My Todd is a real meat and potatoes man.  He doesn't care what else is on the menu, as long as it contains some meat and potatoes somewhere along the line. He will tolerate rice every so often  instead of potatoes, but a hefty plate of mash is his first love . . .



I think he loves chops most of all when it comes to meat meals . . . lamb chops are quite tasty, but he especially loves pork chops!  The Waitrose in Chester is a small shop, but it sells very tasty Hampshire bred rack pork chops and the flavour is just wonderful.  Succulent and meaty.  We both love them . . . they're the best!



There is something very comforting and homey about a breaded pork chop.  When I was a child my mom would sometimes treat us to "Shake & Bake" pork chops.  We loved them.  (Shake & Bake is a North American Crumb mixture that you can get for pork, chicken or fish.  You just dampen the meat, and shake it in the plastic bag included to coat with the crumbs, also included.)

These delicious pork chops are a thousand times better. Tender and tasty and coated with a delicious sage and Parmesan flavored soft bread crumb mixture.  Ohhh . . . these are some good.  The crumbs get all crispy and golden brown . . .  the meat stays succulent and  moist beneath that golden crust . . . nothing on earth tastes better . . . truly . . .



Well . . . applesauce is mighty good with them . . . mighty good, all tangy and sweet at the same time . . . just perfect . . . especially if it is made with fabulous Bramley Apples, which are fabulous this time of year and cook up so fluffy.  If you really want to impress, with just a tiny bit of extra effort, you can make a tasty chutney to serve with them!



A tangy, sweet and spicy Cranberry Chutney on the side makes this a really special dinner. You don't even need to have any fresh cranberries around, coz this chutney is made completely out of dried fruit!  I always have dried cranberries, sultanas and apples in the larder.  They come in ever so handy!  You just never know when you are going to need a handful or two.  Your family will love this meal.  It's special enough to make them feel like they are having a real treat . . . and special enough to feed to company!



You will end up with about 2 1/2 cups of the chutney, but I am sure you will find it so delicious that  you won't have a problem using it all up.  It is great with pork, ham, chicken or turkey.  Try it as a tasty relish in sandwiches!!  Stir it into some chicken salad for a wonderfully scrummy sandwich filling.  It's also quite, quite special served  with a good white farmhouse cheddar and a crusty loaf for a deliciously different ploughman's lunch!



*Sage Pork Chops with Cranberry Chutney*
serves 4
Printable Recipe

Mmmm . . . comfort food at it's best.  A tasty crumbed pork chop, tender and juice and accompanied with a tasty Cranberry Chutney.

75g plain flour (3/4 cup)
3 large free range  eggs
2 TBS Worcestershire Sauce
4 to 6 sage leaves, finely chopped
50g fresh bread crumbs (scant cup)
100g fresh finely grated Parmesan Cheese (generous 1/2 cup)
4 good quality pork chops
60ml  vegetable oil (1/4 cup)
salt, pepper and garlic powder to taste

For the chutney:
250g sweetened dried cranberries (1 2/3 cup)
375ml  boiling water (1 1/2 cups)
25g of dried apples, diced (about 1/4 cup)
25g of sultanas (about 1/4 cup)
1 TBS minced crystalized ginger
85ml white wine vinegar (generous 1/3 cup)
3 TBS sugar
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp of ground ginger
2 heaping dessertspoons of seedless raspberry jam or red plum jam



First make the chutney.  Put the cranberries, apples, sultanas and crystalized ginger into a bowl.  Pour the boiling water over and let sit for 30 minutes.  At the end of 30 minutes, combine the vinegar, sugar, cayenne, allspice, cinnamon and ginger in a saucepan.  Bring to the boil, stirring frequently.  Add the berry mixture.  Bring back to the boil.  Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 5  minutes.  Stir in the jam and remove the mixture from the heat.  Cool to room temperature.  (You can even do this the day before if you wish.)

Put the flour for the chops onto a flat plate.  Beat the eggs and worcestershire sauce together in a shallow pie plate.  Combine the sage leaves, bread crumbs, and Parmesan together in another shallow pie plate.  Trim the fat from the pork chops and season them well all over with some salt, pepper and garlic powder.  Press a pork chop into the flour, coating the meat evenly and shaking off any excess.  Dip the floured pork chop into the beaten egg, allowing any excess to drip off.  Press the egged pork chop firmly in the crumb mixture to coat evenly all over.  Repeat with the other 3 chops.

