Day 7 - Roasted Med Veg Cous Cous and Grilled Halloumi

I devised this to use up the half of the veggies that I marinaded last night but didn't cook.  When I asked my other half what he thought of this he said "Delicious!"  High praise indeed seeing as how the level of feedback is usually "fine", "good" or "alright".  However, my husband did qualify this with "That's the difference between men and women.  When a man says good he means good.  When a woman says good she means: Good ... but...".

INGREDIENTS:
Veg marinaded as per the Roasted Veg Pasta
1 cup cous cous
1 1/2 cups boiling water
1 pack halloumi cheese
 serve with jalepino humous

METHOD:
1) Pre-heat oven to 200*C
2) Roast the vegetables in the oven for 30 minutes until slightly golden
3) slice the halloumi to about the thickness of a pound coin
4) Grill the halloumi using either a George Foreman Grill, a griddle pan or a dry frying pan until blistered and golden
5) Put the cous cous in a large bowl, pour over the boiling water
6) Cover the bowl with cling film and leave for 5 minutes
7) Once 5 minutes have passed  remove the film and fluff the couse cous with a fork
8) Add the roasted veg and stir through
9) Pile the cous cous onto the plate, top with the slices of halloumi and a spoonful of the humous

Day 7 - Veggie Packed, Packed Lunch - Broccoli, Pasta, Pesto and Peas

Who doesn't like a pasta salad for lunch?  This one was super easy and really flavourful and totally mayo free but not at all dry.

INGREDIENTS:
1 head of broccoli (broken into florets)
1 cup frozen peas
1 cup dried pasta
pinch of salt
1/2 pack feta

For the dressing:
1tbsp green pesto
1tbsp olive oil
1tbsp balsalmic vinegar

METHOD:
1) Fill a large pan with boiling water and add a little salt
2) Add the broccoli florets
3) Fill a large bowl with really cold water
4) Pour the frozen peas in thebowl of cold water (this helps chill the water but defrosts the peas)
5) Once the broccoli is just tender, fish it out of the water with a slotted spoon and plunge straight into the icy water
6) Add the pasta to the boiling water and boil until tender
7) Once al-dente, fish the pasta out of the water and plunge into the cold water
8) Once everything is very cold, pour the contents of the bowl into a collander to drain
9) In the big bowl you've just emptied add the ingredients for the dressing and whisk together
10) Add the pasta and veggies back to the bowl and toss in the dressing until thoroughly coated
11) Serve topped with crumbled feta.

NB: This makes 4 servings of lunch (so 2 days worth for my household of 2)

A Note on Packed Lunches

I think one of the biggest challenges for me is going to be coming up with a substantial variety of sensible but suitably flavourful packed lunches. After all most flavours taste best when slightly warm if not hot.  I think I may have to invest in some food flasks to enable me to serve hot food for lunches too in addition to the traditional cold packed lunch - just to keep things interesting.

Day 6 - Pasta with Oven Roasted Vegetables

My husband asked for pasta so pasta he got.  I roasted some mediteranean veg in a garlic chilli and herb marinade then combined it with a tomato sauce and tossed the cooked pasta in it.  He even went back for seconds.

INGREDIENTS:
4 vine tomatoes
2 courgettes
2 red peppers
1 large red onion
(all chopped into large chunks)
Pasta

For the marinade:
1 red chilli de-seeded
4 cloves garlic (peeled)
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried basil
1 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
2 tbsp olive oil

For the sauce:
1 can chopped tomatoes
1/2 carton of passatta
2 tsp green pesto

METHOD:
1)  Pre-heat oven to 200*C
2) In a food processor blitz together the marinade ingredients
3) pour the marinade over the chopped veg in a large bowl and toss until well coated
4) Pour the vig and marinade into a tray and roast the veg for 30 minutes until it has started to caramelise and catch on the edges
5) While the veg roasts, cook the pasta in salted boiling water until al-dente
6) Mix the tinned tomatoes and passatta with the pesto and heat through
7) Add the pasta and veg to the sauce and stir and serve with a light sprinkling of grated cheese

Day 5 - Spicy Chorizo Scrambled Eggs

Brekkie joy! Chorizo scrambled eggs ... big flavour twist on a traditional breakfast.  I know chroizo isn't the leanest meat but I don't add any oil to this everything cooks in the oil from the chorizo.  Really there is no substitute for the flavour you get from chorizo, it's like bacon fat, garlic, chilli, paprika and salt all in one handy little ingredient.

