Meatball tagine (and Indian spiced burgers)

I'm always on the lookout for something different to do with the mince i get in my Riverford boxes and after a bit of looking at recipes and a bit of making it up I made this.  I cooked it in my slow cooker but it's not necessary.  No photo coz the meat balls fell apart a bit (i should have added that egg) and coz i was too hungry. It served 2 with some left over to go in the freezer l

Meatballs:
Small pack of mince, about 3-400g
Half a jar waitrose onions for curry (this contains onion, garlic, ginger & chilli if you don't want to cheat!)
2 tbsp corn flour
1 egg (I didn't use this but should have!)
Miss all the ingredients together well -your hands are best- and then roll them into quail egg sized balls. Pop them in the fridge to firm up until the tagine  is properly saucy (ooh matron) then du until they're browned and sealed then plop into the trainee in time for them to simmer for a while.

Tagine
You might have to add a bit more liquid to this if you're not using a slow cooker.
1 Tsp ras-el-hanout
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (prob optional but i like the smokiness)
1/2 tsp sumac (i doubt it made much difference but i like it)
Glug garlic oil
Chopped chili (frozen cheats one for me)
1-3 red onions depending on size, mine were wee so 3 and i only quartered them and basically chopped  everything else to suit this size -bite sized basically
Half a small squash (coz i had half left in the fridge - don't ask me what kind it was, the one that was in my riverford box!)
Red pepper - it was a big one
3 tomatoes (coz there were 3 in the fridge
Big courgette
200g (ie a small carton) of passata rinsed out with about 1/4 carton  water
Pop  it all into the slow cooker and trust that although it doesn't look like enough liquid the veg has loads in.  It prob had about 4-5 hours in the slow cooker before i came back to our top do the meatballs then prob 1-2 with them in.  The cornflour in the meatballs should thicken the sauce a bit. 
To be honest the veg bit was so nice you could just have that or with eggs cracked into hollows.

Served it with quinoa (coz gluten free) and flat bread for dipping.

BONUS RECIPE - Indian spiced burgers
I don't think this justifies is own post coz everyone can make burgers  but they were really yummy and as this post was about different ways to use mince! Made 4.

1 pack mince
The other half of the jar of waitrose onions for curry
Chopped chilli
Garam masala - mines in a grinder  so i can't tell you the exact amount but fairly generous!

Mix together well,shape into patties  and put in the fridge to firm.  I'm not going to tell you how to cook them!  We had them in buns  with lettuce tomato &  mango chutney.  There are 2 more waiting to go in the freezer.

Moqueca (Brazilian fish stew)

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/m/recipes/salmon_fish_stew_brazilian_style/

First try of this so we (guinea pig helped) stuck to the recipe although i only had smoked paprika but i think that was a good addition. We agreed that a bit of chilli wouldn't go amiss next time. We halved it coz there was only us two (and that's how much salmon  we had).

Def gonna do it again basically!

Back in the kitchen

Well I  was never out of it really but dad really only liked pie  and mash  and after a day caring and a night ahead i didn't  have the energy to make something fancy and experiment!  But now i am in the cupboard under the stairs at @DullHorse house (he lets me out to make him dinner) and with a willing and always hungry guinea pig the kitchen is once again openl

Paffles - Paleo Waffles

Waffles are my current obsession - sweet for breakfast, savoury for dinner - easy peasy. This amount neatly makes one 'round' of waffles in my waffle maker - which I can eat all of when I'm hungry but they are nice cooled down too! Cooled savoury ones are good for sandwiches!

1 tablespoon & 1 teaspoon  melted coconut oil
2 tablespoons coconut flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons pureed apple, pumpkin, banana, pear, or other mix in. If I'm baking savoury I might put herbs in or sweet potato.
1 tablespoon coconut nectar or chosen sweetener if they're sweet ones
Pinch of salt
Pinch of bicarb of soda

Quite simply chuck everything in the blender then cook as per your waffle makers instructions! The ones in the picture have apple sauce in and are served with a cheeky bit of maple syrup.

More Cauliflower Rice

I am having a bit of a love affair with cauliflower rice at the moment though I still think it should be called cauliflower cous cous - the consistency is much more like that.

It's surprisingly filling, goes with everything and is so versatile! From simply garlicky, to Elanas Pantry dirty rice version to today's fridge raider version ...

For my one person portion I fried some chopped garlic with a handful of fine diced butternut squash and 2 slices of snipped up turkey bacon until they were just about cooked then added a handful of pinenuts then fried for a few more minutes. I had food processed half a very small cauliflower (I usually figure about a quarter cauliflower per person) until it looked like cous cous (it just doesn't look like rice!) I added it to the pan with a splash of water and some herbs. In retrospect those herbs should have been sage & parsley so let's just pretend those are the ones I used.

I ate this with tuna steaks marinated with lemon & herb nandos spices. Yum.