Pulled Beef Chilli

During our visit to Cornucopia at the weekend I was in the mood to cook a chilli and saw a lovely looking piece of Beef Brisket from Snowden Hill and know exactly what recipe to cook!


INGREDIENTS

1.5kg beef brisket
1 large cinnamon stick
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp smoked paprika
1 heaped tbsp dried oregano
2 fresh bay leaves
2 red peppers
2 yellow peppers
2 x 400g tins chopped tomatoes
400ml beef stock
3–4 red chillies, 2 deseeded, sliced
2 red onions, finely sliced
Red wine vinegar


METHOD
1) Bash the cinnamon, cumin, paprika and oregano with a mortar and pestle then rub into the beef. Season well, drizzle over a little olive oil and brown the brisket over a high heat.

2) Place the bay leaves, peppers, tomatoes and stock in a large pan and bring to the boil.

3) Meanwhile, add the chilli and onion to the pan with the brisket, cook for 5 minutes, then transfer  to the pan with the tomatoes, cover, and leave to simmer for 4–4½ hours. Be careful towards the end of the cooking time as the sauce thickens it can catch at the bottom.

4) The beef should be tender enough to pull apart using two forks. Add a little vinegar to taste and adjust the seasoning.
5) Serve with soft bread to mop up all that lovely sauce.

Weight Watchers Spicy Tomato And Butternut Soup

I'm not into fad diets but someone I know is ;) So once in a while we pull out the recipe cards and cook something healthy. Some of the recipes are either bland, boring or just don't work. This one however works a treat and will defiantly be appearing in my packed lunch for work this winter.

Serves 6

INGREDIENTS
6 large tomatoes
1 large butternut squash peeled and deseeded
2 large red onions
1 medium red pepper
1 stick celery
1 carrot
4 cloves garlic
1 red chilli-deseeded

METHOD
1) Preheat your oven to 190C/375F/Gas mark 5. Cut the tomatoes, squash, onion, pepper, celery & carrot into chunks-finely dice the garlic & chilli.

2) Place all the veg into a roasting tin -season with salt & toss together. Roast for 45 mins turning the vegetables every 15 mins or so.

3) Put the roasted veg into a food processor with 500 ml of boiling water and blitz until smooth (do in batches if necessary).

4) Add another 500ml of boiling water to the smooth soup. Bring to the boil and simmer for two to three minutes-season to taste. Now serve into warm bowls and enjoy.

My Famous Baked Snickers Cheesecake

This recipe is for everyone who knows me for my baked cheesecake. Especially Faye who has been asking for it for ages, so here you go...Enjoy! (I expect a pic to be posted soon)

INGREDIENTS
16 digestive biscuits
100g butter, melted
600g cream cheese
2 tbsp plain flour
175g caster sugar
vanilla extract
2 eggs, plus 1 yolk
142ml pot soured cream
2 bars of snickers, sliced

METHOD
1) Heat the oven to 180C/fan 160C/gas 4.

2) Crush the biscuits in a food processor (or put in a plastic bag and bash with a rolling pin). Mix with the butter. Press into a 20cm springform tin and bake for 5 minutes, then cool.

3) Beat the cream cheese with the flour, sugar, a few drops of vanilla, eggs, the yolk and soured cream until light and fluffy.

4) Pour into the tin, arrange slices of the snickers bar over the top. Bake for 40 minutes and then check, it should be set but slightly wobbly in the centre. Leave in the tin to cool.



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Spice Up Your Tuna Pasta Bake

Following a minor operation I was incapacitated for a couple of weeks barley able to make a cup of tea let alone get in the kitchen to do some cooking. I was left in the hands of my fiancé who very rarely cooks. Up till then i have only sampled her signature and only dish of pasta in Arrabbiata sauce (ready made) a hand full of times. So when she came home from work one night clutching a hand full of recipes printed from the Internet I felt a little relived. Although one recipe I did turn my nose up at, tuna pasta bake. Since being a child a gave tuna a wide birth not liking the smell put me off, but as she was doing a fantastic job of looking after me I didn't want to be too picky.


