Ingredients (serves 4)

2 tsp smoked paprika

1 tsp chilli powder

1 tsp ground cumin

½ tsp cayenne pepper

¼ tsp garlic powder

460g chicken breasts, cut into strips

1½ tbsp olive oil

350g penne pasta

1 red onion, sliced

1 red pepper, deseeded and sliced

1 yellow pepper, deseeded and sliced

2 tbsp tomato puree

230g tomato salsa (or a tin of chopped tomatoes works well)

150g low-fat sour cream

50g reduced-fat cheddar cheese, grated

Method

1. Mix together the smoked paprika, chilli, cumin, cayenne and garlic powder. Rub half into the chicken pieces. Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large deep frying pan and cook the chicken for 5-6 minutes until golden all over and almost cooked. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet. Drain well and set aside, reserving a little of the cooking water.

3. Heat the remaining oil in the pan and cook the onion along with the remaining spice mix for 3-4 minutes until tender. Season, then add the peppers and cook for another 3-4 minutes until just soft.

4. Add the chicken back to the pan along with the tomato puree. Cook for 2 minutes, then stir in the cooked pasta, salsa and sour cream. Heat through, and if the sauce needs loosening, add a little of the reserved pasta water until you reach a desired consistency. Sprinkle over the cheese to serve.

I had some of this pasta for lunch the next day too and it was really good! We’ll definitely be having this more often. The original recipe is from the Sainsbury’s website. If you want more delicious recipes, try this chicken fettuccine or Jamie Oliver’s chicken pie, which is always a winner!

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Ingredients (serves 4-6)

For the topping

4-5 large baking potatoes

3 eggs

25ml/1fl oz double or single cream

Pinch of ground nutmeg

1-2 green bird’s-eye chillies, chopped (seeds removed if you like)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds, lightly toasted and crushed in a pestle and mortar

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

For the filling

1 tbsp vegetable oil or rapeseed oil

4 bay leaves

8cm/3 1/4in piece cinnamon stick

15g/ 1/2oz butter

500g/1lb 2oz lamb mince

2-3 onions, finely chopped

5 garlic cloves, crushed

1 tbsp freshly grated root ginger

1 tsp tumeric

2 tbsp ground coriander

1 tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp garam masala

2 heaped tbsp tomato puree

2 heaped tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Salt

Method

1. First prepare the topping. If you’re in a hurry, cut the potatoes into chunks, boil them in salted water for 20 minutes, then drain and mash. But for the best results, bake the potatoes: preheat the oven to 200c/400F/gas mark 6, place the potatoes directly on the oven shelf and bake for about 1 hour. Remove the baked potatoes from the oven, and while they are still warm cut them in half and scoop the flesh into a bowl. Push the flesh through a fine sieve or potato ricer into another bowl. (We boiled our potatoes and just mashed them – we don’t do puree mash! So just do whatever you prefer.)

2. Once the potatoes are mashed, mix in the eggs (just use yolks if you prefer), along with some cream to loosen the mix. Season with a pinch or two of ground nutmeg, some finely chopped green chilli, crushed cumin seeds and salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly.

3. No prepare the filling. Heat a large casserole dish (or pan if you don’t have a hob-proof dish), add the oil, and when it’s hot add the bay leaves and cinnamon, then fry on a medium heat for a couple of minutes. Turn the heat off, add the butter and let it melt.

4. Put all of the remaining filling ingredients except the fresh coriander in a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Turn a medium heat back on underneath the casserole dish (or pan) and add the filling mixture, along with 100ml (3 1/2fl oz) water. Stir and cook for 5 to 6 minutes with the lid on.

5. Stir once more and then cook for another 10-15 minutes, then remove the lid and cook until the mixture is nearly dry. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 200c/400F/gas mark 6.

6. Stir the chopped coriander into the cooked mixture and pour into a baking dish. Discard the bay leaves and cinnamon stick and level the surface. Cover the mince with the spiced mash topping and cook on the top shelf of the oven for 15-20 minutes or until nicely browned. Serve with some crusty bread or green veg.

