Jamie's 30 minute meals. MADE.

How to whip up a meal that impresses.

All the time.

Every Time.

In 30 minutes.

These were some of Jamie's 30 minute meal recipes that we've tried and tested this long weekend.

Adapted from the recipes on 

www.jamieoliver.com/

Perfect roast potatoes

Tips & tweaks:

Use Yukon Gold potatoes.

They are my gold standard for baked carbs that are worth every single calorie.

Salt generously.

And those cloves of garlic would be so sweet, you wish you put more in the first place.

Mustard chicken with leek

Tips & tweaks:

Even a non mustard lover would eat this all up.

The taste of wholegrain mustard is not the same as mustard from a squeeze bottle on hotdogs.

Just so there was gravy,

some chicken broth was added.

And because bacon ANYTHING tastes like heaven,

some roughly chopped pieces of bacon were thrown in. 

Leek.

More leek definitely.

It was a lot more watery that planned but the unmistakable sweetness from the mustard and savoury tinge from the bacon was unmistakable.

And perhaps the added taste dimensions of some pan fried crisp bacon as toppings in the next attempt.

The best pork chops sans the crackling

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pork-recipes/the-best-pork-chops-with-fresh-bay-salt-crackling-and-squashed-purple-potatoes

Cubed carrots and beetroot.

Sage.

Rosemary.

And a generous drizzle of olive oil.

As always.

Roast them for half an hour at 220 degrees celcius.

Tips & tweaks:

The meats were marinated for about 3 hours.

The honey was omitted.

The apple cider did wonders to lock in the juice in the pork chops.

Side salad of lettuce, chopped sundried tomatoes, pitted olives and cubed feta cheese.

Generously drizzled with balsamic vinegar and olive oil.

Top with roughly torn pieces of turkey breast.

Now that's what I call a HAPPY MEAL :)

and a healthy one at that.

Yum.

A taste of summer :)

There's really nothing more to be said about the versatility of the humble potato.

I grabbed a bag of these Golden Russet Potatoes in a pre-packed 2.27 bag 

which gives you about 15 potatoes at $3.20.

And decided to encapsulate the remains of the summer holidays 

and all its happiness into today's salad.

What you'll need:

Potatoes, peeled and diced

Chicken thigh, roughly shredded

Mayonnaise, Kraft to taste

Corn, Del Monte Fresh Cut

Sea salt

Cracked black pepper

The how-to:

Boil diced potatoes in water with a teaspoon of salt.

Bring to a fierce boil for 3-5 minutes depending on size of the diced potatoes and drain the water immediately to prevent overcooking.

Set that aside to cool.

Drizzle olive oil over chicken thigh pieces and lightly roast till done.

Roughly shred chicken and set that aside too.

Prepare a big mixing bowl and place potato pieces, shredded chicken meat and a dollop of mayonnaise.

Add sea salt and black pepper to taste.

Toss all the ingredients together.

Once ready, top the salad with a generous helping of corn kernels for that fresh burst of summer colors.

And finish with a sprinkling of black pepper.

I added dried cranberries as an afterthought.

Try cherry tomatoes, walnuts, cashews, ham, bacon bits.

Best eaten chilled to beat the summer heat hey! 

Enjoy. :)