Heat the vegetable oil over medium heat,  in a heavy bottomed skillet large enough to hold all four chops.  Once heated add the chops and cook for 6 to 7 minutes, so they gently sizzle in the oil and a golden crust forms.  Flip them over and cook for an additional 5 minutes on the other side.

Serve immediately with some of the chutney on the side of each portion of pork.

It goes without saying the Toddster likes plenty of potatoes with his, mashed, baked or fried.  He's a happy camper just so long as he's got some potato to go with his chop!

 

As you all know by now, we have one very spoiled and much loved English Cocker in this  house.  Her name is Mitzie.  We don't have any children of our own . . . so Mitzie is pretty much the centre of our lives.  In this house, it's pretty much love us . . . love our dog!

 

We recently had some professional photographs done, with the idea in mind of it being a "family photograph."  We wanted pictures of the three of us.  We thought they would make nice Christmas presents.  The end result was that we got tons of lovely pictures of Mitzie . . . it seems she is very photogenic.  Us, on the other hand . . . we're not so photogenic.  So the photos of us are not so nice . . .



WE got a fairly nice picture of the two of us together . . . but basically any of us with Mitzie were not so good . . .

 

Although I do rather like the cheeky look that the Toddster is giving us here. 

Not too long after we got the photos back I was contacted by a company here in the UK called  Paramount Zone and asked if I would like to choose a gift for us to enjoy in our home.  Paramount Zone is an online gift company which offers lots of different product and gift items for pretty much every taste.  They had lots of things to choose from, everything from soup to nuts as it were, and from the very inexpensive to a bit pricier . . . something for every budget. I had a really difficult time choosing, but then I saw this . . . 

 

Seeing as we had just gotten all these lovely photos of Mitzie I chose this lovely photo clock.  We have a bunch of photo frames on our lounge wall, black . . . and pretty snazzy group ones too, which look quite similar to this clock.  I like them and so I thought this clock would be the perfect choice to showcase all those lovely photos we got of Mitzie.

 

The delivery was really quick.  It was at our door pretty much within a couple of days of me choosing it and in perfect condition as well.  I think it looks rather nice with all those photos of Mitzie in it, a definite accent piece!

Many thanks to Paramount Zone.  We love the clock and were well impressed with your quick and efficient service!

I was recently contacted by a company  called Gousto and asked if I would like to try out their service.  Gousto is a London based company which is devoted to ensuring that families enjoy quality food in the comfort of their own homes, even after a busy day.  They have a professional team of chef's creating delicious recipes weekly.  All the shopping and measuring has been done for you.  All you have to do is to pick what you want to eat, and order it . . .oh, and cook it, of course, but if you are like me that's the easy part!

I had heard of them before, and had longed to try them out, but they hadn't delivered to my area at that time.  I am happy to say that they now deliver to the whole of the UK.

 

Each week they provide you with a fresh variety of recipes to choose from. (Their resident chef's are always working on new ideas and recipes!)  I was allowed to pick two and I have to say there was such a delicious sounding variety that I really had a difficult time choosing.  I wanted to try out all of them!  After much thought I whittled it down to two . . . "Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken with Fresh Corn Polenta" and "Pork Fillet with Italian Style Butter-beans and Potatoes."  Both sounded innovative and like something we both would enjoy eating.  This was an experience I was looking forward to.

 

I was told they would arrive on Thursday morning and at about 8:00 am on Thursday morning, a box did indeed arrive.  I was intrigued . . . how would they be able to pack everything so that it arrived fresh and cold.  Chester is a looooooong way from London!

 

As you can see, everything arrived . . . beautifully chilled and perfectly fresh.  They use a very unusual wool packaging that is not only sustainable, but also bio-degradable and completely recyclable.  I was impressed!!  Inside there were ice packs as well, which had not melted and everything was in perfect chilled condition.



Everything that I would need to create two delicious meals for Todd and myself was included with the exception of a few store cupboard ingredients (olive oil, salt, pepper, water, honey and balsamic vinegar).  It was clear that we would be having a very delicious weekend.



There was everything in that box . . . fresh herbs, garlic, spices . . . beautifully fresh vegetables, organic free range meat and poultry . . .

