Spicy couscous and chicken.

I'm not a big fan of Ainsley Harriot's couscous sachets, the couscous always come out very sticky and does not always absorb water properly.  So, I came up with my own flavoursome couscous dish with spicy chicken using a small collection of herbs and fresh vegetables.

Ingredients - couscous!
The amount of Couscous you want to eat
x1 tsp Turmeric
x1 tsp of Ras El Hanout
x1 medium chilli
x2 garlic cloves
x1 small handful of fresh coriander
1/2 tin of chick peas
1/2 Knorr chicken stock cube
Pinch of salt&pepper


Ingredients - spicy chicken!
x2 chicken breasts or thighs
x1 handful of spinach
x1 beef tomato
x1 tsp of cayenne pepper
x1 pinch of fresh coriander
Pinch of salt&pepper


Method:

1. Prepare your chicken by scoring it four times on the side that you are cooking it.  Lay it on a bed of spinach, add your herbs and place 1/2 a beef tomato on top.  Cook this for 20-25 minutes on 200'C.
2. Wait 15 minutes after you've started cooking the chicken before preparing the couscous.  Boil a kettle and put your couscous in a measuring jug.  Add your herbs and stock cube, and poor in enough boiled water to just cover the couscous, mix with a fork until all the water has absorbed.  Add your chili, garlic and chick peas.
3. Place your couscous in the middle of a plate and place the chicken, spinach and tomatoes on top. SERVE HOT!

NB: For those of you who do not like spicy food you can eat this without the chili in the couscous and without the cayenne pepper on the chicken.
Hope you all had a lovely Easter weekend.

Easter Menu Tag Game!

This morning I received an invitation from the lovely cajunlicious blogger, Jessica, to take part in an Easter menu tag game!  I feel privileged that she chose me to be a part of this game; it will be exciting to see what other bloggers come up with too!

The aim of the game - Each person that is tagged is to come up with 5-10 suggested MENU ITEMS for EASTER. You have to upload these entrees, appetizers, desserts, or whatever you think would make a lovely Easter dinner/lunch from your previous posts with the photos, and link them back for the recipe.  After doing this, link it to 10 bloggers for the invitation to do the same! 

LETS PLAY!

Cream of Butternut Squash and Chili Soup - served cold - starter sized portion.

Pork Medallions in a Lemon and Herb Crust, served hot, with salad and sweet potato chips (optional)

Pea and Ham Soup - served hot -main sized portion.

Spring Themed Chocolate Butterfly cakes 

After Eight Cupcakes - perfect for the end of a night; don't eat them until after eight though.

I am inviting to play this game - 
Lucy @ The Kitchen Maid
Linda @ My Kind of Cooking
Mary @ One Perfect Bite
Teresa @ A Blog About Food
Yadi @ Shop. Cook. Make
Mango Cheeks @ Allotment 2 Kitchen
Shahana @ Me n My Apron
Amy @ Amy's Dinner
Caroline @ All That I'm Eating
Amuse Bouche @ Amuse Bouche

Hope that you can all find the time to participate, it's just a bit of fun :)

Have a lovely Easter weekend everybody!

Pork medallions in a lemon and herb crust.

Hello new followers and welcome to Cooks Cakes and Bakes.

I made this recipe up on my own today; I wanted to make a fancy but price friendly meal for my boyfriend and I ended up with this.  I was in Tesco on Friday after finishing my dissertation, and I thought I'd treat myself to a nice bottle of something.  On my visit there I was wandering and stumbled in to the 'reduce to clear' section and the staff had just pulled up all the food, and found 6 organic Tesco's finest pork medallions for £3!  The recipe was totally experimental and neither Matthew, or I, had eaten pork for many years so it was a lottery as to whether it would go down well or not but it did so YAY!

- Pork Medallions with Lemon and Herb Crust - for two!

Ingredients:

x6 Pork Medallions

x2 heaped tbsp of plain flour

x1 large egg

x2 tbsp of butter

x2 tbsp of Tesco's lemon and four pepper rub

NB -best served on top of peppery rocket leaves with sweet potato chips on the side.  The sweet and peppery tones keep in tune with the herb rub.

Method:

1. Slice up a sweet potato (whatever shape you want) and put them in boiling water.

2. Whilst the sweet potato boils get a medium sized casserole dish, add butter and place the dish under a medium-high heated grill until melted.

2. Whilst the butter is under the grill, whisk your egg in a small bowl.  Spoon your plain flour on to the small plate and mix the herb rub in to it.  Then put a medium frying pan 1/3 filled with oil on a medium-high hob heat ready for frying the sweet potatoes!

3. Get that casserole dish out from under the grill and put it next to the small plate.  Then get your pork medallions, cover them in the egg and then roll them in the flour/herb rub.  Place them in the casserole dish and put them back under the grill for around 20 minutes.

4. Take the sweet potatoes off the boil and strain them.  When you are sure the oil in the pan is heated put the potatoes in and leave them.

5. Now it is time to turn over your medallions!  And then turn them over again 10 minutes later, at this same time turn the grill heat down to low-medium.

6.  Set aside a bowl lined with kitchen roll and then with a straining spoon, carefully take the chips out of the hot oil and put them in the bowl - the kitchen roll soaks up most of the grease!

7.  Get your serving plates ready and put some rocket in the middle!  Then take out your medallions and put them on top of the rocket salad.  Tip your chips onto the plates and eat!

Sorry that the picture isn't very good, I took it on my phone!  All I can say about my experimental/last minute recipes that I've concocted is that they don't tend to come out well, but this one was surprisingly delicious/healthy and Matt, and I, will definitely be eating it again.

Hope you are all having lovely weekend.

Best wishes, Natasha.