Homemade Chicken Chili

This one was delicious, Lauren reckoned it tasted like chicken fajitas :)

Ingredients (serves 2):
* 2 chicken breasts
* Olive oil
* 1 onion
* 2 cloves of garlic
* 1 green chili
* 1 tin butterbeans
* 500ml chicken stock
* 1 tsp dried cumin
* 1 tsp dried oregano
* ½ tsp chili flakes
* ½ handful of fresh coriander

Instructions: 
Bring a pan of water to the boil and place your chicken breasts in there to cook – this will help them stay tender and be easier to shred! Leave them in there to cook for 15 minutes, then remove from the pan and shred!

While your chicken is cooking in the pan, chop your onion and crush your garlic and pop them in your casserole pot with a drizzle of olive oil. Once they’ve softened, add the green chili and give it a good stir. Take a small cup of the butterbeans and place in a blender with 100ml of the chicken stock. This will help the chili become thicker more quickly. Add the stock, the butterbeans and the bean and stock mixture to the pan and stir well. Pop the chicken in the pan, mix through and place the lid on top. Leave for 10 minutes and then add the chopped coriander to the simmering pan.

Cook until the chili is at your desired thickness and enjoy with rice.

#TaDah

Simple Salmon & Lemon Spaghetti

Ingredients (serves 3)
* Salmon – You can buy this already flaked but we did it at home
* Spaghetti (we used wholewheat!)
* 1 lemon
* 2 spring onions
* Handful of spinach, chopped
* Handul of frozen peas
* 100g cream cheese
* 1 tbsp chives

Instructions
If you’re preparing your salmon at home, preheat the oven and line a baking tray with tin foil – this will help separate the skin and the fish after cooking! Place the salmon on the foil and season with a little salt and pepper and a splash of lemon juice and place in the oven for 25 minutes or so, until cooked through. Once cooked, pull apart with a knife and fork to create the flakes for the spaghetti dish.

While this is cooking, measure up and prepare your spinach, spring onions and peas and get the water on the boil. Add the spaghetti to the boiled water and once the spaghetti is cooked add the frozen peas into the water for around a minute. Drain and pop back in the saucepan, and on a low heat, mix in the cream cheese. Then add the spring onions and finally the spinach. Add more lemon juice and stir together. Serve with a wedge of lemon and enjoy!

#TaDah

Guest post: Terry's Chocolate Orange Brownies

When visiting our friend Kayleigh in Scotland, she whipped up these delights! We loved them so much, we had to ask for the recipe...here it is:

Ingredients
* 200g dark chocolate
* 175g unsalted butter
* 325g caster sugar
* 130g plain flour
* 3 eggs
* Zest of 1 orange
* 1 Terry's Chocolate Orange

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 170c. Put the chocolate and butter in a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water (don't let the bottom of the bowl touch the water!) and leave until all melted and smooth.

Remove the chocolate from the heat, add the sugar and stir well. Add the flour and stir until fully combined. Zest an orange and mix this into the mixture. Finally, add the eggs and mix until thick and smooth.

Line a baking tray with greaseproof paper and spoon the mixture in. Bake in the preheated oven for around 30-35 minutes. Once taken out of the oven, pop the segments of Terry's Chocolate Orange on top.

Sweet Potato & Chorizo Soup

This is a great lunch to have on those cold rainy afternoons. A classic winter warmer :)

Ingredients (serves 4)
* 1 x large sweet potato
* 1 x leek
* 1 x white onion
* 1 x carrot
* Handful of chorizo
* 2 x garlic cloves
* 1 tbsp rosemary
* 1 tbsp paprika
* 2 tbsp olive oil
* 600ml chicken stock

Chop up your sweet potato leaving the skin on, and throw into a large baking tray with olive oil and rosemary. Pop this into a preheated oven at 250C. Leave in there while you chop up all the remaining ingredients.

After 15 minutes, take out the sweet potato, give a good shake and add the remaining ingredients.

Roast for another 15 mins, take out and into a saucepan. Add your chicken stock, and let it simmer away for a good hour if you have the time, with the lid on.

Then it's time to blitz up the soup into your chosen thickness. You can serve right away, or even store in the fridge, ready to heat up for lunch at work.

#TaDah

Homemade Pesto

We love making this, just tastes extra special making your own pesto. It's so yummy!

Ingredients:
* large handful of basil
* 40g parmesan cheese
* 2 x garlic cloves
* 1/2 lemon
* 2-4 tbsp olive oil
* handful pine nuts

Instructions:
Lightly toast your pine nuts in a frying pan without any oil. Then into a food processor followed by all the other ingredients, finishing off with the juice of half a lemon. Judge how much oil you want, depending on your preference of oily or dry pesto.

Blend up into a fine paste, and you are ready to go.

You can store them in ice cube trays for quick access when cooking. We reckon one cube per person in a dish.

#TaDah

Homemade Pumpkin Puree

Ever wondered how you make pumpkin puree for those autumn/Halloween bakes? Look no further…

Ingredients
A pumpkin!

Instructions 
Preheat the oven to 175c and slice your pumpkin in half. Take care to remove all the seeds and stringy bits and then slice into smaller segments.

Place the segments of pumpkin onto a baking tray and place in the oven for 50-60 minutes – the pumpkin will be done once it falls off the fork when pierced.

Let the pumpkin cool for a couple of minutes, then begin to peel the skin off the back of the segments – you should be able to do this with your hands but you can use a knife if needed! Pop the pumpkin in a food processor and blend until smooth.

#TaDah

Pumpkin & Chocolate Chip Bread for Halloween

This is so delicious, perfect treat for this years Halloween :)

Ingredients (serves 12):
* Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bread
* 220g plain flour
* 1 tsp baking powder
* 2 tsp ground cinnamon
* ¼ tsp nutmeg
* ¼ tsp ground cloves
* ½ tsp salt
* 2 large eggs
* 150g granulated sugar
* 100g dark brown sugar
* 340g pumpkin puree
* 120ml melted coconut oil
* 60ml orange juice
* 120g chocolate chips

Instructions:
Preheat the oven to 175c and grease a loaf tin with some butter. In a large bowl, pop the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt in and mix together.

In a separate bowl, mix the eggs, granulated sugar and brown sugar together until combined. Then add the pumpkin, orange juice and oil. Once all combined, add the wet mix to the dry mix and mix together gently with a wooden spoon. Fold in the chocolate chips.

Pour the cake mixture into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 60 minutes in total – cover the loaf with some tin foil after 30 minutes to stop the top burning! The cake should be moist so will be done once a toothpick comes out clean with a few moist crumbs. Enjoy!

#TaDah