Half term means that it’s time to relax and re-stock my
freezer. I can spend days batch cooking
whilst I catch up on TV programmes that I tend to miss when it’s crazy at
work. I tried a few recipes over my week
off, but the two I’ve put in this post were the winners! The curry is amazing and freezes well. It’s a
bit like a korma dish and is extremely creamy, but without the cream and the
fat. The quinoa dish is really tasty too
and a handy one for lunches as it makes a massive amount- I think I got about 5
lunches out of it.
Chicken and peanut butter curry
This recipe
was in the Asda magazine and the cooking time given was an hour- half an hour
easily does for this dish though. It freezes perfectly too and can serve up to
six people.
Ingredients:
A drizzle of
olive oil
500g diced
chicken breast
2 onions,
chopped
2 cloves of
garlic, crushed
1 tsp ground
cumin
½ tsp chilli
flakes
¼ tsp
cinnamon
2 peppers,
deseeded and chopped
125g crunchy
peanut butter (I didn’t quite had enough so had to use some smooth peanut
butter as well, it worked just fine)50g tomato puree
¾ pint of
chicken stock (1 stock cube)
2 medium
sweet potatoes, diced
1 tbsp
cornflour mixed with 2 tbsp of water
Method:
1. Fry
the chicken in a little of the olive oil until the meat is sealed. Put the meat
and the juices in a bowl and set to one side.
2. Fry
your onion and garlic in a little more oil until he onion has softened. Then
add all of your spices and give the mix a good stir.
3. Throw
in the peppers, 100ml of water (not the stock-this is an extra dash of water
first) and allow the mix to start simmering. At this point, add the tomato
puree and peanut butter, making sure you mix it in well.
4. Throw
the chicken into the pan along with the sweet potato and the stock. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Keep giving
the curry a good stir now and then as the peanut butter can stick to the bottom
of the pan.
5. Check
the chicken is cooked through, then stir in the cornflour and water mix to
thicken the curry a little.
Serve with
either brown rice or some cauliflower rice.
 |
| Peanut butter and chicken curry |
This recipe
was in another magazine, though I have adapted it slightly. It’s a really good
side dish with fish. I also like it for lunch and mix a tin of tuna in with it
(season your tuna with a little salt and pepper and a squeeze of lemon juice
before you add it your quinoa mixture).
Ingredients:
250g quinoa
50g of pine
nuts (though the recipe states walnuts as another option instead)
Raisins and
apricots (the recipe says 75g raisins, I used a lot more that this and
sprinkled in some apricots too- keep adding fruit until it looks like there’s
enough to suit your taste in the quinoa)
Juice of 1
lemon 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
Leaves from
a bunch of fresh, flat-leaf parsley, roughly torn
Sea salt and
black pepper
Method:
1.
Rinse
your quinoa REALLY well and cook according to the packet instructions- this is
usually a case of cover it with water, add a LITTLE salt, bring to the boil and
simmer for around 20 minutes until it is cooked. You might need to add more water as it cooks,
so keep an eye on it as it is boiling.
2.
Fry the pine nuts in a hot frying pan (a dry
pan, no oil needed) for a couple of minutes until browned.
3.
Tip the pine nuts and quinoa into a large bowl.
Add your dried fruit, the lemon juice and the olive oil and give it all a good
stir. Season with salt and pepper as needed.
