Ham, Cheese and Basil Pasta Bake

A simple dish which may look calorific, but tastes lovely.

Serves 4

1 Medium Onion, chopped
300g Ham, sliced (not the wafer thin ham)
300ml Double Cream
300g Frozen Peas
300g pasta shapes (eg penne, Conchiglioni, fusilli etc)
200g Cheese
Small glass of white whine
Couple of handfuls of basil, roughly torn

1. Preheat the oven for 200c and grease a medium ovenproof dish

2. Heat olive oil in a pan. Fry the onions until softened. Add the chopped ham and fry for a couple of minutes.

3. Add the cream and wine to the pan. Reduce the heat once the mixture begins to boil. Simmer until the mixture has thickened. Add half of the cheese to the sauce. Season.

4. While the sauce is cooking, put pasta in a pan of boiling salted water. This should take about 10 minutes. Halfway through cooking add the peas to the pan.

5. Drain the pasta and peas. Return to the pan. Add the sauce to the pan with pasta and stir. Pour into the over proof dish. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top of the pasta. Put in the oven for 20 minutes.

6. Serve with the torn up basil on top of the pasta

Sausages in a Cider Gravy

I absolutely love cider and wanted to put it in one of my meals. The combination of pork sausages, apples and cider make a tasty meal.

Serves 4:

8 good quality pork sausages
1 Medium white onion, cut into wedges
2 Apples (Cox, braeburn, any eating apples)
    cored and cut into wedges
2 tbp redcurrant jelly
100 ml of Vegetable Stock
200ml of Cider
2 tsp French mustard
1 tsp Sage
Vegetable Oil

1. Heat oil in a frying pan. Poke holes in the sausage with a fork and fry them in the pan for 5 minutes. Turning them regularly.

2. Add the onions to the pan and fry these until soft and golden. After this throw in the apples and fry these until they begin to colour.

3. Make the 100ml mixture of vegetable stock (using either powdered or cubed stock), add the 200ml of cider to the mixture. Stir in the mustard and redcurrant jelly. Pour into the frying pan. Let the mixture boil and then reduce the heat.

4. Add the sage. Let the mixture to simmer for about 10 minutes. The sausages should be cooked and the gravy would have thickened. Serve with mashed potatoes.

Hearty Fried Rice

Jam packed full of different things and will fill you up. You will need to prep this the night before.

Serves: 4
Sesame Seed Oil
3 medium eggs, beaten
1 Medium onion, cut into edges
300g Ham (thick sliced), cut into cubes OR lardons
300g Rice
Mug of frozen peas (Boil in a pan of water before adding the wok)
2 tbps soy sauce
4 Spring Onions
250g pack of Cooked Prawns

1. The night before, wash and boil the rice. Once cooked through, store in the fridge over night.

2. Heat the oil in a wok. Add the egg to the pan. Once the egg has just set, break apart in the pan with the spatula or spoon and set aside.

3. Add a bit of oil to the pan and fry the onion until soft (this should take a couple of minutes). Once softened, add the ham/lardons and stir fry for a minute. Then add the rice and peas and stir fry for a couple of minutes.

4. Then add the eggs, soy sauce, spring onion and prawns and heat through. Serve.

Spicy Breaded Chicken Strips, Chips and Mushy Peas

You can get breaded chicken strips in the supermarket, but they do taste better when you make them yourself.

Serves 4

Breaded Chicken Strips

3 Chicken Breasts

4 slices of bread, blitzed to make breadcrumbs

1 Egg, whisked

4 Tbps plain flour

The red bottle next to the spices is Chilli Oil. Splashed some
on the chicken breast (optional). Gave it a bit more spice.

2 Tsp Cayenne

2 Tsp Chilli Powder

Chips

4-5 Large Potatoes, peeled and sliced

Olive Oil

Salt and pepper

Mushy Peas

2 Mugs of Peas

1 Potato, peeled and chopped

Knob of butter

Mint

Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat the oven to 200/180 fan assisted. Peal and slice the potatoes into chips and blanch in boiling water for 3 minutes.

