What's for Dinner Wednesday? Curry!

Chicken curry and a confession.

I am a thief. I stole this recipe from Australian Good Taste magazine but that isn't even the half of it. I stole the magazine from the waiting room at my doctor's office. Horrified? I couldn't leave it behind I had to have it. I'm sorry universe.

So you know what I did? I swapped it for my current Vogue magazine. I had it in my bag ready to read while I was waiting. I made the ultimate sacrifice. I exchanged style for sustenance. It says a lot about who I am these days doesn't it? Ok so it says I'm a thief but it also says that when you become a mum your priorities totally shift. Amen to that. Bye Anna Wintour, hello Donna Hay.

Thai Chicken Curry

INGREDIENTS

2 tsp vegetable oil

300g chicken tenderloins halved crossways

1 tbsp yellow curry paste

1 onion, halved and cut into thin wedges

250ml (1 cup) light coconut milk

80ml (1/3 cup) water

150g green beans, topped and halved

1 red capsicum thinly sliced

1 zucchini thinly sliced

fresh coriander to serve

steamed rice

METHOD

1. heat oil in wok over medium heat til smoking. Add chicken cook 2 mins til golden.

2. Add curry paste and onion. Stir fry til onion is soft.

3. Add coconut milk and water, bring to the boil. Cook 3 mins. Add beans, capsicum and zucchini cook for 2 mins. Beans should be bright green and chicken cooked through.

4. Divide into 4 bowls serve with rice and top with coriander.

EASY mid-week meal and cheap too $3.79 per serve!

What's for Dinner Wednesday? Nothing!

I don't have a recipe for you today because I'm back on my cooking strike. Don't ask. It involves schnitzel. Again.

So that you don't think I'm totally slack I have a double dose of Tinker's Threads this week. One today and one tomorrow. What more could you ask for? Ok so you'd probably ask for a lot more than to know what some weird blogger's kid is wearing but that's all I've got this week.

So here is my Tinker today I hope you have a brilliant Wednesday. Please keep Alli in your thoughts. xx

*just click on the image to enlarge it*

What's for Dinner Wednesday? Easy Steak

With all of yesterday's dramas I have been feeling rather exhausted today.
Didn't help that the poorly Tinker was up for a few hours in the night with a fever.
So I have not gone to any trouble at all with today's Wednesday recipe.
I searched for something that allowed me to make a quick and easy dinner without a trip to the supermarket this afternoon.
This is what I found:

Thanks to the clever folk at Taste.com today's recipe is:

Beef Fillet with a Quick Red Wine Sauce

If you don't have all of these ingredients at home I'd be surprised. It will take you a few minutes and if you are using great quality ingredients even a meal this basic will be delicious. Unless you turn to watch Yo Gabba Gabba while cooking and supervising some hard core crayon action by the toddler and then maybe you will overcook your steak. Not that I've done anything like that lately... *wink wink*

Ingredients:

2 tbs olive oil
4 x 180g beef fillet steaks, trimmed
2 onions, halved, sliced
2 garlic cloves, crushed
200g small button mushrooms, trimmed
2 tsp tomato paste
2 tsp plain flour *Actually I would recommend corn flour instead but it's up to you.*
1 cup (250ml) dry red wine
1 1/2 cups (375ml) good-quality beef stock
Mashed potato and watercress, to serve*

*I haven't got any watercress in the fridge so I am using fresh spinach leaves tonight*

Method:

Preheat oven to 180°C. Heat 1 tbs oil in a frypan over medium-high heat. Season steaks and cook for 2 minutes each side. Transfer to a tray and cook in oven for 2-3 minutes for rare; 5 minutes for medium.

Heat remaining oil in same pan over medium-low heat. Cook the onion for 5 minutes or until softened. Add the garlic and mushrooms and stir for 1-2 minutes. Stir in paste and flour. Add the wine and stock, then bring to the boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 5-6 minute or until well reduced. Season.

