spicy chorizo and smoked chicken spaghetti with tomato and basil

as i mentioned in my previous post, yesterday i went shopping at mr. mozzies and bought some delicious stuff to cook with including some amazing chorizo sausage and smoked chicken breasts. chorizo is a spicy, spanish sausage made from pork and has a distinctive red colouring which comes from red peppers and paprika which is included in the recipe. when pan fried it gives off a spicy, fragrant, flame red oil and therefore flavours everything else in the dish.

today's recipe is so simple and easy, as are most of the dishes on my blog, and will just be another way to brighten up your day :)

INGREDIENTS:

• chorizo sausage
• one smoked chicken breast
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 chopped tomatoes
• salt
• pepper
• basil
• parsely
• wholewheat spaghetti (250g)

METHOD:

• slice up the chorizo and an fry in a pan for a few seconds on each side til crispy and then remove.
• in the remaining oil from the chorizo, saute your garlic and add the tomatoes and cook down until soft and saucy. add some cream if you like at this point. add the chorizo back in.
• slice up your smoked chicken breast thinly and add to the sauce. throw in some basil and chopped parsely.
• add your spaghetti and toss, and it's ready to serve.

deliciousness on a plate friends, please do try it if you have the time :)

xo

i love mozzies

so yesterday i went to mr. mozzies with my dad on argyle road, and as we walked in, it was like the heaven's opened up! the smells, the look, the amount of delicious produce we could pick from and i was in my element! i'd been to mr. mozzies before but never to the one on argyle road, and i had been told by my boyfriend that it is the best store for cured and smoked meats amongst other things.

i am a huge fan of cold cuts and smoked and cured meats, and i get this from my dad. as a little girl, i have fond memories of buffet breakfasts at hotels with my parents, and one thing my dad ALWAYS did was start off breakfast with a plate of cold cuts with different types of cheeses and fresh melon and as the years have gone by, i've started doing this too. it's just the most delicious breakfast option and oh so satisfying!

this morning i was feeling a bit blue - it was the last day of lectures and my last official day as a full time student. campus will be a memory from tomorrow and it made me a little down. i am, however, taking comfort in the fact that i have amazing memories to keep my company for the rest of my life! so, i aided my bittersweet morning with food (of course i did haha) and yesterday we bought the most delicious kaizer ham, sliced right in front of me and so perfectly cured. this morning i could not resist a bit of buttery toast with shavings of this delicious ham and some extra matured cheddar cheese. such a brilliant start to my gloomy morning and here's a picture... :)

...and oh how i love breakfast ♥

xo

chicken stir-fried rice with a twist :)

as we all know, stir-fries, although being packed with vegetables, sometimes can be really oily and greasy, especially stir-fried rice dishes. this one, however, is not so! check it out ...

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves length ways and sliced thinly
• finely chopped spinach (1 cup)
• mushrooms (1 punnet)
• mixed vegetables (1 cup)
• garlic (4 cloves)
• 1 egg
• brown rice (1 cup)
• parsely
• coriander

For the chicken marinade:

• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• robinson's peri peri spice
• robinson's steak & chops spice
• lemon pepper

METHOD:

• put the rice onto boil, this will take a good twenty five minutes to cook. marinate the chicken and set aside until needed.
• in a wok, stir fry the mushrooms with the garlic for a few minutes, add in the spinach and half the mixed vegetables. beat your egg and add to the wok and stir fry until the egg is cooked through. season with salt and a splash of peri-peri or cayenne pepper if you like at this point. before removing from the wok, add in the chopped coriander. give it all a good toss and then remove.
• in the same wok, add in the marinated chicken and stir fry until the chicken is sealed. remove from wok and add in the remaining mixed veg. stri fry for a few minutes and then add the chicken back into the wok, throw in some parsely and you're done.
• when the rice is cooked, drain and add in the mushroom/mixed veg mix and toss and you're ready to serve :)

this easy and healthy stir fry option will become a regular on your lunch or dinner menu once you try it, trust me - give it a go :)

'til next time

peace & love friends

xo

eat healthy, live happy

this week, following up from the last post on "eat healthy, live happy", i'm gonna show you an amazing lunch dish that is not only healthy but delicious! if you ask dietician, pasta salads are great for lunch meals, and this one is no exception :)

INGREDIENTS:

• half a cup of spinach wilted with garlic and a little olive oil
• sliced cucumber
• julienned carrot
• a few slices of lean ham/chicken
• basil leaves
• low fat salad spread by nola (1 teaspoon)
• a handful of cooked wholewheat pasta - any type you like
• salt and pepper

this is the easiest thing to make on the go or the night before work or school as it's a salad and doesn't have to be eaten warm. throw in everything together and give it a toss. the nola salad spread gives it an amazing tang and has a lot of pickled vegetables in it, and is low fat so it's better than using mayonnaise. also, try any other veggies that you like, it will work just as well!

