Dusting of the cobwebs; Barbacoa Beef

Well its been a while, a long while since I have written on this little blog of mine. I think I just got a bit disenchanted with the whole "blogging thing". I went through a bit of a tough time at the end of 2015 - I stopped cooking, I stopped writing and I found it very difficult to find joy in anything let alone nourishing my body. 

But life has seasons and I feel the sun on my face more now. I feel hopeful about life and about the future. Life is good and my love of food and cooking is burning bright. My fingers itch to share recipes and at the end of the day this is all I want this space to be - somewhere for me to share my recipes and my thoughts from my little kitchen. I'm not interested in numbers, shares, likes what I care about is the people who have said "I tried your recipe and we still make it regularly" (thanks Lia) and then a very dear friend (Hi Lucinda!) sent me a really lovely message about my blog just as I was about ready to shut it down completely and it has stayed with me...

So who knows how long this will last... we shall see!

Its good to be back 

This is my recipe for Barbacoa Beef which is so tender and so flavourful - its my favourite thing to put in a Taco!

Barbacoa Beef 

1350g beef stewing steak, cut into chunks 

2 tbsp coconut oil 

4 cloves garlic, minced 

2 tbsp chipotle chilli paste (I got mine from Sainsburys)

2 small green chillies, finely chopped 

1 small onion, chopped 

juice of 2 limes 

2 tbsp cider vinegar

3 bay leaves 

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tbsp oregano 

2 tbsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

500ml beef stock

300ml mexican / spanish beer 

brown off the meat in the oil and then add all the other ingredients into the pan. you can the transfer this to a slow cooker and put on low for 5-7 hours or just leave on a low heat for 3-4 hours. its ready when the beef is tender and most of the liquid has gone. using two forks shred the beef and let the beef soak up the remaining juices. remove the bay leaves and serve the beef in a taco with a bit of salad and avocado  

Healthy Weekday Meal #11..........{Fish Tacos with Avocado and Mango Salsa)

Sometimes it's really hard to get back into the swing of things after a holiday and this blog has probably been the biggest casualty of my holiday blues. Oh how I miss the sun and sea and food of Italy. At some point I will actually get round to doing a post on our time there but until then i have a lovely healthy fish taco recipe for you which is perfect after a week of eating a lot of pasta!

Fish Tacos with Avocado and Mango Salsa

selection of fish - I used a piece of cod and a couple of handfuls of raw prawns 

2 limes

2 large tomatoes, diced 

1 medium avocado, diced

1 red onion, diced

1/2 red chilli, finely diced

1 tbsp coriander, finely chopped 

1/2 mango, cubed

lettuce leaves

mini tortillas 

season the fish and squeeze over juice of 1/2 lime, cook of in the coconut oil and leave aside to cool. in separate bowl mix together the tomatoes, avocado, onion, chilli, coriander and mango. season and squeeze over the juice of 1 lime. warm the tortillas in a dry pan. take the tortilla wrap, add a handful of lettuce leaves, a couple of spoonfuls of the salsa and then top with the fish (which i shredded up a bit). Serve 

For the many times we are time poor.............{enchilada bake}

Everyone needs a few "cheat meals" up their sleeve - you know the ones where you grab a few ingredients from jars and packets and make some thing that's pretty tasty and easy. This is one of those meals. I'm not trying to claim its the most natural and homemade meal in the world but it is a damn tasty dinner and its just too easy to make! And by using no bread and brown rice its healthier than your usual enchiladas. I've made this both with the chicken and chorizo but it also tastes just as good without. You can also substitute the rice for quinona as the original recipe that I got the inspiration for this dish from!

