Quick and easy recipes for all

[Beetroot]

Let's get a good list going

Pasta with 'Vesuvius' sauce:

1-2 tbs olive oil
2 cloves chopped garlic
Tin good quality tomatoes
Couple tsp chopped capers
Small handful chopped black olives
Small handful of fresh basil (although 1-2 tsp dried mixed herbs will do)
Mozzarella chopped into 1cm cubes
Spaghetti

Gently heat garlic. Bung in tomatoes, capers, olives and herbs (if using dried herbs). Season with pepper. Simmer for 20 mins. (If you're using fresh basil chuck it in for the last minute)

Meanwhile cook spaghetti.

When sauce is ready, mix it with spaghetti and mozzarella over a gentle heat.

Let the mozzarella melt like lava through the spaghetti (hence the name 'Vesuvius' sauce).

Halloumi and vegetables

1 large or 2 small red onions - cut into wedges
2 courgettes, sliced into discs
couple of handfuls of cherry tomatoes, halved
tin of butter beans
pack of halloumi cheese, cut into approx 5mm slices
Olive oil

Fry the halloumi until golden on both sides - you don't need oil, you can just do it dry on a non-stick frying pan.

Meanwhile, fry onion wedges until they begin to colour and soften.

Chuck in courgettes until they begin to colour.

Chuck in tomatoes and butter beans.

Chuck in the halloumi.

Nasi Goreng:

Groundnut oil
One onion, chopped
Pack of tofu, chopped into approx 1cm cubes
2 cloves garlic chopped/crushed
1 red chilli finely chopped
Half a bunch of spring onions, sliced
1 cup of (uncooked) thai rice
soy sauce to taste (I use quite a bit, approx 2-3 tbs...maybe more?)
1 fried egg per person

Start boiling the rice.
Fry onion in oil until it starts to soften. Add garlic, chilli and tofu. Fry until tofu is golden.
Add spring onions, rice and soy sauce. Heat through.

Serve it topped with a fried egg.

fabulous ideas especially as we have two veggies in our house

more more more

[thread-hog]

How about Red Onion Tarte Tatin

Pack of puff pastry
Approx 6-7 Red onions finely sliced
Small handful fresh thyme leaves
2 tsp soft brown sugar
splash balsamic vinegar
Olive oil

Mix up the onions, sugar, vinegar, thyme and oil in a roasting tray.

Roast them at approx 220 degrees until they are soft and caramelising (approx 30 mins).

Roll out puff pastry and cut to size of large flan dish.

Put the onion mixture into the flan dish.

Lay the pastry over the top.

Prick the pastry all over.

Bake until the puff pastry is golden and risen (approx 20 mins).

this needs a sticky

come on let's make this a definitive one

seafood pasta.

one onion (chopped)
clove garlic (crushed)
pasta
two smoked haddock fillets
100 G cooked and peeled prawns
splash white wine
2/3 tbsp creme fresche (sp?)
olive oil.

cook pasta as per packet instructions
place the smoked haddock fillets on a plate and cover with clingfilm and microwave for 5 mins on high until cooked through.
heat the oil in a saucepan and add the onion and carlic, fry until soft
add the wine and simmer gently for a couple of minutes.
add the prawns and stir well
then add the creme freche and heat through.
flake in the cooked haddock and then stir in the pasta.

serve.

sounds great wannabe

sausage and bean casserole

6-8 sausages
2 tins of mixed beans
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
squirt of tomato puree
big dash of lea and perrins
half an oxo cube
few leaves of basil
whole chilli or 2
rice to serve

brown the sausages either under the grill or in the pot with a drop of oil. Then add the tins of beans and chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, lea and perrins and the half oxo cube. Chillis too if you like them. simmer for a while, erm, 20 mins or so i think. Meanwhile cook the rice. serve with the basil leaves. Dh and the dds love this to bits.

Courgette Pasta

Tagliatelle
Large pot of craime fraiche
4 cloves garlic
Mushrooms
2-3 courgettes

• / pack of smoked bacon 1 large onion Garlic salt

Chop courgettes, onions and garlic and fry until onions soft etc. Add chopped bacon next if you are adding it and fry until cooked. Add craime fraiche and chopped mushrooms and simmer for 5-10 mins. Add garlic salt to taste - start with 1 tsp. Meanwhile cook the pasta. Mix altogether and eat!

more please

pasta with broccoli, salmon and pine nuts

Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 15-20 mins

Serves: 2

Ingredients

bunch of Purple Sprouting Broccoli or couple of small heads of calabrese
100-200g smoked salmon, cut into small pieces (the trimmings are ideal) or just salmon
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp pine nuts
Pasta for two - farfelle or fusilli are good

Instructions

1. Put the pasta on to boil. When nearly cooked, heat the oil in a pan, wash and trim the and, if using calibres, cut into small florets.

