There is so much lovely fresh and local produce available in the summer time. I really, really enjoy it and love to make the most of it. Dishes like this simple one pan supper make it really easy! I love, LOVE Gnocchi and recently picked up some fabulous Dell'Ugo Spinach Gnocchi and I thought it would be perfect for this.
I made us a deliciously light supper tonight of some golden, tender and moist . . . lightly sauteed chicken breasts and a fabulous avocado and tomato salad! It is a recipe meant to feed only two, but could very easily be doubled if you have more to feed, but you might want to use two skillets for sauteeing the chicken. Easy peasy.
This is a delicious recipe I adapted from one of my cookerybooks entitled "Fix-It and Forget-It Cookbook" by Phyllis Pellman Good.
Its perfect for those hot summer nights, when you don't want to heat up the kitchen but you want something just a tad bit heartier than a salad! And . . . no surprise here . . . its fabulously delicious!
And its so simple to make. If you can bang everything into a pot, then you can make this, because . . . that's all it really involves!
And its so simple to make. If you can bang everything into a pot, then you can make this, because . . . that's all it really involves!
You just bang all of the ingredients into the slowcooker/crockpot, cover it, turn it on and then walk away and get on with your day!
And it's absolutely flippin' delicious! Simple ingredients thrown together in the tastiest way! It really is fabulous and its quite healthy also. Especially if you use the lower fat smoked sausage, and I do!
A jar of sauerkraut, some chopped onion, smoked sausage, stock, potatoes, carrots and tomato puree. (Tomato paste to you North Americans) You can't get any easier than that, and the flavours . . . wowsa wowsa!
Of course the tomato puree I choose to use is the Cirio Double Concentrate in the small tubs. A simple staple ingredient I keep on hand at all times . . . with a genuine and delicate taste that is both distinctive and unmistakably authentic. I love it!
And I LOVE LOVE this soup. Great flavours, filling, simple and hearty. I like mine with crackers, but the husband . . . he's a bread man all the way.
And the nice thing is . . . it tastes even better reheated the day after! SCRUMMO YUMMO! I can't wait to make it again.
I always have these ingredients on hand, which means . . . I am always only ever a few hours away from enjoying it!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE CROCKPOT SAUERKRAUT SOUP
HOW TO MAKE CROCKPOT SAUERKRAUT SOUP
Check to make sure the vegetables are tender. If not you may need to cook it a while longer. Spoon into heated bowls to serve.
What you waiting for? Dig in! You know you want to!
Yield: Serves 8
Crock Pot Sauerkraut Soup
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 8 HourTotal time: 8 H & 10 M
This is a delicious soup which is easy to make and leaves the kitchen cool and your hands to get on with other things. It makes a perfect supper when served with some crusty rolls.
Ingredients
- 1 pound smoked Polish sausage, cut into 1/2 inch slices
- 5 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
- 2 large onions peeled and chopped
- 2 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4 inch coins
- generous litre of chicken stocks (5 cups)
- 680g jar of sauerkraut, drained, rinsed and drained again (2 pound can or bag, 32ounces)
- 170g tomato puree (6 ounces tomato paste)
Instructions
- Combine all of the ingredients in a large slow cooker, stirring to mix well together.
- Cover and cook on high for two hours and then low for 6 to 8 hours. Check to make sure the vegetables are tender. If not you may need to cook it a while longer.
- Spoon into heated bowls to serve.
These Chicken Caesar Wraps make a really lovely and quick light supper or lunch for those days that its just to hot to cook, or when you are lacking in time and inspiration. Wit a bit of salad on the side, you have a delicious meal that is really very simple to make.
I don't know why, perhaps it's because I am staying away from sugar, or at least trying to at the moment . . . but I have had an awful craving lately for Bounty Bars . . . you know what I mean . . . those candy bars that have the scrummy coconut filling, and a milk chocolate coating. I'm not pregnant, (Heaven forbid!!), so there's no accounting for it really!
Usually at the weekend I like to do something a little special for Saturday morning breakfast . . . sometimes it's a nice big fry up, or pancakes . . . and sometimes it's a tasty muffin like these Jaffa Cake Muffins!
One of the herbs I grow in my garden is Lemon Verbena. I just adore it. I love it so much that I cannot resist brushing my fingers up and down it's stems whenever I walk past it. The smell is heavenly . . . and quite intoxicating . . . well, at least it is to me.
