This dish I am showing you today is a fabulous vegetarian main dish, filled with lovely flavours and textures, always assuming that you still eat eggs and cheese.
If not, well, then I can't help you! It makes good use of leftover cooked potato, or you can cook potatoes fresh to use in it.
I confess, I have also used tinned new potatoes, drained well and sliced into rounds. They worked quite well. I usually have a few tins of new potatos in the cupboard.
Did you know that new potatoes are fairly low GI? It's true and when you combine the with a fat (cheese) and a protein (egg) you lower the GI even more.
When combined with a slice of whole wheat bread and some salad, that makes this quite a diabetic-friendly meal.
I add cooked green beans to add a small portion of your five a day, and to add some colour. We quite like them.
My friend Jacquie used to make a potato pie that was absolutely gorgeous. It had plenty of green beans in it. I lost the recipe after I moved over here and the last time I e-mailed her, my e-mail bounced back.
I will have to contact her daughter on Instagram to see if there is a new e-mail address I can contact her with. I really hate losing touch with good friends.
I always called Jacquie my White Angel because she had beautiful white hair, just like a shining gossamer halo. She was so good to me when my last marriage broke up and I was on my own. She was a wonderful friend, along with her husband Tom. I could not have asked for two more loving and supportive friends.
They are just two very special people. Tom was a vegetarian and Jacquie practiced the art of food combining. She was an iridologist, reflexologist, and herbologist and was very good at all three. I think that she is the one and only friend I have ever allowed to have access to my feet.
If you have never been to a reflexologist, you really need to treat yourself sometime! You will feel like a million bucks afterwards, truly! Jacquie always told me that all disease starts in the bowel. She could look at your eyes and see what was wrong with your organs, etc.
She was a really special gal and very good at what she did. Her home always smelled wonderful, like herbs and garlic. I loved it, and I loved her Tofu Burgers. Also very tasty.
But back to this delicious casserole. You could serve it as a side if you wanted to and it would serve more people, but as a main, it serves 4 to 6 depending on appetites.
It really has fabulous flavours . . . and yet it is so simple.
Cheese, onions, potatoes, and green beans are layered up in a dish and then a seasoned milk and egg mixture is poured over top.
You bake it, covered, for about 20 minutes or so, uncover it and give it a stir and then bake it for another 20 or 25 minutes, until all of the flavours have melded and the custard has set properly. It is almost like a baked potato and cheese omelet, and very, very good.
*Cheese & Potato Pie*
Serves 4 - 6 
Butter an oven-proof dish. Layer in the potato, grated cheese, onion and greenbeans alternately, ending with a layer of cheese.
Beat together the eggs and milk, seasoning lightly with salt and black pepper. Pour this mixture over the potatoes and cheese in the dish. Cover tightly with a buttered sheet of foil.
Cook in the preheated oven for 25 minutes. Uncover and stir the potatoes from the outside to the centre. Cook, uncovered for a further 20 to 25 minutes. Serve warm.
This really makes for a lovely light supper. We have it with buttered whole wheat bread and a mixed salad on the side. I love the supersalad salad greens which have baby kale, rocket, spinach and baby chard in them, along with shredded beetroot.
They are fabulous. I hope you will give this a go! Bon appetit!
Its a week night and you have had a busy tiresome day. You get home and you are starving. All that is in the refrigerator is a bit of leftover chicken (or turkey) from Sunday dinner, some tomato puree, some salad bits and cheese. Oh, and a tin of refrigerated croissant dough. (I always have a tin of that in my refrigerator. It comes in really handy.) The family is snapping at your heels. They are starving too . . . and you feel like making dinner about as much as you feel like going for a ten mile hike!
Never fear! Marie is here! With a quick, easy and deliciously economical entree that your family is sure to love. Chicken Caprese Rollups!
With just a bit of ingenuity, that smidgen of chicken that's left over, only about enough for two sandwiches if that, is going to stretch to feed four people with 2 extra for the greedy ones!
And they go together in a flash. Start pre-heating the oven now!
I always keep a bag of four cheese blend in my refrigerator. It comes in really handy, along with Parmesan cheese. They are staples. Mix some of those cheeses in a bowl with the chicken which you have chopped and a bit of Italian garlic herb seasoning.
What I really like to use is the dry Italian salad dressing mix, which I do keep in my cupboards, but it really is a North American ingredient that needs to be bought at a specialty shop, so for over here, I use the Italian garlic herb seasoning, which also works rather well. The dry salad dressing mix is a bit sweeter, so if you want you can add a pinch of sugar to the seasoning.
