Garlicky Potato & Ham Bake!

This is an easy winter warmer - it only takes about 15 minutes to prepare but needs to bake for about an hour. This recipe is enough for 4 portions and costs about £1.50 each.

Ingredients

750g potatoes - peeled and sliced into 1/2 cm rounds
200g sliced honey roast ham - torn into pieces
250ml double cream
150ml semi skimmed milk
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 cloves of garlic - peeled and crushed
3 tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
50g cheese - grated


How to make

Preheat the oven to 180oC / Fan 160oC / Gas 4.

Bring a pan of salted water to the boil and cook the potatoes for 5 minutes.

Drain the potatoes and layer them in a casserole putting the ham in between each layer.

Mix the cream, milk, mustard, garlic and parsley together and season.

Pour over the potatoes and sprinkle the cheese on top.

Bake for an hour until the potatoes are tender and the cheese is bubbling.

Nice with some leaves and a piece of crusty bread.

Bacon, Veg & Chilli Spaghetti!

This tasty pasta dish uses up spare veg and is quick and easy - I've used what we had in the fridge but you can use other veg instead or as well as e.g broccoli. It took me about 20 minutes to make and costs less than a £1.00 each.

Ingredients

200g dried spaghetti
Jar of Tomato & Chilli pasta sauce - 350g
2 courgettes - cut into small cubes
2 carrots - peeled and cut onto small cubes
3 slices of bacon - cut into pieces
Handful of cheese - grated


How to make

Cook the bacon in a frying pan and when it's just turning brown add the tomato sauce and the veg.

Simmer gently for about 10 minutes until the veg are soft.

In the meantime, cook the spaghetti following the instructions on the packet.

Drain the spaghetti and pile the sauce on top and sprinkle with the cheese.

Gammon Ham, Egg & Chips!

A small joint of gammon (750g) costs about £3.50 but it will go a long way. You can have it with egg and chips like I am doing here, at a cost of about £2.00 each and then use what's left to put into a pie or a sandwich.

Ingredients

Small smoked joint of gammon - 750g
Two handfuls of frozen chips - more if you like more!
2tsp oil
2 eggs
Can of baked beans


How to make

Preheat the oven to 190oC, Fan 170oC, Gas 5.

Put the gammon into a baking tray and cover loosely with foil - cook on the middle shelf for 35 minutes per 500g + 35mins.

Put the chips into another tray and put into the oven 40 minutes before the gammon will be ready.

Remove the foil from the gammon when there is 30 minutes of cooking left.

When the gammon is cooked, remove from the oven and leave to stand for 2 minutes.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a small frying pan and when it's hot fry the eggs, at the same time gently warm the beans in a small pan.

Slice the gammon and serve with the chips, egg and beans.

Em's Lasagne!

My brother's girlfriend Emilie sent me this recipe so I tried it and it's good!

Ems “left-overs” Lasagne

For Bolognese

500g lean mince beef

8 big mushrooms

2 onions

Packet flavoring
2 tins of Tomatoes 
- Brown the meat in a frying pan, with onion (1 or 2) and several mushrooms

Lasagne white sauce
Pasta sheets

- Let this cook

- Once cooked add 2 tins of tomatoes to a separate pan

- Pour the packet mix in with this.

- Add the meat and vegetable mix to the pan and stir until hot.

- Once simmering let it simmer for 40 mins

That’s your base done…. And a yummy sauce you can use on anything, from pasta to a jacket potato topping… this made me 8 servings.

Lasagne

- Once simmering, take off the heat. Get your lasagne dish and add on layer of meat, then add a layer of pasta sheets (break them up as you don’t want them to overlap for a quick cook) then add a layer of white sauce. Repeat this process again, then sprinkle grated cheese on top and some mixed herbs,

- Cook till golden brown on top (roughly 30-40 mins)

- And eat - this should serve around 4 people

Spicy Prawn and Chorizo Rice!

A favourite recipe (in our house) for an easy and tasty one-pot meal. It takes about 40 minutes to make, will serve two generous portions and costs about £2.50 each.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil

1 garlic glove

1 red chilli - seeded and chopped

200g chorizo sausage - skinned and cut into slices

200g rice

1 tsp paprika

2 pints chicken stock - made using a jelly or a cube

100g frozen peas

200g raw shelled tiger prawns - thawed if frozen

100g cherry tomatoes, halved

How to make

Heat the oil in a pan and fry the garlic, onion, chillies and chorizo for a few minutes until the onion has gone soft.

