Cheats Paella

This version of Paella is super quick and easy but still full of flavour and perfect for when like me the other day, was craving this particular dish but was in a bit of a rush to get something decent on the table to have for our evening family meal.

If your not a fan of seafood, swap the prawns and scallops for cooked chicken breast as an alternative with diced peppers added in for a slight crunch.


To serve 4 people easily you will need:

3x 250g packet Uncle Bens Mexican rice
1x 200g pack of scallops
1 x 400g pack of cooked king prawns
1 x 198g tin of sweetcorn
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
fresh chopped coriander (optional)
lemon wedges (optional)

• Start by adding a little oil into a heavy based pan, and on a medium heat, add in the scallops and prawns together. Cook the scallops for not longer than 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to ensure they don't catch or over cook on one side.
• Add in all the rice to the pan along with the sweetcorn, and continuing on a medium heat, heat the rice through. One the rice is heated all the way through, take off the heat and sprinkle the smoked paprika over the rice.
• Just before serving, scatter over the fresh coriander and serve the lemon wedges on the side as an extra for squeezing over the rice as you wish.
• As an extra, i served a mixed green leaf salad on the side with some cheesy chilli nachos  

Dial up or dial down Beef noodles

I don't know about you but I'm a nando's fan and I love that I can get my hands on them from practically any supermarket now and play around with recipes to my hearts content.. As well as saving a few pennies and keeping my purse that little bit heavier !



This one is a twist on my Sweet Chilli Chicken & Noodles and uses their hot peri peri sauce .. Question is are you one to crank up the heat or turn the heat dial down ?


To serve 4 people you will need :

500g cooked egg noodles
400g Beef Strips
1 red onion
1 x red & green pepper
handful mini corn on the cob
Nando's hot peri peri sauce

• Start by finely slicing your onion, and frying in a large frying pan till they soften, add the beef strips and cook on a high heat for about 5-8 minutes 
• Add in the mini corn on the cob and cook for a further 3-5 minutes- i like mine to have a slight crunch and not cooked all the way through. Finally add in the sliced peppers, and again just till they still have a slight bite to them .. soggy cooked peppers are a no no for me
• Add in the noodles and lower the heat as they just need heating through and they will burn quite quickly on a high heat, and stir in the  Nando's sauce to your  liking. Are you dialling up the heat or turning it down ?
• Finish off by garnishing with a sprinkling of sesame seeds and fresh chopped coriander