Christmas is coming, the goose is getting fat...

So, it's the last day of 2012. What a year, very unforgettable for many reasons. But I must say, we finished it off fabulously.

Christmas was, as it should be, a period of complete gluttony and indulgence. I ate, and I ate, and I ate some more. We had an amazing Christmas dinner thanks to my mum and dad. After years of singing "CHRISTMAS IS COMING, THE GOOSE IS GETTING FAT," at the top of my voice, I actually ate goose for Christmas dinner. It was rather nice. We also had partridge, pigs in blankets, amazingly roasty roast potatoes (properly crispy on the outside, wonderfully fluffy on the inside - my dad used the fat from the goose to cook them), carrots, bread sauce... oh the list goes on...

I ate chocolate upon chocolate, and drank mojitos everyday for about five days (time for a change of cocktail for the new year I think!).

People have definitely caught onto the fact that I love food - I received some great cookbooks; Nigelissima (granted, the name and the TV show are a bit ridiculous, but it does have some great recipes in!), Jamie's 15 minute meals and my new favourite, Levi Root's Reggae Reggae Cookbook. Now I can not only nostalgically gush about how much I love Caribbean food, I can actually make it. I also got a George Foreman grill, (finally I can make toasties in my flat!), and a toy rabbit - who's also a chef.

It's safe to say, it was a fantastic Christmas and hopefully, the new year will bring lots more foodie delights along with it.

Though not Christmas related, it has just occurred to me that I haven't mentioned MasterChef, well, if you didn't watch the most recent series of Professional MasterChef you most definitely missed out. Everyone knows how much I love cooking shows, and I think my followers on Twitter got a bit bored of my incessant MasterChef Tweets, but I just loved it. The final two weeks were definitely my favourite. Seeing all the restaurants with two and three stars was great, I am now desperate to eat at The Fat Duck and The Hand and Flowers... If anyone has any spare cash to lend me, I'd be grateful!

Dinner time.

To follow my previous post, here are a few suggestions of meals that don't take too much effort - you know that that take-away isn't good for you, and you can't reaally afford it.

Stir fry! Quick and easy!

Selection of - Sliced pepper, onions, mushrooms, carrots, beansprouts, sliced beans. Throw in some diced chicken or prawns, add a sauce at the end - keep a sachet or two of black bean, lemon or oyster etc in the cupboard. For more bulk serve with egg noodles (cheap and keep in the dry cupboard just add boiling water and soak for 3 mins, drain and serve!) Takes about 5 mins!

 

Beef Mince

Cook up a batch of mince - onion, garlic, beef mince, can tomatoes, seasonings. Freeze in foil trays, defrost as required. Add kidney beans and chilli for chilli con carne, add oregano and a few mushrooms for bolognaise. Serve with rice, pasta, crusty bread, tortilla chips.

 

Jacket Potato

Wash and stab a couple of times so it doesn't explode! Bake in a medium over (175c) for an hour and quarter or until soft inside. Get your homework done while its cooking, or speed up by giving 10 mins in the microwave first then 15 mins or so in the oven! op with your beef mice or cheese & pickle, tuna mayo.

 

Pasta Salad

Cook extra pasta if you're having it with something else. Add tin tuna, sweetcorn, mayo etc and keep in a box in the fridge to have as a quick fix!

 

Lentil Soup

Chopped onion, garlic, 2 diced carrots, 2 - 3 oz lentils, stock cube and cover with water. Bring to boil and simmer until lentils tender ( 20 mins or so) mash to thicken with potato masher. Freeze or refrigerate left overs.

 

Cous Cous

A bag of cous cous goes a very long way!

Put a few table spoons into a heat proof bowl and cover with boiling water, cover and leave for several mins. Loosen with a fork. Add herbs, raisins, chick peas,teaspoon of cumin powder, lemon juice, drizzle of olive oil,salt, pepper and anything else you like! keep in the fridge. Serve as it is with leaf salad or fill toasted pitta breads!

 

Fish.

Piece of salmon, white fish, mackerel (available in frozen fillets) Place on large square of foil, top with herbs, knob of butter, splash of lemon juice. Wrap up, place on tray. Bake at 180c for 15 mins or longer if frozen.

Little time, Little money.

Okay, so, admittedly I’m not always the best at getting my five-a-day and eating proper meals. I have, perhaps, been known to have a bacon and egg sandwich in the morning and then eggy-bread (French toast) for dinner (variety is the spice of life, I know). But apparently eating well when you lack both time and money isn’t actually that difficult! (I did have to get my mum to help me out with this, I’d probably tell you to order a Domino’s pizza every night.)

So let’s start off with a list of must haves for the kitchen, to make sure you’re prepared for those nights when you have stacks of work to do and very little in your purse:

Foil freezer trays
Tin foil
Tins of chopped tomatoes, baked beans, soups, chick peas
Cereals (avoid the high sugar ones!)
Rice
Pasta
Cous cous
Lentils
Bottle of lemon juice (saves lemons going mouldy!)
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar / glaze
Pitta breads (freeze pop straight into the toaster)
Eggs, cheese, milk, bacon

Make sure you keep your basics stocked up so that you’re always able to cook up something nice!

Quick meal suggestions to follow… (Mum will again be a main contributor to this post. Mum knows best.)

I'M BACK.

I know, I know, I know. I haven't posted for a very long time... Applying to uni and working lots is my excuse and I'm sticking to it. But here I am, I'm back again. And it's Christmas very soon! So, completely not in keeping with the Christmas spirit of over indulging, my next post is about eating well. Don't worry, there will be some indulgent Christmassy posts soon!