Stir in the rice and paprika, then pour in the stock, lower the heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring every now and again.

Tip in the peas, season and cook for another 7-10 minutes, stirring until the rice is tender. iIf it gets too dry add some boiling water.

Stir in the prawns and cook for a few minutes until the prawns turn pink.

Check to see if it needs any more seasoning before serving.

Thai Red Chicken Curry with sticky rice!

A tasty curry which is quick and easy and really nice with Thai sticky rice.
This recipe will serve 2, it takes about 25 minutes to make and will cost £2.00 each.

Ingredients

1 tbsp oil
2 chicken breasts - skinned and cut into chunks
3 tbsp red curry paste 
180ml coconut milk
2 tsp dried Thai herbs - kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass and sweet basil leaves
150g sticky rice

How to make

Heat the oil in a frying pan.

Add the red curry paste and 1 tbsp of the coconut milk and mix together for about 3 minutes.

Add the chicken and stir in to coat the meat with the paste.

Stir in the rest of the coconut milk and simmer until the chicken is cooked, about 10 minutes - the sauce shouldn't be too thick.

Meanwhile cook the rice according to the instructions on the pack - you'll need to simmer it for about 15 minutes on the hob.

Add the herbs and continue to simmer for about 4 more minutes.

If you have any coriander and/or red chillies (finely sliced) you can add these to finish off the dish.

Chilli con carne with rice!

A winter warmer that is quick and easy to make - this will serve two people for dinner and there will be enough left to use as a topping for a jacket potato.
This will take about half an hour to make and it'll cost less than £2.00 each.

Ingredients

250g lean minced beef
Tin or pack of chopped tomatoes
Tin of red kidney beans in a chilli sauce
100g mushrooms - chopped into quarters 
1 tsp chilli powder
150 g easy cook rice

How to make

Brown the minced beef in a frying pan until brown.

Add the tomatoes and the kidney beans and mix together.

Taste and if you'd like it to be a bit hotter add the chilli powder and leave to simmer on a low heat for about 10 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and stir well and cook for another 5 minutes.

Meanwhile bring a pan of water to the boil and cook the rice following the instructions on the pan.

Serve the chilli piled onto the rice - nice with tortilla chips!

Pan Fried Salmon with noodles & veg in a sweet chilli sauce!

This pan fried salmon is quick, easy, tasty and healthy. It only takes about 20 minutes to make and will serve two with generous portions but costs £3.75 each!

Ingredients

2 tbsp of vegetable oil
2 pieces of salmon
1 bag fresh egg noodles
4 tbsps of sweet chilli sauce
Pack of stir-fry veg - mine included red onion, garlic, chilli, mushrooms, mangetout, fine beans, pak choi, tender stem broccoli and coriander 

How to make

Heat half of the oil in a small frying pan and pan fry the salmon steaks for about 5 minutes on each side, half way through cooking pour some of the chilli sauce on top of the salmon and cook on that side to glaze it.

In the meantime heat a large pan or wok and add the oil, when it is hot add all the stir fry veg except for the leaves and the coriander.

Cook for 4 minutes.

Add the noodles, the leaves, the coriander and the sweet chilli sauce and cook for another 3 minutes until everything is hot.

Serve with the salmon on top!

Pork & Pea puff pastry pie!

This is a pie for four people - it's quite tricky to make and took me about 20 minutes to prep everything and a total of 45 minutes to cook. It's good to eat if you've got the time to spend on it and costs less than £2.00 each.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 small onion - finely chopped
1 garlic clove - crushed
2 carrot, peeled and cut into chunks
500g smoked bacon joint - trim the fat off and cut it into cubes
20g pack parsley sauce mix
300ml semi-skimmed milk
250g fresh broccoli, cut into small pieces
200g frozen peas
Pack of ready rolled puff pastry
Small egg - beaten

How to make

Preheat the oven to 180 oC, fan 160oC, Gas 4.

In a large pan heat the oil and cook the onion for 5 mins until soft.

Add the garlic, carrots and bacon and cook for a further 5 mins.

Meanwhile make up the parsley sauce following the pack instructions using the milk.

Stir it into the pan with the bacon mix and add the broccoli and peas.

Season with black pepper and pour the mixture into a pie dish.

Unroll the puff pastry and cut into 2cm wide strips - arrange these over the top of the dish and trim any excess.

