Old favourites and new discoveries...

It's been pretty tough work wise lately so weeknight cooking has become less about experimenting and more about tasty home cooked food I can get on the table as quick as possible with minimum effort.  One of my favourites is chicken and noodle soup which is less than half an hour from entering kitchen to eating and with the addition of some vegetables knocking around is truly wholesome too.  Risotto is one of the best types of fast food.  I love the comforting ooze and it is twenty minutes from the liquid going in to finish. After many months of experimenting, I have also cracked a perfect fajita spice mix and if I slice the meat (usually turkey as chicken is expensive these days) thin enough and quickly fry in a hot griddle before resting then I can have fajitas on the table in less then thirty minutes too.  Then there is spaghetti bolognese, cottage pie (made with a sweet potato topping) and spicy meatballs.  All of these can take over an hour but after the initial prep and stirring they can sit quite happily either on the stove or in the oven until we're ready to eat and are truly comfort food without opening a ready meal or takeaway menu. This leaves the weekend as my time to play in the kitchen and try something new.  This week it was Chinese roast pork belly and egg fried rice courtesy of a recipe Ken Hom cooked on last week's Saturday Kitchen. It may sound like lots of effort and took over ten hours but most of that time was either sitting on a rack drying in the kitchen or in the oven.  It was my first time using Chinese 5-spice and I have to say that while I do like the taste I find it a bit strong and might use a bit less next time.  It was definitely a well deserved treat though and so good my husband apparently dreamt about it last night, high praise indeed!