Meal 80 - September 28th - Blackened Chicken, San Fran Quinoa Salad
In a moment of potentially disastrous judgement, several months ago Lolz and I signed up to the Ealing Half Marathon, either forgetting or ignoring the fact that it would be happening just days after my sister's wedding. In a typical week prior to a half marathon, I would ensure I was well hydrated by drinking lots of water, I'd ease off the alcohol, go for a couple of short, easy runs, and do a bit of carb loading in the few days prior to the race. Unfortunately this tried an tested regime was abandoned in favour of lots of meat, booze, dancing and general unhealthiness. Lolz had conveniently sustained an injury forcing her to pull out of the race by this point but, I, being much more hard core, would be seeing it through. After getting home from the pub on Saturday afternoon, I decided it was time for a healthy pre-race meal. I opted for this salad, full of quinoa, spinach, lean chicken and other energy-boosting goodness.
Showing posts with label peppers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label peppers. Show all posts
23 Aug 2013
Sizzling Chicken Fajitas, Grilled Peppers, Salsa, Rice and Beans
Meal 70 - August 23rd - Sizzling Chicken Fajitas, Grilled Peppers, Salsa, Rice and Beans
It's Friday again, bank holiday weekend again and another opportunity to tick a few more 15 minute meals off my list. For some reason I haven't done any chicken meals for over two months so I decided to fix that anomaly by attempting these sizzling fajitas. Fajitas are something which I used to cook on a semi regular basis, particularly as a quick, risk free option to cook for friends, but to be honest I always used pre-made fajita spice mix - I've never really considered the DIY option. According to Jamie, that DIY option consists merely of a heaped teaspoon of sweet smoked paprika. Have I been wasting my money on this pre-made stuff all this time, or is this Jamie equivalent overly simplified in order to save time, money and calories?
It's Friday again, bank holiday weekend again and another opportunity to tick a few more 15 minute meals off my list. For some reason I haven't done any chicken meals for over two months so I decided to fix that anomaly by attempting these sizzling fajitas. Fajitas are something which I used to cook on a semi regular basis, particularly as a quick, risk free option to cook for friends, but to be honest I always used pre-made fajita spice mix - I've never really considered the DIY option. According to Jamie, that DIY option consists merely of a heaped teaspoon of sweet smoked paprika. Have I been wasting my money on this pre-made stuff all this time, or is this Jamie equivalent overly simplified in order to save time, money and calories?
11 Mar 2013
Grilled Steak, Ratatouille and Saffron Rice
Meal 23 - March 9th - Grilled Steak, Ratatouille and Saffron Rice
Being Mother's Day tomorrow I spotted an excellent opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and so, after packing up almost the entire kitchen bar the kitchen sink (and the food processor, which was not required for this dish) we set off towards the West Sussex countryside, with my parents being the latest benefactors of my 15 minute meal challenge.
Being Mother's Day tomorrow I spotted an excellent opportunity to kill two birds with one stone and so, after packing up almost the entire kitchen bar the kitchen sink (and the food processor, which was not required for this dish) we set off towards the West Sussex countryside, with my parents being the latest benefactors of my 15 minute meal challenge.
6 Mar 2013
Glazed Pork Fillets, Cajun-style Pepper Rice and BBQ Sauce
Meal 22 - March 5th - Glazed Pork Fillets, Cajun-style Pepper Rice and BBQ Sauce
Going through my worldly possessions at the weekend, Lolz decided a fairly large pile was expendable and hence we took a car load of stuff to one of our favourite weekend hangouts, Smugglers Way tip in Wandsworth (it really is quite an experience).
Going through my worldly possessions at the weekend, Lolz decided a fairly large pile was expendable and hence we took a car load of stuff to one of our favourite weekend hangouts, Smugglers Way tip in Wandsworth (it really is quite an experience).
