Corn Soup

I'll admit it doesn't look like much in all its beigeness, but corn soup is one of those cheap and easy throw together soups that takes almost no time to prepare and cook and it taste delicious. As sweet and light as you need it to be in Summer while still being a great canvas to carry a bit of stodge in Winter, it's a versatile little bowlful for any time of the year.

Ingredients

2 roasted red peppers, chopped*
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 tbls vegetable oil
4 cups of sweetcorn (fresh or frozen)
3 cups of chicken or vegetable stock
1/2 cup of milk or cream
salt and pepper to taste

* For roasted red peppers you can either take two red peppers and char them on a grill until black, pop them in a plastic bag for ten minutes or so and then remove all the skin and innards, or you can do like I do and keep a jar of roasted red peppers in the fridge. They're even cheaper than buying fresh most of the year too.

• Start by sweating the onion in a large pan in the oil over a low heat until they soften, adding a little salt to the onion helps it release its juice a little quicker.
  
  
• Once the onions have softened, add the red peppers and sweetcorn and stir to combine.
  
  
• Add the chicken stock, bring the soup up to the boil and then reduce to a simmer for 10-15 minutes or until the corn is tender.
  
  
• Remove the soup from the heat and blend. I use a stick blender for this because I like this soup pulpy with a few chunks but if you prefer a smooth soup use a blender or food processor.
  
  
• Transfer the soup back to the pan, add the milk or cream and season to taste. Bring the soup back up to a simmer and serve.
  

I like to use quite a lot of black pepper when I make this for a warmth that builds up to heat while I'm eating, but you can also add some fresh chili if you like.

The soup is also good with some crumbled crispy bacon stirred through, or add some cooked cubed potatoes and a handful of leftover shredded chicken on cold days for a more substantial meal.

You can also make a large pot of this soup and keep in the fridge for easy lunches all week, just leave out the milk when you first make it. Blend the soup and store in the fridge, then add a splash of milk as you reheat each bowlful.

Watercress Soup

After Chloe arrived home from school in the last week of term with a thimble full of watercress which quickly became a hedgerow once she'd planted it in the garden, I had to find a way of using it.  Daily salads just weren't cutting through it fast enough and it was threatening to overtake the garden.

To say that this is a recipe is probably a bit of a stretch as it's incredibly simple to make, but it was also delicious so here we go ...

Ingredients
A large bunch of fresh watercress
1 medium/large leek or 3-4 spring onions
2 medium potatoes, peeled or washed, whichever you prefer
Small knob of butter
1.5 pints of chicken or vegetable stock
A dairy of your choice, I used single cream, but creme fraiche, sour cream or even some soft cream cheese would be lovely.
Salt and Pepper to taste

Start by removing the watercress leaves from the stalks and set to one side.

Chop the watercress stalks, spring onions (or leeks) and potatoes and sweat for a few minutes in the butter over a medium heat.  Don't let the veg take on any colour, you just want them to start to soften in the butter.  Add the stock and bring up to the boil, reduce the heat to a simmer and allow to cook, covered for about 20 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Remove the soup from the heat and allow to cool a little before blending until smooth, you can transfer it to a blender if you prefer though I used a stick blender.  Add the watercress leaves and blend again until smooth.  Season to taste.

Bring the soup back to simmering point and serve with a splash of cream (or whatever you prefer) and some good crusty bread.

The soup is surprisingly rich for so few and such simple ingredients and this recipe will make about four adult sized portions.

You don't really need to bother with the garnish, but it does make for a pretty photo.

Crowd Pleaser Chicken

I've made over a hundred pieces of this chicken today and didn't even break a sweat doing it.


When Summer rolls around my favourite meals are often the quickest and easiest to throw together and this chicken fits the bill perfectly.

Another plus is that it tastes even better served at room temp than it does hot which takes the pressure off the cook to have everything ready at the same time and in the full heat of Summer it can be left to marinade over night and baked first thing in the morning when turning the oven on isn't as big an issue as it is in the evening.

Firstly I want to deal with the chicken. Use whichever cuts of chicken your family like best but keep in mind that this marinade tastes best when used on the darker meat so it's best to stick with drumsticks or thighs. Once you have your chicken in front of you, make two deep cuts in each piece of meat. If you are cooking this chicken and planning to serve some to children its worth pointing out that it is quite spicy. What I always do is choose 2/3 smaller cuts of chicken for Chloe and don't score those, then before I give it to her I remove the skin. The skin allows some of the sweetness and the smallest amount of heat to seep into the chicken but protects it from the bulk of the spice and it means I don't have to marinade and cook two separate batches of chicken. Chloe loves it and she's generally a very anti-spice child.

