Stuffed Peppers

Put the oven on to about 200 c/GM 6

Cut the peppers in half (lengthways) and remove the stalk and seeds. It's nice to have a good mix of colours and each person will probably eat three or four halves. 

A pound of mince (450-500g) will stuff up to about ten peppers (I usually don't stuff this many, typically five or six and then either put the remaining mince out for people to help themselves to some more or have it with a baked potato or some bread for a lunch later in the week.)

Put the peppers in an oven dish (the best size is so they all fit in one layer next to each other without gaps) and put in the oven while you make the filling. (Peek into the oven from time to time though as you want them to soften but not char!)

Brown about 1lb of mince and then drain off the fat (but leaving the meat juices). Add one or two finely chopped onions and about half a bulb of crushed garlic and cook for three or four mins until soft.

Add about a teaspoon of paprika (half and half smoked is nice) and about half a teaspoon of cayenne pepper (adjust if you like it more or less spicy!) and stir through for a minute or two. Then add two or three teaspoons of vinegar (balsamic is nice and rich, but malt will be fine too) and give it a good stir getting the spices off the bottom of the pan. 

Add a tin of chopped tomatoes and a big pinch of oregano and some black pepper and bring gently to the boil. (You can add half or a whole beef stock cube if you like.) Add a good squeeze of tomato puree (about a tablespoon) and leave to simmer for a few minutes to thicken a bit while you slice/grate cheese to go on top.

I usually use mozzarella but anything melty (eg mild cheddar) would be fine. How much cheese you use is up to you. I can usually get eight to ten reasonable slices (ie four to five peppers worth) out of a 125g mozzarella ball.

Spoon mince into each pepper-half, pushing it flat then top with cheese.

Put back in the oven until the cheese is as melty and bubbly as you like it (usually about ten minutes)

Serve with crusty bread or garlic bread

(In a hurry? Chop the peppers and cook with the onions, serve the mince with rice, or baked potato and grated cheese)

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Kofta Curry

Serves four

Not authentic, but a great curry-in-a-hurry

The Sauce

Finely chop an onion and soften it in a small amount of butter/spread.

Stir in just under an ounce of plain flour (I don't measure it out, either a flattened tablespoon or rounded dessertspoon is about right) and curry powder to taste (I use about three heaped teaspoons of 'mild'), then slowly add while stirring about 3/4 pint of liquid (water is fine, but if you have any apple juice to hand it is richer using up to about half juice), bring gently to the boil and while simmering add a big dessertspoon of chutney (whatever you have or fancy, mango, branston pickle, homemade...). It is nice to peel and grate an apple in to the sauce too. Simmer for about five minutes. I sometimes add half a beef stock-cube, depending on what else I have added.  If it's too thick for your preference, it goes without saying to just add a bit more liquid.

Either add the meatballs while it's simmering, or let the sauce cool to reheat while you quickly make meatballs the next day. I think the flavour improves for leaving it.

I usually serve it with either rice or naan bread

Meatballs

As they are going into a tasty sauce, I make really lazy unseasoned meatballs in the microwave. This takes most of the fat out and you get meatballs which hold their shape in the sauce.

Divide a pound of minced beef into however many meatballs you want to make (I usually chop a slab of mince into quarters, half each quarter, and then split each piece into two to make 16 fair sized meatballs)

Place evenly on a microwaveable dish and microwave for two minutes (this will release a fair amount of fat from the mince, so don't use a shallow plate).

Turn them over (if some of the ones at the centre aren't as cooked, you might also want to swap them with ones at the edges) and cook for probably about another 30-60 seconds.

They should look brown and still be a bit springy. Don't over cook them in the microwave; they are going into a hot sauce and so will continue to cook.

When they are cooked, add to the sauce while you are waiting for the rice or naan bread.

(You can also pour the fat off and add any meat juices to the sauce if you like.)


Things to have with poppadoms

Potato and/or Cauliflower Curry

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Chilli Prawn Curry

Spicy Prawn Salad

Spicy Chicken Drumsticks

Stuffed Peppers

For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas

Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Whether for spaghetti and meatballs or as an accompaniment to grilled chicken or steak, this quick and easy tomato sauce recipe won't let you down.

Tomato Sauce (Spaghetti and Meatballs)

Serves four

The Sauce

Chop one or two onions as finely as you can, and soften on a low heat in a small splash of olive oil.

Crush some garlic (I think about half a bulb is right) and add to the pan to soften.

Blend a tin of tomatoes (I use a wand blender, as less washing up), and then strain through a sieve into the pan, pushing it through with a spoon to remove the pips and any skin. (This just takes a couple of minutes but if you are short on time and effort, you could just pour the tin straight in and mash it up with the spoon, but I think this is better with a smooth sauce.)

Stir in a big pinch each of dried oregano and parsley, some black pepper and about half a teaspoon of sugar while you bring it to the boil. Stir in a squeeze of tomato purée (about 2-3 tsps) and let it simmer for about five minutes, and adjust the seasoning to your taste.

This can be made the day before and reheated, it also freezes well. (Although the sauce doesn't take long to make, reheating it is one less thing to sequence when also making meatballs and boiling spaghetti)

(I sometimes make this as a sauce to go with grilled chicken, roast or new potatoes and eg green beans/mange-touts/sugar-snaps)


Meatballs

As they are going into a tasty sauce, I make really lazy unseasoned meatballs in the microwave. This takes most of the fat out and you get meatballs which hold their shape in the sauce.

Divide a pound of minced beef into however many meatballs you want to make (I usually chop a slab of mince into quarters, half each quarter, and then split each piece into two to make 16 fair sized meatballs)

Place evenly on a microwaveable dish and microwave for two minutes (this will release a fair amount of fat from the mince, so don't use a shallow plate).

Turn them over (if some of the ones at the centre aren't as cooked, you might also want to swap them with ones at the edges) and cook for probably about another 30-60 seconds.

They should look brown and still be a bit springy. Don't over cook them in the microwave; they are going into a hot sauce and so will continue to cook.

When they are cooked, add to the sauce while you are waiting for the pasta to finish cooking.

(You can also pour the fat off and add any meat juices to the sauce if you like.)


You might also like

Kofta curry

Stuffed Peppers

For more ideas, follow me on twitter @Tyne_Teas

Please visit my Intro post for more about my blog and me - I hope you enjoy my recipes : )