[BigMackCam]

Balkan style savory cheese pie (Gibanica, but the "c" reads as "ts"). Easy, tasty and filling!

That sounds and looks delicious! I'll definitely have a go at making this - though, like you, I'll be using store-bought filo pastry. Morrisons (one of our major UK chains, with a branch very near my home) own-brand filo - sold as a pack of sheets - is excellent... Even if I tried to make my own, it wouldn't be nearly as good

[Serkevan]

Even if I tried to make my own, it wouldn't be nearly as good

And that is exactly my reasoning .

[RJSmith]

Smoked Baked Salmon.:

Brush both sides with liquid smoke. Season with cracked black pepper and sea salt. Bake on 275*F oven for 30 minutes then 5-7 minutes on broil. The center is incredibly moist and the outer skin has a nice light crunch.

[Mooncatt]

My wife makes a rather photogenic stew! Lol

It takes a bit of work, but one of my favorites breakfast meals is cream cheese pancakes similar to this recipe (we don't use cinnamon).

Cream Cheese Pancakes - Low Carb & Gluten Free - IBIH

Then top them with a strawberry cream cheese sauce. We use this recipe, but only refrigerate the mixture so it doesn't firm up.

Guest Post: Strawberry Cheesecake Fat Bombs | Low-Carb, So Simple!

Attached Images

View Picture EXIF

File Date

 

[BigMackCam]

Smoked Baked Salmon.:

Brush both sides with liquid smoke. Season with cracked black pepper and sea salt. Bake on 275*F oven for 30 minutes then 5-7 minutes on broil. The center is incredibly moist and the outer skin has a nice light crunch.

That looks delicious. We rarely eat salmon or any other oily fish, as my Mum and especially my Dad don't particularly enjoy it, and I rarely (if ever) cook anything just for myself... but there's a great seafood deli and cafe a few miles from my home that I occasionally visit to eat in, and they always have great salmon. Most of what they supply is locally caught and prepared on-site...

Award Winning Seafood Deli | Latimers Seafood Deli & Cafe

[BigMackCam]

Here's my own take on a "chow mein"... similar to what I'd buy from my nearest good Chinese take-away, but heavier on the meat and veg... and, if it's not immodest to say, even tastier.

If you like Chinese-style food, give this a try... It's easy, reliable and awesome

Favourite Pork Chow Mein

Approx 1kg (2lbs) diced pork (if you prefer, use chicken or beef)
250g (9oz) x medium egg noodles
1 x large white onion, halved and sliced
2 x red, orange or yellow bell peppers, de-seeded and cut into bite-size pieces
300g (10oz) x white closed-cup or chestnut mushrooms, sliced thickly
6 x cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
Light soy sauce
Dark soy sauce
White rice vinegar
Sesame oil
Fine salt
Caster ("extra fine") sugar
Chinese five spice powder
Cooking oil (sunflower, canola, etc.)

At least a couple of hours before cooking the meal (or preferably the night before):

Make the marinade using 4 tbsp light soy sauce, 4 tbsp white rice vinegar, 2 tbsp sesame oil, 1 tsp fine salt and 2 tsp Chinese five spice powder. Combine and mix well.

Using a sharp, non-serrated knife, slice the chunks of meat (across the grain for tenderness) into thin, bite-size pieces.

Transfer meat to a bowl, pour over the marinade, and massage thoroughly with your hands until all of the meat is well coated.

Place lid on the bowl (or cover with clear food wrap) and place in the refrigerator (not the freezer!) until needed.

For the main recipe:

In a large pan of boiling water, cook the egg noodles as per the instructions on the packet (typically 4 - 5 minutes). Drain, pour over cold water, allow to stand for a minute, drain again, then add 2 tbsp sesame oil and toss to prevent the noodles from sticking together.

In 1 tbsp cooking oil, sauté the marinaded meat pieces over a medium heat until fully (but not over-) cooked. Transfer to a bowl using a slotted spoon, and pour any remaining juices into a jug.

To the jug, add 5 tbsp light soy sauce, 5 tbsp dark soy sauce, 2 tbsp white rice vinegar and 1 tsp caster ("extra fine") sugar. Micro-wave for 30 seconds to help the sugar dissolve fully, and mix well.

