Diced Lamb with Creamy Tomato Sauce & Quinoa

This lamb dish is beautifully simple and fantastically creamy, with a punchy paprika kick. It's certainly a dish to make when time and an endless supply of ingredients aren't on your side, but you still want something super light, healthy and nutritious to eat. Students, take note! 

I am a big meat eater and absolutely adore lamb. For me, there is nothing better than enjoying a roast leg of lamb, stuffed with apricots and a good serving of rosemary roast potatoes. However, when you are pushed for time, I'm sure roasting a leg of lamb wouldn't be top of your 'to do' list. This recipe is a creamy meaty delight and you will love it.  Don't be scared off by the term 'creamy'. It suggests that the recipe is highly calorific and high in fat, but this is certainly not the case. The secret behind it's creaminess is thanks to Total 0% plain greek yoghurt. It's thickening and fat free so therefore a great addition to any tomato sauce. 

Serves 2 

1 tin of chopped tomatoes 

1/4 of a freshly grounded nutmeg 

1 1/2 tsp paprika 

1 tsp ground cumin

300g diced lamb

salt & pepper to taste 

olive oil

1 spring onion, finely sliced.

3 dessert spoons total 0% plain yoghurt

2 cups quinoa, 4 cups water

Method

- Put a pan of water onto boil over high heat. Add the quinoa and a pinch of salt. Allow to simmer for 10-12 minutes. If it starts to boil dry, add a little more water. 

- In a large bowl, stir in the nutmeg, paprika, cumin & seasoning to the diced lamb. Put a pan onto high heat, add a drizzle of olive oil and cook the lamb for about 3 minutes or starting to turn golden brown. Stir in the tomato sauce and the yoghurt to the lamb. Let it simmer for a couple of minutes and until the lamb is golden brown. Taste and add more spices/ seasoning accordingly. 

- Whilst the lamb is simmering on a low heat, finely slice the spring onions. Once the quinoa is cooked, remove from the heat and stir in the spring onions.

Serve and enjoy! 

Red Pepper & Chicken Summer Spaghetti

A 20 minute summer spaghetti sensation..good old alliteration at it's best. But it's no exaggeration. Mum & Dad were going to be back from work late so I knew they were going to be exhausted with it being the end of the week (yay!). Earlier in the day I saw a mediterranean pasta dish and its fresh, vibrant colours reminded me of those incredible pasta dishes you get on holiday. I wanted to produce something similar whist being cheap, quick and easy to make (students, take note). I find that measuring ingredients takes time and is a little tedious so I literally chucked this recipe together and you will be able to do the same if you just follow this...

Serves 4 

wholemeal spaghetti (75g per person)

1 can chopped tomatoes

4 dessert spoons cider vinegar

2 peppers (I used 1 red & 1 yellow)

1 large squidge of ketchup (about 1 dessert spoon)

salt & pepper

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1 160g bag of spinach

cooked chicken 

1/2 teaspoon hot chilli powder (optional)

Method

- Boil water in a large pan. Insert spaghetti and leave to cook, stirring occasionally. 

- Dice the peppers and cook for 3 minutes. Add the cider vinegar and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. Then add the chopped tomatoes and ketchup, then season to taste. 

- Add the spinach, nutmeg, (chilli powder) and chicken. I just put half a whole cooked chicken in, but you can judge for yourself how much you think you would need. Stir and allow to simmer for 5 minutes. 

- Check the pasta is done. Sieve out the water, place in a presentable bowl and stir in the pasta sauce. 

Serve and enjoy! 

Have a beautiful weekend x

Tip: Before you serve, make sure you've tasted it to see whether it needs more seasoning. 

You could also add courgette in with the peppers.

Mum's Cod & Chorizo Stew

This is a quick and extremely easy recipe to make and I would highly recommend it to all you uni students out there as it's inexpensive too! 

Serves 4

4 fillets of fresh cod 

2 tins of chopped tomatoes 

6 spring onions 

Handful of torn fresh basil 

4 mini cooking chorizo 

Salt & pepper 

16 new potatoes 

2 handfuls of green beans

1 dessert spoon of capers (optional)

Method

- Preheat oven to 200Celsius / gas mark 6. Halve and par boil new potatoes until just cooked. Whilst the potatoes are cooking, steam the green beans for about 5 minutes (or until just cooked).

- Empty the tomatoes into an oven proof dish and place the cod fillets on top. 

- Chop the spring onions into small pieces. Then cut the cooking chorizo into small chunks. Season the cod with salt and pepper and add the chorizo, spring onions, torn basil and capers. Cover with foil and put into the oven for 30 minutes.

- Once the green beans and potatoes are done, take out the cod dish, remove foil and add them to the cod. Put back into the oven for about 10-15 minutes. The fish should be translucent and flaky. 

Serve and enjoy!