 

Also included were two recipe cards, which outlined exactly, step by step everything  anyone would need to know to make the meal.  Included was a rate of difficulty.  I am a fairly experienced cook, so I chose recipes that would be a little bit of work . . . but there are recipes for cooks that are not all that experienced or that don't want to put in a lot of work time cooking when they get home tired at the end of the day.  Prep time and Kcal/fat/prot amounts are also included for each recipe.




They are also dated so that you know exactly when you need to use your recipe by.  Mine was the 21st of October, ample time for me to cook and enjoy them.



The first dish I decided to cook was the Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken with Fresh Corn Polenta.  I laid out all of my ingredients and got to work.  This had been rated medium difficulty, requiring about 45 minutes of cook time.  I changed out a few things as you will see in my written recipe, but only because they were a better way of doing things in my opinion, but this was such a lovely dish and would have tasted fabulous their way too.  They were only simple changes that I made.   I was a bit disappointed that instead of receiving two chicken breasts, I received one large one, but I coped and adapted and it worked out fine.  I just cut the breast in half on the diagonal to serve.

 

I opted not to pre-brown my chicken for several reasons.  One there was only one breast and so the stuffing was quite abundant and I felt it would fall out in the browning process.  I saved myself the calories of 1 TBS of olive oil in doing so.  I also baked the chicken at the same time as I roasted the tomatoes, saving 25 minutes of cook time and making one less dish to wash.  It worked perfectly that way and I simply dusted my chicken with some paprika to give it some color and spritzed it with a bit of low fat cooking spray before baking.

 

As you can see the chicken turned out fabulously moist and delicious.  We both really enjoyed this, and it is something that I would make again on my own.



*Mozzarella Stuffed Chicken with Fresh Corn Polenta*
Serves 2
Printable Recipe

Moist and delicious chicken, stuffed with cheese, tomatoes and basil, served on a dish of a porridge of fresh corn and more cheese. 

300g of chicken breast (about 2 medium sized breasts)
125g of fresh mozzarella cheese (about 4 1/2 ounces)
175g of baby plum tomatoes (about 20)
4 ears of fresh corn
1 cup of water
15g (a medium handful) of fresh basil leaves
2 fat cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 tsp chili powder
salt and black pepper to taste
3 TBS olive oil
1 TBS balsamic vinegar
1 TBS honey or sugar
(I added about 2 TBS cream to the corn)

Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6.  Have a baking tray with sides ready.

Prepare your ingredients.  Chop the garlic very finely.  Wash the tomatoes.  Cut 4 of them into quarters.  Place the others on the baking tray.  Wash the basil, remove the stems and then coarsely chop.  Cut the mozzarella into small cubes. 

Combine half of the mozzarella in a small bowl with the chopped tomatoes and about 1/3 of the basil.  Add 1 TBS of the olive oil and season with some salt and black pepper.Set aside.

In another small bowl, combine the garlic, the remaining basil, 1 TBS of olive oil, the balsamic vinegar, the honey (or sugar) and a pinch of salt and black pepper.

Dry the chicken breasts.  Rub all over with some salt and pepper.  Slice a 1 inch wide pocket into the side of each chicken breast.  Stuff each with half of the mozzarella mixture.  Heat a saute pan over high heat and add 1 TBS of olive oil.  (I did not do this, and saved myself 1 TBS of oil and the calories of 1 TBS oil.  I placed the chicken breasts onto the baking sheet, and dusted them with some paprika and a spritz of low fat cooking spray.)  Toss the remaining tomatoes with the garlic mixture and then place them onto the baking sheet with the chicken.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through and the juices run clear.  The tomatoes should just be slightly softened and caramelized.  (They suggested baking the tomatoes first and then the chicken.  I baked them all at the same time and on the same baking sheet, saving myself an extra piece of washing up.)

While the chicken is baking, take your corn and grate the kernels into a large bowl.  (This has a tendency to fly all over the place, so when they say use a large bowl, they mean use a large bowl.  You don't want to be scrubbing corn kernels off the wall paper.)  Place a pan on medium heat along with the grated corn and 1 cup of water.  Bring to a quick simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, until the mixture thickens, stirring frequently.  Stir in the remaining mozzarella and allow it to melt.  Add the chili powder and season with salt and black pepper.  (I stirred in about 2 TBS of cream to make it a bit richer. It was really good.)