Brush the beaten egg over the top and bake in the oven for about 30 minutes until the pastry is golden and the filling is bubbling.

I had some pastry left over so made some cheese straws - I mixed some grated cheese into the pastry and re-rolled it out and then cut into strips.I brushed them with the left over beaten egg and then twisted the strips and put them on a greased baking tray.
I then put them in the oven with the pie and baked them for 20 mins.

BBQ Pork & mashed potato!

An easy but tasty supper for when you are in a hurry - this recipe will serve two and cost £2.00 each.

Ingredients

4 pork loin steaks
4 tbsps BBQ sauce
2 large potatoes - peeled and diced
Dash of milk
100g frozen peas

How to make

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees F, 180 fan, Gas Mark 7.

Line a baking tray with foil and arrange the loins on the foil.

Spoon the BBQ sauce over the loins evenly, cover loosely with foil and bake for 20 minutes, removing the foil for the last 5minutes.

Meanwhile put the potatoes into a saucepan of water and bring to the boil - cook for about 15 minutes until they are cooked through.

Drain well, add a dash of milk and season and mash until all the lumps have gone.

Boil a small pan of water and add the peas and cook for about 5 minutes and drain - once they float they are cooked.

Chicken & Lemon kebabs!

This is a healthier version of a takeaway classic - it will serve two and only take about 15 minutes to make at a cost of £2.00 each.

Ingredients

Pack of skinless chicken thigh fillets cut into small chunks
Zest and juice of a washed lemon
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove of garlic - crushed
1 red onion cut into wedges
1 yellow pepper - deseeded and cut into chunks
Handful of coriander leaves roughly chopped
4 plain tortilla wraps
Half a tub of soured cream and chive dip

You'll also need 4 wooden or metal skewers 


How to make

Put the chicken, the lemon zest, most of the lemon juice, half the olive oil and garlic in a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Preheat a frying pan until hot.

Thread the chicken, onion wedges and peppers onto the skewers and cook for 10 minutes turning once, until lightly charred and cooked through.

Meanwhile make the lemon dressing - put the rest of the oil, lemon juice and half of the coriander into a small bowl and whist together.

Heat the tortilla wraps in the microwave for a minute.

Remove the chicken and veg from the skewers and pile onto the wraps, along with the lettuce, sourced cream dip and the rest of the coriander.

Serve with the lemon dressing.

Sausage & New Potato Salad

A different way to enjoy sausages and potatoes and very easy to make - it'll only take 30 minutes, will serve two and costs about £1.65 each.

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil
4 sausages - I used beef and cracked black pepper ones
1 small red onion - cut into slim wedges
250g mini new potatoes - halved or cut in to think rounds if they are bigger
Juice of one lemon
Half tbsp wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp runny honey
3 medium tomatoes, washed and roughly chopped
100g salad leaves

How to make

Heat a frying pan over a medium heat - add half tbsp of the oil along with the sausages and onion wedges.

Cook for 25 minutes, turning everything regularly until the sausages are cooked through and the onions are starting to brown at the edges.

Meanwhile, put the potatoes in a pan, cover with water and bring to the boil - cook for 8-10 minutes until tender and drain.

Make the dressing - put the lemon juice, mustard and honey in a small, season with salt and pepper and whisk.

Put the sausages on a chopping board and cut them into bite sized pieces - tip them back into the pan with the onion.

Add the potatoes and chopped tomatoes and gently toss them together.

Serve with the salad and drizzle with the dressing.

A nice 'surprise' in the post from Leon!

Thai pork patties with sweet potato wedges!

These tasty patties have a mild kick of chilli heat. This recipe will serve two, take about 30 minutes to make including prep time and cost less than £2.00 each.

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes - scrubbed and cut into slim wedges
1 tbsp olive oil
250g pork mince
1 tbsp red Thai paste
Coriander - handful of leaves chopped
2 red chillies - deseeded and finely chopped
Half a cucumber - sliced into ribbons
50g watercress, spinach and rocket salad
Small red pepper - deseeded and finely sliced
2 tbsp sweet chilli dipping sauce

How to make

Preheat the oven to 220oC, fan 200oC, Gas 7.

Put the potato wedges on a baking tray and drizzle with half the oil - season with salt and pepper and roast for 25 minutes.

Whilst they are cooking put the mince, the paste, coriander and most of the chillies into a bowl and mix well. Using your hands, shape into 6 small patties.

