Last Night's Dinner: Mexican Chicken Stew

The Recipe:

(Serves 4)

4 Chicken breasts
1 Medium chopped onion
3 Cloves of garlic, chopped
1/2 Teaspoon of soft dark brown sugar
1 Teaspoon of chipotle paste
1 Box of chopped tomatoes
1 Small red onion, sliced into rings
Vegetable oil
Corn tortillas/rice to serve (I serve this with my Homemade Tortilla Nachos)

1. Heat the oil in a medium pan. Add the chopped onion and cook for five minutes until softened and starting to turn golden, adding the garlic for the final minute.

2. Stir in the sugar, chipotle paste and tomatoes. Add the chicken and simmer gently for 20 minutes or until the chicken is cooked (add water if the source gets too dry).

3. Remove the chicken and shred with two forks then stir back into the sauce. Serve with red onion and tortillas or rice.

203kcals per serving (without rice/tortilla - an average tortilla wrap is about 180 calories)

Potential Alterations and Substitutions
I've put this section first because I cook this by an almost completely different method and there are different problems associated with each set of instructions. My family is a bit chicken-paranoid so rather than attempting to broil it and hope it takes the time the recipe says, I cook the chicken with the rice at the beginning, before adding the liquid element of the stew. This cuts down on cooking time and ensures that the chicken is cooked through.

To ensure that the stew is still full of flavour I add the chipotle paste to the chicken and onions before pouring over the tomatoes.

I tend to skip the red onion garnish at the end to cut down on the number of ingredients I have to buy and the fiddling around I have to do. It doesn't add much to the recipe but feel free to include or exclude it as you feel inclined.

Rather than chicken breasts which tend to be pricey and can be quite dry if you fry them, I prefer to use chicken thigh fillets which are cheaper and more flavourful. If you make this substitution you need two thigh fillets per person.

The nature of the brown sugar really isn't important - light or dark makes very little difference.

I add salt to the stew before leaving it to simmer as seasoning really can add a lot and this recipe seems to omit it for some reason.

Potential Tantrums
Not too many problems occur with this one but shredding the chicken can be a pain. Rather than attempting it, I tend to cut the meat into strips before cooking . It produces the same effect but saves a lot of time and wasted effort.

The sauce is quite sugary so make sure you stir the stew regularly to prevent sticking and burning especially after turning it down to simmer.
It's important to stir continuously whilst cooking the garlic as it can be quick to burn, especially when added to a pan that has been on a high heat for a while.

This is a great low calorie dinner to make on a weeknight and it doubles as a good comfort food option on cold evenings! A quick note about chipotle paste - it's amazing stuff and available in Sainsburys easily enough but be careful with the amount you use - a teaspoon provides a good kick for a four person recipe so if you want a spicier stew, experiment a bit before you commit to using a greater amount. Let me know how it goes in the comments section!

The Wonderful World of Wraps Part 1: Homemade Tortilla Nachos

As part of our plan to get healthier as a family we decided to eat less carbs. Rice and pasta aren't particularly bad for you, but it is difficult to ensure you are eating the proper portion size and the temptation is often there with fresh pasta or microwaveable rice to use up the bag so it doesn't go to waste. One good rice substitute I   have come up with to go with Mexican dishes are tortilla nachos. One tortilla goes a long way and is fewer calories than a portion of rice.

The Recipe:

Flour Tortillas x however many people you are cooking for
Vegetable Oil

1. Turn the grill on to high and wait for it to heat up.

2. Brush both sides of each wrap with oil.

3. Grill them one at a time, turning the wrap once the top side is browned. You want it to be stiff without being brittle in order to make a good dipping and scooping surface.

4. Cut the wraps into six wedge shaped sections.

Potential Tantrums

Burnt nachos - the wraps can go from pasty to overdone quicker than you might think once they're under the grill, so don't take your eye off them. Plus, for a food item that looks as flat as a pancake they can puff up like pillows under heat and may stick to the grill if you don't catch them. If bubbles begin to form, simply pop them with tongs or a knife.

