Friday 15 February 2013

Yummy winter warming pie...

Being a bit behind on my posting has led to me telling you about this scrummy winter warming Chicken, leek and bacon pie a tad too late as the weather has *just* decided to start behaving in a more Spring like fashion. Not that I'm complaining of course, I'd begun to think I'd never feel warm again!

This pie was really easy to make and is perfect for the cold miserable days we've become accustomed to this winter.

I actually cheated very slightly and used a pack of Leek and potato pie mix from the supermarket. Which isn't really cheating, so much as making it much quicker and cheaper (it cost £0.85) to make a filling nutritious dinner.

I cooked two chopped chicken breasts and two chopped slices of bacon (fat removed) until cooked right through, I then turned down the heat and added the Leek and potato mix, two cloves of crushed garlic and two handfuls of chopped button mushrooms. I left this on a low/medium heat until the veg had sweated down and softened. I didn't add any of my own herbs to the mix as the shop bought veg mix had herbs in it and I didn't want to overwhelm them. Also, I really like garlic, so used 2 cloves, if you wish you could just use 1 or leave it out completely.

To make a creamy sauce I used some cornflour and milk mixed together and heated gently until thickened and poured this over the meat, vegetable mix.
The pastry I already had in my freezer, as leftover from mince pies at Christmas, I just about had enough to cover the pie! Phew! It was just a simple non sweet shortcrust pastry, rolled out to the thickness of a £1 coin. With the offcuts I made a few fancy snowflakes and my initials (just because). I brushed the pastry with beaten egg and baked the pie in the oven for around 25 minutes until the pastry was a nice golden brown.



Believe me, the photo doesn't do it justice! It was scrummy, even Littlest baker like enjoyed it and she usually shys away from Leek!

Tuna sweetcorn rolls

These were adapted from a recipe I found whilst looking for ideas for dinners for Littlest baker. I'm keen to try new and different meals for the family as I find that us, like most other families get stuck in a rut and need to find new favourites sometimes.

For us these rolls have become a new family favourite and are surprisingly quick and easy to make, which is always a bonus after a busy day at work/school.

The original recipe uses puff pastry and full fat mayo, which if you are feeling a bit more luxurious you could always use yourself, however I have recently changed my target weight in my slimming group and need to focus on getting down to it so need to go for the lower fat filo pastry and Greek yogurt alternative.

I used a tin of tuna,  handful of sweetcorn, approx 4 tbsp of 0% fat Greek yogurt, a splash of lemon juice, some black pepper and half a pack of frozen filo pastry.

Begin by mixing the (drained) tuna, sweetcorn, Greek yogurt, lemon and pepper. Then lay out two sheets of filo, one on top of the other. Being careful not to tear it as it is quite tricky to handle. Put a few tablespoons of the tuna sweetcorn mix onto the pastry in the middle and fold over the bottom and top edges to prevent the mix coming out when rolled. Next roll the pastry up. You should end up with something looking a bit like a 'closed' sausage roll. When all the tuna mix is used up (I got three reasonable sized rolls out of the mix) pop the rolls onto a baking tray and bake in the oven at around 190 degrees C for 20 minutes, or until the pastry is cooked and the filling hot.



I served ours with baked potato and mixed seasonal veggies, a very satisfying healthy dinner, enjoyed by all of the family.

If you like you could try different fillings in the rolls, I think something like chicken and leek or mushroom could work well, or why not add some mature cheddar to the tuna mix for an extra bit of flavour?