Ingredients

3lb chicken pieces (roughly 20 pieces depending on size)

3 tblsp dark brown sugar
1 tblsp paprika (smoked, sweet or regular)
1.5 tsp salt
1.5 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

4 tblsp oil of choice

Place all the dry ingredients into a large bowl and add the oil to make a loose paste.

Add the chicken pieces and use your hands to turn and coat each piece of chicken thoroughly. Cover the bowl and place in the fridge to marinade for at least an hour or you can leave it over night.


Pre-heat the oven to 200C. Place a wire rack over a large roasting pan or tray and load it up with chicken pieces. The rack isn't absolutely necessary but it does save you having to turn the chicken once or twice while it's cooking. Bake the chicken in the oven for 35-40 minutes, then remove it from the oven and leave to rest for at least 10-15 minutes or better yet, leave it to cool completely before serving.

And enjoy.


And even a couple of pieces for the kiddies too.

Eggy Grilled Cheese

This recipe is great for a quick lunch or snack, it can get a little messy if your not quick.

You'll find this works best with supermarket bread because you can kind of mash the edges together to hold the filling inside. You can use your own homemade good bread however you may need to work a little harder to get the edges to hold together, I would definitely recommend removing the crusts if you're using good bread

Eggy Grilled Cheese

Two slices of white bread

Cheese, whichever takes your fancy or you happen to have on hand. Mozzarella works as does good cheddar or some good swiss cheese.

One egg beaten and seasoned.

Sliced cheese and arrange on one slice of bread leaving about a centimetre or two of uncovered bread around the edge (you can remove the crusts if you prefer. If I do this I toss them in a bag in the freezer until I have enough for something that needs breadcrumbs.

Place the second slice of bread on top of the first and squeeze and press the edges together until they hold. If it's supermarket (plastic) bread they will.

With the beaten egg poured onto a plate or wide bottomed bowl quickly dip each side of the bread into the egg and then place in a non stick pan or lightly oiled skillet over a medium heat.

Check after about two minutes to see if the egg has set on the bottom, for a deeper colour lift the bread and place a small knob of butter underneath and leave for a further minute to help brown the bread.

Turn the bread and repeat for other side.

WARNING... LEAVE TO COOL FOR AT LEAST FIVE MINUTES BEFORE EATING. IT'S DECEPTIVE, IT'LL FEEL MUCH COOLER ON THE OUTSIDE WHILE THE INSIDE IS STILL MOLTEN LAVA.

This is excellent on it's own or with some good tomato (marinara) sauce to dip into for that "pizza on the fly" taste.

For more great frugal recipes with eggs head over to Jenn at Frugal Upstate for the Frugal Food Series.

L.

Frittata

This month Jenn over at Frugal Upstate is hosting a Frugal Food Series.

With all living costs increasing on what seems like a weekly basis it's time to tighten our belts.

The most obvious and easiest way to do this is to cut back on food bills.

The first week of the series concentrates on eggs. Now I love eggs, can't get enough of them so I have a large collection of eggy recipes. However my favorite is a basic recipe for a Frittata. The reason I like this recipe so much and use it so often is that is great for helping to clear out the fridge.
The basic recipe is as follows;

tbls oil
4 eggs - beaten and seasoned to taste
approx 1 cup of cooked cubed potato (about 1cm cubes)
approx 1 cup of sliced onion

Heat oil in a non-stick shallow pan

Gently cook onion in oil for about ten minutes taking care not to allow only the slightest colour on the onions.

Add potatoes and cook for a further five minutes until heated through and just starting to colour at the edges.

Making sure the ingredients are evenly distributed in the pan, add beaten eggs to the pan and allow to cook on a low heat until the eggs set on the bottom and should start to set around the edges of the pan.

Place pan under a medium grill until the top of the frittata sets .

Don't let this recipe limit you. I have added all types of leftovers to this basic recipe with great results. Just always bear in mind that if you have a huge heaping pan of leftovers add enough egg to bind the ingredients together. You should be able to slice the frittata like a cake into wedges.

A frittata can be eaten at any time of the day. I have served fit or breakfast, lunch and dinner. It's also lovely cooked and left to cool and either eaten as a snack or with a salad and some good bread.

For more eggy ideas to feed your family head over to the Frugal Food Series at Frugal Upstate. Don't forget to check out some of Jenn's other invaluable posts while your there.

L.