Remove pan from heat and return steaks to pan to just warm through in sauce. Serve steaks and sauce with mash and watercress or salad.

What's for Dinner Wednesday? Mirin Glazed Salmon

Mirin Glazed Salmon with Rice

I've borrowed the recipe and the picture from the amazingly clever but annoyingly flirtatious Nigella Lawson.

I know I often go for a simple glazed meat/fish dish on a Wednesday but there is a good reason for it. For anyone who is new to my What's for Dinner Wednesday segment, let me explain. Wednesday is for me a rather tedious day in the kitchen.

I've usually lost a bit of steam and I'm usually dreaming of the weekend already. Mid-week I like to go for the simplest of recipes with minimal ingredients and minimal washing up. Healthy meals are often boring and mean more work than comfort food so I tend to be picky but I think that a glazed fish/meat dish usually ticks those boxes. Hard to ruin, easy to make.

Ok so this is what you need to get started:

INGREDIENTS

60ml mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
50g light brown sugar
60ml soy sauce
4 x 125g pieces salmon, cut from the thick part of the fillet so that they are narrow but tall rather than wide and flat
2 x 15ml tablespoons rice vinegar
1–2 spring onions, halved and shredded into fine strips

Serving Size : Serves 4

METHOD

1.Mix the mirin, brown sugar and soy sauce in a shallow dish that will take all 4 pieces of salmon, and marinate the salmon in it for 3 minutes on the first side and 2 minutes on the second. Meanwhile heat a large non-stick frying pan on the hob.

2.Cook the salmon in the hot, dry pan for 2 minutes and then turn the salmon over, add the marinade and cook for another 2 minutes.

3.Remove the salmon to whatever plate you’re serving it on, add the rice vinegar to the hot pan, and warm through.

4.Pour the dark, sweet, salty glaze over the salmon and top with the spring onion strips.

5.Serve with rice or noodles as you wish, and consider putting some sushi ginger on the table, too.

Give it a try and let me know your thoughts. I don't think I could have found an easier recipe this week. Perfect for me with my annoying injury!

What's For Dinner Wednesday? Greek Chicken

Ok so my husband crossed the picket line and tempted me out of my cooking strike with the promise of chocolate. Good chocolate. So I am back, baby... but I'm keeping things super simple.

This is just a simple marinade most of us probably do already, I did it last night when the Tinker finally went to sleep at 9.30pm. Took me about 5 mins to prep the chicken and throw it in a ziplock bag in the fridge. I'm doing the singleparent thing til the end of the week so I thought I should try and make things easier for myself (I'll be grilling this inside, bit too cold to venture out and use the BBQ tonight).

Greek Chicken Breast & Simple Greek Salad

Ingredients

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1 cup (250ml) extra virgin olive oil
1 lemon, juiced
2 teaspoons crushed garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
1/3 teaspoon paprika

Preparation method

Cut 3 slits in each chicken breast to allow marinade to penetrate. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt, pepper, and paprika for about 30 seconds. Place chicken in a large bowl or ziplock bag, and pour marinade over. Using your hands, work marinade into chicken. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.
Preheat barbecue for medium heat, and lightly oil grate.
Cook chicken on the barbecue until meat is no longer pink and juices run clear-about 10 minutes per side.

courtesy of www.allrecipes.com.au

I like a greek salad, here is a quick recipe if you don't have your own version:

Greek Salad with Walnuts

Ingredients (serves 4)
40g walnut halves
3 small ripe tomatoes, cut into wedges
1 red capsicum, halved, deseeded, coarsely chopped
1 Lebanese cucumber, halved lengthways, thickly sliced
1 small red onion, halved,
thinly sliced
1 bunch continental parsley, leaves picked, coarsely chopped
1 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 tbs red wine vinegar
60g reduced-fat feta, cubed
Freshly ground black pepper

