Sesame Croquettes with Corn Dogs

Today you don't need a recipe for this as is so easy to do, is what I call a mess around dinner.

I boiled some potatoes, some onions and some carrots, then I mash them all together adding some seasoning salt & pepper rolled some small portions of these into croquette shapes, passed them through some beaten egg and some bread crumbs with sesame seeds, then fried them slowly in vegetable oil.

To accompaign I done some corn dogs my way, in a bowl a couple of spoons of coarse corn flour a couple of plain flour a little paprika and chilli powder + some salt and pepper, add to that an egg and a couple of spoons of beer to make a batter then dip some plain cocktail sausages in the batter and fry it immediately, after golden drain on some kitchen paper and serve them with the croquettes and some salad of your own taste....however my wife heated some baked beans and it was delicious too like that. You decide :)

Charlotte and Mushroom Penne Pasta Gratin

Receita em PORTUGUES clique AQUI

This was a quick and easy recipe I made to make use of some Charlotte onions that I had in a bag and needed to use before getting spoiled.... ***WARNING**** Very easy and cheap to make.

Recipe Ingredients:

• 20 Charlotte onions (remember these are small onions, pealed and cut in halves)
• 10 medium mushrooms (halved and sliced)
  
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 piece of fresh ginger minced (the size of two garlic cloves)
  
• 2 large carrots (half and sliced very very thinly)
  
• 1 plum tomato tin (chopped)
  
• 2 soup spoons of tomato paste (in a little water)
• 2 cups of milk
• 1 soup spoon of butter
• a pinch of nutmeg
• a pinch of salt and black pepper
• 2 soup spoons of plain flour dissolved in water
• 4 soups spoons of grated cheese + 3 soup spoons of grated cheese (any mature cheddar will do)
• a soup spoon of oregano
• 400grs of penne pasta (other durum wheat pasta will do)
• 5 soup spoons of olive oil
  

It looks like quite a lot of ingredients but really isn't and is really easy and cheap winter food.
Put a pan of water with a little salt and a soup spoon of oil on the stove till is boiling, them put the pasta in and boil until cooked "al dente" which should be around 10 to 12 minutes, once done let in drain in a colander.

Now you need to make two sauces, a bechamel and a tomato one. Start by the tomato one as takes longer. So in a pan on the heat pour the 5 spoons of olive oil the pinch of salt and black pepper plus the minced garlic and ginger, let these cook until golden, as soon as that happens add the onions and the carrots, continue cooking stirring occasionally until the onions are semi transparent, at this stage add the mushroom the tomato tin the tomato paste in a little water, and let this all cook for about 15-20 minutes.

Five minutes before the tomato sauce is done start doing the bechamel and start preheating the oven to 200c. To make the bechamel sauce put on another pan the milk the butter a pinch of salt and black pepper plus the pinch of nutmeg, wait until very hot by this time the butter has melted, add in one go the flour that you previously fully dissolved in some water, always stirring so that it doesn't get lumps, once it thickens add the 3 soup spoons of grated cheese, this will thicken the sauce even more.

Now compose the dish by pouring the pasta into the tomato sauce , mix well, then pour this into a large Pyrex tray, smooth it down with the back of a serving spoon, then evenly pour the bechamel sauce over the tomato and pasta, so that it evenly covers the whole of the pasta, over this with your hand sprinkle the remaining grated cheese, and finally on top sprinkle the oregano and grind some black pepper. Stick this in the preheated oven for 15 minutes until golden brown on top and serve.

this is a lovely vegetarian dish I invented years ago but is always popular in my house, for meat eaters just add a side of plain grilled chicken breast with some melted butter, lemon juice, garlic and parsley poured over the chicken. (or fish well whatever you want :) )

Enchiladas My Way Chicken and Vegetarian

Receita em PORTUGUES clique AQUI

Above you can see the enchiladas i made the small dish is the Vegetarian the large one is the Chicken, this was an easy and cheap recipe to satisfy two different food requirements here in my house, which means you can indeed make this very versatile recipe in either vegetarian version, meat or both like I did.

For this I used....

