Thursday 29 December 2016

Leftover turkey biryani

I found this recipe via a link someone posted on Facebook and made it this morning.  It is very, very tasty and I am looking forward to dinner tonight when I will reheat it thoroughly in the microwave.

First of all, here's a link to the recipe.
https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/leftover-turkey-biryani.html

Some notes:
I made half amount and it's made loads.  Enough for two big portions, possibly three if I'm not too hungry!
I used turkey dripping instead of butter and oil.
I used a mixture of turkey chunks, ham and chestnut and cranberry stuffing balls (cubed).
Thee curry paste was rogan josh.
Parsley (dried) instead of coriander as I am one of those unfortunates for whom leaf coriander tastes 'soapy'.
I shall add creme fraiche this evening as I have no natural yogurt right now.

I'm keeping this one.  It should work with other leftover roasts and it is very easy and delicious.

Christmas Hash

Hardly a recipe but so tasty and as simple as ABC.

In a large bowl, put your Christmas leftovers cut up small or roughly mashed.  I had turkey, ham, roasties, roast onions, stuffing, sprouts, broccoli, roast parsnips and carrots - not much of any of them.  Oh, and a bit of Beth's vegetarian crumble and her cranberry and chestnut stuffing.
I also had a few small slices of bread that had dried up so I zizzed them and added them too.
I mixed it all well and added some turkey fat from the top of the stock after I had boiled up the carcass.  Then I seasoned it with salt and pepper.  It was a right old mix-up!

I melted some butter in a pan, piled in the mixture, squashed it down a bit and let it brown before turning it over (in bits, it didn't turn whole) and doing the same again.
I ate it with some soy sauce.  Brown sauce would have been nice too.

I have some leftover mix and am going to use my burger press and freeze the results.

Tuesday 20 December 2016

Nigella's parmesan shortbreads.

Beth brought these over on Sunday, having made them at home, and they were absolutely delicious, very more-ish so I thought I'd share the link.

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/parmesan-shortbreads

She lest one 'sausage' of dough here and it is now in the freezer.  When I use it, I will slice it more thinly and watch the baking time carefully as it will be shorter.

Wednesday 14 December 2016

Vegetarian stuffing

I always do a vegetarian stuffing for Beth and, to be honest, it is as nice as the conventional one that Mum makes for me, I think.

I got it from the Sainsbury's site so here's the link.  It doesn't half go on, sorry!

http://www.sainsburys.co.uk/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/gb/groceries/find-recipes/recipes/christmas-recipes/cranberry-and-chestnut-stuffing-balls-502635-r-44?langId=44&storeId=10151&krypto=Q8%2FYTTuS8FRhBNRVrqME8zL%2Fww8NxkZd3JUWF%2FrUvWq3g7e5hrVwLKFTrNPHHzF7Yn1DwaorVZ4jbyYaiPJUx2s5nbH2Y3HefVWwZdnIsG3M29ks%2Bz8y5SYPO5osPYqa&ddkey=http%3Agb%2Fgroceries%2Ffind-recipes%2Frecipes%2Fchristmas-recipes%2Fcranberry-and-chestnut-stuffing-balls-502635-r-44

I made some changes, of course.  Don't I always?

I used garlic puree
The thyme and the sage were fresh but I also added some mixed dried herbs and some dried parsley.
The breadcrumbs were from a granary/wholemeal loaf (home made) that had gone dry and a bit stale.  Lovely flavour though!
I fried a little bit off to taste and then added some black pepper, some salt (not a lot) and some stock paste (home made) and stock powder (marigold).

I made patties rather than balls as they will be easier to cook, I think.  Oh, and I dusted them with flour as that, with a bit of spray oil, should ensure a nice, crunchy outside.



They are now on a baking tray, in the freezer, not looking great, I have to admit, but they will look much better after they are cooked.  They will come out on Christmas Eve and, on The Day and after the turkey comes out, I will spray them with oil and 'roast' them.

Another thing ticked off the list!  ðŸ˜€


Sunday 4 December 2016

More fudge

I'm a great fan of 'The Frugal Family' blog.  If you like frugal stuff, it is well worth following and I do.

A short while ago Cassie posted about how she had made some very easy fudge using Nutella.  Well, my ears (or do I mean eyes?) pricked up because fudge is what I am making for people this year for gifts as I don't have enough chutney/jam for everyone (and have enough to last me over the winter too!).

The first batch of fudge I made turned out beautifully (the previous post has a link to the recipe) and I am going to make it again with flavourings and additions, like brazil nuts.  However, this one looked so easy that I thought I'd give it a go.

Here's the link because I'm not going to nick someone else's recipe.  This, hopefully, takes you straight to the relevant post but you might like to stay and look around a bit.

http://www.frugalfamily.co.uk/5-minute-nutella-fudge/

I used Thermione because it is easier and does all the stirring for me!  I also costed it out, just for interest.

200g milk chocolate.  I used Morrisons savers choc which is - well, OK - and is 30p a bar so that was 60p
1 can condensed milk - carnation, of course, is there any other - £1.35
25g butter - 10p (Lurpak was £1.00 when I bought it)
300g Nutella.  Well, I didn't use Nutella, I got the Morrisons savers equivalent and I think it's the very first time I have bought anything like that!  The jar was 80p so I used 60ps worth
Total:  £2.65

I reckon I will get four generous sized gifts from that so, even with the wrappings and ribbons, it is going to be a great gift, made with love and care but not breaking the bank!

Of course, I am posting before the mixture has had time to set so it could all be a disaster but it has started to set before it's cooled enough to go in the fridge so I am optimistic.  And if it doesn't, it will make a brilliant sauce, it can be swirled into ice cream, it certainly won't be wasted!

It looks less than it is - the baking tin is a biggie - fruit cake size!
And here's the star of the show.  The most used piece of equipment I have ever had!  How did I ever manage pre-Thermione?  ðŸ˜‰

Later:   It set.  It's a bit soft so next time I will cook it for longer.  It is absolutely delicious!