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Ingredients (serves 2)

2 boneless chicken breasts, each cut into small pieces

Fettuccine for 2 (we actually used tagliatelle – follow the instructions on the packet for serving amounts)

A good slosh of Marsala wine

125g mascarpone cheese

A handful of baby portobello mushrooms, sliced (we had ‘normal’ mushrooms to use up, and these worked fine)

1 medium onion, coarsely chopped

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tbsp Dijon mustard

1 handful chives, chopped

A knob of butter

2 tbsp olive oil

Salt and pepper

Method

1. In a large non-stick pan over medium high heat add olive oil and sauté chicken for a few minutes until browned. It is okay if it doesn’t cook all the way through, as it will be finished off in the sauce with pasta later.

2. Whilst the chicken is cooking, place a large pot of salted water on high and bring to a boil. Add the pasta. Once browned, remove chicken to a plate and cover to keep warm.

3. Using the same pan over medium heat add chopped onions, two-pinches of salt and sauté for four minutes. Add the garlic and sauté for two-minutes. Add the butter, mushrooms and sauté for three-to-four-minutes. Increase heat to medium high adding Marsala wine and cook until reduced by half.

4. In a small bowl combine mascarpone and mustard and mix well, then add to pan. Reduce heat to medium and fold until dissolved into a creamy sauce. Add chicken back to sauce and stir to coat chicken with sauce and cook for a few minutes more. Drain the pasta once cooked and then add it to the pan, along with the chives.

5. Serve and enjoy!

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Ingredients

1 medium banana (the riper the better really)

10 strawberries

A dash of milk – I use skimmed, but any would be fine

You’ll also need a good blender

Method

1. Put the banana in the blender and whizz it up really well. (We have a turbo button on our blender so I always use that!) Then add the strawberries and whizz again.

2. Add a dash of milk and pulse the smoothie in the blender. Don’t do it too much or it could go everywhere! You can add as much or as little milk as you like here to get your preferred consistency.

3. Pour into a glass and enjoy!

You could always add a couple of spoons of Nutella instead of the strawberries…slightly less healthy but really good!

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You could make the puff pastry if you wish (the recipe is in the book), but we cheated and used a pack instead. It does take time to make this recipe, but you could make the filling in advance if you wish and it’s so worth it! We made the full amount but then put half of the filling in the pie and the other half in the freezer – things like this always taste good after freezing.

Ingredients (serves 4-6, fills a dish roughly 1.5 litres in capacity)

For the filling

10g dried porcini mushrooms

200ml very hot water

100g lardons (diced streaky bacon)

800g lean boneless stewing steak (chuck or skirt) cut into 5cm cubes

About 2 tbsp olive oil (if needed)

3 shallots, peeled and quartered

1 tbsp plain flour

500ml red wine

2 garlic cloves, crushed or finely sliced (we don’t have a crusher, so we sliced it!)

1 bay leaf

Salt and black pepper

1 375g pack all-butter puff pastry (thawed if frozen)

Beaten egg, to glaze

Method

1. Heat your oven to 150C/300F/gas mark 2. Put the dried mushrooms into a heatproof bowl, pour over the very hot water and leave to soak and rehydrate until needed.

2. Put the lardons into a cold flameproof casserole dish and set over medium heat (we have a stoneware one that only goes in the oven, so we used a large non-stick pan for this bit). Fry, stirring frequently until the fat melts and the lardons are golden. Remove from the dish/pan with a slotted spoon to leave the fat in the pan, and set aside for later.

3. Add the beef to the dish/pan a few pieces at a time, and fry until brown on all sides (add a little oil here if needed). As each batch of beef is browned, transfer to a large plate with a slotted spoon. Then add the shallots and brown quickly, before removing and adding to the beef.

4. Turn the heat down to low and add the flour to the dish/pan. Stir until slightly coloured, stir in the wine and the mushrooms with their soaking liquid. Return the beef and shallots to the dish/pan along with the garlic, bay leaf, and a little salt and pepper (go easy on the salt – the lardons are salty!).

5. Bring everything to the boil. If using a casserole dish, cover and put in the oven. If not, transfer from your pan into an oven-proof dish, then cover and place in the oven. Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the meat is very tender.

6. Remove the bay leaf from the dish. Stir in the lardons and then adjust the seasoning as required. If cooking the pie in the same dish, place your pie raiser (or egg cup) in the middle, and leave the whole thing to cool. (I must admit that we didn’t leave it to cool, mainly because we started cooking it later than we anticipated! So we just put the mixture in a new dish – see next step).

