Shepherds Pie Potatoes

Ingredients:-

1 pack lean mine (500g should do)

Splash water and beef oxo cube

As many baking potatoes as people to serve

Chopped up:-

Carrot

Celery

Onion

and any other vegetables you want to include.

Preheat oven to 200 degrees, gas mark 6

Prick pototaoes and microwave according to size.

Heat oil in frying pan, add chopped vegetables and fry until soft. Add mince and cook til brown. Add splash of water and crumble the oxo cube into the pan, mix with mince.

When potatoes are done, cut in half and scoop out potato into seperate dish. Mash potato with knob of butter.

Fill each skin with the mince mixture and top with the mash. Sprinkle a small amount of cheese and put in the oven for around 20 minutes.

Toad in the Hole

Ingredients:-

1 tablespoon sunflower oil

8oz Plain Flour

4 free range Eggs

250ml Semi Skimmed Milk

S & P

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees C /gas mark 6.

Pour the oil into the bottom of a dish, and arrange the sausages over it in a single layer. Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven.

Whisk together the flour, eggs and half of the milk until smooth. Gradually mix in the rest of the milk until a smooth batter is achieved. Season with salt and pepper.

Pour batter over the sausages until3/4 covered. Return to the oven, and bake for 35 minutes, or until the centre is risen and browned. Don't worry if the underside seems slightly soft, as this is normal.

To make individual yorkshire puddings, add a small amount of oil to each hole in a muffin tin and heat in the oven. Once oil is hot, ladle batter into each hole - cook for 35 minutes or until puddings have risen.

Ham Lasagne

Ingredients:-

250g fresh lasagne sheets
1 tbsp oil
1 fat garlic clove
2 x 400g tinned chopped tomatoes
8 slices ham
150g pot mild natural yoghurt
50g strong cheddar plus exta for top

Preheat oven to gas mark 5.

Prepare lasagne sheets if using dried (boil for 10 mins, drain and place in cold water to avoid them sticking) Separate sheets and 'hang' over pan sides to keep apart.

Crush garlic clove and fry in the oil in a frying pan. Add the tomatoes and simmer for a while until reduced a little. Season with herbs etc. Remove from heat and put into a bowl.

Using same frying pan layer pasta, ham (keep in slices) and tomatoes.
Beat together yoghurt, eggs and cheese.Pour over the top of the pasta and grate some cheese on the top.

Cook for 15 minutes or until cheese is golden and the top has set.

I didnt have an oven proof pan so made it in a pizza dish and it turned out fine.

Spicy Sausage Soup

Ingredients

Vegetables:-
2 medium onions
2 carrots
3 sticks celery
1 courgette
2 baking potatoes, peeled, sliced
2 tbsp olive oil
2 cloves of garlic,
2 tbsp cornflour
1 litre vegetable stock
1 chorizo horsehoe
200g tin of kidney beans or something similar, drained (kidney beans in chili sauce give an extra kick)
salt and pepper



For simple cooking, chop all vegetables/sausage and add to slow cooker. Prepare stock, mix cornflour with small about to make smooth paste. Gradually add remainder of the stock, then pour over vegetables into slow cooker. Cook on High for 2.5 hours or low for 4 hours.

Hob method

Heat the oil in a large saucepan and add the chopped garlic and onions until the onions are just softened.

In a separate bowl, mix the cornflour with some of the vegetable stock to make a smooth paste. Add this to the pan. Cook, stirring for 2 minutes before adding the remaining stock and sliced potatoes.

Bring to the boil then lower the heat and simmer for approximately 25 minutes until the potatoes are tender.Add in the chorizo, courgettes and beans and cook for a further 10 minutes. Finally, if using the cream, stir in the cream and cook for just 5 minutes more before removing from the heat. Puree if you'd rather not look at the lumps and serving with some lovely crusty bread.

Three Cheese Macaroni Bake

Ingredients:-

1 pint Bechamel or cheese sauce
250g wholegrain macaroni
1 beaten egg
125g Mature cheddar cheese
1 tbs wholegrain mustard
2 tbs chopped chives
125g Red Leicester
60g Stilton

Preheat over to gas mark 5.

Make sauce and set to one side. Cook the macaroni, drain and put in ovenproof dish.

Stir the beaten egg, grated cheddar, mustard, chives, salt and pepper into the sauce and spoon over the macaroni.

Sprinkle with Red Leicester cheese and crumbled Stilton. Cook for 25-30 minutes until the top is bubbling and golden.

Crabstick Cakes

Ingredients:-

2 packs crab/seafood sticks (32 sticks) chopped into very small pieces
80g dried breadcrumbs
6 tbs mayonaise
2 eggs, beaten
1/5 tbs mustard
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
S & P


Chop crabsticks into very small pieces and put into large bowl. Add the dried breadcrumbs, mix well and add the beaten egg. Add the mayonaise, mustard, worcester sauce and S & P to taste and mix until ingredients have combined.
Mould into around 12 rounds and fry in hot pan until each side is golden brown.

Courgette Lasagne

Ingredients:-

Dried lasagne sheets (9 or 10)
Oil for frying
1 onion, finely chopped
700g courgettes (about 6), coarsely grated
2 garlic cloves, crushed
250g tub ricotta
50g strong cheddar
350g jar tomato sauce for pasta
2 tbs tomato puree
Mixed herbs

Preheat oven to 220C/gas mark 7.




