Chicken Fajitas with a difference!

Posted on July 13, 2016 by TheRobbInn

I often make Chicken Fajitas using up left-over meat from a roast chicken so when I saw this recipe recently, I really wanted to try it out.  It seemed so easy to leave it bubbling away for seven hours in a slow cooker with very little to do in the evening to prepare it for eating; very convenient when you have a really busy day.

My butcher sells packs of about 5 chicken breasts which are in strips so I used these and they were perfect for the job, leaving me with some mix left over for lunch the following day.    I also had some Romaine lettuce hearts in the fridge which I knew would work well as ‘wraps’ although we did try the mix in a gluten-free wrap and it was just as tasty but on a warm summer’s evening, the lettuce wrap won!

I always have a jar of my homemade fajita seasoning in the kitchen (recipe below) but a shop-bought one would work just as well.

Fajita Seasoning:

2 tablespoons cornflour
1 ½ tablespoons chilli powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons paprika
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin

Mix all the ingredients together and store in an airtight jar or container.

2016-07-13_081208207_3AF08_iOS

Ingredients for Chicken Fajitas

INGREDIENTS for Fajitas:

1 red pepper
1 green pepper
1 yellow pepper
2 onions
4 to 5 skinless chicken breasts
Fajita seasoning
4 garlic cloves, chopped
Juice of 1 lime
Can of chopped tomatoes, drained

METHOD:

Slice the peppers, removing the stalk and seeds.2016-07-13_082437266_DA366_iOS

Peel and slice the onion.

Place half of the peppers and onions in the bottom of a slow cooker.

Put the chicken fillets on top of the vegetables and sprinkle with fajita seasoning. Depending on how ‘hot’ you like your chicken, use as little or as much as you like.
Turn the chicken fillets over and sprinkle the other side.

Add the garlic cloves, half of the lime juice and the chopped tomatoes and then top with the remaining pepper and onion slices.

Squeeze over the remaining lime juice.

Cook for 3 hours on HIGH or for 7 hours on LOW.

Remove the chicken fillets, shred with a fork and return to the slow cooker for a further ten minutes to allow the flavours to blend.

Serve in tacos, wraps or on lettuce leaves accompanied by sour cream or yoghurt, grated cheese and avocado slices.

2016-07-13_150406411_A1BA5_iOS

Delicious Fajita served on Romaine Lettuce leaf

We loved this mix using the lettuce leaf as a wrap as it was so light and crunchy and perfectly complimented the chicken mix, avocado, cheese and yoghurt.  I had bowls of everything on the table and we just kept helping ourselves.

NB:  All photographs used in this blog have been taken by me, and are of food I have prepared myself.

 

 

 

Posted in Brunch, Dinner, Lunch | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Fruity “Ice Cream” – Our Favourite Dessert

Posted on July 9, 2016 by TheRobbInn

Frozen fruit smoothie, fruit yoghurt dessert, “ice cream” or whatever you want to call it, our favourite dessert is so simple – its frozen fruit blitzed in a NutriBullet (or high-speed blender) with homemade yoghurt and it is absolutely delicious, tasty, cold, creamy, smooth, and healthy to boot.

Leave bunches of bananas to ripen;  skin starting to get black spots and the fruit turning soft then cut into slices and open freeze on baking sheets.   Once frozen, pop into resealable freezer bags.

Open freeze strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, blackberries, mango (in cubes), pineapple – almost any fruit and once frozen pop them into a bag.

2016-02-23_144556233_1CA12_iOS(1)

Bananas and strawberries ready for freezing

To make your dessert, just take a handful of frozen banana and a handful of strawberries (or your chosen fruit) and place in container; top with a few spoonfuls of live yoghurt, screw on to the NutriBullet power base and blitz for a few seconds.   Voila ……..a delicious ice-creamy dessert which is instantly ready to serve.     Alternatively, make it half-an-hour before needed and pop it into the freezer until required, but take care not to over-freeze as it becomes quite hard.

2016-02-24_185601477_94977_iOS

Strawberry, Banana and Yoghurt dessert

You can ring the changes by adding a few sprigs of fresh mint or basil, some chia seeds, a touch of spice but we love it just as it is.