Spoon half of the fresh corn polenta into each of two heated serving plates.  Top each with a chicken breast and half of the tomatoes.  Serve immediately.  Delicious!



The next recipe was the Pork Fillet with Italian-Style Butterbeans and Potatoes.  It, too, came with all of the ingredients needed with the exception of some olive oil, salt, pepper and water, as well as a card which had expert directions as well.  This was also a recipe of medium difficulty and reckoned to take 45 minutes cooking time.  This time there were two pieces of meat, so one for me and one for the Toddster.



Here you see the pork fillets, beautifully rubbed with a spicy paste, and laid out on a bed of fresh onions and surrounded by par-boiled potatoes cut into wedges, ready to go into the oven.  While they were roasting, I got to work and prepared the butter beans, which were very easy to do, as simple as heating the beans and sauteing the potatoes and mixing the two together.

 

This turned out fabulous too!!  The potatoes were perfectly cooked and beautifully flavored.  The butter beans were delicious, as well . . . the meat was moist and tender, also perfectly cooked, although it did take me a bit longer than the suggested time in the recipe, and I found the amount of chilies used to be a bit hot for my taste, but Todd thought it was perfect.  (He likes a lot more heat than I do.)



Altogether I would have to say that my experience with Gusto was quite a favorable one, one that I could not fault in any way.  Everything arrived on time, in perfect condition, properly chilled . . . and responsibly packed.  The ingredients were of an exceptional quality.  The recipes were well written, with photos accompanying each step . . . easy to follow and execute. Organic, fresh and seasonal produce, reasonably priced, and delivered right to your door.

About Gousto (from their page):
Gousto provides you with all the ingredients in the right proportions to cook delicious meals at home. The produce is organic, fresh and seasonal. Gousto’s recipes are developed by a team of passionate chefs and tested by all our friends and families first (very picky people). You get to choose the recipes online and every week the selection is updated to make sure there’re plenty of new recipes for you. The recipes are delivered right to your doorstep once a week so you decide when to cook. Whenever you’re on holiday or just don’t have time, simply place the subscription on hold – it’s easy.

Gousto was started in 2011 by two friends who share a passion for food and cooking. In their previous lives, Timo and James loved cooking but didn’t have much time to go to various grocery shops. They found it difficult to cook recipes from online databases or follow cook-along TV shows. Ready-meals from supermarkets do the job but the quality isn’t great, they have lots of additives, and they get boring very easily. One day, James and Timo decided that there must be some way to make life easier and the idea for Gousto was born.

The first recipes were offered at market stalls and from there the concept has grown into what you see today. Of course, all of Timo and James' friends are Gousto guinea pigs. Today, Gousto has a team of professional chefs and passionate amateurs (thanks mum), making sure that the recipes cover all cuisines and styles.

For more information including this weeks recipes on offer, pricing etc.  do check out their homepage here.  

You can also choose to follow them on their Facebook Page, or on Twitter.

 Many thanks to Teresa and the rest of the Gousto family for affording me this opportunity. I rate them 10 out 0f 10!

 

This delicious pudding is proof that you can create something totally indulgent and irresistible with just a few simple ingredients.

 

All you need is fruit, day old bread, softened butter, and some sugar.
Simple ingredients that everyone has in their home.  Put together in a simple way.  Anyone can make it, no real skill is involved.

 

So simple and easy to do that even a child could do it with supervision.  If you can butter bread . . . you can make this.



Softened and sweetened fruit, layered between buttered slices of bread . . . dusted with demerara sugar for extra crunch and sweetness . . .

 

Then baked until the bread is golden brown and crisply moreish . . .

 

Serve warm with lashings of cream or custard.

 

This is not a keeper, unless you are a fan of soggy bread, but that is so not a problem as you will have no leftovers.  Trust me on this.



 *Blackberry & Apple Charlotte*
Serves 4
Printable Recipe

The best blackberries for pudding and desserts are the ones you pick early in the season.  This is when they are the juiciest.  Older berries have a lot of seeds.  I always pick mine early and then freeze them so that I can make delicious pudding such as this simple one all the way through the winter!  Other berries such as black currants are nice done this way as well.