Method
Preheat oven to 180°C. Spread walnuts over a baking tray. Bake in preheated oven for 6-7 minutes or until lightly toasted. Remove from oven and set aside for 5 minutes to cool. Coarsely chop.
Combine the tomato, capsicum, cucumber, onion and parsley in a large bowl. Drizzle with oil and vinegar and gently toss to combine. Divide the salad among serving plates and sprinkle with walnuts and feta. Season with pepper and serve immediately.

courtesy of www.taste.com.au

What's For Dinner Wednesday? Beef & Carrot Ragout

It's 4am here, and as I sit here typing this out my little redheaded friend is sharing the sofa while she watches In The Night Garden. Screaming banshee act started at 1am, nothing would settle her so I figured we'd sit on the couch together instead of the fruitless settling we had been trying. Little feral! She is as happy as larry now, chatting away as I type this out.

Ok so for this weeks' easy as pie Wednesday recipe I have gone for the ultimate in fuss free cooking. Anything involving the slow cooker is perfect when you are tired or busy... or both. Just prep in the morning and throw the lot in and hit start. Your meal is ready in 6-8 hours. Perfect.

image and recipe via taste.com.au

Beef & Carrot Ragout with Pasta

Ingredients (serves 4)

1/4 cup plain flour
1kg gravy beef, cut into 5cm cubes
1/4 cup olive oil
2 large brown onions, cut into wedges
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup red wine
1 cup beef stock
3 sprigs thyme
3 large carrots, peeled, roughly chopped
cooked pappardelle pasta, to serve

Method

Place flour in a snap-lock bag. Season with salt and pepper.

Add beef and shake bag to lightly coat beef in flour, shaking off excess.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat. Add half the beef. C

ook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes or until browned. Spoon into slow cooker. Repeat with oil and remaining beef.

Reduce frying pan heat to medium. Add remaining oil and onion to pan. Cook, stirring often, for 2 minutes or until soft. Add garlic and tomato paste. Cook for 1 minute. Pour in wine. Bring to the boil.

Simmer, uncovered, for 5 minutes or until wine has reduced by half. Add stock, thyme and carrots. Bring to the boil. Spoon sauce over beef and stir to combine.

Cover and cook in slow cooker on HIGH for up to 4 hours or LOW for 6 hours. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon over pasta and serve.

What's For Dinner Wednesday? Chicken Pot Pie

Brought to you by my favourite jailbird housewife, Martha Stewart, this low fat chicken pot pie is easy and perfect for a two dish mid week meal. I have changed it slightly just to save me some time and extra washing up. If you prefer to do things the Martha way, you can find the original recipe on her site.

Hopefully it won't go the way of my ocean trout pie after Sunday's disaster cooking day. Come to think of it, I have had more failures in the kitchen this month than I have had all my cooking life! So maybe I should have a new blog segment keeping score of disasters versus successes?

Ok so today's low fat pie sounds very easy, please let me know if you also give it a go and let me know what yours is like because at the rate I'm going even the most simple recipes are ruinable.

Ingredients

Serves 4

2 large pieces of chicken breast (12 to 14 ounces each)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 carrots, sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
2 1/2 cups low-fat (1%) milk
1 package (10 ounces) frozen peas, thawed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
6 filo sheets (each 12 by 17 inches), thawed

Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet; season with salt and pepper. Roast 20- 30 minutes. Shred meat, and set aside.

While chicken is roasting, heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large saucepan over medium.

Add carrots, onion, and thyme; season with salt and pepper, and cook until carrots are crisp-tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Add flour, and cook, stirring, 1 minute.

Gradually add milk, stirring until smooth. Cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture comes to a simmer and thickens.

Remove from heat; stir in peas, lemon juice, and chicken, and season with salt and pepper. Pour filling into a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate.

Stack filo on a work surface. Using a paring knife, cut out an 11-inch circle from the stack; discard trimmings. Stack 2 circles on work surface, and brush gently with 1 teaspoon oil; repeat with remaining circles and oil.

