Clare’s Tasty Tapas (2)

Here is part two of Clare’s Tasty Tapas. These are super as a main meal any evening, ideal for lunchtime leftovers and you will impress many a dinner guest if you were to sever mini ones of these as canapés.

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Today we have our simple mango salad, Mushroom bruchetta and Tomato bruchetta.

Makes: 4 servings

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Total Time:  20 minutes

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Ingredients

Mango Salad:

  • 100g Mixed Salad leaves
  • 1 sliced mango
  • 1 sliced red onion
  • juice of 1 lime
  • 2tbs extra virgin olive oil
  • pinch of black pepper

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Mushroom Bruchetta:

  • 8 slices of french bread
  • 200g button mushrooms
  • half a glass of white wine
  • 1tbs smooth mustard
  • 1tbs grated garlic
  • pinch of salt and pepper
  • handful of fresh chopped parsley
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http://www.clarewiththehair.com

Tomato Bruchetta:

  • 200g vine ripe tomatoes
  • 2-3 chopped spring onions
  • 2tbs olive oil
  • 1 grated clove of garlic
  • 1tbs of sugar
  • pinch of salt and pepper
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http://www.clarewiththehair.com

PREPARATION

Mango Salad: Mix the salad leaves, mango, red onion and dress with the oil, lime juice, salt and pepper.

Mushroom Bruchetta: Cook your sliced mushroom in a pan for 4-5 minutes, until soft and tender, add the wine and cook until almost evaporated, add your mustard, garlic, parsley, salt and pepper. toast your bread slices and top with the mushroom mixture.

Tomato Bruchetta: Chop your vine ripened tomatoes, add your chopped spring onions, garlic, sugar, salt and pepper. Toast your bread and top with the tomato mixture.

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http://www.clarewiththehair.com

❤ Clare with the Hair ❤

Clare’s Beef & Mango Meatballs

Oh now this is comfort food at its best and who doesn’t love beef, pasta and tomato sauce 🙂 It warm, a hint of spice and heavy on the carbs . Sure what is not to love?

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Clare’s Beef & Mango Meatballs

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Makes: 4 servings

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Total Time:  35 minutes

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Ingredients

  • 450g extra lean minced beef
  • 1 egg
  • A bunch of chopped coriander
  • A bunch of chopped parsley
  • 1tbs Ground Black pepper
  • 1 large onion Grated
  • 2-3tbs of mango chutney
  • 1 jar Pasata
  • 2 shallots finely diced
  • 1 large carrot finely diced
  • A small bunch of chopped basil
  • Black pepper
  • 1tbs Coconut oil
  • 250g Wholewheat pasta, any you like
  • 30g of low fat cheddar cheese

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PREPARATION

1/ Mix the beef , egg, mango chutney, coriander, parsley, pepper and onion and shape into golf ball sized balls, place on a tray and pop in the fridge to cool for a few minutes before cooking. Place in over for 15-18 minutes on a medium heat

2/ Melt the coconut oil in a sauce pan, add the chopped shallots, carrots until soft, 4-6 minutes, add the pepper , basil and top with pasata, carry on cooking on a low heat for 5-10 minutes

3/ Place the pasta into a pan of hot water, stir to separate the pasta and cook per packet instructions.

4/ Place: the cooked pasta on your plate, top with meatballs, sauce and cheese x Enjoy!

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Top Tip: I love to over cook and these are especially lovely the following day in a pitta pocket, slice the meat balls in half, top with the sauce and place in a sandwich press for a few minutes and you have a super lunch, or eat cold with a salad.

Clare’s Chinese Beef and Noodles

I am a big fan of stir fry’s because you can add what you like, you want a veggie stir fry, no problem , you want a mixture of meats, again no problem, you want a mix of meat, veg and seafoods again no problem, stir fry’s are fast, versatile, tasty and a great way to use up the end bits of your bags of veg in the fridge before you bin them and really good to cook more than you need for lunch the following day, I make many different stir fry’s but this one is one of my all time favourites, it is a little sweet, a little spicy and has the distinct aromatic flavour of five spice.

Clare’s Chinese Beef and Noodles 

Clare's Chinese Beef and Noodles www.clarewiththehair.com
Clare’s Chinese Beef and Noodles www.clarewiththehair.com

Makes: 4 servings

Preparation Time: 15 minutes (allow extra for marinating meat)

Total Time:  30 minutes

Ingredients

  • 400g Lean Beef (slice into 1cm thick strips)
  • 400g Wholemeal Noodles
  • 200g Green vegetables (I used Green beans and Sugarsnap peas but use any you like)
  • 200g Button Mushrooms
  • 1 large onion diced
  • 2 cloves of crushed Garlic
  • Thumb sized piece of grated Ginger
  • 1 med red chilli, diced finely, leave in the seeds for added heat.
  • 2tbs Chinese Five Spice powder
  • 1tbs Cracked black pepper
  • 2tbs cooking oil
  • 2tbs light soya sauce
  • 1tbs fish sauce
  • 3tbs honey
Clare's Chinese Beef and Noodles  www.clarewiththehair.com
Clare’s Chinese Beef and Noodles www.clarewiththehair.com

PREPARATION

1/ Slice your beef and place in a bowel with marinade (mix 1/2 the oil, chilli, ginger, garlic, five spice, honey, soya sauce, fish sauce and black pepper for the marinade).

