Month: June 2017

Graemes’ Sticky Sweet Chilli Chicken

Well what a treat this was not only was someone else doing the cooking but it was divine! such fab flavours and so easy to make – just wish i had thought of it myself ha!!!

Im sure you will have guessed by now my long suffering OH is a much better cook than i will ever be and it was him who taught me to cook so i though it only fair to not claim this one as my own but to give him some credit for this new creation!

The key to this is getting the chicken cut thinly or the fillets sliced thinly depending on which you use as the idea is it should be a quick meal to get to the table! Its really easy to cook but tastes amazing you wont be disappointed making this one thats for sure!

by julessmithie

Crispy Duck (pancakes ish)

I have wanted to make this for ages now and i finally got around to it i think the duck has been sitting waiting patiently in our freezer for months ha!

 But here we have it! you will see i have cooked the duck in the slow cooker the reason for this is to render all the fat from the duck but make sure its cooked through and at the same time keep it moist.

  If you dont have a slow cooker dont worry just follow the steps in the video and pop the duck into a casserole dish with a lid sit it on top of the foil as shown with a little water.  You will need to cook it on a relatively low heat until its cooked through.

There is nothing really fancy to the cooking of this one and the only thing you need to add is salt and pepper whilst pan frying the duck off its actually the hoisin sauce that gives all the flavour

So why duck pancakes ish???? i didnt have time to recreate a slimming version of the pancake but i have a cunning plan which i will share with you all at a later date! However a wrap works really well in its place……….enjoy xxx

by julessmithie

Aubergine boats

I love aubergine but i do find it difficult to find new things to make from them so i came up with this little nifty idea to make boats out of them and they really did work well and if following slimming world they are a SP food so a great way of “bumping” your speed foods.

You can fill them with anything you like in this little video i added bolognese but chilli would also work really well

by julessmithie

Beef Burgers

Let me tell you a little secret – i don’t like “shop bought” beef burgers and i have never had a McDonalds beef burger either. Not sure where this dislike of beef burgers has come from but all i know is i dont like them.

Fast forward to my love of cooking and now i will eat them but only if i or Graeme make them from scratch i love making them as you can add so many different flavours and seasonings to them – these have even passed the “kids test” so i know I’m on the right track.

You will see i don’t use an egg to bind the burgers together i use the juice from the blended onion which not only adds loads of flavour but is a great binding agent. As always bind the burgers whichever way you and your family like and enjoy.

I always make a huge batch of these as once BBQ season starts these bad boys don’t last long at all – they freeze well for batch cooking.

The spices i use are Spicentice Gourmet Burger Rub use Code JULES20 for 20% off any order press here https://bit.ly/2VYUZLG

The mini chopper and burger press i use is on my Amazon Shop press the link it will take you to Amazon then look under KITCHEN GADGETS https://www.amazon.co.uk/shop/julesthelazycook

by julessmithie

Fishcakes

I have been wanting to make these for ages and finally got around to it…..next time i will make a huge batch for the freezer!  The trick with fish cakes is to get as much moisture out of the fish as possible because if the mix is too wet it will make it difficult for the patties to hold together.

I also found that 50% potato and fish is about the right combination and as with all my recipes add anything you like that makes it yours you will see i used Spicentice Herby Fish rub this is my favourite spice you can find this company on Instagram Facebook and the Web i have used their spices for a long time now and have never been disappointed! But add any herbs or spices you like parsley would well but we cant use parsely in our house as we have someone who doesn’t like it lol

If following slimming world these will be syn free

by julessmithie

Carrot Chips

I always get asked how i cook my carrot chips and mainly because they can burn very easily i think the secret is to par boil them first before putting them in the oven you will see how i par boil in the video makes life easier doing this way and as you know im all about the easy!!!

Once par boiled pop them into the oven and finish off the cooking slowly the oven needs to be about 150 degrees ish but keep an eye on them as all ovens are different and you will need to find where your “happy heat” is for cooking these to perfection – my oven is terrible this is why i use a halogen.

But they are worth the perseverance as once you have cracked the technique them really are brilliant on an SP day

by julessmithie