Pork Stroganoff with Beans

I had few pork shops in my fridge which were desperate need of my attention, otherwise they would have gone bad with no time :).

I wanted to cook something fast and easy, something which doesn't require a lot of time in kitchen, after all, it's Sunday and time for my weekly girlie beauty procedures :). I have found some nice cooking ideas from Sille's blog and her pork with beans recipe is a base for mine pork stroganoff.

Pork Stroganoff with Beans

300 g pork fillet, sliced into strips
1 carrot, sliced into strips
1 leek, sliced
1 bell pepper, sliced into stripes
1 clove of garlic
1 chili bean, chopped
1 tomato, chopped
3 tbsp tomato paste
200 ml single cream
200 g red kidney beans
ground pepper
salt

1. Cut pork fillet, bell pepper and carrot into stripes, slice leek, chop chili bean and garlic.

2. Pour little bit oil into frying pan and fry pork stripes quickly, don't burn or overcook.

3. Add carrot, bell pepper, leek, garlic and chili. Fry few minutes and then add tomato and beans, canned are perfect but drain them before.

4. Add tomato paste and single cream. Season with salt and pepper.

5. Let it boil until sauce thickens a little.

5. Serve!


My version: I like red sauce, so this pork stroganoff is exactly my kind of cup. Gets ready within seconds in you use frozen carrots and canned red kidney beans. I used fresh carrot and soaked and cooked kidney beans myself. Great to serve with boiled potatoes.

Meatballs

I tend to keep a box of minced meat in my freezer, just in case. I mean you never know when you have desire to cook something meaty and are too lazy to go outside to do shopping, and besides, it's cheap :).

I took one box to thaw in the morning and I made meatballs for dinner, I flattened them, so I can eat them tomorrow between bread as hamburger. I have tried several meatballs recipes and this is my favorite.

Meatballs

1 dl bread crumbs
1/2 dl sour cream or plain yogurt
1,5 dl water
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
500 g minced meat, (beef is good, although I use sometimes mixed version)
1 egg
2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp freshly grounded black pepper

1. Cover bread crumbs with water and leave them soak for 10 minutes.

2. Chop the onion and garlic clove and fry quickly until golden. Cool a little.

3. Add sour cream, egg and fried onion and garlic to bread crumb mixture. Stir lightly.

4. Add minced meat to bread crumb mixture and stir.

5. Add salt and black pepper. Give another stir until seasoning is incorporated.

6. Shape little or average size balls and bake them medium-high heat until brown.


My version: I use what I have at home, sour cream or plain yogurt, both work. I also flatten my meatballs a little and if I'm in mood, I dip them into bread crumb mixture before frying.
Good dinner, I served with mashed potatoes and cucumber.

Crispy Chicken Fingers

I have had Bill Granger's book Every Day for some time now and to be honest, at first I didn't think much of it, just browsed very quickly and thought "this is not one of my brilliant ideas". Today when I was looking for Sabrina to start, I browsed this book again and I must say, it's pretty good actually. I marked quite a few recipes which I'd like to try someday.

I am collector, especially which concerns food, so I desperately needed room in my freezer for cranberries, so chickens had to go since I wasn't ready to give up my blueberries yet :).
Considering the size of my pantry, I won't be surprised if I manage to feed whole army but I just love grocery stores, and shoe stores too of course :-).

Crispy Chicken Fingers

60 g plain flour
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
3 eggs
100 g fresh breadcrumbs
50 g Parmesan cheese, finely grated
small handful fresh flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
4 chicken breasts, cut into thirds
2 tbsp olive oil
25 g butter

1. Put the flour and little seasoning in a flat bowl. Bear the eggs in another bowl. Put the breadcrumbs, Parmesan, parsley and seasoning in a third bowl and stir together well.

2. Dip each piece of chicken in the seasoned flour, then the egg and finally in the breadcrumb mixture. Cover and chill for up to 2 hours before cooking.

3. Heat the olive oil and butter in a large non-stick frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook about 3 minutes on each side, turning once until lightly golden. You may need to do this in two batches, adding a little more butter and olive oil, if needed.


My version: I halved the recipe and it's still huge bunch of food! I left out parsley, I just don't like it but I added about heap teaspoon of oregano.

Valuation: Surprisingly good, since I am not big chicken fan, I'm more pork and beef kind a girl but even I must admit, these chicken fingers were good, both warm and cold. Besides it's pretty good party food if you cut chicken breasts into smaller pieces.

Recipe adapted from: Every Day by Bill Granger

Rachel Allen's Chili con carne

This is another chili con carne recipe, this time by Rachel Allen. I really think I have thing for chili :).

Rachel Allen's Chili con carne

2 large onions
700g lean stewing beef, fat removed and cut into 1-2cm cubes
5 garlic cloves, crushed
800g tinned chopped tomatoes
2 green peppers, sliced
3 green or red chillies, chopped, seeds left in if you like your chillies fiery
2 tsp ground cumin
1 can (400g) red kidney beans
1 tsp brown sugar

For serving:
125ml sour cream
2 tbsp coriander leaves, chopped
4 tbsp Cheddar cheese, grated

1. Heat the olive oil in a casserole,or saucepan and fry the meat until it changes colour - about 5-7 minutes. Add the onion and garlic and stir for a minute or so before tipping in the tinned tomatoes,chopped chillies, peppers, and a good pinch of salt.

