Cook Something Different Challenge

skaps

sounds lovely have u got a recipe?

Linda32

Well I made something today which I have made before, but this time it turned out much better than ever before, Shortcrust pastry Yes I know, not really a big deal but it was for me!!!

I wanted to make quiche, but the ingredients were more than £3.00 for which I could get two ready made ones. I know mine would have been much better ( or so they are meant to be) but I want to make it cheaper.

So instead I made a "thing" abit like a pizza, which is what OH thought it was. I made two "things"

Shortcrust pastry, rolled out and baked blind (thats a first as well), then when cool spoon on tomatoe puree, sliced mushrooms, leeks and top with grated cheese.

Very nice it is too.

Silaqui

Hello everyone!

How strange Linda - I also made shortcrust pastry today!

It's not the first time I've made it, but it is the first time I've made a proper, 2 crust pie. I made chicken and mushroom just by browning off the chicken with some garlic, onions and mushrooms. I strained that little lot and used the juices to flavour a basic white sauce, then mixed the chicken and mushrooms back into it.
It was very nice but turned out a bit dry, not sure how I'd alter that really other than not to thicken the sauce up so much, I'd worry the pastry might go soggy then.

I'm going to try and cook more new stuff - I love cooking but I never usually have the time or the budget to try lots of new things. I'm going to start tryng to incorporate these new things into my meal plans to start forcing myself to do it!

x

becky170

I cooked Chorizo, potato and thyme quesadillas tonight. They were really nice for a change, but I think I should have served them with a spicy salsa to add a bit of a kick to them. Anyway if anyone wants to try them you need to fry off some onion and garlic for a couple of mins before adding 1cm cubes of cooked potato and chorizo (I used about 5 slices of pre-sliced chorizo per tortilla). Cook for a further 5 mins and them add some thyme and season. Spread the chorizo on half a tortilla, sprinkle with cheese. Fold the other half of the tortilla over the chorizo mixture and cook until golden.

skaps

Sounds nice, this one will go into my recipe book.

meerkatgirl

Shiitake, kale and udon soup - all stuff that I had begging to be used up. The end result wasn't half bad too!

lisa26_2

The chorizo and sweet potato soup is lovely. Chop approx 100g of chorizo into small pieces and fry in a big sauce pan, add a chopped bunch of spring onions (green & white bits) and fry till softened. Add 500-600g of sweet potatoes and cover well with veg stock. Bring to the boil then simmer till the potatoes are soft. Blend and adjust the seasoning. Mine needed quite a bit of salt and I also added some extra paprika and a slug of chilli sauce to give it a kick.

ellemm

Had my first attempt at vegetable biryani tonight using recipe from The New Curry Secret by Kris Dhillon and was very pleased with the result and just using veggies I had in, carrots, sweet potato, couple bits of cauli and broccoli.

The Pilau rice from the same book was gorgeous, first time I have tried that too, so fragrant, I could eat it on it's own

Got 5 good big portions (well big enough for me anyway) - one for tomorrow's tea and 4 for the freezer.

Loving this book :T

becky170

I just cooked a cheese, leek and potato bake from Nigellas site http://www.nigella.com/recipe/recipe_detail.aspx?rid=12072. Not very exciting I know, but it's something I've never made before I added some bacon to it too and I enjoyed it and will probably make it again. It says to use 5-6 big potatoes (served two) so I used 3 baking potatoes (not massive) and there was tonnes of food. Ate a third tonight, and the rest will be for tomorrow and at this rate monday too! I'm quite enjoying trying out new recipes, it's stopped me getting into such a rut with what I'm cooking

is76

Oven backed mackerel filled some pataks curry paste. It was nice, the curry gave it a nice taste but not overpowering.

Chicken liver & haricot bean casserole. Bung liver, beans, tinned tomatoes, chicken stock, spinach, mushrooms, onions in casserole dish. Tastes nice, but maybe needs something else for a bit more bite. Tabasco? Paprika?