Quorn chicken pot pie

First post of 2018, hello!

Since I've been vegetarian I've not had a chance to eat many hearty traditional meals any more (such as pies and stews) as vegetarian versions tend not to be on offer in restaurants and pubs. It seems they don't make the effort to "vegetarianise" classic comfort food and seem to prefer offering the usual uninspired 'goats cheese and red onion tart' or stuffed mushroom, which many vegetarians dislike or are completely sick of. Having said that I do usually prefer a lighter meal and I don't often crave traditional pies and heavy meals, as I didn't really enjoy them back when I did eat meat. Though it is nice to have the option sometimes, especially on a cold winters night!

I much prefer this veggie Quorn chicken recipe to any meat or chicken pie I had before I became vegetarian (over 10 years ago!)

This recipe seems to have a long ingredients list but don't be put off as it is mostly store cupboard stuff. It's not too difficult to make but does take a little bit of time, definitely worth it though.

Quorn Chicken Pot Pie

Ingredients:
¾ tsp turmeric
1 leek, chopped
1 small onion, chopped finely
1 clove garlic
2 stock cubes, dissolved in 700ml boiling water
1 pack Quorn chicken pieces, frozen or fresh
2 carrots, cubed small (or they won't cook)
Handful of peas
Handful of green beans
any veg
1 tbsp olive oil
3 tbsp butter, melted
3tbsp plain flour
1½ tsp thyme
Dried herbs
2 bay leaves
½ tsp mustard
Dash of Lea and Perrins
Salt and pepper to taste
1 pack of ready made puff pastry (I paid the extra 30p for the pre-rolled one, lazy!)
Dash of milk/egg

Recipe adapted from The Veggie Mama

Method:

1. Preheat oven to fan 180°c.

2. Saute the leek, onion and garlic in olive oil on a medium/low heat, add the turmeric and cook for 5-10 minutes.

3. Add the stock, bay leaves and dried herbs.

4. Mix the melted butter with the flour into a paste, add some of the cooking sauce to mix out the flour lumps. Then add this mixture to the pan with the stock and stir until incorporated.

5. Add the Quorn pieces, carrots, peas, green beans and any other veg you want. Also add the Lea and Perrins, mustard and any more seasoning to taste.

Not a great photo

6. Cook for 15 or so minutes or until the carrots are nearly cooked and the sauce has thickened.

7. Pour into a large ovenproof dish and cover with the puff pastry, tucking it into the sides. Brush top with milk or beaten egg, and poke a couple of slits in the top with a sharp knife for the heat to escape.

8. Bake for 25 minutes or until the pastry is puffed, risen and browned. Serve with mash and broccoli!

Even my parents who are both meat eaters loved this... Enjoy!

Bella xoxo

Pan fried tofu and veg stir fry

When I order tofu in restaurants, it's so great. But when I cook it myself, it seems to end up a funny texture. All this changed with this amazing tofu and veggie stir fry recipe!

I was looking for a way to get super crispy tofu, and came across this guide. If you don't have cornflour to coat the tofu, you can just use plain flour.

Pan fried tofu and veg stir fry - inspired by Budget Bytes

Cooking with seitan: vegetable stew

Both Bella and I have wanted to try seitan for a long time (so many yummy sounding recipes for vegan fried chicken, hello!), and I surprisingly stumbled across it in a health food shop in Falmouth.

Today I decided to take the satanic plunge and made a veggie stew with it! As always, chuck any veggies you have into it. This evening's wildcard was a lone aubergine found in the cupboard.

Seitan vegetable stew - an Alice recipe

Super fruity banana bread

It's officially getting colder, darker and wetter, and I for one am feeling the autumnal blues. What better way to remedy this than by cooking (and eating) a massive loaf of banana bread? This recipe includes lots of yummy cherries, raisins and walnuts too, so it feels even healthier.

My recipe book says you should serve it buttered, but I find that idea a bit weird. Personally I enjoy a big slab of it with a cup of tea.