give it a go, you'll be surprised at how your perspective on healthy eating will change :)

xo

good food and wine show 2010 and revelations

before i go full blown on an update on the show....

devastated that justine schofield was voted out of masterchef australia 2 weeks ago, i have had to rearrange my thoughts on who i want to win (100%) and who i'd like to see at the food & wine show. i have to say that i still love chris and looking at the food he has produced recently, has made me really believe he could be the first masterchef. i think he has a clear vision and it would be amazing to meet him in person! i have literally been rooting for him from the beginning, but julia (who got fast tracked to the final after beating a celebrity chef) is in a class of her own! so i wouldn't mind seeing her here in south africa at the show either...

anyway, the good food and wine show is less than a month away and excitement is building! i have planned out my post-exams celebration right to the tee and i know that this year's event is going to be unlike any other - mainly because my passion for food and the direction it seems my life is taking is leading me more and more into the direction of becoming a chef. i have gotten to the point where i have told my family and friends i am only going to practise law so that i can retire early with a cafe. it is the thing i know i was meant to do.

this year's show, as i mentioned in a previous post, will include a get fresh with bbc lifestyle workshop which is the piece de resistance of today's post:)

this AMAZING workshop will enable people to cook with the bbc lifestyle celebrity chefs i mentioned (atul kocchar, reza mahamed, toby pattock, the winner of masterchef australia) as well as a number of south african chefs like justin bonello (from cooked - i would die if i cooked with him!) amongst others. the workshop will show us how to use the freshest produce and cooking up deliciously fresh food!

i cannot wait :)

bangers & mash deluxe with onion gravy

this AMAZING recipe is the best comfort food for a dull day such as this. it's not suuuper healthy BUT it's not exactly bad for you:)

INGREDIENTS:

• 6 lamb mint sausages
• 2 large potatoes
• butter, milk, salt & pepper

For the onion gravy:

• half a large onion (sliced)
• a small knob of butter
• half a glass of red wine
• 250g thick onion soup (i bought the packet type and added 450g boiling water and simmered)
• 10ml vegetable stock powder dissolved in 150ml boiling water
• salt & pepper
• thyme

METHOD:

• fry off sausages in a large frying pan, remove and set aside.
• while frying, put on your potatoes to boil (remember that root vegetables that grow under the ground must be placed in cold water and brought up to the boil not placed in boiling water.)
• with the left over yumminess from the sausages in the pan, add your knob of butter and sliced onion. saute until soft and then add your red wine and reduce on a low heat.
• combine the onion soup with the vegetable stock and add to the pan. simmer and add thyme and seasoning.
• mash your potatoes with seasoning, warm milk and butter and that's ready to serve.
• after 10 minutes your onion gravy should be thick and ready to serve.

i served this scrumptious meal with sauted spinach with garlic :)

do try it - it will make your day just like it made mine!

xo

eat healthy, live happy

living healthy can be extremely difficult in the society we live in at present. with so many fast food outlets at our disposal, it's so much easier to give in to the deliberately enticing smells of the local burger, bunnie or pizza place. we think it'll be easier and less time consuming to order take-out than to "slave" away in the kitchen. i don't think this is true.

from gamespot.com

next time you're ordering food from a take out, ask them how long your order will take to prepare. in all possibilty it will probably take 20 minutes for you to pick up the order or for it to be delivered. i'm going to prove over the next couple weeks that these 20 minutes would be better spent preparing something even more delicious and way healthier than your local take-out spot.

first stop: breakfast

now you may think "aah breakfast is easy, who even eats take out for breakfast?" well let me tell you - a lot of people. and it's usually something really bad for you. a lot of people won't tell you but i know for a fact that some people either DON'T have breakfast in the morning or grab a packet of chips, a pie from the gas station or some other convenient food option before school varsity or work.

uhhm no.

it takes 5 minutes to make this amazing breakfast option that will not only keep you nice and full til tea time or even lunch time, but will also kick start your metabolism.

INGREDIENTS:

• half a cup of oats (i use jungle oats - either the normal type you make in a pot or the instant type)
• water from a recently boiled kettle
• dried cranberries
• one banana
• sliced almonds
• one teaspoon brown sugar or honey
• milk

all you need to do is boil your oats or pour the water into your instant oats, slice up a banana, throw in a handful of dried cranberries and almonds and drizzle the sugar or honey on top with a splash of milk and you're ready to go! alternatively you can use banana chips or any other dried/fresh fruit that you like.

not only is the dried fruit option really easy to store (it lasts a good amount of time in the fridge), it also saves you time and money in the long run.

so don't think that breakfast has to be boring or time consuming - it can actually be a lot of fun!

til next time:)

peace and love
x