Meal Planning Monday - the first 2013 edition!

So, that was 2012, that was. Today is the last day and 2013 starts tomorrow. Really, this is my first meal plan of the year, especially as I'm not planning to cook tonight so the 2012 kitchen is well and truly closed. The children and I are planning to have a Chinese tonight - hubby will be at work until midnight so won't be partaking. I'm leaving New Year's Day open as well as I'm not really sure what we're doing - we still have family to deliver presents to, so we might be out.

This week is different for a number of reasons. Firstly, a friend who used to live across the road and now lives in Cambodia is coming to stay for a few days. The children are still off school, and husband's shifts are longer than usual. Finally *whispers* it's my birthday on Sunday and we're probably going to go out for lunch then. More normal service WILL be resumed next week. I hope.

Here is the plan, such as it is, for the week.

Monday - Chinese
Tuesday - keeping free
Wednesday - Chilli Marrakech
Thursday - Sausages with cauliflower cheese mash
Friday - Chicken satay with rice (I think!)
Saturday - Crispy cheddar pies
Sunday - I am so not cooking today!

That is us. How is 2013 starting in meals for you? Do tell. And then pop by Mrs M's to check out some other meal plans.

Happy New Year!

Recipe: Slow Cooker Chinese Ribs

I decided to blog this recipe when I mentioned it on Twitter and immediately got a request from The Coffee Lady for the recipe. It's not your average slow cooker recipe - it doesn't need as much cooking but it is a "bung it all in and leave" type thing, with some grilling at the end. I have two variations in the recipe book I got this from - the other is maple glazed ribs, but this is much nicer. The original recipe suggest eating it with some coleslaw but rice is nice with it too. In the pic below, I cooked some rice with a bit of stock and some coconut cream, and stirred in some soy sauce and petits pois near the end of cooking. The cooking time is listed as 5 to 7 hours but I would imagine it could be cooked in less time than that as the meat is falling off the bones and the bones disintegrating.

Chinese Ribs
Serves 4

1.25kg/2.5lb pork ribs
1 onion, quartered
1 carrot, thickly sliced
2 bay leaves (entirely optional)
2 tbsp malt vinegar
1 tsp black peppercorns
1/2 tsp salt
1 litre/1.75 pints boiling water

For the glaze:
2 tbsp tomato puree
2 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp hoisin sauce
2 tbsp light muscovado sugar
juice of 1 orange (tho I often use about 2 tbsp of freshly squeezed orange juice)

Put all the ingredients into the slow cooker and cook on high for 5-7 hours or until tender. Mix the ingredients for the glaze with about 100 ml of stock from the slow cooker pot. Drain the ribs, transfer to a a grill pan lined with foil (preferably on a rack) and preheat the grill to high. Cover the ribs with the glaze  - I use a silicon pastry brush for this but you could spoon some over each rib. Grill for about 15 minutes, turning once or twice. I often take them out every 5 minutes and brush more glaze on as they cook, continuing until all the glaze is used. They're done once they are browned and sticky all over.

Recipe - Sweet & Sour Chicken

As a child, the most exotic food we ever got to eat was Chinese. There was a Chinese restaurant a short walk away from my parent's house called the International. In fact, it's still there although it's half the size it used to be and now does a lot of "all you can eat" food most of the time, although it's still good.

Going for a Chinese was a real treat as there were six of us to feed in the family. I used to love sweet and sour until one Christmas, when I was about 8, I went there and got sick after eating it. It could have just been a bug but after that, I didn't eat it for a long time.

I never tried making it at home ever as I assumed, for some reason, that it would be difficult to do. A couple of years ago, I got the book Chinese Food Made Easy by Ching-He Huang after seeing the TV series. I tried her Sweet & Sour Pork recipe but I was disappointed. It was a bit long winded and I really didn't like the flavour - it had way too much lime in it for me. I wanted it to be more like restaurant or take away fare.

A while later, I bought this fantastic book by Gill Holcombe. I thoroughly recommend if you are trying to feed a family on a budget. There was a recipe for Sweet and Sour Chicken in the book. I tried it and I couldn't believe how easy it was to make - and with pretty basic ingredients that you'll have at home or can get hold of easily. It can be adapted to use with pork which needs a little more cooking, or I'm guessing large prawns, which may need much less. We ate this last night for our tea and the kids loved it. They had it with some couscous which makes for easy preparation as I pour boiling water over it and leave it on the side, we had ours with rice.

I've made a few tweaks to it after making this a few times and here's how I make it.

Sweet & Sour Chicken
Serves 4

Ingredients
4 chicken breast fillets or 5 chicken thigh fillets, skin removed, cut into chunks or strips
Plain flour or cornflour
1 tbsp oil (not olive)
1 medium onion, chopped
2 peppers, any combination of red, orange or yellow, deseeded and chopped into small pieces.
1 tin of pineapple rings or chunks in juice
2 tbsp vinegar (malt, white or white wine, tho I have used red wine)
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp tomato puree
1 rounded tbsp sugar (brown or white)

1. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with a little plain flour or cornflour to coat. Heat the oil in a pan or wok. Fry the chicken until golden all over. Turn the heat down and add the onions and peppers.

2. If using pineapple rings, cut up 3 or 4 rings into small chunks then add them to the pan. Add the vinegar, soy sauce, tomato puree, sugar and the juice from the tin of pineapple and stir well. I find at this point, you need to turn the heat up so that the sauce bubbles a bit as it seems to help to mix the sauce thoroughly - the tomato puree needs to dissolve properly, I think.

3. Turn the heat right down, cover with a lid and simmer for around 10 minutes. If the sauce seems a bit too thin, leave the lid off and allow it to reduce and thicken the sauce. Season.

As ever, do let me know if you try the recipe and what you thought of it by leaving a comment. Happy cooking as ever!