We used to have some really good friends when we were living down South and I was working at the Manor.  If you have been reading my blog for a while now you will probably remember me mentioning them.  They were two sisters called Hazel and June. They were quite a bit older than myself, being Todd's age approximately, but we were quite close the whole time I lived there.  They were my visiting teachers and we often got together outside of church when I had time off.  I remember going on a picnic with them up on Beachy Head in Eastbourne one Saturday afternoon in the summer.  We had a great time!  One of my favourite memories and two of my favourite people from when we lived down there.

  

I am a HUGE fan of Mexican/Latin American flavours!  I have never been to any of the Latin American countries myself, so my idea of Mexican food is probably a highly Anglicised version!  

I do like to experiment with the flavours which is becoming a lot easier these days as more and more Latin American ingredients become available for us to use over here in the UK.  

One company which really is at the forefront of this is Capsicana.  I have been buying their products since I discovered them a couple of years ago now.

 

This recipe I am sharing today uses a pouch of their Ultimate Refried Black Beans.  Spicy Refried Black Beans with Chipotle Chili, Garlic and Cumin.  These are so delicious. I always have a pouch of them in my cupboard.  

They are great just heated up and spooned over rice with a bit of cheese on top. I know the lazy man's supper, or you could go further and call it the Latin American's version of beans on toast!

 

Today I divided a pouch of them between two large flat breads and then topped them with a mix of grated cheddar and Mozzarella.

 

This is like a Tex Mex, Latin American Open Faced Chicken Club sandwich.  Fusion cooking I guess.

 

The old and familiar combined with new and edgy flavours in a really delicious way! 

 

I had some leftover cooked chicken to use up, but wanted to do something different with it, and this is the result!

 

I sweated some onions and peppers until soft and then added some garlic.  Then I threw in the diced leftover chicken and some Tex Mex seasoning.  

I used Swartz zingy Mexican Street Food seasoning. It has a nice bite.  Once that was all heated through and seasoned, I divided the mixture between the two flatbreads.

 

Topping each with two slices of cooked streaky bacon that I had in the refrigerator leftover from our Sunday night's supper of pancakes, bacon and sliced peaches.

 

I really am a person that likes to use up everything rather than end up throwing stuff away!  So here I have used some leftover chicken and bacon . . .  

which on their own wouldn't have served many people but in this disguise end up serving four people! (Or two really hungry ones I suppose!)

  

The covered flat breads got popped into a moderately hot oven, just long enough to really heat everything through and melt the cheese . . .

 

While they were baking I whisked together some ranch dressing a a spoonful of chopped adobes in chipotle sauce to create a Chipotle Ranch Dressing . . .

 

The finished flat bread clubs got drizzled with this dressing . . . 

 

And then I passed some sour cream and prepared guacamole at the table. 

   

Delicious knife and fork sandwiches that were well received and enjoyed immensely . . .  and it was just leftovers.  A salad on the side goes perfectly with these for a light lunch.

  

If you have never tried the Capsicana products and you are a fan of Latin American Flavours, you really should.  Over here they are available at Sainsbury's, Waitrose,  Ocado, Booths and Whole Foods. I think you might be able to get some of their things at Tesco also, but I'm not entirely sure about that. 

 

I have one of these Ultimate Fajita Kits here to use as well.  Latin fusion with tomato and coconut, sounds delicious don't you think?   We love Fajita's! 

 

 

These tasty oven omelets make a great supper on a busy day!  Not only are they quick and easy to make, but they are also very delicious! We love them!

 

You could use frozen spinach for them if you wanted to, but I prefer to use fresh.  Its readily available all year round. I use the ready to eat baby spinach leaves, and I always trim off the large stems and discard.

 

You begin by sauteing some chopped onion in a skillet and then adding some garlic.

 

 

Once that has softened you add some fresh baby spinach. It doesn't take long for spinach to cook.

 

Just keep tossing, turning and adding as it wilts down.  It cooks very quickly. 

  

If your spinach is not wet when you add it, you won't need to drain it.  I just put it all into a measuring cup and then just snip it into smaller bits with some kitchen scissors.

 

You beat up some eggs, milk, flour, baking powder and seasonings in a bowl . . .  until smooth without any lumps. 

