Banana, nut and honey crunchy granola - gluten free option

I haven't done a recipe post in a very long time, apologies my loyal readers but life just got in the way. This beautiful crunchy granola was originally inspired by a facebook post by Miranda Gore Browne ( off on of the early series of GBBO), she posted something similar and it looked delicious, so I set myself the task of creating a granola which would use overripe bananas.

We all experience the unloved banana syndrome from time to time, Mr LF refuses to eat banana once slightly spotty so I nearly always have an ample supply of bananas for bakes and makes, but this one has become one of my favourites, so frugal , so delicious.

For the last month or so I have been sharing the recipe with some of my work collegues and they all love it, so here goes.....

What you need

• Roughly 1 1/2 cups of rolled oats (if you need gluten free, buy GF oats)
• 1/4 cup of chopped mixed nuts ( I buy a mixed bag with skins on and roughly chop)
• 1/4 cup of mixed seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, linseed, etc)
• A few drops of vanilla extract
• Pinch of sea salt
• 1 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 1/2 tsp runny honey 
• 1 large ripe banana

What you do

• Pre heat the oven to 200c
• Prepare your baking tray, line with baking parchment
• In a large bowl, mash the banana with a fork
• Add the coconut oil, vanilla and honey.
• Mix until you have a smoothish mixture, mashing any coconut oil lumps
• Add the rest of the ingredients and mix thoroughly.

• Strew on the baking tray so you have a moist rubble like texture

• Place in the oven for approx 12 minutes , remove and turn the rubble to dry out the other side
• Place back in oven for approx 10 minutes until your granola is golden and slightly crunchy.
• Switch the oven off but leave tray in oven to cool with the oven door a jar to let the granola dry out further.

• Once cool store in an airtight jar, I find a kilner jar is perfect.

Credit Crunch Munch Round Up - July 2016

I have been very tardy of late and I am quite late in posting the round up of all the lovely recipes entered into Credit Crunch Munch for July whilst we were hosting.

                        

Credit Crunch Munch is the creation of Fab Food 4 All and Fuss Free Flavours, as a way of sharing moneysaving or frugal recipes, which are low in cost but high in flavour and above all amazing food. Hosted both by the creators and other food bloggers in turn its a fun way of sharing recipes.

You can always find inspiration over on the Credit Crunch Munch page, for August the linky is taking a break but will be back with a bang in September,  so check out the page to find this months host.

On to our round up, all in all we had 11 lovely entries for July, not bad at all considering it the start of school holidays in the UK and lots of bloggers are away.

Our first link up was from yours truly with some pretty tasty (if I do say so myself) Lemonade Scones, ideal for a quick impromptu bake when you have guests.

                                 

Our next link up came from the lovely Shaheen who blogs at Allotment to Kitchen with Simple tumeric potatoes with fava bean and carrot chilli, a colourful tasty dish to accompany a hearty vegan chilli.

                                   

Our entry from Fab Food 4 All is some very summery Lemon and Elderflower curd cupcakes a perfect seasonal bake, ideal for afternoon tea or a summer picnic.

                                                       

Next we have a delicious fish dish of Crispy Grilled Mackerel with lemon and garlic from Family, Friends, Food. Wonderfully healthy and a perfect dish for alfresco eating.

                                                                 

EasypeasyFoodie joined in the fun with a Kale and Red Onion Dhal with buckwheat recipe, a tasty looking easy recipe perfect for the Sirt Diet.

                                                       

Camilla of Fab Food 4 All brought us another seasonal recipe perfect for sipping in a summer garden, a refreshing Old fashioned Lemonade recipe

                                               

Our next recipe is for Smoky Tofu Sandwiches from The Taste Space, this sustaining healthy sandwich looks amazing.

                                             

Our lovely linky party was then joined by Ren Behan with Kasza and lentil salad with griddled courgette and halloumi.  The beautiful dish sums up what makes for wonderful summer eating.

                                                             

The Veg Hog linked up with some very interesting Potato Spelt rolls, cleverly using some leftover roast potatoes in the recipe.

                                                

Roast Chicken and a Country walk shared with us a fab recipe for Quickest leftover chicken stir fry, which would make a great supper recipe when you need to get food on the table fast.

                                                    

Our final recipe is for a Smoky Butternut Squash soup from The Improving Cook , frugally made in the slow cooker.

                                                                 

So that's all folks for this month and remember Credit Crunch Munch will be back in September.

Chicken, sweet potato and red wine casserole

Inspired by the most recent Jamie Oliver SuperFoods series and the fact that the weather is starting to cool and become quite autumnal, this comforting casserole was born. A delicious healthy dish which is great served with chunks of homemade bread or some great bread from your local artisan baker.