7. Roll out the pastry on a floured surface, and trim the lid to the correct size of your dish. Then cut some 1cm strips of pastry and use a little water to dampen the rim of the dish, before pressing the pastry strips so they completely cover the edge. Join the ends and trim as necessary.

8. If you’re using a separate dish, fill it with filling and then place your pie raiser in the centre. Then (for either method!) dampen the pastry strip with water, cut a hole in the lid where the raiser will be and then place the lid on top. Press the edges carefully to seal it, and decorate it if you wish.

9. The recipe says to chill the pie at this point as the oven heats up to 200C/400F/gas mark 6. We ignored that bit too, and it was fine! Brush the pie with beaten egg to glaze, and then bake for 15 minutes. Then turn the oven down to 180C/350F/gas mark 4 for a further 20-25 minutes until the pastry is puffed up and golden brown. Serve with some vegetables and mash or roasties. Yum!

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This delicious saag aloo would make a great accompaniment to any Indian meal. It comes from The Hairy Bikers’ Great Curries – look out for my other posts from this book!

Serves 4-6

Ingredients

650g medium potatoes, preferably Maris Pipers
1 tsp fine sea salt
250g spinach leaves
4 tbsp ghee or sunflower oil
1 tsp black mustard seeds
2 medium onions, halved and sliced
4 garlic cloves, finely sliced
10g chunk fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 long green chillies, finely chopped (deseeded first if you like)
1 tbsp garam masala
freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into 2.5cm cubes. Put them in a large pan and cover them with cold water. Add 1/2 tsp of the salt and bring to the boil, before reducing the heat and leaving to simmer for 6-8 minutes until they are tender but still holding their shape. Drain and set aside.

2. While the potatoes are cooking, wash the spinach leaves well and pat them dry with a tea towel. Cut out the stems and shred the leaves. Set aside.

3. Put the ghee or oil in a large non-stick frying pan and add the mustard seeds and cumin. As soon as the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the onions and cook them for about 5 minutes on a medium heat until softened. Then increase the heat and cook for another 2-3 minutes until the onions are browned, stirring constantly.

4. Add the garlic, ginger and chilli then cook for 2 more minutes, while stirring. Add the garam masala, remaining salt, potatoes and spinach leaves. Add the spinach in handfulls, allowing each batch to soften before adding the next.

5. Cook for a further 5 minutes, stirring until the spinach has softened and the potatoes are hot and coated in the spices. Season with black pepper and serve.

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This recipe started out as squash, ricotta and sage pasta bake – a recipe I found on the BBC Good Food website. I thought this sounded really tasty, but the comments at the bottom of the page were pretty mixed and many people had added their own ingredients! So I’ve done that, but a bit more radically I suppose! You could leave out the chicken for a veggie dish. This serves 4 people.

Ingredients

1 squash, weighing about 1kg, chopped into chunks
2 tbsp olive oil
200ml tub crème fraîche
50g parmesan, finely grated
250g tub ricotta
Small bunch of sage leaves, chopped
2 chicken breasts, diced
Nutmeg
Chilli flakes (as generous as you want to be with these!)
A handful of mushrooms
A handful of pine nuts
1 red onion, finely chopped
Ground black pepper
Pasta (shape of your choice – allow 50g per person)

Method

1. Heat the oven to 220C/fan 200C/gas 7. Toss the squash together with the olive oil in a roasting tin. Roast the squash for 30 mins until soft and golden. While the squash is roasting, mix the crème fraîche and ricotta with half the Parmesan, then add the sage and the chilli flakes.Mix well and set aside.

2. Heat some olive oil in a pan and add the chicken. Chop the onion and add to the pan, cooking until softened. Add the mushrooms and season.

3. Put the pasta on to boil. Remove the squash from the oven and add to the pan along with the pine nuts, mixing well.

4. Just before the pasta has cooked, add the ricotta mixture to the chicken and add a good grating of nutmeg. Mix well. Drain the pasta and combine all the ingredients. Put it in a dish and cover with the rest of the parmesan.

5. Bake in the oven for about 30 minutes, or until the parmesan is crisp and golden. Serve with some salad and enjoy!

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Ingredients

180g salted butter, at room temperature (I actually used unsalted)
200g light brown muscovado sugar
100g stem ginger balls in syrup, drained and finely chopped (I used 4 balls)
1 egg, beaten
250g plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
150g dark chocolate chips

Method

1. Preheat oven to 160/Gas mark 3.

2. Place the butter and sugar in a mixing bowl and beat until well mixed, pale and fluffy.

3. Add the stem ginger and egg and beat until well incorporated. Finally, add the flour, baking powder and chocolate chips, and mix together to form a firm cookie dough. Chill the dough in the fridge for at least 30 minutes (this makes it easier to work with).