2 large cooking apples (Bramley)
caster sugar to taste
340g of blackberries (fresh or frozen, about 3/4 pound)
150g of softened butter (2/3 cup)
6 to 8 medium thick slices of day old bread, crusts removed
demerara sugar to sprinkle

 

Peel, core and roughly chop the apples.  Put them into a large saucepan along with 1 TBS of water.  Place over low heat.  Cook gently for about 10 minutes, until the apples are softened, but not collapsed into applesauce.   Add sugar to taste, then gently fold in the blackberries.  Remove from the heat and set aside.

Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. 

Butter the slices of bread well on one side.  Using 2/3 of the bread, line a 2 pint pie dish, placing them butter side down and cutting them to fit.  Spread the apple and blackberry mix over this.  Cut the remaining bread into rectangles and place on top of the fruit, buttered side up, covering it completely.  Sprinkle with demerara sugar.

Bake in the heated oven for 45 minutes, or until the bread topping is golden brown and crisp.  Serve immediately with "lashings" of cream or warm custard!

Simple desserts like this make the Toddster a very happy man.  That makes me a very happy woman.  Win/Win!

 

When I was growing up we never, ever had broccoli to eat. I had never even heard of the stuff. My dad would only ever eat a few vegetables . . . peas, beans, carrots, swede, potatoes and once in a while corn, and so my mom never cooked anything else.

And more often than not . . . they came from a tin. Ugh . . . tinned vegetables.  Not so tasty . . .



We found a big black cricket in a tin of peas one time after we had already eaten half of the tin. It was years before I could bring myself to eat another pea, and then it had to be frozen . . .

To this day I only eat fresh or frozen peas. But . . . I digress . . . sorry about that!



Broccoli. The first time I ever had broccoli it was in Chinese food. I fell in love immediately! Both with the Chinese food (which I had never had growing up either) and with the broccoli. What were these tasty little green tree like vegetables???

It didn't take me long to find out, and I have been conducting a love affair with it ever since. Another one of the cruciferous family or Brassicacaea, the word broccoli is the plural of the Italian word Broccolo, referring to the flowering top of a cabbage. It's been around for several thousand years, although not eaten widely except in Europe until the past hundred or so . . . there are several different delicious kinds . . . ordinary, tender stem and my absolute favourite "purple sprouting"  to name just a few.



Here's a tasty way that I like to use it. Adapted from a recipe that I found on the BHG site. You can use frozen broccoli florets if you wish, but when fresh broccoli is so readily available and inexpensive . . . why?

Use fresh . . . it's a good thing.

This soup is sooooo tasty!



*Creamy Chicken, Broccoli and Cheese Soup*
Serves 4 to 6 depending on how hungry you are
Printable Recipe

A wonderfully creamy soup filled with the lovely flavours of chicken, broccoli and cheese. This is a deliciously wonderful way to warm up on these cooler autumnal days. The cheesy croutons are the perfect capper!

Soup:
4 bone in chicken breasts, skin discarded
1 litre of chicken broth (about 4 1/2 cups)
1 head of broccoli, chopped (about 4 cups)
(stems and florets)
1 medium onion, peeled and chopped
1 stalk of celery, trimmed and chopped
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
1 425g tin of creamed style corn (about 2 cups)
8 ounces of sharp cheddar cheese, grated
125ml  milk (1/2 cup)
125ml  heavy cream (1/2 cup)
salt and pepper to taste

For the croutons:
1 small baguette
softened butter
2 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese



Place the chicken breasts in a large saucepan and cover with the chicken broth. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the meat is cooked and separates easily from the bones. Scoop out with a slotted spoon to a cutting board and set aside. Add the broccoli, onion, celery and garlic. Once again bring to the boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes, or until the vegetables are just tender. While your vegetables are cooking, remove all the meat from the chicken bones and cut into bite sized pieces. Once your vegetables are tender, using a stick blender, blitz it a few times. You don't want it completely pureed, so keep a few of the broccoli florets intact. Add the chopped chicken, cheese, corn, milk and cream. Heat through gently, stirring to melt the cheese. Season to taste with salt and black pepper.

To make the croutons, slice your baguette into 1 inch thick slices. Butter each slice lightly on each side. Heat your grill to high. Place the slices onto a baking sheet and toast under the grill, flipping over to toast them on both sides lightly. Remove from the grill and sprinkle evenly with the cheese. Pop back under the grill until the cheese is melted.

To serve, ladle the soup into hot soup bowls and float several croutons on top. Delicious!