1. Dry the veg, add to the hot oil psb cook for a minute or so. When starting to brown, add the pine nuts and salmon pieces and stir, cooking over a high heat for another minute or two until the nuts are browned. The broccoli should still be slightly crunchy.

1. Drain the cooked pasta, stir in the salmon, broccoli and nuts and serve.

Use-up-the-veg-box Soup

Butter
Onion
Any other root veg, courgettes
green leafy veg
Stock cube
tiny pasta shapes or spaghetti broken into pieces

Melt butter, gently fry chopped onion (and leeks/celery if you have any) until soft
meanwhile, chop all other root etc veg into similar sized pieces
add veg to pot
stir round for a bit
put in stock mixed with boiling water to fill pan
simmer until hardest veg is nearly soft
chuck some small pasta in
add thinly sliced green leaves in at end
season to taste
serve with grated parmesan and french bread

Tuna Cheesy Macaroni (quick version)

1 tin tuna
Clove of garlic
Chopped onion
Sweetcorn (fresh or froz)
Peas
Any other cooked veg e.g. broccoli, mushrooms peppers etc
Grated cheese
Mascarpone cheese
Mixed herbs

Macaroni - cooked

Fry the onion and garlic until soft
Add mascarpone cheese and the other veg and simmer gently to ensure all cooked through and hot. Add grated cheese to consitency and flavour that you like. Add mixed herbs and then stir through cooked macaroni. Can add more grated cheese on the top and bake if you want to!

Oooh I want to make all of these recipes - they all (apart from mine which I'm bored of now!) sound very tasty indeed!!!!

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Tuna Napoletana:

Tin of good quality tomatoes
2-3 cloves garlic
Tin of tuna
Approx half a tub of creme fraiche
Fresh basil
Spaghetti

Gently heat garlic
Add tin of tomatoes
Season with plenty of pepper
Simmer for 10 mins
Start cooking spaghetti
Add tuna and basil to the tomatoes, and simmer for another couple of minutes.
Stir in creme fraiche
Mix with the cooked spaghetti

anzac biscuits

3 oz rolled oats
3 oz dessicated coconut
4 oz plain flour
6 oz granulated sugar
half tsp bicarbonate of soda
2 tbsp boiling water
3 1/2 oz butter
1 tbsp golden syrup.

pre-heat oven to 180 c, greece baking sheets.
mix together the oats, coconut, flour and sugar.
in a saucepan, melt together the butter and golden syrup.
place the bicarb in a small bowl and pour over the boiling water and stir well, mix this into the butter/syrup and pour over the dry ingredients. mix together well.
make small balls of dough and put them on baking sheet, flatten slightly, put in the oven and cook for 15 mins.

(fail safe)

Easy biscuits.. great to make with the kids.

2oz caster sugar
4oz butter
6oz plain flour

Cream sugar and butter. Add flour, mix through with fingers untill like breadcrumbs, then start kneading into a ball. When nice and doughy, roll out, cut shapes, bake at 160 for 20-25 mins. Easy and consistently very nice.

Tea loaf

350g Mixed Fruit
200g Soft Brown Sugar
270g Self Raising Flour
3/4 Pint Freshly Made Tea
2 Medium Eggs

Make tea, soak fruit and sugar in tea at least overnight. Mix in eggs and flour, put in 2lb loaf tin and bake at 150ºC for 1.5 hours.

Dead easy, you can leave it wrapped in tin foil for a few days.

Chicken and cherry tomato bake (or Chicken Scooter as I believe it has been named by someone on here - not me, I'm not THAT big-headed )

Get some chicken breasts or pieces (skinless or not, it matters not a jot)
Coat with olive oil and put in a oven and hob-proof casserole dish, then chuck in a punnet of cherry tomatoes for every two people eating. You can put other veg in too, like courgettes or onions - whatever you like really.
Put it in the oven at 180 degrees or so until the chicken is cooked through. Take the chicken out then tip a small tub of creme fraiche per punnet of tomatoes into the dish and heat through on the hob to make a yummy sauce. Serve with rice, pasta, mash or anything you fancy!

And I think we should have a sticky for this too!

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