More Easy Recipes.

My last recipe post proved to be quite popular, so I thought I would do another one. I hope you all enjoy these!

Steak Salad:

This is very easy and super tasty. Healthy too!

Ingredients:

• Steak
• Lettuce
• Rocket or Other Salad Mix
• Pepper
• Tomatoes
• Olive Oil
• Balsamic Vinegar

Method:

1. Cook the steak to your taste and chop your vegetables.
2. Mix.
3. Drizzle in olive oil and balsamic vinegar.
4. Enjoy!

Vegetarian Pasta:

I have been trying to eat less meat, so this is an excellent meal to try if you're doing the same!

Ingredients:

• 150g Pasta
• 200g Broccoli Florets
• 30g Basil
• 15g Parsley
• 20g Roasted Chopped Hazelnuts
• 3tsp Olive Oil
• 30g Hard Cheese
• 2 Cloves Garlic
• 1 Red Chilli

Method:

1. Cook the pasta and the broccoli florets.
2. Chop the herbs, garlic and chilli and heat these together until the garlic is cooked.
3. Mix ingredients up and top with cheese.
4. Enjoy!

Chilli Prawns:

Very quick and very easy.

Ingredients:

• Prawns
• Chilli (I only use one but you may want more if you like things spicy).
• Rice or (as I have done) Cauliflower Rice
• Parsley
• Drizzle of Olive Oil

Method:

1. Cook the rice.
2. Fry the prawns and chilli.
3. Add the olive oil and parsley to the prawns and chilli.
4. Serve and enjoy!

Salmon Pasta:

My boyfriend and I both love this one.

Ingredients:

• Portion of Pasta
• Knob of Butter
• 140g Peas
• 1 Shallot
• 2 Salmon Fillets
• 140g Creme Fraiche
• 1/2 Vegetable Stock Cube
• Chives

Method:

1. Cook the pasta.
2. In a large pan, melt the butter and then cook the salmon. When it starts to look done, add the shallot.
3. Add the creme fraiche, stock and peas and let simmer for a couple of minutes.
4. Add the pasta and chop the chives over the top.
5. Enjoy!

Carbonara:

Very, very quick.

Ingredients:

• Spaghetti
• Bacon or Guanciale
• 100g Parmesan
• 3 Large Eggs
• Clove of Garlic
• 50g of Butter

Method:

1. Cook the spaghetti.
2. Melt the butter and then use it to cook the meat and add the garlic (just crush the cloves slightly, you will remove this later).
3. Remove the garlic, then add the pasta, cheese and eggs.
4. Season.
5. Enjoy!

Toad in the Hole:

Good, wholesome food.

Ingredients:

• 12 Sausages
• 140g Plain Flour
• 2 Eggs
• Half a Teaspoon of Salt
• 175ml Milk

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 220 degrees Celsius.
2. Cook the sausages.
3. Mix the remaining ingredients together, and pour over the sausages in a large, deep dish.
4. Cook for 15 minutes or until brown.
5. Enjoy!

Chicken and Bacon Pasta:

One of my new favourites!

Ingredients:

• Pasta
• 1 Chicken Breast
• 4 Pieces of Bacon
• 1 Pepper
• Oregano
• 1 Onion
• Passata
• 1 Tin of Chopped Tomatoes

Method:

1. Cook the pasta.
2. Cook the chicken, then add the bacon.
3. To the meat, add the pepper and onion.
4. When cooked, add the chopped tomatoes and allow to simmer down.
5. Add passata and oregano to it (to taste).
6. Mix the pasta into the sauce.
7. Enjoy!

Quick, Cheap and Easy Recipes

I have titled this post 'student cooking' but in fact it is great for anyone who is short on time and/or money, and is fed up of ready meals and frozen food. I have been living in uni accommodation and therefore cooking for myself for just over a year now so I have come up with a few delicious meals that don't break the bank, and can be cooked in less than half an hour.

Pasta Bake:

You could add more vegetables or perhaps some bacon to mix this up, if you wanted to.

Ingredients:

• 2 chicken breasts.
• Tomato sauce (approximately half a jar, but add more if your mix isn't well coated).
• Cheddar cheese (to taste).
• 1 pepper.
• Pasta (to taste).

