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GRUB! (Soft Food Ideas)

Slow oven roast pork chops with onions

EASY PEASY RECIPE

A drop dead easy meal to do not a lot of prep or ingredients, but oh so tasty. Serve with spring onion mashed potatoes and veggies of your choice (and consistency).

I will base this menu for four people and not the usual million ;)



Ingredients:

Pork chops - now these can be loin, chump, whatever you really like. Allow for one chop per person, and if you are cooking for one, you can easily double up on everything and make two meals, freezing one, so you get a cook free night ;) The onions along with the butter soak up their moisture into the meat and it will be sooooo tender and moist.


Sliced onions - loads and certainly enough to cover all of the meat

Butter - lots of it, cut into chunks

Bay leaves - 8

Mixed herbs - a good sprinkling all over

Salt and pepper to your taste buds



Directions:

Slice onions. Place pork chops into a roasting pan big or small enough so that the chops are keeping each other company, and you have no large gaps.

Cover chops with onions, so that all of the pork is covered.

Cut knobs of butter and dot these all over the onions randomly.

Pop on your bay leaves, and sprinkle over your mixed herbs.

Cover pan with foil and place in a pre-heated oven (160 degrees fan oven; 180 degrees electric oven or gas mark 4).


for about an hour and a half - you need to check it - watch out for the steam that comes off when you open the foil and baste it with the juices of the onions.

When a knife goes in without any effort whatsoever, - job done - melt in the mouth pork - full of juice and totally moist - serve with the mashed tatties and whatever veggies take your fancy - yummy scrummy (I hope )
 
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SOUP

Now, for someone currently with no teeth and determined not to spend my time eating baby food and mulch, I can honestly say that I am not a great lover of too many soup ideas. However, in saying that, and as I do a mean chicken and gammon roast dinner quite often, I am also an advocate for not wasting anything, and using up any leftovers that I can.

And this is how this particular soup recipe came to be.

Serves as many as you want it to ;) but I will base this on what should be sufficient for 4 people

Ingriedients:


Any leftover meat that you have

Chicken or vegetable stock 1500mls

2 leeks

1 Onion

2 Carrots

2/3 sticks of celery

1 red and 1 yellow pepper

1 handful of frozen petite pois or peas

And any other veggies you have hanging around and want to use up

2 handfuls of Orzo pasta (this is available at Waitrose, but I have not seen it in Sainsbury's, so if it is difficult to get hold of, just use small pasta shells, which are widely available, or rice)

2 bay leaves and a sprinkling of mixed herbs

Salt and pepper to season,

Directions:

Slice your leeks and chop your onion, carrots, celery and peppers and any other veggies you may want to include into smallish pieces.

In a large pan put a knob of butter with a little oil and warm through. Once butter has melted, add your onion and leeks and stir through for a few minutes until they just begin to soften.

Then add your carrots, celery and peas, along with any other 'harder' veggies you have. Let these cook through for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally (the colours in your pan at this stage of the game will be fantastic).

In the meantime make up your stock and once done, add to your veggies.

Then hand shred your meat into thin strips and add to the soup. Add your peppers, bay leaves and mixed herbs and seasoning, give a gentle old stir around and leave to simmer gently for 5 minutes, and then add your Orzo, cook for a further 8 minutes. Don't forget to taste as you go along and adjust your seasoning accordingly. When you are happy with the consistency of your veggies (some of you will like and be more able to eat your veggies with a bit more 'bite' than others), your soup is done.
If you feel like adding a bit of a 'kick' to your soup, finely chop up a chilli and pop that in too. Serve with a really lovely freshly baked loaf - enjoy :cook:
 
Hey Kim :cook:

Just had the sausage ragout and it was fabulous. I now have enough food left over to feed a small army and I halved your recipe. :ROFLMAO: Going to divide it into portions and freeze for another night. Absolutely stuffed full. :grin:

Had mine with some pasta and a glass of wine. :sleepyjuice:Looking forward to the pork tomorrow night.
 
Sooooo happy that you enjoyed the ragout Sparkles - I am off to the kitchen now to cook my spicy rice recipe which I just do without thinking about it, so I am going armed with pad so I can write down quantities etc (and then possibly halve it because I will no doubt forget I am not feeding an army ;) )

Will check back later with the specifics :cook:
 
Have tasted the finished thing - yummy scrummy - will decipher me scribbles in a bit and put the next recipe on :cook:
 
That sounds right up my street :dance2:... waiting in anticipation :waiting:...
 
Spicy rice

;)PORTION WARNING!!

I used my really big pan for this - the one that makes me feel that I truly am feeding an army (ie the one I made the ragout in), so unless you do have your own army to cater for, just cut everything down by half. This will easily feed 8 people - so would be great if you are having a get together.