Enchilada Bake

(inspiration for this dish came from Damn Delcious)

2 chicken breasts (optional)
50g chorizo (optional)
1/2 tsp chili powder 
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
1 onion, diced 
250g cooked brown rice
200g (1 tin) black beans 
260g (1 tin) sweetcorn 
bunch of coriander, roughly chopped 
1 jar enchilada sauce (I use Discovery)
half jar green (or red) jalapenos
150g Grated cheese, i use a mixture of cheddar and hard mozzarella 

If using chicken and chorizo cook that off and remove from the pan. Add the onions with the spices and cook off in a little olive oil, when soft add in the chorizo and chicken if using, brown rice, jalapenos, beans, sweetcorn and half the coriander, half the cheese and the sauce. mix it all together and then top with remaining cheese. Place in oven for around 20-30 mins until hot all the way through and cheese melted. Serve with remaining coriander, avocado and tomatoes. 

Linking up with Vicky at Honest Mum

The Sandwich Sessions #2........ {Courgette Quesadillas}

My eldest little sister (who blogs over here) gave me the idea a while ago that I should do a blog series on how to take your sandwiches to a whole other level and enjoy this most perfect of comfort foods.

Sandwich #1: Fishfinger sandwich 

Today I'm going for a Mexican toasted sandwich - a quesadilla which I make with courgette, chorizo and lots of gooey melted cheese. You can omit the chorizo if you want this to be vegetarian and you can also omit the spice if you so wish - which I never do! Perfect served with an ice cold beer!

Courgette Quesadillas

1 onion, diced 

50g chorizo, cubed 

olive oil

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2tsp cumin 

2 tbsp tomato puree 
1 tin black beans, drained 
2 courgettes, sliced on the diagonal 
200g cheddar, grated 
green chilli, finely chopped
handful of coriander
limes
tortillas 

take a griddle pan and heat it up, using a pastry brush, brush the courgette with olive oil and then place them on the pan and char-grill them on each side, set aside to cool, season and squeeze over a bit of lime juice. in a separate pan fry off the onion and chorizo in a pan with a tiny splash of oil. once they have softened add in the garlic, cumin and tomato puree and cook off for a couple of minutes. add in the beans along with around 6 tablespoons of water and mash the beans a bit with a fork until you have a rough paste. in a bowl combine the cheese, chilli and  coriander. take a shallow pan and place on tortilla on one half add the beans, courgette and the cheese and then fold it over, pressing down slightly, cook for a few minutes and then turn over and cook for a couple of minutes on the other side. remove from pan and then repeat until you have used all the ingredients. 

I'm linking this "session" with Honest Mummys blog's link up - Tasty Tuesdays! 

An easy option.....{fish tacos with avocado and corn salsa}

Ah this blog of mine, how I have neglected you. I can only blame impending Christmas and so much going on at work. Still, Christmas shopping is nearly done and I'm looking forward to two weeks of work soon! Will be good to rest.

When time is short we turn to tacos a lot in our household. This is a favourite which is really easy and made up of ingredients I always tend to have in the kitchen!

Fish Tacos with Avocado and Corn salsa 

fish, cooked - I used just some breaded fish and cut it in to pieces but I have used steamed salmon and baked cod on occasion (depending on healthy I want to be)

tin of sweetcorn, drained

2 tomatoes, chopped

green chilli, finely chopped

1/2 red onion, diced 

2 avocados, diced

small handful of coriander, chopped 

splash of olive oil

juice of a lime 

wholewheat tortillas 

put corn in a dry pan and cook over heat until the corn is charred, combine all the the other ingredients in a bowl and season. add in the corn and taste - you may want to add more lime. take your cooked fish and lay on a tortilla that has been warmed and add on a healthy amount of the salsa. Devour. 

you can add some cheese if you so wish and I quite often make the salsa minus the sweetcorn. 

How do you like your eggs in the morning?......... {huevos rancheros}

Sunday mornings are usually spent in bed and lets be honest quite often with a slightly sore head from the night before. H usually loves one of my bacon sandwiches on a Sunday morning but recently we have been a bit more health conscious so said sandwich have kind of come of the menu. Instead this weekend I rustled up some Mexican Eggs (Huevous rancheros) which are so tasty with a real kick and totally get rid of any lingering hangover. There are a number of recipes out there for Huevous rancheros and this mine. Enjoy. By the way - this recipe works best when you make it listening to the soundtrack to Chef. 

