Pea & Ham Tart!

This one takes a bit longer because you have to bake the case first - about 50 minutes in all but it's pretty easy - it cuts into 4 good sized portions and costs about £1.50 each including the sides.

Ingredients

250g ready-made shortcrust pastry
250 g frozen peas - thawed
200ml carton creme fraiche
85g cheddar cheese - grated
85g slices of thick ham cut into chunks

How to cook

Preheat the oven to 200 oC / Gas 6 / fan oven 180oC

Roll out the pastry and line a 8 inch flan tin - lightly prick the base with a fork, fill with crumpled foil and bake 'blind' for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile whizz the peas, eggs, creme fraiche and seasoning in a food processor until blended.

Sir in the ham and the cheese to the mixture.

Remove the foil from the pastry and lower the temperature of the oven to 180 oC / Gas 4 / fan oven 160 oC.

Pour the filling into the pastry case and bake for 35 minutes until the filling is golden and just set.

Cool a bit before removing from the tin.

You can eat this warm or cold - it's nice with some new potatoes and a few leaves.

Gnocchi Bolognese with Spinach

This is a really tasty dinner, it's quick, easy and took me about half an hour to make, serves two and costs about £2.00 each.

Ingredients

250g minced beef
400g tinned chopped tomatoes
1 tsp dried Italian herbs
250g gnocchi
200g fresh spinach
Small ball of mozzarella cheese

How to cook

Fry the mince in a pan until brown and then add the tomatoes and herbs.

Simmer for about 20 minutes, add some water if it looks a bit dry.

When the mince is nearly cooked, cook the gnocchi following the instructions on the pack and lift out the pan with a slotted spoon.

Tip the spinach into a colander then pour the boiling gnocchi water over it to wilt it and then squeeze out as much water as you can.

Stir the gnocchi and spinach into the bolognese sauce, season and then tip it into an ovenproof dish.

Tear the mozzarella into pieces and put it over the top then grill under a hot grill until golden and bubbling.

Pancakes!

This recipes makes about 12 pancakes and costs about £2.00 - toppings are extra!

Ingredients

225g plain flour

Pinch of salt

2 large eggs

600ml milk

2tsp melted butter plus some extra for cooking

How to cook

Sieve the flour into a large bowl and add the salt

Make a well in the middle and add the eggs and beat until its smooth and lump free

Add half the milk and the 2tsp of butter and beat well

Add the rest of the milk and stir

Leave it to rest for 15 minutes

Put a little melted butter in a frying pan and heat until its very hot, then add a large spoon of batter to evenly coat the base

Cook until set and golden - if you like you can try tossing the pancake in the air and cook on the other side for about 30 seconds

Remove the pancake from the pan and keep them warm by covering with foil

Do the same again until all the batter is used up - this takes about 25 minutes in total including the resting time.

These are great sprinkled with sugar and a squeeze of lemon but you can also use Golden Syrup, honey, chocolate spread - or whatever you fancy!

Toad in the Hole!

It costs about £1.25 each to make this all time great combination of sausages baked in Yorkshire pudding, takes about 35 minutes to make and there is enough for four people to share!

Ingredients

115g plain flour
2 eggs
275ml milk
3 tbs vegetable oil
8 chipolata sausages
Pinch of black pepper

How to cook

Put the flour and the pepper in a mixing bowl.

Crack the eggs into the bowl and then pour in the milk.

Whisk everything together until there are no more lumps and then leave it to rest for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 220oC/425oF/gas 7.

Spoon the oil into a non stick tin and put the sausages in and then bake them for 5 minutes.

Check the batter is smooth (give it another whist if needed) and then pour it into a jug.

Pour the batter into the tin around the sausages.

Return to the oven and bake for 20 minutes until the batter is golden brown and looks crisp.

Eat straight away with some steamed veg and gravy.