Not much to say this morning...

25^th January 2014

Well begun is half done. Greek Proverb

What a difference a week can make!  At the beginning of the week I was low in mood for no reason at all and now I’m back to my normal self feeling happy with my lot and looking forward to my weekend, the human mind will always fascinate me.

So today I’ve woke up stupidly early but that’s ok as I went to bed early, so I’m not tired and I’ve already done one of the jobs I’d got on my to do list which means I’ll get to chill sooner.  Got my online shop coming in a few hours too, that’s saving me both time and money, I’m actually comparing prices between similar products and buying the cheap stuff, plus I’m checking what I have in before ordering more or too much. 

Today I’m going to make a bacon and potato casserole of some sort, I haven’t a recipe yet, just an idea in my head of what I fancy, and it’s gonna be delicious I reckon if I do say so myself!  I also bought some liver yesterday as I’ve been fancying that too, so maybe I’ll have two main meals today, we shall see, or maybe I’ll freeze the liver, decisions, decisions ;-) I loves eating I do and I fancy spending some time in the kitchen today.

Yesterday Alfie finally took me on a decent walk, he didn’t seem impressed that I made him walk more but I wanted to go further than the end of the street, a good walk sets you up for the day, well it does me anyways.

I keep getting distracted, I’ve been writing this blog for over an hour now!  Multitasking I think it’s called, so I’m going to go and do other things and leave blogging for another day!

I have just found a couple of recipes going through my hard drive that you might fancy though, so I’ll say have a great day and leave you with them;

Simple Start Sweet Potato Balti  
Serves 4 · take 27 minutes

500g (1lb 2oz) sweet potato, peeled & cut lengthways then sliced into half moons
low fat cooking spray                                 
75g (2¾ oz) frozen chopped spinach
1 x 400g can chopped tomatoes with onion (or chop an onion into them!)
1 garlic clove, crushed                   
2 tablespoons balti curry powder
150ml (5floz) hot vegetable stock 1 red chilli, sliced
1 x 410g can butter beans drained & rinsed
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Put the sweet potato on a plate and microwave on high for 5 minutes

Heat a wide non stick frying pan and spray with low fat cooking spray.  Transfer the sweet potato to the pan and cook for 20 minutes, turning over about halfway through when starting to caramelise. Meanwhile, put the chopped tomatoes, garlic, curry powder, stock, butter beans, chilli and frozen spinach into a saucepan.  Bring to the boil and simmer for 5-10 minutes.  Add the sweet potato and coriander and stir to combine.  Serve immediately.  Can be frozen.

Filling & Healthy falafels
Serves 4

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped
1 carrot, peeled and coarsely grated
2x 400g cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2cm piece root ginger, peeled and finely grated
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chilli powder
1 tsp ground coriander
3 tbsp very finely chopped fresh coriander
1 small egg
Salt
Low calorie cooking spray
Paprika and fat-free natural yogurt, to serve

Place the onion, carrot, chickpeas, garlic, ginger, cumin, chilli powder and the ground and fresh coriander in a food processor. Pulse and process for 1-2 minutes until blended but still fairly chunky in texture.

Transfer the mixture into a mixing bowl. Lightly beat the egg and add to the mixture. Season with salt and, using your fingers, mix thoroughly to combine. Cover and chill in the fridge for 6-8 hours to firm up and allow the flavours to develop.

Preheat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/Gas 6. Line a large baking sheet with baking parchment and spray lightly with low calorie cooking spray. Shape the chickpea mixture into 24 bite-sized balls and place on the prepared baking sheet. Spray lightly with low calorie cooking spray and cook in the oven for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden and firm. Serve warm, sprinkled with paprika and the yogurt alongside to dip into.