Showing posts with label cooking for two. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cooking for two. Show all posts
We literally almost had a meltdown in our freezer the other day. (Yes, in addition to the actual melt down we had a few weeks back.) This time it was my fault.
Let me begin by saying we have 3 small freezers, each with 3 drawers, which store altogether about as much as a medium sized chest freezer would store.
Because of my arthritis and the fact that I am quite short, I was finding it difficult to navigate our chest freezer so we got rid of it a few years back. Anyways, the other day I put something into one of them and did not quite get it closed. DUH!
Thankfully I went to get something out the day after and noticed it before we had lost everything. (again) Anyways, All we lost was a tub of ice cream. Some of my beautiful fish had just about thawed out however.
I had just gotten a delivery from Seafresh the day before. Beautiful North Atlantic Cod Loins (thick, firm and delicately flavoured), Salmon Fillets (which are centre cuts and gorgeous), King Prawns (peeled, deveined and ready to cook), and fabulous Sea Bass (boneless and sustainable).
Thankfully all that was affected was half of the cod. It did still have ice crystals in it, but not enough that I felt safe re-freezing it.
Seafresh is an on line fish monger, which sells quality fish, seafood,
poultry and meat. They have access to some of the best quality products
from Britain and around the world.
This is largely due to the good relationships
they have fostered with their suppliers since 1996, when they began
with the very simple concept of selling high quality frozen foods to
their customers right in the comfort of their own homes.
I've been enjoying their fabulous products for over a year now and I have to say I have never been disappointed.
They have been a real God-send throughout this pandemic, with their fast and reliable and efficient delivery and quality products. I have always been able to depend on them.
So anyways, although I had not planned on serving fish mid-week, I ended up cooking us some lovely Cod for our dinner that day.
There is nothing more delicious on earth than a beautiful, fresh piece of Cod and theirs is some of the best I have tasted. We have never been disappointed.
I chose to cook it very simply. This is one of the easiest ways of cooking fish and yet one of the most delicious.
It turns out perfectly every time.
Dusted with flour and seasonings it is simply pan fried in butter along with several sprigs of fresh thyme and marjoram.
You cannot get any easier.
It cooks for two to three minutes per side until golden brown and perfectly cooked. I then squeeze lemon juice over top.
The lemon juice both flavours the fish and then mingles with the delicious juices of the fish in the pan and the butter to create a lush sauce which is beautiful spooned over the finished dish.
You really don't get much better than this. On this particular day I also sprinkled the fillets with some roasted tomato seasalt that I had gotten with my tomato order.
I thought it would go well with fish and I was right. Especially Cod. It was a delicious addition.
In any case we enjoyed our fish with a simple side salad and some boiled new potatoes. We felt like we were dining like Kings. What could have been a tragic accident turned into an unexpected mid-week pleasure!
Pan Fried Cod
Yield: 2
Meltingly tender and sweet cod, cooked in butter with the addition of several fresh herbs. Simple, quick and delicious!
Ingredients:
- 2 thick Cod loins (thawed if frozen)
- 2 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs of fresh marjoram
- Some flour for dusting
- fine sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
- ground sweet paprika
- knob of butter
- the juice of half a lemon
Instructions:
- Dry your cod loins very well with some paper kitchen towelling. Dust each loin lightly with some salt, pepper and paprika. Roll them in the flour, patting lightly on both sides to help it adhere and shaking off any excess. Set aside.
- Melt a knob of butter in a large skillet over medium high heat, along with the springs of thyme and marjoram. Once it begins to foam, add the fish, presentation side down, and cook for 2 to 3 minutes on one side, until golden brown. Flip over and cook for a further 2 to 3 minutes, until browned and the fish is just cooked through. (The edges should flake easily with teased with the tines of a fork.)
- Squeeze the lemon over top and remove immediately from the heat. Swirl the pan to amalgamate the juices of the fish, lemon and butter.
- Divide the fish between 2 heated plates. Spoon some of the butter from the pan and herbs over top of each portion. Serve immediately.
Just look at how nicely cooked that is. This was one very beautiful piece of fish, thanks to Seafresh.
A few things about Seafresh:
- Same Day dispatch on orders received before 1 PM.
- All packages are carefully hand packed.
