Sunday 29 September 2013

Energizer breakfast

Do you ever feel lethargic first thing in the morning? I certainly do. Having a young child really takes your energy so recently this is what i have been doing. As soon as i am down the stairs i give my daughter her breakfast, i then do a really light workout or pilates while she is eating, then i have what i call my energizer breakfast.



  • one slice of garlic toast (you can find packs of this in any supermarket in the fridge section)
  • one thin slice of smoked salmon
  • one large egg

Put a pan of water on to boil and add a touch of malt vinegar. Toast the garlic bread on both sides under the grill, once toasted add your salmon to the top of the bread. By the time this is done your water should be boiled, take the water down to a simmer and break your egg into the pan (being careful not to break the yolk). I like my egg to be quite soft so i simmer it for around 3 minutes, i then take my egg out of the water with a slatted spoon and leave it on the side for around 30 seconds to drain off any water, the last thing you want is soggy toast. My poached egg is the placed ontop of the salmon and VOILA my energizer breakfast.

Friday 20 September 2013

Fabulous Bolognaise that the whole family will love!


1 medium white onion

175grams of closed cup mushrooms
2 peppers yellow and red
2 cloves of garlic
400 grams mince/ground beef
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 teaspoon dried oregano
800 grams tinned chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon of tomato puree
1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
a pinch of sugar or powdered sweetener


Collect together your onion, mushrooms, peppers and garlic.
Dice your white onion and slice your mushrooms and add them to a very hot lightly oiled pan, then turn the hob down straight away to a medium heat (you don't want to brown or burn your ingredients).
Then slice your peppers and add them to your pan, mixing continuously.
DO NOT crush your garlic into a puree, i find doing this can take away some of the flavour, peel it and then thinly slice it then add it to your pan.
Let this cook on a very low heat for 5 minutes.

Now add your beef and stir until light brown in colour.
Add your basil and oregano, stir, and then add your tins of chopped tomatoes, the tomato puree and the soy sauce.

Let it cook on a medium heat for 10 minutes then taste, if you feel it needs to be slightly sweeter add a pinch of sugar or sweetener, check the taste again and cook on a medium to low heat for around 30-40 minutes.

Boil your pasta and serve!.

We love this dish in our family, and my 18 month old daughter nearly always has seconds of this. It serves up to four people, unless you have someone with a large appetite in the family, like my hubbie!

ENJOY!



Wednesday 18 September 2013

Confetti

So today is the day, after much deliberation I decided to start my blog. More for myself than anyone else, I am just fed up of having scraps of paper everywhere with my recipes on them, and then my daughter will manage to get her hands on them and make them into confetti! My main aim here is healthy home cooking, I love home cooked food from scratch and I get such satisfaction from it. My partner once offered to make spaghetti bolognaise , so off he went and did the shopping and when he got back I jumped in the bath while he cooked.  When he called me in for dinner I asked how he made it as I was curious
"Well , I got a jar of sauce and added some peppers and the meat and cooked it"
I couldn't believe what I was hearing! But I kept quiet hence to say he hasn't cooked since , I know I am a bit of a food snob but the way I think is 'fresh is best'.