super simple turkey bake...

I love dishes where everyone gets to tuck in and help themselves. It brings people together and I just love sharing food around the table. I've found a nice festive bake to make use of all the Christmas dinner leftovers. This is delicious and obviously the recipe is just a guide, so feel free to chuck in anything else you might like. I love mushrooms so add those in to almost everything I cook.

Ingredients:
stuffing, use leftovers if you have some, if not you can use a packet mix if you are not up to making another batch to cover the top of the bake.
turkey, enough to feed four, feel free to add some leftover ham to this aswell if you dont have enough turkey.
brocolli, again use the left overs this is what this recipe is all about, maybe even cook some extra on Christmas day so you know you have enough for both days.
1 can of condensed cream of chicken soup
3/4 cup of milk
grated cheese, enough to taste, leftovers from the cheese plate are great for this.

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius.
2. Combine your turkey and brocolli in a baking dish.
3. Mix the soup, milk and cheese and pour over the top of the turkey and brocolli.
4. Top with the stuffing and place in the oven to bake for 30 minutes. It really is as easy as that!

This is so quick and easy, you would be crazy not to try it.

Merry Christmas!

turkey, turkey, turkey...

Rosemary Scented Turkey Quesadillas with Cranberry Salsa

In our house the left over turkey from Christmas day usually gets made up into a delicious turkey curry or popped between a couple of slices of bread and served up as sandwiches until it has all been devoured. I thoroughly enjoy both of these but thought how nice it might be to serve up something different. I've had a scout around and come up with a few new recipes that I will share with you. I found this recipe in a healthy eating magazine and have already tried and tested it so i know not only do they taste amazing but they are pretty healthy too. They taste light and fresh and are the perfect meal for the day after Christmas when you may have overindulged a little too much.

Ingredients:
8 Stalks celery, minced
1 yellow onion, minced
100g fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped (thawed, if frozen)
2 large pears, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
Juice 1 orange
1/2 tsp sea salt
fresh ground black pepper, to taste
1/2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 tbsp dried rosemary
500g shredded turkey, if you are not using leftover turkey you could use ground turkey for this.
8-15 corn tortillas (6-inch diameter)
grated cheese, enough to taste, why not use up the left overs from the cheese platter and create lots of different flavour combinations.

1. To prepare the salsa add 2 stalks of celery, 1/2 onion, cranberries, pear, 1 clove of garlic and orange juice. Season with sea salt and black pepper. Set aside for later.
2. Preheat a large non stick frying pan or skillet and add the remaining celery and onion and cook for 3 minutes. Add in the rosemary and the remaining garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. If you are using the ground turkey add this now and cook for 5 minutes breaking it up as you do. With a fine mesh colander drain the turkey mixture and leave to sit in a large bowl. If you are using leftover turkey you just add this to the bowl of celery, onion, rosemary and garlic now.
3. Wipe out the frying pan or skillet and reheat to a medium heat. Add a tortilla to the frying pan then add a few spoons of mixture to cover the tortilla. Sprinkle cheese to cover. I like a lot of cheese so I get a little carried away at this point. Leave this to cook undisturbed for 3 minutes.
4. With a spatula gently fold the tortilla in half and cook for one minute gently pressing the tortilla closed if need be.
5. divide the quesadillas between the plates and add some salsa to garnish. They are so tasty, you will just love them.

I love making quesadillas as you can add any leftovers you have in the fridge and make delicious snacks in no time. They can be as simple or adventurous as you like and always go down a treat. I love to add some sour cream to top mine off perfectly. Enjoy.

cheeky chicken and leek bake...

I've always been a huge fan of a great bake. There is something so comforting about a delicious bake and I just love serving one up in my Emma Bridgewater baker and leaving everyone dig in and help themselves. It's such a great way to use leftovers aswell and transform them into something new and delicious.

This is one that I cook over and over again and I've never had anyone not want to go back for seconds. It is so delicious and really great on cold winter evenings served up with some baby potatoes and green beans, or just as nice in the summer with some fresh salad.

Ingredients
1 tbsp oil
4 chicken breasts, diced
2 leeks, washed and sliced
25g butter
2tbsp plain flour
300ml semi-skimmed milk
125g Cheddar cheese, grated
mushrooms, optional, I just can never have too many mushrooms.

