Hairy Dieters Book Week 1
For those of you who know me you’ll know I got married back in April and that between booking the wedding in November and tying the knott I lost two stone in weight then put about half a stone back on, which I’ve since lost and I’m now aiming to loose another 2 stone. I did it with the help of The My Fitness Pal which logs the calories you are eating vs the exercise you are doing and keeps a log of everything . I also upped my exercise to going on my cross trainer 3 to 4 times a week for 45 minutes and upped the setting on the cross trainer to the one with most resistance as well as trying to get out and do as much walking as possible The hardest thing for me is keeping mealtimes interesting and filling as well as healthy, It’s all to...
Read MoreMy favourite spaghetti bolognese recipe
Bolognese is a hotly discussed topic on many blogs, everyone seems to have a different recipe and everyone has their opinions on what should be in the sauce, so after lots of experimenting and borrowing bits from various places around the web I’ve finally got a recipe that I want to make again and again and again. It’s taken a fair bit of experimenting with the herbs but the hardest decision was whether to use white wine or red wine…the white seemed to give it a lighter, sweeter flavour and the red more meaty and robust. I took the star anis out after about 6 hours just so I didn’t forget to take it out at the end. I also made the decision to make it all in a pan then put it in the slow cooker on medium for about 8 hours just because I...
Read MoreHaddock with creamed leeks, samphire, crayfish and smoked bacon.
Firstly, sorry it’s been so long since I posted on the blog things have been hectic with the new self employment status and also getting married (blogs about both of those to come shortly) This recipe was inspired by a dish I had on honeymoon in Cornwall, It works really well with Cod, Haddock, Pollack or Monkfish, the cream can also be replaced with proper full fat cream, it’s also quite nice with a squeeze of lemon over the fish too. The only place I’ve found Samphire locally is Asda, It’s well worth getting if you can…if not try some thinly sliced green beans. Depending on the thickness of your fish and the size of your potatoes they should be cooked at about the same time. Usually 10-15minutes. Serves two. Ingredients 2 x haddock...
Read MoreHam, blue cheese and mango chutney tart
I stole this from one of the supermarket magazines, made it last night and it was yummy, its really not good for you but would make great party food or a pizza substitute, we had a couple of slices each with some salad. It sounds like it shouldn’t work but it really really does. Just make sure not to use a sweet mango chutney, I like the Yorkshire rose one from Morrisons as its not too sweet and has huge chunks of mango. Ingredients 1 packet of pre rolled puff pastry 5 tablespoons of mango chutney big lump of your favourite blue cheese (the recipe said use dolcalatte) A few slices of you favourite ham (i used aldi black forest ham) a drizzle of olive oil Method Pre heat the oven to 200 degrees C Place the pastry on some baking paper on a nice big oven...
Read MoreHome made Gyros Pitta
Gyros was something I fell in love with the first time we went to Greece on Holiday, every time we go back I always eat way too many of them. The ingredients and way they are done vary from Island to Island and shop to shop, some use a big spit roast slab of meat (similar style to donner) some use pork chops and other use flame grilled pork loin, essentially they all end up having similar herbs and spices and presented in a similar way – usually in a pitta or flat bread with tzatziki, mustard, ketchup, onions, lettuce, tomatoes and chips…yes chips! The exception to this was a special gyros I had last year in Parga which came in the most amazing metaxa and cheese sauce. Anyway after looking through Mark’s photos of his recent trip to Greece and...
Read MoreChilli and sun dried tomato bread
Another new Chilli Up North blog post, this time a recipe for some awesome bread buns
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