Chili

I have a confession to make. I've used those little seasoning packets to make tacos, chili and fajitas for far too long. And I know that the following list of spices is going to look insanely long and you're going to think, "forget it, I'm using the packets" and I wouldn't blame you. However, since investing in the spices, I've used them a million times in a million different recipes so they are definitely worth the initial cost. If the mix seems too dry, add some beef stock to reach the consistency you prefer. I tend to use canned red kidney beans because on weekdays, I don't have time to soak dried beans properly. I know some people feel strongly about beans in chili (love them, hate them, or feel that dried is always best) so adjust according to your personal tastes. Finally, while I'm from Virginia, I don't come from a long line of champion chili cook-off chefs or anything like that. This may not be an official recipe but it's what works for me and I hope you'll like it too. As always, change the spices and amounts according to what you have in your cupboards/your level of heat tolerance.

Spices

Ingredients 

Finished product 

Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 30 - 60 min

Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

1-2 tbsp olive oil
500g beef mince
1 onion, chopped
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1-2 chili, finely chopped
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground corriander
1/2 tsp chili flakes
1 tsp onion granules
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 red bell pepper, chopped
1/2 yellow bell pepper, chopped
1 can chopped tomatoes
100-200 ml beef stock
1 can red kidney beans
Shredded cheese (optional)
Green onion, sliced (optional)
Olives, black or green, sliced (optional)
Sour cream (optional)
Rice (optional)

Method: 

In a pot over medium heat, add the olive oil, beef mince and onion and start to brown. When the beef is half finished browning, add the garlic slices and the chopped chilies. When the onion has softened and the meat has browned, add the spices and mix well. Allow to saute together for a minute and then add the bell pepper pieces. Cook over medium heat for 3 minutes, until the peppers start to soften. Toss in the chopped tomatoes, beef stock and the red kidney beans and mix thoroughly. Lower the heat and simmer for half an hour. Serve with cheese, sour cream, green onion, rice and olives. Enjoy! 

Chocolate Vodka

I should probably start this post with a disclaimer: I've never made any type of alcohol before and I didn't this time. I bought the vodka (obviously). However, this was a really simple way to jazz up an otherwise boring drink option and it makes a great homemade gift. Although it definitely still tastes like vodka, the chocolate is a nice addition. We served it with chopped strawberries and ice but it would have probably been better blended. I hope you'll give it a try! I bought the gift bottle from John Lewis for five pounds but there are also a bunch on Amazon if you don't have a John Lewis near you.

Ingredients

chopped Mars bars

Melting Mars bars 

Mixing in the cream

Finished mixture

Final product

Final product 

Prep Time: 5 min

Cook Time: 20 min

Serves: 10-20

Ingredients: 

5-6 Mars bars, chopped
100 ml cream
70cl vodka

Method: 

Put the chopped mars bars in double boiler and melt, stirring frequently. Once melted, add the cream and mix. When the chocolate and cream has combined remove the mixture from the heat. Stir in the vodka and then funnel into the gift bottle. Label, seal and set aside to enjoy later! Shake before pouring. 

Bell Pepper Baked Eggs

Easy. Quick. Delicious. I'm not much of a breakfast person so when I do take the time to make something, I want it to be simple, fast and worth the effort. Bell pepper baked eggs are definitely all of those things. Pop the egg in the pepper and throw it in the oven for 20 minutes and it's ready. Basically by the time you've had your shower, your breakfast is ready. I know most of you lovely readers won't want to try this on a weekday but I really think it could be incorporated into a morning breakfast routine if you're looking for something healthy and easy. I think this might be the healthiest way I've ever made eggs (I'm terrible at poaching...) since there's no butter or oil involved. I sauteed up a quick kale, garlic and onion mix to go along side but toast would be equally tasty. I cooked my egg all the way through which made it more of a hard boiled consistency so if you'd like a runny egg, start with 10-15 minutes (depending on your oven). It's ready to go as soon as the white sets. My bell pepper was amusingly lopsided so I had to construct a foil lift to keep it steady - you don't want the egg sliding out while cooking!

Preparing to bake

Heading into the oven 

Finished product: bell pepper baked egg and kale saute

Prep time: 3 min

Cook time: 15-20 min

Serves: 2

Ingredients: 

1 bell pepper (any color)

2 large eggs

Salt

Pepper 

Spring onions or herbs to finish (optional)

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 400F / 205C.

