Easy Gnocchi with Chicken and Baby Spinach

I am a fan of cooking shows and I have a passion for food, I don't think my family understands, they just see another greedy person haha. Whenever I see something different I always challenge myself to give it a go and when I get the best results I feel untouchable...

I had never had gnocchi before mum says it's potato dumplings :) pinning it back to her childhood.
I have seen different chefs/home cooks on the telly make it and I decided to give it a go by incorporating their different techniques and trying to make it as easy as possible as well as to be able to use the ingredients at home. When  I went into the supermarket I saw that they have refrigerated packs  of gnocchi (for those that don't like slaving in the kitchen haha) I chose to make mine from scratch and it tasted amazing, I wont be buying any frozen gnocchi.

I made two dishes the gnocchi and the chicken and then I combined the two at the end.
To save time while the potatoes are steaming you can be tackling the chicken..

LETS GET STARTED!

GNOCCHI 

•  4 medium potatoes
• 2 cups plain flour
• 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
• 1 egg ( slightly beaten)
• salt & pepper
• 1 1/2 tbs butter

1.  Steam potatoes 15 min or until soft (cut in half)
2. transfer in to a bowl use a fork or potato masher add salt and pepper
3. once cooled add egg use wooden spoon to mix, sieve 1 cup of flour in add cheese mix it all together
4. add the rest of the flour in batches.
5. flour surface area and hands so that the dough doesn't stick (if dough is to soft add flour)
6. Knead dough until smooth (don't over work it) divide dough into 4 equal potions
7. roll 1 potion into a 2 cm diameter log and lightly use a floured knife to cut 2cm pieces (repeat process to the rest of the pieces) you will have cute little 2cm pillows.
8. lightly flour your hands and use your thumb to press each pillow over a floured fork and place on a try with baking paper.
9. Bring saucepan of salted water and 1 tsp of olive oil to the boil over medium heat.
10. Add the gnocchi in batches onto the base of the pan to avoid them sticking together ( don't overcrowd). cook for 3 minutes or until they rise to the surface, use slotted spoon to drain and transfer to a bowl and cover with foil to keep warm. Repeat with the remaining gnocchi. 
11. Melt 1 tbs spoon of butter on a hot pan add gnocchi and saute it on both sides to give it depth in flavor and a nice golden color

                  *Mix with chicken & baby spinach sauce and serve*

CHICKEN & SPINACH SAUCE

• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 1 whole red onion sliced
• 1 whole white onion slices
• 3 cloves of garlic chopped/minced
• Chicken thighs cut in strips
• 3 sups baby spinach
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 1 tbsp tomato paste, sweet soy sauce and chilli sauce
• (dry or fresh spices/herbs of your choice) oregano, basil, parsley, mixed herbs and all purpose seasoning. 1 tsp
• frozen veges of your choice ( thawed)

1. Wash chicken and pat dry. rub salt and pepper.
2. heat pot then add oil
3. add chicken cook till golden on both side (turn once) to seal in  moisture.
4. Add onions, garlic and spices and seasoning cook until onions are caramelized
5. Add tomato paste and frozen veges
6. Chicken Stock  ( cover and leave to  reduce then simmer on low heat)
7. 20 min later  (or when you at the gnocchi boiling stage) add baby spinach 
8. Add gnocchi mix everything cover and simmer for 5 min Allow gnocchi to pack in flavor
9. Serve  and sprinkle Parmesan cheese

 Serves: 4 people
 Skill: Easy
Time: 90 min.                                                     

PS; you can add a lot more of the baby spinach. & *taste as you go*
Don't be afraid to play with your favorite spices and seasoning allow time to mature when simmering.

                   "Follow your inner moonlight: don't hide the madness" 
                                          Allen Ginsberg 

Pizza of the week

Having a lifestyle change is not an easy thing especially if you live with people that are happy with what they been eating and also happen to be the main person that has to prepare the meal, IT'S TOUGH! I have tried to become a vegan and I am proud to say the longest I lasted was 3 weeks haha, maybe it's because I picked the wrong timing because it was a few weeks before Christmas.

