Boxing Day Frittata

It's been a while since I've written a blog post, the busy time of year is now over and we're at home recovering from eating more calories than we would ever dream of normally. It's also been busy at school in the run up to the end of term, hence the lack of blog posts. Anyway, the crazy days are nearly over and we've enjoyed spending time with our nearest and dearest and thinking about the important things in our lives. We alternate our Christmas so this year we were cooking Christmas dinner for ourselves, my parents and my sister. Christmas day was good with all of us working together to produce a yummy lunch with roast turkey and many trimmings. I'm discovering that everyone has their own traditions and each family includes different items in their ideal Christmas lunch. My family has sausages and chestnut stuffing whilst my husband's family has sausage meat stuffing and no sausages as well as a cheese course, fruit and nuts.

Anyway, the inevitable happened, we had food left over, not just the turkey but sausages, carrots, sprouts, roasted potatoes and parsnips and some stuffing. Rather than let all of this go to waste and needing a quick and easy dinner after spending Boxing Day with my parents, we decided a frittata would be a good thing to cook. We reduced the number of eggs just to make it a smaller meal as we had eaten so much in the previous few days it was mind boggling. The great thing about frittatas is that they can be a quick and easy meal which uses up food that is either left over or needing using up.

Boxing Day Frittata (served 2 adults and a toddler)

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 eggs

Handful grated cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons double cream (milk would be fine)

Handful cooked sprouts and carrots

4 cooked chipolatas

4 or 5 roasted parsnips

2 or 3 roasted potatoes

Left over stuffing sliced up

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C. Drizzle 1 tablespoon olive oil into a frying pan that can go in the oven. Chop up all of the left-over food into small chunks ranging from 1cm to 2cm in size and add to the frying pan. Start to fry over a medium heat so that the left-overs start to brown gently.
   
2. Meanwhile, break the eggs into a bowl and whisk gently, then add the grated cheese and some seasoning. Pour over the frying pan mix and gently spread the mix out. If you want all of the contents to be covered you would need to use 4 or 5 eggs. Let this start to cook, it is ready to go into the oven when the egg starts to cook around the edges. Put the frying pan into the oven for about 10 minutes or until the egg is cooked through. If you have a grill you could use this instead at this stage.
   

 

Chicken hotpot

Getting food on the table for the evening meal can sometimes seem like a real challenge. I understand how tough it can be, if you've been at work all day or if you've been at home looking after the children all day, the likelihood is that you're tired and looking forward to relaxing in the evening. Being able to cook a satisfying meal without putting too much effort in is key and the freezer can be your best friend in trying to achieve this. Planning ahead also helps, when I started work at my current employers four years ago, they would make friendly fun of me when I said that I planned my meals in advance. At the time I was planning a month ahead for week day meals, and whilst it does sound a little extreme, it really helps. Now I tend to plan a week ahead, particularly as I use my day off to do the supermarket shop, and it means that we avoid a panic over what we're going to eat.

Anyway, I'd planned to use up some cooked roast chicken that was in the freezer (which is still full of lamb!) and know how much my husband loves chicken pie. I originally used a recipe from a TV chef but have adapted it to make it simpler and so suit family life more. I also didn't fancy pastry so changed the pie topping for thinly sliced potatoes. Using the left over roast chicken helps out in a couple of ways, it helps make the carcass of a roast go further and it takes out the time and need to chop up and cook raw chicken.

Chicken hotpot (served 2 generously and 1 toddler)

3 leeks

5 mushrooms

Tbsp. olive oil

Tsp chicken stock granules (we used reduced salt in our house)

150ml (or more) boiling water

Chicken meat left over from roast

3 heaped tbsp. crème fraiche

1 large potato

1. Roughly slice the leeks and mushrooms and put into a deep pan. Place on a medium heat and start to sweat the leeks and mushrooms.
   
2. Meanwhile, thinly slice the potato, this is the topping so the thinner the slices, the crispier the topping and place to one side. Roughly chop or break up chicken into bite sized pieces.
   
3. Once leeks and mushrooms have softened and the chicken stock granules and the water. I tend to add enough water to start to make a sauce rather than drown the mix in water. Once this has been stirred in add all of the crème fraiche and some freshly ground black pepper. Allow to simmer for a few minutes then transfer into an oven dish.
   
