ROTW | Homemade summer potato salad

 

 

 A little bit of a simple recipe but one I absolutely adore. For many of you who are really well seasoned cooks this will be a pretty basic & beginners dish. But hey ho, I thought I'd share what has fast become a house favourite here in the Leeds Man Den.

So, what you'll need:
(serves 2-3)
20 baby potatoes
1/2 tsp Garlic Salt
pinch of Pepper
1/4 tsp Chilli
1 Red onion
1 tbsp Light Mayonaise

Step 1: Prep your veg!
 Chop each of your potatoes into bite size pieces, this ensures they cook quickly & its a no fuss eat. also finely chop your red onion ready for softening in a pan later.

Step 2: The Cooking!
Allow your potatoes at least 15 minutes to cook in boiling, lightly salted water, until soft & cooked through. Whilst you're waiting for your potatoes, fry your onions in a pan adding a 1/4 teaspoon of hot chilli power for a little bit of a kick - If you're not a fan of chilli this bit isn't essential but it gives a slight bit of heat that I personally love.
Once the onions are softened, set a side & once cooked through, drain your potatoes.

Step 3: Bring it together!
Grab a serving bowl & transfer the drained potatoes & softened onions, mixing them together well. You can then add the table spoon of light mayonnaise and 1/2 teaspoon of garlic salt
(The garlic salt is just for flavour, again if you dislike this, its not essential, I just find it to be tasty with both chilli & garlic added)
Once everything is in the bowl, mix well & add a few twists or a pinch of black pepper to taste.

I served my potato salad still warm with a Salt & Chilli chicken breast & a size of rocket salad.

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This recipe, although unbelievably simple, is an amazing side dish to so many main meals or lunches. I've found myself leaning toward this even more since the weather took a turn for the glorious. And its perfect with grilled/BBQ meats or fish!

Have you ever made your own potato salad?

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Loaded potato skins | ROTW



I'm on a little bit of a tight budget at the moment, and I've been scouring the net for some easy, cheap

and tasty meal ideas for me & the Creature. Lately I've felt a little bit too much repetition has been going on in my kitchen.. We tend to eat the same meals all the time, & okay that's probably because we really like them.. But its time for something new.

 

I haven't actually ever tried to make loaded potato skins myself, I've eat them a few times in restaurants like Frankie & Bennies, but its not something thats graced my own kitchen yet!

So, anyway, here is my little recipe for bacon & cheese loaded skins

 Ingredients

* 4 big jacket potatoes

* 2 tablespoons melted butter

* Salt & pepper

* 1 cup of grated cheddar cheese

* 4 slices cooked, chopped crispy bacon

* Sour cream

* Finely chopped fresh chives

(This recipe makes enough for 2 people)

 

* Pre-heat the oven to 200° & have a shelf free in the middle of the oven. 

 

* Pierce each potato several times with a fork or sharp knife. Place the potatoes directly on the oven rack and bake until the skins are crisp and a knife easily pierces the potatoes, about 50 minutes.

- Alternatively place the potatoes in a large bowl, cover with cling film and heat in the microwave 10 minutes at a time until cooked through.

 

* Transfer to a wire rack until cool enough to handle, about 10 minutes and turn on your grill.

Slice each potato in half lengthwise. and scoop out the flesh, setting to one side until later.

- Whilst you are waiting for the potatoes to cool, fry or grill your bacon until crisp.

 

 * Brush the insides of the potatoes with the melted butter and season with salt and pepper. Flip the potatoes over, brush the skin sides with butter, and season with salt and pepper. Evenly space the potato halves skin-side up on a baking sheet and grill until skins start to crisp.

Flip the skins over and repeat until the skins are completely crisp - But don't let them burn!

 

* Mix together the potato flesh, cheese and crumble half the bacon into the mix, combine and transfer back into the skins. Top with more bacon and cheese & grill until melted and golden

- Serve with salad & enjoy! 

 

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 Apart from the chives and sour cream, the rest of the ingredients were already in my fridge/store cupboard. Of course you don't need the sour cream and chives, they were just extras that I knew would make this recipe extra yummy!

