Gluten Free Skillet Macaroni Bolognese (Hamburger Helper Copycat)

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Skilled Macaroni Bolognese with Anyonita Nibbles

We've had a whirlwind week in the Nibbles household. Both husband and son were ill with viral infections and there were loads of work commitments on for me. To top it all off, the heating element in our stove went out and we've since been living off of quick dinners. But through setbacks come some of the best things in life. That is exactly how this recipe was born.

On the day I made it, we were meant to be having lasagna. Needing a quick replacement, I threw this together. You could call this a hamburger helper copycat, except this has so much more flavor and it tastes like proper food. I've always found that Hamburger Helper somehow always tastes like balmy nights in the dorms at college instead of something I'd want to present to my family.

Call it what you wish. It's just delicious and easy and ready in under 20 minutes. And is a perfect antidote to spaghetti without all the saucy heaviness.


Skillet Macaroni Bolognese (Hamburger Helper Copycat)Ingredients:
For the macaroni bolognese
1 cup mixed frozen mushrooms
1 cup shredded cheese
2 tsp tarragon
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
4 tsp oregano
4tbsp passata
300g lean pork mince
400g gluten free uncooked macaroni noodles
Sunflower oil
Salt and Pepper

All right, let's cook:
Toss the frozen mushrooms in a saute pan over medium heat and allow to unthaw. Meanwhile, put some water on to boil to cook the macaroni. Once the mushrooms have begun re-absorbing their liquid, sprinkle in some tarragon. If the pan is getting too dry, drizzle in some sunflower oil. Once cooked, remove the mushrooms from the pan and set aside.
Add more oil if necessary and brown the mince, seasoning it with a little salt and pepper, the garlic and oregano. Cook until brown, about 4 minutes. By this time, your macaroni should be ready. It needs to be slightly underdone as it will continue cooking in the skillet. Strain your macaroni, reserving some of the starchy cooking water.
Tumble the mushrooms back into the saute pan with the mince and herbs. Toss the macaroni in as well and stir to combine. Spoon over the passata, a little more salt and pepper and a bit more sunflower oil if the pan is too dry. Don't be heavy-handed with the oil.  Sprinkle over half the cheese and stir well.
All the mix to cook and bubble away for about 5 minutes or until the macaroni around the edges starts to go crispy and form a nice crust. Sprinkle over the rest of the cheese and leave for a further 2 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Skilled Macaroni Bolognese (Hamburger Helper Copycat)

Link Party: Tasty Tuesday #3 Plus Features

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!
I'm excited that you're interested in sharing your delish dishes with the blogging community through my link party. While last week's party was a little on the small side, I'm hoping this week's party is going to be a little bigger! Either way, I'm sure we'll have fun peeking around new blogs and taking a look at new recipes. 
As always, I'd love it if you helped to spread the word about this party by inviting your blogging buddies to participate. Don't forget to grab a participator's button to display on your blog where you see fit. Also, if you've been featured, swipe a snazzy button from here for your blog/newsletter.

Featured from last week's party
Because of a mistake in last week's party, posts weren't displaying properly! So here are two of my favorite recipes shared.

 
How amazing does that look? 

 
I love this smoothie & I've made it twice since posting the recipe

A few rules of the party


  1. Follow Anyonita Nibbles socially (however you'd like) and let me know so I can do the same in return!
  2. Visit other links in the party. Leave a comment stating that you stopped by. (We all love to read comments, so share the love!)
  3. Spread the word; grab a participator's button and display it on your blog.
  4. Link to your recipes--no giveways or promos, please.
  5. As a participant, you acknowledge that photos from the post you link may be distributed as a part of the Tasty Tuesdays Feature and/or across my social media platforms. If this is the case, all photos will be credited back to your sites and posts and credit will be given.

All right, here we go, party people!

