Category Archives: The Inept Girl’s Guide to Cooking

The 10 Minute Lunch

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ten min lunch
        Here is the quickest healthiest lunch you could possibly make! Faster than nipping off to the shops to buy a nasty sandwich and tastier than you can possibly imagine! 

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All you need is the following

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  • 1 Chicken breast per person
  • 1 lemon 1/2 sweezed
  • chunk of ginger, grated
  • big dollop of mustard
  • 2 tbs tomato paste
  • 2 tbs maple syrup

Put a griddle pan on the heat while you quickly prepare the sauce. Mix the marinade ingredients together and cut the chicken down the middle so you have 2 flat slices, place the chicken in a bowl, pour over the sauce.

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Hear it sing as it hits the heat! P1140350

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Slice the chicken into smaller sections after about 4 minuets so it cooks through evenly and gets all the delicious charred, sticky and delicious sauce soaked right through. I don’t know about you but I love the crispy baked on edges of pies. The ones you just have to dig at at the end of the meal. Its the best bit like the skins on jacket potatoes. Now cook this for a while longer around 5 mins and serve on a bed of crisp lettuce. Or you can pop it on steamed rice for a quick supper.

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Serve with a glass of fizzy water and the juice of the other half of the lemon, tantalising and tangy, just like the dish!

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Don’t you just want some for lunch!!

For more recipes head off to my blog SLB Style and come and say hi over on Twitter @sarahbacchus If you are needing any photography work from Fashion brands, beauty companies or special occasions like weddings take a look at sarahbacchus.com

How to Make the Perfect Roast Chicken Recipe

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I love to make a good roast. Here’s my tips for lemon,  thyme roast chicken with vegetables and mozzarella

1.  Stuff the chicken with lemon and thyme. Peel a couple of garlic cloves and rub the chicken all over then chop them up very finroastely and sprinkle all over the chicken.

 

 

2. Now here’s the most important tip to a great roast chicken. Place the chicken upside down (breast facing down) in the the roasting tray. This will cause the juices from the bird to flow into the breast meat and will stop the meat drying out.

3. Prepare your vegetables. I like parsnips. Peel them and cut them lengthways creating two equal parts and repeat twice again until the parsnip is in eights. Then chop the pieces in half. This should give you nice thick parsnip strips. I also like to cook peppers and I prefer red to green as they are sweeter. Cut the top off the pepper and scoop out the inside. Then cut into thin strips.

4. For the potatoes. Peel them and cut them into reasonable sizes. The smaller you make them the easier they will be to cook. Put the potatoes in a pan and boil for ten minutes and add salt. Meanwhile add some fat to the roasting tin and let it heat up. Drain the potatoes with a colander and sprinkle with flour. Add the potatoes to the roasting tin along with the parsnips and leave to roast. (I add the peppers later so they don’t get over done and the peppers with about 35 minutes left)

5. 15 minutes before it is ready bring the roasting tray out. Turn the chicken over. At this point I recommend covering your chicken, parsnips and potatoes in honey. Add chopped cherry tomatoes and slices of mozzarella on top. Make sure to add enough mozzarella (two basic packs from sainsbury’s is about right, there’s no point using better quality buffalo mozzarella in this instance). Place back in the oven and roast for a further 15 minutes.

6. Finally remove chicken and vegetables from the oven and leave to rest. Pour flour and stock into the juices remaining in the roasting tray to create the gravy. Put on a very low heat for two minutes. Serve delicious chicken with vegetables and gravy!

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The Inept Girl's Guide To Cooking: Eton Mess

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I love Eton Mess, it is easy to make, healthy and just that bit different.

Here is what you need.

Strawberries (about 500g)
4 meringue nests
1 pint double cream
1 tbsp soft demerara sugar
You could make your own meringue, but this is called the Inept girl’s guide, and, really, who has the time.

Next….

1 Wash and quarter your strawberries.
2 Take about 1/3 of the fruit and place in a blender with 1 tbsp sugar to make a puree.
3 Whip the cream until it stiffens
4 Place it all into a bowl, crush the meringue and add that too.
5 Spoon the mix into sundae glasses or a bowl, add the puree and a cluster of delicious ripe strawberries.

You can also add blackberries or raspberries. All summer fruits are great with Eton Mess, enjoy!

The Inept Girl's Guide To Cooking: Stuffed Peppers

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I thought stuffed peppers would be hard, thankfully, I was wrong.

Take 4 peppers, any colour you want, chop the top off and scoop out the insides and clean. Place in a baking try, take some olive oil and drizzle lightly over the peppers. Cook for 20 minutes or until roasted.

While the peppers are cooking take some couscous and put it in a bowl. Add boiling water (the pack will tell you how much, generally 115ml or water per 75ml of couscous) leave for two minutes and it will be cooked! I know, I love couscous, it is so easy and quick.

Now, this is where the fun starts; you can stuff the peppers with whatever you want, I added Tomato, mushroom, onion and mozzarella. Quite simple but it tastes amazing.

 

While the couscous is cooking peel and chop up some mushrooms, onions and tomatoes. Put in a frying pan with a little oil and start to cook. Add the couscous when it is done. Keep checking on the peppers.

Add the mozzarella to the pan, take the peppers out of the oven and stuff the mixture into them. Put the tops on and then put back not the oven for a further 20 minutes. Cooking times may vary so feel free to adjust.

Take the peppers out of the oven and they are ready to serve. They taste great with the melted mozzarella, I also added some honey roast parsnips, which will be coming up soon in my column. I also added cooked apples on top as an experiment and it went down quite well.