With salad with was completely belly busting, we had two medium potatoes each but all the bacon etc. really does go a long way to filling your belly. - That being said, it's not a recipe I'll be making all the time either, with all the melted butter, cheese and bacon, this recipe is calorific!!
(But yummy, so so sooooo yummy!!!)

So I hope you like the look of these & give them a go yourself!
There are so many variations you can do too, and if you give it a go, pop back and let me know how yours turned out.

Do you like my Recipe of the week posts?
Check out last weeks 'Pulled Pork Recipe'

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BBQ pulled pork | ROTW

Hey guys,

A few months ago I set off with the plan to share at least one recipe with you a week. Unlike a lot of students I know, I don't tend to live on beans on toast or microwave meals. I'm one of these weirdos who actually cooks a proper meal every night!
However my vow to share my food with you weekly has failed miserably and I think this is only the second post? Darn it, I really need to stick to these weekly posts!

Anyways, today I've been giving something new a try and I thought I'd share the recipe with you. Because honestly, its super easy & for any of you out there who are (like me) obsessed with TV food shows like Man V Food, I guarantee you'll be drooling at your computer screens once you've finished reading!

So here is my super easy slow cooker pulled pork recipe!

 

    Ingredients:

2 medium yellow onions, thinly sliced

4 medium garlic cloves, thinly sliced

1 cup chicken stock

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon salt,

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 (4-1/2- to 5-pound) boneless pork shoulder, fat removed.

2 cups barbecue sauce (optional) 

1. Place the chopped onions and garlic in an even layer in the slow cooker and pour in the stock or broth.

2. Combine the sugar, chili powder, measured salt, cumin, and cinnamon in a small bowl. Pat the pork dry with paper towels & rub the spice mixture all over the pork.
Place the meat on top of the onions and garlic. Cover and cook until the pork is fork tender, about 6 to 8 hours on high or 8 to 10 hours on low.

3. Turn off the slow cooker and remove the pork to a cutting board. Set a fine-mesh strainer over a medium heatproof bowl. Pour the onion mixture from the slow cooker through the strainer and return the solids to the slow cooker. Set the strained liquid aside.

4. Using 2 forks, shred the meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding any large pieces of fat. Return the shredded meat to the slow cooker, add the barbecue sauce, if using, and mix to combine. If you’re not using barbecue sauce, use a spoon to skim and discard the fat from the surface of the strained cooking liquid, and then add 1/4 cup of the liquid at a time to the slow cooker until the pork is just moistened. Taste and season with salt as needed.

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I seriously recommend if you haven't invested in a slow cooker, to do so. So many of my favourite meals are done in the slow cooker & if you're a student & in & out of your flat/house its ideal!

In these photos I have pinched my flat mates larger cooker as I have a 1.5lr one that could only fit 1 small joint in. But the upside to mine is it only cost £15 from B&M bargains!
Otherwise most bigger ones are around the £25 mark in most supermarkets.

Would you try this recipe?

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ROTW | Winter veg soup | Weight loss!

Hello my lovelies!
Woah Uni deadlines are a little tight this week. I've been working my butt off to get it all done, and as a result, Bo Blab has suffered!

So a massive sorry for the lack of posts, but until I have time to write a lengthily post (probably about the Clothes Show) - Here's a little update about this week!

 

Both me & the Creature have been talking about getting healthy, and after a hard look in the mirror, and seeing the winter weight creeping on I've realised I really need to stop eating left over birthday cake (which is massive, chocolate, and seriously irresistible - Mega will power needed)

So my loves, I thought I would share my recipe for a  yummy waist friendly winter soup!

When I first came to university, I was 12st, size 14 and on the chubby side. I'm only a little 5ft2 so obviously, this wasn't healthy. It was basically a result of quitting my dance classes & copious amounts of alcohol & takeaways over the summer! (admittedly one of the best summers ever!)
But the happiness didn't last. During my first year I studied Costume & the work load was so heavy I never seemed to have any time to go out drinking (like most of my friends) and sometimes no time to even eat!

I was seriously drained, which ultimately lead me to swapping courses & becoming a journalist. But by cutting out alcohol and portion sizes I managed to loose a hell of a lot of weight!

