5 Christmas (step-by- step) Recipes

This is my Christmas recipes all wrapped up in one post! I use these recipes year after year and each and everyone of them is much loved and exceedingly tasty. I usually start with a Jamie Oliver for the turkey accompanied by my oven glazed baked ham. Served alongside Nigella's Perfect Roast Potatoes, drenched in turkey gravy and lashings of Cranberry and Port Relish. 

The whole family relishes in the making and eating of Lorraine Pascale's Puff Pastry Mince pies and that's our perfect Christmas recipes in one place...Enjoy! 

Slow Cooker Sausage and Bean Casserole

This is honest, simple comfort food. It's isn't getting any warmer out there and eating a warming supper with family around the table is what winter is made for. I just love winter food and what could be better than sausages and beans with a pinch of heat.

Ed's Mother's Meatloaf (Nigella Lawson)

It's just beginning to to get cool round these parts, the trees are gradually changing colour and at last I can get stuck into proper comfort food....my absolute favourite food!

I, for one am very glad to be back into the swing of things - we had the most wonderful summer here - but I just love the Autumn and especially September. It's the cool crisp air and the beautiful autumnal colours that bring a smile to my face.

Regular readers might have noticed that I took some time out from blogging this summer, it allowed me to spend time with my family.

We had a wonderful summer of day trips and just lazing around the house, but now my batteries are fully charged and I am ready to get back to blogging again.

Whole Chicken in a Slow Cooker

One of the first dishes I cooked in my slow cooker was a whole chicken - I was so happy with how it turned out that I have stuck to the recipe ever since. This means that with little or no effort on my part (perfect eh!!) I have a beautiful chicken waiting for me when I get home.

Pizza Dough Recipe

It is a weakness of mine, I try to resist but alas it calls to me....Pizza time! I have two real favourites when it comes to pizza, order out or make my own. The frozen variety never really appealed to me, they have always seemed more cardboard than pizza! 

Slow Cooker Lasagne (Update)

 

I am reposting (originally posted on the 29-11-13) this recipe because I have added a few updates. This is just a brilliant recipe and perhaps you were lucky enough to get a new slow cooker over Christmas, this might give you some inspiration!

Since I bought my slow cooker a couple of weeks ago, I still take great pleasure in coming through the door (after multiple school runs!) to the smell of dinner cooking. Especially when the recipes I have been cooking for years taste even better than before.

Black Pudding and Sausage Plait

The circumstances in which I discovered this recipe occurred in a most unusual place, I was sitting in the dentist waiting room as I slowly lost the feeling in my jaw and tongue! I just happened to be mindlessly watching the television when I noticed Paul Hollywood making what can only be described as a fancy sausage roll!

I made Tom Doorley's 3-Course Menu to Serve 4 (With Wine!) for €20 or Under.

Okay two blog posts in the same day is a record for me, but it I just had to share this with you all. I take no credit for this menu, I just happened to be listening to Marian Finucane's radio show when she interviewed Tom Doorley about his summer menu. Now aside from the fact that is not bad value at all, if you are entertaining, the food sounded really tasty, so I thought sure why not? The recipe for this whole meal is on Tom Doorley Megabites blog. I made the whole meal, albeit with a few minor changes, so here is how I got on....

I decided to make the tart first, as it sets as it cools and it taste perfect at room temperature.

The pastry is very rich and buttery (use chilled butter when making the pastry) however this makes it a bit tricky to roll out so I took Tom at his word and treated it like plasticine and pushed it into the edges of my tart tin.

Blind baked it at 190ºC for 10 minutes.

I upped the sugar in the tart by an extra 100g cause I have a sweet tooth that makes me do these things ;) The recipe wasn't clear if I should use two or three eggs, so I opted for two.

Baked it for 30 minutes at 160ºC until it was golden on top.

The tart was still a bit sharp but perfect with some pouring cream.

The chicken and mushroom gratin..... 

I cooked the chicken for about 40 minutes and allowed it to cool slightly before stripping off the flesh.