Gluten Free Wicked Southern Comfort Vanilla Bean Frappe

Sunday, March 24, 2013

Wicked Southern Comfort Vanilla Bean Frappe with Anyonita Nibbles
This has been one busy, tiring week. On Thursday, an unexpected parcel arrived addressed to Anyonita Nibbles. Intrigued, somewhat giddy, I ripped it open and found, along with a note from a publicist, this glorious unreleased cookbook, "Wicked Good Burgers" by Andy Husbands, Chris Hart and Andrea Pyenson. Thumbing through, I was elated and ecstatic and wanted to make pretty much every recipe on display.

Wicked Good Burgers Cookbook with Anyonita Nibbles
But, since I do my meal planning a month in advance, all the meals for the rest of March are sorted and groceries bought. So I couldn't justify going over the food budget to swap the recipes around. I've already started April's menu, however and four of the recipes (so far) are from this book.

While I couldn't make a main from here, I wanted to make something. In the back of this 208-page book is a small final chapter. The chapter I always look at first when thumbing through a cookbook--desserts. The first one up is for this easy but delish vanilla frappe. I know what you're thinking: you need a recipe for a milkshake? No, you don't. But I did need a recipe for good, think milkshake. The kind of milkshake that makes your palate cry out for a burger and plate of salty fries. I did need a recipe for a wicked, alcoholic milkshake and I'm happy to have found this one.

Before I jump into the recipe, allow me to clue you in on some particulars from the accompanying press release:
  • Wicked Good Burgers is published by Fair Winds Press and will be available for purchase April 2013
  • Wicked Good Burgers is the second title in the Wicked Good franchise as established by chefs Andy Husbands and follows last year's debut, Wicked Good Barbecue
  • Inside, you'll find tips on making the Perfect Burger, how to Sous Vide at home, an unbelievable Scallop and Shrimp burger, Buttermilk Onion Petals and Duck Fat Fries. To wash it down, there's Ginger Beer Float and of course, the Wicked Vanilla Frappe.

Wicked Southern Comfort Vanilla Bean FrappeIngredients:
For the frappe
1/2 vanilla bean, seeds removed
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 ounce Southern Comfort Original
1 1/2 cups good quality vanilla ice cream
6 ounces (175 ml) very cold milk

All right, let's blitz:
Pour the milk into the blender followed by the scraped seeds from the vanilla bean.
Add the vanilla extract, Southern Comfort and ice cream.
Blend for 45 seconds to 1 minute until the mixture is thick and smooth. 
Sip and enjoy.

Of course, you can leave the Southern Comfort out if you prefer and you'd still end up with a pretty tasty milkshake.

Wicked Southern Comfort Vanilla Bean Milkshake with Anyonita Nibbles

Gluten Free Classic French Onion Soup

Friday, March 22, 2013

Anyonita Nibbles: Classic French Onion Soup

It was my intention to save this post until after summer. But, as snow falls here in Manchester and weathermen toss around words like "blizzard" and "apocalyptic" (Okay, that last one was just me.) I think a misplaced winter warmer should go down well for those of us in the firing line.

This soup is a family favorite. We have at least twice a month in winter, sipping it slowly with slices of toasted baguette, sprinkled with cheese floating about or, more simply, with a good crusty cheesy roll for dunking in at whim.

Blogging as a Guest + Foodies Festival Contest

Thursday, March 21, 2013

I'm being featured on This Silly Girl's Life today! It's a fantastic blog and I'm proud to be offering up a guest post of one of our most viewed recipes. Be sure to go check it out!
Click the picture to be taken directly to the blog and remember to show some love.

Sticky slow cooker chicken teriyaki

Thanks, Dana! 

In other news, the good people at the Foodies Festival have sponsored this post and this competition! Enter the competition below for your chance to win a pair of tickets to the amazing Foodies Festival in Tatton Park near Manchester on 18 May 2013.

We'll be attending the festival and we think it'll be great to see you there! Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Gluten Free Tame Dragon Chicken

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Oh, this chicken. Over the years, I have heard many a people refer to this chicken (a recipe written by Nigella Lawson in her cookbook, Kitchen) as being one of the greatest chicken recipes there is. I love Nigella. Love. But, I have to admit, I was a bit disappointed with this recipe.

