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Jambomuzz

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Anyone on here enjoy cooking? Im not very well versed but want to get better. 

Looking to try out some new things etc and also looking for a good mac n cheese recipe to try out if anyone has one? Post the recipes here and any tips you all have please! 

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Cooking is absolutely superb, gives you a chance to mess about and try random recipes you find online.  There are loads of good resources out there, but one I find myself using quite a lot is the BBC Good Food site (https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/).  Alternatively, if you're a Reddit user, there are hundreds of subreddits out there for cooking, so have a browse and see what you fancy.

 

An alternative, if you want an easy route in, is to pick yourself up a slow cooker from Tesco, ASDA, Argos or anywhere like that, for around £20 and experiment with it.  Throw any sort of meat in, with a variety of vegetables and a bit of wine/stock, and just let it work its magic for 4 to 8 hours (depending on High/Low setting).  Minimal effort, but things usually come out superb, especially meat like Chicken, as it keeps all the moisture in.

 

You can pick up ready-mixed packets of various flavourings, and once you get a feel for the ones you like, you can start using herbs and spices yourself to make the same sort of thing.

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Love cooking.  Can't say I'm expert or anything, but seem to do ok, otherwise I doubt the Mrs would let me!

 

I get a lot of ideas from Pinterest.

 

Plenty of recipe books too.  Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food is as good a starting point as any.

 

Oliver divides opinion, but his cook books are pretty good, imo.  Would recommend.

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38 minutes ago, Jambomuzz said:

Anyone on here enjoy cooking? Im not very well versed but want to get better. 

Looking to try out some new things etc and also looking for a good mac n cheese recipe to try out if anyone has one? Post the recipes here and any tips you all have please! 

 I love cooking.

 

Here's my hangover mac n cheese recipe.  Looks long, but it's not.   15 mins tops, 20 if you wanna grill it.

 

I usually use the spiral macaroni, but any will do.

 

Ingredients:

1 bag of macaroni.  Your choice, but preferably durum wheat.

1 large block of white extra strong mature cheddar - grated

2 cloves of garlic, or garlic paste if that's what you have

1 pint of full fat milk

small glass of double cream if you have it - roughly half one of the little tubs

About 4 tablespoons of plain flour

2 teaspoons of mustard.  I usually use the wholegrain stuff, but the squeezy stuff will do.

Worcester sauce

Optional -   2 leeks

A big knob of butter

Salt and pepper

 

Method

 

-Boil pasta with a couple of teaspoons of salt till it's soft but still firm.  Roughly 10 mins

-Strain into colander and leave it aside

-Using the same pot, put it back on a low heat

-Add nearly all the butter and stir it till it melts

-Add the flour and keep stirring till it all mixes together to look like dough and clumps together

-Add the milk and turn the heat up to high

-Keep stirring until you feel it starting to thicken, as soon as it does, turn the heat back to low.

-Add nearly all the cheese leaving a handful

-Stir until it cheese melts

-Add mustard, salt and pepper

-Add cream - if you want it creamier.  You don't need it though.

-Stir until the sauce is nice and fluid

-Add the macaroni and stir it all together

 

If I'm not using leeks, I would add the garlic here too.   Chop them both up.   The smaller the garlic is chopped, the stronger the taste.  The leeks can be chopped fairly roughly.

 

Optional part with leeks

In another pan, put it on a medium heat and melt the rest of the butter, then add the garlic and the leeks.   I usually only use the white part of the leeks, but it's up to you.  Just chopped the white part up into small bits.  Fry in the butter for about 5 mins till it is all soft.

Chuck them in the pot and stir it all together.

 

Serve with a splash of Worcester sauce and some more cheese on top......    

 

Or, whack it all in an oven dish, add the rest of the cheese on top with some pepper and a few splashes of Worcester sauce.    Grill under a hot grill for about 5 mins till the cheese bubbles.

 

The cheese is the key ingredient.  Needs to be strong and loads of it.

 

Serve and fall asleep 15 mins later.

 

Hangover gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by Lovecraft
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Cooking is a huge hobby, and passion of ours.

 

We both went to night school years ago and learned the basics of Chinese, Indian and Mexican cooking.  Although a good grounding, we have found that just doing your own thing and adding not only the things you like, but indeed the quantities you like of seasonings, herbs and spices, you develop a much more enjoyable result as it is more ‘personal’ than following a textbook recipe. Learning to cook with different wines is good fun too!

 

in other words, experiment!

 

I will try to remember to post our macaroni and cheese recipe later on today.

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Not Mac and Cheese, but my go to is chilli, which I make fairly often - actually made it last night!  I make it in bulk, and it usually lasts me for a week, especially if you pop it into little food containers and store some in the fridge, and some in the freezer.  As it's a bulk recipe, you'll need a frying pan and a 26cm (10L minimum) stock pot, so reduce the amounts accordingly if you're going to go smaller.

1) Pour 4 tins of chopped tomatoes into the stock pot. 

 

2) Add a heaped tablespoon of Paprika, Chilli Powder and Cayenne Pepper, a teaspoon of Cumin, a teaspoon of garlic powder, some salt and pepper, and mix it all together.  Put on the lowest heat your hob has and as it warms up, add in 2 or 3 Beef Stock cubes, and 2 squares of dark chocolate (90% cocoa if you can find it).