Its also a one pot dish which we love as it saves on washing up, the vegetable content is also infinitely variable depending on what you have in the fridge and frugal too as it uses the humble chicken thigh,  this cut is normally much cheaper and much more flavourful than the chicken breast.

What you need

• 4 Chicken Thighs - skinless and boneless
• Sweet potato (butternut squash would be a good substitute) - peeled and cut into chunks
• Onion - 1 large red, cut into chunks
• Celery - 2 sticks, copped
• Mushrooms - handful, chunky slices
• Red Pepper - de-seeded and chunky chopped
• 3 cloves garlic - finely sliced
• Couple of springs fresh rosemary - picked into stems
• Rapeseed oil
• Couple of fresh bay leaves
• 1 tin of plum tomatoes
• About 250ml red wine 
• 8- 10 blacked pitted olives
• Bread to serve
• Large cast iron casserole pot or similar

What you do

• Pre heat the oven to 180c
• Place the casserole on a high heat and add a little oil, add the onion and fry for just a couple of minutes until starting to colour, add the rosemary, bay leaves and garlic and stir fry for a few seconds, then add the chicken thighs, just to colour.
• Now add the celery, mushrooms, red pepper, lives and sweet potatoes to the pot, stir
• Add the wine, tin of tomatoes to the pot, stir and bring to a simmer, adding a little water if necessary
• Place in the oven and cook for an hour or so until the chicken is falling and the vegetables are soft and yielding. Taste for seasoning, you may not need any due to the olives.
• Serve straight from the pot strewed with more rosemary.

Gorgeous granola

Granola is so expensive in the shops and the ingredients in it some seems to be of variable quality too, I have often hunted for the solitary pecan nut in maple, pecan granola !

So I decided I would have a go at making my own and wow can you taste the difference, plus you are in control of the ingredients in your mix, so you can ensure it has more of the things you like in it (in my case maple syrup and cinnamon) and less of the things you don't (in my case gluten, some commercially produced brands contain wheat flour to bind the ingredients). It also works out much more economical too as a box of quality granola often retails for more than £2.50 and this mix makes probably twice as much than in contained in a box.

So if you are on a health kick for the new year why not start by making your own granola, its healthy and very very tasty.

What you need

• 3 cups oats (check gluten free if necessary)
• 1 cup of chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts, hazelnuts, etc)
• 1 cup of seeds (pumpkin, sunflower, sesame, chia, flax, etc)
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp cardamon
• 1/2 cup of melted coconut oil
• 1/2 cups of maple syrup or honey
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup of dried fruit chopped (any you like)

What you do

• Pre heat the oven to 180c
• Mix the oats, spices, salt, maple syrup and seeds and coconut oil in a large bowl.
• Tip onto 2 large baking trays and level off gently, bake for 15 minutes or so and then turn the oats over.
• Bake for another 15 minutes or so until golden and the mixture is drying out and turning crispy (do not burn)
• Mix the warm oats with the chopped nuts and dried fruit in a large bowl and then empty back on to the trays to cool.
• Store in an airtight jar once fully cool.
• Serve with yogurt or fruit, delicious .....

I am linking up to Credit Crunch Munch for this frugal yet wonderful granola recipe hosted over at Fuss Free Flavours and co hosted by Camilla at Fab Food for all.

                         

Oaty Date slices

These oaty date slices are perfect with a brew after returning from the frantic streets packed with Christmas shoppers, it a satisfying bake and fairly healthy due to the wholesome filling and the fact that it contains oats. Once baked it keeps well in an airtight tin and ideal served as part of a packed lunch or as suggested with tea or coffee.

What you need

• 200g plain flour
• 200g rolled oats
• 75g granulated sugar
• 150g melted butter or vegetable margarine (if you wish to make vegan)
• 250g stoned dates, roughly chopped
• 100ml apple juice
• Generous splash of lemon juice

What you do

• Oil spray an oblong tin approx 4" by 10" 
• Pre heat the oven to 180c
• Mix the oats, flour, sugar and melted butter in a large bowl to make a soft crumbly dough, if needed add a few drops of water to help bind
• Press half of the oat /flour mixture into the prepared tin
• To make the filling , cook the chopped dates in the apple juice and lemon juice in a small pan until you have a sticky soft filling
• Allow the filling to cool slightly then spread the filling on the base
• Top off the filling with the rest of the dough, press down firmly
• Bake for 25-30 minutes
• Remove from the oven when slightly golden and cool fully in the tin before cutting into generous slices.

Chicken sweetcorn and tarragon chowder

For lunch on a blustery autumnal day this is the perfect soup, warming, comforting and frugal. I love chowder recipes as even though the resultant soup is creamy and rich there is actually no cream in the recipe.

