Mushroom, Spinach & Caramelized Onion Tart

Puff pastry (or any kind of pastry) is usually off the menu in our house because of our low-carb diet, but tomorrow is a special day. This weekend we're celebrating the Queen's Diamond Jubilee. We've got Monday and Tuesday off work and there will be celebrations in towns all over the country all weekend. My church is having a special Jubilee lunch to accompany the parade which the town is hosting. We'll be having sandwiches, potatoes, quiche, salads and all kinds of yummy desserts. I decided to make a savoury tart to contribute. 

The trick to making this tart delicious is caramelizing the onions. If you've never done this before, you're missing out. Caramelizing onions brings out their natural sugar and makes them taste fantastic. It's not difficult, just a little time-consuming. Start off by cutting the onions in half and then cutting them into very thin slices. Cook the onions on medium high in a generous amount of olive oil until they start to become translucent, then turn the heat down low and continue to cook until golden brown. They'll look kind of mushy, but that's OK! Just make sure you keep the heat low and stir them regularly. Towards the end you'll have to keep a closer eye on them because they burn easily. Also keep in mind that they shrink a lot, so use more onion than you think you'll need. 


Here's what my onions looked like as they started to caramelize. I continued to cook these for 5 or 10 minutes after this point so that they were mostly brown all over. They took 30-35 minutes to cook.

Mushroom, Spinach and Caramelized Onion Tart

Ingredients

250 grams puff pastry

2 small to medium onions, caramelized

3 or 4 large mushrooms, sliced and cooked until done

About 100 grams cream cheese, softened

handful of grated Parmesan cheese

cooked spinach, chopped (I used frozen)

mixed herbs

garlic powder

fresh chopped chives

pepper 

grated cheddar cheese

Directions

Roll out puff pastry on a baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes at 220C (430 F).

Meanwhile, mix together cream cheese, spinach, Parmesan cheese, mixed herbs, garlic powder, chives and pepper.

Spread cream cheese mixture onto partially baked puff pastry. (Poke some holes in the pastry and squeeze the excess air out first.)

Top with onions, mushrooms and cheddar cheese.

Bake at 220 for 10 or 15 minutes until cheese is melted and pastry has browned around the edges.

Let cool and cut into squares before serving.

Also check out my Patriotic nails and flower decorations :) 

I got the mugs from Robert Dyas (2 for £3).

Mexican chicken

While I was out during my lunch break yesterday, I bought some avocados from a vegetable stand for 50p each. I knew right away that I wanted guacamole, but as I'm on a low-carb diet, corn chips for dipping were out of the question. I decided to do something with chicken and fresh salsa and this is what I came up with. It's simple but yummy and the fresh lime, coriander (cilantro) and avocado really liven up the boring chicken.

I started by seasoning the chicken breasts with ground cumin, lime juice and salt, then cooking them in olive oil. For chicken breasts I usually heat oil over medium high heat, then add the breasts and sear them on both sides before covering and cooking over medium until done. This gives the chicken a nice flavour without drying it out.

While the chicken was cooking, I made my guacamole and salsa.

 

Guacamole
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
fresh lime juice to taste (two good squeezes)
handful of chopped tomatoes
handful of chopped fresh coriander (cilantro)
salt, pepper and garlic powder

Mash the avocado until smooth, add other ingredients and mix.

Salsa
1 medium tomato, chopped
handful of coriander (cilantro)
fresh lime juice to taste (one good squeeze)
salt, pepper and garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and let sit until ready to use.

 

When the chicken was finished cooking, I just topped it with the guacamole and salsa and it was ready to eat. I served the chicken with a salad and spicy ranch dressing.

Pesto butter chicken thighs

Moist, tasty meat with deliciously crispy skin AND super easy to prepare? Yep, that's probably why this is my favourite way to eat chicken. I originally came across this recipe on one of my regular food blogs, Kayotic Kitchen. I've changed the recipe a bit by using chicken thighs rather than a whole chicken and applying the butter differently. It's less time consuming, but still delicious. If you have guests to impress, I highly recommend following the original recipe, but for a simple week night meal, try my variation below.