 

3) Dice 2 large onions (or buy a packet of pre-diced fresh onion out of Tesco for £1.10 and use the whole thing), chop 3 peppers into small squares, and a cut a packet of chestnut mushrooms into small half-slices (cut the mushroom into small slices, and then cut the whole lot in half).  Put these into your frying pan individually, and once they've been fried up a little, mix into your sauce in the stock pot.

 

3.5)  Optional - add chopped chilli peppers of your choice.  Last nights pepper of choice was Komodo Dragon peppers, which give it a good kick!

 

4) Brown 750g of mince, and then add this into your stock pot sauce, and mix it up.  If you're using 5% fat mince, just pour it all in, if it's more fat than 5%, you'll want to drain some of the juices out of the pan.

 

5) Drain and wash 2 tins of red kidney beans, 2 tins of black eye beans, and 2 tins of black beans/pinto beans/adzuki beans (pick your favourite).  Add this to your stock pot sauce and mix it all up.

 

6) Let the whole thing simmer on a low heat for up to an hour with the lid off.  Stir occasionally to prevent it sticking to the bottom of the pan.

 

Serve with rice or pasta, top with cheese and sour cream.  All in cost will be about £15, £20 if you don't have the spices already in your cupboard, but it will last you for about 8 meals :thumbsup: 

 

Ingredient list in a spoiler below to save space:

 

Spoiler

4 tins Chopped tomatoes

2 or 3 Beef Stock Cubes

2 squares dark chocolate

Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, Chilli Powder, Cumin, Garlic, Salt, Pepper

2 large onions, diced

250g packet of mushrooms

3 large peppers

750g mince

Tinned Red Kidney Beans, Black Eyed Beans, Pinto Beans, Black Beans, Adzuki Beans (up to 6, mix and match)

 

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15 minutes ago, tian447 said:

Cooking is absolutely superb, gives you a chance to mess about and try random recipes you find online.  There are loads of good resources out there, but one I find myself using quite a lot is the BBC Good Food site (https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/).  Alternatively, if you're a Reddit user, there are hundreds of subreddits out there for cooking, so have a browse and see what you fancy.

 

An alternative, if you want an easy route in, is to pick yourself up a slow cooker from Tesco, ASDA, Argos or anywhere like that, for around £20 and experiment with it.  Throw any sort of meat in, with a variety of vegetables and a bit of wine/stock, and just let it work its magic for 4 to 8 hours (depending on High/Low setting).  Minimal effort, but things usually come out superb, especially meat like Chicken, as it keeps all the moisture in.

 

You can pick up ready-mixed packets of various flavourings, and once you get a feel for the ones you like, you can start using herbs and spices yourself to make the same sort of thing.

I love cooking, but I also love chucking meat and veg in the slow cooker and leaving it overnight.

 

I have never had anything that didn't taste amazing the next day doing this.  Just mix and match meat, veg and herbs.

 

Add some gravy granules the next day, drop a couple of frozen dumplings in it about an hour before eating it and Bam!  Best comfort ever.

 

 

 

 

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Just now, tian447 said:

Not Mac and Cheese, but my go to is chilli, which I make fairly often - actually made it last night!  I make it in bulk, and it usually lasts me for a week, especially if you pop it into little food containers and store some in the fridge, and some in the freezer.  As it's a bulk recipe, you'll need a frying pan and a 26cm (10L minimum) stock pot, so reduce the amounts accordingly if you're going to go smaller.

1) Pour 4 tins of chopped tomatoes into the stock pot. 

 

2) Add a heaped tablespoon of Paprika, Chilli Powder and Cayenne Pepper, a teaspoon of Cumin, a teaspoon of garlic powder, some salt and pepper, and mix it all together.  Put on the lowest heat your hob has and as it warms up, add in 2 or 3 Beef Stock cubes, and 2 squares of dark chocolate (90% cocoa if you can find it).

 

3) Dice 2 large onions (or buy a packet of pre-diced fresh onion out of Tesco for £1.10 and use the whole thing), chop 3 peppers into small squares, and a cut a packet of chestnut mushrooms into small half-slices (cut the mushroom into small slices, and then cut the whole lot in half).  Put these into your frying pan individually, and once they've been fried up a little, mix into your sauce in the stock pot.

 

3.5)  Optional - add chopped chilli peppers of your choice.  Last nights pepper of choice was Komodo Dragon peppers, which give it a good kick!

 

4) Brown 750g of mince, and then add this into your stock pot sauce, and mix it up.  If you're using 5% fat mince, just pour it all in, if it's more fat than 5%, you'll want to drain some of the juices out of the pan.

 

5) Drain and wash 2 tins of red kidney beans, 2 tins of black eye beans, and 2 tins of black beans/pinto beans/adzuki beans (pick your favourite).  Add this to your stock pot sauce and mix it all up.

 

6) Let the whole thing simmer on a low heat for up to an hour with the lid off.  Stir occasionally to prevent it sticking to the bottom of the pan.