2. Cover the pan and simmer for about an hour, until the meat is tender and the liquid reduced to a thick sauce. If it gets too dry during cooking, pour in a little more water.

3. Add the cumin, kidney beans (and a little of the bean liquid, if you like) and the brown sugar. Simmer for a further 10 mins before serving with rice, a spoonful of sour cream, grated cheddar cheese and and coriander leaves as a garnish. For added spicy kick, serve this dish with hot chilli sauce.


My version: I used orange and red peppers instead of green ones, simply because these were what I had in my hands. Secondly, I used again minced beef instead of cubed beef, it's not my fault minced beef was the only meaty thing left my local store when I got there :). According to my opinion, you don't really need to add any water while it simmers.

Valuation: great chili con carne recipe, almost as good as to beat Jamie's :). Brown sugar gives nice sweet after-taste.

Source: TV show "Rachel's Favourite Food"

Jamie's Chili con Carne

I discovered chili con carne thanks to Jamie Oliver and it's perfect dish to pack for your work lunch also. This is my first chili dish, I saw Rachael Allen has also one chili con carne recipe but this will have to wait for better times, need to finish off Jamie's first :-).

Jamie's Chili con Carne

2 medium onions
1 clove of garlic
olive oil
2 tsp chilli powder
1 fresh red chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
1 tsp ground cumin
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
455 g chuck steak, minced, or best minced beef
200 g sun-dried tomatoes in oil
2 x 400 g tins of tomatoes
1/2 stick of cinnamon
2 x 400 g tins of red kidney beans, drained


1. Blitz the onions and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped, then fry in a little olive oil until soft. Add the chilli powder, fresh chilli, cumin and a little seasoning. Then add the minced chuck steak or beef and continue to cook, stirring until it has browned.

2. Blitz the sun-dried tomatoes in the food processor with enough oil from the jar to loosen into a paste. Add these to the beef with the tomatoes, cinnamon stick and a wineglass of water. Season a little more if need be.

3. Bring to the boil, cover with greaseproof paper and the lid, then either turn the heat down to simmer and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Add the tinned kidney beans 30 minutes before the end of the cooking time - they are already cooked and only need warming up.

4. This always tastes better if you cook it the day before (to give the flavours time to develop), so it's really handy if you've got friends coming round and don't want to be stuck in the kitchen. Just take it out of the fridge and warm it up - serve it with lots of fresh crusty bread, a nice tossed salad, and a big blob of natural yogurt or guacamole.


My version: I added about 300 ml water, this is pretty enough, I have tried with less and more water but chili tends to burn or leave too moist, so I have learn 300 ml water is just enough :-). I like my chili with grated Parmesan cheese on top, although it's pretty good with plain yogurt. I didn't bother with guacamole like Jamie suggested, laziness again kicks in :-). I have done it without sundried tomatoes, just used tomato paste instead and I can't say it tasted significantly worse, and I used minced beef (I mean, come on, stores sell it and somebody has to buy it!). I usually cook whole bunch and keep it in fridge.

Valuation: The best chili I have ever tried (well, the only one so far but who's counting anyway!), cinnamon stick gives it interesting twist.

Recipe adapted from: Happy Days with the Naked Chef by Jamie Oliver

Mustard Pork Chops

I got Nigella Express from http://www.amazon.co.uk/ about month ago already but this is the first time when I actually cook something from it. I prefer to browse cookbooks as bedtime reading material and fantasize what all I could cook if I have time and supplies and.... well, you know, it's also known as pure laziness :-).

Mustard Pork Chops

2 pork chops, about 450 g
2 teaspoons garlic oil
125 ml apple cider
1 tablespoon grain mustard
75 ml double cream

1. Cut the fat or rind off the chops, and then bash them briefly but brutally with a rolling pin between 2 pieces of cling film/plastic wrap to make them thinner.

2. Heat the oil in a pan, and then cook the chops over a moderately-high heat for about 5 minutes a side. Remove them to a warmed plate.

3. Pour the cider into the pan, still over the heat, to deglaze the pan. Let it bubble away for a minute or so then add the mustard and stir in the cream.

4. Let the sauce continue cooking for a few minutes before pouring over each plated pork chop. If you're having gnocchi with, make sure you turn them in the pan to absorb any spare juices before adding them to your plates.


My version: I used Dijon mustard and meat hammer to hammer pork chops just because I have meat hammer and I am rather fond of my rolling pin:-). I also added ground pepper and salt to pork chops, my grandmother did it and my mother does, so it's hard to go without adding pepper and salt to pork, habits die hard :-) but I think it would have been lacked in taste without seasoning. I didn't have garlic oil, so I used regular oil but I chopped in half clove of garlic.

Valuation: definitively something which I'll cook again some time soon and it is super super easy and fast. Very tasty and great sauce to soak your bread in also :-). I served with vegetables and nice bunch of spring onion, love that one, if I could I'd probably put it into cake also :-).

Recipe adapted from: Nigella Express by Nigella Lawson