Chicken stuffed with spinach and cheese and wrapped in prosciutto makes for a very easy tray bake. I’ve used chicken thighs but breasts can also be used. Ingredients Method Don’t worry if some of the cheese seeps out during cooking – it will go crispy and be completely delicious!
Prawn cocktail salad
In terms of a first course I rarely make prawn cocktail at home. That’s because I’m very greedy and would rather have a whole plateful of what I think is one of the most delicious dishes ever invented. Having said that, there’s nothing quite like tucking into a really luxurious prawn cocktail at a restaurant,…
Scallops with beetroot and parsnip puree garnished with crispy cavolo nero
The older I get, the less I want to go out in the evenings, especially in the colder months. Eating out these days is also increasingly expensive so I am more than happy to stay put and splurge on indulgent ingredients. I absolutely love scallops and they always seem a bit luxurious – perfect for…
Smoked haddock and butter bean gratin
I am always looking for new ways to cook smoked haddock, other than kedgeree (which I tend to have at least once a fortnight). This is also a good way to use beans instead of potatoes as the main carb. You can be flexible with ingredients depending on what you have in stock, substituting courgettes…
Simple spaghetti with sun-dried tomatoes and almonds (vegan)
I’m having a phase of eating plant based meals. Tonight I cooked a simple pasta dinner using a handful of ingredients I happened to have in stock. These included sun dried tomatoes and roasted red peppers (both from jars and neither ultra processed). I also used courgettes, onions, cherry tomatoes, almonds (good protein) and spaghetti….
Chicken with sun dried tomatoes
I rustled up this dinner just before going on holiday as I had chicken thighs which needed using up. It’s a bit like Tuscan chicken which I make a lot but the sun dried tomatoes are really convenient because you can use the oil from the jar to fry the ingredients and it already includes…
Mini frittatas
I made these fritattas to take on a beach picnic yesterday with my daughter. She recently moved to Worthing, on the south coast, and there are several beaches within easy driving distance of her flat. The sun was very warm and the sea was a gorgeous shade of blue but it was a bit windy….
Slow cooker butternut squash and bean chilli
Do people still use slow cookers now that air fryers are taking over the world? I don’t have an air fryer but I love my slow cooker. It can come in very handy, especially at this time of year when you’re rushing around getting ready for the festivities. With most slow cooker recipes I usually…
No knead bread
I’ve got out of the habit of making my sourdough bread but I’ve recently discovered a really easy bread recipe that doesn’t require any kneading. This is a simpler version of a Nancy Birtwhistle recipe from her book ‘Green living made easy.’ I’ve had mixed success with home made bread in the past – so…
Creamy chicken with vegetables, pasta and parmesan
I can’t seem to get enough of chicken at the moment. I usually make a version of this recipe as a tray bake – cooking chicken in the oven with masses of cherry tomatoes and adding creme fraiche for the last five minutes or so. But for this recipe I’ve pan fried the chicken (coated…
Asian inspired chicken broth
This recipe was supposed to be chicken noodle soup but in the end I completely forgot to add the noodles. It reminded me of an occasion when I was cooking with my niece when she was young. We were making tuna pasta bake for a family dinner and just as we were dishing up we…
Wholemeal flatbreads
The starting point for making these flatbreads is that I have so much self-raising wholemeal flour in stock. Also I was craving some bread to have with my shakshuka brunch this morning and as I rarely buy supermarket bread as it is ultra processed (and I’m out of the habit of making my own sourdough…
Huevos rancheros
This is an improvised (and lighter) version of the famous Mexican breakfast which is pretty much my staple brunch at least twice a week these days. I use it with whatever ingredients I have in stock – if I don’t have black beans I’ll use kidney or cannellini beans. I don’t always have tortillas or…
Taralli
Taralli are savoury or sweet snacks from Puglia in the south of Italy. I have recently returned from Puglia where I travelled around for a few days before joining a cookery and yoga retreat in Conversano, about 40 minutes drive from Bari, one of the main cities in Puglia. Our cookery teacher, Lucrezia, taught us…
Baked cod with chickpeas
This has become my go to recipe for a really quick and easy baked fish dish. I found it online but have copied the recipe here for convenience. I’ve since made this with sea bass but any white fish would go well. I found a pack of orange and red tomatoes which made it look…
Bang bang chicken salad
This is now my favourite way to use up left over chicken. The most delicious part of the recipe is the dressing – crunchy (or smooth if you prefer) peanut butter diluted with a little warm water, with chillies, generous amounts of fresh ginger, garlic, soy sauce, honey and loads of lime juice. Really, really…
Authentic ragu recipe with tagliatelle
This recipe is a world away from the kind of ‘spag bol’ I used to make in my student days – a quickly cooked sauce using just minced beef as the meat base which always seem to end up very watery. A good ragu on the other hand is a rich sauce, full of flavour…
Haricot bean and halloumi bake
This was a recipe I made a couple of Saturdays ago, conjured up at the last minute based on ingredients I happened to have in the cupboard and fridge (a typical ‘Cheap, Fresh and Easy’ approach). I usually plan for the week’s meals in advance and shop accordingly, as it’s cheaper that way. But lately…
Mussels with saffron and vermouth
Mussels must be among the most affordable non plant based proteins you can eat. A bag of mussels from the supermarket serves around four people as a starter or two people as a main course and costs well under £3. Bargain. I have a recipe for Moules marinière on this blog which has a creamy…
Pan griddled tuna steak with artichokes
This is a nutritious and very fresh tasting fish recipe which is ready in about 10 minutes. I’ve used canned artichokes, mixed with capers, lemon juice, parsley and mustard as the sauce. There is a big range of prepared artichokes available – my current favourite is a jar of artichokes marinated in oil, mint and…
Baked mackerel with fennel and pine nuts
This is such a cheap and easy tray bake it hardly needs a recipe at all. I originally wanted to make something with fresh sardines but couldn’t find any in the supermarket so went with mackerel instead. Mackerel is incredibly cheap and sustainable and a rich source of omega-3 fatty acids, I’m going to eat…
Creamy cauliflower tagliatelle
Here’s another recipe to celebrate Veganuary (although I should say I’m not doing the full vegan diet this month, just using this time as an incentive to cut down on meat). This recipe is from Miguel Barclay’s book Vegan One Pound Meals – part of his fantastic One Pound Meals cook book series which is…
Black bean vegan burgers
I’m not a big fan of processed, shop bought vegan burgers – I am still on the hunt for one that I really like, both in texture and taste. In the meantime I prefer to make my own with pulses or as I did once with beetroot. This recipe using black beans is nice and…
Butternut squash lasagne
I love this recipe because it is so seasonal – the butternut squash was in my Oddbox recently and I already had most of the other ingredients in stock (including sage from my garden). I just needed to buy the ricotta and mozzarella. One of the pleasures of subscribing to Oddbox is that I start…
Stuffed cabbage
I’ve recently signed up to Oddbox, a brilliant way to reduce food waste. Basically it’s a solution to the 40% or so of all produce in the UK which would otherwise be thrown out even before it leaves the farm just because it doesn’t look right (eg mis-shapen looking fruit or veg). Oddbox also coordinates…
Cheap, fresh and easy 