When I view the word dragon I immediately think of ultimate heat. The iconic fire-in-the-belly hutzpah of a veritable force to be reckoned with. Toss that word in as an adjective for food and things start to get exciting. As my palate has developed, I've learned that I love spicy food. I'm capsaicin crazy, actually. So perhaps my love of chili peppers is marring my view of this recipe? But, for me, this wasn't fiery.

This was ... all bark and no bite. Fur coat, no knickers. Pardon the pun, but: smoke with no flame. In fact, while tasting the marinade for this, I chucked loads of ingredients at it! I kept the pepper seeds that Nigella tells you to discard and still, at best, the spice was muted and demure. Three or four wings in, I started to feel a slight tingle around my lips and thought, Finally! It's getting spicy! But no. That was it. If you don't like too much spice, you'll love this. These are my tweaks on Nigella's recipe. Although, I'm going to have to go back and spice it up even more in the future. Much to my spice-cautious husband's chagrin.

Link Party: Tasty Tuesdays #2 plus Features

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!
I'm excited that you're interested in sharing your delish dishes with the blogging community through my link party. While last week's party was a little on the small side, I'm hoping this week's party is going to be a little bigger! Either way, I'm sure we'll have fun peeking around new blogs and taking a look at new recipes. 
As always, I'd love it if you helped to spread the word about this party by inviting your blogging buddies to participate. Don't forget to grab a participator's button to display on your blog where you see fit. Also, if you've been featured, swipe a snazzy button from here for your blog/newsletter.

Featured from last week's party
Here are the top three clicked and on or commented posts from last week's party! Well done to you guys for uploading enticing recipes to tempt us all with.

With the most clicks and likes of the party, our Star Partier this week is:
Lucy at Super Golden Bakes and her Hazelnut Praline Cupcake--well done Lucy! Doesn't that beautiful cupcake just make your mouth water? Nom.

With equal numbers of clicks and likes, we round up the party with both:
Shauna at Ready2loseweight's fab fish dish and
Annie at Annie's Noms genius brownie stuffed into a chocolate chip cookie!


A few rules of the party

  1. Follow Anyonita Nibbles via Facebook, Google Friend Connect, Twitter or by subscribing to my RSS Feed and let me know so I can do the same in return!
  2. Visit at least two of the links in the party. Leave a comment stating that you stopped by. (We all love to read comments, so share the love!)
  3. Spread the word; grab a participator's button and display it on your blog.
  4. Link to your recipes--no giveways or promos, please.
  5. As a participant, you acknowledge that photos from the post you link may be distributed as a part of the Tasty Tuesdays Feature and/or across my social media platforms. If this is the case, all photos will be credited back to your sites and posts and credit will be given.

All right, here we go, party people!

Gluten Free Maple Banofee Tart

Monday, March 18, 2013

This Maple Banoffee Tart is like a banoffee pie, but without the heavy cream. It's just as rich, indulgent and moreish as a banoffee pie, and is a little bit more labor intensive. You reap a handsome and flavorful return for you hard work, though, as this tastes a lot better than a traditional banoffee pie.This tart would be perfect to prepare either in the morning before a dinner party or the day before. It tastes better as it "ages" in the fridge and, to my surprise, the base gets crumblier and almost cookie-like.

This recipe was developed for My Secret Kitchen using their unbelievably delicious maple caramel sauce. I'm sure you could recreate this using ordinary caramel, but it would be missing the alluring maple undertones.

Ingredients:
For the tart
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 egg
1 slab 70% dark chocolate
2 ripe bananas, sliced
6 tbsp My Secret Kitchen Maple Caramel Sauce
180g Stork or unsalted butter
200g sugar
240g gluten free plain flour

To serve: good quality vanilla bean ice cream, extra Maple Caramel Sauce and a few ripe berries.


All right, let's cook:
Melt the Stork or butter in a saucepan over a medium-high heat. Stir in the sugar with a wooden spoon until dissolved. Do not allow to boil. Pour into a mixing bowl and mix in the maple caramel sauce.

