Sausage and Bean Casserole

I had 4 sausages left from earlier in the week, which were used for tonight's casserole. I thought that this turned out really well and was really filling. It's something that will definitely be made again.

The tomato base with the taste of the herbs coming through was nice. The beans, carrots and potatoes helped to bulk it out and gave some different flavours and textures. You then had the bacon helping to add some extra flavour to the dish. I thought the dish was pretty inexpensive too, it would be less so if you don't need to use gluten free sausages. If you want to bulk it out some more, you can add whatever vegetables you have left over.

Serves 2 - 3

Ingredients:

• 4 gluten free sausages ( I used Asda Butchers selection GF sausages)
• 100 g cooking bacon, chopped
• 2 medium sized potatoes (Mine weight approx 300 g), chopped into cubes
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 can of mixed beans in tomato sauce
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 tin chopped tomatoes
• 300 ml of vegetable stock ( I used Knorr)
• 2 tablespoons of tomato purée
• 1 teaspoon of garlic powder.
• 1 - 2 teaspoons of mixed herbs
• 30 g of chopped dried pork sausage in herbs (this is just something that we had in)
• A dash of Henderson's relish
• Salt and Pepper
• Oil for frying

Method:

1. Brown the sausages in a frying pan with a little oil, for approximately 10 minutes or until all the sides are browned. Take out of the pan and leave to one side.
2. Fry the bacon until it has crisped up, take out and leave to 1 side with the sausages.
3. Put of a casserole dish on a medium heat, add a little oil and fry the onions until they start to soften a little.
4. Add the carrots and potatoes to the pan, then add the tomato purée and stir. Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan and stir round. Bring to the boil, then turn the heat down and put the lid on the pan. Cook for approximately 20 minutes, then take the lid off. Cook until the liquid has reduced down and all of the vegetables are cooked through.

Chickpea and Spinach Madras

We both really like curry and spice in our house, the other half more so than me! I think it's also a great way to eat less meat, as you can make them taste good even without it due to the strong flavours. This was also still really filling with using the chickpeas and plenty of iron with the spinach.

The good thing about this is that you can use as much curry paste as you like in this recipe, in case you don't like as much spice.

Ingredients:

• 2 x 400 g cans of chickpeas
• 1/4 jar Pataks madras curry paste
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 tin of water
• 1 mug of rice
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 2 handfuls of frozen spinach

Method:

1. Heat up a large pan, add the olive oil and fry the onions on a medium heat until they start to soften.
2. Add the curry paste and fry for a few minutes. Add the chickpeas and cook for another minute.
3. Add the tomatoes and the water, bring to the boil, turn down the heat and put the lid on. Cook through for 30 minutes. Add the spinach and cook through for another 5 minutes.
4. 15 minutes before the, boil a kettle and put a mug of rice and 2 mugs of boiling water in a pan, start to boil the water and then turn the heat down. Put the lid on and cook until the water has evaporated.

Note: You can get away with cooking the chickpeas for 15 minutes, before adding the spinach but I like to cook out the curry a little more.

Sausage and Kidney Bean Burgers with Spicy Tomato Rice

I got the inspiration for these burgers from this website and decided that I quite fancied making my own version of these.  

I was actually pretty pleased with how these burgers turned out, I think they had a nice taste to them. They went well in a pitta bread with the spicy tomato rice on the side. 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

Sausage & Kidney Bean Burger

• 4 gluten free sausages ( I used the Butcher's selection sausages from Asda)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 can of kidney beans
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• Salt and Pepper
• 1 teaspoon of gluten free plain flour and a little extra
• Olive oil

Spicy Tomato Rice

• 1 mug of basmati rice
• 1/2 tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 - 2 teaspoons of hot chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• 1 teaspoon of garlic granules
• Salt and Pepper

4 Pitta Bread to Serve

Method:

1. Heat a little oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion on a medium heat, until they start to soften. Add the paprika, cumin, garlic, salt and pepper and stir through.
2. Whilst the onions are cooking through, boil a kettle and cook the kidney beans through for about 10 minutes. Drain and then tip into a bowl and mash them with a fork or a potato masher. 
3. Skin the sausages and add the meat to the bowl with the mashed beans. Tip in the cooked onion mixture, the flour and stir through with a fork.
4. Use a little extra flour and divide the mixture into 8 small patties.
5. Tip the rice into a pan with 2 mugs of water, add a little salt. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and put the lid on. Leave to cook for approximately 15 minutes, or until cooked through.
6. While you are cooking the rice, you can start cooking the sausage patties on a medium heat for about 4 - 5 minutes on each side or until they are fully cooked through.
7. Tip in the chopped tomatoes, chilli powder, paprika, garlic granules and salt and pepper. Cook through for another few minutes. You can add more or less chilli powder, depending on how hot you want the rice.
8. Toast the pitta bread, add the burgers and serve alongside the tomato rice.

I would definitely have these again and they made for a substantial evening meal. It was also pretty low cost, so another good reason to make these again!

Menu 09/06/13 - 15/06/13

So the last week has been a bit hectic, first to France for a holiday and then to Glasgow for a hen weekend. Both of which were fantastic, but now I'm a little tired. Luckily I have another week off to recover and get some rest before returning back to work and to catch up with some friends.

On Sunday this week I didn't plan anything as I was travelling, we did end up having fajitas though (using Warburton's Newburn wraps). Next weekend were heading to Whitby on the Saturday for the night, so I will not be planning a meal then either. 