The gratin is very moreish and hearty. I used a 1.2kg chicken which was €2.99 from Aldi instead of the the 1.4kg free range chicken called for in the original recipe. I had the chicken in the freezer and was looking for a tasty recipe in which to use it. The filling is very easy to make, no lumpy sauce to worry about.

The chicken is tender and sweet while the topping is just the right amount of crunchy!

Makin' the soup....

I reduced the stock to about 1ltr, now because I used a very, very large saucepan to cook the chicken in, I had a LOT of stock, so the job of reducing it too a bit longer than I thought. Once that was done it only took a few minutes to make the soup.

Light and perfect with a cool glass of wine.

The salad...

The salad leaves (lolla rossa) were from my own garden and I substituted the shallot with a homegrown spring onion. I made the vinaigrette in a jar with 2 parts oil to 1 part cider vinegar with 1tsp of wholegrain mustard.

Dress the salad just before you are about to serve it as it will wilt if left too long.

I really enjoyed this meal, it was really tasty and although it takes time to put together it is well worth it. I will be making this again soon and looking forward to it too!

Nigella's Spanish Chicken with Chorizo and Potatoes

 

Okay this is so simple and tasty to make that it would be unfair to get into any long discussions, so here is the important bit, this is the handiest dinner you will make this summer! Seeing as we are actually experiencing some real summer weather this week I'll just let you get on with it.....

Recipe adapted from Nigella's Kitchen 

Serves 8

Ingredients

2 tbsp Olive oil

12 Chicken thighs

750g Chorizo sausage, cut into large chunks (if you cut them too small they'll burn)

1kg Baby salad potatoes, cut in half

1-2 Red onions, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tsp Oregano (dried)

Zest of one orange

Method

Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/Gas Mark 7. Rub the olive oil into the bottom of two baking sheets (like the ones that come with your new oven, large with shallow sides) the oil will stop everything sticking to the baking sheets. Rub the chicken, skin side down in the oil, turn upright so they will cook with a beautiful crispy skin. 

Divide the chicken between the two baking sheets, interspersed with the potatoes,chorizo chunks and red onion, sprinkle over the oregano and orange zest. It's going to be very crowded but that's okay, it will all cook perfectly don't worry.

Cook for 60-65 minutes, swapping the trays halfway through so everything gets evenly crisp and caramelised. The chicken is cooked through when there is no pink meat and the juices run clear (no pink juices).

Serve with a green salad, a beautifully sunny day and a glass of something cool in a glass!!!

Chicken Chow Mein

There are times when I feel very lazy, dithering between ordering take out or cooking! The very thought of ordering a Chinese take-out is extremely tempting, however I am of an age when lifting the phone will have consequences, namely on the weighing scales!! I wonder how in my twenties I got away with practically living on take-outs and how it didn't really effect my weight...well those days are well and truly over! Now the mere thought of a Chinese take-out has me regretting it....so here is a compromise. This tastes much better that take-out, full of vegetables and is quick to make...what's not to like? Use whatever, noodles or stir-fry vegetables you have, sit back and enjoy!

Serves 4

Ingredients
4 Chicken breasts, thinly sliced
1 tbsp Chinese 5 spice
2 tbsp Dark soy sauce
1 Heaped teaspoon cornflour
300g Dry noodles (such as Blue Dragon Instant Noodles)
1 tbsp Groundnut or vegetable oil, plus extra for the noodles
1 Red pepper, deseeded and thinly sliced
100g-150g Beansprouts or any fresh stir fry vegetables
1 Medium courgette, washed and sliced
Sliced spring onions to garnish (optional)

Method
In a small bowl, mix the Chinese 5 spice, 1 tbsp dark soy and chicken. Mix all the ingredient together with your hands, making sure the chicken is completely covered in the marinade. Cover, leave to marinade for at least 20 minutes (or overnight if possible).

Meanwhile cook the noodles in boiling water for 3 minutes (or according to the pack instructions), drain and drizzle with oil. Set aside.

Prepare the vegetables, it's better to have everything prepared in advance, because the whole cooking process only takes a couple of minutes.  