2. Drain the water from the pan. Put 2 tbps of olive oil and seasoning into the pan. Shake until chips are covered.

3. Tip the chips onto a baking try and put in the oven for 40 minutes. Turn halfway.

4. While the chips are cooking, place the chicken breasts between 2 cling film sheets. Flatten with a rolling pin.

5. Slice the chicken into strips.

6. Place the flour, egg (with a bit of water) and breadcrumbs (with the chilli powder and cayenne) onto separate plates. For each strip roll in flour, dip in egg and then roll in breadcrumbs and place on a plate.

7. Put the chicken in the oven to cook for 25 minutes

8. For the mushy peas, boil a potato and the peas in a pan of water. Once cooked all the way through, drain. Mash with the butter and the mint.

9. Serve

Spaghetti Bolognese

A classic which I absolutely love. To make it meatier added bacon.

Serves: 4

300g Spaghetti 

1 Onion finely chopped

1 small glass of red wine

1 bay leaf

500g minced beef

4 rashers of back bacon

5 tbps of tomato purée

Worcestershire Sauce

Mug of Beef stock

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2 tbps of fresh oregano, chopped

Pinch of sugar

Salt and Pepper

1. Fry the bacon in a large frying pan with a bit of olive oil for a couple of minutes

2. Add the onion, bay leaf and garlic and fry until the onions soften.

3. Put the mince beef in the pan and break it up with a wooden spoon in the pan. Fry until it browns.

4. Add the red wine, sugar, salt and pepper, beef stock, tomato purée, couple of dashes of Worcestershire sauce and sugar. Once it begins to boil reduce the heat and let it simmer. The mixture should reduce. While the bolognese is cooking begin to boil the spaghetti in water with a dash of olive oil. 

5. Once the pasta is cooked, drain the water from the pan. Place the pasta into bowls/plates and put the bolognese over the pasta. Serve with grated parmesan cheese (which I didn't have any, when I cooked this dish, woops)

Tomato and Cheese Gnocchi (V)

First time I ever cooked with this pasta so kept it safe and did a basic tomato sauce with bits of red pepper and cheese. It was lovely and fills you up a treat.

Serves 4

500g Gnocchi
Can of Chopped tomatoes, blended
Red Pepper, de-seeded and chopped
Small glass of red wine
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 onion, chopped finely
Basil leaves
Mozzarella Ball, sliced
Salt and pepper

1. Heat a bit of oil in a pan and fry the red pepper and onion on a low heat for about a couple of minutes then add the crushed garlic and cook for a further minute

2. Pour in the chopped tomatoes, red wine, gnocchi and seasoning. Cook for about 10 minutes or until the pasta is cooked thoroughly.

3. Once the pasta is cooked add the basil. Transfer to a dish and place the sliced mozzarella on the top. Grill for about 5 minutes or until the a mozzarella is golden. Serve

Beef and Bean Tortillas

Cheap and cheerful Mexican dish

Serves: 4

500g Mince beef
1 mug of beef stock
1 Onion, chopped
2 tsp of chilli powder
1 tsp of cumin
400g Can of chopped tomatoes
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 can of red kidney beans
Tortillas

Serve with: grated cheese, lettuce, guacamole and sour cream

1. Heat a frying pan with a little bit of olive oil. Add the mince beef and fry for a couple of minutes.

2. Add the onions and cook for a further 5 minutes.

3. Add the red chilli, cumin and chilli power and cook for about a minute.

4. Then add the chopped tomatoes and beef stock and reduce the heat so the mixture is simmering. Cook for about 25 minutes until beef is tender and the mixture has reduced.

5. While the mixture is cooking, grate the cheese, shred the lettuce and put in bowls.

6. Serve in a bowl and let them dig in.