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees.
2. Boil the pasta, and fry the chicken.
3. Mix the chicken, the pepper and the tomato sauce into the pasta.
4. Pour the mixture into a dish, top with cheese and put in the oven for 20 minutes.
5. Enjoy!

Spag Bol:

Obviously you can add more ingredients to make this fancier, or use a pre bought sauce to make it even quicker, but this is super healthy and delicious too.

Ingredients:

• 250g mince meat.
• 1 tin of chopped tomatoes.
• 1tsp tomato puree.
• Onion.
• 200ml beef stock.
• Spaghetti.
• Seasoning (oregano is my favourite).
• Choice veg.

Method:

1. In a frying pan, brown the mince meat before adding the onions and browning them too.
2. Put all of the ingredients except the spaghetti and seasoning in to a large pot, and simmer over a low heat on the hob.
3. For best results, leave simmering for around 40 minutes until the mixture has thickened. However it can be eaten sooner if you're in a hurry.
4. Cook the spaghetti, season and enjoy!

Pesto and Mozzarella Toast:

The fancier alternative to a toastie.

Ingredients:

• Sourdough (or any other choice loaf).
• Mozzarella.
• 1tsp pesto.
• Optional other toppings (I like chicken breast and basil).

Method:

1. Slice the sourdough and toast one side under the grill.
2. Spread a thin layer of pesto on the untoasted side and place mozzarella on top.
3. Add any additional toppings.
4. Place under the grill again until ready to serve.
5. Sprinkle with basil.

Egg Fried Pasta:

This recipe is honestly the easiest ever, and it's pretty good for you. It also works well with rice or noodles.

Ingredients:

• Pasta.
• 1 or 2 eggs.
• Seasoning.

Method:

1. Cook the pasta, rice or noodles.
2. Pour a little light olive oil into a pan. Add the pasta and the eggs.
3. Stir until the eggs are cooked.
4. Season to taste.

Porridge:

I know this may sound like an obvious thing, but honestly it's so easy and so filling! Not to mention delicious.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup of porridge oats.
• 1 cup of milk.
• Toppings.

Method:

• Put the milk and oats into a bowl and microwave for 4 minutes (this can be done on the hob but the microwave is quicker).
• Top as desired. My favourite is raspberries and golden syrup!

Salmon and Rice Salad:

You can make this really simple like I have, or add multiple vegetables for a larger, more complex dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 salmon fillet.
• Mange tout (to taste).
• Rice (1 portion).

Method:

1. Coat the salmon in a little melted butter or olive oil and cook for 15-20 mins at 180 degrees.
2. Cook the rice (I use boil in the bag but do what suits you best!).
3. Boil the mange tout for around 2 mins.
4. Stir together in a bowl!

Nachos:

I usually make these with chicken and vegetables, but chilli or salsa work well too.

Ingredients:

• Lightly salted tortilla chips.
• Half a red pepper.
• 2 chicken breasts.
• Grated cheddar cheese.
• Sweetcorn.
• Salsa.

Method:

1. Dice the chicken and then fry it so it is cooked through, but not yet brown on the outside.
2. In a pyrex dish (or other deep, oven safe tray) start to assemble the nachos. Create a layer of tortilla chips. Then add a layer of slices of pepper, chicken pieces and sweetcorn. Coat with a layer of grated cheese and salsa.
3. Repeat until the dish is full.
4. Pop into the oven at 180 for 20 minutes.

Prawn Curry:

This is a favourite of mine and my boyfriend's.

Ingredients:

• 200g prawns.
• 2 tbsp curry paste.
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes.
• 1 clove of garlic.
• Rice.
• Fresh coriander.

Method:

1. Fry the prawns in oil from the curry paste.
2. Add the curry paste, tomatoes and garlic.
3. Bring to boil and then simmer for around 5 minutes.
4. Cook the rice.
5. Add the coriander and serve.

