The Ultimate Guacamole

I absolutely love Mexican food and, nachos with chicken, guacamole, jalapeños and melted cheddar is one of my all time favourite dishes. To make this dish you need to the ultimate guacamole, so simply follow the recipe below. The guacamole can also be used as an alternative to hummus in which you can dip peppers, carrots, crisps and crackers - super healthy and delicious. 

Ingredients

2 large Avocados 

Half clove of Garlic

3 tbsp of Creme Fraiche or Natural Yogurt

Half tsp of grated Parmesan 

Pinch of Sea Salt

Pinch of Cracked Black Pepper 

Method

1) Peel the Avocados, slice across the middle, remove stones and chop into cubes

2) Peel and chop the garlic finely 

3) Add the salt, pepper and parmasan and blend using a hand blender 

4) When smooth, add the natural yogurt/ Creme Fraiche and blend again 

5) Spoon into ramkins and sprinkle with some cracked black pepper to serve.

Warm Butternut Squash & Coconut Soup

I was watching Donal Skehan's 'Kitchen Hero' last week, and, he made what looked to be, a delicious roasted butternut squash soup. I said that I may definitely give it a go since I had never cooked with squash before. I didn't really know what to expect, but, it turned out to be surprisingly easy to prepare and the soup was extremely easy to make. The soup, served with a nice wedge, or two, of fresh rustic bread is definitely the perfect dish to warm you up on a cold winter's day.

You will need...

Approx.1 kg of Butternut Squash

4 tbsp Olive Oil/ Coconut Oil/ Veg Oil

Salt & Pepper

2 Red Onions

Half a Small Red Chilli Pepper

400ml of Coconut Milk

600ml of Vegetable Stock

Method

1) First, preheat your oven to 220C/ 425F/ Gas Mark 7

2) Then prepare your butternut squash by slicing it across the middle, peeling it and scooping out the fleshy inside with a spoon

If you're stuck, this video will explain how to prepare the squash really well....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3qwTjTUMT8Y

3) Then dice the squash and put it into a baking tray with 2 tbsp of oil drizzled over it and a sprinkling of both salt and pepper

4) Roast the squash for a half hour

5) While the squash it roasting you can prepare your onions by slicing then into thin pieces

6) You can then put them in a pot with the remaining oil (with the lid on) and allow them to sweat 

7) When the onions have softened, you can add in the chilli pepper and leave it to swear some more

8) When the half hour is up, take the squash out of the oven and empty it into the pot and stir

9) Pour into the coconut milk and veg stock, stir, and bring to the boil

10) When the soup reaches boiling point, allow it to simmer on a low heat for approx 40 minutes

11) Then turn off the ring, and, after a further 10 minutes blend the soup using a hand blender 

It really is the perfect dish to come home to after a day out in the Winter air, or after a chilli ice skating session! 

Homemade Hawaiian Style Beef Burgers

I spent the past two weeks minding my auntie's house while she was away so that meant free reign on the kitchen for me :) I had taken mince out of the freezer one night and didn't fancy the usual spaghetti bolognese or tacos so I decided to make homemade burgers. I'd never made burgers before but I went for it anyway. I cooked the burgers on the George Foreman Grill but they could easily be cooked on a barbecue, pan or under the grill. The burgers were surprisingly easy to make and they tasted deeeeelicious...

Ingredients

500g Minced Beef

Half a Small Onion (finely chopped)

2 Cloves Garlic (finely chopped)

2 tsp Cumin

1 tsp Mixed Herbs

1/2 tsp Ground Black Pepper

Handful Breadcrumbs

1 egg (beaten)

Salt

Mature Cheddar Cheese

Fresh Pineapple (cut into rings)

Rocket Leaves

Mango Chutney

Sesame Seed Bundies 

Method

1) Mix the mince, finely chopped onion and garlic in a large bowl

2) Add in the pepper, cumin and mixed herb seasonings followed by the breadcrumbs and beaten egg.

3) When combined, empty the bowl onto your worktop and mold the mince into medium sized patties.

4) Refrigerate the burgers for at least 20 mins before cooking.

5) After the 20 mins have passed, sprinkle a small amount of salt on each of the burgers and grill them until the meat is cooked through.

6) Grill the pineapple, toast your burger buns and serve with cheddar cheese, mango chutney and rocket leaves.

Someone liked them anyway :)