Let's Cook - Rice Fakesagne.

Hi there Folks,

You may or may not have seen the post I did on Leek Lasagne a little while ago, where I replaced the lasagne sheets with cooked leeks for a lower carb option. Now I love lasagne, it's beautiful, but its just so calorie heavy, what with the pasta and the mince and the sauce and the cheese. So I wanted to try and make a lasagne with fewer calories so I can eat more chocolate...haha!

Our idea was to make a lasagne, but replace the pasta sheets with compacted rice. Now technically it's not lasagne at all, but I'm going to keep on calling it that because I can!

Here's how I did it...

First you need to make your basic bolognese, this can be with any meat of your choosing or of course veggie if you wanted. I used lean mince beef in ours. I also like to pack my bolognese with lots of veggies as this bulks it out without adding loads of calories so I added onion, pepper, mushrooms, grated carrot and the customary chopped tomatoes and passata...mmmm!

Once you have your bolognese, it;s just a case of layering it up with your rice and squidging it down. I also added a little bit of grated cheese between the layers seeing as I didn't use a bechamel sauce as I would normally do with lasagne. Then you just pop it under the grill to crisp up and Bob's your Uncle.

I must say it was realllllly tasty! And super filling too, to be honest, if we weren't greedy we could have easily eaten half of one each with a nice salad on the side, maybe I'll do that next time.

Does anyone have any other yummy fakesagne ideas they would like to share? Please do!

Ciao for now,

JB

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Lets Cooks - JB's Super Simple Minestrone.

Hi there Folks,

So as soon as the weather starts to get a little colder and the nights get darker I find myself craving soup. I love the stuff, it does wonders for putting that cosy, warm feeling in your belly. So this week I decided to make a super simple Minestrone soup.

Now personally, I'd say this soup is brilliant for students to make. Being a student myself (albeit not a proper one who only eats baked beans and super noodles) I think that the ingredients of this soup can be found loitering in most student's cupboards and fridge. Also, if you have a pan big enough to make a massive batch you can freeze some for a later date, although I know how stingy halls are on fridge and freezer space but if you've got room it's a winner! Another bonus is that if you're very organised and have a Thermos flask you can take some to uni with you to save you having to buy lunch there as the canteen's can be quite expensive.

So, for this super simple soup you'll need:

2 celery sticks

1 onion

1 pepper

2 garlic cloves (or garlic powder)

2-3 new potatoes (or one normal potato, I only have little ones!)

1 tin of baked beans

2 cartons/tins of chopped tomatoes

Small stack of spaghetti (or any other pasta you fancy)

1 litre of stock (I used fresh chicken stock but vegetable stock cubes are fine!)

Any other vegetables you have floating around in your fridge that need eating up (i.e my green beans!)

Oil

Salt, Pepper and Mixed Herbs for seasoning

So here's how it's done:

1. Chop all your veggies up into bite sized chunks. It doesn't need to be super neat but remember your soup isn't being blended so they can't be too huge!

2. Start by lightly frying the onion and garlic in some oil until softened. Then add the celery, pepper and green beans (or other veg) and cook for a few more minutes. Finally add the potatoes and cook for two minutes.

3. Add the baked beans and chopped tomatoes to the pan and stir through. Then add your stock, stir and place the lid on and leave to simmer for 15 minutes. 

4. Break the spaghetti into small segments and add that and whatever herbs you would like to use as seasoning (I just used mixed herbs). Leave the lid off and simmer for a further 15 minutes or until the spaghetti is cooked.

And there you go...you have some yummy minestrone to warm you up during the chilly days. Serve nice and hot with some bread and butter...yum yum!

Please feel free to share any other yummy soup recipes you love to eat in the colder months!

Ciao for now,

JB

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Lets Cook - 'Spaghetti Bolognese'.

Hi there Folks,

So this is my twist on a classic recipe that I have altered a smidge. As I mentioned in my pulled pork post my boyfriend follows a low carb diet...that means pasta is a definite no no! So to make sure that we can still enjoy our favourites, I switched out the pasta for something a little different!

What you will need:

Packet of minced beef (or lamb or turkey, whatever you please)

1/2 an onion (chopped)

2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)

1 carton of passata

5 tomatoes (chopped)

2 peppers (chopped)

3-4 sun dried tomatoes (finely chopped)

5 mushrooms (I used button - chopped)

2 leeks (thinly sliced lengthways)

Oil

1/2 teaspoon of smoked paprika

1 teaspoon of dried mixed herbs

1/2 teaspoon of chilli flakes

1 beef oxo

Salt and pepper to taste.

1. Add some oil to a pan to heat up over a medium heat. Add the chopped onions and garlic and fry gently. Then add the chopped peppers, sun dried tomatoes and mushrooms and cook for 5 minutes. Finally add the chopped tomatoes, stir in and cook for 2 minutes.

2. Add the minced beef and fry off until it is entirely browned (approximately 5 minutes).

3. Stir in the carton of passata and add the smoked paprika, chilli flakes, beef oxo cube and mixed herbs. Stir thoroughly, turn the heat down to low and leave to simmer for 30-40 minutes. The bolognese should be sticky but not too dry, so stir in a small amount of water if you feel it is drying out. Season to taste before serving

4. Wash your leeks and cut them in half length ways. Then shred them so they're in long thin strips. Add the leeks to a large pan of boiling, salted water and cook for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain thoroughly (they're very wet!)

Serve your bolognese up, add cheese and enjoy!

Although its not the same as pasta, the leek really does make a great alternative for those who are wanting to eat lower carb or maybe have a gluten allergy. Please do let me know if any of you attempt this or if you have any other similar recipes!

Ciao for now,

JB

Lets Cook - Pulled Pork.

Hi there Folks,

Today I'm going to share with you how I make pulled pork. I saw the original recipe whilst watching Food Network UK (you can find that here) and decided to adapt it a little to what I had in my cupboards and what I knew myself and my boyfriend would enjoy.

My boyfriend follows a low carbohydrate diet and so therefore the creamed beans in the recipe were out of the question. So I served my pulled pork with cheesy swede mash and pan friend sprouts as I know he thoroughly enjoys these low carb foods.

On with the recipe....you will need:

A pork belly joint (whatever size is suitable for your family)

500ml chicken stock

2 onions

Oil (I use canola, but olive is fine)

Salt and Pepper

Now the first step I'd never done before until I read the original recipe, but I've tried it twice and had some yummy crackling so I'll keep doing it. You need to boil a full kettle, hold your pork belly vertically with some tongs and pour the whole boiled kettle over the skin of the joint.

I then generously add oil, salt and pepper all over the pork belly and skin and give it a good rub down.

Peel and cut your onions in half and place them in your roasting tray to act as a little seat for your pork belly to sit on.

Place the pork belly on the onions and put into an oven preheated to 220˚C for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes add half your stock and return to the oven for a further 20 minutes. If after this your crackling still looks like it needs a bit of work, add the rest of your stock and return for a further 20 minutes again.

Once your crackling is nice and crispy (be it after the first 40 minutes, or after 60 minutes) turn the oven down to 130˚C and place your pork in for about 2.5 hours. Keep checking and topping up the stock if needed.

Once the pork is cooked, remove from the oven and leave to rest for 15-30 minutes. Once rested remove the crackling and shred. Serve your pulled pork with whatever you do so desire and ENJOY! (I certainly did!)

Ciao for now,

JB