Halve and deseed the bell pepper, removing the stem and white ribs to create an open space for the egg. Line a baking tray with foil (in case of spills) and ensure that your pepper halves will stand on their own. Crack an egg into each half and season with salt and pepper. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the white has set and the yolk is at your preferred consistency. 

Sour Cream Enchiladas

It is currently FREEZING in London, which is particularly upsetting since January started out fairly mild. I'm not much of a cold weather person so when it gets cold, I start craving warm and filling foods... which usually means something cheesy and delicious. However, as noted in the previous post, I've been trying to keep my food choices on the healthier end of the scale and therefore avoiding cheese if possible. So when the craving for enchiladas struck, I started hunting around the internet for a solution to my cheesy problem.

Ingredients (minus the chicken)

Spices used

Sour cream enchiladas might not seem like the perfect solution when taken at face value. I mean, there's sour cream and cheese - not a brilliant combination for someone looking to skip dairy. However, I also think that cutting something completely out of your diet isn't a great way to go about things because you'll probably end up craving it so badly that you'll eat something really horrible for you instead. So, I went ahead with the recipe and, by choosing low fat sour cream and cheese, I managed to keep the calories for each enchilada at 386* (with 27g of carbs, 17g of fat and 31g of protein), which I think is a pretty reasonable amount for dinner (especially since I could only manage one - they're so filling!). I had thought to skip the cheese altogether and just top the enchiladas with some of my queso fresco but in the end I chickened out. Having never had these enchiladas before, I thought skipping the cheese would mean losing a major component. However, the sauce is so flavorful and delicious that in the future I think I'll go ahead and leave the cheese out since it barely makes an impact in the overall dish. Also, I must have overfilled the enchiladas because I ended up with ten instead of twelve so I think next time I'll use the chicken a bit more sparingly. Plus twelve enchiladas would take the calorie count down to 321* (23g of carbs, 14g of fat, 25g of protein).

Chicken in the pan

Chicken in the oven

Assembling the enchiladas

Fresh out of the oven!

I didn't have tomatillos or anything resembling them so I couldn't follow the recipe exactly as it was laid out on Homesick Texan. So instead I added ground chili powder and onion granules to the sour cream sauce and increased the amounts of cayenne and cumin. I think what really makes this dish are the fresh chili peppers - I used medium heat ones and they were perfect for me. I've adjusted the recipe below to include the ingredients that I used and the measurements involved. With the sour cream, I could only find it in 300ml containers so I just used two of those, even though it was more than the recipe called for. I just hate having tiny amounts of things left in the fridge so I'd rather just use it up. Finally, I used flour tortillas because I prefer the taste but I'm sure the recipe is equally nice with the corn versions!

Finished with cilantro/coriander and queso fresco

Finished and ready to eat!

Recipe by: www.homesicktexan.blogspot.com

Prep time: 20 min

Cook time: 60 min

Serves: 6

Ingredients: 

1 tbsp olive oil
Salt
Pepper
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tbsp butter
3 medium heat chili peppers, chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tbsp flour
2 cups/500ml chicken stock (1 boullion cube)
2 cups/600ml low fat sour cream
1 tbsp cayenne
1 tbsp ground cumin
1 tbsp onion granules
1/2 tbsp chili powder
30g fresh cilantro/corriander, chopped
250g low fat cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 a white onion, finely chopped
10-12 flour tortillas
1/2 cup queso fresco, crumbled (optional)

Method: 

Preheat the oven to 350f or 175c.

Add the olive oil to a frying pan over medium-high heat and cook the chicken for three minutes on each side before placing them on a baking tray. Bake for 30 minutes until the chicken is no longer pink. While the chicken cooks, melt the butter in a sauce pot over medium heat. Add the chopped chili peppers and saute until soft. Next add the garlic and, when fragrant, whisk in the flour. Cook for about a minute, stirring constantly to ensure the flour is nicely incorporated. While continuing to whisk, slowly add the chicken stock and mix until thickened (about two to three minutes). Next add the sour cream, spices, and 3/4 of the chopped cilantro/coriander and mix well. Meanwhile, remove the chicken from the onion and shred into bite sized pieces. Make sure to keep the oven on so the enchiladas can go straight in.

To construct the enchiladas, first add a cup of the sour cream sauce to the baking container. Next, layer a small handful of chicken, cheese (this is according to your tastes: use more or less depending on how you prefer your enchiladas), and about a tablespoon of chopped raw onion to each flour tortilla. Roll the tortilla up and place seam side down in the pan. Continue until all the ingredients have been used. Cover the tortillas with the remaining sauce and any remaining cheese or onion. Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and top with remaining cilantro/coriander and crumbled queso fresco. And enjoy!