In 1 tbsp cooking oil, sauté the onions, bell peppers and garlic until just translucent but still crunchy (around 2 minutes should do it), and set aside.

Gently sauté the mushrooms to release some of the liquid, drain and add to the large pan of noodles, along with the meat, onions, peppers and garlic.

Pour the jug of sauce into the pan, and toss everything (I use tongs for this) so that the noodles, meat, vegetables and mushrooms are mixed and coated well.

Place over a medium heat to warm through, stirring occasionally to make sure everything is heated properly and coated evenly.

Serves six

[SimonC]

This is my favourite home curry recipe, I tend to use 6 or 7 breasts, 5 or 6 onions double up on the spices (proper heaped), 1.25 pint of water and freeze portions. For the two of us I'd say it makes 5 to 6 meals.

It is always better the next day if eating fresh.

Chicken Madras (4 or 5 persons)

Ingredients

3 Large onions peeled and chopped
3 Chicken breasts
1 tbsp Fresh lemon juice
2 chillies red chillies chopped
1 tsp Garam masala
1 tsp Garlic paste (I like Rajah Miced Paste, don't use too much)
1 tsp Ginger paste (I like Rajah Miced Paste, don't use too much)
3 tsp Tomato puree
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Ground cumin
1 tsp Ground coriander
2 tsp Ground turmeric
1 tsp Salt
5 tbsp Cooking oil
Chopped fresh coriander

Method

• Boil onions in 3/4 pint of water for approximately 25 minutes. Remove from heat and add chopped chilies, blend until smooth.
• Fry Chicken in the Oil. Mix all the ingredients together in a boiling pot or heavy based saucepan, start cooking over a high flame uncovered.
• When the ingredients begin to boil stir them with a wooden spoon continue to cook for another 5 minutes stir again and turn the flame to medium and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently, to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan, now turn the flame to low and cover the pot with the lid.
• Cook for another 35 minutes do not remove the lid and do not stir. Remove from the heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Add chopped coriander.

Enjoy

---

Last edited by SimonC; 11-25-2020 at 02:07 AM.

[BigMackCam]

This is my favourite home curry recipe, I tend to use 6 or 7 breasts, 5 or 6 onions double up on the spices (proper heaped), 1.25 pint of water and freeze portions. For the two of us I'd say it makes 5 to 6 meals.

Your chicken madras sounds excellent, and just my kind of food - both in terms of the preparation (which is within my culinary skills ) and in the eating. I do love a good curry, so I think I might make this next week

It is always better the next day if eating fresh.

I find that's almost always the way with curry, chilli, pasta sauces, etc. - anything, in fact, with a sauce and/or spice-laden. I even find that that cooked portions that are subsequently frozen then re-heated a few days later typically taste better... at least, I think they do, and so do my Mum & Dad. For lunch today I'm reheating some frozen home-made pasta sauce (with tomatoes, smoked sausage, mushrooms, onions, bell pepper) and serving it over jacket potatoes with some freshly grated parmesan. The sauce was delicious when we had it with fusilli pasta last week, but I know it's going to taste even better today

[Benz3ne]

I made a pot roast a couple weekends ago with just a chunk of beef, a can of cream of mushroom soup, a lipton onion packet, and a couple cans of water. Turn on the crockpot (slow cooker) right before bed. Come morning the lunch entree is already ready.


Made a gravy for the (instant) mashed potatoes with my first attempt at a roux base but added too much flour. The gravy worked albeit a bit lumpy, but the flavor was phenomenal. The leftover gravy, however, thickened to a paste! Didn't think I used too much flour but a little goes a long way apparently.

A little flour goes a long way, even littler cornflour goes even further!
I've found with a roux that twice as much flour to butter is a good place to start then top up with milk as you see fit (for white sauces).