I usually serve these with Martha's Roasted Cabbage Wedges. I'm not a huge fan of cabbage normally, but it's really good roasted. Go on and try it. You wont be disappointed :)


Pesto Butter Chicken Thighs

Ingredients

Chicken thighs with skin

butter

pesto

Steak n' Shake Fry n' Steakburger Seasoning

Directions

Preheat oven to 200 C (390 F)

Melt butter in a small dish in the microwave then mix in pesto. I usually use 3 or 4 Tablespoons of butter and one teaspoon of pesto.

Place chicken thighs in a glass baking dish and pour butter mixture over thighs. Note: you can use fresh or frozen chicken. 

Lightly sprinkle with seasoning. I like to use steak fry seasoning, but if you don't have that then garlic salt mixed with paprika would probably work.

Stick in the oven for about 40 minutes, spooning the butter onto the chicken once or twice during cooking. After 40 minutes, increase the heat to 240 C and cook for an additional 10 to 15 minutes to make the skin nice and crispy.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Sadly I cannot take credit for this recipe. It's one I've had for several years now and one that I always get requests for. I found the recipe here on allrecipes.com, but I've added it below for convenience. It is the best lemon meringue pie I've ever had. The filling is tart and creamy with just the right amount of sweetness and the meringue is the soft spongy kind that I prefer on pies. Now if I could just find the perfect pastry recipe this would be the perfect pie. I usually just use store-bought shortcrust pastry but I'm sure home-made would be even better.

Lemon Meringue Pie

Ingredients

1 cup white sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups water

2 lemons, juiced and zested

2 tablespoons butter

4 egg yolks, beaten

1 (9 inch) pie crust, baked

4 egg whites

6 tablespoons white sugar

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

To Make Lemon Filling: In a medium saucepan, whisk together 1 cup sugar, flour, cornstarch, and salt. Stir in water, lemon juice and lemon zest. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until mixture comes to a boil. Stir in butter. Place egg yolks in a small bowl and gradually whisk in 1/2 cup of hot sugar mixture. Whisk egg yolk mixture back into remaining sugar mixture. Bring to a boil and continue to cook while stirring constantly until thick. Remove from heat. Pour filling into baked pastry shell.

To Make Meringue: In a large glass or metal bowl, whip egg whites until foamy. Add sugar gradually, and continue to whip until stiff peaks form. Spread meringue over pie, sealing the edges at the crust.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 minutes, or until meringue is golden brown.

Italian summer chicken

Parmesan crusted chicken breast topped with sun-dried tomatoes, goats' cheese and basil. I made this recently and it was amazing. I don't often refer to my own recipes as amazing, so this is definitely one you should try! Not only was it delicious, but it was easy to make. The almond flour crust was really good, but if you wanted to make this meal healthier you could just grill the chicken and then add the toppings.

I don't really have any measurements because I just made it up as I went along, but here's my attempt at a basic recipe. Feel free to ask any questions and I'll try to answer them!

Italian Summer Chicken

For the chicken:

Chicken breast

Almond flour with salt, pepper, grated Parmesan cheese, garlic powder and mixed herbs

1 egg, slightly beaten

• Wrap one chicken breast at a time in cling film/plastic wrap and use a meat mallet (I used a plate) to make the breast thinner. Try to make the breast an even thickness.
• Add the salt, pepper, cheese, garlic powder and mixed herbs to the almond flour.
• Dip the chicken in the egg, then coat with flour mixture. Shallow fry in olive oil until meat is cooked and outside is crispy.

For the topping:

fresh tomatoes; chopped

sun-dried tomatoes, chopped*

fresh basil; roughly chopped

grated Parmesan cheese

garlic powder, salt and pepper

Goats' cheese*

• Mix everything (except the goats' cheese) together in a small bowl. Pile on top of cooked chicken and top with crumbled goats' cheese. Put under the grill for a few minutes just to warm the cheese.

*I used Sainsbury's Taste the Difference 'semi-dried tomatoes in olive oil' 5.8 carbs per 100 grams.

*I purchased my goats' cheese at Aldi – only £1.39 for 150grams.