I recently received a copy of the cookery book Easy, Tasty, Healthy by Barbara Cousins for review. The book features recipes are quick and simple to prepare using easy to obtain ingredients whilst creating food that is both healthy and delicious. Easy. Tasty. Healthy. features everything from refreshing salads, tasty tray bakes and crowd pleasing pizza and pasta dishes, as well as a number of sweet goodies, which are sure to please.
This book is particularly recommended for those with food tolerances and those wishing to improve their weight and health. Cutting out foods such as gluten, dairy and sugar is a lifestyle choice that can be life enhancing. These recipes embrace this and provide a huge variety of meals that are full of flavour.
Included are a wide variety of options to take you from Breakfast through to Lunch and Dinner, not to mention Desserts and Sweet Treats, but with a healthy twist and free from alot of things which more and more people are having to avoide these days such as gluten, dairy, soya, eggs, sugar and yeast.
Fabulously healthy breakfasts such as Power Porridge, Meusli, etc.
Or how about a tasty Smoked Salmon Tray Bake?
Delicious lunches . . .at home or on the go, such as Courgette and Broadbean Soup . . .Chicken, Sweetcorn and Bacon Salad pot, to name just a few . . .
The Salad Pots all look gorgeous, but then everything in this book looks gorgeous. The photographs are magnificent!
Fancy some pasta? It's not off the menu . . .
Neither is Pizza . . .
With substantial Salads (Smoked Mackeral, New Potato and Orange Salad) . . .
Healthy Stir Fries . . . (Cardamom and Lemon Chicken Stir Fry) . . .
Delicious One Pot Wonders . . . (Speedy Vegetable Paella) . . .
And fabulous roasts . . .
There is something for every taste and want . . . ragouts, chilies, casseroles and stews . . . its all here.
Plus tasty options for your leftovers.
And yes, even something for your sweet tooth, with cakes and bakes, ice creams, crumbles, etc.
And tasty snacks for noshing that are healthy . . .
Like these fabulous looking energy balls.
This book is quite simply packed full of easy to follow recipes which range from breakfast, lunch on the go, past& pizza, salads & stir fries, one pots wonders (Sausage & lentils stew is delicious!), cakes and desserts and loads more. A practical way of viewing cooking,with a simple and no nonsense approach which I love. Very little fiddling around but with facts and insights around nutrition and eating well.
I highly recommend, but here is a recipe which you can try and decide for yourself for a gluten free and tasty Apricot and Ginger Frangipane Pie.
*Apricot and Ginger Frangipane Pie*
Serves 6
Place the date mixture in a food
processor with the almond extract, lemon juice, oil and 150ml (5 fluid
ounces) of the milk or water and blend until smooth. Add the flour
mixture and process again, adding a bit more liquid if needed, to make a
very soft, dropping consistency, almost like a thick batter.
Spoon
the mixture carefully on top of the apricots, level the surface and
bake on the middle shelf of the oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until
brown on top and springy to the touch. Serve while still slightlywarm.
I really like this book because it has recipes which are simple to prepare, using easy to obtain ingredients. In short, they are very doable, and yes healthy and delicious.
Barbara Cousins is a qualified Nutritional Therapist and the author of three bestselling recipe books in her series Cooking Without.
Easy. Tasty. Healthy. by Barbara Cousins
Published by Thorsons
ISBN - 978-0-00-815683-1
£16.99 UK/ $26.99 CAN
Many thanks to Harper Collins Publishers for sending me a copy for review. Any opinions are my own.
I wanted to tell you about a cute little book I received called Cafe London, Brunch, Lunch, Coffee and Afternoon Tea, edited by Zena Alkayat. With this being the height of the tourist season and this book being small enough to easily slip into your purse, it could not come at a better time! Enjoy London the Cafe London way introducing you to the unusual, the classic and the esoteric. Small enough to fit into your purse, take it with you when you shop, consult it for a different lunch experience and rely on it for an adventure.
It's efficiently divided into sections depending on what you are looking for, ie brunch, lunch, coffee, cakes and bakes, or afternoon tea . . . as well as options if you are looking for something artsy, unusual, alfresco, etc. There is a bit of something here for every taste.
If you are looking for a decent spot for a bit of breakfast . . .
A hot drink and a biscuit . . .
Full on Afternoon Teas . . .
A rustic atmosphere . . .