- Free delivery on orders above £50, £8 on orders below that amount.
- Responsibly and sustainably sourced.
- Air Blast Frozen at source within 4 hours of being caught.
- Wide variety to choose from.
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What is it about Amish food and cooking that intrigues us so much. I have been interested in and collected Amish recipes for most of my adult life. I love old fashioned Amish recipes.
Amish Country Casserole. Just the name makes you want to cook it. Horse and buggy food. Delicious.
When you look at it, you think to yourself . . . I'll have me some of that please!
And yet . . . there is absolutely nothing elaborate about this dish. Its just simple.
Just like the Amish, it is simple . . . country-fied . . . plain-jane cooking.
And yet . . .it is much, much more than that.
The flavours are amazing! There is nothing out of the ordinary here. No bells and whistles.
Its just pasta, ground beef, seasoning and tinned soups . . . condensed tomato and mushroom. A kitchen staple for those of us who are not cooking snobs. These things have their place.
I'm 65 years old (next month) and eating them hasn't hurt me yet. Just sayin' Not trying to be cheeky or anything.
If things like tinned soup were the end of a person, I would have been ended a long time ago. I've eaten plenty of it in my life time!
I used whole wheat fusilli . . . my homage to healthier . . . and extra lean ground steak.
It just tastes better to me. I like it. This I can tolerate mixed into things. Regular ground beef is a no-go for me.
Go to your butcher and ask for ground steak, and he will grind it right there in front of you. You know it came from only one animal . . . not a bazillion.
Provenance is everything, and chances are its even organic. At least it is at my butchers. We never eat supermarket meat anymore if we can help it.
I did tweak it a bit, using seasoned pepper rather than plain pepper. I make my own, from scratch. It lasts a long time if you store it in a jar and keep it in a dark place.
You can find that recipe here. Its really good. Its like seasoning salt, but it's not salt, its pepper.
I did take liberties and threw a handful of cheese on top before baking this. I thought the cheese might soften the blow from my husband having to eat pasta.
He did not grumble, and actually said to me . . .
For pasta, this tastes really good! Consider that a HUGE compliment. He even went back for more.
High praise indeed.
I served it simply with some sweet chili pickled beetroot and a salad . . .
The extra soup that I did not need for the recipe, (No smaller cans here in the UK) I scooped it into a small plastic container and froze it for use another time.
It will not go to waste. Oh, and I added some garlic to the beef when I was browning it. I like garlic, and find that it goes well in most savoury dishes . . . and especially with beef and pasta . . .
So the Amish . . . horse and buggy people. All respect to them and to the Mennonites. They work really hard and live simple lives.
Simple food is what they do best. I havve never eaten an Amish meal that I did not love.
Including this one. I guarantee you will love it too . . . seriously.
I downsized the recipe for just us, but you can easily double it to feed more. Its very popular a pot-lucks and covered-dish suppers!
Amish Country Casserole (smaller batch)
Yield: Serves 4
prep time: 10 Mcook time: 35 Mtotal time: 45 M
Cheap and cheerful for the smaller family. Those Amish sure know how to cook. Simple ingredients done incredibly well with no bells and whistles.
Ingredients:
- 250g pasta twists (8 ounces) (I used whole wheat fusilli)
- 1/2 TBS oil
- 1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
- 1 tsp minced garlic
- 375g extra lean ground steak (3/4 pound)
- 1/2 can of condensed tomato soup
- 1/2 can condensed mushroom soup (Pop the soup you don't use into a plastic container and freeze for another time. Nothing will be wasted.)
- 120ml whole milk (1/2 cup)
- 1/2 tsp seasoned pepper
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp paprika and 1/4 tsp parsley to sprinkle on top
- a handful of your favourite cheese, grated to sprinkle on top (optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 7 by 11 casserole dish. Set aside.
- Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to the boil. Cook the pasta in the water, according to package directions. Drain well, rinse and drain again.
- Heat the oil in a skillet. Add the onion and cook, without colouring, until softened. Crumble in the ground beef, and scramble fry until golden. Add the garlic and cook a further couple minutes. Season with the seasoned pepper and salt. Stir in both soups and the milk. Add the cooked pasta, combine all well together. Spoon into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle with the paprika and parsley. Scatter some cheese over top, if using.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until heated through. Serve hot.