 

Serve with rice or pasta, top with cheese and sour cream.  All in cost will be about £15, £20 if you don't have the spices already in your cupboard, but it will last you for about 8 meals :thumbsup: 

 

Ingredient list in a spoiler below to save space:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

4 tins Chopped tomatoes

2 or 3 Beef Stock Cubes

2 squares dark chocolate

Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, Chilli Powder, Cumin, Garlic, Salt, Pepper

2 large onions, diced

250g packet of mushrooms

3 large peppers

750g mince

Tinned Red Kidney Beans, Black Eyed Beans, Pinto Beans, Black Beans, Adzuki Beans (up to 6, mix and match)

 

Last time I made chilli, I chucked in a tin of sweetcorn too beside the beans.

 

It was really nice and worked well.

 

 

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Салатные палочки

Love it.  

 

I am not particularly skilled but love experimenting and adding herbs, spices, seasoning and anything else that might go with what I am making. 

 

My specialites are Chicken and Chorizo pasta, fajitas (both easy but helluva tasty) and stuffed chicken breast wrapped in bacon with creamy leak sauce and cheesy mash.   

 

I would also recommend a slow cooker.  Anything is possible with a slow cooker and makes you feel like a masterchef when you're eating the result. 

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1 minute ago, Lovecraft said:

I love cooking, but I also love chucking meat and veg in the slow cooker and leaving it overnight.

 

I have never had anything that didn't taste amazing the next day doing this.  Just mix and match meat, veg and herbs.

 

Add some gravy granules the next day, drop a couple of frozen dumplings in it about an hour before eating it and Bam!  Best comfort ever.

 

 

The Slow Cooker is probably the best kitchen investment I've ever made, with the Soup Maker coming a close second.

 

Everything and anything comes out superb, especially when you fire it on in the morning before leaving for work and you know that your dinner will be ready for you coming in!

 

Best thing I've made in it recently has to be this: https://www.daringgourmet.com/hungarian-meatballs/

 

Adapted the recipe for the slow cooker a wee bit, and chucked it all in, leaving the cream until about 10 minutes before it was ready.  Absolutely superb, perfectly reminded me of our holiday to Hungary a few years ago :)

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3 minutes ago, tian447 said:

Not Mac and Cheese, but my go to is chilli, which I make fairly often - actually made it last night!  I make it in bulk, and it usually lasts me for a week, especially if you pop it into little food containers and store some in the fridge, and some in the freezer.  As it's a bulk recipe, you'll need a frying pan and a 26cm (10L minimum) stock pot, so reduce the amounts accordingly if you're going to go smaller.

1) Pour 4 tins of chopped tomatoes into the stock pot. 

 

2) Add a heaped tablespoon of Paprika, Chilli Powder and Cayenne Pepper, a teaspoon of Cumin, a teaspoon of garlic powder, some salt and pepper, and mix it all together.  Put on the lowest heat your hob has and as it warms up, add in 2 or 3 Beef Stock cubes, and 2 squares of dark chocolate (90% cocoa if you can find it).

 

3) Dice 2 large onions (or buy a packet of pre-diced fresh onion out of Tesco for £1.10 and use the whole thing), chop 3 peppers into small squares, and a cut a packet of chestnut mushrooms into small half-slices (cut the mushroom into small slices, and then cut the whole lot in half).  Put these into your frying pan individually, and once they've been fried up a little, mix into your sauce in the stock pot.

 

3.5)  Optional - add chopped chilli peppers of your choice.  Last nights pepper of choice was Komodo Dragon peppers, which give it a good kick!

 

4) Brown 750g of mince, and then add this into your stock pot sauce, and mix it up.  If you're using 5% fat mince, just pour it all in, if it's more fat than 5%, you'll want to drain some of the juices out of the pan.

 

5) Drain and wash 2 tins of red kidney beans, 2 tins of black eye beans, and 2 tins of black beans/pinto beans/adzuki beans (pick your favourite).  Add this to your stock pot sauce and mix it all up.

 

6) Let the whole thing simmer on a low heat for up to an hour with the lid off.  Stir occasionally to prevent it sticking to the bottom of the pan.

 

Serve with rice or pasta, top with cheese and sour cream.  All in cost will be about £15, £20 if you don't have the spices already in your cupboard, but it will last you for about 8 meals :thumbsup: 

 

Ingredient list in a spoiler below to save space:

 

  Hide contents

4 tins Chopped tomatoes

2 or 3 Beef Stock Cubes

2 squares dark chocolate

Paprika, Cayenne Pepper, Chilli Powder, Cumin, Garlic, Salt, Pepper

2 large onions, diced

250g packet of mushrooms

3 large peppers

750g mince

Tinned Red Kidney Beans, Black Eyed Beans, Pinto Beans, Black Beans, Adzuki Beans (up to 6, mix and match)

 

Love the fact you add dark chocolate and cumin to your chilli!  We do too.

 

We also add oregano, but not mushrooms.

 

As I said above, individuality is the key.

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3 minutes ago, Lovecraft said:

Last time I made chilli, I chucked in a tin of sweetcorn too beside the beans.

 

It was really nice and worked well.

 

 

 

Sounds good, will have to give that a go...!

 

... once I get through the 5 tonnes of chilli I've just made :lol: 

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4 minutes ago, Lovecraft said:

Last time I made chilli, I chucked in a tin of sweetcorn too beside the beans.

