Veggie Shepherd's Pie

Ingredients

Topping

2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks

2 large potatoes, peeled and chopped into chunks

Dash of milk

Knob of butter

Grated mozzarella

Filling

2 large onions, chopped

3 carrots, peeled and chopped

3 sticks celery, chopped

1 cup of lentils, rinsed and soaked

1 whole beetroot, chopped

1 can chickpeas, drained

Good handful of frozen peas

2 tins of tomatoes

Dried basil, paprika, cumin

Method

1. Boil sweet potatoes and potatoes for 15-20 mins until soft. Preheat oven to 180 C.
2. Heat oil in large saucepan. Sauté onions, carrots, celery  for 5 mins until softened.
3. Add lentils, chickpeas, peas and beetroot. Stir well and cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add tinned tomatoes, herbs, and spices and stir well.
5. Cook for 10 mins until carrots are tender and lentils are cooked.
6.  Mash topping ingredients together and season.
7. Pour filling into an ovenproof dish. Top with potatoes and sprinkle cheese on top.
8. Bake in the oven for 15 mins until browned. Serve with crusty bread. 

Soup

Ingredients
1 butternut squash, peeled, deseeded and chopped into cubes
3 onions, chopped
4 carrots, chopped
1 large sweet potato, peeled and chopped into cubes
3 medium rooster potatoes, peeled and chopped.
1 litre of vegetable stock

Method

1. In a stock pot, heat some butter and oil until melted. Add in the onion and sauté until soft.
2. Add in the carrots, squash, sweet potato and potatoes. Sauté for a few minutes, stirring to coat in oil/butter. 
3. Add the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 mins until all the veg are soft. 
4. Blend with a food processor/stick blender until the desired consistency is reached. 

Pesto Chicken Pasta Bake

Ingredients
250 g chicken, cooked and chopped into bitesize pieces
2 onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 jar of sun-dried tomatoes, chopped
2 tbsp goat's cheese
50 g mozzarella
2 tbsp basil pesto
1/2 pack of sour cream/cream cheese
enough pasta for 4 people

Method

1. Cook the pasta according to package directions. Preheat oven to 180 C.
2. Meanwhile, heat some oil in a large saucepan. Sauté the onions and garlic until softened.
3. Add the sun-dried tomatoes and chicken and cook until heated through. 
4. Add in the pesto and the sour cream. Stir until mixed in and everything is fully coated. 
5. Pour the cooked pasta into the pesto mixture and stir to coat. 
6. Tip this mixture into a lightly greased baking dish. 
7. Dot the goat's cheese on, and sprinkle with mozzarella.
8. Bake in the oven for 15 mins until cheese is melted and browned.

Chicken Tikka Pasta Bake

Ingredients
2 onions, chopped
1 courgette, chopped
1 red pepper, chopped
3 cloves garlic, grated
1 package fromais frais/sour cream/cream cheese/creme fraiche
50 g cheddar, grated
100 g mozzarella, grated
2 chicken breasts
pasta shells
2 tbsp tikka curry powder

Method

1. Preheat oven to 180. Grease a baking dish.
2. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of tikka powder over the chicken and mix around to coat it. 
3. Bake the chicken in the greased dish in the preheated oven for 30 mins until fully cooked through. Add a bit of water to the dish and cover with foil prior to cooking. 
4. While the chicken is cooking, chop up all the veg. 
5. Add some oil to a large saucepan. Add the veg and remaining tikka powder and sauté for 10 mins until soft. 
6. Cook pasta according to directions.
7. Add the cream cheese (or whatever you're using) to the vegetable mixture and stir until it's melted and fully coating the veg. You may need a little water to thin it down a bit.
8. Add the cheddar cheese to the veg mix and stir in. Heat through til cheese melts.
9. When the chicken is cooked, chop it up into bitesize pieces and add to veg mixture, stir in.
10. Add the pasta to the mixture and allow mixture to fully heat up again.
11. Pour the mixture into a greased baking dish, top with the mozzarella and bake in the oven for 15 mins until cheese is browned and bubbling. 

Kind of Asian Chicken

Ingredients
2 chicken fillets, chopped into bite-size pieces
2 onions, sliced
Sauce
100 ml tropical fruit juice/pineapple juice
150 ml water
3 cloves garlic, minced/grated
50 ml ketchup
80 ml soy sauce
40 ml vinegar
3 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp chilli flakes
1 tbsp cornflour

Method

1. Heat some oil in a pan and fry the chicken and the onion for about 8 minutes until the chicken is starting to brown.
2. Add all the other ingredients to a jug and whisk together well. 
3. Pour sauce onto pan, bring to the boil and leave to simmer for 15 mins, stirring occasionally.
4. Serve with boiled rice or noodles.

Quinoa and Bean Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

I wanted to do yummy, healthy, good-for-you alternatives to beef-burgers, and this is what I came up with. Soooo tasty and pretty easy to make too! With the added benefit of being high in fibre and protein and low in calories and fat :)

Quinoa is a pseudocereal, which means it isn't a true cereal: true cereals are from the grass family, and although quinoa is used in the same way as a cereal, it isn't from the grass family. It's a good source of protein, B-vitamins, zinc, phosphorus, iron and magnesium as well as containing a moderate amount of potassium and vitamin E. It's also a good source of fibre and is gluten free.