First thing, I bought a £5 hand blender from Tesco, and a big bag of veg & made a vegetable soup. The soup was huge and with a slice of bread filled me up more than any processed s**t in my freezer. I cut out alcohol completely (well almost..) & low and behold, a few weeks later my jeans were getting looser!

So anyways enough yapping about myself, here is the recipe!

Ingredients:

2x medium carrot
2x medium parsnips
1x swede
2x medium potatoes
2x red onion
(you can get a bag with all of the above in Tesco for £1.50!!)
Garlic
Rosemary
salt & pepper
olive oil.
2 pints of veg or chicken stock
- This makes about 6  large portions

Step 1: Prep the veg
First preheat your oven to 180'c that way your oven will be ready to go by the time you've finished chopping.
Peel & roughly chop all the veg, no need to be pretty, you'll be blending them later anyways (try to keep them all at the same sort of size though for even cooking)

Place the chopped veggies, whole garlic cloves in a deep roasting tin (you can buy these from Wilkinsons for pennies!) and sprinkle your rosemary, salt and pepper over the top.
- If you're a student & think fresh herbs are too expensive, think again! I bought a bag with aprox 20 stalks of rosemary for 80p & froze them! They don't go off & defrost in seconds

Lastly in the prep stage, coat the veg with about 2tbsp of olive oil. You can add more if you like, but its just to help the veggies get nice and golden.

Step 2: The roasting

By now your oven should be the right temperature, bang your raw veggies into the oven for 1 1/2 hours, turning every half an hour. Depending on the amounts of veggies, time may differ. But you're a smart cookie, just prod them with a knife if unsure & don't let them burn!!

This recipe is so so easy, no skill involved, just bang in the oven & let it work its magic.
Once cooked they should look golden & yummy & all veg should be soft.

 

Step 3 : Blending

 

Either use a hand bender or a food processor, either will do. But depending on how much you've made you may need to divide into batches (if so, keep a big bowl or pan on hand)

I did mine in two batches, so add the pint of stock to a pan & half the veggies & blend until smooth. This time however I kept a few carrots & parsnips back & chopped them into rough pieces to add a chunky element at the end.

 

Once blended & at the desired consistency (add more stock/or more veg if too thick or thin- trail and error!) ladle yourself a bowl & enjoy!

 

I added a little bit of parsley to mine, but alternatively you could add cream (naughty naughty) or any other herbs you like to the soup for extra flavour.

 

 

& so finally we get to the nitty gritty, the weightloss photos. To be fair, compared to many bloggers who have gone through a weight loss journey, mine is no where near as impressive, but I have lost over 2st, I'm a healthy size 10-12 & feel a lot healthier than I did.

All from cutting out alcohol & eating food I know is good for me!

 

 

Thanks for reading guys

 & I hope you try my recipe!

 

 

ROTW - Baked lemon and rosemary chicken

I'm like the one-pot queen in my flat, or well, slow cooker queen, which is actually how I would usually do this recipe, but after reading something similar online I thought I'd give the oven a chance! & my lord it was yummy! This is probably one of my favourite dishes right now.

Its a really fresh dish & great for if you're feeling a little under the weather, because leftovers can be turned into the most delicious soup too! (add some chicken stock & blend)

But anyways, heres how I do my one pot lemon chicken!

 

 

Ingredients: (serves 4)

• 8 chicken portions (use a mix of legs, thighs and breasts if possible)
• 500g new potatoes, halved lengthways
• 2 lemons, cut into wedges
• 4 fresh rosemary sprigs
• A glass of white wine
• 4 tbsp olive oil  

 

Basic method:

1. Put the chicken portions into a roasting tin with the new potatoes, lemons, fresh rosemary sprigs, white wine, olive oil and season well.

 

2. Bake, uncovered in a preheated oven at 180°C/fan160°C/gas 4 for 40-50 minutes, until tender and golden.

 

  Handy tips:

On reflection, I found that basting the chicken halfway through really helped keep the chicken moist & succlent. If you're worried about your meat drying out, you can also cover the roasting tin with baking foil for the first 30 minutes, & remove the foil to crisp up the chicken skin.

 

TOP TIP - For those of you watching your waist. Remove the skin as its the fattiest part!

Would you try this recipe?
- Also don't foget to come back on friday for the launch of my first ever giveaway!