Craving greenery

For the longest while now I've been craving green, leafy food - green vegetables have always been my favourite above carrots, pumpkin, beetroot and most of the 'red' vegetables (the only thing I DON'T eat is green peppers!), so I'm always on the look-out for tasty ways to prepare the greenery. I love preparing simple and easy meals, nothing too elaborate for me, and I found this steamed green beans recipe at the Woolworths TasteMagsite. As it also has broccoli in it, it has turned out to be one of my favourites.

I know that cravings are a way of your body letting you know where to get some vitamin or mineral that it is lacking and leafy green veggies are full of vital nutrients like Beta Carotene, Vitamin C, Vitamin K, B complex, Folic Acid, Iron, and Calcium. Seems like my body is missing a lot of vitamins...

STEAMED GREEN BEANS WITH CRISPY SAGE BUTTER

Recipe by: Abigail Donnelly

Serves: 6 - 8

Dietary considerations: Low carb

Category:Vegetarian / Easy / Great value / Quick

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients:
700 g green beans, trimmed
460 g tender broccoli stems
150 g salted butter
1 bunch sage, leaves picked
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cooking instructions:

Cook the beans and broccoli in salted boiling water for 2 minutes, or until tender. Drain and refresh under running cold water. Set aside.

Place the butter in a frying pan over a medium heat and stir until melted. Add the sage leaves and gently cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until crispy. Add the beans, broccoli, sea salt and pepper, and toss to heat through.

Arrange on a plate and spoon over the sage butter to serve.

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The BEST Spaghetti Bolognaise!

One of my favourite dishes is Spaghetti Bolognaise because of the ease with which it is prepared and also the fact that one can have many variations and come up with something different every time!

Ingredients

• 500g Fresh Beef Mince.
• 400g Dried Spaghetti.
• 4 Rashers of Smoked Streaky Bacon, finely diced.
• 2 Tins of Plum/Chopped Tomatoes.
• 6 Fresh Cherry Tomatoes.
• 2 Medium Onions, peeled and finely diced.
• 2 Sticks of Celery, trimmed and finely diced.
• 2 Carrots, trimmed and finely diced.
• 2 Cloves of Garlic, peeled and finely diced.
• 1 Medium Chilli (optional), seeded and finely sliced
• 75g Freshly grated Parmesan Cheese, plus extra for grating over.
• 2 tbsp Tomato Puree
• 1 Beef Stock Cube.
• Glass of red wine (optional)
• Herbs:
• 2-3 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary.
• Handful of Fresh Basil, plus extra for Garnish.
• 1 tsp Dried Oregano.
• 1-2 Fresh Bay Leaves.
• Olive oil.
• Sea Salt and Black Pepper.
• Crusty bread, to serve.

Method

1. Get yourself a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, and place it on a medium heat. Add a good lug of olive oil and gently fry your bacon until golden and crisp, then reduce the heat slightly and add your onions, carrots, celery and garlic. Next remove the leaves from the Rosemary sprigs and add them to the pot, discarding the sprigs. Move everything around and fry for around 8-10 minutes until the veg has softened.
2. Next, increase the heat slightly, add the mince and stir until the meat is browned all over.
3. Stir in your tins of plum/chopped tomatoes, (plum tomatoes are best as they contain less water, but either will turn out great!). Add your remaining herbs, tomato puree, stock cube, chilli and if using, the wine. Slice your cherry tomatoes in half and throw them in aswell.
4. Give everything a stir with a wooden spoon, breaking up the plum tomatoes as you go and bring to a gentle simmer. Reduce the heat to low-medium, put the lid on and leave it blipping away for about an hour and 15 minutes until the flavours develop into a wonderfully rich tomatoey sauce. Stir occasionally to make sure it doesn't catch.
5. Just as the sauce is nearly ready, Add the parmesan and season to taste. Meanwhile add salt to a pan of boiling water and cook the spaghetti according the the packet instructions. Once the spaghetti is ready, drain it in a colander and add it to the pan with the sauce. Give it all a good stir, coating the pasta in the lovely tomato sauce. Serve with a little grated parmesan and use the extra basil leaves to make a great little garnish. Beautiful!