Recipe Ingredients:

• 1 pack of plain tortilla wraps (or you can make your own)
• 1 large pepper (cut into thin strips)
  
• 1 large onion (cut into thin strips)
• 2 garlic cloves (minced)
• 1 hot chili thinly sliced
  
• 1 can of kidney beans
• 1 can of tomatoes
• a tea spoon of cumin
• a soup spoon of oregano
• 2 medium or 3 small chicken breast slice into thin strips (for the meat ones)
  
• 250grs of Quorn mince (for the vegetarian ones)
• Bechamel sauce (I always make mine but you can buy made if you want)
• 2 large spoons of tomato concentrate (diluted in water to form a thick cream)
• 2 large tomato paste (to add to sauces)
• salt and pepper to taste

Very very easy to make in a wok pour some olive oil, place on the stove until very hot, add then the 1/2 pepper, 1/2 onion, 1/2 garlic, salt and pepper and 1/2 cumin and half of the sliced chilli, cook until the onion browns a bit and then add the oregano and the chicken, always stirring make sure the chicken strips are well sealed, once sealed then add the 1/2 tomato tin and one large spoon of tomato paste.

Let this cook for about 7 minutes, then assemble the Enchiladas: Put a row of filling about one third from the edge on top of that a couple of spoons of bechamel, wrap the soft tortilla around the sauce and lay it in the tray to go in the oven repeat process until the tray is full. Then on top spread some more bechamel sauce and put a line of tomato cream along each roll then sprinkle some oregano and grated cheese, than goes in the oven for about 20-25 minutes gas 200c, until golden brown on top, then serve with some grated carrot and some sliced spring onion or a salad of your choice.

For the vegetarian one exactly same thing just replace the chicken with vegetarian mince (Quorn).

I make the Bechamel sauce as follows: put some milk in a pan add a knob of butter some salt and some pepper (black freshly milled) the also a little nutmeg, once nearly boiling put a couple of spoons of plain flour in a glass and add water til about half of the glass, with a little whisk, mix it well until there are no lumps, pour it all into the hot milk and whisk constantly until thickens up, don't worry if not to thick yet as now you add a hand full of grated cheese, continue to whisk and you should get the most perfect bechamel (the milk you use should be about half a pint 250-300 mils. *tip if to thick add a little more milk while stirring, and if to liquid add a little more flour mixed in water*

Pork Sticky Rib Rack with Courgette Bulgar

I was really hungry for a nice piece of meat but also wanted to balance it out with some veg, so I combined two very different things that ended up complimenting each other perfectly. Sticky pork ribs and vegetarian courgette Bulgar.

Recipe Ingredients:

• Bulgar
• 1 large onion
• 1 large yellow pepper
• 300grs Bulgar
• 1 large carrot
• 1 large courgette
• 2 spoons of tomato paste (with half glass of water)
• 1/2 can of tomato (chopped)
• 1 garlic clove
• 2 bay leafs
• some olive oil
  

Meat

• 1 full pork rib rack
• 2 spoons of Maple syrup
• 1 tea spoon of chili powder
• 1 tea spoon of smoky paprika (or normal is you prefer)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 soup spoons of sesame seeds
  
• a pinch of garlic granules (or a fresh minced garlic)

Preparation:

I started with the pork rack in a cup mix the: syrup, chili powder, salt, pepper, paprika, and garlic. With your fingers rub it on thickly on the rib rack on both sides, then use the sesame seeds and sprinkle them on both sides too.... Stick the rack on a tray on a metal rack so that it cooks well on both sides, gas mark 200c for about 40-60 minutes depending how crispy you want it.

While that is doing let's do the Bulgar. In a pan with boiling water add a glug of oil some salt and pour the Bulgar in, it will take about 10-15 minutes to cook depending how coarse you buy your Bulgar, while that is doing you prepare the veg, peel and slice the carrots, dice the courgette the onion yellow pepper and mince the garlic, put a wok or a large pan on the stove and add a couple of glugs of olive oil, once hot add the onion, garlic, pepper and the bay leafs.

Cook until onion starts to brown, at this stage add the carrots and the courgettes + the 1/2 can of tomatoes and the tomato paste and water, also some salt and pepper to taste. Let this cook for 20 minutes and once is done, in a colander rinse the Bulgar with boiling water drain well and pour it into the sauce, giving it a good stir to mix well, cover the pan with a lid and let it rest for about 5 minutes more (no cooking now just resting) so that the flavours can be absorbed by the Bulgar.
serve it all together and I guarantee you a great meal.