NB:  All photographs used in this blog have been taken by me, and are of food I have prepared myself.

Posted in Miscellany, Sweets and Treats | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Tabbouleh

Posted on July 6, 2016 by TheRobbInn

Tabbouleh is a Mediterranean vegetarian dish traditionally made of tomatoes, finely chopped parsley, mint, bulgur and onion, and seasoned with olive oil, lemon juice, and salt.

This recipe uses lentils rather than bulgur so it is gluten-free for those who suffer an intolerance to gluten.   The combination of the herbs, radishes and grapes with the feta gives this dish a delicious flavour.

I had guests coming for the weekend so I prepared the lentils and onion mixture earlier in the day;  chopped and sliced all the vegetables and grapes so that I could quickly toss it together when we wanted to eat later that evening.  As I doubled the recipe, the remaining salad kept beautifully fresh for lunch the next day.  The recipe suggests that it serves two people (I doubled up for four) but if serving with additional dishes, these are very generous servings.

INGREDIENTS:

80g Puy or green lentils (about 160g when cooked)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
½ small onion
½ medium carrot
2 large handfuls each of mint and parsley, finely chopped
160g cherry tomatoes
½ cucumber
½ red pepper
½ yellow pepper
Large handful of radishes
Handful of red grapes
1 teaspoon sumac
50g feta cheese

DRESSING:
75g natural yoghurt
1 teaspoon runny honey
Juice of ½ lemon
Handful of finely chopped parsley and dill leaves

METHOD:

Cook the lentils as per instructions on the packet. Don’t overcook them as they should still hold their shape.  Drain and season with salt, pepper and a little olive oil. Put to one side.

2016-04-29_101029119_0DAAA_iOS

Saute the carrot and onion

Finely chop the onion and carrot (I grated my carrot) and sauté in a little olive oil until soft. Add a good handful of the chopped mint and parsley to the onion whilst it is still warm, together with the cooked lentils.

De-seed the cucumber and slice; chop the peppers into small pieces; thinly slice the radishes after topping and tailing them, halve the grapes and tomatoes.

Mix together the lentils/onions with the other vegetables and the grapes. Add the rest of the herbs and season with salt, pepper and sumac making sure everything is well combined. Crumble over the feta.

2016-04-29_153940685_85A22_iOS

Tabbouleh with lentils, red grapes and feta

Mix together all the ingredients for the dressing and serve on the side.  The tasty dressing perfectly complimented this dish as well as being a superb dip for the Falafel balls which I served alongside the Tabbouleh.

Recipe adapted from the book Thrive on Five by Nina and Jo Littler.

NB: All photographs used in this blog have been taken by me, and are of food I have prepared myself.

Posted in Brunch, Dinner, Lunch, Salads, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Grilled Apricots with Almond Mascarpone

Posted on July 3, 2016 by TheRobbInn

Out shopping the other day I spotted a punnet of delicious looking fresh apricots and immediately remembered seeing a recipe recently for stuffed apricots using ricotta and pistachios.  I went into three local supermarkets but none of them stocked ricotta so I decided to try my own version using mascarpone, and almonds instead of pistachios.  I also used lemon juice in place of a sweetener.   The result was amazing.  The wonderful sweet almondy topping on the slightly sweet/sharp fruity apricot was divine.

I will probably try the ricotta/pistachio version soon but will most definitely be making this version again in the very near future.  These tasty little apricots would be ideal to hand around at a summer barbecue, used as an appetiser or even a dessert.

INGREDIENTS:

6 fresh apricots
6 heaped dessert spoons mascarpone
¼ cup+ flaked almonds
2 teaspoons lemon juice
honey or maple syrup for drizzling

METHOD:

In a dry fry pan, toast the almonds until lightly browned.  Chop three-quarters of the nuts and set aside; keeping the remainder whole for decoration.

image

 

Slice the apricots in half and remove the pit. Place them face down on a griddle (or under a grill) and grill for 3 to 4 minutes, or until tender and grill marks form. Turn them over and grill on opposite side for 1 to 2 minutes, until soft.  Set aside.