What is your favourite Amish/Mennonite meal/recipe? I really want to know! This is excellent, but I do have a certain fondness for the Oven Fried Chicken in Cooking from Quilt Country by Marcia Adams . . . loaded with calories, but for a once in a bluemoon treat, it can't be beat!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The
English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are
reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you
may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for
visiting. Do come again!
Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes for Two. This year I have decided to share my small batch recipes as much as I can.
There are only two of us in our home now and we only seldom have company for supper, especially since the Virus hit! I think a lot of us older people are in the same boat . . . empty nesters, or even singletons.
We don't necessarily want full sized recipes. This Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes is my latest small batch recipe!
Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes is the perfect size for two people to enjoy and makes great use of store cupboard ingredients.
Frozen mashed potatoes, crumbled cooked bacon, minced chives, sour cream, cream cheese . . . a bit of cheddar on top.
Rich and delicious this casserole is perfectly sized for two people, but can also very easily be doubled to feed more.
You can also use leftover mashed potatoes in which case you will need about 1 1/2 cups.
You can also leave this with full fat dairy ingredients, or substitute the full fat ones for low fat ones, with no discernable difference in either the texture or the flavour! Yay!
I am all for cutting calories (and corners) if I can!
It goes together in a flash. Lickety split! Quick as a wink!
You just mix the warmed potatoes with the sour cream, cream cheese, bacon (can't low fat that unfortunately) seasoning and chopped chives all together and spoon it into a buttered baking dish.
A sprinkle of cheese on top and quick bake in the oven and about half an hour later you are enjoying it.
And trust me, with this when I say enjoy, I really mean ENJOY! (Yes, the potato is my favourite vegetable)
If you don't have chives you could use minced spring onions.
If you don't like bacon (as if!) or are a vegetarian, leave the bacon out completely, or use the equivalent in a vegetarian style of bacon.
I know, so delicious. I am a through and through glutton. I love food. I can't help it.
We enjoyed a Caesar salad on the side as well.
The Caesar salad is my favourite salad of all time. I adore it.
The potatoes were rich and creamy and oh so delicious!
The leftover chicken was also oh so delicious!
In between mouthfuls my husband kept exclaiming . . . "This is a really, really delicious dinner!" I love it when I can please my meat and potatoes loving husband!
Twice Baked Mashed Potatoes (small batch)
Yield: 2
prep time: 10 Mcook time: 20 Mtotal time: 30 M
This fabulous casserole is a cross between twice-baked potatoes and rich mashed potatoes. Down-sized to feed two, this makes an elegant yet favourite side dish any time of the year and on any occasion. Easily doubled to feed more. Quick and easy as well! You can also use full fat or low fat ingredients with no problem.
Ingredients:
- 1/2 of a four serving sized bag of frozen mashed potatoes
- 60g cream cheese (2 ounces)
- 30g dairy sour cream (1/4 cup)
- 2 TBS chopped fresh chives
- 2 slices cooked streaky bacon, crumbled
- 1/4 tsp seasoned pepper (see below)
- pinch salt
- 30g grated cheddar cheese (1/4 cup)
- chopped fresh chives to garnish
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 2 cup sized casserole dish.
- Heat the mashed potatoes in the microwave according to package directions. Stir in the cream cheese, sour cream, chopped chives, seasoned pepper, crumbled bacon and salt. Combine well together. Spoon into the buttered casserole dish and sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese on top.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes uncovered. Sprinkle with the chive garnish and serve.
notes:
To make your own Seasoned Pepper: Whisk together 1 cup of ground pepper, 2 TBS ground paprika, 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp allspice, 1/2 tsp celery salt, 1/2 tsp curry powder, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tsp mace, 1/2 tsp dry mustard powder, 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg and 1/2 tsp onion powder, until well combined. Store in an airtight covered container in a dark place for up to 2 years (alternately you can make seasoned salt, by subsituting the pepper in this recipe for salt and the salt for pepper.)
I always keep bags of frozen mashed potatoes in my freezer. They come in handy for so many things and are a great store cupboard ingredient for me.
I have to say that I almost never mash potatoes from scratch anymore if I can help it. These work so well and with a few additions are always, always as good as from homemade.
