The bloody cheek! Would you return it?
I’m a Grumpy Old Woman. Are you? Help yourself to a badge.
Category: Recipes
Butternut Squash and Chickpea Coconut Curry (Slow Cooker)
I’ve been meaning to post this recipe for ages. I made this curry for my Book Club a few weeks ago, along with my Lamb Curry. It’s dead easy to make and absolutely delicious. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp of oil
- 1 onion diced
- 2 cloves of garlic crushed
- 1 tbsp of minced ginger (I use lazy ginger in a jar)
- 3 tbsp of Patak’s Mild Curry Paste
- 350g Butternut squash, bitesize pieces (you can buy it ready peeled if you want to keep your limbs!)
- 4 medium sized potatoes peeled and cubed
- 400g tin of chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 400 ml of coconut milk (you can use light if you want, I didn’t)
- 250 ml of vegetable stock
- 60 ml of smooth peanut butter (it gives it a creamy texture)
- 2 large handfuls of spinach
- 250ml of frozen peas
Directions
- Preheat the slow cooker (low)
- Sauté the onion, garlic and ginger till the onions are soft (about 5 min). Then add the curry paste, mix well, and cook for about a minute.
- Put the squash, potatoes and chickpeas in the slow cooker. Top with the onion mixture.
- Pour in the coconut milk, stock and peanut butter. Mix well.
- Cook covered for at least 4 hours until the butternut squash is cooked. (I did closer to 5-6 hrs)
- 30 minutes before you are ready to serve mix in the spinach and peas. I served with Naans, Sag Paneer and Basmati rice.
For more recipe ideas, cooking tips and ideas check out Patak’s Curry Club
Thanks to Patak’s for sending me a lovely selection of their products! I can’t wait to try them all.
Recipe: Shepherd’s Pie
As you all know I’m not brilliant in the kitchen but there are two things I’m pretty good at cooking; Slow Cooker Lamb Curry and Shepherd’s Pie. I know you purists will be screaming ‘it’s not a Shepherd’s Pie it’s a Cottage Pie’ as it is made with beef. Luckily, I can’t hear you!
The key to the success of this Shepherd’s pie recipe is in the layering and my special ingredient, Heinz Tomato Ketchup. It’s fairly easy to make, but I do find I end up using every pot in the house. As I’m lazy, I tend to use my food processor for all the mashing but you could do it with a manual masher and you’ll save on the washing up as well.
Ingredients
6-8 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 large TBSP of butter
1 Onion finely chopped
60 g of Cheddar cheese grated
Salt and pepper to taste
4-6 large carrots, chopped
2 tbsp of vegetable oil
455 g of ground beef
2 TBSP of flour
2 TBSP of Heinz Tomato Ketchup, (the secret ingredient), I tend to free pour and eye-ball it.
180 ml of beef broth
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C)
- Boil the potatoes for approximately 20-30 min until you can piece them with a fork easily. Drain and set aside ready for mashing. I tend to leave them in the colander with a towel over them to absorb excess moisture.
- At the same time, steam or boil the carrots for approx 20 minutes until tender. Drain and set aside.
- While everything is boiling you can start on cooking the mince. Put the oil in a frying pan and add ¾ of the onion. Cook for approx 3 min or until clear. Add the mince and cook until brown. If you’ve used cheap and nasty mince drain off some of the excess fat. Sprinkle the flour over the mince and stir well for about a minute. Add the ketchup and beef broth, mix well, bring to a boil and then simmer for 5 minutes.
- Transfer mince to an oven proof dish. Now mash the carrots and spread a layer on top of the beef. Mash the potatoes, with the butter, ½ of the cheese and the remaining onion and spread on top of mashed carrots and top with the remaining cheese.
- Bake in the preheated oven for about 30 minutes or until the top is golden brown. I tend to serve it with frozen peas. I do cook them first! Or you could serve it with baked beans
Chicken Myers Recipe
Prior to meeting my husband I lived with someone for 6 years and this recipe is pretty much all I walked away with, thanks to the lack of common law legislation in this country! ;-)
However, this is one of my favourite recipes. Honestly, it tastes better than it looks.
You will need:
- 1 small head of Broccoli – cut into bite size pieces.
- 500 g boneless/skinless chicken breasts
- 1 400 g can of Cream of Chicken Condensed Soup
- 4 Tbsp Mayonnaise
- 2 Tsp of curry powder (whatever strength you can cope with)
- 25 g of cheddar cheese
Method
- Preheat the oven to 190 degrees C.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil and add the broccoli for about 5 minutes. It should only be slightly tender. Don’t overcook it as it still has an hour to go in the oven.
- In a small bowl, mix together the soup, mayo and curry powder.
- Place the broccoli and chicken in a casserole dish and pour over the mixture. Make sure it’s evenly covered. But don’t lose sleep over it.
- Top with Grated Cheese.
- Cook for about an hour, the top should be golden brown and chicken cooked through.
I serve it on a bed of rice.
Enjoy!
Easy Slow Cooker Lamb Curry
Ingredients:
- 1 tbs of oil (whatever you have on hand)
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 125 ml beef stock (half a stock cube)
- 1 400g tin of chopped tomatoes
- 1 Tbs of oil
- 500g of lamb (you could use pork or chicken), cut into bite size pieces
- 2 tbs Patak’s Mild Curry Paste
- Salt and pepper
- Basmati Rice
- Natural Yoghurt
1.) Preheat the slow cooker. Heat the oil in a pan and then lump in the onion and garlic. Sautee for about 3 minutes. Then throw in the beef stock and tinned tomatoes. Bring to a boil and pour into slow cooker.
2.) Put the curry paste in a bowl, add the lamb, and stir to coat evenly. Heat oil in another pan add the lamb and brown on all sides (approx 5-10 minutes). Transfer to the slow cooker.
3.) Cook on low for 6-8 hours. Serve with a ginormous pot of yoghurt and some naans to mop up the liquid.
Please note…the more you drink the better it tastes!
I ate it so quickly I didn’t get a chance to take a photo.