large pan - non-stick if you have one.
Add the rice and fry until it goes a bit see through.
Add the onion and garlic and fry for a couple of minutes. At this stage if things are starting to stick add a little stock or lemon juice.
Add the mushrooms, peas and broccoli and keep stirring.
Add some stock, lemon juice and white wine (if using) enough to just about cover the mixture.
Keep stirring now and then and make sure it doesn't stick.
Once all of the liquid has been used the rice should be creamy with a little bit of bite.
Add the cooked prawns and stir in for a few minutes to heat but don't overcook them or they will go rubbery.
Once cooked serve with grated parmesan cheese.
Saturday 2 October 2010
Cooking oil
You may have already guessed this but, we don't tend to cook with much oil in anything!
A lot of meat already has some fat in it especially mince. Things that don't tend to have much fat in them are chicken and pork in which case we would start with a little oil then add some water to the pan if it starts to stick - yes plain old water.
The only oil we have in the house is olive oil for cooking Italian and rapeseed oil for everything else as it's low in saturates.
A lot of meat already has some fat in it especially mince. Things that don't tend to have much fat in them are chicken and pork in which case we would start with a little oil then add some water to the pan if it starts to stick - yes plain old water.
The only oil we have in the house is olive oil for cooking Italian and rapeseed oil for everything else as it's low in saturates.
Monday 27 September 2010
Bolognese Sauce
First up is a staple in our house, a simple Bolognese sauce, which can be served with any type of pasta including spaghetti, twists (Fusilli), tubes (Penne), bows (Farfalle) or shells (Conchiglie). You can also add some bechamel sauce to make a lasagna (we might cover this one later)
All of the sizes and weights are approximate as half of the fun of cooking is to see what you can do with the ingredients you have in the house and making them taste good rather than sticking rigidly to a recipe.
This should serve 4 easily with left overs you can freeze for another day.
What you will need for the sauce:
350g of minced beef
1 Medium / large Onion
1 Red pepper seeded
1 Green pepper seeded
1 Yellow pepper seeded
2 Garlic cloves
1 Carrot - any size
4 - 6 mushrooms depending on size and if you like mushrooms!
2 Teaspoons of oregano
2 Tins of chopped tomatoes
1 squeeze of tomato puree
How to make your Bolognese sauce:
I find it easier to chop everything first then cook, but if you are in a rush you can do several things at once!
Chop the onion, peppers, carrot and mushrooms in to small chunks - how small is up to you as we have small children we find it best to chop into small squares about the size of a 5p piece.
Place the mince in a large pan - non-stick if you have it but it isn't important. You will notice that we haven't included any oil in the recipe as mince tends to be quite high in fat so once it starts to cook you really don't need any.
Keep stirring the mince until brown, you will notice quite a lot of fat in the pan once the mince is brown. You can either drain this fat off, if you are feeling really healthy, or leave in for a bit of extra taste.
Once browned crush the garlic cloves and add to the pan along with the chopped onion. Stir these together over a high heat until the onion starts to change colour (it will start to go a bit see through). You only need to soften the onion don't cook it too long or it will burn.
Add the chopped peppers and carrot to the mixture and stir in well. If the mince has gone a bit dry at this point you can add a splash of water to stop it sticking. (You see you really don't need any oil unless you like your food greasy).
Keep stirring the mixture and add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms have started to turn a dark grey.
Add the tinned tomatoes, puree and oregano and stir well.
Cover and simmer for about an hour - the longer you leave it the more infused the flavour will be.
Don't forget to taste, you may want to add some more oregano and if you must put some salt in!
Prepare your favourite pasta to the instructions on the packet - we don't add salt to the boiling water but each to their own!
Once cooked add the pasta to a bowl, spoon over the sauce and serve with grated parmesan cheese.
All of the sizes and weights are approximate as half of the fun of cooking is to see what you can do with the ingredients you have in the house and making them taste good rather than sticking rigidly to a recipe.
This should serve 4 easily with left overs you can freeze for another day.
What you will need for the sauce:
350g of minced beef
1 Medium / large Onion
1 Red pepper seeded
1 Green pepper seeded
1 Yellow pepper seeded
2 Garlic cloves
1 Carrot - any size
4 - 6 mushrooms depending on size and if you like mushrooms!
2 Teaspoons of oregano
2 Tins of chopped tomatoes
1 squeeze of tomato puree
How to make your Bolognese sauce:
I find it easier to chop everything first then cook, but if you are in a rush you can do several things at once!
Chop the onion, peppers, carrot and mushrooms in to small chunks - how small is up to you as we have small children we find it best to chop into small squares about the size of a 5p piece.
Place the mince in a large pan - non-stick if you have it but it isn't important. You will notice that we haven't included any oil in the recipe as mince tends to be quite high in fat so once it starts to cook you really don't need any.
Keep stirring the mince until brown, you will notice quite a lot of fat in the pan once the mince is brown. You can either drain this fat off, if you are feeling really healthy, or leave in for a bit of extra taste.
Once browned crush the garlic cloves and add to the pan along with the chopped onion. Stir these together over a high heat until the onion starts to change colour (it will start to go a bit see through). You only need to soften the onion don't cook it too long or it will burn.
Add the chopped peppers and carrot to the mixture and stir in well. If the mince has gone a bit dry at this point you can add a splash of water to stop it sticking. (You see you really don't need any oil unless you like your food greasy).
Keep stirring the mixture and add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms have started to turn a dark grey.
Add the tinned tomatoes, puree and oregano and stir well.
Cover and simmer for about an hour - the longer you leave it the more infused the flavour will be.
Don't forget to taste, you may want to add some more oregano and if you must put some salt in!
Prepare your favourite pasta to the instructions on the packet - we don't add salt to the boiling water but each to their own!
Once cooked add the pasta to a bowl, spoon over the sauce and serve with grated parmesan cheese.
A word about Salt
Salt is one of those items that you either use a lot of or like us, you don't use at all.
None of the recipes on this blog will contain added salt. If you want to add some either when cooking or when serving feel free, we just don't.
None of the recipes on this blog will contain added salt. If you want to add some either when cooking or when serving feel free, we just don't.
Sunday 26 September 2010
Welcome
Welcome to home made food, a blog with recipes we have used over the years for wholesome healthy food you can cook at home.
We will be posting the food that we like to cook, it's simple and easy to do so why not give it a try!
We will be posting the food that we like to cook, it's simple and easy to do so why not give it a try!
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