Combine the mascarpone, lemon juice and chopped nuts.

Top each apricot half with the mascarpone mixture and sprinkle with the remaining toasted almonds.

Drizzle with honey or syrup.

image

Grilled Apricots drizzled with honey

image

A spoonful of deliciousness!

 

 

 

Serve and enjoy.

 

 

 

 

 

Recipe adapted from Craving Nature.com

NB: All the photographs used in this blog have been taken by me, and are of food I have prepared myself.

Posted in Miscellany, Sweets and Treats | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Slow Cooker Chicken Stock

Posted on July 2, 2016 by TheRobbInn

I have a huge Maslin pan which I normally use to make bone broth, stock and soup in but when my butcher gave me a couple of chicken breast bones recently, I decided to try out my slow cooker to make the stock.

I popped in the bones along with three carrots, two onions, a couple of bay leaves and two sprigs of fresh rosemary.   Topped the cooker up with water not forgetting a good slug of apple cider vinegar (the acid helps make the nutrients in the bones more available).

2016-05-13_111648724_740F6_iOS

Ready for turning on

I popped the lid on and simmered the stock for 24 hours.   After letting it cool, I strained the stock and had four pints of deliciously rich chicken stock ready for the freezer.

2016-05-14_075513362_5228D_iOS

Cooling down before freezing in soup bags

I make a lot of soup and often the basis of a good soup is a good stock.  I also use stock in many recipes; use it to cook rice and quinoa and my husband enjoys a mugful  with a spoonful of Miso paste stirred in.

Although my Maslin pan enables me to make much larger quantities of stock and is also needed when I use large beef bones etc, the ease of use of the slow cooker proved invaluable.  I left it on for 24 hours without having to check it and four pints is a very reasonable amount of stock to freeze.

There are numerous interesting articles on the benefits of bone broth on the internet but the two I’ve read recently are from  WellnessMama and The Whole9 Bone Broth FAQ and they are both worth a look.

NB: All the photographs used in this blog have been taken by me, and are of food I have prepared myself

Posted in Miscellany | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Watermelon Salad with Rocket, Goat’s Cheese and Candied Walnuts

Posted on June 29, 2016 by TheRobbInn

My grand-daughter was staying with us during her half-term holiday when her mummy, Juicy Health, sent me this recipe.  Strangely enough, I had a huge slice of watermelon in the fridge so I set about making these delicious salad “nibbles”.

Needless-to-say, my little grand-daughter loved them (without the vinegar) and I served them up as an appetizer whilst cooking our evening meal.  They would also make a delicious accompaniment to many dishes.

INGREDIENTS:

Watermelon slices
2 cups rocket
2 tablespoons fresh mint. Chopped
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Pinch of salt and pepper
¼ cup crumbled goats cheese
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
½ cup candied walnuts

METHOD:

Candy some walnuts with maple syrup – see recipe here.

Cut the watermelon into about ¾” thick slices. Alternatively, cut them into rounds with a biscuit cutter.

Mix the rocket with the mint, olive oil, lemon juice, salt and pepper.

Arrange the watermelon on a plate and top each with a small amount of rocket and top with goat’s cheese and some walnuts.

Drizzle balsamic vinegar over the tops.

2016-06-01_150842738_D350F_iOS

My grand-daughter enjoying the “nibbles”

2016-06-01_144830240_2CFF0_iOS

Before I drizzled them with Balsamic Vinegar

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The delicious sweetness of the melon, peppery rocket, mint and rich goats cheese topped with divine candied walnuts made the most sumptuous “nibbles”.  Alternatively, the melon could be balled, or diced and everything mixed in a bowl to serve.

Adapted from Danielle Walker’s Against all Grain recipe.

NB: All the photographs used in this blog have been taken by me, and are of food I have prepared myself.

Posted in Salads | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Chocolate Strawberry Oat Cookies

Posted on June 26, 2016 by TheRobbInn

Although the original recipe called for instant oats, I used ordinary gluten-free ones (without grinding them down) and they worked perfectly.  However, it is important to measure out the ingredients correctly otherwise they will may end up too crumbly.