I also always have tomato puree in the refrigerator, which is what you North Americans would call tomato paste. I usually have both a regular one and a sundried tomato one. For these delicious sandwiches I have used the sundried tomato one, because it has even more Italian flavours. But go ahead and use whatever you have.
Unroll your croissant dough and spread some of that onto each croissant. Not quite to the edges . . . just 1/2 TBS on each. Sprinkle on the chicken/cheese/herb mix and press it lightly into the dough, then roll up and place onto the baking sheet. I like to sprinkle a bit of Parmesan and some more seasoning on top of each . . . BAKE! 15 minutes will do it, just long enough for you to throw some salad leaves into a bowl along with whatever other bits you have.
By the end of that fifteen minutes they will be golden brown and oozy delicious . . .
Mmmm . . . hot cheese ooze . . . so yummy . . .
These tasty quick sandwiches are sure to become a family favourite in your mealtime rotation, and best of all they are simple, easy and quick to throw together. Nobody can complain about that!
*Chicken Caprese Roll Ups*
Makes 6
Preheat the oven to 200*C/400*F/ gas mark 6. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Set aside.
Mix together the chopped chicken, four cheese blend, parmesan cheese and the Italian garlic seasoning in a bowl, tossing together well.
Open and unroll the croissant dough. Reshape into 6 triangles with a wide side at the bottom and point at the top. Spread each with 1/2 TBS of the tomato puree. Divide the chicken mixture amongst the six croissants, spreading it out equally and pressing it in gently. Roll up from the wide end to the pointed end. Place onto the baking sheet, with the point underneath, shaping each into a crescent moon shape. Sprinkle the top of each with a bit more of the italian garlic herb seasoning and some grated Parmesan.
Bake in the preheated oven for about 15 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through the baking. They should be nicely golden brown. Serve warm with some salad on the side.
In North American use the Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough that you find in the grocery store. I believe you will get a couple more than we get in our packs over here, but just make the filling stretch to fill them, or add a bit more of everything to the mix. In any case, these are fabulously delicious! Simple, easy, quick and delicious, plus no waste. Nom Nom!
I know that today is not Mother's Day here in the UK, they always celebrate that in March, however I have a foot in both worlds, and all of my family lives in Canada. I always celebrate Mother's day in May, which is the way it has been for my whole life. Its also not a day where I celebrate my own being a mother, but rather a day when I celebrate having my own mother, who is thankfully still with us and the STATE of motherhood, which includes anyone with maternal feelings. Are we not ALL mothers? I think so . . . anyone who cares for and loves others is indeed a mother in my books.
This is a photograph taken of my own mother when she was about 19 or 20 I believe. My mother has always been beautiful to me, and that has not changed. It is more to do with what's inside than the outside. My mother taught me all I needed to know about graciousness, honesty and integrity. She taught me the value of hard work, and has been a great example to me of strength and determination, having survived a lot of things that would break most people, such as the breakdown of a marriage. But even that she did with dignity. She and my father remain very good friends, which has made it all a lot easier for us, their children, to love them both equally. She is a double cancer survivor, having survived both breast and lung cancer. She is like the Every Ready Bunny. She might get knocked down, but she pulls herself up and then keeps going and going. I wish I did not live so far away from her. For years and years I lived close enough that we could always be there for each other and it pains me that, here in the Winter of her life, I find myself so far away. I will be calling her this afternoon of course. These phone calls are very precious to me, and I hope to her. I call her twice a week now, and those talks are like small gifts to each of us, and even more so as she is now battling dementia. Good days and bad days. I cherish and value the good days.
If I lived closer this is the dessert I would make for her. Its simple and delicious and just enough for someone with a smaller appetite, and even for those with larger appetites, it is so rich that a little bit is all you really want!
They are beautifully flavoured rich little pots of a thick cream custard . . . .
Flavoured with tart lemon and sweetly fragrant vanilla . . .
I always add a bit of raspberry jam to the bottom of the pots, because . . . I love jam, and it goes very well with the lemon.
I like to serve it with fresh raspberries . . . their ruby redness goes so lovely with the rich yellow of the lemon custard . . . and of course their fresh tart/sweet flavour adds another layer of complexity to the dish.
Altogether they are very beautiful . . . the three . . . the jam, that rich lemon vanilla creamy custard, the fresh berries . . .
