Serves 4

A Spicy, and tasty meal…

Ingredients

Chilli beef

• Oil for deep frying, plus 2 tbsp extra
• 400g/14oz beef fillet,
• 4 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
• 2 oranges, zest only
• 1 tsp salt
• 8 tbsp cornflour
• 2 carrots, peeled and julienned

Chilli beef sauce

• 150ml/5fl oz rice wine vinegar
• 150g/5oz caster sugar
• 4 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 red chillies, finely chopped
• 2 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 1 tsp ground ginger

Spicy noodles

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 2 tsp Ground Ginger
• 250g fine egg noodles, cooked according to packet instructions, drained and refreshed in cold water and drained again
• 3 tbsp sesame oil
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
• 4 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

First thing, take the fillet of beef, and slice it into thin strips and coat in 2 tablespoons on vegetable oil.

Slice 2 carrots, thinly and length ways, julienne style.

Next thing to do is to toast the Sichuan Peppercorns in a hot frying pan for about 1 minute… then grind them in a pestle and mortar, grate some orange zest, and add to the peppercorns, and ground some more.

Mix this well with 1 tablespoon of salt, 8 tablespoons of cornflour, in a large bowl, then add the beef strips,  and thoroughly coat them in the mixture.

Deep fry the beef strips in pre heated oil for about 2-3 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from the pan and drain on some kitchen paper, add the carrots to the pan for 1-2 minutes they should float to the surface when cooked, and leave to drain with the beef strips.

Ok, next thing is to create the sauce for the chilli beef.  Heat a frying pan and add 150ml of Rice wine vinegar, 150g castor sugar, and 4 tablespoons of soy sauce and bring to the boil. Then add 2 finely chopped red chillis, 2 tablespoons of chilli flakes and 1 teaspoon of ground ginger, cook for a further 2-3 minutes or until the mixture thickens.

Then add the beef strips and carrot strips and cook for another 1-2 minutes, mixing well so that the sauce fully coats the beef.

In the meantime heat some vegetable oil in a pan and when it starts to smoke, add the garlic and 2 teaspoons of ground ginger and mix well. Add the pre-prepared noodles and stir fry for a minute or two. Finally add 3 tablespoons of sesame oil, 2 tablespoons soy sauce and 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar, mixing well. Sprinkle over 4 tablespoons  of chopped fresh coriander and stir fry for a final 1-2 minutes.

Prepare 4 serving plates and serve up the noodles and spoon over the chilli beef.

A tasty and spicy dish… enjoy.

I know very few people who do not like cheesecake, and this easy version is as delicious as any you will find…

Ingredients:

• 130g digestive biscuits
• 60g melted butter
• 300g soft cheese
• Vanilla Essence
• 50g icing sugar
• 150ml double cream
• 250g Strawberries

So the first thing you need to do is make the base, so crush the digestive biscuits, either in a food processor or with a rolling pin. Melt the butter, and mix in with the crushed biscuits.

Once this the biscuit mix is fully coated with the melted butter, layer the base mix into a loose bottom tin, make sure it has a layer of baking paper. Press the mixture down to form an even layer and then put it into the fridge to chill for a minimum of an hour.

Ok, so now the filling, add the soft cheese, icing sugar, and a few drops of vanilla essence into a bowl and mix until smooth, add the double cream and mix again until everything is mixed together thouroughly.

Spoon the mixture onto the biscuit base, it should not run onto the base it should be thick enough that you have to spoon it in from the bowl. Make sure the mixture is evenly spread over the base and smooth the top with a spoon or spatula.

Place the cheesecake in the fridge to set over night, if the filling is still a little soft, try lowering the temperature inside the fridge. Once set, slice some strawberries and decorate…

A tasty cheesecake which is sure to impress.

( Generously serves 6)

Lasagne is one of the easiest things to make, It is also very tasty, however today I tried something new and turned out pretty good.

Ingredients;

• 1.6kg Diced Chicken
• 500g Chopped Bacon Bits
• 250g Sliced Mushrooms
• 800g Carbonara Sauce
• 400g Red Lasagne sauce
• 300g Grated Cheese
• Lasagne Sheets

Fry up the chicken, bacon bits and mushrooms, season with salt and pepper…. once cooked transfer to a saucepan, add the carbonara sauce, and simmer for a while stirring occasionally.

Transfer half of the mixture to a Ovenproof dish and add a layer of lasagne sheets, then spread over a layer of red lasagne sause, on top of this add the remaining Carbonara mixture, and follow the same process with the lasagne sheets and red sauce.

Grate some cheese (I am using Crumbly Lancashire cheese, however you can use the cheese of your choice), sprinkle the cheese over the final layer of red sauce making sure it is completely covered. Sprinke on some parsley for decoration.