First off, about cannellini beans: if you get the dried ones, you have to be SO careful to cook them properly - they need to be soaked in water for 5 hours or overnight and then vigorously boiled in fresh clean water for about half an hour to deactivate the toxin (called phytohaemagglutinin, which is a lectin - carbohydrate-binding protein). If this is done incorrectly, food poisoning may occur: nausea, vomiting and diarrhoea. Consumption of just 5 incorrectly cooked beans can cause this. If the beans are cooked, but don't reach 100C for at least 20 minutes, (for example in a slow cooker where they may be cooked for 6 hours but only reach 80C), the toxicity can actually increase, so it's very important to get it right! I just use canned beans, they're already cooked so you don't have to worry about any of that - much easier!

In other bean news, cannellini beans are high in fibre, rich in protein and low in fat; they're a good source of B vitamins, magnesium potassium, calcium and iron. Their soluble fibre content means they can reduce your LDL cholesterol level thus playing a part in preventing heart disease. They also contain some antioxidants, which may help to prevent some types of cancer.

The red peppers and sweetcorn provide heaps of vitamin C as well, so basically these burgers are super high in fibre, low in fat and contain so much nutrition. Serving them with sweet potato fries also adds loads of Vitamin A and antioxidants as well as potassium and fibre. Such a healthy meal!

If you want these to be vegan, you can leave out the egg or add a bit of almond milk to bind it together.

Quinoa & White Bean Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries
Ingredients
1/2 cup quinoa
1 cup water
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp basil
1 can of cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1/2 small tin of sweetcorn, drained
1/2 a red pepper, finely chopped
1/2 a red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 small or 1/2 large red onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced (or another tsp garlic powder)
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp cayenne pepper
2 tbsp tomato purée
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 egg, beaten
2 tbsp flour (any kind)

Serving ideas:
wholemeal baps
1 avocado, mashed
red onion rings
tomato slices
rocket leaves
red pepper relish
red pesto
Sliced cheddar
Goat's cheese

Sweet Potato Fries
1 sweet potato, peeled and cut into chunky chips
1 tbsp cornflour
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp cayenne pepper


Method

1. Put the quinoa, water, garlic powder and 1 tsp basil into a saucepan. Bring to the boil, cover and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 15-20 mins until the water is all absorbed. Remove lid for last 5 minutes if necessary. 
2. Meanwhile, chop your veg very finely - so they're about the same size pieces as the corn kernels. 
3. Mash the beans and mix in with sweetcorn, red onion, red pepper, chilli, tomato purée, garlic, herbs and spices. Mix in the quinoa well. Add the lemon juice and mix well. 
4. Add the beaten egg and mix well. Add in the flour. Season with freshly ground black pepper. 
5. Heat some oil in a frying pan. To make the burgers, I just scooped a couple of tbsp of mixture on the pan and shaped it into a relatively burger-like shape right on there. 
6. Allow too cook for about 5 minutes. Turn over and cook on the other side for 5 minutes more. 
7. Serve on a bun/bap of your choice with whatever toppings you like and some sweet potato fries.

For the sweet potato fries:

1. Preheat oven to 220C. Peel the sweet potato and chop into chunky wedges. 
2. Place the wedges in a ziplock bag. Add in the olive oil, cornflour and spices. Shake to coat well. 
3. Spread wedges evenly onto a baking sheet and bake in the preheated oven for 15-20 mins, turning once midway through. 

Toffee Tops

I've been making these bad boys since I was about 10 years old - they're my staple traybake :)

Ingredients
Base
7 oz plain flour
4 oz butter
1 egg, beaten with a little cold water
2 tbsp icing sugar
Filling
1 can condensed milk
3 oz brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla essence
2 oz butter
3 tbsp golden syrup
Topping
300 g milk chocolate

Method

1. Sieve the flour into a mixing bowl. Cut the butter in.
2. Rub in the butter either with your finger tips or a dough blender.
3. When the mixture resembles breadcrumbs, sieve in the icing sugar and mix through. 
4. Add in the egg mixture a bit at a time and bring the mixture together into a dough, adding as much egg as you need to do this without it going sticky or wet.
5. Turn out onto a floured surface and lightly knead into shape. 
6. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 20 mins to relax.
7. Preheat oven to 200C. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Roll out to the size of the tray (6x12 is what I used).
8. Cover with greaseproof paper and baking beads and bake in the oven for 20 mins. 
9. Remove greaseproof and beads and return to the oven for 15 mins to brown. Allow to cool.
10. For the filling, put all the ingredients into a saucepan. Heat and stir, allowing everything to melt together.
11. Bring to the boil and allow to boil for about 30 seconds, stirring constantly. 
12. Pour over the cooled base and allow to set.
13. For the topping, melt the chocolate in the microwave and spread over the cooled filling.
14. Cut into 24 squares and enjoy.