Heat the remaining oil in a frying pan and fry the patties for 3-4 minutes on each side, until cooked through with no pink remaining.

Put the cucumber, salad leaves and the rest of the chillies into a bowl and mix together.

Serve with the pork patties and sweet potato wedges with the sweet chilli sauce drizzled over the top.

Squash, mushroom & sage pasta!

This pasta dish is really great and you don't miss the meat at all!
It takes about half an hour to cook and this recipe serves two people and will only cost £1.25 per serving.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
Half a butternut squash - peeled and cubed
2 cloves of garlic - chopped
A few fresh sage leaves - roughly chopped
140g mushrooms - sliced
200g pasta - any shape
1 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese plus extra to serve

How to make

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the squash, garlic and sage for a few minutes until beginning to brown.

Splash in some water and cook on a high heat for about 15 minutes until the squash is going soft and the pan looks dry.

Add the mushrooms then fry for 5 minutes more, keep stirring it every now and again until everything starts to caramelise.

Meanwhile cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet - drain it and keep a glass of the cooking water.

Add the pasta and the water to the squash.

Stir in most of the Parmesan cheese and serve in bowls, sprinkled with the remaining cheese.

Warm Potato and Tuna Salad

Pesto makes an instant tasty dressing! This will only take you about 20 minutes to make, will serve two and costs £2.00 each.

Ingredients

350g new potatoes - cut in half if they are large
2 tbsp pesto
1 tbsp olive oil
8 cherry tomatoes - cut in half
175g can tuna - drained and flaked
150g green beans - cut in half
A couple of handfuls of baby spinach leaves
Crusty bread to serve

How to make

Put the potatoes in a pan of salted boiling water, bring back to the boil and simmer for 8-10 minutes.

Meanwhile mix together the pesto and oil.

Add the beans to the potatoes for the last 3 minutes of cooking.

Drain the potatoes and the beans and tip into a salad bowl - stir in the spinach so it wilts a little in the warmth from the vegetables.

Season and scatter over the tomatoes and tuna, stir in the pesto and mix together.

Serve with crusty bread.

A Summer Chilli!

This is a lighter version of a winter chilli using pork instead of beef and green beans in place of red kidney beans.
This recipe serves two people, it'll take about 35 minutes to make and will cost about £2.00 each.

Ingredients

1tbsp oil
Small onion
1 garlic glove - crushed
250g minced pork
1tsp chilli powder
200g chopped tomatoes - tinned or fresh
1 tbsp tomato puree
300ml chicken stock
1 small red pepper - seeded and cut into chunks
200g new potatoes cut into chunks
150g green beans - trimmed
Crusty bread, to serve

How to make

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion and the pork for 3-4 minutes, stirring every now and again.

Add the garlic, chilli powder, tomatoes, tomato puree, chicken stock, red pepper and new potatoes.

Bring to the boil, cover and simmer over a low heat for 15 minutes until the potatoes are just tender.

Stir in the green beans, re-cover the pan and cook for another 5 minutes until the beans are tender but crisp.

Serve with warm crusty bread.

Spicy Prawn Salad!

You can have this salad cold or warm - to have it warm just stir fry the prawns in the chilli dressing - it's also delicious with chicken.
This will take you about 15 minutes to make, serves two and will cost £2.50 each.

Ingredients

2 eggs
2 tbsp olive oil
Juice of one lime
2 tbsp sweet chilli dipping sauce
2 spring onions
1 little gem lettuce
198g can sweetcorn - drained
140g cherry tomatoes, halved
125g cooked, peeled tiger prawns


How to make

Boil a small pan of water and cook the eggs for about 10 minutes, then run them under the cold tap until they are cool enough to peel.

Whisk together the olive oil, lime juice and sweet chilli in a small bowl. 

Finely slice the spring onions and mix them in to the dressing.

Shell the eggs and slice into rounds.

Pull the lettuce apart and divide the leaves between two plates.

Spoon the sweetcorn on top of the lettuce and scatter the tomato halves on top.

Finish with the prawns and egg slices and pour the chilli dressing over everything! 

Eton mess!

This is a super quick dessert to make and most people love it, as long as they're not on a diet! This recipe makes enough for 4 people, takes about 15 minutes to put together and when strawberries are in season will cost £1.00 each.

Ingredients

500g strawberries - with the tops taken off
400ml double cream
A pack of 6 ready made meringue nests - crushed
Some sprigs of mint to decorate

How to make

Puree half the strawberries in a blender, chop the remaining strawberries and save four whole ones for decoration.