Since then we have had this dish a few times and I've altered the recipe to our taste as the original recipe had far to much chilli in and swapped sweetcorn instead of peas which gives the dish a bit more texture and sweetness. Here is my version of the tuna pasta bake to spice things up a little.


INGREDIENTS
200g cup pasta (macaroni, small shell or spirals)
1 tin tuna
½ cup chedder cheese grated + 2 tbsp extra
1 tin sweetcorn
2 tbsp butter
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp curry powder
1 tsp lonumirus (Maldivian chilli sauce, made out of 1 tsp chilli powder, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1 tsp garlic paste, juice of 1 lime and ½ tsp ground black pepper and salt)
250 ml milk
1 slice of bread
2 tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
Salt

METHOD
1) Place the bread in a food processor and pulse to make fresh crumbs and set a side.

2) Cook pasta until almost done, but has bite to it . Drain and put in a large bowl with the drained sweetcorn. Add tuna flake it little, add salt (a pinch would do) and lime juice, mix well.

3) Make cheese sauce : Melt butter, switch off heat. Add flour and whisk it till you have a nice paste. Add curry powder and mix it in to the flour. Place it back on the stove over a medium heat. Add milk slowly, whisking all the time to prevent lumps from forming. Let it boil and then simmer till the sauce thickens a little, about 5 minutes. Add lonumirus and cheese. taste and add salt if necessary and pepper.

4) Pour the sauce into the pasta mixture and mix well, pour in to a suitable oiled oven dish.

5) Make topping by mixing olive oil , the fresh breadcrumbs , parsley and chedder cheese together, sprinkle on top of the pasta and bake in a 190- 200 °C oven for about 30 minutes till nice and golden.

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The Perfect Carrot Cake

Everyone loves a good carrot cake. It's one of those treats that you can kid yourself its healthy and can be counted as one of your five a day. Of course, you can use low-fat cheese or leave the cake unfrosted. It will still be delicious, personally I like it with out.

INGREDIENTS
For the cake
350g carrots
60g pecans
110g self-raising flour
110g plain wholemeal flour
2 teaspoons of cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
½ teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
240ml vegetable oil
170g soft brown sugar
4 eggs
2 tablespoons golden syrup

The topping (optional)
200g cream cheese
60g softened unsalted butter
60g sifted icing sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla essence

METHOD
1) Start off by grating 350g carrots and chopping 60g pecans. Put to one side.

2) Sieve together 110g self-raising flour and 110g plain wholemeal flour with 2 teaspoons of cinnamon, 1 teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon nutmeg and 1 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda. Tip the bran bits left in the sieve into the mixture.

3) Whisk together 240ml vegetable oil, 170g soft brown sugar, 4 eggs and 2 tablespoons golden syrup.

4) Add this to the dry ingredients and mix until it’s nice and smooth. Stir in the carrots and pecans.

5) Tip the mixture into a greased lined 9" round tin and cook at 160°C for an hour, or until cooked.

6) For the topping, mix 200g cream cheese, 60g softened unsalted butter, 60g sifted icing sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla essence, until smooth. Allow the cake to cool and then add the topping. It will keep for a few days in an airtight container.

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Lily Kwok's Chinese Chicken Curry

I really enjoy a good curry whether its Indian or Chinese but trying to replicate them at home is fairly hard. I stumbbled across this recipe for Lily Kwok's chicken curry a few years ago.

Lily Kwok opened Lung Fung, on Taylor Street Manchester, one of the first Chinese restaurants in the country, in 1959. Her distinctively creamy Lily Kwok curry became famous. Lily’s daughter Mabel continued in the family business and in 2004 her three granddaughters, became the third generation of women restaurateurs, opening the Sweet Mandarin restaurant in Manchester, where they still serve Lily Kwok’s Chicken Curry.

This is a fairly spicy curry as my sister will tell you (sorry sis), so adjust the amount of chilli's according to taste.

