Say what? Do your eyes deceive you, is there actually a new post on this blog?
Why yes... indeed here it is! After nearly 3 weeks away from the blog, I am back!

Apologies for not posting enough on this blog, as work, wedding planning and other sporting activities have kept me super busy without a spare weekend to cook and photograph in a while. In fact - I have had every weekend booked since my last post. Each weekend has been filled with wonderful and exciting events including: a two day Quidditch tournament, a combined 80th & 70th surprise birthday celebration and hosting my lovely friend, Carolyn when she came down for a weekend visit from Sydney.

To make up for it, I am sharing with you a very quick dinner that I whipped up tonight. 
Paprika Chicken on a bed of seasonal winter veggies cooked in butter with grilled haloumi cheese. A pretty simple main dish that made 2 serves and only set me back $8. It was lip-smackingly delicious.

Here's a quick run down on what went into my very quick dinner followed by a stupidly simple but satisfying dessert.

CHILLI PAPRIKA CHICKEN, HALOUMI AND SEASONAL VEGGIES

Prep and cook time: 20 minutes in total

INGREDIENTS:
2 portobello mushrooms (quartered)
1 small bunch of brocolli
5 slices of haloumi cheese
2 brussel sprouts (quartered, first layer removed)
1/2 cup of shredded cabbage
1 tablespoon of paprika
1 clove of garlic
1 red chilli or 1 tablespoon of chilli flakes (or omitted if you are not a chilli lover)
2 tablespoon of butter or coconut oil as required

COOK IT:
- Heat up your pan on a medium-high heat, boil the kettle and start chopping your veggies.

- When the kettle is boiled, place your broccoli florets into a bowl and fill with boiling water. Cover and set aside for 3 minutes.

- When your pan is hot, put 1 tablespoon of butter on the pan, wait for the butter to start melting in the pan then add the garlic and fry till aromatic then add the rest of your vegetables. This should sizzle and start softening the cabbage, sprouts and mushrooms. Season veggies with salt and pepper. Add broccoli and set aside.

- Chicken tenderloins should be well seasoned with salt, pepper and paprika. When the veggies come off the hot pan, add the remainder of 1 tablespoon of butter and add the chicken tenderloins.

- Cook the chicken tenderloins on each side on high for 5 minutes. After the chicken has been cooked for 10 minutes in total on both sides, add the chicken on top of the bed of veggies.
(you can keep the chicken and veggies in a warm oven on a warm plate to keep it from getting cold)

- On the pan, start frying your haloumi cheese on each side till softened in texture. You can add some lemon to it if you wish. Serve haloumi on top of chicken and vegetables.


If you are still wanting something after dinner to take that sweet tooth edge off, try this quick simple and delicious Raspberries and Cream in a cup of your choosing (I know... genius right..?!)

I have no recipe for this. I literally piled on a whole lot of frozen raspberries, allowed them to start to defrost then added 1 teaspoon of cocoa (I used pure cocoa) in the middle and topped it with lots of thick cream. I waited for the raspberries to soften just enough so I could mix the cocoa, cream and raspberries together and devoured the entire glass. Sugar cravings - GONE!

This dinner and dessert is just one of the recipes I have discovered as part of my LCHF (low-carb high fat) diet trail for 1 month. On this diet, I am consciously avoiding sugar, underground vegetables, most fruit (with the exception of berries), processed food and carbs (rice, flour, pasta etc.) I am not sure how long this will last but for the time being, I am enjoying the delicious meals feeling more satisfied for longer without much of a sugar craving. (except tonight... hehe)

Though I am not over weight by any means, I am always looking for ways to understand the way my body processes food and this experiment allows me to still enjoy the indulgence when it comes too cooking, produce some amazingly delicious meals whilst hopefully burning fat and keeping my sugar cravings at bay. For more information on LCHF, check out this website.

Have you tried the LCHF diet? Has it helped you with your weight loss, fat burning and sugar cravings? I am always on the look out for inspirations to shake up the option for a quick LCHF dinner meals so please feel free to share them with me. I can't wait to share more of what I am making with you soon.

It has been a brief but wonderful return to the bloggersphere, I do hope that the next time I post, it will be with a lesser gap in dates.

x Lynnette