24 Jan 2013
Sausage Fusilli, Creamy Garden Salad
Meal 9 - Jan 23rd - Sausage Fusilli, Creamy Garden Salad
As I type this latest post, I am literally munching my way through a rather impressive mound of leftovers from last night's latest attempt at a Ja-meal (does that work? No?), and to be honest that is where this dish scores highly - leftoverability. You can easily chuck it in a tupperware and heat it up the next day. Unfortunately though, it is this simplicity that is also the downfall of this dish: for me it is not drastically better than a hastily thrown together pasta and a jar of sauce, albeit a good quality jar of sauce. With the cost of putting the dish together (the jarred peppers cost £2.19 alone) and the mess created during the cooking process (sorry Lolz) I don't think I would be in any hurry to do this again.
I also thought the fennel overpowered the sauce slightly, and the salad was a little boring.
Lolz gave the dish a very generous 8/10, although later downgraded this to a 7 when she saw the state of the kitchen... Difficulty factor 4/10. The only real challenge was in fitting a griddle pan, large saucepan and frying pan all on the same stove.
As I type this latest post, I am literally munching my way through a rather impressive mound of leftovers from last night's latest attempt at a Ja-meal (does that work? No?), and to be honest that is where this dish scores highly - leftoverability. You can easily chuck it in a tupperware and heat it up the next day. Unfortunately though, it is this simplicity that is also the downfall of this dish: for me it is not drastically better than a hastily thrown together pasta and a jar of sauce, albeit a good quality jar of sauce. With the cost of putting the dish together (the jarred peppers cost £2.19 alone) and the mess created during the cooking process (sorry Lolz) I don't think I would be in any hurry to do this again.
I also thought the fennel overpowered the sauce slightly, and the salad was a little boring.
Lolz gave the dish a very generous 8/10, although later downgraded this to a 7 when she saw the state of the kitchen... Difficulty factor 4/10. The only real challenge was in fitting a griddle pan, large saucepan and frying pan all on the same stove.
17 Jan 2013
Pork Steaks, Hungarian Pepper Sauce and Rice
Meal 6 - 16th Jan - Pork Steaks, Hungarian Pepper Sauce and Rice
Looking in the fridge, Lolz decided the fact we had half a fennel bulb left over meant I had to attempt this rather hearty and rustic looking pork fillet number. Finding no reason to object, I got my "15 minute meal head on" as Jamie puts it and realised that, just 17 days and 5 meals into this challenge, I really have developed a 15 minute meal head. Thinking back to my attempt at Rosemary chicken back on the 6th, I remembered cooking equipment and discarded packaging strewn all over the kitchen and numerous health and safety guidelines being willfully flaunted. Today the kitchen is a picture of calmness, ingredients and equipment ready, and various space saving solutions implemented.
The recipe is very simple; cook the rice, chuck all the sauce ingredients in to a pan and let it simmer while you griddle the pork. My only mistake was not sufficiently pre-heating the griddle pan before slapping on the meat. Lesson learned. The end result is basically sweet n sour pork with a twist, with the sauce packed full of veggie goodness. Would probably also work well with sausages in place of the pork fillet.
Lolz gave the dish a "surprising" 9/10. Difficulty factor 3/10.
Looking in the fridge, Lolz decided the fact we had half a fennel bulb left over meant I had to attempt this rather hearty and rustic looking pork fillet number. Finding no reason to object, I got my "15 minute meal head on" as Jamie puts it and realised that, just 17 days and 5 meals into this challenge, I really have developed a 15 minute meal head. Thinking back to my attempt at Rosemary chicken back on the 6th, I remembered cooking equipment and discarded packaging strewn all over the kitchen and numerous health and safety guidelines being willfully flaunted. Today the kitchen is a picture of calmness, ingredients and equipment ready, and various space saving solutions implemented.
The recipe is very simple; cook the rice, chuck all the sauce ingredients in to a pan and let it simmer while you griddle the pork. My only mistake was not sufficiently pre-heating the griddle pan before slapping on the meat. Lesson learned. The end result is basically sweet n sour pork with a twist, with the sauce packed full of veggie goodness. Would probably also work well with sausages in place of the pork fillet.
Lolz gave the dish a "surprising" 9/10. Difficulty factor 3/10.
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