*I use www.myfitnesspal.com to estimate the calorie contents of meals. It has a really useful feature that lets you put in recipe ingredients and it will work out how many calories, carbs, fat and protein you'll have for each serving. So these numbers are probably not as accurate as they could be but I find it helpful to have at least a vague idea about the overall nutrition of my meals. 

Queso Fresco

As part of my focus on healthy eating for 2013, I've resolved to cut out as much cheese as possible as a way of avoiding the extra calories and high fat content involved. However, a lot of my favorite dishes call for some form of cheese... which has left me wondering how to get around this issue. After poking around on the internet for a few days, I decided to try making queso fresco. It seemed like a good option because it would be fresh and preservative free. Unfortunately, it isn't a melting cheese so it won't work quite the same way a cheddar or something would in recipes. However, I think it turned out pretty well! It was definitely easy and very straightforward, plus it was surprisingly adaptable. I didn't have cheesecloth and none of the stores around me stock it so I used our cheapest/worst dishcloth (it's completely useless). It's pretty thin but I went ahead and attacked it with a fondue fork to give it a few more holes for the whey to drain through. Just make sure your towel isn't one that will shed fluff or have colors that will run while the cheese is draining!

Fondue fork attack!

Milk ready for the lime juice 

Curds forming 

Draining 

End result!

Inside: Cilantro/Coriander 

You can flavor the cheese with whatever you have on hand. I went with cilantro/coriander (using both names so as to not confuse my American or British friends) because I knew I was going to use it with a few Mexican dishes this week. The cheese will last as long as the milk would have so it's a good idea to get milk with the latest expiration date you can find, but avoid ultra-pasteurized versions.

Recipe inspired by: www.homesicktexan.blogspot.com

Prep time: 5 min

Cook time: 15 min

Serves: 4

Ingredients: 

2 L of whole milk
1/3 cup of lime juice
salt
1/3 cup of cilantro/coriander

Method: 

Pour the milk into a pan (non-aluminum) and heat over medium-high heat until the milk is almost boiling and then add the lime juice. Lower the heat to medium and stir gently to help the curds form. It won't look very impressive at this stage (Homesick Texan likens it to cornmeal dropped in milk) but let it sit for about 5 minutes or until it seems to have formed a good amount of curds. Drain into a colander lined with cheesecloth or a thin dishcloth. Tie the corners together to create a sling and hang from the faucet so that it can drain easily. Leave for approximately four hours and then unwrap and store in the fridge. 

Mandu Dumplings

I have a confession to make. I LOVE DUMPLINGS. Basically to an unhealthy degree. So, I thought I should probably learn how to make them in order to save on take out. These ones were pretty tasty, although I used super lean meat so they were possibly a bit drier than they would normally be. Also, I definitely didn't use enough soy sauce so I'll be increasing the amount next time. One important point to note on this recipe is the number of dumplings it makes... which can be anywhere between 60 and 75 (I ended up with 74) depending on how much filling you manage to include in each dumpling. The good news is these are easily frozen, making them perfect for future dinners or parties! Just make sure you leave yourself plenty of time (or gather plenty of helpers!) for the wrapping stage...

Recipe found on: www.maangchi.com

Prep time: 30 min

Cook time: 20 min 

Servings: 60-75

Ingredients: 

1 cup Pork mince
2 cups Beef mince
1/2 package tofu, crumbled
1 package dried Shiitake mushrooms, rehydrated and chopped
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 bunch chives, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Sesame oil
Soy sauce
Salt
Pepper
Sugar
Gyoza or Wonton wrappers (approx: 70)
Oil for frying

Method:

Measure and mix the pork and beef mince together with a quick splash of sesame oil and place into a large mixing bowl. Next, drain the tofu, making sure to get as much water out as possible before crumbling. Add a sprinkling of sesame oil, salt and a little pinch of sugar and then place in the mixing bowl with the meat. Combine the chopped mushrooms and onion and add sesame oil, soy sauce, salt and pepper, then add to the main bowl. Finally, add the chives and garlic to the bowl and combine all the ingredients together until well mixed.