4. Carve out heaped teaspoonfuls of the dough and roll them in your palms into little balls. Place space well apart on baking sheets lined with greaseproof paper. Put 8 balls on each sheet and cook in batches. Bake for 15-20 minutes until lightly golden in colour and a little darker around the edges. Allow to cool before enjoying with a cuppa

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We had some leftover ricotta cheese after making our Butternut and sweet potato lasagne with sage, toasted pine nuts and nutmeg and so I decided to use the recipe finder on the BBC Food website to see if I could find a recipe to use it up. This is what I found – a recipe by Simon Rimmer that is easy to make but really delicious.

Ingredients

For the filling
400g/14oz aubergines, sliced into thin rounds
50ml/2oz vegetable oil
salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 red onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
50g/2oz tomato purée
400g/14oz canned chopped tomatoes, drained
1 cinnamon stick
100g/3½oz red lentils, cooked according to packet instructions
2 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

For the topping
125g/4½oz ricotta
125g/4½oz Greek-style yoghurt
3 free-range eggs
freshly grated nutmeg
salt and freshly ground black pepper
50g/2oz freshly grated pecorino

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C/350F/Gas 4.

2. For the filling, toss the aubergine slices in the vegetable oil, then drain and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

3. Heat a frying pan over a medium heat, add the aubergine slices in batches and fry for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden-brown on both sides. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and set aside to drain on kitchen paper.

4. Add the onion, pepper and garlic to the pan and fry for 2-3 minutes, or until softened.

5. Add the tomato purée, stir to coat the vegetables in it, then continue to fry for a further 4-5 minutes.

6. Add the canned chopped tomatoes and cinnamon stick and simmer for 4-5 minutes.

7. Add the lentils and return the fried aubergines to the mixture. Simmer for a further 2-3 minutes, or until warmed through.

8. Transfer the mixture to an ovenproof dish and sprinkle over the chopped parsley.

9. For the topping, in a bowl, beat together the ricotta, Greek-style yoghurt, eggs and grated nutmeg until well combined. Season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper.

10. Pour the topping mixture into the ovenproof dish on top of the filling. Sprinkle over the grated pecorino. Transfer the veggie moussaka to the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the topping is golden-brown and has set and the filling is bubbling. Serve immediately and enjoy!

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Almond has to be one of my favourite flavours, and as I’ve got a super sweet tooth I’m always tempted by almond puddings! This one is so easy to make and is really tasty, and is taken from Lorraine Pascale’s ‘Fast, Fresh and Easy Food’. We had this for pudding after our Butternut and sweet potato lasagne – much later in the evening though, because we were stuffed!

Ingredients

375g of ready-rolled dessert pastry (or you could make 500g sweet shortcrust pastry)
100g soft butter
100g caster sugar
100g ground almonds
3 tbsp plain flour, plus a little extra for dusting
1 medium egg
1 tbsp amaretto liqueur
411g tin of pear halves or 4 very ripe soft pears (I used slices as that’s all I could find)
250g tub of mascarpone
1 stem ginger ball (the type in syrup)
1/2 vanilla pod (or a couple of drops of vanilla extract)
50g icing sugar

You’ll also need a non-stick 10 x 34cm fluted loose-bottomed flan tin, or you can use a 17.5cm round tin like I did.

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 180C (fan 160C)/350F/Gas mark 4.

2. Line the tin with the pastry (no need to grease), rolling out the pastry as needed. Be careful not to stretch or pull the pastry too much as this will make it shrink in the tin when it cooks. Get the pastry into all of the ‘flutes’ using a wooden spoon handle dipped in some flour, and cut off the excess with a sharp knife. Put in the fridge to chill whilst you prepare the filling.

3. Mix the butter and the sugar together in a medium bowl either by hand or using a hand-held electric whisk, until it is really soft and well combined. Then beat in the ground almonds and plain flour. Crack the egg in, add the amaretto liqueur, and then beat it so everything is combined.