Last Night's Dinner: Gnocchi with Chorizo, Spinach and Mozzarella

The Recipe:

(Serves 2)

500g Gnocchi

1x400g carton chopped tomatoes

1 clove of garlic, crushed

200g baby leaf spinach

100g Chorizo

125g ball mozzarella, torn

  1.  Cook the gnocchi in salted boiling water for two minutes less than the pack instructions then drain and add to a large, ovenproof dish

              2.  Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Add the chorizo to a dry frying pan over a medium heat. Cook, stirring, for 4 minutes until the chorizo is sizzling and browning at the edges. Stir in the crushed garlic, chopped tomatoes and spinach, washed and drained.

          3.  Heat through to wilt the spinach, season to taste and pour over the gnocchi. Scatter with the mozzarella and bake for 10-15 minutes until bubbling and golden.

Potential Tantrums

Burning Chorizo – personally, regardless of what the recipe says, I never cook anything dry because it ALWAYS catches. I assume it’s one of those instructions that’s fine if you have professional-grade cookware but as most people don’t oil is safer. Another way to make sure you don’t burn the chorizo is to get everything ready before you cook – it’s when you stop stirring and turn your attention away to wrestle with a carton of tomatoes or dig out the spinach that the problems can start.

Getting the right amount of ingredients – this recipe is designed for two people so if you’re cooking for more people remember that and multiply accordingly. If you forget then as a general rule you don’t need to increase the garlic, tomatoes or cheese, allow 100g spinach per person and 50g chorizo per person. I found that 500g of gnocchi was more than enough for 3 people but feel free to increase the amounts if you’re feeling greedy.

Potential Alterations and substitutions

I used frozen spinach instead of fresh because it’s cheaper and lasts longer. If you do the same just use the same amount per person as you would for the fresh.

In a spectacularly amateurish move I managed to forget to buy the ball mozzarella, however a substitution of ready grated mozzarella combined with grated cheddar is a perfectly acceptable alternative as is a combination of cheddar and parmesan.

With regards to the instructions the biggest alteration I made was with the cooking of the gnocchi. The recipe says to cook it for 2 minutes less than the pack advises which in the case of the pack I used was 0. Now I am generally in favour of minimising the washing up I have to do so rather than cooking the gnocchi separately, I held it back until the sauce was finished and then added it to the frying pan (if you plan to do this make sure you use a deep pan). As gnocchi requires very little cooking the liquid in the sauce should be sufficient. This has the added advantage of ensuring that the sauce and the gnocchi are well combined, making for an even distribution of both when serving.

Well, that’s how to cook gnocchi with spinach, chorizo and mozzarella the simple, free of tantrums way. It’s a great quick and healthy (a good two of your five a day) weekday supper. Give it a go and let me know how you got on and if you discover any more potential tantrums in the comments below!

Welcome to Tantrum-free Cooking

I love to cook. I like that you can follow a recipe and produce something amazing. However frequently I have found that you can follow a recipe, do everything you’re supposed to and come away with a disaster rather than a delicious home cooked meal. That’s usually when I throw a tantrum: I hate it when things don’t go right, especially if I feel like it should have. Tantrums, however momentarily satisfying however, do not help you rescue a meal or save you from having to order an unhealthy takeaway in place of whatever nutritious feast you had originally planned.

Over the years I have learned the various pitfalls and potentially tantrum-inducing problems that can occur in a recipe and ways to head them off at the pass or deal with them should they occur. Along the way I have also gained a sense for what can be omitted from a recipe to make it cheaper, what can be substituted if you didn’t read the recipe closely enough before you started. I have also developed an understanding of what can be done to make recipes healthier without changing the appearance or flavour and when to just give in the calories and worry about it in the morning.

It is these tips that I am going to share with you on here, along with some awesome recipes, cookbook reviews and TV chef recommendations. After all, there’s no point following the recipe unless it’s a good one! 

I hope you find it useful and that it will save you from the tantrums and frustrations that beset me when I began cooking.