Sausage pasta in tomato ragu

26 10 2009
Sausage pasta simmering

Sausage pasta simmering

This is pretty much my all-purpose pasta sauce recipe (the tomato version, anyway – see below for the cheese version). Tonight I’m making it with sausages cos they were on offer in Marksies – got up too late for the market this Saturday. We eat it with turkey quite often too for a good low fat version. Read the rest of this entry »





Cheat’s chicken casserole

11 10 2009
Cheat's chicken casserole

Cheat's chicken casserole

Delia copped a lot of unfair flack for suggesting that it’s better to cook from scratch using a few shortcuts than not to cook at all.

I agree and here’s my favourite cheat recipe – a creamy chicken in white wine casserole. I’ve been making it since student days so can’t remember where the idea came from but it’s a good after work idea as it’s another one that take a few minutes to pull together then sits in the oven while you go and do something more exciting for an hour. Read the rest of this entry »





Korma from scratch

11 10 2009

I searched high and low for a good korma recipe as I never found anything in a packet or jar that wasn’t gloopy and too sweet. I’ve worked on this over time as a recipe so it works for me every time. Although I will admit from the start that it’s a bit of a pain in the bum unless you have a well-stocked spice rack and a block of creamed coconut (check the list below before you start!). Read the rest of this entry »





Chicken and veg risotto

17 09 2009
Chicken and chorizo risotto

Chicken and chorizo risotto

A 20-minute tea this, and tastes amazing. Looks like it takes much more effort than it actually does. I think I got the basic method from watching Valentina Harris do it on the telly.

It’s simple and a great way to use a really wide range of ingredients as anything goes. Read the rest of this entry »





A roast chicken and a pot of stock

17 09 2009

A little chicken roasts in an hour so it still fits the after-work brief – and once it’s in the oven you can go and do something else while it cooks away. I think it’s better value than a pack of portions as you’ll get at least two meals off it and can make stock.

Free range or not is up to you; I think you can taste the difference. They’re a lot more chickeny somehow. Read the rest of this entry »





Easy BBQ – salmon and soy, chicken with lemon and thyme, beefy burgers

14 09 2009
Spark up the barbie

Spark up the barbie

Mid September and we’re having our second BBQ of the year. It’s not been a good summer. Quite taken aback when I popped into M&S for some fish to BBQ and the first thing I saw was a rack of advent calendars. Something screwy with that.

You can knock up some pretty impressive stuff for a barbie in about 10 mins and cook it in about the same time – even quicker if you forget the BBQ and do them for a quick indoor tea. I cooked these three yesterday – did the prep then lit the BBQ while the stuff marinated in the fridge. Really easy and very tasty with a simple salad on the side. Read the rest of this entry »