Whip the double cream until peaks appear, then fold in the strawberry puree and crushed meringues.

Fold in the strawberries.

Spoon equal amounts of the mixture into four chilled bowls and serve garnished with the strawberries and mint.

Gnocchi with creamy tomato & spinach sauce

A tasty light supper and the mascarpone makes a really easy and quick sauce for the gnocchi.
This only takes about 20 minutes to make, will give you two generous portions and cost about £2.00 each.

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic gloves - crushed
400g can chopped tomatoes
140g mascarpone
500g pack gnocchi
200g bag of baby leaf spinach
A handful of fresh basil leaves and some parmesan cheese shavings - optional!

To make

Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the garlic until it's golden, add the tomatoes, season and simmer for ten minutes.

Stir in the mascarpone and cook for two minutes more.

Meanwhile the gnocchi according to the packet instructions and add the spinach in the final minute of cooking.

Drain well and tip back into the pan, then stir in the tomato and mascarpone sauce.

Mix well and serve immediately with the basil leaves and Parmesan shavings scattered over.

Pea & Bean Risotto!

You can make this risotto with one or a mix of vegetables ( peas, french beans, asparagus spears, broad beans, spinach leaves ) to use up bits and pieces left in the fridge - I've chosen mine because we grow them in our garden!

It'll take about 30 minutes to make and will serve 2 at a cost of £1.75 each

Ingredients

50g butter

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion - finely chopped

1 clove of garlic

400g fresh peas, broad beans and courgettes

1 litre of hot vegetable stock

225g risotto rice

150ml white wine

25g parmesan cheese - grated

How to make

Heat the oil and half the butter in a frying pan and add the onion and cook gently for about 5 minutes until it's soft.

Stir in the garlic and then add the rice and turn up the heat a bit.

Season and cook for a minute, stirring so all the rice is coated with the fat.

Add the white wine and cook, stirring until it has evaporated.

Start adding the stock a bit at a time, keep the mixture at a simmer and add more stock when its all absorbed .

Add the courgettes, broad beans and peas five minutes after starting to add the stock.

After the rice has been cooking for about 20 minutes, check it: when it's done, it should be tender but still slightly chewy.

The whole dish should look creamy - take it off the heat and stir in the rest of the butter and the parmesan cheese.

Season to taste and then cover and let it sit for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle with extra parmesan and serve straight away.

Quorn Cottage Pie!

I've never cooked with Quorn before so thought that I would give it a go - it was really easy to use and to be honest I don't think I could tell the difference in the finished dish.

It takes less oil to cook and is a really healthy option so good if you want to cut down on meat and calories.

This took me about 40 minutes to prepare and cook in total, is enough for four servings and only costs £1.50 each.

Ingredients

350g Quorn mince

1 tbsp olive oil

i medium onion - finely chopped

1 medium carrot - finely chopped

100g frozen peas

400ml vegetable stock

1tbsp Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp tomato puree

2 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp cornflour, mixed to a paste with 1 tbsp cold water

1kg potatoes, peeled and roughly chopped

2 tbsp semi-skimmed milk

How to make

Pre heat the oven to 180C, Gas Mark 4.

Boil the potatoes until tender, drain and set aside.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a pan, add the onion and carrot and fry until soft.

Add the Quorn mince, peas, vegetable stock, Worcestershire sauce, tomato puree, soy sauce and seasoning.

Simmer for 5 minutes and then add the cornflour paste and continue to simmer gently, stirring all the time until thickened.

Put into an ovenproof dish.

Mash the potatoes with the milk until smooth and season with salt and pepper.

Spoon the potato over the filling and fluff up with a fork.

Bake for 20 minutes until the topping is crispy.

Olly & Em's Pizza Baguette's!

This is a recipe that my brother Olly and his girlfriend Em cook and so I thought that I'd give it a go. It makes a different sort of pizza to one with a normal base but it does taste really good. It took me about 20 minutes in total and made loads, enough to feed 3 people. Cost per slice works out at about £1 and you're full after two.

If you don't manage to eat them all - they taste nice cold as well.

Ingredients

1 x french stick

1 x jar of tomato & basil pasta sauce

Toppings

2 tbsp vegetable oil

150g cheddar cheese - grated

1 x pack mushroom stir - fry vegetables

2 x chicken breasts - sliced in to strips

How to make

Preheat the grill to high.

