Recipe: Creamy Cajun Chicken Pasta

Since I found this recipe a few weeks ago, Shane and I have cooked it at least twice. The flavours are just lovely together and the cream really compliments the cajun flavours. I also love the leftovers cold the next day for lunch! It's such a simple recipe - though it does need a bit of attention throughout - it's not something you can just leave to cook. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 Red Pepper
• 1 Green Pepper
• 1 Red Onion
• 2 Chicken Breasts
• 3/4 Garlic Cloves
• 2/3 Tomatoes
• Cajun Spice
• Tagliatelle
• 150ml Double Cream
• 1 Glass White Wine
• 300ml Chicken Stock
• Fresh Parsley

Method: 

Cut the ends off the peppers and slice in half. Cut the peppers into thin slices. Do the same with the onion and garlic. Cut the tomatoes in half, then each half into thirds. Dice into small chunks and put to the side. Put a large pan of salted water on to boil.

Cut the chicken into small thin slices. Coat them with 1-2 tablespoons of cajun seasoning. If there is no salt in the seasoning, add salt to the chicken and cajun seasoning. 

Heat a frying pan as hot as possible and add a few glugs of olive oil. Add the chicken to the pan and leave for a minute or so to colour on one side. Try to not stir it as part of the dish is the burnt flavours of the cajun spices and chicken. After it is nearly burnt on one side, give the chicken a stir and leave it for a while. Continue doing this till cooked. Put it on a plate to rest. Add the pasta to the boiling water to cook.

Add the peppers and onions to the same extremely hot pan. Add another 1-2 tablespoons of cajun seasoning to the mixture and cook in the same way as the chicken. When nearly done, add the garlic and tomatoes and stir. Once cooked and the onions are softened, put on the plate to rest with the chicken. 

To the hot pan add the white wine till evaporated. Add the chicken stock and stir, getting the burnt bits and flavour from the bottom of the pan and stir till reduced by half. Add the cream and continue stirring and reducing a little more. Once reduced by a 1/4 add the chicken and vegetables back to the creamy sauce and warm through.

Drain the pasta and add to the pan with the vegetables, chicken and sauce. Stir and mix through well then serve. Sprinkle with parsley.

 

Recipe: Tacos

This is my first post so I hope everything goes ok! I love tacos they're fun to make and tasty.

This recipe serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1 onion
• 450g pork and beef mince
• 1tsp coriander
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1tsp chilli powder
• 1 pepper
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes( or about 500ml passata if you prefer)
• pack of taco shells
• 200g grated cheese
• 3 tomatoes
• half a cucumber
• half a iceberg lettuce
• salsa to serve

Method:

1. Dice the onion and sweat it off in a pan with a little oil, then add the mince, and spices and brown for about 5 minutes.
2. Chop the pepper and add to the mince, then add the tinned tomatoes,let it simmer for a couple of minutes then turn it right down and leave it to cook for at least 20 minutes, I left mine for about an hour, the longer you leave it the thicker your sauce will be.
3. While the mince is cooking slice the cucumber, lettuce and tomatoes.
4. When the mince is ready heat the tacos up by microwaving them for a minute.
5. Fill the tacos with Salad and mince. top with cheese, serve with salsa and enjoy =)

Recipe: Pasta with Prawn and a Creamy Tomato Sauce

I found this recipe on The Pioneer Woman last night and thought I'd try it for dinner. I have to say it was probably the best seafood pasta I've tasted, though it seemed like there was a little something missing. I don't know if that was just because I didn't put much salt in - maybe that would have helped? 

Ingredients: (Serves 4)

• Penne Pasta - (I didnt measure it out but on the website it says 3/4lb)
  
• Handful of prawns/shrimp
  
• 3 Tablespoons Butter
• 3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 Smal Onio
• 2 cloves Garlic
• ½ glass White Wine
• Tomato sauce such as Passata (I just used a can of chopped tomatoes and stuck them in the blender)
  
• 200ml Double Cream 
• Fresh Parsley, to taste
• Fresh Basil - To Taste
• Parmesan

Method: 

    1.    Put a pan of salted water on to boil. Fry the prawns in a pan with butter and olive oil till just cooked (dont overcook) then set them aside.

    2.    Finely chop the onion and garlic. Add to a large frying pan with butter and olive oil and stir till cooked. When the water is boiled add the pasta.

    3.    Chop the prawns into little cubes (remove the tails if they have any). Add the glass of wine to the pan and cook out. Add the tomato sauce and stir. Add the cream. Add the prawn when the pasta is ready (if it's not ready just keep the sauce on a low heat).