Allow the mix to cool slightly before adding the egg, flour, vanilla, salt and baking powder. Stir until incorporated. Cover and chill in the fridge for an hour or so.

Once the dough has chilled, preheat the oven to 180C. Pour the mix into a 24cm fluted flan pan. And bake 10 to 12 minutes or until golden. Once baked, arrange the banana slices over top and grate over as much of the dark chocolate as you'd like. Put back into the refrigerator for at least four hours. 

Serve with a drizzle of maple caramel sauce, a scoop of good quality vanilla bean ice cream and a few berries.

Gluten Free Melt in your Mouth Slow Cooker Barbecue Ribs

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Melt in your Mouth Slow Cooker BBQ Ribs
When the weather starts getting warmer in North Carolina, barbecue grills start coming out from their perch beneath covers, patios and porches and take their rightful place in the backyard. It's normally around this time of year when my dad would announce that we would be having ribs the next coming weekend. He'd dig the huge black and silver flocked roasting tin from my mother's jungle of kitchen equipment and hoist a xylophone of uncooked pork ribs into its cavity.

Standing at the kitchen sink like some sort of meat sorcerer, he'd sprinkle the raw slabs with a concoction of seasoning salt and spices. Quietly, he'd cover the pink flesh and bones and allow them to marinate either overnight in the fridge or a few hours on the counter before taking them to meet their fiery end on the grill's grate. That night we'd feast on perfectly flame-cooked ribs, steaks and chicken. No fingers went unlicked as we hungrily devoured the bounty of barbecued meat.

You know as well as I do there's no comparison between flame-grilled meat and broiled meat. But earlier this week, when Manchester was still wrapped in a flurry of wintry weather, I craved summer and barbecue ribs. The best I could do was the slow cooker and I have to say, I'm pretty impressed with the results. The meat really does melt in your mouth. The sauce is moreish and I guarantee that you'll hear one of two things around your dinner table when you serve this: the silent enjoyment of eating a dish too good for words or the satisfied moans and slurps that accompany any flavorful meal.

Ingredients:
For the ribs
1/2 cup Jack Daniel's barbecue sauce (it's gluten free, y'all!)
1 cup water
2 pounds pork ribs
2 tbsp smoked paprika
2 tbsp cumin
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
salt and pepper

For the barbecue sauce
a bit more Jack Daniel's barbecue sauce

All right, let's cook:
Combine the paprika, cumin some salt and pepper on a shallow plate. Roll each rib in the mix--depending on the size of your ribs, you might need more spices. Set aside.

Pour the barbecue sauce, water and Worcestershire sauce into the belly of the slow cooker.

Gently place the ribs in the water, cover and cook on low for 6 to 8 hours.

Once the ribs are done, ease them out of the slow cooker using tongs and place them in a serving dish deep enough to hold the sauce. Be careful, though! The meat will be so tender that if handed roughly, it'll just fall off the bone.  Cover with foil. and get on with the sauce.

Pour the leftover liquid (and any bits of meat that have fallen from the bone) from the slow cooker into a saucepan. Top up with a bit more Jack Daniel's barbecue sauce and allow to bubble away and come to the boil. Keep the pan on while you get on making side items. You're looking for the sauce to reduce by about 1/3. Once reduced, pour back over the ribs and serve straight away.


Gluten Free Fruity Green Monster

Friday, March 15, 2013

I've mentioned in recent posts that I've become sort of a smoothie aficionado. Recently, I've begun drinking smoothies twice a day--as mealtime replacements for breakfast and lunch. Naturally, I'm always looking for ways to amp up the smoothies so that I don't get bored with them. That's how this fruity green monster was born.

When I first decided to replace my meals with smoothies, I was a bit wary of consuming only fruits and no vegetables. Through link parties and Pinterest, I found that you can put all manner of loveliness into smoothies! For the first week, I played it safe and only stuck to things I knew I would like. Then I found an intriguing recipe for a green monster and thought, raw spinach in a smoothie? No way, Jose!