 

It was really nice and worked well.

 

 

Sweetcorn is a good wee tip.  :thumbsup:

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1 minute ago, tian447 said:

 

The Slow Cooker is probably the best kitchen investment I've ever made, with the Soup Maker coming a close second.

 

Everything and anything comes out superb, especially when you fire it on in the morning before leaving for work and you know that your dinner will be ready for you coming in!

 

Best thing I've made in it recently has to be this: https://www.daringgourmet.com/hungarian-meatballs/

 

Adapted the recipe for the slow cooker a wee bit, and chucked it all in, leaving the cream until about 10 minutes before it was ready.  Absolutely superb, perfectly reminded me of our holiday to Hungary a few years ago :)

I get loads of pheasant and rabbits, so these need to be cooked for a while.  The slow cooker is perfect for them.

 

Lamb is the daddy of meats for me.  Don't understand how some people don't like it.

 

Lamb curry, lamb mince chilli, lamb stew.   ****, I want some lamb now.

 

 

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Салатные палочки

Does anyone have a good beef stew recipe for the slow cooker?  I think I'll make one one one Sunday.  The mention of dumplings above has put me right in the mood for it.  

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1 minute ago, Morgan said:

Love the fact you add dark chocolate and cumin to your chilli!  We do too.

 

We also add oregano, but not mushrooms.

 

As I said above, individuality is the key.

 

Definitely makes a difference to the taste, turning it from a spicy bolognese to a proper chilli.

 

I usually add a teaspoon of mixed herbs (including oregano) into the mix as well... Great minds and all that, eh? :)

 

Last night I tried something a bit different, adding a packet of this instead:

schwartz_street_food_chimichurri_product

 

Worked really well, even though it doesn't really "go"!

 

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1 minute ago, Morgan said:

Sweetcorn is a good wee tip.  :thumbsup:

 Just mixes it up a bit.

 

I usually add mushrooms too, but you have to watch as the can water it down.   Best to cook and drain them first.

 

Chilli is a wonder one pot dinner.  So easy too.

 

Coffee is another thing I have tried.   Basically make a small double espresso and add it after browning the mince.  I think it works the same as the chocolate and the bitterness adds something extra.

 

 

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1 minute ago, Lovecraft said:

 Just mixes it up a bit.

 

I usually add mushrooms too, but you have to watch as the can water it down.   Best to cook and drain them first.

 

Chilli is a wonder one pot dinner.  So easy too.

 

Coffee is another thing I have tried.   Basically make a small double espresso and add it after browning the mince.  I think it works the same as the chocolate and the bitterness adds something extra.

 

 

Never ever heard the coffee idea before,  but think it sounds fantastic.

 

Thanks!

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4 minutes ago, Salad Fingers said:

Does anyone have a good beef stew recipe for the slow cooker?  I think I'll make one one one Sunday.  The mention of dumplings above has put me right in the mood for it.  

 

Slice some carrots, and add some parboiled potatoes (sometimes they can go like bullets if you don't).  Throw it on the bottom, add your beef on top, add one of those small bottles of red wine (175ml/200ml?) and a beef stock cube, and some seasoning like mixed herbs, salt and pepper.  Also experiment with some mushrooms and other vegetables if you fancy it.

 

Can't really go wrong, and it always comes out great!

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Салатные палочки
4 minutes ago, tian447 said:

 

Slice some carrots, and add some parboiled potatoes (sometimes they can go like bullets if you don't).  Throw it on the bottom, add your beef on top, add one of those small bottles of red wine (175ml/200ml?) and a beef stock cube, and some seasoning like mixed herbs, salt and pepper.  Also experiment with some mushrooms and other vegetables if you fancy it.

 

Can't really go wrong, and it always comes out great!

 

Ooft sounds like a winner.  Some roughly chopped onions with that and some crusty bread.  

 

:sweeet:

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2 minutes ago, Salad Fingers said:

Does anyone have a good beef stew recipe for the slow cooker?  I think I'll make one one one Sunday.  The mention of dumplings above has put me right in the mood for it.  

Just lump it all in.

 

I usually use lamb but beef will do.

 

Rough amounts:

1 large pack of diced lamb

1 pack of pre cut veg if you are being lazy - carrots, onions etc..  

1 small bag of baby potatoes

1 handful of Rosemary

2 chopped cloves of garlic

1 big splash of worcester sauce

Frozen dumplings

large frozen yorkshire puddings

Big splash of olive oil

1 bottle of beer, preferably dark ale

2 of the little stock pots,  Preferably lamb

Tub of beef gravy granules

 

 

Get a big pot and add the oil and chopped garlic and fry on medium

Add the lamb and cook until it browns

Add about 3/4 of the beer.    Drink the rest.   Just to test it.

Cook for another 2/3 minutes until it foams up.

Turn off the heat

Slop it into slow cooker

Add salt, pepper and a decent handful of chopped rosemary

Add water to about 3/4 of the way up your slow cooker

Drop in the 2 stock pots.

Add the bag of veg

Add some splashes of worcester sauce

Cook on high overnight.

