Herbs and Spices!

These are some mixtures that will be popping up in my recipes quite a bit as they're pretty much in everything I make!! Get some jars (I use old coffee ones) and make these! All you need to do is mix them together and then you can make so many different dishes and it's SO much cheaper than buying the stuff from the supermarkets! I suggest going to your local market to buy the herbs and spices :)

Other than my Dad I have no idea where these recipes originally came from...sorry!

Fajita spice mix

Ingredients

3tbsp cornflower

2tbsp chilli powder

1tbsp salt

1tbsp paprika

1tbsp sugar

2 1/2tsp crushed chicken stock cube (I just crushed a few at the beginning and went from there)

1 1/2tsp onion powder (or dried flakes if you can't get powder)

1/2tsp garlic powder (or flakes/chips whatever is available!)

1/2tsp cayenne pepper

1/2tsp cumin

Method

Put this into an air tight jar then repeat until the jar is full! (Or as full as you think you will need it to be) Now you never have to buy packets of fajita mix again!! If, like me, you really like the BBQ fajita mix just add some BBQ sauce while you're cooking the meat and vegetables.

Italian Seasoning

Ingredients

3tbsp dried basil

3tbsp dried thyme

2tbsp dried marjoram

2tbsp dried oregano

1tbsp dried sage

1tbsp dried garlic flakes (or powder)

1tbsp dried rosemary

Method

Again put these into an air tight jar until it is full. A tsp of this mixture can replace the dried herbs in any of my previous recipes! However if I run out of this and can't make any more up I do resort back to my mixed herbs and dried basil.

Lasagne!!

Oh yes!! Remember that bolognese sauce recipe I posted a bit ago? Well here's something else that you can use it in!

**EDIT**

Please don't be put off by how long this recipe is!!! It's really not difficult! :)

Lasagne (serves 3-4)

Ingredients

Bolognese Sauce

250g lean beef mince

1 large onion

2 cloves garlic

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1/2tsp dried mixed herbs

1/2tsp dried basil

1tbsp tomato puree

1 beef stock cube

salt and black pepper

Béchamel Sauce

50g butter

30g plain flour

450ml milk

salt and black pepper

Fresh/dried lasagne sheets (doesn't matter which but I tend to use dried)

Cheese! (whichever you like the most!)

A medium/large casserole dish to bake it in!

Method

Preheat the over to 220°C

Bolognese sauce (incase you can't remember/be bothered looking at the other recipe)

1. Dry fry the mince until it's cooked.

2. Add the chopped onion and fry until it is soft, then add the garlic.

3. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and add the herbs, basil, tomato puree and stock cube (and a little water if it's too thick).

4. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Béchamel Sauce

1. Melt the butter in a pan on a low heat.

2. Once melted add the flour and stir this to form a roux. (It should look glossy and I'll post a pic in here when I have one...)

3. Pour in the milk and bring the heat up a little.

4. Whisk the sauce until it thickens sufficiently. (Whisking disperses any lumps easier than stirring.)

5. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

Assembly

1. Add a thin layer of the bolognese sauce to the bottom of the dish you're using.

2. Now add a layer of pasta sheets.

3. More bolognese sauce but this time add some béchamel before the pasta.

4. Repeat step 3! (Until you have no more sauce left...)

5. On the last layer don't put pasta on top of the béchamel. Instead sprinkle a little cheese over it (I've found it can go oily if you use a lot of cheese so be careful of this) and put it in the oven.

6. Leave it to bake for about half an hour and then serve!

Veggies!

Roasted Mediterranean Vegetables (serves 2..unless you're me)

Ingredients

1 large red onion

2 peppers

6-8 cherry tomatoes

2 cloves of garlic

oil

dried mixed herbs

Method

1. Chop the onions and the peppers roughly. (I normally chop the onion into 8ths and break it up and chop the peppers into rough bite size pieces)

2. Crush the garlic cloves and roughly chop.

3. Chuck all of this into a roasting dish along with the washed cherry tomatoes.

4. Drizzle some oil over (or spray some oil if you liked my last post!) and sprinkle over about 1tsp of the mixed herbs.

5. Make sure all the veg is evenly covered in the herbs and garlic.

6. Roast in a preheated oven (250°C) for about 40mins or until everything is cooked.

7. Serve and eat!

Optional

You can pretty much do the same thing with any vegetable you like. It's nice with courgettes in too!

Just a quick one...

No recipe in this post but I want to tell you all about a revelation I've had! :D

So I'm becoming more health conscious about the things I eat. Not because I want to diet to lose weight etc. but because I want to take care of the body I have as it's the only one I'm gonna get!!

This doesn't just mean eating more veg etc. which is obviously very good for you! But now I'm thinking about where the meat that I'm eating has come from so I'm going to make a conscious effort to go to the local butchers rather than the supermarkets. At least then I can know whether the animal has had a decent life and not feel guilty if it's been bred in poor conditions just so I can buy it at a cheaper price.

Also if you're looking to eat healthier think about how much oil you're putting in your food and cut it down! One easy way I've found of doing this is by buying this magical spray called Fry Light.

It's pretty magical stuff! I've found that if I'm cooking normal stuff I only need to use a couple of sprays in the bottom of the pan and it works great!! It's great for roasting too and in general you just use a lot less oil!

I'm so please with it that I'm going to buy a special oil spray that I can refill so I can continue to use just a tiny bit of oil rather than not really paying attention to how much I'm putting in! :D

Hmm...Time for Italian again?

I think so!!! So here's my basic recipe for a quick and easy bolognese sauce!! Don't feel like there are any limitations with this recipe though! If you want to try something with it go ahead! It's pretty much just some simple foundations for you to go and build a meal from :)

Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients

250g lean beef mince (or whatever meat you prefer)

1 large onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1/2tsp dried mixed herbs

1/2tsp dried basil

1 beef stock cube

1 tbsp tomato puree

salt and black pepper

Method

1. Dry fry the mince in a pan until it is thoroughly cooked. (There should be enough fat in the meat, if it's beef mince, so that you don't need to add any extra oil. If you're using a leaner meat, i.e. chicken or turkey, add a small amount of oil before you cook)

2. Chop the onion and garlic. Add the onion to the pan and fry until it is soft then add the garlic and fry for a further minute.

3. Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree, beef stock cube and a splash of water (if needed) and leave this to simmer for about 10mins.

4. Season to taste and serve however you want to!

Optional

Add in a carrot, some celery or some peppers for added flavour! Or add in any other veg you like! Pretty much anything works :) And if you've got a fussy eater to feed then you can grate pretty much any vegetable into this sauce and they won't have a clue it's there! ;)