Uncover the marinaded chicken and mix in a heaped teaspoon of cornflour, this will thicken the sauce but also protect the chicken keeping it moist and tender while cooking. Heat a large frying pan or wok until it is smoking hot, add 1 tbsp of oil.

Add the chicken to the wok, allow the chicken to "settle" in the hot wok for about a minute, this will seal in the juices. Brown the chicken an all sides, add the prepared vegetables (except the spring onions). Cook for 4-5 minutes or until the chicken cooked through (not pink in the middle!).

Add the noodles and season with 1 tbsp dark soy sauce, mix every together. Cook for a further 1-2 minutes until the noodles are warmed through. Add a tablespoon of water to the wok if it all starts to get too brown.

Garnish with the spring onions if using and serve immediately.

*Recipe adapted from Ching-He Haung Chinese Food Made Easy

Butternut Squash & Feta Filo Parcels

Ahh....the season of love is almost upon us....sweet nothings exchanged over candle lit dinners and the clinking of glasses filled with something sparkling. It is all very special and can be made even more so if you do the cooking yourself. The roast butternut squash is mouth watering sweet and the slightly salty feta binds the whole thing together. Who could argue with the presentation!! To be perfectly honest it is so tasty that even non vegetarians will love this recipe (which by the way can be made in advance). If you want to impress this Valentines day then start right here!!!

Hairy Bikers Sweet and Sour Chicken (Lo Cal)

You got to hand it to Dave and Si, they sure know how to dish up a proper meal. There is nothing better than a proper family favourite that keeps the whole family happy! I love this recipe, mainly because is it easy to make, healthy and it is the official end to my "Perfect Sweet and Sour Chicken Recipe" search (phew!!). Oh how I have searched the web, cookbooks and cookery programmes for "the one". Nigella's recipe was too runny and lacked punch, Gok Wan's although extremely tasty was very high in sugar and a bit fussy (I could never really get the whole caramelised sugar thing down to pat). My poor family have sat through many a Friday evening's dinner wondering how the latest attempt would taste, not to mention my ever increasing questions, rating each instalment. I have finally found the balance between not too sweet and not too sour, so much so that my beautiful 5yr old son now requests this meal more that any other.....success!!

288 calories per portion (without rice).

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 x 425g Can pineapple chunks in natural juice
2 tbsp Cornflour
2 tbsp Dark soy sauce
2 tbsp White wine vinegar
2 tbsp Soft light brown sugar
2 tbsp Tomato ketchup
½ tsp Dried chilli flakes
2 boneless, Skinless chicken breasts ( I used 500g Quorn Chicken Style Pieces instead)
2 tbsp Sunflower oil
1 Medium onion, cut into 12 wedges
2 Peppers, red, green, orange or yellow, deseeded and cut into chunks of about 3cm/1¼in
1 x 225g Water chestnuts (I used a carrot which I cut into small matchsticks)
2 Garlic cloves, peeled and crushed
25g Piece fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
Freshly ground black pepper

Method
To make the sauce, drain the pineapple in a sieve over a bowl and keep all the juice – you should have about 150ml.  Put the cornflour in a large bowl and stir in three tablespoons of the pineapple juice to make a smooth paste. Add the remaining juice and 150ml water, then stir in the soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, ketchup and chilli flakes until thoroughly combined. Set aside.

Cut each chicken breast into eight or nine even pieces. Heat a tablespoon of the oil in a large non-stick frying pan or wok and stir-fry the onion and peppers for two minutes over a high heat. 

Drain the water chestnuts and cut them in half horizontally. Add the remaining oil and the chicken to the pan and stir-fry for two minutes until coloured on all sides. 

Add the garlic, ginger, pineapple chunks and water chestnuts and stir-fry for 30–60 seconds. Give the cornflour and pineapple mixture a good stir and add it to the pan with the chicken and vegetables. Stir well, season with some ground black pepper and bring to a simmer. 

Cook for 4–6 minutes until the sauce is thickened and glossy and the chicken is tender and cooked throughout, turning the chicken and vegetables a few times. Serve with a small portion of rice.