Huevos Rancheros

handful of chorizo, diced 

1 small onion, diced 

1 green chilli, finely chopped 

1/2 red chilli, finely chopped 

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped 

2 tomatoes, diced 

1 tin chopped tomato

handful of coriander, chopped 

1 tsp smoked paprika

a little grated cheese 

lime 

tortilla wraps, I used wholemeal 

eggs 

fry off your chorizo for a couple of minutes and then add the onion and chilli and a bit of oil if it needs it. cook until soft. add in the garlic and after a few minutes add the fresh tomato. cook until the tomatoes have soften and add the tinned tomato along with the paprika and 2/3rds of the coriander - as always when using tinned tomatoes add a tsp of sugar and season with salt and pepper. allow to simmer for 10 minutes. in the meantime fry as many eggs as you need. brush your tortilla with a little oil and place in hot frying pan and allow it to puff up on each side. place your tortilla on the plate, add a couple spoonful of the tomato mix, squeeze over some lime juice and a sprinkling of cheese. top with the egg, another squeeze of lime and some coriander. 

Spicing up my Life: Chicken Burritos with Sweet Potato Wedges

After a few days of bland bland food, today my taste buds were craving warmth of the chilli variety. That craving paired with the chicken that I removed from yesterday's chicken soup led me to decide on a recipe of the Mexican variety. This dish is so simple, tasty and has a great kick of heat - perfect warm and colourful food for these dark and dreary evenings! Please note - This recipe was originally from Mr Bill Granger but having made it so many times it's second nature, however credit where credit is due!!

Chicken Burritos with Sweet Potato Wedges

1 large sweet potato
Paprika
1 red onion, sliced thinly
1 1/2 green chillis, chopped finely (use less or more depending on how hot you like it)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin kidney beans
chopped coriander
Iceberg lettuce shredded, i didn't have this so just used some yummy spinach
cooked chicken, shredded
tomatoes, cubed
Avocado, sliced
tortilla ( i used a wholewheat one)

So simply chop your sweet potato into large chunks (i don't bother removing the skin although you may want to), lightly drizzle with oil (i used my olive oil spray) to coat them, season and shake on some paprika. Put in oven on a relatively high heat and let them cook - they took around 30 minutes, turning a couple of times.
While these are cooking warm a bit of olive oil in a pan,  throw in your onion and chilli and cook until soft (around 5 mins). Add cumin and coriander and mix until the spice coats the ingredients. Add in the tomatoes and beans, a teaspoon of sugar at this point can help the sweetness of the tomatoes along. Turn the heat down and allow to simmer for about 10 minutes

Yum Yum!
Now its time to get all your accompaniments ready: Shred up your cooked chicken (lovely and moist still from yesterdays soup), chop a bit of coriander (although to be fair i just pulled the leaves away from the stems), finely chop some red onion, dice up some fresh tomato and make sure you've got some lime wedges (I love limes so much).....

I leave the avocado until the last minute so it doesn't go brown
Warm your tortilla (30 secs in microwave does it), spread your spinach / lettuce along the middle and then layer on your tomato and bean mixture. add the shredded chicken and avocado slices on top and then sprinkle with coriander, tomato and onion. wrap it all up (if you can, which i couldn't as i was only having one so i made it big) and add the wedges on the side

And there you have it, one yummy, relatively healthy and filling Mexican stylee dinner!
You can of course add all sorts of things to your burrito - cheese, sour cream, salsa, jalapenos etc etc but I think mine are just perfect how they are. Another bonus is that the leftovers are packed up ready to be assembled for my lunch tomorrow - my office will be jealous!