This recipe is from Good Food 

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Yummy ideas for omelettes

Everybody loves an omelette, and it's so easy to make. Cheese and ham remain favourite fillings, but there's so much more you can do to lift this humble egg dish to new egglicious heights.

AMAZING FILLINGS FOR OMELETTES 

Tomato, sweet basil and tzatziki wrapped in prosciutto.
Caramelised onion, brie and spinach
Roast chicken and avocado
Smoked salmon and asparagus
Bacon, mushrooms, onion and cheddar
Smoked ham, cream cheese and rocket
Spinach, ricotta and roasted peppers
Smoked haddock and crême fraïche
Mushrooms and leeks
Chilli, cheese and bacon
Baby spinach and Chavroux

Tips for the perfect omelette:
Always add a few drops of water to the beaten eggs as this will create steam, making the omelette lighter.

Use a non-stick pan and, as the egg cooks, lift up the edges and tilt the pan so that the egg pours underneath and cooks. Beat the eggs moderately and add a dash of milk or cream - about half an eggshell for every two eggs.

Make sure your pan is hot, and don't smother the eggs with too much butter or oil in the pan.

EGGSTRA SPECIAL QUAIL'S EGG OMELETTE

Melt 1 T of butter in a non-stick omelette pan. Remove from heat.
Carefully break 12 - 14 quail eggs into the pan without breaking the yolks.
Place back on heat and cook for two to five minutes.
Carefully slide onto a plate.

SPICY POTATO OMELETTE

Category : Vegetarian / Quick / Breakfast
Prep time : 10 minutes
Cooking time : 15 minutes

Ingredients:
Oil, for frying
3 free-range eggs
1 small tomato, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
6 mushrooms, chopped
1 potato, boiled, diced and lightly fried
1/2 t ground turmeric
1 t masala
1 small chilli, thinly sliced into rings
1 spring onion, chopped
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 

Cooking instructions:
Heat the oil in a pan. Mix all the remaining ingredients, then pour into the hot pan.
Stir gently, then cook until set.

Cook’s note: For added flavour and texture, add small blocks of Indian paneer, feta cheese or chopped bacon bits. Serve with chopped coriander or chives and chapatis. 

Recipes from Woolworths TasteMag

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Eggs-traordinary ways with eggs

What's more perfect than an egg? These versatile packages of goodness are the magic ingredient in the kitchen.

QUICK AND EASY:

 • Fry eggs in a little good quality olive oil for a different taste sensation

 • Chop a few green olives and fresh dill into scrambled eggs for a great taste and texture comibination

 • To make tartar sauce, stir chopped Italian parsley, spring onions, gherkins, hard-boiled eggs and capers into home-made mayonnaise

 • Simmer hard-boiled eggs in a little green curry paste and add coconut milk. Serve with fragrant rice.

 • Fry some onions in butter and balsamic vinegar until slightly caramelised. Use as a filling for omelettes.

 • Heat cream in a pan with chopped chives and garlic and cool. Break an egg each in small ovenproof dishes. Pour over the cream and bake for 6 minutes at 180 degrees C.

 • A pinch of nutmeg makes delicious scrambled eggs

 • Fry some drained butter beans and sliced chorizo before pouring on your eggs for a great omelette.

 • Add a dollop of wholegrain mustard to creamy scrambled eggs and serve with hot, buttered toast.

 • Next time you fancy egg on toast, pop a cookie cutter into a nonstick frying pan. Heat up and gently creack an egg inside. Cook over low heat until just right.

 • For Spanish picnic eggs, shell 4 large boiled eggs and sprinkle with smoked paprika. Slice the chorizo in diagonal slices and serve with the boiled eggs, black olive pesto and breadsticks.

 • Make the best-ever egg roll by mixing 1/3 cup of mayonnaise with 4 hard-boiled eggs, grated, and spoon onto a buttered fresh roll with some rocket. Top with a dollop of mango chutney

Info from Woolworths TasteMag

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