Coming across a piece of fresh strawberry in the cookie was a real bonus and made these cookies extra special.   This quantity made 14 cookies and I found that if I was very careful, I could roll the cookie mix quickly in my hand before putting it on the baking sheet.  If I held it too long, it went very sticky so I had to work extremely quickly.

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup (100g) instant oats (I used ordinary gluten-free oats)
¾ cup (90g) gluten-free flour
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
¼ teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons (28g) coconut oil or unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup pure maple syrup
½ cup finely diced fresh strawberries
2 tablespoons finely chopped dark chocolate

METHOD:

Mix together the oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt.

In a larger bowl, whisk the coconut oil, egg and vanilla and then stir in the maple syrup.

Add in the flour mixture, just folding it in. Add the strawberries and about half of the chocolate pieces. Chill the mixture for at least half an hour in the fridge.

Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a baking sheet with parchment.

Drop spoonfuls of the mixture on to the prepared sheet, flattening slightly with the spoon. Sprinkle the remaining chocolate over the tops.

Bake for about 14 minutes and allow to cool slightly on the baking sheet before turning out on to a wire rack.

2016-06-22_084827213_CBAAD_iOS

Chocolate Strawberry Oat Cookies

These cookies will keep for up to a week (if they last that long) in an airtight container in the fridge, or for about 4 days on the work top.

Recipe adapted from amyshealthybaking.com

NB: All the photographs used in this blog have been taken by me, and are of food I have prepared myself.

Posted in Sweets and Treats | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Happy Man Breakfast! Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon

Posted on June 24, 2016 by TheRobbInn

Knowing my husband was joining me on the Island (Isle of Wight) the next day, I spotted some smoked salmon in the supermarket and decided to surprise him with one of his favourite breakfasts – scrambled eggs with smoked salmon.

Whilst he enjoyed his Bircher, I beat together three eggs, a knob of butter, a splash of almond milk, sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.  I cut three-quarters of the smoked salmon into small pieces and the remainder into strips.   I microwaved the eggs until just under-cooked as they continue to cook when removed from the oven.  Stirred in the chopped salmon and heaped on to two buttered slices of gluten-free toast and decorated with the remaining smoked salmon strips, a slice of lemon and a frond of dill.

One very happy husband!

image

Scrambled Eggs with Smoked Salmon

 

imageWhenever I need to buy fresh herbs, I always try to get ones with a root; very often for under £1 at the local supermarket.   Once I’ve used what I need, I pop them in a large flower pot and end up with a lovely fresh supply for next time.   The more I cut them, the bushier they grow.

Mint, parsley and dill in this pot.  I usually grow basil in hanging baskets well away from the snails and slugs who seem to love basil best of all.

 

NB: All the photographs used in this blog have been taken by me, and are of food I have prepared myself.

Posted in Breakfast | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Spicy Steak with Sweetcorn Mash

Posted on June 22, 2016 by TheRobbInn

We’ve never had sweetcorn mash before but we are definitely going to be having it again in the very near future.  It was absolutely delicious.  Sweetcorn kernels always seemed a bit bland to me but with the spring onions and smoked paprika they came into a world of their own.  I used butter to sauté my spring onions and upped the quantity to 4.

Horror of horrors – I overcooked my beautiful fillet steak (a very inconvenient ring of the doorbell) but thankfully it was still amazing and almost melted in the mouth.   I wondered whether it would perhaps be a little bit on the dry side with no sauce, but the drizzle of oil and lime juice combined with the chillis made it perfection, and the sweetness of the sweetcorn mash perfectly complimented it.

As I had a couple of leeks in the vegetable basket, I sautéed these and they worked well with the steak and mash.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons coconut oil or butter
2 spring onions, finely sliced
½ teaspoon smoked paprika plus a little extra
2 x 325g cans sweetcorn, drained
Juice of 1 lime
2 fillet grass-fed steaks (or sirloin)
1 red chilli, finely sliced
Olive oil to serve

METHOD:

Heat 1 tablespoon of coconut oil or butter in a saucepan over a low-medium heat.    Add the spring onions and ½ teaspoon paprika and cook for 3 to 5 minutes until golden.   Add a tablespoon of water if the mix starts to ‘catch’.

