Songbird_Foodie

It’s Mommas Recipe Sundays! Chicken and brocolli bake topped with breadcrumbs and cheese for the win 🥘

Fresh, vibrant and delish! 🥭

Mango and corn salsa salad! Do yourself a favour and give this a whirl for your next braai or light summer lunch!

Ingredients
1 Mango diced
1 Avo diced
4 Whole corn on the cob, boiled, charred and sliced off the cob
1 bunch fresh coriander chopped
1 large red onion finely diced
Juice of 2 limes
Smoked chilli flakes
1Tbsp avocado oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Just toss and enjoy!

When the mood calls for breakfast for dinner !!
Ingredients
Ciabatta toast slices, layered with tomato and onion smoke, boerewors, jammy eggs, hot honey, chilli flakes and freshly ripped basil

This is dead easy and so delish !!
For those of you who have been asking for my little twist on some homemade hot honey, I’ll be uploading some recipe cards this week. So stay tuned !

What’s on your dinner plate tonight ?

foodie

I love how the smells of these muffins just permeate through the whole house!!
Bran and chocolate chip muffins.
Recipe coming your way soon with a secret ingredient in the bran muffins that you don’t wanna miss !

A little bit of “Marry-me-chicken” bubbling away for dinner 🍽️

All the messy makings of the perfect lasagne 🍝
Layers of meat sauce, spinach pasta sheets, whipped ricotta and bechamel 😋

Messy, glorious and delish !

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Just a little Indian curry and garlic naan to tantalise the taste buds today 🌶️

It’s been a minute since I’ve posted, but tonight I was inspired to cook a dinner worthy of my teenager who requested sticky chicken and noodles! This Asian Chicken and noodle dish is packed with flavour and so delicious!

The wonderful thing about this dish is there is no measuring! Simply add as much or as little as you want to taste.

Ingredients
3 large chicken breasts, deboned, de skinned and cut into bite size pieces
Chinese egg noodles
1 tsp Peanut oil
Soy sauce
Freshly grated ginger
Crushed garlic
Chopped spring onion
1/4 cup milk
Honey
Smoked chilli flakes
Chopped fresh chilli
Thinly sliced cucumber
Salt
Pepper
Chicken Spice
1 tsp rice wine vinegar
Brown sugar to taste
Flaked almonds

Method:
1. Chop up the chicken and season with salt, pepper and chicken spice. Add a little garlic and the milk and allow it to soak for at least 30mins. (The milk will help velvet the chicken and break down the enzymes in the meat so it doesn’t get tough when cooking in the wok)
2. Remove the chicken from the milk and place into another bowl. Prepare your marinade with the soy sauce, honey, freshly grated ginger, a few chilli flakes, vinegar and sugar and pour over the chicken. Allow the chicken to marinade for at least 20 minutes.
3. Place your noodles into hot water so the noodles can soften and separate: these need to soak for 20mins.
4. Heat your wok and add the oil. Remove chicken from the marinade with tongs and place into the wok (you don’t want too much sauce or the chicken won’t cook properly) fry for four mins or until the chicken pieces are slightly charred and sticky. Add some spring onion and red chilli and reserve the rest for garnishing.
5. Once chicken is cooked, pour the remainder of the marinade back over the chicken in the wok.
6. Strain your noodles and add to the wok, and cook for a further two mins making sure all the noodles are coated in that velvety sauce.
7. Serve in a bowl and garnish with chilli, spring onion, finely sliced cucumber and almond flakes.

Enjoy!

your banana bread is HANDS DOWN the best I’ve ever had 🍞 🍌

𝑩𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝑺𝒄𝒐𝒏𝒆 𝒕𝒓𝒖𝒎𝒑𝒆𝒕 🥮

Nothing better than a Sunday morning bake… once the power had come back on of course ! But this little recipe is so quick and simple, even load shedding can’t get in the way!