Meal Plan 09/06/13 - 15/06/13

Chickpea and Spinach Madras *

Sausage and Kidney Bean Burgers with Spicy Tomato Rice and Mixed Vegetables

Lamb Kofta's with Rice and Beans (with cardamom pods)

Sausage, Bacon, Mixed Beans and Potato Casserole

Shepherds Pie with Vegetables

Shopping List

Olivio oil (1l) £2.00

Kidney Beans x 2 £0.54

Madras Paste £1.50 - updated 11/06 *

Chick Peas x 2 £1.24

Smart Price Tomatoes £0.62

Mixed Beans in Tomato Sauce £0.62

Hendersons Relish £1.57

Smart Price Frozen Mixed Veg £0.75

Raita £1.20

Bovril Stock Cubes £0.92

Frozen Spinach £1.00

Bananas (1.325 kg) £0.90

White Potatoes (2.5 kg) £2.00

Pink Lady Apples (0.72 kg) £2.27

Satsumas £1.25

Green Cabbage £0.80

Carrots (4 - 0.29 kg) £0.23

Round Lettuce £0.57

Onions £1.00

Cooked Meats 2 for £3 £3.00

Lamb Mince 600 g £4.20

Gluten Free Sausages £2.00

Cooking Bacon £0.81

Garlic £0.30

Pitta Bread x 2 £1.00

Gluten Free Warburton Bread £2.00

Free From Pitta £2.00

Reduced Price Cherry Tomatoes £0.66

Smart Price Eggs - 15 £1.34

Total  £38.29

* Edited 11/06 - Madras was bought and used instead of Balti Paste

These were all bought from Asda on 10/06/13

Breakfast: Cereal, Bacon, Eggs

Lunches: Sandwiches, Leftovers, Omelette 

Store Cupboard and Freezer leftovers: Basmati Rice, Peas, Cereal

Snacks: Apples, Bananas, Satsumas

Chobani Yoghurts

Chobani UK kindly sent me some of their diffent yoghurts to try out, which I have been doing throughout the past week. The flavours that were sent to me are as follows: Black Cherry, Blood Orange, Peach, Pomegranate, Raspberry, Strawberry.



All of the yoghurts are gluten free, fat free and made with naturally sourced ingredients. All of the yoghurts that I tried were 140 calories per pot, except Black Cherry which was 160 calories per pot. They were all really thick and creamy, with a nice balance of flavour coming through. I'd quite happily eat these yoghurts as  part of my breakfast.

Blood Orange:

Out of the 6 flavours that I tried, I think this was one of my favourites. The yoghurt was sweet enough, with the tang of the blood orange coming through without it being overpowering

 Pomegranate:

This again was really nice, with some pomegranate seeds actually in the yoghurt. Definitely one I'd have again and one of my favourites.

 Strawberry:

This flavour is one I regularly reach for when buying yoghurts and this did not disappoint, definitely one I would have again.

Raspberry:

Another nice flavour and one I would like to try again.

Peach:

This wasn't one of my favourites, but I tend not to eat this normally. I was surprised at how much I liked this considering its not normally something I would go for.

Black Cherry

I wasn't overly keen on this flavour either, but that's just personal preference. I did still quite happily eat this yoghurt though.

Considering how thick and creamy the yoghurts were, I was quite surprised at how nice they all tasted. I believe they are a take on a flavoured Greek style yoghurt (though are just named thick and creamy in the UK). The only problem with these yoghurts is that they don't stock them in any of my local shops, so I'm hoping they start stocking them locally soon.

I'm definitely on the lookout for these, you can check here to see if these yoghurts are stocked near you.

Chicken, Cherry Tomato and Chive Frittata

Whilst I was looking for some inspiration for a nice brunch recipe this morning, I had the idea to make a Frittata as we have plenty of eggs. I also have some cooked chicken in the fridge, some of which will be used to be a nice chicken and blue cheese salad later on in the week, but I decided to use a little bit in this too.

This was quite a substantial brunch and definitely something I'd make again. The taste of the chives came through nicely and the chopped cherry tomatoes were really good in this Frittata. The chopped chicken gave another texture to this meal.

Serves 1

Ingredients:

• 3 medium sized eggs
• Small glug of milk
• 6 - 8 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 handful of grated cheese
• 1 small bunch of chives, chopped
• A few small pieces of cooked chicken, chopped up into small pieces (you can use as much as you want)
• Small knob of butter

Method:

1. Beat the eggs with the milk. Add half the grated cheese, the chicken and the chives to the mixture.
2. Add the butter to a small frying pan, on a medium heat. When the butter has melted, Add the egg mixture to the pan, let it start to cook and then add the cherry tomatoes to pan. Sprinkle the remaining cheese to the top of the Frittata.
3. When the eggs have started to cook through, heat the grill up to the medium - high heat and place the pan under. Cook until it has started to cook through and the top has gone golden brown.

It was a very simple recipe, but tasted good all the same. 

Meal Plan 26/05/13 - 01/06/13

This week will be a short week for us as we are going on holiday on Friday, so there will be less meals than usual. We're also eating out a couple of times at relatives, but then we're having my parents round for a meal as well.

We also had a bit of a run around with the shops we used this week, so I wont be sharing the cost of our weekly shop this week, but I will still share with you the couple of meals I do have planned.

Meal Plan 26/05/13 - 01/06/13

Chicken and blue cheese salad (cooked chicken chunks, stilton cheese, lettuce, tomatoes)

Beef steak fajitas (made with rump steak)

Lunches: These will be leftover salad or ham sandwiches.

Breakfasts: Cereal (I have Mesa sunrise - the other half has his own cereal), Eggs, Toast

On Friday I will be going to France for 5 days with the boyfriend, it was supposed to be a bit longer but due to issues with the other half starting a new job and myself already having hen weekend plans for the Friday - Sunday afterwards, unfortunately we have had to cut it short. We're still going to make the most of it though and are very much looking forward to going. 

I will be posting this week and will be posting as much as I can the following week.