Put your Lasagne in a preheated oven 200° Celsius for 30 minutes.

Plating up is a little more difficult than a normal lasagne as the ingredients are loose, so may look a little messy, serve with a Rocket salad.

(Serves four as a starter, one (greedy piggy) or two as a main)

It doesn’t get much easier, or tastier, than this.

Ingredients:

• 1kg pork ribs
• Finely chopped red chilli and garlic

Put the ribs in a roasting tin, cover them with the chopped chilli and garlic and a generous sprinkle of sea salt. Heat oven to 150° Celsius.

Cover the ribs tightly with oven foil and put in the oven. Cook for a minimum of two hours, the longer you leave them in, the more tender they get. On this occasion I cooked them for three hours, but if you can, leave them in for four. This leaves you with ribs where the meat falls off the bone.

Great served with chips and a salad, but also very enjoyable on their own. Whatever you do, have them with a big glass of cold beer.

Happy finger licking.

(Serves four fussy semi-vegetarians or three meat eaters)

Simple and delicious, a winner for any get together.

Ingredients:

• A whole chicken
• 1kg new potatoes
• Asparagus
• Spice mix (chilli powder, ground ginger and paprika powder in this case)

Start by coating the chicken with some olive oil. Sprinkle the spice mix over it. Put the chicken in a casserole dish, then stick it in the middle of the oven at 200° Celsius for about an hour, depending on size.

Next, slice the potatoes halfway through all along them. This will test your nerve as it’s far too easy to cut all the way. All good as long as you end up with some continuous chunks of nicely half-sliced potato.

Boil the spuds for about 10 minutes, making them slightly soft. Drain, then put the potatoes in a roasting tin, drizzle with olive oil and sea salt. Pop in the oven above the chicken.

Steam or boil the asparagus as the chicken is nearly cooked.

The chicken is done when the juices run clear, or, more accurately, the core temperature of the chicken reaches 87° Celsius. A very handy tool to measure the temperature is a meat thermometer. Jab it into the thickest part of the chicken (the breast) and hey presto, you know if it’s done or not.

The potatoes should be ready pretty much as the same time as the chicken. As long as they’re soft in the middle you’re ready to go.

Plate up and bingo; – a wholesome meal to enjoy with a glass of wine of your choice. Gravy optional.

(Serves 4)

This is a quick and easy to make recipe, and requires less than an hour to prepare and cook.

Let’s look at the ingredients:

• 8 Pork Loin Steaks
• 1kg Gnocchi
• 350g Honey Mustard Dressing
• 250g Mushrooms

I have not included ingredients such as Salt, Pepper, or Olive Oil, as most people will have these and they are either optional or replaceable.

The Method

Slice the mushrooms and place into a small saucepan, season with Salt and Pepper, drizzle a generous helping of Olive Oil over the Mushrooms, and then place on a very low heat while we prepare the Loin steaks. You can remove the Mushrooms from the heat after a while to avoid over cooking.

Season the Loin Steaks with a seasoning of your choice, I used a generic meat based seasoning, this adds flavour as well as a little colour to your meat when it is cooked. Put a small amount of Oil in a frying pan or griddle, and add the Loin Steaks when the Oil is hot, but reduce to a medium heat.

The Steaks should take around 5 minutes each side or until they are just cooked all the way through. If, like me you do not have a pan big enough for 8 Loin Steaks, preheat the oven to the lowest possible temperature and put the cooked steaks on a plate and place in the oven.

When you are near the last round of Steaks, Put some boiling water into a large saucepan and add 500g of Gnocchi, when the Gnocchi rises to the surface they are cooked, remove the Gnocchi and place into a collander or draining dish, add the remaining 500g of Gnocchi to the pan and transfer to the collander when done.

While the Gnocchi is cooking pour the Honey Mustard Dressing into a pan and simmer on a very low heat, when the Gnocchi is cooked pour out the boiling water and rinse the pan, put the Gnocchi back into the pan and pour over the Honey Mustard Dressing. Stir well and make sure the Gnocchi is generously coated.

Remove the Loin Steaks from the oven and place on the plate with the Mushrooms and Gnocchi.

And there you have it. Quick, easy, tasty meal!

(Serves one person per mushroom as a starter)

This starter, or side, is as easy to make as it is to enjoy.

Ingredients:

• Giant Mushroom

Add a dash of olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and stick under a high-heat grill for 10 minutes. Nice chunky goodness that goes well with most fish and meat dishes.

This is an all new blog in which we will be cooking tasty meals, while keeping the ingredients and preperation easy so that anyone can have a go.

Feel free to comment let us know what you think and if there are any recipes you would like to see in the near future!