 

Then you add the spinach mixture to this.  Its really simple . . .  really simple.

 

I divide this between two individual oval casserole dishes/ramekins which I have sprayed with some low fat cooking spray . . .  and then sprinkle crumbled feta cheese over top. 

  

The end result is quite, QUITE delicious!  I serve with buttered toast points and a salad on the side.

 

Altogether this makes for a lovely and most delicious, light supper. The casserole dishes I use each hold about 1 cup of liquid.  If you wanted to double it you could cook it in a pie tin and cut into wedges.  It will cook in about the same time. 

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. 

 

I've been thinking a lot lately about blogging and food blogging in particular.  I started this particular food blog about 11 years ago now, but have been food blogging in general for I guess about 15 years altogether.  For most of that time I have blogged about food just about every day with very few exceptions.  I cook and eat every day, so why not write about it??? 

Since I started this blog 11 years ago, I have posted 3886 blog posts, and I am proud to say that for the most part each post contains a recipe.  I have learnt along the way and I like to think that as time has gone on I have gotten better at this lark.  I still don't have the most aesthetically pleasing, well-thought-out food photographs. Photography has never been my strong suit, but I do try to present to you food that is pretty realistic. I don't use filters or edit much except to crop.  Some days you get my laundry in the back ground, and some days the kitchen bin (and trust me when I say I have heard about that from some people!)  What you get is real food, in real time. 

One thing I have always prided myself on is that you don't have to jump through a bazillion hoops to get to a recipe on my page.  You land on the page, and yes . . .  admittedly I do post a lot of photographs in between the information and chit chat, but you all know that if you can't abide chit chat, all you need to do is to scroll down the page and a printable recipe is right there waiting for you.

Nothing jumps out at you.  Nothing obscures the recipes.  You don't have to click on accept this, or that.  Its just my chit chat, the photos and the recipes.  In a world where there is far too much advertising and lets face it fake crap  . . . I like to think that what I present to you is fairly direct and succinct, despite the chit chat. 

 

Admittedly there are a couple of ads.  One in the right handcolumn and one beneath the posts.  But I still think they are not very intrusive and if I thought they were intrusive in any way I would take them off. I make a few pennies a week from them from google. I get a little payment from them about every 4th month which amounts to about $60, which isn't an awful lot when you consider how many people I have visiting my page each day, which in all honesty amounts in the tens of thousands each day.  Sometimes it is upwards of 50,000 and sometimes about 30,000. Its never been about money for me.  Its always only ever been about food.

Occasionally (and I try not to make it too often) I will share something with you which I have been sent to try out.  Back when I first started I used to share these things more often than I do now.  I only share occasionally now.  I get a Degustabox once a month, which has a variety of different products in it for me to try and I share my findings with you on that, and I may share the odd thing now and again, but for the most part, I try to make all of my posts sincere and just about food.  I probably have offers every second day or so from companies wanting to send me this or that, or to visit here or there.  I turn most of them down.  I am just not interested in travelling very far these days (and at my own expense most times) or having an abundance of kitchen goodies in my already too small kitchen. 

 

Some bloggers fill their posts with hyperlinks.  I only occasionally add a link to a post and that is because I think it is something you might find interesting or will use.  I don't get paid for them. I'm just sharing.  Some bloggers only ever rarely write fresh content.  What you get from a lot of them is the same old stuff reconfigured to look like a new weeks worth of menus and recipes and they will send them out at the beginning of the week, but it is the same old stuff that they have had all along, presented in a new manner.  I try to write fresh content every day, and only ever very occasionally have I written something which is a compendium of a variety of recipes that I have already shared.  On special occasions for the most part, like Pancake Day when I think you might want to have a choice from a multitude of different options, or around Christmas when I might post the links to all my Christmas Recipes.  That's done just to make it easier for you to find them.

Had I known back when I started what I know now, I would have started off with an index.  Unfortunately I didn't and so I think a post where I share all or my best pancake recipes, or my holiday recipes is not entirely a bad thing!  It would be just too difficult for me to now go back and index all of my recipes, there's far too many of them.  But often if someone asks me if I have a recipe for this thing or for that thing, I will go to the effort of digging it up for them! 