Truth is I love food! at one time I reckon I was addicted to having take aways at least twice a week,, if I didn't have any, my body would feel like its missing something, #silly!

I still get the cravings but I am working on it because I realized that I was feeding a really bad habit and I was lucky enough to meet someone who was cleansing his life and getting rid of his bad habits in order for him to grow and become the best person he could be and that really inspired me to check myself.

 My cravings have not completely vanished, now if I want something I make it, so I made a chicken mushroom pizza, I didn't make my own dough there was a special at the supermarket and I managed to grab a packet with two bases. I tried to make the meal as healthy as possible and it tasted better that the one i usually get at dominos! The best thing when making a pizza is that it is your own creation you can just throw whatever you want on. I fried my chicken inn olive oil and i just sprinkled spices and salt and then I constructed my pizza, I tried to make it as colorful as I could and I was pretty happy with the result.

Chicken and mushroom 

Ingredients

 After 10 min in the oven 

Pizza base 

Pizza sauce 

Mozzarella cheese

Green, red and yellow capsicum 

mushroom 

carrots 

cherry tomatoes 

Chicken

Preheat oven to 200 degrees

When i checked after 10 min i didn't like the color so I left in for a bit longer to brown.

* try different flavors and feel free to share what you did different!

Cottage pie for dummies

I live for food and travel and whenever it's my turn to prepare dinner I always make sure that I cook something i like or I've been craving and sometimes I do take special requests from my niece :)
I only learnt how to cook a few years ago, reasons for not doing so earlier is because I learnt at a boarding school and food was well provided. I love cooking and I love challenging myself and sometimes my results are not so pretty but I always try to make it work and practice makes perfect, I'm almost hanging on the perfect side  #Yassssss





Cottage pie for DUMMIES it tastes good looks good and simple to make. had it with a coleslaw salad with green apple it added some sweetness to the meal, add garlic bread or any bread.
I usually boil my mince first to kill the beefy smell before browning it.
Let's create

MASH
potatoes 7
milk 1/4 cup
Cheese 1/2 cup
bread crumbs 1/3 cup

• boil potatoes is salted water until soft
•  drain and place in a bowl, 
• add butter and milk then  mash,
•  add breadcrumbs and cheese mix 

MINCE
1 chopped onion
1 chopped shallot
mushroom
1/2 red &green pepper
diced tomatoes
frozen veges (optional)
salt & pepper
1 cup beef stock
1tsp nutmeg, turmeric, basil, parsley paprika

• boil or brown mince move in to the side, add olive oil. onion spread evenly on the pan until cooked,
•  add mushroom, shallots, red and green pepper, frozen veges stir,
•  add tomatoes and all the spices mix,
•  add beef stock cover and simmer for 10 min.

Preheat oven conventional 220 degrees C

Grease casserole dish, sprinkle bread crumbs and rosemary leaves on the sides as well.














Add the mash around the edges using a fork.
add the mince mixture in the middle and sprinkle breadcrumbs over the mince.













Add the mash over the mince and spread gently and evenly, ensure there are no gaps.
Use a fork for the edges to seal the mince under.

I added a bit of cheese and breadcrumbs to achieve a pretty gold color.

20-25 min or  until golden



*Make sure you taste as you go to balance the flavors.










VIOLA :)

Good thing with cooking is that you can create absolutely anything. Experiment with flavors and spices, if you make a mistake, next time you will know what you did wrong....



Serves: 4-6 people
Skill: Easy
Time: 40 min.

Chicken macaroni cheese using shell pasta with tomato mint salad

Yes I still have my xmas tree  up, i'm sooo 2014! I never really concluded my year on this blog and i'm still behind. Moving on, here is a nice tasty recipe you can pretty much use everything in the fridge and only make 2 pots and 1 casserole dish dirty #winning.

You can use any preferable pasta, I was out of macaroni and I had to pick between pasta screws and pasta shells, Pasta shells it was I still haven't discovered a way to prevent them from sticking. If ya'll have any tips please inform me, thanks in advance.