 

Next day

 

About 2 hours before eating it

Add the bag of small potatoes

 

About 1 hour before eating

Add about 5 tablespoons of gravy.   Just check after 5 mins to see how thick it is.  If you like it thicker.  Add more.   It will take a wee while to thicken up though, so watch you don't add too much.

 

45 minutes before eating

Turn slow cooker to low

Add 4 or 5 dumplings and push them down into the stew

 

15 minutes before eating

Bake giant yorkshire puddings in the oven

 

Eating

Slop the stew into your giant yorkshire pudding and serve with some nice fresh bread

 

The meat will fall to bits

 

Bam!

 

Sleeping in 15 minutes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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AlphonseCapone
32 minutes ago, tian447 said:

 

The Slow Cooker is probably the best kitchen investment I've ever made, with the Soup Maker coming a close second.

 

Everything and anything comes out superb, especially when you fire it on in the morning before leaving for work and you know that your dinner will be ready for you coming in!

 

Best thing I've made in it recently has to be this: https://www.daringgourmet.com/hungarian-meatballs/

 

Adapted the recipe for the slow cooker a wee bit, and chucked it all in, leaving the cream until about 10 minutes before it was ready.  Absolutely superb, perfectly reminded me of our holiday to Hungary a few years ago :)

 

Love cooking, started properly making an effort about a year and a half ago and would say I'm pretty decent these days. It's definitely one of those activities you get better at just by trying and experimenting. Now I'm in a place where I alter recipes to suit my own tastes rather than taking them as gospel. Made homemade pizza the other week, including the base, very satisfying. 

 

Definitely echo what you've said about slow cooker and soup maker. And the BBC good food app. 

Edited by AlphonseCapone
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Chicken & Chorizo Risotto 

 

What you need

 

Chicken Breast cut up

Half a Chorizo sliced up

A frying pan or pot. 

1 Cup full of Arborio Rice. 

1/4 Cup full of Pearl Barley. 

Half a Cup full of White White (Pinot Grigio) 

About 400ml of Chicken Stock 

10g of Butter

1 onion diced

3 cloves of garlic 

Red & Yellow pepper 

A handful of peas 

A block of Parmasan Reggiano 

 

To cook

 

Step 1

3 spoons of olive oil in your pan

Fry the chicken until its cooked

Add Chorizo, cooked for a couple of mins

 

Step 2

Dice up Onion and Garlic

Fry the Onion and Garlic until the onions are soft, don't put it on too high a setting, 3 or 4 heat will do. 

 

Step 3

Once you have done that, chuck in the butter with the Arborio Rice & Pearl Barley, fry for a minute. 

 

Step 4

Start adding your White wine and Chicken Stock, just a wee bit at a time until it has been absorbed then add a wee bit more. Again keep it on about 3 heat. 

 

Step 5

Add Peppers diced up, add more Chicken Stock and White Wine

 

Step 6

Add peas and when the Rice & Barley have expanded & are getting softer, add the rest of the Chicken Stock & White wine so its the whole lot is sort of covered. 

 

Step 7

Let it cook away, stir every so often until the liquid is nearly gone and Risotto is almost cooked. Then add in your grate Parmasan and stir through. 

 

Violà, it's done. 

 

 

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I've always enjoyed cooking, especially when we have friends around. My favourites for recipes are the hairy bikers, Gino decampo for Italian.

Anything else I like using the bbc good food website.

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Slow cookers are not just great because it's a simple matter of browning the meat, chucking in lost of veg and some stock and walking away, but because they let you go with the cheaper cuts of meat that have lots of connective tissue and marbling. 

This connective tissue and marbled fat renders out and adds to the richness of the sauce and the meat is as tender as you could ever want.

Neck of lamb, oxtail, beef brisket and the like are far cheaper than other cuts of meat.

 

Mac'n'Cheese is as easy or as complicated as you want to make it.

A basic cheese sauce can be as simple as 2oz butter melted with 2oz flour then cooked out for a bit to stop the flour tasting raw, then slowly whisk in 1 pint of milk.

Bring to a slow simmer and stir frequently until the sauce thickens.

Season well.

Remove from the heat and chuck in a big handful of cheese (to taste) and stir it through just to melt the cheese.

This can be expanded upon by softening finely diced onions before adding the milk, adding mustard, fried lardons of bacon, topping with breadcrumbs and more cheese or sliced tomato before finishing under a hot grill, adding garlic, cream.....or anything else you fancy.

 

Falafels are also dead easy and can be knocked up in minutes.

1x 400g tin of chickpeas, drained, rinsed and patted dry.

1 clove garlic, minced

1 small onion, diced

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp chilli flakes

1 tbsp plain flour to bind

seasoning

Mush it all together either in a food processor (may make it too finely pasted up, pulse it) or with a tattie masher or even just with your hands.

Shape it into burgers, sausages, balls or any other shape you want.

Deep or shallow fry until golden, just a few minutes.

Serve with pitta breads, burger buns, hot dog rolls, salsa, salad, sweet chilli sauce, etc etc.

Falafels can also be tailored to your own taste. Add or leave out whatever you want. Alter the amount of plain flour to keep the consistency right.

 

You can also get into making your own bread, if only one day at the weekend.

Once you get basic dough down to a fine art you can make your own pizzas, baguettes, rolls, loaves, garlic bread or anything else you can think of.