For gravy, I've found cornflour an absolute doddle. Pop a tablespoon or couple of teaspoons in a cup/bowl/jug/whatever, add around 50-100mL cold water and mix thoroughly til no lumps (I've got a nice little mixing 'jug' with a stopper lid - you can shake it without the lid coming off and it has a pouring neck). Add that slowly to your filtered stock + butter + seasoning/herbs with constant mixing whilst over a medium-high heat. You can absolutely gauge how thick you're getting it then as the more cornflour slurry you add, the thicker it gets! Very simple.

Bear in mind if you reheated your gravy paste and gave it a quick stir it'd be as fluid as before it cooled!

[Benz3ne]

This is my favourite home curry recipe, I tend to use 6 or 7 breasts, 5 or 6 onions double up on the spices (proper heaped), 1.25 pint of water and freeze portions. For the two of us I'd say it makes 5 to 6 meals.

It is always better the next day if eating fresh.

Chicken Madras (4 or 5 persons)

Ingredients

3 Large onions peeled and chopped
3 Chicken breasts
1 tbsp Fresh lemon juice
2 chillies red chillies chopped
1 tsp Garam masala
1 tsp Garlic paste (I like Rajah Miced Paste, don't use too much)
1 tsp Ginger paste (I like Rajah Miced Paste, don't use too much)
3 tsp Tomato puree
1 tsp Paprika
1 tsp Ground cumin
1 tsp Ground coriander
2 tsp Ground turmeric
1 tsp Salt
5 tbsp Cooking oil
Chopped fresh coriander

Method

• Boil onions in 3/4 pint of water for approximately 25 minutes. Remove from heat and add chopped chilies, blend until smooth.
• Fry Chicken in the Oil. Mix all the ingredients together in a boiling pot or heavy based saucepan, start cooking over a high flame uncovered.
• When the ingredients begin to boil stir them with a wooden spoon continue to cook for another 5 minutes stir again and turn the flame to medium and continue to cook for another 10 minutes, stirring frequently, to prevent sticking to the bottom of the pan, now turn the flame to low and cover the pot with the lid.
• Cook for another 35 minutes do not remove the lid and do not stir. Remove from the heat and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Add chopped coriander.

Enjoy

Yup, this sounds right up my ally. Diolch yn fawr - thanks a lot!

[BigMackCam]

I hesitate to even post this as a recipe, because it barely qualifies... but it has become a favourite winter breakfast of mine, and tastes of Christmas

Serves 1, so scale ingredients as necessary:

Christmas Semolina Porridge and Banana

35g x fine semolina (or farina wheat - but don't use the flavoured and/or quick-cook varieties )
400ml x semi-skimmed (half fat) milk
Knob of salted butter - about the same amount you'd use to butter a thick slice of toast (if using unsalted butter, add a pinch of salt to compensate)
1 x tsp cinnamon powder (pre-ground is perfectly good enough... no need to use freshly grated)
Pinch of freshly ground black pepper
1 x tsp caster (or "extra fine") sugar, or (if you must ) granulated low-cal sweetener
1 x small banana, sliced into discs
Runny honey

In a small saucepan, add the semolina (or farina wheat), cinnamon, pepper and caster sugar
Pour in the milk, stir well with a whisk then set over a medium heat, stirring occasionally (to avoid the semolina clumping on the base of the pan)
As the porridge begins to thicken, add the butter (and salt if using unsalted butter) and stir well
When the mixture starts bubbling, reduce heat to minimum and keep stirring vigorously for 2 minutes (if it gets too thick, add a splash of milk)

Pour into a bowl, arrange sliced banana on top, drizzle with runny honey and dust with a tiny pinch of cinnamon powder.

This is Christmas in a bowl, but suitable for any cold day. It's a really satisfying breakfast that provides lots of energy and keeps hunger at bay all morning. It's perfect before a long walk (or yard work!) in cold weather

[SimonC]

Your chicken madras sounds excellent, and just my kind of food - both in terms of the preparation (which is within my culinary skills ) and in the eating. I do love a good curry, so I think I might make this next week



I find that's almost always the way with curry, chilli, pasta sauces, etc. - anything, in fact, with a sauce and/or spice-laden. I even find that that cooked portions that are subsequently frozen then re-heated a few days later typically taste better... at least, I think they do, and so do my Mum & Dad. For lunch today I'm reheating some frozen home-made pasta sauce (with tomatoes, smoked sausage, mushrooms, onions, bell pepper) and serving it over jacket potatoes with some freshly grated parmesan. The sauce was delicious when we had it with fusilli pasta last week, but I know it's going to taste even better today

Thanks.