2/ While your beef marinades (if you can do this 1+ hours a head of time great, of not 15 minutes will do) Chop your vegetables to bite sizes pieces, dice the onions and slice your button mushrooms also get your pan of boiling water ready for the noodles and cook these as per packet instructions, once cooked, rinse under cold water and place to one side.

3/ Place 1tbs cooking oil into a wok or large frying pan, add the beef plus all the marinade, cook for 1-2 minutes, remove from the pan, add the onions, mushrooms, greens and stir fry for 3-4 minutes, add the beef and the noodles back to the pan and stir fry for another 1-2 minutes, serve and enjoy!

Top Tip: The cheaper the cut of the meat, the longer you should marinade as this will result in a tasty and tender piece of meat.

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www.clarewiththehair.com

Thank you for reading you FABULOUS people

❤ Clare with the Hair ❤

The Buttery Limerick

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www.clarewiththehair.com

I visited The Buttery twice in the last few weeks, once for Breakfast and once for Lunch, I will talk about both here beginning with Breakfast.

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www.clarewiththehair.com

The Buttery is located on Bedford Row in the heart of Limerick city, it is a mid priced bistro kind of spot. The seating is slightly quirky and pretty, with plenty of space between tables in a nice bright, open setting. Service is good and fairly fast.

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www.clarewiththehair.com

Breakfast in The Buttery was delicious , the menu is small enough but seems to cover what I want in a Breakfast, they have porridge, full Irish, eggs every which way, pancakes and what I went for, the French toast, bacon, eggs and maple syrup. They also have a choice of tea’s, coffee’s and juices.

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www.clarewiththehair.com

5 pieces of French toast arrived with some grilled back rashers and a pot of maple syrup in the center with scrambled eggs served on the side. This is never the kind of breakfast I would have at home, at home I would have cereal, toast, fruit etc so this was a lovely treat and one I will certainly return for. I paid around €10-13 for my breakfast, I did not take a picture of the menu and they have not got this online to share with you.

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www.clarewiththehair.com

All in all The Buttery is a great spot in the center of the city for a good quality, mid priced breakfast.

Now onto Lunch, this again is a simple affair as far as choice is concerned, they have 1-2 daily specials, with a few wraps, baps, burgers etc on the main menu.

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www.clarewiththehair.com

Lunch starts at about €12 for a main dish , I ordered a chicken bap with chips and my husband had their daily special burger, both were ok all be it a little on the bland side, for Lunch I would not imagine I would return to The Buttery, however in saying this, the Breakfast was very good so maybe other item’s on the Lunch menu are better than the options we selected.

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www.clarewiththehair.com

All in all The Buttery is an ok spot for lunch in the heart of Limerick.

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www.clarewiththehair.com

Thank you for reading you FABULOUS people

❤ Clare with the Hair ❤

Chocolat Restaurant Limerick City

This is a super spot for lunch any day of the week, as it offers incredible value, with super quality and great service. Service is speedy yet not rushed, quality is incredible yet this is affordable and I would say the best value lunch in Limerick right now (for soup, sandwich, chips and a coffee with a biscuit on the side for an mind boggling €8.95)

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I have been here many times and samples their evening set menu, al la carte and their very tasty cocktail menu but for now let me tell you about my lunch here and the choices, the total bill, and some pic’s of this super lunch.

So I was in town shopping with my youngest daughter, she is 12 and loves the food here, and we decided this was the spot for us this weekend, we both opted for the €8.95 sandwich combo but as we both opted for the steak sandwich there was a €2 supplement, totally worth it! We got a fabulous steak sandwich, chips and a super celeriac and apple soup! delicious and a coffee for finish.

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Chocolat Restaurant Limerick have many dining options, from this to their 3 course for €15 lunch to their super early bird and so on, here is a link to their website http://www.chocolatrestaurant.ie/ for the latest offers and below a snip of their menu on the day we visited, there is a lot more to choose from than this little sample.

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cr
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All in all this is a great spot, If you are working in the city, in Limerick for leisure, meeting the girls for a catch up, in town celebrating anything, this is a great spot, food is always good and always priced really well.

Thank you for reading you FABULOUS people

❤ Clare with the Hair ❤

Clare’s Quick and Easy Herby Mushroom Soup

Soup is one of those foods I can love or hate, I love a good home-made soup and I love the filled with cream and butter soups you can get at lunchtime in most placing offering a lunchtime carvery, Ideally we should opt for the home cooked low fat alternative 🙂

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Clare’s Quick and Easy Herby Mushroom Soup

Making soup is so easy, you do not need any fancy equipment, you do not need to be exceptional in the kitchen and you do not need tonnes of time to get a big pot of fabulous home-made soup on the table for you and your family.