Flavoured breads are great to experiment with. Bacon and cheese being a firm family favourite. Or apple and blue cheese.

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the one thing i love about cooking is when you try a new recipe and then realise that if you add or takeaway something it will suit your tastes better

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Shanks said no

On the subject of cook books, you local charity shop can be an excellent source. I started buying them in the local Cancer Research shop about 6 months ago. Now have over 50 and randomly choose a couple of recipes before doing the weekly shop, grab the ingredients and I am once again enjoying cooking.

Edited by The Frenchman Returns
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3 hours ago, Lovecraft said:

Last time I made chilli, I chucked in a tin of sweetcorn too beside the beans.

 

It was really nice and worked well.

 

 

 

I do a tamale pie recipe that's like a chilli with sweetcorn added, plus olives and other stuff, then topped with a cornbread like mixture and baked. It's lovely...actually reminded me that I've not made it for a while so will need to have again!

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4 hours ago, Lovecraft said:

 I love cooking.

 

Here's my hangover mac n cheese recipe.  Looks long, but it's not.   15 mins tops, 20 if you wanna grill it.

 

I usually use the spiral macaroni, but any will do.

 

Ingredients:

1 bag of macaroni.  Your choice, but preferably durum wheat.

1 large block of white extra strong mature cheddar - grated

2 cloves of garlic, or garlic paste if that's what you have

1 pint of full fat milk

small glass of double cream if you have it - roughly half one of the little tubs

About 4 tablespoons of plain flour

2 teaspoons of mustard.  I usually use the wholegrain stuff, but the squeezy stuff will do.

Worcester sauce

Optional -   2 leeks

A big knob of butter

Salt and pepper

 

Method

 

-Boil pasta with a couple of teaspoons of salt till it's soft but still firm.  Roughly 10 mins

-Strain into colander and leave it aside

-Using the same pot, put it back on a low heat

-Add nearly all the butter and stir it till it melts

-Add the flour and keep stirring till it all mixes together to look like dough and clumps together

-Add the milk and turn the heat up to high

-Keep stirring until you feel it starting to thicken, as soon as it does, turn the heat back to low.

-Add nearly all the cheese leaving a handful

-Stir until it cheese melts

-Add mustard, salt and pepper

-Add cream - if you want it creamier.  You don't need it though.

-Stir until the sauce is nice and fluid

-Add the macaroni and stir it all together

 

If I'm not using leeks, I would add the garlic here too.   Chop them both up.   The smaller the garlic is chopped, the stronger the taste.  The leeks can be chopped fairly roughly.

 

Optional part with leeks

In another pan, put it on a medium heat and melt the rest of the butter, then add the garlic and the leeks.   I usually only use the white part of the leeks, but it's up to you.  Just chopped the white part up into small bits.  Fry in the butter for about 5 mins till it is all soft.

Chuck them in the pot and stir it all together.

 

Serve with a splash of Worcester sauce and some more cheese on top......    

 

Or, whack it all in an oven dish, add the rest of the cheese on top with some pepper and a few splashes of Worcester sauce.    Grill under a hot grill for about 5 mins till the cheese bubbles.

 

The cheese is the key ingredient.  Needs to be strong and loads of it.

 

Serve and fall asleep 15 mins later.

 

Hangover gone.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Made this tonight, while i think i overdone it slightly with the mustard it still tasted amazing. 

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12 minutes ago, Jambomuzz said:

Made this tonight, while i think i overdone it slightly with the mustard it still tasted amazing. 

 Good job.

 

It's really easy.  And most people usually have everything in the house.  That's why it's my go to hangover food.  Always make sure I have a couple of packs of macaroni stashed in the cupboard.

 

 

Some people don't like the mustard, but it gives the whole thing a bit of a kick.

 

 You can also pimp it up a bit by putting in little bits of bacon, or some smoked sausage chopped into bits.  Experiment and add things you like.

 

 

 

 

Edited by Lovecraft
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Craig Gordons Gloves

Some of the recipes above are magic.  I made a chicken andouille sausage and 4 bean chilli the other week and it was outstanding.  Really simple -

 

* Slice the chicken sausage and brown in a teaspoon of olive oil.

* Add some chopped onions and chopped jalapeno, brown until the onion is soft

* Throw in a large can of diced tomatoes, can of black beans, can of pinto beans, can of dark red kidney beans.

* Add 2 heaped desert spoons of chili powder, some black pepper and a couple of teaspoons of chilli and garlic hot sauce

* Add a teaspoon of tomato paste and a chopped red pepper

* cook on a low/med heat covered for 45 mins, take lid off, cook for another 30 mins and eat.

Edited by Craig Gordons Gloves
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4 hours ago, Cade said:

Slow cookers are not just great because it's a simple matter of browning the meat, 

 

My guilty pleasure is doing sausages (with other things ) in the slow cooker without browning them first.  :lol:

 

They just go incredibly soft, and fall to bits, more so than they would if they were fried a bit before they go in.  They stay a sort of grey uncooked colour, but they are definitely done. 

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Салатные палочки
5 hours ago, Lovecraft said:

Just lump it all in.

 

I usually use lamb but beef will do.

 

Rough amounts:

1 large pack of diced lamb

1 pack of pre cut veg if you are being lazy - carrots, onions etc..  