Vanilla Cupcake Recipe

I absolutely love cupcakes, they're fun, they're sweet and they're easy to make. I often whisk up a batch when I'm feeling peckish, and they always go down a treat with my family. Here's the recipe which I use:

Ingredients for the cakes:

• 90g self raising flour
• 90g caster sugar
• 90g butter (softened)
• 2 eggs
• 1tsp vanilla extract

Ingredients for the butter icing:

• 100g unsalted butter
• 225g icing sugar
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius, and line a muffin tray with cupcake cases.
2. Sieve the flour into a large bowl and add the butter, sugar, vanilla and eggs. Stir with a wooden spoon until creamy.
3. Spoon the mixture into the cake cases, then bake for around 15 minutes until golden.
4. Leave to cool while you make the butter icing.
5. Beat the butter until it is smooth and creamy, then add the icing sugar (around a third at a time).
6. Add the milk and vanilla and beat until it's really smooth.
7. If you want to, you can add food colouring at this point.
8. Once the cupcakes are cool, spoon or pipe the butter icing on top.
9. Add other decorations to taste.

These cakes are really simple and taste amazing! If you'd like to make chocolate ones, simply add 100g of melted chocolate to the mixture before before spooning it into the cases. You can also replace the milk in the butter cream for 1tbsp of cocoa mixed with hot water. Enjoy!

Cheesecake Brownie Recipe

I made these the other day, and they were delicious so I thought I would share the recipe with all of you! They were nice and easy and not too expensive to get ingredients for so they were a perfect activity for me and my boyfriend.

Ingredients:

• 200g dark chocolate (70%)
• 150g butter
• 4 eggs
• 275g caster sugar
• 100g plain flour
• 150g cream cheese
• 2-4 colours of food colouring

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 170 degrees centigrade, and grease and line a 20cm square baking tin.
2. Melt the chocolate and butter. Do this in a heatproof bowl over boiling water. Once melted, move the mixture to the side to cool.
3. Beat three of the eggs and 225g of caster sugar together, and then mix them into the cooled chocolate for 1 minute.
4. Fold the flour into the mixture.
5. In a separate bowl, beat the cream cheese and remaining sugar and egg together until smooth.
6. Put the cream cheese mixtures into as many bowls as you have food colourings, and add a teaspoon of colour to each bowl.
7. Pour the brownie mixture into the tin and smooth it out. Spoon the cheesecake mixture on top and create a pattern with the spoon.
8. Bake for 25-30 minutes, then leave to cool completely before cutting into squares. 

Quick and easy smoothies and milkshakes

I am a massive fan of smoothies and milkshakes, especially in the summer. I thought I'd share some of those with you (starting with the smoothies). These recipes are easy, so all you have to do is chuck all of the ingredients into a blender and blend them up. If you want to change them once you've made them to make them thicker, simply add a banana and to make them thinner add milk. (I also find frozen fruit works better than fresh if you have it!)

Simple Strawberry

• 1 cup milk
• 1 banana
• 1 or 2 handfuls of strawberries
• 1 tsp stevia (or sugar if you don't have it)

The Purple One

• 1 cup milk
• 1 handful raspberries
• 1 handful blueberries
• 1 tsp stevia

Cheerful Cherry

• 1 cup milk
• 1 handful cherries
• 2 bananas
• 1 tsp stevia

Salted Caramel

• 1 cup milk
• 1 tbsp caramel sauce (preferably salted)
• 1 scoop salted caramel ice cream

Strawberry Vanilla

• 1 cup milk
• 1 handful strawberries
• 1 scoop vanilla ice cream

Chocolate

• 1 cup milk
• 1 tsp coco powder
• 1 scoop chocolate ice cream

Like I said, these are really easy but so yummy! I hope you enjoy them!

Pancake Recipe

One of my most popular posts on depreciation society and amongst my friends is my mum's pancake recipe. It may also be the main reason why I managed to pull my boyfriend haha. It's simple and great for breakfast, pancake day or just to snack on.

Ingredients:

• 300g flour
• 1 heaped teaspoon baking powder
• 1 pinch of salt
• 3 eggs separated
• 300ml milk

Directions:

1. Mix all dry ingredients together.
2. Mix egg yolk into milk.
3. Make a well in the middle of the flour mix. Pour in the eggy milk and mix.
4. Beat the egg whites until they form soft peaks, then fold into the batter.

This recipe usually makes enough pancakes for 4 people so I often make half measures if there's only 2 of us home. My favourite topping is golden syrup and cream with fresh berries but my boyfriend prefers maple syrup or lemon and sugar. Both are delicious! Enjoy :)