4. Remove the lined tin from the fridge and add the almond filling, spreading it out evenly so it is nice and smooth on top.

5. Drain the pears and then arrange them cut side down in the almond filling.

6. Bake in the oven for 35-45 minutes or until the filling is nicely puffed up and golden.

7. About 5 minutes before the tart is ready, put the mascarpone in a small bowl. Finely chop the stem ginger, add the vanilla seeds or extract to the bowl. Give the mixture a few stirs or otherwise the mascarpone may split and go grainy. Set aside for serving.

8. Check the tart is cooked by sticking the point of a sharp knife into the centre – it should be a little damp from the moisture of the pears, but not wet like the original mixture.

9. Once cooked, leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes before carefully removing from the tin. Sift a little icing sugar over the top to decorate, and serve warm with the ginger mascarpone cream. Enjoy!

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I love getting new cookery books, and the latest addition to my collection is Lorraine Pascale’s ‘Fast, Fresh and Easy Food’. I saw her TV show when we got back from honeymoon and really liked the recipes, and when I flicked through the book in the shop this recipe caught my eye. I couldn’t wait to start cooking (and blogging) again, and this seemed like a great recipe to start with! You could easily make this on a week night for a super tasty treat. I used half a squash and a sweet potato for this but it wasn’t quite enough, so next time I’ll use a whole squash and 2 sweet potatoes.

Ingredients

50g parmesan cheese
50g dried natural breadcrumbs (I whizzed up a a thick doorstop slice of bread instead)
600g prepared sweet potato and butternut squash (peel and cut into evenly sized chunks)
4 sprigs fresh rosemary
12 sage leaves
Olive oil
12 lasagne sheets
100g pine nuts, toasted
75g baby spinach leaves

For the white sauce
100g parmesan cheese
2cm piece fresh ginger
600g ricotta cheese
2 medium egg yolks
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

For the salad

3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
Pinch of English mustard powder (optional)
1 bag wild rocket
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas mark 7. Put the kettle on to boil for the vegetables.

2. Finely grate the parmesan for the topping, toss in a small bowl with the breadcrumbs and set aside.

3. Tip the prepared sweet potato and butternut squash into a large pan, add a little salt and then pour the boiling water over to cover. Put the lid on, bring back to the boil and then leave to bubble away for 15-20 minutes until tender.

4. Fill the kettle again and boil. Prepare the herbs by removing the leaves from the the stems of the rosemary. Roughly chop them with the sage leaves and set aside in a small bowl.

5. Pour the boiling water into a pan, add a drizzle of oil, slip in the lasagne sheets and leave to cook for 5 minutes (this is important as there isn’t a lot of liquid in the rest of the mixture to cook them in the oven).

6. As the lasagne cooks, prepare the sauce. Finely grate the parmesan and peel and grate the ginger. Place both in a medium bowl, add the ricotta, egg yolks and nutmeg, season with salt and pepper, then stir to combine and set aside.

7. Drain the lasagne sheets and tip them back into the pan. Drizzle a little more oil and gently toss the about to coat, so that the sheets don’t stick together.

8. Check that the vegetables are tender. Drain them off well and tip them back into the pan. Mash them with a masher until smooth and add salt and pepper to taste.

9. Now assemble the lasagne in the baking dish, set on a baking tray. Spread a third of the vegetable mash in the base of the dish. Next, scatter a third of the herbs, pine nuts and spinach leaves over. Then arrange 4 lasagne sheets on top, cutting to fit if necessary. Spread a third of the ricotta mixture over.

10. Repeat twice more, and finally sprinkle the parmesan breadcrumbs on top. Bake for 15-20 minutes.

11. While that is cooking, prepare the salad dressing by simply mixing the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, mustard powder (if using) and seasoning together in a small bowl.

12. When cooked, serve the lasagne with a handful of rocket drizzled with the dressing. Enjoy!

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Ingredients (for a 12″ tin, or 2-3 smaller tins)

(For the pastry)
225g/8oz plain flour
125g/40z margarine or butter
A pinch of salt
About 2-3 splashes cold water

(For the filling)
2 medium sized courgettes, grated
2 tins tuna in brine or spring water (but not oil!)
3 eggs
Semi skimmed milk
Black pepper

Method

1. To make the pastry, put the margarine, salt and flour into a food processor and blitz (or rub together if using hand method). Slowly add the cold water and mix – just add as much or as little, making sure the mixture is not too wet. Knead a little and then wrap in cling film before chilling in the fridge for at least half an hour.