INGREDIENTS
For the sauce
6 tbsp vegetable oil
3 onions, finely chopped
4 cm piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, sliced
4 mild fleshy red chillies, seeds removed and chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tbsp chilli powder
2 1/2 tsp curry powder
125 ml water
2 1/2 tsp plain flour
2 1/2 tsp self-raising flour
400 - 500 ml chicken or vegetable stock

For the chicken
3-4 tbsp cornflour
2 chicken breasts
2 tbsp oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp fresh peas


METHOD
1) For the sauce: Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan or wok over a high heat. Add the onion and stir-fry for 3 minutes, or until starting to soften but not brown. Add the ginger, garlic and chillies and continue stir-frying for 30 seconds, then reduced the heat to very low and leave to cook, stirring occasionally, until the onion is softened but nothing browns.

2) Stir in the turmeric, cumin, coriander, chilli powder and curry powder and continue cooking very gently for a further 5 minutes. Don’t burn the spices or the sauce will taste bitter. Sprinkle on a few drops of water if you’re worried. Remove the pan from the heat and allow the mixture to cool a little.

3) Put the water in a food processor or blender and add the contents of the pan. Blend until everything is very smooth, then add both the flours and blend again. Put the puréed mixture back into the pan and simmer for 20–30 minutes (the longer the better) over a very low heat, stirring occasionally. Add a little hot water if it starts to catch, but the idea is to gently ‘fry’ the sauce so that it darkens in colour to an orangey brown. Once you have a thick paste, gradually stir in the stock and simmer until the curry sauce has reduced.

4) For the chicken: season the cornflour with salt and pepper to taste, and toss the chicken strips in this to coat them. Heat the oil in a large frying pan over a high heat. Add the chicken pieces and stir-fry for a couple of minutes until they turn white. Add the onion and peas and stir-fry for a further few minutes, then stir in the curry sauce and heat until everything is piping hot. Serve immediately with boiled rice.

All Bran Loaf

From time to time I get an urge to bake. I'm not a great baker but there are a few baked treats that I do amazingly well, even if I do say so myself!

This recipe for All Bran loaf is great, there are just five ingredients, i don't use weighing scales just grab a tea cup or mug out the cupboard, mix everything up and pop it in the oven and it turns out great every time.


INGREDIENTS
1 cup/mug All Bran
1 cup/mug Milk
1 cup/mug Self raising flour
½ cup/mug Sugar
1 cup/mug Dried mixed fruit (you could even mix in some of your favourite nuts)

METHOD
1) Pre-heat the oven to 325°F / 170°C.

2) In a bowl put in the All Bran and milk, let this soak for a few minutes.
Once soaked add the self raising flour, dried fruit of your choice and sugar and mix until well combined.

3) Pour the mixture into a well greased baking tin and place in the oven for about one and a half hours. If you check it by placing a skewer in it, when it comes out clean its ready. Take it out of the tin and allow to cool on a wire cooling rack.

4) Serve with a cup of tea and butter.

Apple Crumble

We had some apples to use up so rather than leaving them another half week and then having to throw them out I made an apple crumble.

I'm not a big fan of cooking with apples, yet there is something about that yummy crumble topping that I love no mater what fruit I have it with. The best has to be plums or rhubarb when they are in season.

INGREDIENTS
For the crumble
300g plain flour
180g brown sugar
200g salted butter
Knob of butter for greasing

For the filling
450g apples, peeled, cored and cut into chunks
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tsp of ground cinnamon

METHOD
1) Preheat the oven to 180°C.

2) Place the flour and sugar in a large bowl and mix well. Taking the butter rub into the flour mixture. Keep rubbing until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.

3) Put the fruit in a large bowl and sprinkle over the sugar, flour, cinnamon and mix well.

4) Butter a 24cm/9in ovenproof dish. Spoon the fruit mixture into the bottom, then sprinkle the crumble mixture on top.

5) Bake in the oven for 40-45 minutes until the crumble is browned and the fruit mixture bubbling.

Serve with ice cream, custard or my favourite thick cream.