All That I'm Eating

Recipe ideas for budget meals, everyday cooking and a little indulgence. Travel inspiration and restaurant reviews too.

Chicken Tikka Wraps with Cucumber and Onion Salsa

By 18 Comments

chicken tikka filling
I wanted to make something with meat for my next frugal recipe but I didn’t want to compromise on the quality of the chicken I decided to use. I bought two free range chicken breasts from my local farmers’ market as they are much more reasonable than buying them anywhere else. In order for this recipe for four to cost less than £6 the chicken needed to be bulked out with plenty of other bits. Enter the wrap; it looks like it’s not that filling but after just two of them I am stuffed! This recipe is fresh, vibrant and full of flavour and makes a light, quick and easy meal.

Ingredients

You will need (for four):
2 free range chicken breasts
£3.42
2 tbsp tikka paste
£0.20
150g organic natural yoghurt
£0.49
1/2 large lettuce
£0.25
1/2 cucumber
£0.33
1 small red onion
£0.10
Small handful fresh coriander
£0.15
8 wraps
£1.00
Salt and pepper
£0.02
Oil (for frying)
£0.02
Total
£5.98

Method

Start by slicing the chicken breasts into thin, inch sized pieces. Put these into a bowl with the tikka paste and 1 tbsp of yoghurt. Mix together and then cover and leave in the fridge to marinate for at least 30 minutes.

While the chicken marinates prepare the rest of the meal.
Wash the lettuce and drain well before shredding it.
To make the salsa finely chop the cucumber and the onion. Put half of the onion and all of the cucumber into a bowl. Tear in the coriander and then mix it all together with some salt and pepper. Put this to one side.

When you are ready to cook the chicken get a large frying pan on a medium heat. Add a little oil and the other half of the chopped onion. Fry the onion for around five minutes to get a little colour then add the chicken and all the marinade.
Continue to fry it all together for around ten minutes or until the chicken is cooked and some of the edges of the chicken have started to catch. Leaving the chicken to catch really adds to the flavour. read more

Hot Cucumbers with Wet Garlic and Chilli

By 30 Comments

hot cucumbers with garlic and chilli
I don’t like to be rude but sometimes a cucumber can be a pain in the backside. What do you DO with it? Yes it’s very nice quartered and added to a salad; occasionally I go somewhat exotic and fork the edges of the cucumber before adding it, it’s terribly exciting. I have wanted to try a chilled cucumber soup and also thin slices with a little salt, sugar and sherry vinegar but every so often I find myself simply wanting to use the cucumber for jousting. You may wonder why, if I have so many qualms with the cucumber, I keep on finding them in my fridge. When you get a vegetable box delivered it is inevitable that you will end up with things you always prepare the same way. Not anymore, my culinary cucumber monotony needed to be broken.

Ingredients

You will need (for two as a side):

  • 1 cucumber
  • 1 wet garlic stalk
  • 2 red chillies
  • A few fresh chives
  • Salt and Pepper
  • Butter (or use olive oil to make it vegan)

Method

Peel the cucumber and then cut into sticks; I got 12 sticks from mine. Melt a big knob of butter in a pan on a medium heat and add the cucumber. While the cucumber softens slice the wet garlic thinly and then add this to the pan with the cucumber.

Keep stirring everything in the pan until the cucumber and garlic are starting to brown; the cucumber is surprisingly strong and doesn’t break down.

While you’re waiting slice the chillies and chop up the chives. For the final minute or so of cooking add a few of the chillies, the chives and some salt and pepper. Remove from the heat and serve with the remaining raw chillies. read more

Gin and Tonic Mini Jellies

By 18 Comments

gin and tonic jelly
I was never a fan of jelly and ice cream. I’m afraid that even when I was five I had standards and high expectations of jelly and ice cream that a children’s party just could not match. I went off jelly after several wobbly strawberry attempts for many years. I tried it in trifle too (not for me) and it wasn’t until I decided to make my own jelly that I appreciated just what a marvel it can be. Now I’m a grown up and I like jelly I’ve also realised I quite like gin. It’s about time these two met each other. Welcome to my gin and tonic mini jellies.

Ingredients

You will need (for around 12 mini jellies):
  • 30g sugar
  • 50ml water
  • 120ml pre-mixed gin and tonic
  • 3 sheets gelatine
  • Decorations of your choice (e.g. herbs or zests)

You may have noticed that I have three different coloured jellies. Indeed, not only was this an excuse to get out my calculator and work out gin to tonic to gelatine proportions but also a good reason to try out my new jelly mould and gins. The proportions above are for 12 jellies in total of around 10g each; feel free to mix up whatever spirits you have just divide the total gin and tonic amount by the amount of flavours you want to try and make different batches.

Method

Best to get the mathematics out of the way before you start your jelly making just in case you feel the need to make and drink a G&T at the same time. Not that I did of course. First of all put your decorations of choice into the jelly mould and go about selecting your gin. I went for: Sloe Gin and Mint, Saffron Gin and Cucumber and Gin and Lime Zest. 

Put the sugar and water into a pan to dissolve the sugar and then bring to the boil. While the sugar and water are heating put the gelatine into cold water. Once the sugar syrup has boiled remove from the heat, squeeze the excess water from the gelatine and stir the gelatine into the syrup until dissolved. Pour in the pre-mixed gin and tonic and stir gently so that you retain some of the fizz. Pour the jelly mix into your jelly mould and refrigerate until set. I like knowing that if you dissolve five sheets of gelatine into 500ml of liquid it will set to a decent quiver so I upped my gelatine to liquid ratio to make these thicker and more like adult gummy bears. read more

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