*I'm using one large square baking dish so I don't have to worry about the fiddly trimming, I'll just whack the ready cut squares of filo onto my pie filling*

Place pastry stack over filling, and press down about 1/2 inch from the edge so pastry fits inside rim of pie plate. Bake until golden and bubbling, 20 to 25 minutes. Let potpie cool 15 minutes before serving.


I have not bothered to translate into metric because I think most of us here in the metric world are more used to translating from imperial than they are doing the reverse. Let me know if you can't, and I'll edit this post.

What's for Dinner Wednesday? Maple Salmon

After last night's debacle with the chicken I am glad to be returning to normal programming folks. No more fancypants attempts. I'm back to my minimal fuss, minimal ingredient cooking.

Since my husband and I are on this stupid healthy eating diet I have been hunting down low carb recipes and this is what I found. I haven't tried it before but it seems so easy that even I can't ruin it and I'm sure you will agree.

Maple Mustard Glazed Salmon with Green Salad

Just click on the recipe name above and it takes you to a fabulous little video that shows you EXACTLY what to do but in case you can't view videos on your computer here is the recipe:

You need one fillet of salmon per person and some green salad leaves and a lemon.

To make your glaze you just mix together the following ingredients:

1 tablespoon of good maple syrup.

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard.
1/4 teaspoon chipotle pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt.

Preheat the Broiler to high. *This is what the Americans call the griller.*

I buy my fish already boned because I barely have time to pluck my own eyebrows let alone get tweezering some piece of dead fish. If you have bought your fillet with bones then get your tweezers ready and prep your fish.

Pour the Glaze on the Salmon.

Put some foil or baking paper at the bottom of the baking dish and add a teaspoon of oil.

Pour glaze over the fish pieces.

Broil for 5-7 minutes about 6inches away from the heat.

The glaze will caramelise and bubble.

Sprinkle salt on salmon and serve with lemon or lime wedges and green salad.

Easy.

What's for Dinner Wednesday? Peas!

wickedsunshine.com



My mother and father-inlaw fly back home this afternoon so we will be having leftovers for dinner. We have an abundance of peas and my mother in law happened to leave me her Delicious Magazine (issue 84 July 2009) and they have a great section at the back for quick recipes for left overs.


They have a quick pea recipe on page 154 and I'm going to try it since we have all of these ingredients here already and after the traffic I'm bound to get on the way to the airport I don't think I'll feel like popping out to get more groceries.


Left-over Pea Pasta (I've named it, you can tell since it is so creative)

Cooked pasta of your choice


2 cups of peas


1 cup fresh ricotta cheese


1/2 cup fresh mint


Shaved Parmesan


Salt & Pepper


Crush 2 cups of blanched peas with a fork. Season, then mix with ricotta and chopped mint.


Stir through cooked pasta and drizzle with olive oil and add some shaved Parmesan.


Could it be any easier? Come on, could it?!

What's for Dinner Wednesday? Omelete & Warm Tomato Salad

Rolled Omelet with Warm Tomato Salad

Ok so this is what's on our menu tonight. It is as easy as can be and it is also pretty healthy. I have my inlaws arriving tomorrow for a week and they like really yummy fancypants things so I figured we'd have a very simple thing tonight before a week of decadence!

The omelet recipe is from my favourite ex con Martha Stewart and the warm tomato recipe is one I've been using for ages you can find it at taste.com.au.

For my friends in the Northern Hemisphere, you could make a basic tomato salad instead of going for the warmer variety. For us southern folk it is a rather chilly winter so we need the warm tomato salad. You could also have a warm tomato soup instead.

Ok so lets start with the omelet and our mates over at Martha's website have kindly provided an idiots guide to making a rolled omelet so I have copied their pics below.