Add 1tbsp of the oil to a frying pan and cook the stir-fry veg until almost cooked and remove from the pan and put to one side.

Add the rest of the oil to the same pan and stir-fry the chicken strips until opaque and a little browned.

Cut up the french stick in to 3 and half the pieces so you have a total of 6 slices.

Toast the slices on a baking tray under the grill on both sides until crunchy.

Spread the tomato sauce on each piece and arrange the toppings on each slice and then top with the cheese.

Grill each piece for a couple of minutes until they are bubbling and going brown

Olly said to add some 'sweet chilli sauce' on the top and he's right it was good!

Vegetable Balti!

If you are a veggie or fancy giving meat a rest you'll love this one. This recipe will actually make enough for 4 and is quite tricky to make for less.  It's great served with warm naan breads and then you could have it again as a filling for jacket potatoes and costs about £1.50 per serving.

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 large onion - thinly sliced

1 large clove garlic - crushed

1 eating apple - peeled, cored and chopped into chunks

3tbsp balti curry paste

1 medium butternut squash - peeled and cut into chunks

2 large carrots - thickly sliced

200g turnip - cut into chunks

1 cauliflower - cut into florets

400g can chopped tomatoes

435ml / 3/4 pint vegetable stock

4 tbsp chopped coriander

150g carton low-fat natural yogurt

How to make

Heat the oil in a large pan and cook the onion, garlic and apple gently, stirring every now and again until the onion goes soft - about 5-8 minutes.

Stir in the balti paste.

Tip the fresh vegetables, tomatoes and stock in to the pan and stir in 3 tbsp of the coriander.

Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover and cook for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and cook for another 20 minutes until the vegetables are soft and the liquid has reduced a little - season with salt and pepper.

Mix the remaining coriander into the yogurt to make a raita.

Ladle the curry into bowls and drizzle over some raita and sprinkle with extra coriander.

Serve with the remaining raita and some warm naan breads.

Gnocchi with Pesto!

This is a really quick and easy dish to make - it'll take you less than 15 minutes so it's great if you are in a hurry!

My gnocchi was on offer and only cost a £1 a bag so it cost me about £1.50 each for two servings.

Ingredients

300g bag of gnocchi 

50g pine nuts

50g parmesan cheese - grated

Bunch of basil

2 cloves of garlic

To make

To make the pesto heat a small frying pan over a low heat and cook the pine nuts until they are golden - shake them occasionally to make sure that they don't burn.

The put them into a food processor with the basil, the garlic and the cheese and blitz until it's smooth - add some seasoning.

Meanwhile cook the gnocchi according to the instructions on the bag - for most you just heat a pan of boiling water with a little olive oil and salt in and when it's boiling you add the gnocchi, they only take a couple of minutes to cook and are done when they float to the top.

Drain the gnocchi and stir in the pesto, top with some extra parmesan if you like it and serve straight away.

Tasty with garlic bread!

Chicken Caesar Salad!

This salad is a favourite in our house - everyone loves it!

It takes about 30 minutes to prepare and cook and will cost about £2.25 each for two portions.

Ingredients

Small cos lettuce - washed and sliced

Cucumber - about a third, sliced and cut in half

2 chicken breast without any skin - cut into pieces

4 rashers of smoked bacon - cut into pieces with the fat removed

1 tbsp olive oil 

Bottle of Caesar salad dressing - you won't need a full bottle but it keeps for ages in the fridge( I don't think it's worth making your own)!

Handful of croutons - you can buy these in a bag but they are easy to make with a couple of slices of stale bread - chopped in to cubes, some butter and a bit of garlic salt.

Parmesan shaving - optional

To make

If you'd like to make your own croutons you need to heat the butter in a small frying pan and add the cubes of bread and sauté, turning them every now and agin so they don't burn.

Season with the garlic salt as they cook and stir well, when they are done remove from the heat and spread on to a plate with some kitchen roll on.

Heat the same pan again and fry the bacon until brown and crispy and remove from the pan

Add the oil to the same pan and fry the chicken until opaque and a little browned, remove this from the pan also.

Arrange the lettuce on the plates, I added some watercress to the lettuce as it grows in the stream in our garden, but you don't have to.

Add the cucumber and then arrange the chicken and the bacon on top.

Drizzle the dressing over the top  and then sprinkle the croutons on top of the dressing - if you add them first the dressing can make them go a bit soggy.

You can add some parmesan shavings as well if you like.