But I did it. I purchased a bag of frozen leaf spinach and willy-nilly tossed a few chunks of frozen spinach into my first green monster. Big mistake. I've since learned that the best way to use frozen spinach in a smoothie is to first defrost it! About 10 minutes before I'm ready to make my green monster, I defrost the spinach cubes in a bowl of hot tap water. Then, before use, I drain all the water out.




 Ingredients:
For the fruity green monster1/2 tsp honey
1/2 cup 0% fat cherry yogurt
1 wedge fresh cantaloupe, diced
4 discs frozen bananas--for a tutorial on how to properly freeze bananas, go here!
4 tsps frozen fat-free natural yogurt -- for a tutorial on how to freeze yogurt, go here!
small handful of defrosted frozen spinach leaves
small handful of frozen cherries


All right, let's blitz:
Begin layering your ingredients by putting the spinach in first followed by the non-frozen yogurt then the honey. Next pile in the fresh cantaloupe then tumble in the frozen ingredients on top of that.

Blitz, blitz, blitz until smooth. You don't have to serve your fruity green monster in a menacing viva los muertos skeleton goblet... but, why wouldn't you?

Cheesy spinach & tortellini broth

Thursday, March 14, 2013

This recipe has been updated and a gluten free version is available here: Gluten Free Cheesey Spinach Tortellini Broth 

Cheesy Spinach & Tortellini Broth



Gluten Free Toasted Bacon Jam BLTs

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

bacon jam, pinterest recipes, bagels, blts
I tend to be a creature of habit and recently, I've replaced all my breakfasts with breakfast smoothies in an effort to slip in my 5-A-Day a bit easier and for an energy boost. Usually, after a 6 a.m. yoga session, I slip down a smoothie whilst perusing food blogs. This morning, however, I overslept, missed yoga and needed something invigorating to kick start my day.


I made the bacon jam a few days ago and the remains of it were sitting in a jar in the fridge, marinating and getting even tastier. The mini bagels were an impulse buy from Costco last weekend. I had no use for them, but just couldn't resist how cute they were! Indeed, if you don't have mini bagels, you could happily spread this jam on a good piece of crusty bread. Or toast for that matter. Or just stick your finger in the jar. It's seriously that good.

Note: It's best to prepare the jam a day or two ahead of time.
Also, this post was featured on Nap Time Creations! How cool is that?

Ingredients:
For the bacon jam
 1/4 cup golden syrup
3/4 cup brewed coffee
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 pack (300g) bacon rashers, roughly diced
1 large onion
3 garlic cloves, crushed
salt and pepper

For the blts
2 mini gluten free bagels
1 tomato, sliced and salted
1 piece iceberg lettuce
butter

All right, let's cook:

For the bacon jam, cook the bacon over a medium-high heet, stirring occasionally until it is nicely caramelized. Depending on the type of pan you use, this can take anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes.  Remove the bacon from the pan using a slotted spoon and strain on paper towels. If there's a lot of fat left in the pan, discard most of it (you can save it to for another use if you'd like--bacon fat is great for keeping to roast potatoes in).

Add the onions and garlic to the remaining fat and cook until soft, about five minutes. Add the brown sugar, coffee, syrup and vinegar. Bring to the boil while stirring and scraping up any bits stuck to the bottom of the pan using a wooden spoon. Add the bacon back in, stir and season.

Pour the contents of the saucepan into a slow cooker and cook on high uncovered until the liquid is nice and syrupy. It took me about 4 hours to achieve the desired consistency. Once sticky and syrupy, spoon the mix into a food processor and leave to cool about five minutes. Pulse the mix so that it is coarsely chopped and allow to cool completely.

Once cool, decant into a clipseal jar or canning jar and refrigerate. The jam will keep for up to 4 weeks, although I doubt it will last that long without being gobbled up!