Or a delicious lunch . . .
There is a bit of something for everyone in this handy guide with the prospect of exploration and discovering a multitude of new cafes to dine at when you are down in London either for the day or for a number of days. Your appetite is whetted by short, descriptive text detailing on what is for offer in each cafe mentioned. I can see that this would be a very valuable resource and compendium for the London visitor, and I, for one, will be bringing it with me on my next visit down to The Big Smoke!
Cafe London, edited by Zena Alkayat
Published by Frances Lincoln
Photography by Kim Lightboy
RRP ££9.99 UK/ $14.99 US/ $ 17.99 CAN
ISBN - 978-0-7112-3745-2
Our Black Currant bush is fruiting at the moment and providing us with oodles and oodles of lovely black berries. I just adore black currants, don't you?
Oh, I do so love the lighter meals which we eat in the summertime with all of the fresh fruit and vegetables that are available. My salad loving heart has been having a hay day!
No surprise here, we like hotdogs in this house, and no, it doesn't really matter to us what they are made of.
We don't care and we don't want to know. In all truth knowing probably wouldn't change our minds. We like em and we like treating ourselves to one every now and again.
When I was a child we used to be able to buy "Whistle Dogs" at the A&W . . . or I guess I should say we dreamt about having "Whistle Dogs" at the A&W.
When I was a child we used to be able to buy "Whistle Dogs" at the A&W . . . or I guess I should say we dreamt about having "Whistle Dogs" at the A&W.
There was no A&W near us so it was more a dream than a reality. The closest one was about 30 miles away, so not someplace we ever got to . . .
There is one in the local mall back home now and its a pretty popular place.
I don't know if "Whistle Dogs" are still on the menu or not. Its been a while . . .
If you are from the UK, you are probably scratching your head and thinking "Whistle Dog?"
I'll put you out of your misery. Its a hot dog/frankfurter wrapped in streaky bacon and grilled.
This dog knocks the "Whistle Dog" out of the ball park . . . no pun intended.
Not only is it wrapped in bacon before grilling, but its also soaked in BBQ sauce first . . . popped into a Brioche bun, and then topped with homemade Onion Strings.
To. Die. For. I served it with Sweet Potato Wedges, coz sweet potatoes are healthy, dontcha know!
These are delicious, full stop. A great summertime treat!
8 smoked frankfurters
8 slices of streaky bacon
8 TBS honey BBQ Sauce
8 brioche burger buns
For the onions:
1 medium cooking onion
225ml buttermilk (1 cup)
210g of plain flour (1 1/2 cups)
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
vegetable oil for frying
You will also need:
your favourite hot dog garnishes (mustard, relish, etc.)
To
make the onions, peel the onion, cut in half and then cut into thin
half moons. Place the sliced onion into the buttermilk and let sit for
half an hour. Whisk together the flour, sat and black peper. Take the
sliced onions from the buttermilk and shake lightly to remove any excess
flour. Drop into the flour and toss together to combine. Heat the
oil until hot. Fry the onion strings in the heated oil until golden
brown. Scoop out as they brown and drain on paper towelling. Keep warm in a low oven.
Toss
the hotdogs in BBQ sauce in a large bowl. Wrap each dog in a streaky
bacon slice, securing the ends with toothpicks. Grill until the bacon
is crispy and the dogs are heated through. Spoon any BBQ sauce left in
the bowl over top of the dogs.
Place the cooked dogs in the
split brioche buns (toast or not as you desire) top with the onion
strings and any garnishes you want. Serve immediately.
Happy Independance Day to all my American Friends! Enjoy your day and stay safe!
Bon Appetit!
*BBQ Bacon and Onion String Dogs*
Makes 8 Happy Independance Day to all my American Friends! Enjoy your day and stay safe!
Bon Appetit!
If you are looking for a really quick, simple and adaptable dessert this summer look no further! 10-Second Cheesecakes fit the bill on all counts!
Quintessentially British, these recipes will help Wimbleton tennis fans across the UK to celebrate the grand slam in style, with some indulgent sweet treats. Who needs strawberries and cream when you have cake and pavlova?
Well, I have to say the weather this summer so far has been absolutely horrible! Rainy and cold, cold, cold. As I write this (Thursday June 30th) we are debating on whether we want to put the heat on or not. My sensible side says no, just put on a sweater, but the wimpy part of me wants to give in!
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