Heat the oil in a large frying pan and fry the chopped onion.
After 5 minutes, add the grated courgettes and garlic and continue to fry until the courgette has softened.

Stir in two thirds of both the ricotta and the cheddar and season to taste.

Heat the tomato sauce in the microwave for 2 minutes on a high setting until hot. Stir in tomato puree. In a large baking dish, layer up the lasagne, starting with half the courgette mix, then the pasta sheets, then the tomato sauce and repeat.Top the lasagne with broken up pieces of the remaining ricotta, sprinkle over cheddar and parmesan cheese .Bake on the top shelf of the oven for about 15 minutes until the pasta is tender and the cheese is golden.

Tuna Noodle Bake

Ingredients:-

80z Dried tagliatelle pasta
1 onion

Sauce:-

2oz soft tub margarine
2oz plain flour
1 pint semi skimmed milk
1 teaspoon mustard
2oz grated cheddar cheese
1 tin tuna in brine
1 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp salt

1oz crumbled crispbreads
1 packet cheese and onion crisps


Preheat oven to gas mark 7.

Cook pasta according to packet. Saute onions (and any other veg you might want to add).
For the sauce, melt marge in a pan, stir in flour and remove from heat.

Gradually stir in milk until smooth, very slowly bring to the boil whilst stirring until thickened. Remove from heat and stir in cheese and mustard.

Mix together drained pasta, cheese sauce, onion, celery (if used), tuna, worcester sauce and salt. Transfer to dish and cover with crumbled mix of crispbreads and crisps.

Bake for 25 minutes or until golden on top.

Choppie's Lasagne

Ingredients:-

Chopped Vegetables:-
Onions
Celery
Carrots
Mushrooms
Garlic

Pinch dried herbs
800g lean minced beef (fresh)

1 tbsp Tomato puree

1 tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 Tin chopped tomatoes

Sauce (if not using jar of lasagne sauce for quickness)

25g Butter

25g Flour

300ml Milk

Pinch nutmeg

60 Cheddar Cheese

30g Grated parmesan cheese

Non cook lasagne sheets

Preheat oven to  200 degrees

Heat olive oil in a hot plan and fry the vegetables until slightly soft. Add herbs worcestershire sauce and salt and pepper. Add mince. Add tomato puree and continue to cook until the mince is brown. Add tomatoes and leave to simmer.

For cheese sauce melt butter in a saucepan (not non stick) before adding the flour with a wooden spoon and stirring to form a paste. Over a gentle heat, add first third of milk, whisking to prevent lumps. Add rest of the milk a third at a time, whisking as you go. Season with salt and pepper and nutmeg. Allow sauce to cook out and thicken, remove from heat and add cheese.

Spoon half meat into dish and place pasta sheet on top. Add just under half cheese sauce and spread evenly before adding second layer of meat. Add second layer of pasta and pour over remaining sauce. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Clean edge of dish and bake for 20-25 minute or until golden brown.

Jamie's Cheesy Chicken Breasts in Parma Ham

Ingredients:-

4 Chicken breasts
Grated parmesan cheese
Parma ham
Olive oil

Place each chicken breast in cling film and flatten until about 1/4 inch thick. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and cover with parma ham so that no chicken is showing. Place ham side down and fry until the ham is crispy. Flip over and fry second side until cooked. Serve.

Potato and Leek Slice

Ingredients:-

400g leftover pototoes (roasted or boiled) or one baking potato
1 medium leek finely sliced
2 heaped tbsp horseradish sauce (or to taste)
2 heaped tbsp creme fraiche
100g cooked ham (or gammon) chopped into small pieces
Pinch dried thyme
1 Packet ready rolled puff pastry
1 tbsp Milk


Preheat oven to gas mark 7.

Need photo


Slice potato leftovers if you are using them, otherwise peel and thickly slice baking potato, boil for 8 minutes adding leek for the last 3 minutes.

In a large bowl mix the potato, leek, horseradish, creme fraiceh, ham and thyme and season well.

Unroll pastry rectangle onto a baking sheet. Spread the filling along one half leaving a small gap around the outside edge. Brush milk round the edges of the pastry and then fold the uncovered side over the filling, pressing the edges to seal. Brush with remaining milk and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.


You can add grate cheesem, mushrooms or anything else as long as whatever you choose has been cooked at least partially before adding to the mix.

Cheese and Bacon Muffins

Ingredients:-

1tsp Oil

4 Rashers streaky bacon chopped into pieces

50g Cheddar Cheese (try half and half with parmesan?)

175g Plain flour

1 tsp baking powder

S & P

1 tsp Mustard

2 Eggs

85g melted butter

200ml Milk

Preheat oven gas mark 4 and grease muffin tin.

Microwave bacon until crisp, chop into small pieces. Grate 1/4 of the cheese and cut the rest into small cubes. Sift flour, baking powder, S & P into bowl.

Whisk the mustard, eggs, melted butter and milk in separate bowl. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir just a few times. Add the bacon, cheese cubes, again with very little stirring. Spoon into greased tin.

Bake for 25 minutes or until risen and firm to the touch. Sprinkle cheese on as soon as they come out of the oven.