When making them just to use as mash, I always stir in a knob of butter, some warm milk and seasoning. You really can't tell the difference.
Easy to use. Quick to make, and easy to adapt for all sorts of uses. You really can't lose by keeping several bags of these in the freezer!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at mariealicejoan at aol dot com.
We have a great fondness for Tex Mex food in this house, especially enchiladas. Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas are a real favourite!
Whenever we have leftover roast chicken, turkey, pork, or even beef, I will often make enchiladas or tacos or something Tex Mex with it.
In fact when my children were growing up if I didn't make Turkey Enchiladas after Christmas, there was hell to pay! I think they loved them more than the Turkey dinner itself!
That was merely a means to an end and the end was . . . Enchiladas!
Cooking Tex Mex has always been a bit of a challenge here in the UK as you can't always get the ingredients you need.
I am happy to saw that is improving somewhat, which is great. You still can't get canned green chilies however, but I live in hope.
In the meantime I use fresh chillies and roast them myself. They are somewhat expensive however to buy.
I keep telling myself that one year I am going to grow my own and then roast the lot and pop them into the freezer!
This was not a good year for that . . . what with virus and all . . . getting seeds for the garden were next to impossible to find if at all.
I did get some for parsley, basil, chives and lettuce. But unfortunately the slugs have eaten everything but my chives! C'est la vie!
Back when I was raising a family I used to make large trays of Enchiladas. Now there is only the two of us, its just not practical.
Oh sure you can freeze them, but we have them so rarely it just makes sense to downsize these old favourite recipes of mine.
So yes, this is a small batch recipe for Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas! And let me tell you, they are sooooooooome good!!
Traditionally I think they use corn tortillas for enchiladas, but corn tortillas are also something you have trouble getting ahold of here in the UK.
I generally use flour tortillas and we are okay with that.
I use the Gran Luchito Green Enchilada sauce. It works perfectly.
It has a nice zippy flavour and is chock full of fresh tomatillos, jalapenos, garlic and coriander. Its the real deal, and goes beautifully with chicken.
1 jar of it is the perfect size for these.
If you were making a larger amount you would need more. I really love their products. They are bang on when it comes to Mexican flavours.
I make the filling with plenty of chopped cooked chicken, grated cheese, some spices and seasonings and of course a bit of that sauce.
The rest of the sauce gets layered on the bottom of the filled tortillas and then drizzled over top before baking. Of course I scatter cheese on top as well.
Oh boy but these are some good served hot with sour cream and a splash of green tabasco!
Small Batch Green Chili Chicken Enchiladas
Yield: 2
prep time: 15 Mcook time: 45 Mtotal time: 60 M
You can make this as spicy or as mild as you wish. Delicious and built just for two.
Ingredients:
- 2 cups cooked shredded chicken
- 1/4 tsp garlic powder
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- 1/4 tsp onion powder
- 180g grated jack cheese (1 1/2 cups)
- 60g grated strong cheddar cheese (1/2 cup)
- 4 soft flour tortillas (street taco sized)
- 1 (380g) jar green enchilada Sauce (13 1/2 ounces)
- salt and black pepper to taste
To serve:
- Sour cream
- green tabasco sauce
- chopped fresh coriander (optional)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 190*C/375*F/ gas mark 5. Butter a small rectangular baking dish, large enough to hold the enchiladas in a single layer.
- Mix the cheeses together.
- Put the chicken into a bowl and combine with 1/2 of the cheese, garlic powder, cumin, onion powder and salt and pepper to taste. Stir in 1/3 of the green enchilada sauce. Mix all well together.
- Lay out the tortillas. Divide the chicken filling amongst them and roll up to enclose.
- Pour half of the remaining enchilada sauce in the base of the casserole dish. Top with the filled tortillas. Spoon the remaining enchilada sauce over top. Sprinkle with the remainder of the cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 35 to 40 until golden brown and heated through. Sprinkle the chopped coriander on top, if using.
- Divide between two heated dinner plates and serve hot, garnished with some sour cream and green chilli Tabasco sauce, if desired.
I used street taco sized tortillas for these. They are only 6 inches in diameter and work perfectly when it comes to feeding two people on their own! These always go down a real treat!
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