The double addition of potatoes are the secret to a great rib sticking chowder and this recipe came about as I had some tinned sweetcorn and cooked chicken left in the fridge.I had recently cooked a whole chicken in the slow cooker so I also had a small quantity of rich chicken stock as well.

Easy to throw together so why not have a go at making this lovely soup....

What you need

• 1 large white potato - peeled and diced. Retain 1/3 for later
• 1 large white onion - peeled and finely diced. Retain 1/3 for later
• chicken stock 
• Milk or water
• Tarragon - fresh a few leaves, finely chopped
• 1/2 tin of sweetcorn, drained, you could use fresh or frozen also
• Cooked chicken - shredded
• Salt and Pepper
• A little oil or butter

What you do 

• Heat a little oil in a large sauce pan and gently saute the 2/3rd's onion and potatoes until softened slightly
• Add chicken stock and milk or water to the pan until the is about 1/3 rd full of liquid, simmer until the vegetables are tender and the potatoes break up easily.
• Cool slightly then blend with a stick blender until you have a smooth liquid, you can add more liquid if necessary if the soup is very thick.
• Add the retained onions and potatoes to the pan and bring back to simmer and cook until the potato chunks are tender, add the drained sweetcorn, shredded chicken and tarragon to the pan, simmer for a couple of minutes to warm the chicken through.
• Taste for seasoning, adding salt and pepper to taste
• Serve with warm crusty bread or traditional New England style with saltine crackers.

Pork Pies from Haynes Men's Pie Manual

This recipe is two recipes combined from the Haynes Men's pie manual which was reviewed here by Mr Lancashire Food, who was trying to create a pie of his youth.

What you need to make 4 generous individual pork pies

• 225g plain flour
• 225g strong white flour
• 150g lard - melted gently, do not boil
• 125ml boiling water
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp sugar

For the filling

• 400g chopped pork shoulder, blitzed in the food processor

• salt and pepper
• 125ml veal stock 
• 4 sheets of gelatine

What you do

• Mix the flour, salt and sugar in large bowl
• Add the melted lard and boiling water to the flour bowl, mixing carefully with a knife until the mixture is cool enough to handle.

• Knead for a few minutes
• Divide the mixture so you have a approximately a quarter for your pie lids
• Roll out your pastry and shape for your pie tins, Mr LF used some small metal pudding mold, ensuring he used a slip of baking parchment under the pastry to assist removal later

• Shape the pastry, ensuring no gaps in the sides and fill with your seasoned pork, which you have divided equally between pies (MR LF is an engineer so he weighed and divided by 4 in his case)

• Roll out your tops and using a little beaten egg create a tight seal on top of your pie. 
• Make a small hole in the centre of the lid to let out steam. Crimp artistically around the top

• Brush the tops of the pies with beaten egg and bake in a preheated oven at 200c/180c fan for 15 minutes and then turn down to 150c and bake for another 35 minutes 
• Remove from the oven once golden brown and leave to stand in the tins until completely cold
• To make the jelly filling, soak the gelatine in some cold water for 5 minutes, squeeze out the excess moisture , add this to hot veal stock and stir until melted.
• Very carefully and very slowly pour the jelly liquid into your pies through the small hole in the top ( Mr LF used a tiny funnel) 
• Cool and chill in the fridge

These amazingly tasty pies were made using some lovely local pork from a farm shop pretty local to us, the family farm grows a good percentage of their own fruit and vegetables and also raises a variety of animals including turkeys. Its definitely worth seeking out some good local pork as this is the star of the show in these pies.

Mr LF surprised himself as to how easy the pies were to create and their frugality as well. To make 4 handsomely sized pies cost about £3 in ingredients and energy and the pies could have easily been sold as artisan pork pies at £1.50 each. 

The pies would make addition to a picnic, buffet or ploughman's accompanied with chutneys or pickles. As these are particularly man sized pies,  I can only manage a half a pie so maybe next time around Mr LF needs to make them a little smaller !

Recipe is based on the Haynes Men's pie manual which retails at £21.99

The book was provided for review on a complimentary basis and any thoughts are mine or Mr LF's, we were not required to post a positive review.

We are adding this post to Credit Crunch munch - created by Fuss Free Flavours and Fab Food 4all, hosted this month by A New Addition as this is a very frugal recipe that tastes amazing !

                            

And also to Shop Local  created byElizabeth's Kitchen and hosted this month too by Elizabeth


                                                           

Beef and Vegetable Cottage Pie topped with Rosemary Crushed Potatoes

A perfect dish for a Sunday tea or a a busy weeknight when you can't be bothered cooking, it has the perfect combination of roast crispy potatoes and cottage pie filling and the good news is that the vegetables are in the pie. 

The topping is inspired by Casa pie from Vanessa Kimbell's "Prepped" book and is something that I use a lot instead of mash to top fish pie and also chilli and bolognaise. Its an easy no fuss dish which freezes beautifully so you can batch make and the pie filling can also be used in pastry pies as well.