Occasionally I have written little cookbooklets that I sell to make a few pennies. They are in the cookbooklet Tab up at the top of the page.  Again, I am not tecchie saavy enough to be able to present them to you as instant downloadables.  I sent each one out individually, so it can take a few hours sometimes for me to get them to you.  First Paypal has to let me know you've bought one, and then I have to be online, and I do try to sleep at night so sometimes I am in bed and it has to wait until I get up before I check my e-mails and send them out.  But again, I just do this because I enjoy putting them together and sharing them with you.  I've never had any complaints, and everyone who has ever bought them has really enjoyed them and found them to be a fair value for money spent. 

I find myself getting a bit more tired these days. I am not sure why. I reckon for every post I do, I spent the time it takes to cook the recipe, the time it takes to take photos of the recipe, and then the time to crop and edit them, post them and write about them.  To make things easier this year I signed up to Recipes Generator so that you could have decent printable recipes.  This does cost, but not as much as some sites cost.  I wanted you to have something decent to print out and keep.  I may not be able to keep it up next year, which in and of itself presents a bit of a conundrum for me, because I just started wondering recently what happens if I can't afford to keep it up next year?  Does that mean that all of my printable recipes disappear?  Food for thought there and I may find myself having to go back and make sure that I have another free alternative that I can slip into place should that happen.

I am not bored with cooking, but I am tired.  I find since my mom passed away a bit of the spring in my step has disappeared.  I may find it again, I hope so at any rate.  And I am finding it a bit expensive to keep presenting fresh content on a daily basis, so I guess I am really thinking about how to go forward with all of this. I find that most days I don't have a lot of time for much else.  How I ever wrote that cookbook a couple years ago, or even how I ever worked full time and kept this up I will never know!  It beats me. But then if I didn't food blog, how would I fill all those hours???

 

So I guess what I am asking is this. What about this blog do you like?  What would you like to see?  What would you not like to see.  How should I go about moving forward?  I'll be honest. I am not TRENDY!  I don't follow fads, in fact I highly dislike them.  I only ever want it to be about the food, and real food, and I want it to be about food that I enjoy cooking and that you will enjoy reading about, trying for yourself and eating.  Maybe this page has run its course?  I'm not sure!  What do you think?  I really want to know! Lets start a dialogue!  Thanks so much! 

 

 

The recipe I am sharing with you today is one that the whole family is going to enjoy, especially if they are pizza fans!  It is a small batch recipe in that it only bakes 8 perfect medium sized muffins. Of course you can double the recipe to make more if you like!

 

It borrows its flavours from the popular Ham & Pineapple Pizza . . .  with chunks of ham and pineapple being included.  Of course if you are not fond of that combination, then you can substitute them with your own favourite pizza toppings! 

 

Cooked bacon, salami or pepperoni are all good . . .  as are chopped spring onions, or chopped olives (green or black). 

 

They are as easy to make as stirring together a group of dry ingredients  . . .  self rising flour, baking powder, salt and garlic Italian seasoning  . . .  a pinch of salt. 

 

Into them you stir some cheese (strong cheddar and Parmesan) and the chopped ham (or other ingredients) and the pineapple.  Make sure you pat the pineapple dry before chopping and using. 

 

You beat together some vegetable oil, an egg, tomato puree and milk separately . . .

  

This then gets stirred into the dry ingredients . . .  just to combine.  A few dry streaks are a.o.k. 

 

Divide the batter equally amongst your muffin cups.  I did six in my small muffin tin and two in custard cups.  I lined mine with paper.  You do need to do this, or at least butter and flour the tins  . . . 

 

Its really important you do this, unless you want the muffins to stick to the pan.  Cheese and things like that have a tendency to stick, so be warned . . . 

 

Finally you sprinkle a combination of cheddar and Parmesan cheese on top . . .

 

Just a tiny bit on each  . . .  and then bake.

 

They're done when a toothpick inserted comes out clean! 

  

Perfect for taking on picnics, packing in lunches or just eating as a snack.  Great with soups and salads as well!

 

I am sick up to my eyeballs of rain and cold.  Brrr  . . .  I keep having to close the door because when it starts it gets really, really cold. 

 

This was looking out our back window early this morning.  I think I am about to develop webbed feet and start quacking! I hope we have sunnier warmer weather soon!