1 small bag of baby potatoes

1 handful of Rosemary

2 chopped cloves of garlic

1 big splash of worcester sauce

Frozen dumplings

large frozen yorkshire puddings

Big splash of olive oil

1 bottle of beer, preferably dark ale

2 of the little stock pots,  Preferably lamb

Tub of beef gravy granules

 

 

Get a big pot and add the oil and chopped garlic and fry on medium

Add the lamb and cook until it browns

Add about 3/4 of the beer.    Drink the rest.   Just to test it.

Cook for another 2/3 minutes until it foams up.

Turn off the heat

Slop it into slow cooker

Add salt, pepper and a decent handful of chopped rosemary

Add water to about 3/4 of the way up your slow cooker

Drop in the 2 stock pots.

Add the bag of veg

Add some splashes of worcester sauce

Cook on high overnight.

 

Next day

 

About 2 hours before eating it

Add the bag of small potatoes

 

About 1 hour before eating

Add about 5 tablespoons of gravy.   Just check after 5 mins to see how thick it is.  If you like it thicker.  Add more.   It will take a wee while to thicken up though, so watch you don't add too much.

 

45 minutes before eating

Turn slow cooker to low

Add 4 or 5 dumplings and push them down into the stew

 

15 minutes before eating

Bake giant yorkshire puddings in the oven

 

Eating

Slop the stew into your giant yorkshire pudding and serve with some nice fresh bread

 

The meat will fall to bits

 

Bam!

 

Sleeping in 15 minutes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

That sounds the bollocks. Mouth is watering just reading it :laugh2:

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Салатные палочки
19 minutes ago, tian447 said:

 

My guilty pleasure is doing sausages (with other things ) in the slow cooker without browning them first.  :lol:

 

They just go incredibly soft, and fall to bits, more so than they would if they were fried a bit before they go in.  They stay a sort of grey uncooked colour, but they are definitely done. 

 

Like steamed links? One of my favourite meals when I was wee. Not had it in a few years. My mum always chopped big chunks of onion into it that went all slippery but crunchy. 

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3 minutes ago, Salad Fingers said:

 

That sounds the bollocks. Mouth is watering just reading it :laugh2:

 Total of about 20 mins prep time if you buy already diced meat and chopped veg.

 

Then it's just the overnight cooking.

 

🙂

 

 

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6 hours ago, Salad Fingers said:

Does anyone have a good beef stew recipe for the slow cooker?  I think I'll make one one one Sunday.  The mention of dumplings above has put me right in the mood for it.  

All of the recipes above are spot on, a little slow cooker one I tried a while back involved adding a handful of dried prunes. 

Sounded weird but I gave it a go. The gravy was fantastic.

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1 hour ago, tian447 said:

 

My guilty pleasure is doing sausages (with other things ) in the slow cooker without browning them first.  :lol:

 

They just go incredibly soft, and fall to bits, more so than they would if they were fried a bit before they go in.  They stay a sort of grey uncooked colour, but they are definitely done. 

I do that too.

Stewed sausages is a common dish in this hoose.

Onions, carrots, spuds, sausages, herbs.

Finished off with a few spoons of gravy granules just before serving.

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2 minutes ago, Cade said:

I do that too.

Stewed sausages is a common dish in this hoose.

Onions, carrots, spuds, sausages, herbs.

Finished off with a few spoons of gravy granules just before serving.

We do very similar, has to be a decent quality butchers beef sausage though.

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6 hours ago, tian447 said:

 

Definitely makes a difference to the taste, turning it from a spicy bolognese to a proper chilli.

 

I usually add a teaspoon of mixed herbs (including oregano) into the mix as well... Great minds and all that, eh? :)

 

Last night I tried something a bit different, adding a packet of this instead:

schwartz_street_food_chimichurri_product

 

Worked really well, even though it doesn't really "go"!

 

I always use cumin as well. Also add some turmeric.

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6 hours ago, Cruyff said:

Chicken & Chorizo Risotto 

 

What you need

 

Chicken Breast cut up

Half a Chorizo sliced up

A frying pan or pot. 

1 Cup full of Arborio Rice. 

1/4 Cup full of Pearl Barley. 

Half a Cup full of White White (Pinot Grigio) 

About 400ml of Chicken Stock 

10g of Butter

1 onion diced

3 cloves of garlic 

Red & Yellow pepper 

A handful of peas 

A block of Parmasan Reggiano 

 

To cook

 

Step 1

3 spoons of olive oil in your pan

Fry the chicken until its cooked

Add Chorizo, cooked for a couple of mins

 

Step 2

Dice up Onion and Garlic

Fry the Onion and Garlic until the onions are soft, don't put it on too high a setting, 3 or 4 heat will do. 

 

Step 3

Once you have done that, chuck in the butter with the Arborio Rice & Pearl Barley, fry for a minute. 

 

Step 4

Start adding your White wine and Chicken Stock, just a wee bit at a time until it has been absorbed then add a wee bit more. Again keep it on about 3 heat. 

 

Step 5

Add Peppers diced up, add more Chicken Stock and White Wine

 

Step 6

Add peas and when the Rice & Barley have expanded & are getting softer, add the rest of the Chicken Stock & White wine so its the whole lot is sort of covered. 