1. Heat the oil in a non stick frying pan and add the chicken. Cook for 5 minutes.
2. Add the leeks and cooks for a further 10 minutes while covered.
3. Meanwhile in a small saucepan melt the butter and add the flour. Stir and cook for 1 minute.
4. Take the saucepan off the heat and gradually stir in the milk, bring to the boil until thickened, then season and add half the cheese. Stir until melted.
5. Place the chicken in an ovenproof baking dish and pour over the cheese sauce.
6. Sprinkle over the remaining cheese (at this point I usually decide I need more cheese) and place under a preheated grill until all the cheese is golden and bubbling.

My mouth is watering just thinking about this. You must try it, I'm almost certain you'll love it.

cosy cobbler...

This is a recipe me and my friend found to test out some new bakers that were being produced at work. If I remember correctly I think we ate the whole thing that night but did bake another one for an office birthday party that was being held the next day so we could share our triumph. It is so delicious and really easy to make and light on the washing up too.

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
Pinch of salt
1 cup milk
2 tins of peach slices
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Ground cinnamon, nutmeg or a vanilla pod

1. Preheat the oven to 180° celcius, gas mark 4.
2. Melt the butter in a large oven proof baker.
3. Combine the flour, 1 cup sugar, the baking powder and the salt in a bowl.
4. Add the milk, stirring just until dry ingredients have all been combined.
5. Pour the batter over the melted butter but do not stir.
6. Bring the remaining 1 cup of sugar, the peach slices and the lemon juice to the boil over a high heat while stirring constantly.
7. Remove from the heat and pour over the batter in the baker and again do not stir.
8. Sprinkle with cinnomon or nutmeg if desired. I tend to prefer nutmeg or even add some vanilla to the milk for a super luxurious taste.
9. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes or until golden brown.

You can serve the cobbler warm or cool and I love to add a big scoop of vanilla icecream on top. Delicious.

super salmon...

I have always been a massive fan of cooking shows and really got into Masterchef Australia this year. I love going to nice restaurants and having not only delicious food served to me but something that looks amazing aswell. I love to cook at home but never quite managed the restaurant look on a plate until I saw this recipe. It was a masterchef cook along so I got to cook with the chef on tv and it really could not have been easier. If you are having a dinner party or just want to impress someone with your restaurant standard food then this is the recipe for you and it's quick and easy too.

Pan-fried Salmon with Baby Brocolli and Orange Sauce
Serves: 4
Ingredients:
8 Navel Oranges, these are the big guys with the sticky out bit at the end
360g or two bunches of baby brocolli
4 skinless salmon fillets at room temperature
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
30g unsalted butter cubed

1. Cut off the tops and bottoms of 2 oranges. This next bit is a bit tricky, using a large sharp knife, cut away the peel and white pith from the oranges, following the curve of the oranges from top to bottom. With one orange in your hand, work over a bowl and make 2 cuts along the membranes on either side of a segment, then lift the segment out of the membranes and drop it into the bowl. Repeat until all the segments from both oranges have been removed. Set the segments aside. Squeeze the membranes over a small saucepan to release as much juice as possible. Squeeze enough juice from the remaining 6 oranges to make about 2 cups total juice.

2. Place the saucepan over a medium heat for about 7-10 minutes until the liquid reduces a little and becomes syrupy. Remove from the heat and cover to keep warm.

3. Meanwhile bring a medium saucepan of salted water to the boil. Add the baby brocolli and cook for two minutes or until a really bright green colour. Then remove and place in iced water to cool completely. Then remove and pat dry.

4. Heat a large non stick frying pan and add a little olive oil. Dust the salmon fillets with a little salt and black pepper then place the salmon in the pan and cook for 3 minutes before turning over and cooking the other side for 1-2 minutes. If you like your salmon a little well cooked then leave on for another minute or so. Remove these from the frying pan and leave to rest for a couple of minutes.

5. Remove any excess oil from the frying pan and add the brocolli and cook for a minute or two before adding a tbsp of butter to the pan. Swirl around to coat the brocolli. Cook for another 2-3 minutes and season with salt and black pepper.