2. When chilled, roll out the pastry. Grease the tin and then line with the pastry, before blind baking (this works best with baking beans) for around 20 minutes at 200/400/Gas mark 6.

3. Whilst the pastry is cooking, prepare the filling. Grate the courgettes and then squeeze out as much of the water as you can – this is really messy, but much better than a soggy quiche!

4. Drain the tuna and add to the courgettes, stirring well. Season with black pepper.

5. Beat the eggs and add milk, making it up to around 450ml. Season with black pepper and then add some of it to the tuna and courgette mix, stirring well.

6. When the pastry case is cooked, add the filling and spread the mixture evenly. Then slowly pour the egg over until it almost reaches the top of the case (you might need to squash the mixture with a fork to make sure the egg will bind everything together).

7. Place in the oven and bake for around 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. You will need to keep squashing the mixture with a fork during cooking time to make sure that the liquid comes to the top – this will help it to cook quicker and ensure that it is cooked right through.

8. You can eat this hot or cold – if serving hot, it is better to leave to stand for 5 minutes before serving. It goes well with summery salads or winter veg, so enjoy!

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As many of you know, I’m always on the look-out for new recipes to try – especially if they are healthy and low-cost! We went to Edinburgh for my birthday earlier in the month and I spotted this recipe in the Observer Food Monthly magazine (click the link for the online version). Tom made it for dinner one night last week and it was so easy and really delicious! When he got home he realised that he had forgotten to buy yoghurt for the cobbler, so we improvised by using a splash of semi-skimmed milk and some grated cheddar cheese and they tasted really good. As I’m not a huge fan of mustard, we grated a little nutmeg into the cobbler mix.

The author of this recipe, Miss South, used leftover cooked chicken for this recipe – we just used 3 chicken breasts as we didn’t have any pre-cooked chicken. This recipe is so easy that it can be made on a weeknight, which is always a bonus! We had some leftover too so that was boxed up and packed away in the freezer for another day.

Ingredients

1 leek, chopped
1/2 brown onion, chopped
1 punnet mushrooms, sliced
25g butter (plus 10g for sweating the vegetables)
25g plain flour
285ml milk
285ml stock
2 tsp oil
Cooked chicken (or 3-4 chicken breasts, cut into medium sized pieces)
Worcestershire sauce (or our alternative, Henderson’s Relish)
Salt and pepper
Tarragon (we used mixed herbs because the supermarket was all out of tarragon!)

For the cobbler

200g plain flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp mustard powder
2 tsp oil
150ml plain, unsweetened yoghurt

Method

1. Sweat the chopped vegetables in about 10g of the butter until softened (this takes around 10 minutes).

2. Heat the oven to 200C/Gas mark 6. While the vegetables are sweating, make your white sauce. Melt the butter in a pan, add in the flour and combine, cooking for 1-2 minutes until the roux looks glossy. Remove from the heat, whisking in the liquid gently to make sure there are no lumps. Return to the heat and bring just to the boil to help it thicken. Cook out on a low heat for about 8-10 minutes.

3. Heat a little oil in a pan and cook the chicken (if using pre-cooked chicken, flake and toss in the pan with the vegetables). Once browned, add the chicken and juices to the vegetables, adding Worcestershire sauce and seasoning. Add the white sauce and herbs, stir well and leave to simmer.

4. Make the cobbler dough by sifting plain flour, baking powder and mustard powder into a bowl. Make a well in the centre and pour in the oil and yoghurt, bringing it all together to make a soft, but not sticky dough. Turn out onto a floured surface and cut into rounds.

5. Put the chicken and vegetables into an oven-proof dish and place the cobbler rounds on top. Bake in the oven for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with some steamed green vegetables and enjoy!

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You will need to do a bit of preparation for this one, as you’ll need to make the bread dough and pizza topping in advance. Use my recipe for Low-fat Tomato Pasta Sauce for the pizza topping, and you can use the adapted version of my bread recipe below for the dough (click here for the link to the original bread recipe). I had a bit of help doing this yesterday – thanks to Tom for making the dough and rolling it out!