 

Step 7

Let it cook away, stir every so often until the liquid is nearly gone and Risotto is almost cooked. Then add in your grate Parmasan and stir through. 

 

Violà, it's done. 

 

 

Very similar to how I make it. I also add a bit of saffron and use some vermouth instead of wine.

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2 hours ago, superjack said:

Very similar to how I make it. I also add a bit of saffron and use some vermouth instead of wine.

Vermouths like Martini? Might try that next time. 

 

I sometimes add whole cherry tomatoes to it but you can make it with mushrooms, whatever. The best Risotto I ever had was a pea and rosemary white wine Risotto with cherry tomatoes in a top restaurant, it was fecking outstanding. 

 

Chorizo's another versatile food. I made a thing called shtewp :rofl:because it was a cross between stew & soup, then I found out it was basically the same thing as a Moroccan chickpea stew. 

 

Onion, Garlic, red Peppers, Chorizo, tin of chopped tomatoes, cheery tomatoes, Morrocan chickpeas, paprika, cumin, parsley, lemon juice, bung it in a pot and sorted. 

 

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9 hours ago, Cruyff said:

 

Onion, Garlic, red Peppers, Chorizo, tin of chopped tomatoes, cheery tomatoes, Morrocan chickpeas, paprika, cumin, parsley, lemon juice, bung it in a pot and sorted. 

 

Add some preserved lemons and sultanas (and maybe some cheap cuts of lamb) to that, and you have a Tagine.

Serve with couscous.

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I look at cooking as therapy.

I’ll spend this weekend making a Neopolitan ragù.

Will take most of Saturday to prepare the beast to eat on Sunday.

With the game being Friday night and the weather gash, it will be perfect.

Extremely good red wine to drink and cook with in equal measure.

My idea of bliss tbh.

Will probably make my own bread as well to top it off.

Throw in some Italian Football and this pig will be in shit !

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highlandjambo3

I have to say, I am the dogs nuts at cooking.....proper like (not a chef or anything like).  Love making curry from scratch....even done a cooking course in India anyway.......

 

Try this recipe for stovies:


Small beef roasting joint, 4 large baked potatoes, 4 large onions, olive oil, salt & pepper, 1 cup of brown sugar, tablespoon of smoked paprika.


1.  Mix the brown sugar, paprika and teaspoon of salt together and rub over the joint.  Stick the joint in a bag and refrigerate for a day or two.

 

2.  Bung the joint in a slow cooker and fill with about 2 inches of water and cook for 6-8 hrs.  If no slow cooker just use a casserole dish with a lid, bung in the oven at 120 for 6-8hrs (don’t let it dry out).  Let it cool down and it will shred easier.

 

3.  Slice and Fry the onions in a little oil and set aside.

 

4.  Rub Olive oil & salt over the spuds and bake.  
 

5.  Once the beef is cooked and soft shred it drain the juice and set aside.

 

6.  Now just mix it all together (skin on or off the spuds), use the stock to moisten the stovies to your taste.  If you want it more beefy add a couple of oxo cubes.

 

You will never make stovies any other way.

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There's no point telling people what to cook, everyone has different taste and from my experience, most people have no taste. 

 

Bread and butter all round. 

 

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On 19/02/2020 at 13:21, Boris said:

Love cooking.  Can't say I'm expert or anything, but seem to do ok, otherwise I doubt the Mrs would let me!

 

I get a lot of ideas from Pinterest.

 

Plenty of recipe books too.  Jamie Oliver's Ministry of Food is as good a starting point as any.

 

Oliver divides opinion, but his cook books are pretty good, imo.  Would recommend.

 

Save yourself some cash and buy the silver spoon (italian cooking bible), He's classically trained in italian cooking which means he worked his way through the Silver Spoon, most of his recipes are straight from there! Silver spoon is also excellent for learning the basics, sauces stocks etc

 

For the OP, you might want to try Hello Fresh or similar for a few weeks, great for collecting recipes for things you like without having to fork out for a pile of ingredients and it then turns out you don't like something.

 

 

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On 19/02/2020 at 13:42, Lovecraft said:

 Just mixes it up a bit.

 

I usually add mushrooms too, but you have to watch as the can water it down.   Best to cook and drain them first.

 

Chilli is a wonder one pot dinner.  So easy too.

 

Coffee is another thing I have tried.   Basically make a small double espresso and add it after browning the mince.  I think it works the same as the chocolate and the bitterness adds something extra.

 

 

 

I recently made a middleeastern version of a chilli con carne that turned out really well!

 

Basically swapping some of the standard chilli ingredients for stuff i use in a recipe for Moroccan Stoup so

 

Paprika - use Ras en hanout spice mix

Chilli's - Harrisa paste

Beans - pre-cooked green lentils

 

Kept everything else the same and served with some bread that had been toasted after being drizzled with olive oil and a sprinkle of sumac powder

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If you want to eat a bit healthier as well then I recommend the Pinch of Nom books they are great and the recipes are easy.

 

I also recommend a slow cooker and you can get a list of recipes for that easy enough. Slow cooker recipes are a good start as its literally throwing everything in and then coming back to it later.

 

 

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