Meal Planning Monday – 22 April 2013

Weekly Meal Plan - 22 April 2013

I’m stuck in this limbo between Winter and Spring.  I know it’s supposed to be Spring but I kept finding myself still choosing winter comfort food when planning my meals this week; Two Bean Chilli, Sausage and Puy Lentils and Spaghetti Bolognaise.

I’ve never made the Salt Cod before and in truth I’m using up a selection of white fish from the freezer so it may not actually be cod.

I’m reviewing the spices, hence the Spicy Chicken and Rice recipe, but I’m not convinced about Chicken and Cinnamon and not sure how it will work.

I’m out at my networking group, An Afternoon in the Pub on Friday, so I will pop Spag Bol in the Slow Cooker for Hubby and Madame as it’s their favourite.

As always, these are all Slow Cooker Recipes and if I have any joy, you will find them on my other blog, slowcookerqueen.com.

Have a great week.

 

Meal Planning Monday

Meal Planning Monday – 15 April 2013

Meal Planning Slow Cooking

My daughter has now been off school for 18 days!  18 WHOLE DAYS!  I’m gagging for her to get back to school tomorrow and a semblance of a routine restored.  Her school had an inset today (just what we needed after two weeks off),  but  she was still supposed to go to child-care but threw a wobbly and as I was home, I decided to spare the childminder the pain and keep her home with me.

However, I did explain I had work to do and I’ve already planned the meals for the week so she’s going to have to eat Cannellini Risotto.  It’s not going to happen is it???  And for the record, I’ve got very little done.

Anyhow, all of the recipes this week are new so I don’t have any links to the recipes but if they turn out okay, you will eventually find them on The Slow Cooker Queen.

Have a great week and I hope you enjoyed a bit of sunshine.

Meal Planning Monday

Slow Cooker Tomato and Basil Soup with Olive Bread

 

Slow Cooker Tomato and Basil Soup with Olive Bread

Recipe Type: Soup
Cuisine: Slow Cooking
Author: Mediocre Mum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
A lovely, easy to make soup using ripe tomatoes. Much better than the tinned variety and a lot less sugar.
Ingredients
  • 1 TBSP of olive oil
  • 450 grams of ripe tomatoes, roughly chopped
  • 1 Onion, chopped
  • 1 clove of garlic, minced
  • 1 TBSP of Balsamic Vinegar
  • 1 Bay Leaf
  • 300 ml or 430g jar of Passata with Basil
  • 1 Bay leaf
  • 900 ml of vegetable stock
  • Salt and pepper
  • 1 TBSP of Corn Starch
  • 2 TBSP of water
  • Crème freche
  • Couple of pinches of dried basil to Garnish
Instructions
  1. Heat the oil in a large frying pan, sauté the onions, garlic and tomatoes for 3-5 minutes until they soften.
  2. Transfer to the Slow Cooker. Add the Vinegar, Bay Leaf, Passata, Stock and season with salt and pepper. Leave to cook for 3 hours on high or on low for 6 hours.
  3. Thirty minutes prior to serving, remove the Bay Leaf and use a hand held blender to puree the soup. Mix the corn flour with water and stir into the soup. This should help thicken it.
  4. Ladle into large bowls and top with a dollop of crème freche and some basil.
  5. Serve with some nice bread

Slow Cooker Sunday: Sweet and Tangy Meatballs

This isn’t the normal type of meal I would cook.  I tend to lean toward fresh ingredients but I do love a cheat sometimes.   A while back I was in Ikea and got caught up in the moment and bought a 1kg bag of their frozen meatballs.  They’ve been clogging up my freezer ever since.

Last week I came across this very simple recipe from Six Sister’s Stuff for Tangy Meatballs which only has 3 ingredients!  The only challenge I had was finding grape jelly here in the UK.  So, I substituted Reduced Sugar Black Currant Jam.

It may not sound appetizing but it was really nice and most importantly the 5 year old loved it.

Slow Cooker Sunday: Sweet and Tangy Meatballs

Recipe Type: Main
Author: Mediocre Mum
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 4
A very easy family recipe with only 3 ingredients.
Ingredients
  • 500g of Frozen Swedish Meatballs ( I think any pork or turkey would do)
  • 100ml of Sweet Chilli Dipping Sauce (Blue Dragon)
  • 200g of Reduced Sugar Blackcurrant Jam
Instructions
  1. Preheat the slow cooker on low. Add the Dipping Sauce and Jam to the Slow Cooker and mix well.
  2. Add the meatballs and stir to coat.
  3. Cook on low for 2-5 hours
  4. Serve with rice and greens.

How it’s your turn to share some of your favourite recipes using the Linky below.

You can also find us on Pinterest if you need some Slow Cooking recipe inspiration with over 90 recipes.



Slow Cooker Sunday: Special Edition – Food Styling with Ren Behan

I find it very difficult to make brown gloop look appetizing!  The lovely Ren Behan, a friend and local food blogger, kindly invited me around her house for a session on Food Styling.  I had no idea there was actually such a thing.  Apparently, there are people who do this for a living!  They travel around to different food shoots with a van full of props.  I’ve still got a long way to go but I learned a few things.

Tips for Food Bloggers

  1. Get a decent camera!  Everyone had digital SLRs and there was me with my iPhone.  I got a bit lost when they started talking decimal points and aperture.  However, after the session I came home and found a couple of apps that can help make your photos look like they were taken with an SLR camera.  The first which I’ve been using for awhile is Camera Plus and the new one I down loaded is called Afterfocus.  It allows you to choose the area you would like to focus on then blur the background also known as Bokeh.
  2. Natural light is a must.  This is difficult as we often eat late and it being winter in the UK there isn’t a lot of natural light.  The trick is to set aside a portion and take a photo in the morning.
  3. When presenting food, apparently, less is more.  I’ve had a bad habit of taking photos of it in the slow cooker, which didn’t result in appetizing photos.
  4. Props!  Don’t go out and buy 6 full dinner sets but buy the odd plate, bowls, and cutlery.  Charity shops and places like Matalan are brilliant for this.  Also, start collecting pieces of fabric that you can use to add interest/colour to your photos.
  5. Get a collection of wooden boards.  Look for offcuts at your local DIY store.
  6. When presenting food use odd numbers.  (E.g.  1, 3, 5, 7)

I’ve only been applying these tricks for a week but I’ve already seen a big improvement in the quality of my photos.

Thanks Ren

Now it’s your turn to share your Slow Cooker recipes using the Linky below.  We’re also on Pinterest if you want to see the recipes from past weeks.  The hashtag for Instagram and Twitter is #scsunday