Ingredients
Serves 4
Olive oil, for pan
1 cup milk
1/3 cup all-purpose (plain) flour (spooned and leveled)
8 large eggs
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 packages frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar (6 ounces)


Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees for the Fahrenheit folks (for us in metric land it is 180). Brush a 10-by-15-inch rimmed baking sheet or jelly-roll pan with oil. Line bottom of pan with parchment, leaving a 1-inch overhang on the two shorter sides. Brush parchment with oil.



In a bowl, whisk together milk and flour. Add eggs, mustard, 1 teaspoon salt, and teaspoon pepper; whisk to combine. Pour into pan. Sprinkle spinach over top in an even layer.






Bake until edges of omelet are set, 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle with cheddar; bake until cheese has melted, 2 to 4 minutes. Beginning at one shorter end, lift parchment, and roll up omelet tightly, peeling back parchment as you go. Slice and serve.



Now for the warm tomato salad

Ingredients
tablespoon olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
200g (7 ounces) yellow grape tomatoes, halved
250g (8 ounces)red cherry tomatoes, halved
2 (300g) vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves

Method

Place oil, garlic and tomatoes in a large, non-stick frying pan over low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3 to 5 minutes or until tomatoes are warm but still firm. Remove from heat.
Stir in vinegar. Spoon onto a plate. Sprinkle with basil. Season with salt and pepper. Serve.

Ok so there were none of these yellow grape ones at my local Woolworths yesterday. I don't think it is the season for them now so I just bought a zucchini and I'll dice that instead!

What's for Dinner Wednesday? Pasta Piazza

Ok so this week's recipe is a lie. Only because it isn't really what we are having at our house (we are having the rib recipe I did last Wednesday) but it is a real recipe and this week it is brought to you by Oracle one of my regular readers. Thanks Oracle!

Now she has slightly broken the rules by making something with more ingredients that I normally use on a Wednesday and she admits it uses a fair few dishes. But I figure if her husband loves it this much, then he will do the dishes and that kinda makes up for it, right?

Ok here is Oracle's recipe below and if you have a quick and easy recipe for a Wednesday please shoot me an email!

Pasta piazza (pasta square)

500gms of pasta
1kg of minced meat
2 jars of mushroom and red wine Bolognese sauce
Oregano
Basil
Garlic
2 onions
30 Gms butter
125mls Milk
1 table spoon of cornflour
2 cups of grated cheese

Method
Pre heat oven to 180 degrees Celsius

Pasta
Boil water with a pinch of salt and a dash of olive oil
Cook pasta until Al dente

Meat
In a hot frying pan break up meat and add onions, Basil, oregano and garlic
Drain fat and brown meat.
Add two jars of sauce and let simmer for 15 minutes.

White Sauce
In a small sauce pan melt 30 Gms of butter take off heat
Mix in one tablespoon of corn flour to make paste.
Add milk leave to bubble then stir until it resembles a white sauce consistency.

Pour the pasta into a large rectangle casserole dish
Then layer meat over the pasta
Then layer white sauce over the meat
Finally top with 2 cups of cheese

Pop in the oven for 20 minutes on 180 degrees Celsius
Cheese should be golden brown.

Serves 6-8 served with a green salad or winter vegetables.


Oracle also says This is great for winter and my husband loves it a lot of people say it is lasagne with pasta but it is not layered like lasagne and
It is much yummier. It doesn’t take long but it does use a lot of dishes.

What's for Dinner Wednesday? Glazed Ribs

image credit good housekeeping

When it comes to Asian food my motto is to buy it rather than make it because A.)Here in Sydney we are spoilt with some of the lovely Asian food and B.)It always turns out tastier and cheaper to buy it than make it myself and I hate feeling disappointed when I make my own and it turns out lame.

Today however, I am making a tried and true dish that is extremely quick and easy and perfect for the middle of the week when my cooking mojo is at its dimmest and I have nothing but convenience in mind.

This recipe I stole from the clever people at Good Housekeeping. Give it a whirl if you aren't too much of a bottle sauce snob like I used to be.