I think it is the closest I get to restaurant / takeaway curry (and a decent one at that).

We must have similar taste as I like the look of your Chow Mein recipe

All the best Simon

[Serkevan]

I even find that that cooked portions that are subsequently frozen then re-heated a few days later typically taste better... at least, I think they do, and so do my Mum & Dad. For lunch today I'm reheating some frozen home-made pasta sauce (with tomatoes, smoked sausage, mushrooms, onions, bell pepper) and serving it over jacket potatoes with some freshly grated parmesan. The sauce was delicious when we had it with fusilli pasta last week, but I know it's going to taste even better today

Yep. It's common consensus at my parents' place that legumes (lentil and/or bean stews in particular) always taste better the day after cooking, or even after thawing the "for next week or so" portions.

[BigMackCam]

A little flour goes a long way, even littler cornflour goes even further!
I've found with a roux that twice as much flour to butter is a good place to start then top up with milk as you see fit (for white sauces).

For gravy, I've found cornflour an absolute doddle. Pop a tablespoon or couple of teaspoons in a cup/bowl/jug/whatever, add around 50-100mL cold water and mix thoroughly til no lumps (I've got a nice little mixing 'jug' with a stopper lid - you can shake it without the lid coming off and it has a pouring neck). Add that slowly to your filtered stock + butter + seasoning/herbs with constant mixing whilst over a medium-high heat. You can absolutely gauge how thick you're getting it then as the more cornflour slurry you add, the thicker it gets! Very simple.

Bear in mind if you reheated your gravy paste and gave it a quick stir it'd be as fluid as before it cooled!

I far prefer the cornflour + cold water mixture for thickening instead of a roux, whether it's for gravies, sauces, casseroles, soups etc. I always have trouble with either under- or over-cooking a roux, and I never seem to get the quantities right. It's so much easier with the cornflour method

[Benz3ne]

I far prefer the cornflour + cold water mixture for thickening instead of a roux, whether it's for gravies, sauces, casseroles, soups etc. I always have trouble with either under- or over-cooking a roux, and I never seem to get the quantities right. It's so much easier with the cornflour method

I'll have to try it sometime soon for white sauces. Recently did a lovely fish pie where flour has been a resounding success:

Smoked Haddock
Salmon
Prawns (raw or cooked)
(+/- your choice of smoked or unsmoked fish - bass worked well previously).
1x med white onion
Frozen Peas (to preference)
Butter (circa 50g)
Flour (2tsp)
Wholegrain mustard (1tsp)
Salt + Pepper (pinch, to preference)
Milk (probably use between 400-600mL - eyeball for level, depends on how much you're making)
Maris piper or similar potatoes (to top fish pie)
Mature cheddar (to preference)

1. Lightly brown the onion then set to one side.
2. Peel (if you like) and start boiling your potatoes.
3. Make a roux - use the butter and add flour slowly while mixing under a low heat. Add the milk with constant stirring under a low-med heat initially before turning up, and continue to mix open-topped until thick. I've used soy milk for this and it's worked perfectly. Add peas at this stage and accommodate for added water with a little heat.
4. Add your de-skinned, chunkily-chopped fish and mix in. Add the browned onions and mix in. Add in wholegrain mustard and any seasoning you like. Keep heat on low to keep warm.
5. Keep eye on potatoes - you want them mashable but not too runny. Mash until reasonably fine (add butter if you like) and set aside.
6. Place fish & sauce mixture into an ovenable dish, spread mashed potato on top (be sure to press it to the edges of your dish) and add cheese if your heart so desires.
7. Oven-bake at around 200°C (I've done this with a fan oven but regular convection oven would likely cope fine) for around 30-35 minutes, until golden on top.
8. Eat, eat and eat some more.

I've found roasted carrots to be a good accompaniment to this. It's cosy, hearty and wholesome, suitable for pescatarians and a firm favourite.