𝑰𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔
3 cups self raising flour
85g cold diced salted butter
1 - 1 1/4 cups milk

Sieve flour in a mixing bowl. Add the butter and rub into the flour with the tips of your fingers, lifting the flour into the air and letting it fall to create an even crumbly consistency. Tip the contents onto a clean surface and make a well for the milk. Add one cup of milk and start to form your dough. Depending on the consistency, add a little more milk if required. Take care not to overwork the dough or your scones will be chewy. Form rustic balls and pat into approximately 5cm rounds about 3cm thick. Place onto a lightly greased and floured oven tray. Bake at 180 degrees for 25 mins until the scones start to get a little colour. Allow to cool (or eat piping hot if you’re impatient like I am) and serve with butter, strawberry jam and fresh cream.

Enjoy # # #

𝑻𝒓𝒊𝒇𝒍𝒊𝒏' 🍒

What’s in your trifle this Christmas ?
I love the unconventional, and so when my mother in law shared this recipe with me for a decadent cheesecake and coffee trifle I just had to give it a whirl!
The recipe has been adapted to suit my taste but I can’t wait to share it with you !!

Ingredients:
Caramel Swiss roll sliced
100ml frangelico
30ml strong brew coffee
100g toasted hazelnuts
350g raspberries, blueberries and cherries (and extra for decor)
250g mascarpone
500g cream cheese
385g tin condensed milk
Juice of 2 lemons
250ml cream
1 cup icing sugar
1 scraped vanilla pod

Method:
Layer Swiss roll, nuts, berries and drizzle frangelico and coffee over the top. Repeat till all layers done. Allow to soak for 15 mins. Whisk together cheeses, condensed milk, lemon juice, cream, icing sugar and vanilla seeds. Spoon over the trifle layers. Top with fresh berries, nuts, flake chocolate and icing sugar and serve 🍰

𝑮𝒍𝒂𝒄𝒆' 𝒊𝒕 🍒

Who doesn’t love a simple, naughty little snack. These delish little bites of love will hit the Christmas sweet spot !

Wrap glace’ cherries in some streaky bacon and bake till desired crispiness in an oven set to 180c

𝑴𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝑪𝒉𝒓𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒎𝒂𝒔 ! 🍒

𝑾𝒊𝒍𝒅 𝑴𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒐𝒎 𝑹𝒊𝒔𝒐𝒕𝒕𝒐 🍄🍂
Meat free never tasted so good!!

Ingredients
350g wild mushrooms
8tbsp butter
2 shallots finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, minced
Fresh thyme
3/4 cup white wine (dry)
1 tbsp lemon juice
5 cups vegetable stock
1 1/2 cups Arborio rice
250ml cream
Freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Prepare stock with boiling water and set aside with a ladle.
2. In a skillet or large wok, melt half the butter and sauté onions, garlic and mushrooms for 3 mins. Add thyme, salt and pepper to taste and cook for a further 3 mins. Remove from skillet and set aside.
3. In the same skillet / wok, heat the remaining butter and add rice, stirring for 4 mins until translucent.
4. Add white wine & lemon juice, stirring constantly until liquid is absorbed. Add 1 cup of stock at a time, stirring constantly until absorbed and repeat until you have used all the stock.
5. Add mushroom mixture and stir in cream and Parmesan cheese, cook for five mins. Risotto should be creamy but Al Dente’.

Serve in a bowl with some fresh thyme and Parmesan cheese shavings. Enjoy 😉

𝑮𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒃𝒆𝒆𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒃𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒚 𝑮𝒂𝒎𝒎𝒐𝒏 🍖

Somethings cooking …
And the house smells like Christmas 🍒

𝑻𝒖𝒓𝒏 𝒖𝒑 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒕 🌶
REDANG CURRY PASTE RECIPE 🌶

Some of you have been asking how to make a Redang Curry Paste. Shop bought is always a quick and easy go to, but I assure you that nothing tastes as good as some fresh ingredients!