Low-and-Slow Ribs with Asian Cuke Salad

(this requires a slow cooker, I have a $39 one from Aldi and it is the bees knees. Beats my $500 Le Creuset whatsy)

Metric friends you will need:

1 1/2 kilos pork spareribs
240 mls teriyaki glaze (use the Kikkoman thick style, it won't burn)
1 Lebanese cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
2-3 shredded carrots ( I actually used a packet of preshredded coleslaw mix from Woolies and ditched the dressing packet)
60 mls seasoned rice vinegar

Imperial friends:

3 1/2 pound(s) pork spareribs
1 cup(s) teriyaki glaze
1 (12 to 14 ounces) English (seedless) cucumber, peeled and thinly sliced
1 bag(s) (10 ounces) shredded carrots
1/4 cup(s) seasoned rice vinegar

Instructions

In your slow-cooker bowl, place ribs and teriyaki glaze, spreading teriyaki to coat ribs on all sides. Cover slow cooker with lid and cook as manufacturer directs on low setting 8 hours or on high setting 4 hours.
In a bowl, stir cucumber, carrots, and rice vinegar, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve. Makes 4 cups salad.
To serve, transfer ribs to cutting board; cut into portions. Skim and discard fat from cooking liquid. Arrange ribs and salad on dinner plates. Spoon remaining liquid over ribs.

Easy, and you just throw the meat in the slow cooker in the morning and don't even think about it again til dinner time. I love my slow cooker and I love easy recipes.

What's for Dinner Wednesday? Pasta with Chevre

Ok so I am a very bad bloglady because I lost the email one of my kind readers sent in for today's Wednesday dinner recipe.

So I'm using an old faithful of mine. Because Wednesday is the middle of the week and probably the low point in terms of imagination for me in the kitchen I tend to go for easy meals relying on ingredients that I always have in the pantry/fridge.

Today it is Pasta with Chevre Cheese, Prosciutto & Peas.

We are really lucky where we live because we have a different market every week. Saturday was the farmer's market and we went along after swimming class with the Tinker. I usually buy milk and cheeses from the goat farmer and this week was no exception. So that's why we are having it for dinner tonight- the ingredients are already here. Easy.

You need:

~About 200g of prosciutto or pancetta, chopped.
*If you don't eat pork, this recipe works well if you replace with capsicum aka bell pepper)
This is something I always have because I buy it in the vacuum packs and it keeps for a long time. I suppose you could also use regular ham or bacon but the flavour won't be as good.

~2- 3 cloves of garlic crushed
*This is one ingredient I'll only buy if it is organic Australian garlic because the Spanish/ Chinese imports are so tasteless.

~1 cup of frozen minted peas
*Or you could use fresh peas and fresh mint leaves, but who has time for that?!

~200g / 1 cup of fresh chevre cheese.
*I like the one I buy at the market which is marinated in garlic and olive oil but any fresh chevre cheese will work really.

~1/2 cup chopped onion
You already know I love the pre chopped frozen variety but that is just my laziness!

~1 cup chicken stock
You may only use 3/4 cup, depends. I buy the liquid stock these days and keep it in the pantry. No time for making my own.

~Pasta
Whatever you have in the pantry, we are having fusilli tonight but any small-medium pasta will work. The shells are great with this and on the weekend whe you have more time you might want to make some gnocchi and serve with this sauce. Or you could just eat out on the weekend like me.

~Olive oil

~Lemon if you have it, otherwise don't worry.

Recipe

~While the water is boiling for the pasta you throw your garlic, onions and proscuitto (or capsicum if you are not having the pork) into a pan and cook in olive oil til soft, not brown.

~Get your pasta into the boiling water.

~Add the peas and cheese to the other pan and add the stock slowly so it simmers. Take it off the stove.

~Drain the pasta when al dente. Add to the pan with the sauce and stir through.