Its a pretty frugal dish too as you can use frozen vegetables in the meat filling and the herbs are from the garden plus  its also gluten free as well as I have used cornflour to thicken the gravy. Its a great way of adding more vegetables to your diet without really noticing and also for upping the fibre content of cottage pie as the crushed potatoes are still in their skins.

What you need

• Small washed new potatoes boiled until just cooked - halved if large
• Rapeseed oil
• Fresh rosemary- leaves removed and chopped finely
• Minced steak
• White onion - finely chopped into half moons
• Beef stock ( I use essential cuisine)
• Cornflour
• Salt and pepper
• Fresh thyme - leaves finely chopped
• Parsley - finely chopped
• Carrots - peeled and diced, or you could use frozen
• Peas - I used a good handful of frozen petit pois
• Tomato ketchup (ensure gluten free if necessary)

What you do

• Firstly heat a little oil in a large frying pan and saute the sliced onions until translucent 
• Now add the mince to the pan and fry off golden and well coloured
• Now add the thyme, parsley and a tbsp of tomato sauce to the pan along with enough beef stock to cover the meat, stir and then add the diced carrot to the pan.
• Simmer for 20 minutes until the meat is cooked and the carrot tender through, now using a little water to slake the cornflour and use to thicken the gravy. 
• Add the frozen peas to the meat mixture and place in ovenproof dishes 
• Top the pie mixture with the small potatoes crushing them slightly using your thumbs , sprinkle with the chopped rosemary and drizzle with a little rapeseed oil
• Bake in the oven at 180c for 40 minutes until the top is golden and crispy and the filling bubbling.
• Serve immediately

I'm linking this recipe up to extra veg created by Utterly Scrummy and Fuss Free Flavours and hosted by Elizabeths Kitchen this month.

We are also linking up to Credit Crunch Munch, created by Fab Food for all and Fuss Free Flavours hosted this month over at Maison Cupcake.

                                         

Credit Crunch Munch June Round up

                       

June was a busy month for us at Lancashire Food hosting not one but two blog challenges, so here's the round up for Credit Crunch Munch, a blog challenge that encourages frugality yet not at the cost of flavour. Some amazing money saving ideas have been linked up and I must say none of them look frugal but they are, bloggers are just so creative.

                                   

                              

Our first entry is from Fabfood4all with an amazing Rhubarb and marzipan cake which I am sure tastes amazing and is definitely something I will be bookmarking to try later, I'm pretty sure I have some marzipan languishing in a cupboard somewhere.

                                            

Next up is myself with a Rhubarb and anise syrup and frugal jam, utilising rhubarb from the garden to make both syrup and a frugal jam from the fruit leftovers. I even used a recycled bottle !

                              

Jibberjabber kindly linked up a very yummy looking Microwave lemon sponge pudding recipe, which looks so tempting and is whipped up in a flash and belies its humble ingredients.

                              

I love Tapenade, so was very pleased to see A seasonal Veg table - Gothic black olive tapenade being linked up. Using up a half jar of olives she had lurking in the fridge. Great idea !

                             

The above delightful creation is Utterly Scrummy Food's - peach traybake. Created after buying a bargain punnet of peaches for 30p. Doesn't it look amazing....

                              

Next along came Spicy "Kermit" raw green cavalo nero soup from Sarah at Maisoncupcake, this fantastically healthy soup utilising a bogof on the cavalo nero (kale) just screams eat me. If you want to know why kermit check out the post.

                                  

Tales from a kitchen shed linked up an Easy bean burger recipe, I am sure this would be great for garden bbq's for the summer and would be very popular with friends and family.

                                          

Eee Bah Gum linked up a mushroom and cheese risotto, a great moneysaving dish and very tasty too. We eat a lot of risotto in the Lancashire Food household.

                                        

Tales from a Kitchen shed kindly linked up another couple of recipes,firstly a Peach melba rice delight, which would be suitable for serving at a dinner party in my humble opinion. It looks so beautiful and a great use of seasonal stone fruit. I also love that the rice pudding is cooked in a slow cooker.

                              

Another slow cooker recipe this one utilising the humble jacket potato, the ultimate comfort food. Great idea to use a slow cooker to cook the spuds. Thanks Tales from a Kitchen Shed, another one for the must try list.

                               

Lastly we have an Italian fritatta with vegetables from the MyLittleItalianKitchen, as she says an excellent picnic dish if served cold.

                               

A quick late addition is from Choclette over at Chocolate Log Blog with some very delicious chcolate bean burgers with chilli sauce, what an inventive combination.

I'd like to thank all contributors to June's Credit Crunch Munch and to Fab Food 4all and Fuss Free Flavours for letting me host their challenge.