For the pizza dough

400g strong white bread flour

1 sachet quick yeast

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp mixed herbs (optional)

2 tbsp olive oil

300ml hand hot water (150ml cold topped up with 150ml boiling water)

You will need some tomato sauce to top the pizza, as well as any other toppings – we used chorizo, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and mozzarella here.

Method

1. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

2. Add the oil to the water before pouring over the dry ingredients. Mix together until a dough is formed and then knead for five minutes.

3. Leave the dough in the bowl. Wet a clean tea towel with cold water and wring out so that it isn’t dripping, before placing over the bowl. Leave to rise.

4. When the dough has at least doubled in size, ‘knock back’ and knead again for a few minutes.

5. Roll out the dough to fit a large, greased baking tray (use a bit of olive oil to grease the tray). Heat the oven to 220°c/425°F/Gas mark 7 whilst preparing the topping.

6. A couple of ladles of the tomato sauce is usually enough to cover the dough – try to spread it evenly over the dough. Then cover with your choice of topping – we chose chorizo, mushrooms and basil for ours. We put our cheese on top of the other toppings, but you can do whatever you like really! That’s the great thing about pizza!

7. Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes – keep an eye on it because it can look raw one minute and then be done the next. Serve with some salad (serves 4 people, or 2 people with 2 lunches the next day). Enjoy!

Post updated 24th June 2016.

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Ingredients

125g slightly salted butter, plus extra for greasing

150g porridge oats

125g plain flour

100g plain wholemeal flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

2 tsp ground ginger

2 tsp ground mixed spice

175g black treacle

175g golden syrup

150ml milk

1 medium egg, beaten

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°c/gas mark 3. Grease and line the base and long sides of a 25 x 11cm loaf tin, or one with a capacity of 1.5 litres.

2. Place the oats in a food processor and lightly blend to form a coarse oatmeal texture. Tip into a large mixing bowl and add the flours, bicarbonate of soda and spices then mix together.

3. Cut the butter into pieces and heat gently in a saucepan with the treacle and syrup until the butter has melted (but not boiled). Remove from the heat and stir in the milk and then the egg.

4.Add to the dry ingredients in the bowl and stir until well mixed. Pour into the tin and spread into the corners.

5. Bake for 35-40 minutes (it did take about 45-50 in my old oven!) until well-risen and just firm to the touch. A skewer inserted into the centre should come out just about clean. Leave to cool in the tin.

6. Enjoy! Store in an airtight container. Parkin tastes just as good (if not better) even after a week or so, so you can always make it in advance.

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Bake your own bread

Today was the first Saturday that I’ve been at home for a few weeks, so I decided to take advantage of the opportunity to bake some bread. I think that some people are put off making it because they think it might take too long or that it might be too difficult to make, but it is much easier than you think (and also very cheap!). My bread usually has a very homemade look, but for me that makes it even better. It’s so lovely to bake your own bread, and it makes your house smell amazing! It also makes an excellent pizza dough.

Ingredients

500g strong white bread flour (I usually avoid supermarket own brands as high quality flour = better bread)

1 sachet quick yeast

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp olive oil

300ml hand hot water (150ml cold topped up with 150ml boiling water)

Method

1. Mix all of the dry ingredients together in a bowl.

2. Add the oil to the water before pouring over the dry ingredients. Mix together until a dough is formed and then knead for five minutes.

3. Leave the dough in the bowl. Wet a clean tea towel with cold water and wring out so that it isn’t dripping, before placing over the bread. Leave to rise.

4. When the bread has at least doubled in size, ‘knock back’ and knead again for a few minutes.

5. Shape the dough into a loaf (or cut into eight equal parts to make rolls) and place on a greased baking tray. Cover with the teatowel and leave to rise again – you could always place the tray on top of the oven as it heats up to aid rising (oven should be heated to 220°c/425°F/Gas mark 7).

6. Once risen, place to bread in the oven. Rolls will take 15-20 minutes to bake, whilst loaves (depending on size) usually take 30-40 minutes. To see whether or not the bread is done, tap on the bottom and if it sounds hollow it is ready. Leave to cool on a wire rack and then enjoy!

You may also like…

This yummy banana bread recipe:

Banana bread

These rose shortbread hearts:

Rose shortbread hearts

Try this sun dried tomato and parmesan bread:

Sun dried tomato and parmesan bread

Or some soup to go with your yummy bread!

Pumpkin Carrot and Bacon Soup

Post updated 12th March 2021.

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