For the blts, halve the bagels using a serrated knife. Spread a generous layer of bacon jam onto the top half of the bagels. Spread butter on the bottom half and toast under a medium-hot grill (UK)/broiler (US) for about 2 minutes or until jam is bubbling.

Place a slice of salted tomato on the bottom half of the bagel, followed by a piece of lettuce. Top with the bacon jam slathered bagel half and sink your teeth in.

Link Party: Tasty Tuesdays #1

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Welcome to Tasty Tuesdays!

I'm excited that you're interested in sharing your delish dishes with the blogging community through my link party. I'd love it if you helped to spread the word about this party by inviting your blogging buddies to participate. Don't forget to grab a participator's button to display on your blog.

A few rules of the party
  1. Follow Anyonita Nibbles via Facebook, Google Friend Connect, Twitter or by subscribing to my RSS Feed.
  2. Visit at least two of the links in the party. Leave a comment stating that you stopped by. (We all love to read comments, so share the love!)
  3. Spread the word; grab a participator's button and display it on your blog.
  4. Link to your recipes--no giveways or promos, please.
  5. As a participant, you acknowledge that photos from the post you link may be distributed as a part of the Tasty Tuesdays Feature and/or across my social media platforms. If this is the case, all photos will be credited back to your sites and posts and credit will be given.

All right, here we go, party people!

Gluten Free Pork Sliders with Cucumber Mayo

Monday, March 11, 2013


Burgers and fries. Two things that can always put me in a good mood. I love burgers. Fat burgers, thin burgers, grilled burgers and broiled burgers. Pan-fried burgers and baked burgers. Beef burgers, turkey burgers, chicken burgers. With cheese and grilled onions. With ketchup and an onion ring. With chili and slaw.

But the burger I love the most right now is that one up there. A spiced mini pork burger perched on a bed of cucumber mayonnaise. Wearing a little hat of sauteed mushrooms and fresh tomato, served with warm potato wedges. I'm telling you, the husband and I were in food heaven this weekend, shoveling these into our mouths.

And the mayo? Well, there wasn't any left. It served as a sauce for the burgers and a dip for the wedges.

Gluten Free Skinny Prawn Tikka

Friday, March 8, 2013

Anyonita Nibbles skinny prawn tikka
I'm kind of obsessed with curries--they can be runny nose hot like a Thai green curry or sweet and mild like a korma. Either way, if you're talking curries, I'm listening. (And reaching for a fork.)

This curry won't make your eyes water from capsaicin and it's not cloyingly sweet either. It's a nice, middle of the road curry. It's the khakis of curries--it can be dressed up with spice or dressed down with fresh veg. Like you see in the picture.

I've made this curry many times and like most, it's highly versatile. I've swapped the prawns for chicken or pan-fried green beans and still had amazing results. I've allowed the sauce to reduce and intensify and I've kept it soupy. It doesn't seem to matter what I do it, it's just a good, quick, health-conscious recipe that's full of flavor.

Gluten-free almond meal brownies

Wednesday, March 6, 2013

Gluten Free Almond Meal Brownies

I do not have a gluten intolerance. Neither does Wayne nor does Callum. In fact, I never even intended for these brownies to be gluten free! I simply wanted to challenge myself to come up with a recipe to use some of the vast stock of almond meal I have for making macarons. The fact that it is gluten free and can be gifted to coeliac friends for birthdays and Christmas gifts is a bonus.

Normally, when I make brownies, I always chuck in some nuts. Mostly pecans and walnuts. With using the almond flour (in spite of its name, all it is is finely ground almonds), you still get that nutty taste without any of the nuts themselves. A nice compromise since I made this while Callum napped yesterday and the rustle of a bag of nuts in the cupboard is proven to stir him from his sleeping. I'm pleased with how they turned out. They retained their moisture even without added water, I'm thinking that had something to do with the silicone muffin cases. They also formed a nice crusty, perfect brownie top. Mmmm.