Today I bring to you my super Quick and Easy Herby Mushroom Soup

Makes: 4 servings

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Total Time:  45 minutes

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Ingredients

  • 600g Mix of Mushroom’s (I used Chestnut and Button)
  • 2 shallots Diced finely
  • 2tbs Coconut oil (or use a low fat oil spray)
  • 4 cloves of grated Garlic
  • 1cm piece Ginger grated
  • 1tbs chilli flakes (optional but adds a little heat in the colder months)
  • 2 spring onions Diced finely
  • 500ml Low sodium Vegetable stock
  • 2tbs Chopped Parsley
  • 2tbs Chopped Rosemary
  • 2tbs Chopped Thyme
  • 1/2tbs of Freshly ground black pepper
  • 2tbs of Flour to thicken (optional)

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REPARATION

1/ Melt the Coconut oil in a pan, add the shallots, garlic, ginger, chilli and cook until soft but not coloured, add the mushrooms, spring onions and herbs and continue to cook for 5-6 minutes.

2/ Add the flour and cook this off for 2-3 minutes , top with the stock and leave to simmer for 20 minutes, server on its own or with some crusty bread.

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Clare’s Quick and Easy Herby Mushroom Soup

Top Tip: I make 2 or 3 times this and freeze in batches, also I diced the mushrooms, you can slice them and blitz afterwards for a smooth soup, I personally like the texture of this un blitzed .

Thank you for reading you FABULOUS people

❤ Clare with the Hair ❤

Clare’s Chicken Wraps

Day 11 :Some day’s you just want something super easy, non fuss, on the table in minutes rather than hours and this is when I reach for things like my Chicken Wraps, they are a favorite with my husband and children alike .

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Clare’s Chicken Wraps

Clare’s Chicken Wrap’s

Makes: 4 servings

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Total Time:  20 minutes

(if making my baked chips add 25 minutes for timing)

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Food looks so much better in color , add lots to your meals

Ingredients

  • 500g skinless chicken breasts
  • 1ltr low salt chicken stock
  • 1 yellow pepper , diced
  • 4 tomatoes
  • 4 spring onions
  • 1/3 iceburg lettuces finely sliced
  • large wholewheat wraps
  • 1 pot of creme fresh / low fat cottage cheese
  • Cracked black pepper
  • 3tbs of French mustard
  • 400g potatoes (if making the chips)
  • 5tbs of tomato relish

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PREPARATION

1/ Place the chicken and stock into a saucepan and cook on medium for 6-10 minutes, this will depend on the thickness of your chicken but always cut into the thickest part to ensure there is no pink color left , one cooked remove and shred

2/ Dice the pepper, tomatoes, onions and place in a large bowl, add the chicken, black pepper, half the tub of crem fresh , mustard and mix well

3/ warm the wraps in the oven/microwave for a few seconds, remove and fill with the chicken filling

4/ If making the chips, you need to peel and cut into large pieces, place on a baking sheet, add 1tbs of coconut oil and sprinkle with black pepper, cook for 20-25 minutes and serve with dip (mix some creme fresh with tomato relish)

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Clare’s Chicken Wraps

Top Tip: These wraps are fabulous with egg and no meat, baked ham works great as does tinned tuna. Mix and match these to create many different options.

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Thank you for reading you FABULOUS people

❤ Clare with the hair ❤

Clare’s Chunky Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Clare’s Chunky Roasted Butternut Squash Soup:

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Clare’s Chunky Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Making your own soup is so much easier than you might think, you don’t need any fancy equipment and you don’t need much time to create a hearty bowl of goodness that you and your family will enjoy.

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Makes: 6 servings

Preparation Time: 20 minutes

Total Time:  60 minutes

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Ingredients

  • 2 Butternut Squash
  • 1 large or 2 small white onions
  • 2-3 carrots
  • 2ltrs of low sodium vegetable stock
  • fresh ground black pepper
  • 1tbs of grated ginger
  • 1tbs of grated garlic
  • 1tbs of crushed chilli
  • 2tbs Coconut oil

REPARATION

1/ Peel and dice your squash, place on a oven tray , top with 1tbs of coconut oil and place in an hot oven for 20-25 minutes, until soft and just golden on the edges

2/ Out 1tbs of coconut oil in the bottom of a large sauce pan, add diced onions, carrots, ginger, garlic, chilli and sweat for 5-10 minutes until the onions and carrots have become soft

3/ once the squash is cooked add this to the pan of seated onions, carrots and seasoning and mix well, at this stage use a potato masher and mash the veg leaving it some what chunky , add the stock, simmer for 15-20 minutes and serve with a sprinkle of cracked black pepper, either on it’s own or with some rivita or really hearty brown bread.

Top Tip: Make double and freeze for next week or for day’s you are short on time and feel free to use low salt chicken stock.

Thank you for reading you FABULOUS people

❤ Clare with the Hair ❤