Ingredients:


Using a 1/4 cup measure, (or a handful of rice for each person) put 8 portions of rice in a fine sieve and rinse

1 large onion finely chopped

4 cloves garlic sliced

1 red chilli finely chopped

2 sticks of celery finely chopped

2 peppers finely diced (I used one orange and one red one)

1 small tin of sweetcorn, drained

150g button mushrooms halved

350mls of chicken or vegetable stock

Food colouring (red, green or yellow)

A good glug of sunflower oil

2 knobs of butter

2 - 3 drops of Maggi hot seasoning

Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Gently heat your oil in the pan and put in your onion, garlic and chilli. Cook for approximately 5 minutes until the onion begins to soften.

Add the celery and cook for a further 3 minutes, then add your rinsed rice, give a good old mix around and cook for a further 4 minutes, after which time, add your butter and mix in while melting.

Plonk in your peppers and mushrooms, again mixing in and cook for a further 4 minutes, and then add your sweetcorn - WOW - what an explosion of colours is going on in your pan right now :dance2:

Mix every so often, and don't get in too much of a pickle if it begins to stick to the bottom of your pan, as this will 'lift' and if you feel it needs, then add a little more butter at this stage.

Then add your stock, Maggi, salt and pepper and bring to the boil, cover with a lid or foil, and then simmer until all the liquid is absorbed (6 or 7 minutes), stirring half way through. Once all the liquid is absorbed, turn off the heat and leave for 20 minutes.

Then add a few, and when I say a few, please hear me ;) drops of food colouring. Dot the drops randomly over your rice. Put the lid back on and leave for a further 10 minutes, or until you have checked that your rice is cooked through.

Lift your lid, and give one final good mix around, when the colouring will intermingle with the rice and make it look even prettier :) Once cool enough, put it in the fridge.

Job done - goes well with most things, but especially curry and chilli - my lot often have it as a snack on its own or with a salad - talk about getting your five a day - enjoy :cook:
 
I quite fancy this one, I still haven't had the lentils, I am trying to get my head around them. I like the sound of them though, the rice sounds good with just a few of the ingredients left out for me. Thanks. :butterfly:
 
I had never really had lentils until I tried this curry and it was the smell of it wafting from the dining room that made me go for it - lovely - I think they just pick up on the flavours of what you put in :)

Swap any of the stuff I put in for what you like 'cos I know I end up picking out the mushies because my daughter can't stand them - hope you get to try both and enjoy xx
 
I will get around to making these, thanks :butterfly:
 
I could not chew anything at all for 6 months last year. These were some of the recipes that I relied on:

  • Mapo tofu (very spicy soft tofu with ground pork)
  • homestyle tofu (not so spicy sichuan tofu)
  • saag paneer (with either paneer or soft tofu for the lazy)
  • zucchini raita (with grated zucchini)
  • Alton Brown's stovetop mac and cheese (with slightly overcooked pasta for a no-chew version, and your choice of cheese, I like to mix things like sharp cheddar and stilton)
  • 10-minute couscous soup
  • mediterranean lentil and couscous salad (chop the tomatoes into small enough bits to eat)
  • soondubu jigae (korean spicy soft tofu stew)

also a lot of omelets, pudding, ramen dressed up with eggs and tiny bits of veggies, overcooked pasta, and soups with bread sops.
 
Next up will be .......

On the go in my 'test' kitchen ;) at the moment is Thai red beef curry - once tried and tested, and if good enough, I will put up. I also have a fantastic recipe for a sticky marinade for ribs - have tried and tested that one several times, so that will probably be the first one coming :)

And the other recipe that I will be trying out in the next couple of days will be sweet and sour chicken, but I have yet to have tried that one out - so, keep your eyes peeled - and also the potatoes if you like to make some wedges with :cook:

Kim
 
Sticky slow cooked bbq beef ribs with a chive dip

Well at last, I am going to try this again, I was putting this one up the other day, and then lost it, and was mad with myself so have been sulking ever since ;) (not really, only 'funning'). For those of you who are lacking in strong teeth, or the lack of teeth full stop, then make sure you let you finger's do the pulling and the meat itself will melt in your mouth :)

Serves two (big style) or four (not so big style)


Ingredients:


2 racks of either beef or pork ribs

2 tsp toasted sesame seeds (optional, but pretty)

500mls beef or vegetable stock

Sauce

8tbs tomato ketchup

8tbs soft brown sugar

2tbs soy sauce

2tbs Worcestershire sauce

2tbs sweet chilli sauce

1tsp paprika


Chive Dip

300ml pot soured cream

2tbs salad cream

Small bunch of chives, snipped

6 spring onions sliced

Directions:

Heat oven to 160C/140C fan/gas 3

Put your ribs so they are all nice and cosy in your roasting tin.

