Ren Behan - Author Wild Honey and Rye

Food Writer

Sausages

Sausages Baked with Squash [One Pan]

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One Pan Baked Sausages and Squash
Sausages Baked with Squash

If you regularly cook for your family, you’ll probably find, as I do, that some of the biggest challenges you face in a typical week revolve around coming up with a constant stream of nutritious meals, whilst fitting things in around your family’s schedule and dietary requirements. This is when a bit of meal planning comes into its own, as do shortcuts by way of handy items that can easily be pulled out of the freezer.

How can the freezer help?

  • I keep key items on hand, ready for when I’ve not had time to plan ahead, allowing me to quickly and easily rustle up a healthy family meal, such as frozen rice for stuffed vegetables or one-pot dishes, frozen chopped onions, frozen fruit (for quick smoothies), frozen seafood such as king prawns and salmon fillets for fishy pasta, and frozen pastry for quick my quick chicken pie.
  • Frozen food, especially frozen veggies, can often be just as good frozen as fresh
  • The freezer can act as a great back up, saving space in the fridge

So, this week our meal plan will feature some of Simon’s recipes, such as Sausages Baked with Squash and Rosemary (see the recipe below) and a retro Chocolate Trifle for pudding which will last a couple of days at least as it’s so big!

 

My ultimate food hacks

  • Scale up and batch cook so that one meal lasts a couple of nights
  • Keep things such as frozen chopped onions and packets of frozen vegetables to hand in the freezer
  • Go for ‘tray-bakes’ or one-pan dishes as much as possible – this is where you throw lots of items together and bake them on one tray in the oven. We love chicken thighs with chorizo and new potatoes, or salmon with roasted vegetables too.

Commissioned post by Iceland #PowerofFrozen #ad

Cocktails, Canapés and a Merry Christmas from Fabulicious Food!

The very fact that I am sitting here on Christmas Eve morning blogging means that everything is ready, packed, wrapped and prepared for Christmas. Except that it isn’t. I’m just about to go and help set the table ready in preparation for our huge Polish Christmas Eve celebration meal later on today and in between all of that there are still presents to exchange and people to see!

But just before things really get going, I wanted to share my last post of the season, mainly to wish you all a very Merry Christmas, full of tasty treats, good health and happiness. I would also like to thank you all for reading and supporting Fabulicious Food! this year and for being here to share all of my foodie adventures with me.

Here are a couple of very quick ideas for some of my favourite cocktails and canapés, in case you are hosting or entertaining over the holidays. Over the festive period, we’ll be having smoked salmon blinis and sticky sausages, washed down with a Polish Martini and a Cherry Brandy and Babycham or two.

Sneaking in a quick post also means that I can join in with the tenth Forever Nigella over at Maison Cupcake. It does, of course, have a festive feel to it as the challenge is called Christmas Presence. As Nigella says, “A party just isn’t a party without a sticky sausage or three” and I agree!  

Scottish Birch and Juniper Smoked Salmon and Cream Cheese Blinis

Ingredients:

1 packet of Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Responsibly Sourced Scottish Birch and Juniper Smoked Salmon

1 x packet canapé blinis

1/2 packet cream cheese 

A few sprigs of fresh dill

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius. Place the blinis on a baking tray and cook them for 4 minutes.

2. Leave them to cool a touch and then spread a small amount of cream cheese on each one. Lay a piece of smoked salmon across the top and garnish with a sprig of dill.

Polish Martini Cocktail

I first had one of these at the bar of my favourite restaurant Baltic in Blackfriars. The original calls for Krupnik, which is a Polish Honey Vodka. As it is very difficult to get in the UK, instead I add half a teaspoon of runny honey, but you have to shake the cocktail well in order for the honey to dissolve. Both vodkas are available at larger supermarkets.

1 part Polish vodka, such as Wyborowa or Luksusowa

2 parts Żubrówka, Polish Bison Grass Vodka

1/2 teaspoon runny honey

4 parts apple juice, cloudy, such as Copella or Innocent

A few cubes of ice

1 star anise to decorate  

Add the vodka, honey, apple juice and ice to a cocktail shaker. Shake really well, strain into a martini glass and place a star anise in each glass to decorate.

Nigella’s Cranberry and Soy Glazed Cocktail Sausages

(Adapted from Nigella’s Christmas – Entry for Forever Nigella

Ingredients:

120g cranberry sauce

60ml soy sauce

Juice of half an orange

50 cocktails sausages

The original recipe calls for the addition of Thai chilli sauce, but I prefer to just double the quantity of cranberry sauce. I made my own this year, so I just used that. I didn’t have any limes or clementines to hand so I just used the juice of half an orange. 

Method:

1. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius.

2. Mix the cranberry sauce with the soy sauce and orange juice. Pour over the sausages making sure they are all well coated.

3. Bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, giving them a little mix half way through. Serve and enjoy! 

Cherry Brandy and Babycham Cocktail

I also found all the ingredients at Sainsbury’s. If you can’t find any Babycham, use sparkling wine or Prosecco instead.

2 parts Cherry Brandy

2 parts Babycham Sparkling Perry

1 cocktail cherry on a stick

No method really, pour it all in a glass and use your cherry on a stick to mix! 

For festive sweet treats pop along and read some of my previous posts –

Chocolate Christmas Pudding Cupcakes

Christmas Tiramisu Trifle