Filo Pizzas with New Potatoes and Salad

Love this quick, easy tasty alternative to pizza and we had it on Friday night with some lovely quinoa, roasted beetroot and feta salad and the creamy Lil Christow Devon new potatoes. Lovely.

Balsamic Honey Quorn Fillets

They had sweetcorn on the market this week, 50p each, still in the husks. They are a favourite of Mr VST's and so we had these yesterday with some tasty quorn fillets with a balsamic honey glaze. Of all the Quorn products I find it most difficult to cook with the fillets but this recipe is always a winner. 

Ingredients:
6 Quorn Fillets
2 cloves garlic
4 1/2 tbsp runny honey
1 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
3 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp mustard (optional)

1. Heat a small amount of oil at a medium heat in a pan and saute the garlic and fillets, turning once, so that they brown lightly on both sides.

2. Add the honey and lemon juice and continue to cook until the honey reduces and becomes sticky again (5-10 mins).

3. Stir in the balsamic vinegar and shake the pan well until the fillets are covered. Allow the glaze to bubble and reduce slightly more (about three mins) and serve.

Spinach Pie

Mr VST cooked on Tuesday. His spinach pie just keeps getting better and better and Tuesday's pie was no exception. Delicious with the last of the home grown potatoes and left over pink coleslaw. 

Quinoa, Black Bean and Toasted Cumin Seed Salad

Another recipe from Appetite for Reduction, another new ingredient, quinoa. I have eaten it once before this, with a curry, as an alternative to rice and I wasn't impressed. In this salad though with black beans, spring onions, tomatoes, lime juice and a little oil, it went down a treat and just as it says in the book it was better the day after once all the ingredients had soaked together. I toasted my cumin seeds as directed and added them to the salad but I couldn't really taste them. The quinoa made a good base for this salad with its light, grainy texture and slightly nutty taste.

 We had it with some of the left over pink coleslaw from earlier in the week and our first crop of home grown potatoes, which were a little disappointing compared to last year's creamy crop.

We also had some Linda McCartney vegetarian (and vegan) sausage rolls which are always a hit. 

Good Pizza Alternative

I made this easy, tasty pizza alternative this evening with salad and new potatoes this evening.

Spinach Pie, New Potatoes and Green Beans

I had a super productive day at my desk today, then came back home and did a 4 mile run while Mr VST was cooking a delicious spinach pie for dinner. It was sooooo good.

Caramelised Red Onion and Mozzarella Filo Tarts

A quick, easy and tasty option on Friday evening. I found this recipe at the Slimming Eats blog a little while ago. They're so easy to make and really tasty. A great alternative to a Friday night pizza.

Ingredients:
2 sheets filo pastry
1 red onion
1 large tomato
1 ball mozzarella
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
basil, shredded
black pepper

1. Take two sheets of filo pastry and cut them in half. Layer each piece on top of each other at angles, using a little water to make the sheets stick to each other and fold the ends over to make it more round in shape.

2. Cut a red onion into rings and fry off until browned and spread out over the filo base.

3.Layer slices of tomato and mozzarella over the red onion. 

4. Drizzle the balsamic vinegar over the tomato and mozzarella. Then grind black pepper to taste and spread shredded basil over the top.

5. Put in the oven for 15 minutes at 180 degrees C

Served with salad and Cornish new potatoes

Spinach and Feta Pie

Mr VST is on holiday this week and I threatened to make him cook for me all week. He had other plans but did make me his signature dish of spinach and feta pie. It just keeps getting better every time he makes it and it was delicious for lunch today too. He served it with lovely Cornish new potatoes.

Leek and Feta Frittata

I had some leeks left over from last week and a bit of feta cheese too as well as a bag of new potatoes that were starting to sprout. I had miscalculated on the egg front though. I only had 6 and I calculated that I would need at least four for tomorrow but I needed four for my frittata. I managed to ring Mr VST on his way home and get him to pick some up - phew!

This is a variation on the BBC Good Food Spring Onion Frittata that I now can't find on their website. It involves boiling 300g new potatoes, then slicing them up and frying them in a tablespoon of olive oil for about ten minutes.

Then I sliced up two large leeks and fried them off for a few minutes before adding four beaten eggs, 90g feta cheese, salt and pepper and then grating a little mature cheddar over the top. I cooked the whole thing on the hob for 8 mins and then popped it under the grill for three to make sure all the egg was properly cooked. 

I served it with our first proper salad of the year, a spinach, watercress and rocket bag (all that it available before Mr VST gets planting his salad troughs). The feta added some real flavour to it.