     4.    Finely slice the basil and chop the parsley and add to the sauce. Drain the pasta then add to the sauce. Stir then serve. Sprinkle some parmesan over the top.

Recipe found at: http://bitsy.eu/vvyv5o

Recipe: Creamy Mushroom Risotto

I absolutely love this recipe, and I'm not usually a fan of risotto. It's nice and quick to make, though it does require constant attention so I'd suggest having some time spare to cook it. I'd also suggest using a high sided pan for this to trap the heat. (I couldn't find the food processor when I made it so I just chopped everything by hand).

Ingredients: (serves 4)

• 1 Onion
• 1 Celery Stick
• Teaspoon of rosemary
• 15g dried porchini mushrooms
• 300g arborio (or any kind) risotto rice
• 1/2 glass white wine
• 1 chicken or vegetable stock cube
• 500g mixed fresh mushrooms
• 2 cloves garlic
• Bunch of thyme
• Knob of butter
• 40g Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 lemon 
• Bunch of parsley
• Olive Oil
• 1.2 litres of water

Method:
    1.    Put the onion, celery and dried porchini mushrooms in a food processor till fine. Add some olive oil to the pan and add the blended mixture and stir for a few mintues (do not let the mixture brown).

    2.    Add the rice and rosemary to the pan, then stir for a minute. Add the white wine and stock cube, and stir till all the wine is absorbed.
    3.    Add 200ml of water to the pan and stir in well. You will need to keep adding small amounts of water to the pan every minute or so to massage the starch out of the rice.
    4.    Whilst cooking the risotto, tear up the fresh mushrooms with your hands. Split half of them into the pan with the rice and leave the other half until later. Keep adding water to the rice and stirring whilst doing this.

    5.    When the risotto is nearly done, should have a little amount of water left to use up, add the rest of the mushrooms with some thyme and garlic to a small frying pan with some butter and olive oil. Cook until golden then set aside.
    6.    Once the rice is cooked, stir in the butter, parmesan and juice of 1/2 a lemon. Add some salt and pepper if any is needed and if the risotto is looking a little dry (it should be porridge like) then add some more water to loosen it up.
    7.    Serve in bowls, top off with the fryed mushrooms and sprinkle with some parmesan and parsley.

Recipe taken from Jamies 30 Minute Meals

Recipe: Spicy Chicken Burgers

My boyfriend and I absolutely love this recipe! It's so simple and easy to make and really quick too! I usually marinade the chicken for around an hour before cooking it then it should only take a few minutes on each side to cook and voila, a yummy homemade burger! 

Ingredients: (Makes 4 burgers)

• 2 Chicken Breasts
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon tumeric
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne 
• 1 teaspoon chilli (depending on how spicy you like it)  
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 2 teaspoons sesame oil
• 1/4 small onion
• 1 clove garlic 
• 4 burger rolls

 Method: 

1. Slice the chicken breasts in half so you end up with 4 thin chicken slices (so they're the same size and shape as before, just thinner).
2. Mix all the spices, soy sauce, sesame oil, finely chopped onion and crushed garlic in a large bowl with a splash of water just to loosen. 
3. Add the chicken to the marinade and stir, then leave in the fridge for around 20 mins (you can leave it longer or just cook them straight away if that works best for you)
4. Add the chicken to a hot griddle pan then turn the heat down to a medium heat and cook for 5 mins. Turn them over and repeat until cooked through (they usually take us around 15 mins to cook through just to be on the safe side)
5. Serve in the buns when cooked. (We like to put salad and mayonnaise in our buns and serve with chips)

Obviously, you don't have to use all of the spices in the marinade, just use what you can or like! Hope you enjoy the recipe! Have a good weekend! :)

A Little Hello

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I thought it would be a good idea to start off with a little hello and introduction to what we're about. We blog about any recipes that have taken our fancy lately, or we've made up to share with everyone else. We aim for it to become a sort of online recipe book where everyone can come and find great recipes! We hope you enjoy. If you have any suggestions, just email us at aprilandkatie@hotmail.co.uk.

April

Hi, I'm April. I will mostly be posting some really quick and tasty recipes that are easy to make which the whole family can enjoy together. My favourite cusines are Italian, Mexican and Chinese so you will probably see a lot of that around here from me. I also have a personal style blog which can be found here.

Katie

Hiiiii I'm Katie (well obviously lol!) I have no idea what I'll be posting just yet as this is my first blog, probably just anything nice that I make. I love food from all around the world, and especially love desserts so I think most of my posts will be good for those with a sweet tooth or who just want a quick easy recipe.  

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