Gluten Free Chorizo, Chili & Mushroom Stuffed Crust Pizza

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

stuffed crust pizza
Apart from convenience, one of the best things about pizza shop pizzas is stuffed crust. I have vivid memories from the 90s when stuffed crust pizza was first introduced at Pizza Hut. It was around the time of Clear Pepsi and Friday nights were never the same again. Thank you, Chaz Romano for inventing stuffed crust pizzas.

It's not difficult, to make your own stuffed crust (thankfully). There's something satisfying about creating your own pizza shop pie from the comfort of your home. I'm keen to develop this recipe further, perhaps stuff the crust with other things too. Oh, and next time, I've been instructed to add more cheese to the crust!

I'll say this: if you plan on making this pizza, add more cheese than you think. It takes quite a bit to pack it out the way it's done in the shops. I used shredded cheese, but I'm thinking string cheese would be really interesting. That way, you wouldn't have any air pockets between the cheese and the crust.

Ingredients:
For the pizza
(Of course, the very nature of pizza is that its topping are subjective, so substitute and use what toppings you prefer.)
1 pack of sliced, cooked chorizo
2 tbsp passata
Edam or chosen variety cheese
variety of frozen mushrooms, sliced
frozen red peppers and chilies, sliced
Italian seasoning with chili flakes
Gluten free pizza dough

All right, let's cook:
Roll out your pizza dough onto a lightly greased baking tray. Place cheese about 2 cms from the edge of the dough. Fold dough over, covering the cheese and press down to form a seal. Repeat all the way around the edge of the pizza. Remember, use more cheese than you think you need.
Spread the passata onto the base of the pizza. Top with a sprinkling of cheese and then assemble as you wish. I put the chorizo on top of the cheese, followed by the mushrooms, chili and peppers and a little bit more cheese. Lastly, I sprinkled over the Italian seasoning, being sure to sprinkle some on the crust.

Spray the entire pizza with cooking spray and bake at 200C for about 20 minutes or until desired doneness.  Serve up and enjoy!

Gluten Free Lemon & Lavender Oven Chicken with Mustard Mash

Monday, March 4, 2013

Tender chicken thighs dressed in a fragrant and tangy lemon and lavender sauce! Served with a delicious mustard mashed potato.

Lemon and Lavender Oven Chicken with Mustard Mash | I love how juicy this chicken is! It's a perfect spring dinner from Anyonita Nibbles

Yield 2 to 4 servings

Lemon & Lavender Oven Chicken with Mustard Mash 

Ever since I purchased my first pot of culinary lavender to make up lavender macarons, I have become obsessed with finding other uses for it. I love the way it subtly fragrances food and how, when eating food made with lavender (and most flowers, actually) you smell it before you taste it. So, when thumbing through Rachel Khoo's lovely cookbook, "The Little Paris Kitchen"I came across a beautifully photographed recipe for Poulet au citron et lavande. I was immediately smitten and thrilled to discover that the ingredients the recipe calls for were things that I always keep in my larder. As always, I've tweaked the recipe a bit and my instructions and ingredient list will reflect that.

A tray of succulent and juicy lemon and lavender oven chicken | Anyonita Nibbles

17 Irish-inspired recipes for St Patrick's Day

Friday, March 1, 2013

St. Patrick's Day isn't just about green beer, though many people won't agree. In 2008, I got to spend the St. Patrick's Day and the week before it, touring around Ireland with a group of my best travel mates. We toured around Galway and the west coast before making our way to Dublin for the celebrations.

We kicked off our day with an epic tour of the Guinness factor where they shower you with pints. I'm not sure if this is a March 17 routine or not, but when we were there they were serving food. Not just any food, mind--food made with Guinness. Staff floated around with trays hors devours such as thin ribbons of smoked salmon on tiny Guinness melba toasts. Filled with stout and delicious Guinness bread, we headed into the city, in search of parties and stumbled across a beautiful mosh of singing drunks on Temple Bar. Since that trip, I have been nursing a quiet obsession with rustic Irish food and thought this would be a nice way to celebrate it.
To go to the recipes, click the source link beneath each photo.