~To serve squeeze some lemon juice over and add some freshly ground pepper and salt. Easy.

What's for Dinner Wednesday? Minute Steak!

Ok so this is not an original recipe but it is one I use once a week and I never really tire of it. It is one of Bill Granger's and I love it for its simplicity. You can't get this wrong and it is always fresh and yummy. Perfect mid-week meal. Who doesn't have beans and tomatoes and lemon at home? All you need is your minute steak.

Minute Steaks with Lemon and Green Beans and Passata

2 minute steaks (100g / 3 1/2 oz each)
Olive oil
Sea Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Lemon wedges

1 tbs olive oil
2 cloves garlic crushed
250g (8.8 oz) tomatoes chopped
250g (8.8oz) trimmed green beans
Salt & pepper to serve

Ok so for the steak I just have my local butcher thinly slice Scotch Fillet for me or Sirloin but it doesn't really matter. You just want a really nice even thin slice.

Brush your steaks with olive oil and salt, cook 1min per side. Serve with lemon wedge and pepper and the beans as described here:

Over a medium heat add your olive oil, garlic and salt, add tomatoes reduce to low heat for 5 mins.

Bring water to boil throw beans in for 2 mins. Drain and add to tomatoes. Sprinkle with pepper and if you have some flat leaf parsley throw that in.

Serve with steak and a glass of vino.

Easy.

Do you have a nice simple mid-week recipe? Email it to me and I'll post it up next week!

What's for Dinner Wednesday?

I was thinking tonight that we could have a weekly post with quick and easy dinner ideas.

Would anyone be interested? I'll post one each Wednesday. It has to be something easy, quick and reasonably healthy. I often find myself feeling slightly Iron Chefish when I have no idea what to cook for dinner and no time to nip out and get ingredients so I need to make do with what I find at home.

Tonight I had some fresh corn fed chicken breast fillets and not much else. For a change, I had a shot of brilliance and remembered an easy weeknight meal recipe I read at the doctor's surgery on the weekend. I have been known in the past to do a cheeky rip and steal of a good magazine page but with a bouncy toddler to entertain, thieving pages just wasn't possible. Fortunately it was a basic recipe so I managed to store it in my mind. I amended it and tried it this evening,

BBQ Balsamic Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Steamed Veges

2 Chicken Breast Fillets
1/4 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/4 cup Olive Oil
2 tablespoons Soft Brown Sugar

Mashed Potatoes- I keep riced potatoes in my freezer and when I need them I just add them to some boiling milk with a spoonful of butter. You have perfect mash.

A potato ricer is a great tool to have, you really should get one if you haven't already! To use the ricer you boil the potatoes with the skin on. When cooked you peel and put through the ricer. This is the only way to make good mash, I've seen people boiling peeled potatoes and I don't like it. You fill your potato with water and it doesn't taste so good.

Anyway the frozen riced poato freezes perfectly and I always try to keep a little stockpile for nights like tonight when the little one went to bed late and I wasn't in the mood for cooking much.

Steamed veges- whatever you've got in the fridge/vege patch or freezer.

I had some broad beans in the freezer tonight so I shelled them and gave them a quick steaming and I had a couple of carrots that I cut into little Julienne strips and steamed quickly. Simple!

Now for the chicken you cut it horizontally so you have 4 steak-like pieces. You add the oil, balsamic vinegar and sugar to a bowl mix and add the chicken. Let it sit there while you prepare your veges and set the table.

Throw the chicken on the BBQ about 5 mins per side and serve with the mash and steamed veges.

Healthy, low fat and quick and easy. Everyone has a bottle of olive oil, balsamic vinegar at home and brown sugar of course. Chicken breasts are easy to freeze so you should have them on hand as well.

So there you go, it was really good and really quick. If you have a recipe you wouldn't mind sharing please email me and I will post it next Wednesday. If you have a photo that would be fabulous. I only thought of the picture after we had eaten so it was too late, sorry!