I like to dust them lightly with icing sugar . . .
Its like adding a touch of lippy. What woman would go out the door without a light touch of lippy.
Not me, that's who!
You will want to make these early in the day so that they can have several hours in the refrigerator to chill. But they are very quick and simple to make other than that.
*Lemon Pots De Creme*
Serves 6
To serve:
Fresh berries
icing sugar to dust
Pour the cream into a saucepan. Add the lemon peel.
Scrape in any caviar from the vanilla bean and throw in the spent
bean. Warm gently to a simmer, then let sit to infuse for 10 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Have ready 6 ramekins or small souflee dishes, and a roasting tin large enough to place them in with a bit of space between. Boil the kettle. Spoon 1 TBS of raspberry jam into the bottom of each ramekin. Place them into a large roasting tin.
Beat the egg yolks with an electric whisk until they are light and lemony coloured. Whisk in the sugar, 1 TBS of the lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Strain the cream into a clean bowl and then slowly whisk it into the egg/sugar mixture, taking care to temper it with a bit of the warm cream first so that you don't end up with scrambled eggs. Make sure all are whisked well together. Boil the kettle.
Pour the egg custard into a large measuring cup and then divide the custard between the prepared ramekins, carefully pouring it over top of the jam, taking as much care as possible not to mix the two together. Pour boiling water into the roasting tin to come up halfway up the sides of the ramekins. Cover the tin with foil and then bake in the preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until lightly set.
Remove from the pan and let them sit for half an hour before placing them into the refrigerator to chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
When ready to serve top each with a few raspberries and a light dusting of icing sugar. Enjoy!
Jam Filled Buns. I always like to make my husband a little something special to enjoy with his breakfast or his morning drink at the weekend. He is always so very appreciative of everything I do for him, which means a lot to me.
Its awfully nice to feel appreciated. Today I decided to bake him some of these Jam Filled Buns. This sweet buns recipe is one of his favourite things I bake for him.
These delicious little buns are real family pleasers. They are like a cross between a scone and a North American Biscuit, being very easy to throw together.
Making them is as simple as sifting some ingredients into a bowl. Quick, easy, delicious and no yeast involved.
Cutting in some butter . . . and stirring in some wet ingredients to make a dough.
After that you just pat it out, cut into rounds . . . make a dip in the centres with your thumb, fill the dips with jam, then bake!
They don't take too long to bake, which is good . . . because we love our jam in this house. Jam in anything.
And when it is combined with a tasty scone/biscuit, we love it even more! Yum yum!!
These lovely buns would actually be good any time of the day . . . breakfast, elevensies, lunch, tea break, supper.
You name it. I can't think of any singular time they would not be welcome! Not a one!
They are so light and dainty, they would be perfect on the tea trolly for High Tea.
Oh, I could just imagine the Queen or some other Aristocrat tucking into one of these with their afternoon cuppa . . . pinkie raised en pointe!
Any blue blood in my body is long since watered down. Long watered down.
So we don't stick up our pinkies here, or cling to any set rules. If we likes it . . . we eats it.
And so it is with these. We likes 'em . . . we likes 'em a lot!
Don't judge me on this. I cannot help myself. My veins run with jam.
They would be great to take on picnics as well. I dare say they are perfect for picnicking with.
I bet nobody would be complaining as they tucked into one or two or three . . .
Its the North American Mother's Day this weekend, why not bake a batch for the special mom in your life? Show her how much you appreciate her . . . or your hubbie, or children.
You are sure to become their favourite person if you do! I guarantee!
*Jam Filled Buns*
Makes 14 to 16Your favourite jam
Sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Drop in the butter and quickly rub it in until crumbly. (can use a pastry blender, two knives or your fingertips.) Beat together the milk and egg. Make a well in the centre of the dry ingredients and add the liquid all at once. Stir together with a fork to make a soft dough, adding a bit more milk if necessary.Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a couple of times to really bring together. Pat out 1 inch thick. Using a floured 2 inch cutter, stamp out rounds, pushing straight down and lifting straight up. (bring the scraps together and repat to make more. Do note that the second patting will not give you the same results, so do try to get as many cuts from the first cutting as you can.) Place well apart on the baking sheet. Using a floured finger make a deep hole in the centre of each. Drop a small bit of jam into the centre of each.
Bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Serve warm.
Nom Nom Nom . . . betcha can't eat just one of these. Yes, they are THAT good! Bon Weekend!
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!
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