Next put all your sauce ingredients in a bowl and whisk until all mixed together very nicely. cover your ribs with the sauce, and turn them over, so both sides get a 'lick of paint'. Then add your stock to your pan, don't pour it over the coated ribs.

Cover your pan tightly with foil and put in your heated oven for 2-3 hours, making sure you turn them half way through, and give them a prod with a sharp knife in a few places, and then baste them with the juices in your pan (if these dry up too much, just add a bit more stock) and re-cover.

In the meantime, mix all of your dip ingredients together, cover and chill until ready to use.

Once your knife goes through the ribs without any effort whatsoever, you will know they are mouth meltingly done.

Serve with the toasted sesame seeds sprinkled all over, along with your dip a lovely fresh salad, and some home made sweet potato wedges (I have it on good authority from my mate Gino :giggle: ) that sweet potatoes are the best to make wedges with.

Enjoy

Kim :cook:
 
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Thai red beef curry

This is the curry that I did the other day, and I must say, that when I first tasted it, I thought it was yuk, and was going to abandon it. However, - it just needed a bit of additional coconut milk, to totally adjust the taste, and make it truly scrummy.

I used flank steak for this, and slow cooked it over the course of a few hours, so that although flank steak is a cheaper cut of meat for this, cooked slowly, it will melt in your mouth. However, if you want a quicker curry, or you like your meat with a bit of bite (and you can ;) ) then use sirloin steak.

Serves 4

Ingredients:


400g flank steak cut into strips

60g Thai red curry paste - use more if you want your curry hotter

1tbsp rice bran oil or sunflower oil

400ml tin coconut milk

1tsp fish sauce (you can add more if you want, but be careful, this makes your dish really salty if overdoing it)

1tsp palm sugar

1 tin bamboo shoots


Directions:

Heat a table spoon of oil in your pan and add 1tablespoon of coconut milk. Then add your red curry paste and mix well until the aromas begin to be released (approximately 3 minutes).

Then add your beef, and coat all of your meat with the paste (again about 3 minutes). Next add your fish sauce, palm sugar and the rest of your coconut milk, give a good old mix around and then simmer on a really low heat, stirring every now and again.

Don't forget to taste as you go along to make sure that you don't need to add anything more, and add little by little until the taste is right for your taste buds. Your sauce should not be too thick. Cook slowly until your meat is sooooo tender you won't believe it.

Serve with Jasmine rice and enjoy.

Kim :cook:

You can also do this recipe with chicken, duck or just good old veggies, but with the chicken or duck, you probably wouldn't need to cook the meat for as long, as it will dry out and not be so good.
 
Can't wait to try them Kim. What is palm sugar?? Can I just use normal sugar instead?

:grin:
 
Here you go sweetie - wasn't 100% sure so did my Googling - or Google stalking and came up with this:

Palm sugar comes from the palmyra or sugar palm and is produced from the sweet sap that drips from cut flower buds. Once collected it's boiled down to a sticky sugar. This is then beaten and dropped in lumps onto cellophane or into containers. Because it is not highly processed, the colour, consistency, flavour and even the degree of sweetness can vary from batch to batch.
You can buy palm sugar in Asian stores and markets, where they are sold in plastic containers, bags or in tins. The colour ranges from a light creamy beige to a dark caramel brown, as does the consistency from soft rock hard, depending on how long the sap was boiled. It has a fragrant smoky aroma Although excellent for making sweets and desserts, the flavour of palm sugar also goes very well in curries and other savoury dishes. You can substitute with brown sugar in most recipes calling for palm sugar although there will be a subtle difference in taste.

Hope that helps hunni - what have you been up to today - something good I hope xx
 
thanks Kim, I have brown sugar so will use that instead I think. :grin:
 
Coolio - I hope they turn out well when you get the chance to try - tonight for me is an easy dinner, roast chook - sort of my own twist on parmentier tatties - basically little roasted cubes of tatties with a few herbs and a bit of garlic chucked in for good measure, and a bit of salad - I have a craving for cucumber at this moment in time
:( - ah well in time it will be ;)
 
Kim, that rib recipe sound delish!!!!
Another one I'm going to have to try!!
Too bad I don't go grocery shopping for another week, or I'd be trying that recipe sooner!!!
 
Thanks Jen and it really is - I have some ribs in the freezer, and when I was putting this one up yesterday, Ali, said could I do it for her this week - so will have to sort that one - hope when you get to try them you enjoy them :)
 
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