Dr. Ava's Sweet Curry Prawn Sauce with Egg Noodles

Is it possible to eat low calorie food and like it? Can tasty food be good for you or is "rabbit food" the only way to cut down on calories? I hope not! There is no doubting it, we have a major problem with weight in this country, latest statistics say that 2 out of 3 adults are overweight here on the island of Ireland and what's worse we don't even know it, on the 17th January 2012 SafeFood.eu had this press release:

"New research announced by safefood today revealed that despite 2 out of 3 adults on the island of Ireland being overweight (1), only 40% of adults now classify themselves as such (2). This indicates that thousands of men and women are still failing to recognise that they themselves are overweight, and are putting their health at increased risk of Type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers. The research was conducted as part of safefood’s ongoing ‘Stop the Spread’ campaign to tackle overweight and obesity." 

So the first step is finding out if you are overweight, this is not a difficult task, all that is required is a measuring tape ("Stop the Spread" measuring tapes are free from your local GP or Chemist), if you waist is more than 32 inches for women or 37 inches for men, you are overweight. Simple as that!

The next step is trying to loose those extra kilos, which may seem like a difficult task but with the help of friends and family it's doable. There are plenty of diet books on the shelves but what's really needed is a change of lifestyle. This is not for the short term, this is for life, so take the time to really look at your diet and lifestyle and perhaps some changes could be made. Take the stairs instead of the lift, park that bit further away from the door, go for walks with your family, small changes that might make a huge difference. I personally believe that keeping active and eating sensible is the key to having a healthier outlook.

Dr. Ava Osmond is one of the leaders with RTE Operation Transformation, a television show that helps kick start a new lifestyle and fitness programme for five overweight people. Does low calorie food have to be tasteless, this recipe certainly isn't and it's 570kCals (approx) per portion, so perhaps this is the first step in the right direction.

Recipe complements of Dr. Ava Orsmond - The Last Diet

Serves 4

Ingredients
1 tbsp Olive Oil
150g/1 Onion, cut in half rings (I used shallots instead)
400g/4 Carrots, cut in very thin strips
1 Vegetable stock cube dissolved in 100ml of boiling water from the kettle
3tbsp Soy sauce
1tbsp Medium curry powder
1tbsp Low calorie sweetener
150g Low fat soft cheese
200g Low fat milk
600g Large cooked and peeled prawns
300g Pre-cooked ready to wok Thai-style ribbon noodles
Pinch of coriander or parsley, to garnish

Method
Heat oil in non-stick pan and add onions and carrot strips.





Add vegetable stock, cover and leave to simmer for 10 minutes. When onions and carrots are soft, add soy sauce, curry powder and low calorie sweetener.





Cook for 1 minute. Add soft cheese and milk and stir to create a sauce. Cover for 1 minute and then add  the king prawns.





Add pre-cooked noodles to the wok and stir. Cover for 1-2 minutes to warm the noodles up. If you have fresh coriander or parsley, add some for extra colour and taste.


Relate Reading:
SafeFood: Stop the Spread Campaign
RTE: Operation Transformation recipes

Spinach and Mushroom Pasta

Popeye was onto something with spinach, I've taken a leaf (sorry about the pun!) out of his book recently and fallen in love with it too. It is full of iron, rich in vitamin C and dietary fibre, a winner all round. This is a super quick meal that will only take about 15 minutes to throw together and it is ideal for a mid week fix.

Serves 2
 Ingredients
200g Mushrooms, sliced
1tbsp Butter
2 Cloves garlic, crushed
200g Spaghetti pasta
200ml Double cream
1 Chicken stock cube
200g Spinach, frozen

Method
Cook the pasta according to the instructions. Meanwhile heat a large frying pan over a medium heat, add the butter, just as the butter starts to foam, add the mushrooms. Fry until they are golden brown. Pour the cream into the pan along with the garlic and half a chicken stock cube, bring to the boil for 2 minutes. Add the frozen spinach to the pan, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 8-10 minutes until the spinach is cooked.