To fill the dumpling wrappers, place a wrapper in the palm of your hand and add a teaspoon of the filling mixture to the center (different wrappers will be able to accommodate a different amount of filling so a bit of experimentation is advised). With the tip of your finger, wet the outer edge all around the wrapper and bring the two sides to meet in the middle. Fold and pinch along the seal to ensure the dumplings will stay closed. For a useful video on how to do this like a pro (unlike me!), check out this one:

Finally, cook the dumplings by placing a few tablespoons of oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the dumplings and cook, turning frequently to ensure they brown all over. When satisfactorily brown, add a few tablespoons of water to the pan (carefully - it will splatter a bit!), cover and cook for a few more minutes (depending on the amount of dumplings being cooked). Serve with your favorite dipping sauce. Yum! 

Dwaejibulgogi

This dish is one that I've enjoyed hundreds of times at Korean restaurants but never had a clue as to how it was made (and therefore assumed it must be crazy difficult and therefore should only be enjoyed in a professional setting). However, I was pleasantly surprised not only by how easy it was but also that I already had most of the ingredients in my cupboards. The only specialist ingredient is the red pepper paste, a common ingredient in most Korean food. While it may take a bit of effort to find (Korean grocery stores will have it for sure and many Asian supermarkets may also carry it), it is definitely worth it! Plus, it will last absolutely ages and comes in conveniently sized containers (I got the smaller version). I went with the mild option because I wasn't sure how hot it might be and I think I'm going to stick with it since it gives just the right amount of heat for me. I wasn't entirely sure on the number of servings you could make out of this dish since we served it with a few 'bachan' options (side dishes traditionally served alongside main dishes in Korea) which were really filling. I think if you were to have this on its own, then maybe it would be better to double the recipe for larger groups.

Recipe inspired by: www.maangchi.com

Prep  time: 45 min  

Cook time: 20 min 

Serves: 2 - 4 

Ingredients: 

1 pound of pork belly, sliced into strips

1/4 of an onion, minced

5 cloves of garlic, minced 

1/2 inch ginger, minced 

4 spring onions, chopped

1 tbsp brown sugar

1 tsp sugar

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp soy sauce 

2-3 tbsp red pepper paste 

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper 

Method: 

Slice the pork belly into 1/4 inch strips and place in a bowl ready for the marinade. Place the onion, garlic and ginger into a food processor and pulse until minced and combined, then pour over the pork belly. Add the spring onion, sugars, sesame oil, soy sauce, and red pepper paste. FInish with salt and pepper and then mix to combine, ensuring the pork belly is well covered. Refrigerate for at least half an hour. When ready to cook, lay pork on a hot grill pan and cook over a medium heat, turning evenly. 

Tuna Fried Rice

This recipe has become my absolute go to meal for an easy lunch at home or on campus. It's cheap, quick and pretty healthy. Plus, the protein in the tuna and all the great nutrients in the kale keep my energy up and help me focus on my afternoon work - which is a massive help some days! I used tuna in sunflower oil and I have to say, I probably won't do that in the future because there is definitely a very specific taste (at least for me) that I don't think works in this. So, tuna in spring water or brine is probably best - although it might be wise to use a bit less soy sauce if you're using tuna in brine because that will leave a bit of a salty flavor. The amounts below are for one person but I usually make four portions at a go and keep them in the fridge for the week's lunches. I know the portions seem small but I'll usually have a banana or some other piece of fruit and maybe a cheeky chocolate along with it... :) 

Prep time: 10 min

Cook time: 10 min

Serves: 1 

Ingredients: 

1 tsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic, chopped
1/4 of a can of Tuna, drained
1 handful of kale, torn into bite size pieces
1 spring onion, chopped
25g cooked brown rice
1/4 of a red pepper, chopped
Soy sauce, to taste
Sriracha sauce, to taste

Method: 

Drain the tuna and set aside. Add one teaspoon of olive oil to a frying pan and place over medium heat. After the oil has warmed, add the chopped garlic and saute until fragrant. Add the tuna and the kale and heat through until the kale has softened. Next add the spring onion, rice and red pepper. Once the ingredients have all warmed, sprinkle over the soy sauce and stir to mix thoroughly. Serve with Sriracha or other hot sauce to taste. 

New Year, New Blog, New Food?

Happy New Year!

This year my resolution is to keep a food blog detailing the new and different foods I'll be challenging myself with this year. Since I'm also resolving to finish my PhD, I probably won't have as much free time to blog as I'd like so my goal will be to at least blog once a week. 52 recipes in a year seems like a fairly easy goal so I'm actually hoping to surpass that... but we'll see.

Another resolution is to try to make something new every week just to challenge myself and to give me that feeling of achievement that is sadly lacking most days when dealing with a thesis.

So, here's hoping for a happy, healthy and tasty 2013!