INGREDIENTS
4 small roughly chopped onions
1 small fresh ginger piece, peeled and sliced
4 garlic cloves
4 lemongrass stalks
2 red chopped red chillis (seeded)
1 grilled, peeled and chopped red pepper
30 g pine nuts (cashews substitute)
1 Tbsp turmeric powder
2 Tbsp cayenne pepper
Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

Place all the ingredients in a food processor and blend into a paste. Transfer to an airtight sterilized jar or plastic container and refrigerate for up to two weeks.

Let me know how yours turns out !

𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 🍛

For those who asked for my Beef Redang Curry recipe, I’ve made it a little easier by placing it onto a recipe card.

This is a SUPER EASY dish to make and really delicious. Look out for my Redang Curry Paste recipe coming your way next 🍛

I’ll be sharing a new recipe post like this for some of my highlighted dishes in the weeks to come :)

Look out for these coming your way and remember to share and tag us in your pics when you make them!

Happy cooking !
Love, Jess
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒅

It’s been a minute since I posted to this page of mine, but all hope is not lost for the foodie in me, I assure you.
Sometimes the hustle and bustle of it all gets a little too much. And that’s why I love having quick and easy go-to’s like this simple
𝑩𝒆𝒆𝒇 𝑹𝒆𝒅𝒂𝒏𝒈 🍛

The result is a soft and drier beef curry, not too much sauce, and so tender it falls apart with a spoon or fork. I serve mine with a side of roasted butternut and a warm low calorie wrap which I double up as a roti :)

So delish !

Recipe to follow 🍛

𝑻𝒐𝒂𝒔𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒄𝒂𝒍𝒐𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔 !

Check out this delish toast containing only 199 calories !! It’s super delish and so filling!!

𝑰𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔
1 slice sweet potato sour dough bread toasted
1 sliced nectarine
50g low fat cottage cheese
Drizzle of honey
Red chilli flakes
Pinch of salt
Mint

So good !!

𝑾𝒉𝒆𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝑩𝒂𝒍𝒊 .. 🍉
🍉

𝑰𝒕𝒔 𝒂 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 🌽

🌽

Balinese throwbacks !

The first chicken curry I ordered and ate in the beautiful 𝑳𝒆𝒈𝒊𝒂𝒏 𝑽𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒂𝒈𝒆, 𝑩𝒂𝒍𝒊. Admittedly, I took one look at the floating boiled egg and was dubious, but this curry is one never to be forgotten!

When you have the flu and you don’t wanna cook but have baby food cravings. Bring on the mashed gem squash the way my gran used to make it. With some melted butter, a pinch of salt and a sprinkling of nutmeg and brown sugar.

I was too lazy to take the lengthier route but for best results, I recommend roasting your gem squash and not boiling it. This way you absolve the squash of its liquid and dry it out, and it also gives it a lovely flavour!

𝑹𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒑𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒗𝒆 🥘

For those who asked for the Winter Oxtail Bowl recipe, I’ve made it a little easier by placing it onto a recipe card.

Every week I’ll be sharing a new recipe post like this for some of my highlighted dishes.
Look out for these coming your way on Mondays and remember to share and tag us in your pics when you make them!

Happy cooking !
Love, Jess
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑺𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒃𝒊𝒓𝒅

For those of you who have been asking for me to share this recipe, here you go! If you make this, please snap a pic and share with me ❤️🥘

𝑾𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓 𝑶𝒙𝒕𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝑩𝒐𝒘𝒍

Ingredients:
Pack of oxtail, carrots, 1 cup red wine, 1.5 cups beef stock, brown onion soup packet, fresh garlic, 1 large onion, fresh thyme, salt and pepper to taste, tomato paste, 1 Tbsp brown sugar, 1 can tinned tomatoes, dusting of flour
Fresh beetroot, large sweet potatoes