4. Lay the potatoes over the top of the mix, overlap the potatoes making sure though that at least ½ of each potato will be seen. Grate some more black pepper, a sprinkling of salt and dot over some unsalted butter. Put into a hot oven (about 200°C) for at least 30 minutes or until the potatoes are golden brown and cooked.
   

We really enjoyed this meal and our son did too, I cooked some diced carrots and swede to accompany this. If you didn't want to increase the size of the hotpot you could always cook a whole load of vegetables and even some potatoes to accompany the meal. The vegetables included in the hotpot can be varied although something from the onion family is a good basis for the start of this meal. I mention using reduced salt stock granules in my recipe; salt is something that I will cover another day as it's an important topic that I would like to discuss for a variety of reasons.

Quick cook lunch

I often forget that I need to organise lunch for the munchkin and myself on my day off. He is quite happy to have baked beans but life does need variation, but pasta as a quick and easy standby is another meal that can become tiresome if different ideas aren't tried. Today was one of those days when I knew I was going to be coming home very close to lunch time due to a late morning appointment at the chiropractor but I hadn't really organised anything for lunch. We did make our regular weekly shop to the supermarket and meant to buy some pesto as a standby for pasta. However, I'm a list person and if it's not written on the list, it will probably not make it into our trolley. Lo and behold, pesto wasn't on the list. I also realised that I hadn't bought anything specifically for our lunch today. So as I drove home I had to start thinking up lunch and fast, and as any parent will know, a hungry toddler is not always a pretty sight to see. Pasta sprung to my mind, but I needed to vary the taste as pasta and cheese isn't the most dynamic of meals. So the meal below is a muddled together meal from our cupboard.

Lemony pasta (feeds 2)

175g pasta of your choice

Peas (I added these so that there was a vegetable in the meal and they were in the freezer!)

1 Lemon

Handful of hazelnuts

½ tsp chopped garlic (freezer)

Sprinkling of chopped parsley (freezer again!)

Parmesan (or other similar cheese)

25g butter

1. Get the pasta on to cook, after a few minutes add the peas so that they are all cooked together.
   
2. Meanwhile toast the hazelnuts in the oven, this takes a few moments and you need to watch them as they'll burn in seconds. Once they have come out of the oven, roll them in a clean tea towel to remove the outer skin. Put them into a pestle and mortar (or in my case plastic bag and rolling pin!) and bash up the hazelnuts.
   
3. Once the pasta is cooked, drain it, put the butter into the saucepan and return the pasta. Over a low heat, zest the lemon into the saucepan, then slice the lemon in half and squeeze some of the lemon juice in. Add the hazelnuts, garlic and parsley and stir in well.
   
4. Once the pasta is on the plate grate over cheese and some black pepper
   

We did have shepherd's pie tonight and the meat was yummy again. I'll write up the recipe another day.

Slow roast lamb

Today, we ate the first piece of lamb from the farm, and even though I'm probably completely biased, it was really tasty. Whilst this blog is about me cooking, I have to admit that my wonderful husband is also quite competent in the kitchen and throughout our married life to date his repertoire has been steadily increasing. The weekend is his favourite time to cook when he has time and I can look after the child. However I can often be found working getting ready for the next week of work so he may have a 2 and a half year old sous chef. One of his classic dishes involves slow cooking a shoulder of lamb; this is a recipe that has been adapted from TV chefs and my mother. You need to be around to put it in the oven but it is quick and easy to prepare but the end result tastes great. I always try to have a pot of rosemary growing somewhere in the garden but in recent year that has become pots as we enjoy cooking with this herb and one plant just wasn't enough.

There is still a lot of lamb to be used up, including one kidney, so I will try to find some different ways (that I can cope with) of preparing and cooking lamb. Tonight's lamb was accompanied with roast potatoes and cabbage and carrots. Our little boy loved the lamb and was found stealing chunks of freshly carved meat before it even got near a plate! I'm sure as he grows up we will get the questions about where the meat has come from. Some parents may find this a bit worrying but being on a farm means the life cycle is witnessed on a daily basis and I'll happily talk about how good a life these lambs have had.