The best things about stuffed peppers is the variety, you can have rice instead of couscous and any vegetable or even meat, so have fun.

Enjoy!

The Inept Girl's Guide To Cooking: Scotch Broth Soup

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Some cliche’s last because they are true, and the only Scottish cliches that I have found true (We’re not cheap!) are that we eat Scotch broth and porridge. I practically grew up on the stuff. If you get a big pot and make this soup, not only is it economical, it also lasts for days, even for a big family. It is also incredibly healthy. It is also so easy that I can do without trouble or injury. This is my family recipe….

You will need:
butterbeans (packet)
peas (packet)
Lentils (packet)
Broth Mix (packet)
Ham stock cubes (hard to find in West London, where I live, can also choose a vegetarian one)
Carrots 3 large at least
Leek

Steep the butterbean, peas and broth mix overnight, rinse in the morning, and then add stock cube once the water is hot.

Grate carrots and dice leek and then add lentils. Stir occasionally and keep an eye on it. Ideally I think it tastes better after being cooked for about 9 hours, get it ready about 9 in the morning and it usually ready about 6. It tastes even better the next day. you will need a good size pot.

And there you go! A healthy, filling meal for all the family that will last for a few days.

The Inept Girl's Guide To Cooking: Lasagna

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I apologise for how little I have been updating this column. I do, however, have a good excuse. I have been filming at Shepperton studios for the past six months. Quite exciting for an actor. Another perk of this is that I have been fed, three times a day, completely for free. So you can see how little cooking has actually been done.

I have decided to come back with a classic. A very strong memory that my mother taught me to make when I was a child. You can never go wrong with lasagna. Even if you have vegetarians coming round. Just replace the meat with quorn. So, here’s what you need.

  • Mince. I used Pork Mince for a change. Always get good mince. Bad mince ruins the entire dish. 500g is good
  • Three onions
  • Tomato Puree
  • Tinned tomatoes ( I used two tins, one with cherry tomatoes in.)
  • Garlic, one clove
  • Lasagna pasta 250g
  • Cheese sauce (I have been experimenting but this time used Dolmio’s Creamy sauce for Lasagna, Which tasted good.)

Brown the mince in a large pot, make sure there are no pink bits. You don’t need oil or anything. Take it off the hob. Chop the onions and garlic and add to pot. Return to the hob and stir for a while. Add the tomatoes puree and the tinned tomatoes. Keep stirring this and let it cook for a while. It won’t take long. Just until the onions and everything looks cooked.

Take a lasagna dish and put butter or oil on it to stop it sticking. Add half of the mince. Put lasagna pasta on top, covering all of the meat. Add the rest of the meat and cover the mince again. Add Dolmio’s creamy sauce for lasagna or another cream cheese. You can also add cheese on the middle layer. DO NOT ADD CARROTS TO LASAGNA. This is wrong, people who do this should be shot. You can, however, add mushrooms. I think mushrooms are great in lasagna.
After adding the cheese sauce put the lasagna in the oven. 30 minutes at Gas Mark 6 should do it. I have heard a lot of different temperatures and cooking times, but this always works for me. Keep checking on it if you are unsure. When it is golden and brown it’s ready. Do make sure it is piping hot before you serve.

There you go, bloody great lasagna.

The Inept Girl's guide to Cooking: Eggs Benedict.

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I haven’t updated this column in a long time. I have a good reason, I have been filming non-stop. One of the major benefits of being an actor is all of the free food you get. Excellent ( and sometimes not so excellent) catering three times a day. Saved me a lot on my shopping bill as well.

Anyway, I thought I should get back on the wagon, and came across this recipe from Ocado. It’s difficult for someone as inept as me, or so I though it would be. Let’s find out.

EGGS BENEDICT

Good with ham or crisp grilled bacon rashers on the side.

Instructions

Fill 2 large saucepans with boiling water to a depth of 5cm (2in). When tiny bubbles appear at the bottom of the pan, carefully crack 4 eggs into each pan.

Leave the pans on the heat for 1 minute, then remove and let the eggs sit in the hot water for exactly 6 minutes. Remove the eggs, using a slotted spoon, and drain on kitchen paper.

Meanwhile, preheat the grill on its highest setting, split each muffin in half, and toast both sides.

Butter each muffin half and place 2 on each serving plate. Top each half with a poached egg and spoon the Hollandaise over the top.

Ingredients

· 8 Eggs

· 4 English Muffins

· 50g Butter, for spreading

· 1 Hollandaise, warmed

Serves 4

Total time required Total cooking time:21 mins

* Preparation time: 10 mins
* Cooking time: 11 mins

I managed it! And it tasted amazing. Not as great as PJ’s Grill’s in Covent Garden, but practice will make perfect. Right, what to cook next?

The inept girl's guide to cooking.

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The next recipe is an old favourite of mine. I love prawn cocktail. When I was growing up my parents made it for me all the time. It is quick, simple and delicious.

You need: prawns, Heinz tomato ketchup, Heinz salad cream, Lemons, tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, and Worcester sauce.

To make the Marie Rose sauce mix equal parts tomatoes sauce with salad cream. It’s optional but you can add Worcester sauce as well. Just a few drops.

Wash and cut up the tomatoes, cucumber and lettuce. Place in a serving dish. Add the prawns and the sauce you have made. It’s that easy.

I will leave you with the excellent food recipe and not tell you about nearly burning down my kitchen….