Spiced chicken kebabs with Pilau rice

Bit different to what I usually make, I mean I've tried Korma and Tikka Masala but this dish was dry with no sauce and I've never really made a successful rice dish before. I do like this dish but the rice was missing cashews and pistachios. We had onion bajis and naan bread to go with this, mmm.

Quesilladas

I got this recipe from my Nigella Express book. Both Brian and I quite like Mexican food but these are a bit different from your normal fajitas and burritos. All quesilladas are, are tortillas filled with different food such as ham, cheese, jalepenos etc - we had that combination and coriander. You then fold the tortillas in half and grill them (I used the George Foreman so both sides were grilled nicely). Once cooked, cut into portions and serve!

Yum, yum:

Cupcakes

This post requires no words, only pictures:

Marinated steak with some form of potato?

Both these recipes are from Delia's how to cook two. The steak was marinated in red wine, Worcestershire sauce and garlic all day in the fridge. It was b-e-a-utiful! The potatoes were layered with onions and rosemary and a veg stock/milk sauce combo over the top with butter to crisp the top potato layer. I quite liked the potatoes, they were something different (note to self: less rosemary next time) and the steak was divine as I've already mentioned. Think I'll make it for mum when I go home at easter.

Chicken with tarragon

This was from one of the BBC's good food 101 recipe books. To be honest with you I wasn't all that keen, I discovered that I don't care much for tarragon! I'd probably substitute it for basil if I were to make it again. Still, my presentation skills make it look alright!

Steak casserole with cheese dumplings.

I simply love casseroles and I'm quite sad that the weather and seasons are changing which mean less stodge and more light food. Casseroles are gorgeous if done right, and that doesn't take much doing really! This recipe was one from a new book of mine: From My Mother's Kitchen which I bought on a recent weekend at home. It's full of good old recipes and some yummy looking deserts too!

Anyway so the recipe is enough to feed a small army to be quite honest, 8 dumplings for two people is quite over the top but I believe only one was not eaten! (Brian had 5, I had 3 small ones). Brian did say to me that he preferred how I usually flavoured the casserole as opposed to this one but the dumplings were a winner.

So here it is in all of it's glory:


(I did take pics of our full meal but it didn't look as pretty once on the plate!)

Sausage rolls

Never really made baked or cooked with pastry before so I thought I'd try my hand at sausage rolls. Brian ate most of them as I'm only a fan when they're fresh from the oven. Very tasty though!

Scones

I love scones, they're so English. I made some following a recipe in my humongous cookery book. They were gorgeous, just perfect. I upset Brian as he'd tried to make them and failed.

Before the scones went in the oven:


Freshly baked scones: