The best way to anyone's heart ...is through their stomach!
Not in a weird, horror type way but with a delicious meal! This valentines day impress your special someone with a lovely home cooked meal.(Especially if you forgot to get them a present!) These recipes are quick and easy to make, perfect on a budget and look really fancy! Plus they have all been tried and tested by me!
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Simple Stir-fry
[Prep Time: 5 Min Cook Time: 15]
225 g frozen stir-fry vegetables
Extra-virgin olive oil or any oil available
1 Jar/Packet of stir-fry sauce
15 ml hoisin sauce
125 g chicken breast
2 Bags Express Rice
Chicken
– cut chicken into strips. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan on a medium-high
heat. Add the chicken strips and cook for around 10minutes. To check if cooked,
cut a piece of the chicken and see if it is no longer pink in the inside, it
should be white in the middle and golden brown on the outside.
Vegetables
& Sauce - Heat the oil in a wok or pan over a medium-high heat. Add the
vegetables and stir-fry until tender. Stir in the sauce, hoisin sauce and
chicken in the skillet. Cook until the mixture is hot and bubbling, stirring
occasionally
Rice
– ping in microwave for 2minutes (remember to tear packet before, or it will
explode!)
All-
Serve the chicken mixture with rice.
Smoky Chicken Wraps
[Prepare Time: 35 Min - Cook Time:12 Min]
Marinade- Large handful fresh thyme
1/2 tsp. smoked paprika
1 tsp. ground cumin seeds
1 lemon, juice only
2 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 tbsp. olive oil
4 X 125 g chicken, thigh fillets
Salad- 2 large carrots, finely grated
1 1/2 lemons, juice only
1 red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
4 tbsp. yogurt or mayonnaise
Handful mint, finely chopped
1/2 lettuce, finely sliced
4 small tortillas, wraps
Chicken
- pound all the marinade ingredients in a pestle and mortar to a rough paste.
Tip into a shallow dish. Cut the chicken into strips then mix well with the
marinade then marinate for a minimum of 20 minutes. Lift the chicken out of the
marinade, and place in a pan. Brown the chicken under a hot grill for 5-6
minutes on each side until golden and cooked through.
Salad
- prepare the salad by mixing the carrot, two thirds of the lemon juice and the
red chilli in a bowl. To make the dressing, mix the yoghurt, the remainder of
the lemon juice, mint and plenty of seasoning.
Wrap
-Place a handful of lettuce on a tortilla wrap, then top with a few slices of
chicken, the grated carrot and a drizzle of yoghurt, then fold and serve.
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Easy Greek Veggie Spaghetti
[Prepare Time:15 Min - Cook Time:40 Min]
110 g spaghetti
1/2 (10 ounce) bag fresh spinach
110 g sliced fresh mushrooms
extra-virgin olive oil, or any oil
available
30 ml red wine vinegar
30 ml balsamic vinegar
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
5 g chopped fresh basil
2 g chopped fresh parsley
1/2 (6 ounce) can sliced black olives (optional)
30 g crumbled feta cheese, or to taste
Spaghetti
– Boil a large pot of water with a few pinches of salt. Continue boiling and
add the spaghetti for about 12 minutes. (To test its done, take a piece out and
taste – if it’s tender yet firm (not too hard or soft) it’s done). Drain it and
put it to one side.
Sauce
- Heat olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir the
spinach and mushrooms in the hot oil for about 10 minutes. Add the red wine
vinegar and balsamic vinegar then bring to a boil. Add the tomatoes, basil,
parsley, and black olives into the boiling mixture; continue cooking and
stirring, until the flavours blend, about 10 more minutes.
All
-Mix the cooked spaghetti into the tomato mixture and reduce heat to
medium-low. Simmer the pasta and sauce until the flavours have blended, 8 to 10
minutes; stir the feta cheese into the pasta. Sprinkle with more feta cheese and
spinach when serving – looks really fancy!
150g dried tagliatelle (Pasta)
250 g lean turkey breast
1/2 onion chopped finely
1 garlic glove crushed
25g jalapeño peppers, chopped
5 ripe tomatoes, de-seeded and diced
10g coriander leaves, chopped
Salt
Pasta -Boil a large pot of water with a few pinches of salt. Continue boiling and add the tagliatelle for 10-12 minutes. (To test its done, take a piece out and taste – if it’s tender yet firm (not too hard or soft) it’s done). Drain it and put it to one side.
Turkey & Sauce – cut turkey into strips. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a pan on a medium-high heat. Add the turkey strips and cook for around 10minutes. (To check if cooked, cut a piece of the turkey and see if it is no longer pink in the inside, it should be white in the middle and golden brown on the outside). Add onion and cook for 3minutes. Stir in the garlic, jalapeño peppers and half the tomatoes for a further 3minutes.
All- mix all the turkey, sauce and pasta in the pot with the remaining tomatoes and coriander.
A simple romantic dessert - Strawberries and Cream...
To make it extra fancy, add a few scoops of Häagen-Dazs Ice cream!
(Save some whipped cream for later :p )
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