Cheeky Friday Treat!

Have a fantastic weekend guys, and treat yourself! It's payday...we've just got to hope the weather holds out!

Spring Onion and Cayenne Eggs

Some of you have recently been asking me what I do for breakfast. It takes me ages to properly wake up so I really want breakfast to be easy as possible. So my Cayenne and Spring Onion eggs are a perfect fuss-free breakfast that take such little effort!

Serves 1

Cooking Time 15 minutes

1 Egg

Cayenne Pepper

Spring Onions

2 Slices Wholewheat Bread or Tortilla

Honey, Blueberry and White Chocolate Flapjacks

Something sweet to try out over the weekend, and in this case to celebrate with my workmates on a Friday. (They're so lucky!) Flapjacks are easy to make and are so versatile with what you can add to them. Blueberries are in season, all british berries are, and white chocolate works so well with any of these.

Tuna Pasta Bake

I love Tuna Pasta Bake, it's easy to do, it's fun to do, you can get so many ingredients involved and your kids will love EVERY part of this. It's also a great way to get them familiar with, and eating vegetables!

Serves 4

15 mins prep time 45 minutes cooking time

300g Tuna Steak

200g Pasta (Fusilli Twirls or Farfalle Bows are perfect)

1 chopped red onion (The finer the better!)

150g drained sweetcorn

A 500g Jar of Tuna Pasta Bake sauce

50g grated mature cheese

Cayenne Pepper

Prawn Balchao Curry

It's not often that I actually treat myself to dine anywhere but my own home, but when I do, and if you're in Nottingham, I'd highly recommend visiting Tamatanga, in the Cornerhouse. A fantastically easy, simple, high-quality and excellent value meal. The lunchtime deal is a particular favourite. I order my curry bowl, rice or naan (I go for a naan) and a drink all for around £5! The selection available is fantastic and varied, anything from your Kormas and Buttered Chickens to your Palak Gosht (Spinach and Lamb) and your Karahis. For me, the Prawn Balchao Curry is the King! Especially with a Garlic and Coriander, or Peshwari, Naan and a Mango Lassi!

It really ticks every box, as a smart alternative business lunch, as a quick stop off with your family, a fun experience with friends or a sit down romantic meal with a loved one. Tamatanga is the one!

Dan

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Spaghetti Bolognese

A great fun Italian dish here, Spaghetti Bolognese, a staple for any twenty-something. I have fresh chopped cherry tomatoes and mushrooms in mine, some people don't, or they put onions in etc. It's really dictated by how you feel, but most importantly what you have to hand!

Serves 2

15 Minutes Cooking Time

400g Steak Mince

300g Spaghetti

Garlic Baguette (But I used Tear 'n' Share bread today)

Bolognese Sauce

6 Cherry Tomatoes (a handful)

100g Mushrooms

30g Parmesan/Cheddar/ any strong crumbly cheese

A handful of washed spinach and a handful of washed rocket salad (Arugula Salad)

A few cloves of garlic

Balsamic Vinegar

Cheeky Little Nibbles

And Fridays are for little treats like parma ham, feta cheese, hummus and tiger loaf!

What's your favourite picnic food or nibble?

Dan

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Oriental Vegetarian Chicken and Rice

Another nice little oriental dish similar to yesterday's very popular Vegetarian Chilli Beef Lettuce Wraps and again I'm using Quorn instead of chicken, but chicken would work just as well!

Serves 2

400g diced chicken (Quorn)

2 thinly sliced red peppers

1 cup of rice (easy way of measuring two portions)

Soy Sauce

Oyster Sauce

Sweet Chilli Sauce

Vegetarian Chilli Beef Lettuce Wraps

Occasionally it's good for you go to vegetarian. Not only for your waistline, but for your wallet! This is a brilliant, and fun, alternative to tacos or fajitas. They take no longer than 15 minutes, they're tasty and something that are so easy to improvise and customise depending on who's with you!

Serves 4
800g Mince (Quorn for Vegetarian, Beef or Pork otherwise)
A few cloves of garlic
1/2 a bunch of spring onions
A big nugget of ginger (about the size of a ping-pong ball)
3 red chillies
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Oyster sauce
Gem lettuces (or an Iceberg Lettuce)
A bunch of coriander

Prawn Balti

For years I was so anti-curry. Didn't like the spice, the taste, the texture, anything! So I decided to teach myself how to make a curry...and now I can't get enough of them! This is one of my favourites, my Prawn Balti.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

400g Frozen Prawns

Tin of Coconut Milk

300g Basmati Rice

1 tbsp of Balti Paste

1 White Onion

Bunch of Coriander

3 Red Chillies

2 Naan Bread (what's a curry without a Naan?!)

Lasagne

One thing you'll come to learn about me is my love for Italian food. There's a dish for ANY occasion. But if I could only eat one food for the rest of my life it would be Lasagne. Meat, Pasta, Sauce and Cheese. You CANNOT go wrong!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

800g Mince (Beef, Quorn etc.)

Lasagne Sheets (Enough to cover a dish three times over)

300g Closed Cup Mushrooms

400g bottle of Tomato Lasagne Sauce

400g bottle of Béchamel (White) Lasagne Sauce

150g Cheddar Cheese

150g Mozzarella

1 Red Onion

Balsamic Vinegar

4 Cloves of Garlic (or however much you like, to taste!)

A Brief Introduction

Hello Guys and Girls and Welcome to my blog, Dan's Kitchen.

A little about me;

I'm Dan, I'm from Nottingham and I adore cooking. I love being creative with it and there's nothing like the joy you get from making the tummies of your nearest and dearest happy, not to mention everyone else being green with envy!

My main focuses for every meal are that they are healthy, delicious and affordable, I'm not flush with cash like most TV chefs, I'm an Everyman like you.

But I want your input too;

What works with what?

What would you like to try?

Is there something you just can't get right?

Leave comments and questions and let's get a conversation going!

I hope you enjoy reading through the experiences here, and maybe pick up a few recipes on the way too!

More to come soon,

Dan

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