Method:
Make a dust from some salt, pepper and flour to toss the oxtail in. Brown the oxtail in some oil and remove from the pot.
Brown off the onions and garlic in the same pot before adding the thyme, tinned tomatoes, tomato paste and sugar and fry for a min. Deglaze the pot with the red wine and leave to simmer for two mins.
Add the browned oxtail pieces and carrots, pour over the packet of brown onion soup mixed with the beef stock and slow cook for approx three hours. If you’re using an instant pot, pressure cook for one hour, stir and allow to stand for ten mins and then set it to stew for a further 35mins.
Add more salt or pepper to taste

I serve my oxtail in a bowl with roasted beets and mashed sweet potato.
Peel and dice the beets into bite sized pieces, toss them in olive oil, salt and pepper and bake for 45mins at 185 degrees.
Peel and slice up the sweet potatoes and boil until tender. Strain and mash while hot with 2 Tbsp of butter.
Serve your veg in a bowl with the oxtail and enjoy 🥘

Winter warmer for this storm brewing Sunday.

📷 oxtail stew, mashed sweet potato & oven roasted beets.

𝑳𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝒄𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒅 𝒄𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 ~ Spotted this shared by my friend Aliki and I had to give it a go! The recipe called for a cake tin, but I adapted this recipe slightly and placed the mixture into a muffin tin to make mini cakes, and they’re the yummiest, lightest and fluffiest little things you’ll ever eat! Perfectly in time for afternoon tea !

For your lemon cloud cake, you’ll need:
3 eggs separated
240g plain yogurt
60g all purpose flour
20g corn starch
Zest of one lemon
20ml lemon juice
1 pinch salt
100g sugar
Poppy seeds
Castor sugar for dusting

𝑾𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒌 𝒆𝒈𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒍𝒌𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒚𝒐𝒈𝒉𝒖𝒓𝒕, 𝒍𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒏 𝒛𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒋𝒖𝒊𝒄𝒆. 𝑪𝒐𝒎𝒃𝒊𝒏𝒆 𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒓𝒄𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒖𝒓, 𝒂𝒅𝒅 𝒅𝒓𝒚 𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒍𝒌 𝒎𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆.

𝑩𝒆𝒂𝒕 𝒆𝒈𝒈 𝒘𝒉𝒊𝒕𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒖𝒈𝒂𝒓 𝒖𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒍 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒇𝒇 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒊𝒙𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆. 𝑷𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒅 𝒎𝒖𝒇𝒇𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒊𝒏 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒔𝒑𝒓𝒊𝒏𝒌𝒍𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒑𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒚 𝒔𝒆𝒆𝒅𝒔. 𝑩𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒂𝒕 150 𝒅𝒆𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒐𝒓 40 𝒎𝒊𝒏𝒖𝒕𝒆𝒔. 𝑨𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒐 𝒄𝒐𝒐𝒍, 𝒅𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓 𝒔𝒖𝒈𝒂𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒏𝒋𝒐𝒚 🧁

𝑴𝒂𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒏𝒂𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒂𝒎𝒃𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒆𝒈𝒈𝒔 🥚

When I first came across this recipe I was a little too freaked out to try it. But after some deliberation, I have to say I am pleasantly surprised and forever a convert! The creaminess and zing of the Mayo creates this fluffy, delicious textured scrambled egg. Put it on some toast and call it breakfast!

Give it a whirl and let me know what you think. Recipe below ⬇️

2 eggs
1 Tbsp mayonnaise
Salt and Pepper

Whisk ingredients together and add to some melted butter in a non stick skillet and scramble as desired. Serve on some toast with crushed chilli flakes and an extra bit of crushed salt. Enjoy!

Pineapple Teriyaki chicken ready for the oven for dinner ! 🍍 🍗

Recipe from Spend with Pennies

https://www.spendwithpennies.com/pineapple-teriyaki-chicken/