Drain the pasta and add to your creamy spinach mixture, stir until it is coated with the creamy mixture. Serve immediately, I had leftover french bread so I made some Garlic Bread too.

BBQ Spatchcock Chicken

So the weather forecast has picked up and we are to have a beautiful week of weather here in Ireland (woo hoo!!), now is the time to dig out your barbecue from the back of the garage, chill some beers and get the coals smokin' hot.
Here is my favourite BBQ tear'n'share food, it's messy and delicious. Now I don't restrict this to just the BBQ it is also suitable for oven roasting and I make this all year round especially when I feel like a quick and tasty dinner that reminds me of warm summer days. I covered this bird in BBQ sauce, from a previous post Donal Skehan's BBQ Spare ribs without marinading the bird first, but you can marinade the bird for at least 3 hours or overnight with your own favourite marinade. I have three other BBQ sauces for you to choose from at the bottom of this post for all your other barbecue needs.

Tutorial complements of eat in Magazine Issue 5 September 2009

Serves 4

Ingredients
1.4kg Chicken
1 tbsp Oil
1 tbsp 5-spice powder (optional)

For the Barbecue Sauce:
60g Demerara sugar
4 tbsp Dark soy sauce
4 tbsp  Tomato ketchup
4 tbsp Honey
4 Garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
1 tbsp English mustard
Tobasco Sauce (Optional)

Method
If you are using bamboo skewers, then soak them in cold water. Preheat the oven to 180C or light the BBQ. Turn the chicken upside down. Cut along one side of the backbone, then cut along the other side and remove the backbone completely.

Turn the bird breast side up, open out the bird and using the heel of your hand, slightly crush the bird.

Cut a few slashes into the legs and thighs.

Push a skewer through the left leg to the right wing and another skewer through the right leg to the left wing.

I rubbed the whole chicken with some oil and sprinkled it with Chinese 5-spice powder, roasted it in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until browned and cooked through. To cook on the BBQ, cook over a medium heat for about 40 minutes.

To test if a chicken is cooked, pierce the thickest part of the thigh or breast with a skewer, if the juices run clear (no traces of pink) then the bird is cooked.

Whisk all the ingredients for the barbecue sauce together in a small saucepan. Bring to the boil over a high heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 5 minutes until you have a thick sauce.

When the bird is cooked, brush the bird with the BBQ sauce, serve immediately.

Serve the remaining sauce in individual bowls for dipping. I usually plonk the bird in the middle of the table and everyone serves themselves, you will need plenty of wet wipes or individual bowls of warm water with a squeeze of lemon juice to cleanse sticky fingers.

Additional BBQ sauce ideas that will jazz up your chicken or pork, chops, sausages or salmon with these brilliant barbecue ideas.....

Recipes complements of eat in Magazine Issue 4 August 2009
Hot Spiced Chilli & Plum Sauce
Dice 500g stoned red plums, put into a pan with 150ml red wine vinegar, 40g caster sugar, 2 star anise, 1/4tsp 5-spice powder, 1 small dried chilli, 1/2tsp salt and 1/4tsp crushed black peppercorns. Slowly bring to the boil until sugar has dissolved, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve chunky or remove star anise and puree.
Chunky Barbecue Sauce
Heat 1 tbsp sunflower oil in a saucepan, add 1 chopped onion and fry for 5 minutes. Mix in 1 chopped dessert apple 2tbsp tomato puree, 2 tbsp white wine vinegar, 2 tbsp light muscovado sugar, 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce and 200ml vegetable stock. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with burgers or sausages.
Roasted Tomato and Basil Sauce
Have 500g plum tomatoes, put on a baking sheet, sprinkle with 2 cloves chopped garlic, salt and pepper. Drizzle with 2tsp honey and 2tbsp olive oil. Roast at 200C Gas 6 for 20 minutes. Puree. Stir in 1tsp of tomato puree and 2tbsp chopped basil leaves. Serve with pork chops, sausages or salmon steaks.