spicy veggie beanie burgers

Using up my leftover mash to make these spicy babies. This makes a lot of burgers so I've frozen most of them. Think I'll serve these with salad and homemade salsa.

makes 12 patties

ingredients

2-3 cups leftover mashed potato
1 tin kidney beans rinsed and drained
1 tin chickpeas rinsed and drained
1 red onion finely chopped
2 eggs
1tsp ground corriander
2tsp ground cummin
1tsp ground turmeric
1tsp paprika
1/2tsp mild chilli powder
1tsp ground ginger
salt and pepper to taste
sesame seeds to sprinkle

method

1. puree the chickpeas and kidney beans in a food processor.
2. Put all ingredients except the sesame seeds into a big bowl and mix really really well.
3. Form into palm sized patties and sprinkle each side with about half a teaspoon of sesame seeds and pat until they stick. Put on a non stick baking tray.
4. Cover in clingfilm and refrigerate for an hour, to ensure they set up properly. At this point freeze any you're not going to use immediately.
5. preheat a non stick pan on the hob for a couple of minutes and place them in the pan dry. Cook until a crust forms then turn over and repeat.
6. To finish cooking through put on a baking tray lined with greaseproof and bake in a moderate oven for 15-20 mins until piping hot through.

Ham and pickle salad

Such a simple but refreshing salad. Leftover ham, beet root from a jar, pickled red cabbage, red pepper, salad leaves. Toss handfuls together as desired and enjoy. The sweet juices from the beet root mix with the vinegar from the cabbage and create a tangy and characterful dressing.

lunchbox revolution! why didn't I think of this sooner?!

Caught River Cottage Everyday yesterday and had a lunch appiphany.   What's wrong with my packed lunches at the moment?

They're repetative, dull, and ultimately not exciting.

I'm going to start looking at my lunches from a different perspective. Instead of the usual ham or cheese sandwiches or tuna pasta salad ... I'm gonna treat my fridge like my own personal deli and build my lunches like a pick and mix with 5 main components.

My husband got really excited at the prospect of this style of meal and as long as everything is prepped, he can put together whatever he wants and we can have what we each want rather than me avoiding foods I like but he doesn't as its easuer to make one batch rather than two.

The fun stuff is the sprinkles and condiments as they add the excitement to the lunchbox.  But I figure, if I fill my fridge with some of these prepped up I can put together any number of combinations to keep it exciting:

Starchy fillers:

Rice
pasta
New potatoes
cous cous
chickpeas
lentils
noodles
sweet potato
pitta bread
crutons
jacket potatoes
wraps


Tasty protein:

Leftover roast meat (chicken, beef, pork, lamb etc)
Tuna
smoked fish
prawns
quorn
bacon
sausages
chorizo
cheeses (feta, halloumi, cheddar, cottage etc)
Boiled eggs
butter beans
meatloaf/meatballs


Veg and fruit:

salad leaves
spinach
rocket
Carrots
asparagus
cucumber
beetroot
broad beans
tomatoes
red onions
peas
butternut squash
peppers
broccoli
beansprouts
cress
mango
apple
strawberries
citrus fruits


Sprinkles:

Herbs (basil, parsley, chives, mint, thyme etc)
Nuts and seeds
spribg onions
capers
dried fruit
chillies


Condiments:

Dressinds
hummus
pesto
curry paste
ground spices
mayonnaise
chutneys
pickles
chilli sauce
Natural/greek style yoghurt
soy sauce
sesame oil
peanut butter
homemade veggie pate`s (beetroot and mint, butterbean and chilli)

Broccoli cauliflower cheese bake - all frozen veg!

Cheese and broccoli sauce made for cauliflower cheese for tea. Not a lot of cheese but seems really creamy so should be nice. And you get to use frozen veg. Having a go at a jamie Oliver recipe:

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/the-best-cauliflower-broccoli-cheese

ham and egg fried rice

Quick easy and tasty. Not to mention its's made with  ingredients almost exclusively from the store cupboard and freezer. High in veg and protein low in fat.

I made this for tea this evening and my husband was adimant it must be unhealthy as it tasted so good so I got to smugly tell him that it was actually pretty healthy.  For quantities use equal amounts of frozen veg to the cooked rice. The stir fry sauce is actually less calorific than you'd think with a whole one only being 2.5 syns on slimming world.

Ingredients:
2 tsp olive oil
Basmati rice
1 onion sliced
frozen mixed peppers
frozen peas
frozen sweetcorn
eggs beaten
Cooked ham, cubed
soy sauce
Sachet blue dragon black bean stir fry sauce

method:
1. Cook the basmati rice as per packet instructions. I personally use 2 parts water to 1 part rice. Bring to the boil, clamp on a lid and turn the heat down to the lowest possible then leave it to absorb the liquid for 15-20 mins.
2. In the meantime, fry the onion until soft in half the oil, add the frozen veg and cook on high to drive off the excess liquid.
3. remove the veg from the pan and add the remaining oil on a high heat cook the eggs stiring frequently until almost cooked.
4. Add the cooked rice and stir fry on a high heat. Add the veg and ham stiring frequently.
5. Add the soy sauce and sachet of stir fry sauce to your tastes. Stiring in until all the rice Is coated. Once everything is hot through serve.

leftovers soup

So youve overindulged and now got a ton of leftover turkey. Well I found myself inspired by a soup I had from Pret a Manger - peruvian chicken and lime soup. Full of chicken and veggies in a very flavourful, spicy zingy broth.

My version has lots of veg and plenty if hebs and spices to ensure you have a fragrant but vurtuious soup. you will need a big pan for this as it isnt the sort of thing you make in small batches and if my husband is anything to go by, you'll need plenty for guilt free seconds.

There are a lot of ingredients but you get a really deep but fresh flavour and its mostly stuff I have knocking around my fridge and cupboards so no special shopping trips for this.

Ingredients:

Flavour base:
1 tsp olive oil
Couple of carrots halved lengthways and chopped
1 very large white onion finely chopped
2 cellery stalks finely chopped
3 garlic cloves crushed
1 deseeded and finely chopped chilli
1 red pepper chopped
1 yellow pepper chopped
1 tsp ground cummin
1 tsp ground corriander
2 heaped tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
chopped stalks from half a bunch of parsley
chopped stalks from half a bunch of corriander
10-15 drops of tabasco sauce
1 tsp ground black pepper
1 heaped tbsp tomato puree

The bulk:
Lots of broken up chicken or turkey
2 veg stock cubes
1-2 pints of hot water
1/2 carton of passatta
3-5 tsp lime juice from a bottle
half a big bag of chopped curly kale
Half a bunch chopped parsley
half a bunch chopped corriander

method:
1. Gently and slowly fry the carrot, onion and cellery in the oil until softened but uncoloured.
2. Add the remaining flavour base ingredients and cook until the veg has absorbed the flavours and is almost coming together as a paste
3. Add the stock cubes crumbled, tomato puree and cook a little to release tge flavour of the puree.
4. Add the hot water, lime juice and passatta and stir till you have a bubbling broth.
5. Add the kale and chicken/turkey and simmer until the meat is piping hot byt the kale still has its crunch.
6. Finally add the herb leaves, stir through and serve as you want to keep the freshness if the herbs.

I served mine with very lightly salted tortilla chips almost like crutons for extra crunch but feel free to ommit to feel extra virtulous.

I'm back!

Hi folks,

Sorry I've been away so long. Had some technical difficulties. I.e. a seriously knackered laptop. Apologies for my absence. In the new year I'll be posting regularly as my wonderful husband got me a lovely new tablet so I can take pics and post recipes using one handy dandy device. Yay!