6. Now for the fun bit. Divide the brocolli between the four plates, then top with the salmon. Garnish with the orange segments. Whisk the remaining butter into the orange sauce and pour over the salmon.

Yummy. I'm feeling peckish just thinking about this dish. I have made it a few times and although it looks like a lot of instructions this can all be cooked in under half an hour. Easy Peasy. Enjoy!!

http://recipes.coles.com.au/recipes/2935/pan-fried-salmon-with-baby-broccoli-and-orange-sauce/

mmmm banana bread...

Whilst living in London I was lucky enough to be able to work for one of the most amazing companies, Emma Bridgewater. We had such a fun friendly office I used to spring out of bed each morning looking forward to the day ahead. We held office tea parties for birthdays, celebrations and for any other reason we could see fit and this is when I discovered that a lot of the ladies had a signature bake, Julia make lemon drizzle and Sarah made chocolate brownies and I didn't have something I could call my own, so I went in search of my signature bake and I found banana bread. A super simple recipe and it goes down a real treat. Toasted with some real butter or just on its own, the loaf never lasted long in our office.

Ingredients:
250g plain flour
1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda
pinch of salt
115g butter
115g brown soft sugar
2 eggs, beaten
500g over ripe bananas

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celcius/ gas mark 4. Lightly grease a loaf tin
2. In a large bowl combine the flour, bicarbonate of soda and the salt.
3. In a seperate bowl cream together the butter and brown sugar and add the eggs and mashed bananas. I tend to cheat at this step and add use a hand blender to get this mixture nice and smooth. It also cuts down on the time spent creaming the butter.
4. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture. Dont over mix, Just stir until it is all combined.
5. Pour the mixture into a loaf tin. Pop into the preheated oven and bake for 60-65 minutes until a skewer inserted into the centre of the loaf comes out clean.
6. Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before turning out on a cooling rack. Then slice and enjoy.

I have also made a chocolate chip banana bread by simply adding some chocolate chips to the mixture and you could even bake the mixture in a muffin tray to get beautiful banana muffins.

falafel fun...

Up until about two years ago I didn't have a clue what chickpeas could be used for. I always saw them available in the supermarket but never knew what possibilities they held. I remember going home to Ireland and opening my moms store cupboard and there was at least four tins in there. I asked her what she used them for but she had just bought them hoping someone would tell her what to do with them too. I had an amazing chickpea curry in a bar next to where I lived in London once but what really got me excited was when I discovered how to make my own falafels. Chickpeas are so cheap and easy to get hold of. You can store them for ages so they really are a great buy.

Here is my recipe for making falafels. You can add more spice or less spice depending on how much heat you like. They keep in the fridge for days so what I usually do is make a big batch and that covers me for work lunches for the week.

Ingredients:
chickpeas 2 x 400g tins drained and rinsed
1 onion chopped, I like to use a red onion but either work well.
2 tbsp of fresh flatleaf parsley
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 tsp of flour
1 tsp of ground cumin
1 tsp of ground coriander
pinch or more of cayenne pepper
pinch of sea salt
olive oil to fry
if you need help binding the ingredients you can also add 1 beaten egg

1. Add the drained and rinsed chickpeas along with the chopped onion and garlic, flatleaf parsley, cumin, coriander, cayenne pepper and sea salt to a food processor. Blitz until it becomes a rough paste. Don't blend it until it is completely smooth as it will be difficult to work with.
2. Using floured hands shape the mixture into patties. I usually make them just bigger than bitesize but have also made them larger and had them as falafel burgers so it's up to you what size you make your own as long as they are between 1-2cm think.
3. Once you have shaped all your patties put on a plate and cover and pop in the fridge for 30 minutes.
4. Heat some oil in a frying pan. Add your falafels and cook for 4 to 5 minutes on each side until they turn golden brown amd are cooked through. You may have to cook these in batches if you have quite a few. Be patient because they will be worth it.

To serve I usually toast some pittas, then add hummus which I like to make myself from another tin of chickpeas, a squeeze of lemon juice, a clove of garlic, some black pepper and a pinch of sea salt. I then add some lettuce, cucumber and chopped tomato and of course the tasty falafels. Makes a delicious lunch or snack and a pretty healthy one at that too.