Super fruity banana bread - recipe from Katie Stewart's Times Cookery Book

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I must confess that I had no idea what a clafoutis was until my mum thrust this recipe in my hand. It's basically a pancake mixture poured on top of cherries, and was quite tasty when served with custard.

The recipe was part of a series of ideas for things to make on holiday, so doesn't require any particularly fancy ingredients. Why not give it a try and imagine you're still away in the sun?

Cherry and olive oil clafoutis - recipe from The Guardian

Easy lunches: Swedish 'quornballs' and veg

I was looking for a new lunch idea so bought these Quorn Swedish Style Meatballs when they were on offer.

This recipe is really just a case of throwing any veg into a pan and making a tomato sauce, and I found it very successful!

Date crunchie

Pretty much ever since I've known Bella, I feel like I've told her about this amazing creation. Despite this she's never actually tried it, so I decided to make it again this weekend.

It's basically a flapjack with dates in the middle, it's simple yet delicious. Serve it warm with custard for a filling dessert, or have cold with a cup of tea. The possibilities are endless!

This is an old family recipe so I've converted the measurements from ounces.

Date crunchie

All-the-veg mac and cheese

This was my staple dish at uni, I like to think it's healthy because there are lots of vegetables in it but it's also covered in cheese, so win-win!

With regards to the vegetables, it's really up to you. The challenge is to get as much veg as possible in it. If you add enough frozen spinach to the cheese sauce it turns green which looks pretty funky.

Unlike my previous recipe, this one requires 3 pans and results in a lot of washing up, but it's worth it.

All-the-veg mac and cheese (adapted from a well-loved student cookbook I had at uni)

Thai prawn & asparagus pilaf

Guess who's back, back again... I come bearing excitingly flavoured gifts. I noticed this recipe while in Waitrose but substituted a few ingredients because a) my mum doesn't love super spicy food and b) we didn't have them all. I present to you thai prawn & asparagus pilaf!

A bit like a spicy risotto, this dish is great cause it only uses one pan. I am definitely going to turn this into one of my go-to recipes, it's relatively quick and easy and tastes great.

Thai prawn & asparagus pilaf

Spicy cauliflower tacos

I never used to like cauliflower, however I've recently been finding myself eating more of it, and I feel like it doesn't deserve its bad reputation.

This is a healthy and vegetarian (can be vegan if you don't add cheese) alternative to chicken or beef wraps. I don't know if these count as tacos or fajitas (please can someone explain the difference!) but they're pretty great!

Frozen chocolate banana bites

I've been pretty busy over the past few weeks with trips to Bristol and Devon so there hasn't been much time for cooking... added to long days at work involving a lot of writing, sometimes the last thing I want to do is come home and write more! Anyway, I missed blogging and I'm back with the laziest "recipe" EVER.

This is not the neatest or most photogenic recipe but its quick and relatively healthy. I have a constant struggle with being addicted to chocolate and ice cream but wanting to be healthy, so I think this recipe is strikes a sort of balance.

Frozen chocolate banana bites:

Quinoa pesto salad

Continuing with this weeks salad theme, here is my go-to packed lunch salad. This is really customisable with whatever veggies or ingredients you have in the fridge. If I have feta, olives, sun dried tomatoes or artichokes, they take it to the next level. Peppers and courgettes are the vegetables I usually use, as they're what we usually have. Spinach works particularly well also, and you can make other additions after its cooked such as tomatoes, avocado or sweetcorn. Basically, just chuck in whatever you have.

I was making this at around 9pm on a Sunday night, so please excuse the awful photographs. It tastes way nicer than my photos would lead you to believe.

It looks much better in real life, I swear!

Healthy orange drizzle bars

I came across this super simple recipe when browsing blogs to find something relatively healthy to bake. Usually when trying new recipes with ingredients I don't usually use they never come out as good as I was hoping, so I was really surprised at how well this recipe turned out. The ground almonds give the cake a great texture, and the chia seeds provide a bit more added nutrition (though if they're not something you usually have in the house I'm sure you could leave them out).