  Ingredients 

1. 250g Medium pasta shells 
2. Chicken breast or boneless thighs chopped
3. 1 cup Mushroom, 1 clove garlic
4. Half red & green Capsicum, 1 onion, 
5. 1 tsp Spices dry ( pepper, basil, parsley, paprika)
6. 1 tsp olive oil
7. 40g butter
8. 3tbsp plain flour
9. 2 cups Milk
10. half cup Cheese of your choice (cheddar)
11. Salt

Salad

1. 1 large Carrot
2. 5 leaves Mint
3. 1/2 large Red onion 
4. 2 tbs Balsamic vinegar
5. 1 Tomato

Instructions 

• Prepare pasta according to packet
• Stir fry chicken in olive oil, salt and season with spices, set aside in a plate once browned
• Stir fry mushroom, capsicums, onions, garlic and set aside in the same plate as the chicken, reduce to medium heat
• preheat oven 175 degree C or 350 degrees F
• White sauce--> same pan, melt the butter add the flour cook for 3 min until mixture is bubbly, add a pinch of salt  
• add milk slowly and whisking or stirring to prevent lumps, until its smooth then add the rest of the milk, continue stirring to avoid sticking and burning
• When mixture starts to thicken add the pasta and stir fried food turn the stove off and add the cheese, continue stirring until cheese has melted then spread mixture evenly on to casserole dish
• slice tomatoes lay on the pasta and add cheese over the tomatoes then put casserole in oven
• bake for 35 min in a preheated oven

Salad

• Slice onions
• grate carrot
• chop tomato
• Clap the mint (just like you clap your hands) before breaking it this infuses the mint smell and flavor
• Mix in a bowl and balsamic vinegar 
• All ready to serve

Serves 4-6 Total time: 60min Level: Easy

Effortless meal!

One of those lazy days when you have no idea on what to have for dinner and can't be bothered on cooking a meal from scratch and you lucky enough to have last nights plain left over rice, WINNING!! Obviously its stir fry for dinner or even your own invention. During the week I have long hours at Uni and by the end of the day I would be so hungry I could eat a horse, only to get home to find a dry kitchen its so frustrating . I must admit when you are so hungry that is when you are at your best in inventing an amazing meal.

There happened to be left over rice in the fridge and I decided to do a one pot wonder meal, I cooked my steak  to my liking transferred it on a separate plate, browned my onions,added my frozen veges added my spices (turmeric, nutmeg, mixed herbs, chili powder, pepper and more) I poured 1 1/2 cup of beef stock and allowed it to simmer as if i was making a stew, I kept tasting to check what was missing and after I reached my desired taste I then added my rice mixed everything together and served it while it was hot, It tasted so good completely different from last nights rice and I only had one pot to wash! 

Did someone say CHOCOLATE Brownies!

Who doesn't love chocolate? absolutely no one I know of. As the Queen of procrastinating I tend to spend my time snacking and then i wonder why i'm gaining weight.

 I decided to make some brownies with white chocolate and dark chocolate today because I had chocolate cravings. I wanted to bake something that didn't require me using electric beaters and the works. Brownies happen to be the easiest thing to make with a few ingredients! and i happened to be impatient, and not wait for them to cool as a result they cracked. oh well.
 I guess more tea breaks for me, with a brownie of cause!  

Ingredients

3 eggs 

125 g melted butter

white choc chips

dark chocolate pieces
1 1/2 tsp vanilla essence
1/2 caster sugar

1/2 cup cocoa powder

3/4 cup plain flour

Instructions 

Preheat oven to 180° 

Grease and line pan with with baking paper,Sift flour, sugar and cocoa into a mixing bowl 

Add white choc chips, vanilla essence, eggs and melted butter, mix until combined, lastly stir through dark chocolate pieces (save some of the choc pieces and place them on top of the mix after spreading in the pan). Transfer mix into prepared pan, spreading it evenly to the edge of the pan.

BAKE! for 35 min or until brownie is set

* allow brownie to cool completely in pan before serving or else they will crack!!!!

preparation time 5 min 

baking time 35min