Slow roast lamb

Half shoulder lamb (no idea about weight as if we're buying it from the butchers we buy a prepared half shoulder)

Springs rosemary

Olive oil

Salt pepper

1. In an oven dish place a couple of rosemary sprigs. On top put the lamb shoulder, drizzle with olive oil and season well. Add the remaining rosemary sprigs. Cover tightly with tin foil. Put into oven about 180°C for 2 ½ to 3 hours, depending on size.
   
2. For the last ½ an hour remove the tin foil. It's best if you can leave the meat to rest for 15 minutes before carving.
   

If, like us, you are serving 2 or so people you will have left over meat. My parents don't seem to manage this when they cook so it does make me wonder just how much roast lamb they can consume in one sitting! Anyway, I have learnt – through watching another TV chef – how to make a shepherd's pie, which I have adapted/made easier. Tomorrow, if shopping and day off go to plan, I will make a shepherd's pie for our dinner. There are other ways of using up the leftover meat and I like to have some in the freezer ready to go for a quick pie filling or last minute shepherd's pie if needed.

Freezer full

Well, the day has come and the lamb has arrived. Was the freezer empty enough? Just.

We live on a farm and got to witness the magic and madness of lambing in April this year. One of my friends even came up for Sunday lunch and delivered her first lamb just before sitting down to eat. Not bad for a vegetarian from the town! Anyway, we now have half a lamb in our freezer that has been running around the fields nearby since April, and although some might not like the thought, I sincerely look forward to eating the meat. I know that these are lambs that have been well looked after and have had a fabulous start in life, but similarly we can't all afford to buy the organic or free range meat that we like. I will savour every piece of lamb that we eat knowing that this is a luxury.

Sermon aside, it's been a busy week and my stock of freezer meals have been invaluable in making sure we are eating good food with minimum work. However, Wednesday I finished early enough to make a meal from scratch and we enjoyed a stir fry. If, like me, you watch the programs on television that show someone trying to change their eating lifestyle, stir fries are often mentioned as being a good family meal to adopt. The reality can be a little daunting. I've been lucky, when I was a teenager my dad had to make changes to his diet and one of the meals that my mum introduced to our diet was stir fries, so I was able to watch her prepare them. Since meeting my husband our stir fries have changed to reflect his tastes, he doesn't like the ready-made sauces you can buy in the supermarket, so the recipe below is our version of a stir fry. The list of ingredients may look long but it's quick and easy to put together.

Pork stir fry (feeds two adults and a toddler)

Large frying pan with lid

2 pork steaks

Drizzle olive oil

1 carrot

1 onion

2 handfuls broccoli

2 handfuls sprouts

1 red pepper

1 lemon

Flavourings: chopped chilli, chopped garlic, chopped ginger (all freezer standbys bought from supermarket), soy sauce, honey

1. Chop pork into small strips. Chop vegetables into small strips, try to keep them small but more importantly the same sort of size. Zest the lemon and cut the lemon into quarters. I try to take the pips out as I wouldn't like to chomp on one whilst eating my dinner.
   
2. Fry pork on high heat – you will need a splatter guard or lid at this point. Once pork is starting to look cooked through add all of the vegetables, lemon zest, lemon quarters and half a glass of water and put the lid on the frying pan. It's important to have the frying pan hot as this will help create steam. You have a choice of when to add the chilli, garlic or ginger, either at this stage, or a little later when the vegetables are more steamed through.
   
3. Once vegetables are nearly cooked – about 5 – 10 minutes depending on how small you chopped them – add a drizzle of honey and a decent slosh of soy sauce. Allow to cook for a few minutes.
   

This is another meal that you can enjoy with a variety of contents, and I also use it as an opportunity to clear the fridge out of left over vegetables. If you don't like pork, this recipe works just as well with other meats, we like chicken, or add another vegetable to make it vegetarian. We served ours with some cooked noodles which our son loved trying to get into his mouth.