INGREDIENTS:

6 eggs
3tbsp milk
1/2 pack thin sliced chorizo
2 spring onions (chopped)
1/2 red pepper (chopped)
8-10 drops tabasco sauce

METHOD:
1) Don't add any oil to the pan as enough will come out of the chorizo as it cooks
2) In a bowl whisk together the eggs, milk and tabasco
3) Heat a large frying pan on medium
4) Add the chorizo and allow to fry and render out the oils
5) Once the chorizo is crispy on the ended and the fat has rendered out, add the spring onions and red pepper and cook them for 2-3 minutes.  The juices that come out of the veg will help deglaze the pan of the chorizo juices.
6)  Add the eggs and stir frequently until the eggs are cooked.
7) Serve with a slice of wholemeal toast and top with a drizzle of natural yoghurt and a sprinkle of chopped mint.

Day 4 - Spinach, Feta and Pea Turnovers

Another successful result.  Yay!  The pastry is so crunchy and the filling was fresh but satisfying.  Definitely one I'll make again.

INGREDIENTS:
1 large bag of spinach or baby spinach
1 package of feta cheese (crumbled)
1/2 cup of frozen peas
handful of basil leaves (chopped)
small handful mint leaves (chopped)
2 spring onions (chopped)
2 garlic cloves (crushed)
2 eggs (lightly beaten)
salt and pepper to taste
fry lite
package of filo pastry (6 sheets)

METHOD:
1) Pre-heat oven to 200*C and line 2 baking trays with greaseproof paper but do not grease.
2) Place half the spinach in a collander and boil a full kettle
3) Once boiled, pour the hot water slowly over the spinach and watch as it wilts.
4) Once fully wilted run the cold tap over the now shrunken spinach to cool it down enough to handle then collect it up into a ball and squeeze out all the moisture you can. Don't be shy or careful, squeeze it hard.  You want as much water out of the spinach as possible of you'll have soggy turnovers.  Place on a chopping board.
5) Repeat this process with the remaining spinach and once it's all drained, chop it up as finely as you can.
6) Once you've done this put the peas in the collander and pour over some more boiling water from the kettle to defrost them and shake off as much water as you can.
7) In a big bowl mix together the spinach, peas, feta, garlic, spring onions, herbs, salt and pepper.

8) Add the eggs and mix thoroughly.
9) Open the filo pastry and lay out flat on an extra sheet of greaseproof
10) Cut along the length of the pastry cutting it in half to create 2 long rectangles going through all the layers.
11) Towards the end of one of the rectangles add a big spoonful of the filling.
12) Fold the end of the top sheet of pastry over the filling to make a triangle on top.
13) Following the natural folds now created, keep folding the pastry and filling over to make a triangle. Just using the one sheet for each turnover.
14) Once you reach the end fold it under and place it on the lined baking tray making sure that the loose end is underneath.
15) Repeat this process until you have 12 turnovers.
16) Spray each of the turnovers with fry lite.
17) Bake for 15-20 minutes until all the pastry is golden brown and the filling is piping hot through.

Day 4 - Crunchy Coconut Chicken and Mango Yoghurt Dipping Sauce

I was a little worried the coconut would make this too sweet with the chicken but the sweetness is really tempered by the chilli.  My husband loved it too as it seems it's fab manly finger food for while watching the match.  I think this one would go down well at a party too and you could make everything in advance and then bake them off at the last minute.

INGREDIENTS:
2 packs of Chicken mini-fillets
4 eggs
1 cup plain flour
1 cup plain breadcrumbs
1/2 cup desicated coconut
5 - 15 drops of tabasco sauce (to taste)
fry lite
salt and pepper to taste


For the Mango Yoghurt Dip see Day 1 recipe.

Method:
1) Pre-heat oven to 200*C
2) Mix breadcrumbs and coconut together
3) lightly beat eggs together adding salt, pepper and tabasco
4) Spray 2 metal trays with fry lite
5) Set up your breading station with flour in one container, eggs in another and breadcrumbs and coconut in another.
6) Dip each piece of chicken in the flour, egg and breadcrumbs in that order, ensuring that each strip is fully coated with each layer.
7) Place the strips on the trays sprayed with fry lite and make sure they're in one layer with room.
8) Bake the chicken strips for 25-30 minutes (cut one in half to make sure it's fully opaque and cooked through).
9) Serve with the mango yoghurt dipping sauce