Sticky Glazed Pork with Spring Onion Couscous

I am a big fan of pork, and any different way I can cook it the better and seeing as I had couscous left over from a previous recipe I thought now was the time to use it again! And I must say, it was a wonderful dish!

Serves 4 – Ready in 20-25 minutes

Ingredients:

·         4tsp English Mustard

·         3 tbsp ruinny honey

·         Splash orange juice

·         4 pork loin steaks

·         300g couscous

·         1 bunch spring onions, thinly sliced

·         1 tbsp olive oil

·         450ml hot chicken stock

·         ½ punnet baby plum, or cherry tomatoes, quartered

Now for the How To:

·         Mix the mustard with the honey and enough orange juice to loose the mixture, smear all over the steaks.

·         Preheat the grill until hot and line the grill pan with foil (this can also be done just using the normal oven, make sure its hot and put the steaks at the top of the oven) and cook for approx 6 minutes (depending on thickness of the steaks) on each side, brushing with the remaining mixture.

·         While the pork is grilling, tip the couscous and spring onions into a bowel.

·         Spoon the oil into the stock and pour onto the couscous and stir.

·         Cover tightly with cling film and leave for 5 – 6 minutes until the liquid is absorbed.

·         Fluff up the couscous with a fork and stir in the tomatoes and season.

·         Serve topped with the pork and some of the pan juices. 

TIP: as an extra tip to add an extra flavour into the couscous try adding some peas and sweet corn into the mix, it was delicious!

I was a bit worried that the dish could be a bit dry, but I was wrong, the little bit of juice from the pork was just enough to moisten the couscous, and the crispy bits on the pork were just amazing, so tasty, had the sweetness from the honey and the heat from the English mustard was an amazing combination. Its another quick easy, must try recipe.

As another little warning, maybe cut down on the couscous and look at serving 50g per person, itll still provide more than enough!

Haven’t decided the next recipe yet,  but it will be posted soon, so keep checking back!

Remember I'm always open for suggestions!

Bye for Now! x

Smoky chicken & bean stew

When my dad is on afternoons, I have to get a recipe that will be just as good the next day when my dad heats it up and has it for lunch before starting work, this is one I’ve looked at for a while, but then often decided on a different recipe.

Serves 2 – ready in 30 minutes

Ingredients

·         1 small red onion, sliced

·         2 garlic cloves, crushed

·         Olive oil

·         1tbsp chilli powder

·         ½ red pepper, cut into chunks

·         4 skinless chicken thighs (or breasts)

·         ½ pack chorizo

·         4 tomatoes, chopped

·         300 ml chicken stock

·         400g tin borlotti beans, rinsed and drained

·         ½ small bunch coriander, chopped

·         Pita bread to serve

Now for the How To:

·         Cook the onion and garlic in 1 tbsp olive oil until softened.

·         Add the chilli powder and pepper and cook for a minute.

·         Add the chicken and chorizo and fry for a couple of minutes.

·         Stir in the tomatoes and stock and bring to a simmer.

·         Add the beans and cook for another 15-20 minutes until thickened.

·         Stir in the coriander and serve in bowls with the pita bread.

This was a brilliant dish, the onion almost melted away completely and there was just enough of a chilli heat to leave a tingle in your mouth and on your lips, it was so tasty and filling it was a completely amazing stew. The pita bread helped to mop up the juice and it was amazing, the chicken was soft and tender and honestly, I can’t think of a bad thing about this dish!

You must try it! What did you think of it? Any feedback is welcome!

I haven’t decided the next recipe yet as I'm now officially up to date on my recipes, next i will be adding my movie lists!

Bye for now! x

Cinnamon Nutella Cake

I had a day off work, and what better way to spend it than by baking a cake! I was going to make this for father’s day, but my dad decided he wanted me to bake something else so I thought what better time to try it!

Serves – about 12 slices - ready in 60 - 70 minutes

Ingredients:

·         175g softened butter

·         175g golden caster sugar

·         3 eggs

·         200g self raising flour

·         1tsp baking powder

·         2tsp ground cinnamon

·         4tbsp milk

·         4 rounded tbsp nutella

·         50g hazelnuts, chopped.

Now for the How To:

·         Preheat the oven to 180c / gas 4 / fan 60c. Nutter and line the base of a 20cm round cake tin.

·         Add the butter and sugar into a bowl and mix with a wooden spoon until light and fluffy.

·         Add one egg at a time along with a spoonful of milk and spoonful of the sieved flour, cinnamon and baking powder, and gently mix together.

·         Continue to do this until all flour is mixed in and the mixture remains light and fluffy.]

·         Tip three quarters of the mixture into the tin, spread it level, spoon the nutella into the mixture in 4 blobs.

·         Top with the remaining mixture, swirl a few times with a skewer then smooth to cover the nutella.

·         Sprinkle with the nuts

·         Bake for 60 – 70 minutes, until risen, nicely browned and feels firm to touch and springs back when lightly pressed (use a cocktail stick to poke the cake, if it comes out clean its cooked)

·         Cool in the tin for 10 minutes, then turn out peel off the paper and cool on a wire rack.

·         Wrap up tightly in double thick foil to keep fresh for up to a week! 

I LOVED this cake! It was so moist, it came out of the tin with complete ease, it was easy to make and good lord it was amazing! 5 days later and it was still as moist as the first day! I was surprised this was still the case, although be warned, you will have to restrain yourself if it’s going to last that long!

My grandparents even tried a bit of the cake and they loved it, at first they thought it was made, this made me so happy! I love my grandparents anyway but this confirmed it!

You really need to try this cake! It will beat any of the cakes that you will buy!

Do you have a favourite sweet / desert?

Next up is a smoky chicken & bean stew!

Bye for Now! x