Making salmon tasty

I love eating fish and try to include it in our diet regularly, although I know I'm not as adventurous as TV chefs would like us to be with the type of fish I cook, I like to think that I've come up with a few ways of making fish more entertaining. We are also bombarded with how important it is to include oily fish in our diet, so this is one meal that goes some way to achieving this. You could use low fat soft cheese if you wanted to reduce the fat content of this dinner but as there is no other fat I tend to not worry about it, particularly as there is a growing boy in the house. We ate ours with boiled new potatoes and steamed vegetables.

Salmon is one fish we enjoy eating but does need different things doing to it to make it enjoyable on a regular basis. I'm also still on a mission to use up items loitering in the freezer so the idea below combines a few different things that are common in our house. It is also another recipe that doesn't have exact measurements, as well as not wanting to calculate exact measurements in the supermarket I really don't have time to be weighing out ingredients as I'm cooking. The flat leaf parsley is another freezer standby, it's a bit of a luxury as I can grow my own but an invaluable buy from the supermarket, particularly as I've not got out to the veg patch in the last few weeks to check on the parsley's progress.

Salmon with a tasty crust (feeds two adults and a toddler)

2 salmon fillets

1 lemon

Medium fat soft cheese

Breadcrumbs (mine are in the freezer ready and waiting for when I need them)

Flat leaf parsley)

1. Grate the zest of the lemon into a bowl mix with a generous handful of breadcrumbs and a generous sprinkle of parsley.
   
2. Slice the remaining lemon into thin slices and place at bottom of oven proof dish, lay salmon fillets on top. Spread a generous coating of soft cheese directly on the salmon fillets. Then sprinkle the breadcrumb mix onto the cheese and salmon, aiming to coat all sides of fish.
   
3. Put into a hot oven, 200°C for 20 – 25 minutes or until fish is cooked through.

Emptying out the freezer

Whilst I know that this is something that you should do regularly so that you use food before it goes past its best, we all know that in practice this might not happen as often as it should. Anyway, my husband announced a few weeks ago that we could have either a half or a whole lamb from the farm for the freezer. Short of going and buying a chest freezer for the garage, I knew we wouldn't be able to fit a whole lamb into our freezers so we've settled on a half lamb. This still poses its own problems as our freezer is well used with chopped fruit from the garden and homemade freezer meals. So I've been busy digging in the freezer for the past few weeks trying to run down the amount of stuff in there! The benefit is discovering yummy food that I'd forgotten about, and resulted in me having two croissants for breakfast this morning. Day two of having different breakfasts went well, even if by default. The week ahead will see a few late nights, so I will gladly be diving into the freezer meals on more than one occasion to make sure we get fed.

One of the reasons our freezer is quite full is that I like to have chopped fruit in there so that I can make simple puddings when I'm busy. This is another exercise that requires completion when you have a bit of time on your hands, but it's well worth the effort. When you've had a really busy week and all you fancy is a bit of homemade apple pie or crumble, you can grab a handful of frozen fruit ready prepared and you're most of the way there. The recipe that is written below has another fab cheat in it which my mum taught me. I know how great a homemade crumble topping is, but I don't always have the time (or energy) to make one, so this recipe is a great way of enjoying tasty homemade crumble with minimum of fuss.

Basic Apple Crumble

Serves 4 (or less if you have a husband like mine who is addicted to crumble!)

2 large Bramley apples

3 tbsp Shortcrust pastry mix

1.5 tbsp Caster sugar

1 tbsp Rolled oats

1. Peel and core apples. Chop into chunks about 1 to 2cm in size. Sprinkle with ½ tablespoon of sugar and 1 tablespoon of water. Put into a medium sized oven dish.
   
2. In a bowl, use a tablespoon to measure 3 heaped tablespoons of shortcrust pastry mix (I buy ready made from the supermarket) with 1 heaped tablespoon caster sugar and 1 tablespoon of oats. Mix well (my son loves to do this job for me) and spoon over the apples. I start at the outside and leave the middle to the end.
   
3. Bake in a hot oven (about 190°C) for 20 minutes or until the top starts to go golden brown. If the top starts to go too brown and you think the fruit hasn't fully cooked, then lower the temperature of the oven to about 160°C until the fruit has cooked. Serve with your choice of vanilla ice cream, cream or Cornish clotted cream.