Tip in the sweetcorn kernels and half of the lime juice and cook gently for 5 minutes with the lid on.    Remove from heat and mash the mixture or purée with a blender.   I found a stick blender perfect for this job.

Heat a griddle pan with the remaining oil or butter to a high heat and sear the steaks for about 2 minutes on each side., depending on the thickness and how you like your steak cooked.   Ideally they should be lovely and brown on the outside but still rare in the middle.   Transfer to a plate to rest,  then slice into slivers.

Arrange the meat slices on a plate; scatter over the fresh chilli and sprinkle with some smoked paprika.   Drizzle over some olive oil and the remaining lime juice.   Season and serve.

2016-06-20_150341751_1AE0C_iOS

“Cremated” spicy steak with sweetcorn mash and sautéed leeks

This superb recipe courtesy of Sainsburys Magazine.

NB: All the photographs used in this blog have been taken by me, and are of food I have prepared myself.

Posted in Dinner | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sweet Potato / Chickpea Buddha Bowl

Posted on June 20, 2016 by TheRobbInn

I think I’m in love ………………………….

My friends laugh at me as I enthuse about food so much, but I cannot say enough about my enjoyment and excitement at finding recipes for Buddha Bowls.

Nothing religious or political about them, just a bowl which is packed so full of goodness that it has a rounded ‘belly’ appearance on the top much like the belly of a buddha.

Buddha Bowls can be made with raw vegetables or roasted vegetables. Often called “Glory Bowls,” these grain-, protein- and vegetable-rich dishes can be assembled in minutes and customized to your taste. I have to thank Dana – Minimalist Baker – for showing me my first Buddha Bowl and I adapted her recipe slightly for Sweet Potato Buddha Bowl  to accommodate the ingredients I had to hand.

INGREDIENTS:

2 tablespoons olive oil, or oil of choice
1 or 2 red onions, sliced in wedges
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 pack purple-sprouting broccoli, large stems spliced
2 carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
1 parsnip, peeled and cut into chunks
2 big handfuls kale, large stems removed
1 pack of baby sweetcorn, halved length-ways
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
~~~~~~~~~
1 x 15-ounce (425 g) chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry
1 teaspoon ground cumin
¾ teaspoon chilli powder
¾ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon each Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
½ teaspoon oregano
¼ teaspoon turmeric (optional)
~~~~~~~~~~
250g natural live yoghurt
1 tablespoon maple syrup
Juice of 1 lemon
Large handful of either fresh mint leaves, or dill

METHOD:

Place the sweet potato chunks in a bowl; drizzle with olive oil, toss and then tip on to a baking sheet. Do the same with the onion wedges, carrots and parsnips (if using).

Bake for about 15 minutes in the oven at 170°C. Turn the sweet potato and onion then add the purple-sprouting broccoli and sweetcorn, drizzle with oil and bake for another ten minutes.

Finally, put the kale in a bowl and massage with a little olive oil. Tip the kale on to a baking sheet and bake for five minutes until just crispy.

Meanwhile, finely chop the mint or dill. Add the yoghurt, syrup and lemon juice and mix well.

Put the dry chickpeas in a bowl with the spices and toss  to make sure they are well coated. Heat a fry pan and add 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the chickpeas/spice mixture and cook over a medium heat for ten minutes stirring continuously so they don’t ‘catch’.

To serve – either divide vegetables between individual bowls, or place in one large bowl.

Top with spicy chickpeas and drizzle with the yoghurt sauce, serving extra sauce as a side.

2016-06-14_165843197_6F37A_iOS

My Buddha Bowl

My Buddha bowl didn’t have a very rounded belly as my bowl was quite large but it was delicious just the same.   Serve warm although left-overs could be eaten cold – if there are any which doesn’t happen very often in our house!

NB: All the photographs used in this blog have been taken by me, and are of food I have prepared myself.

Posted in Dinner, Lunch, Vegetables, Vegetarian | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment