The Quickest Easiest Tomato Sauce

I learnt this on an Italian cooking course I took many years ago....

• One small onion diced
• 1 can good quality whole peeled Italian tomatoes
• 1 tsp dried origanum
• Salt and black pepper to taste

Saute onion in olive until it is see through. Add your tin of tomatoes, origanum and salt and black pepper to taste. I also always add a tsp of sugar to anything that is tomato based to cut the tartness. Simmer the tomato sauce on a low heat for about 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. This sauce will freeze well so it is a good idea to make it in large quantities.

Reuben Riffel and The Gourmet Guys

I like Gourmet Guys because they like Reuben Riffel! http://gourmetguys.co/recipes/meringue-recipe-reuben-riffel/

Stir fry night

I had the need for sticky sweet chicken and a generous helping of crunchy fresh veggies tonight!

• Slice chicken fillets into thin strips and marinade in soy sauce (about 4 tbsp), sweet chilli sauce (about 2/3 cup) and honey (about 2 tbsp). You can adjust your quantities to your taste
• Slice baby marrows, carrots and sweet peppers into strips. You can use any veggies of your choice for this. I also added cooked sweetcorn cut off the cob. You could even add pineapple, tinned or fresh
• Add sunflower oil to a hot pan and add a dash of sesame oil and heat on high
• Stir fry your chicken in equal batches in the oil and remove from the pan when cooked through and keep warm
• Add the veggies to the pan and stir fry.
• Add the remaining marinade sauce to the veggies and cook for a couple of minutes
• Return the cooked chicken and toss with the veggies

Serve this delicious stir fry with rice or with noodles. Another quick and easy meal done and dusted.....

Meatless spaghetti bolognese

Wow, this really looks delicious - see this link on Food24 from Betty Bakehttp://blogs.food24.com/bettybakeblog/2012/05/28/meatless-spaghetti-bolognese-vegetarian/

Chicken, carmelised shallots, butternut in parmesan cream

• Carmelise shallots, add garlic and then chicken to the carmelised shallots and fry until cooked.
• Add about a half cup of  chicken stock and cook until reduced. Check seasoning and season with salt and black pepper if necessary
• Then add cooked, diced butternut and turn the heat on the pan down and let it simmer for about 10 to 15 minutes
• The final touch is cream and a very very generous handful of grated parmesan (as much or as little as you prefer really) - heat gently until the parmesan starts melting.
• Serve this delicious creamy chicken with pasta or polenta and a little green salad

Tip: grated parmesan cheese freezes really well and you can use it frozen. Cooked butternut freezes well too, you just need to defrost it beforehand