Meals

 Beef Cobbler

serves 2/3

8oz lean mince beef

I tablespoon oil

onion

small tin of  Tomatoes

few mushrooms.. chopped

Tomatoe Puree

Carrot/ chopped

Vegetable stock cube

Chop onion and fry in the oil add the minced beef and cook until browned, add the mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes and tomato puree add a dash of worcester sauce and vegetable stock cube                 ..season to taste..

Cook for a further 15minutes and put into a oven proof dish

Cobbler

 8oz Self Raising Flour

half teaspoon dry mustard

seasoning

2oz of butter

3oz cheese (finely grated)

dash of worcester sauce

about quarter pint of water

1 tablespoon of milk 

 

 

Sieve together flour and mustard into a bowl and rub in the butter until resembles breadcrumbs add the cheese, worcester sauce and mix with some of the water until you get a soft dough.

 

Roll out and cut with pastry cutters.(round or square)

Arrange the cut slices of dough on top of the mince, brush the top with milk and bake in the preheated over for 30-40 minutes   Gas Mark 5  190oc 3750f

 

 

Leek and Spinach Macaroni cheese

Serves 2.

4oz Macaroni ( cooked )

half a leek

2 nuggets of frozen spinach..defrosted

1 large mushroom.. sliced

half a tub of ricotta cheese..1 egg,  beat these together

3oz cheese grated

salt and pepper

2 slices of bread made into breadcrumbs 

1 teaspoon of Parmesan cheese

Saute the leek then add the spinach, add the ricotta cheese and egg mix,  grated cheese , and mushrooms.and season to taste put into an ovenproof dish 

Mix some grated cheese and the parmesan to the breadcrumbs and put on the top of the mixture.

Bake for roughly 30minutes, serve with salad or vegetable.

Spinach and Ricotta Lasagne

Serves 6  (I halve the recipe for the two of us)

450g (1lb) thawed frozen leaf spinach

1tbsp vegetable oil

1 onion,  thinly sliced

50g (2oz) pine nuts

salt and pepper

250g (9oz) ricotta cheese

1 egg

175g (6oz) lasagne sheets

for the sauce

25g (1oz) butter or margarine

25g (1oz) plain flour

300ml ( 1/2 pint) milk

100g (4oz) medium cheddar cheese grated 

Preheat oven to 180oC (350o F) Gas Mark 4

Rinse the spinach and drain well, Cook over a high heat with no extra water for a few minutes, shaking the pan occasionally until the leaves are tender. Drain well.

Heat the oil in the pan.  Add the onion and saute until soft and just starting to brown.  Add the pine nuts and heat through.  Mix in the spinach mixture .

Beat the Ricotta cheese and egg together and stir into the spinach mixture

Spoon half the spinach mixture over the base of the oven proof dish and cover with sheets of lasagne. Repeat these two layers one more so that all of the ingredients are used up

Heat the butter or margarine in a small pan.  Stir in the flour then, off the heat, blend in the milk.  Return the pan to the heat and stirring all the time, bring the sauce to the boil.. Cook for a few minutes to thicken, then stir in three-quarters of the cheese and check that sauce for seasoning.

Spoon the sauce over the pasta so the sheets are completely coated.  Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the surface then bake for 45 minutes until golden brown.

Fish Pie

Serves 4-6

 (as before I halve the ingredients for the two of us)

450g (1lb) white fish

80g (three and half ounces) of butter

50g (2oz) frozen peas

600ml (1pt) milk

110g (4oz) grated cheese

50g (2oz) plain flour

3 large potatoes

salt and pepper 

Preheat oven to190o C /375o F/ Gas Mark 5

Place fish into an ovenproof dish, pour in 300ml (half a pint) of milk and add salt and pepper.

Place dish into the oven and cook for 25mins

Meanwhile boil the potatoes for about 15 - 20mins drain and mash and add (50g) 2oz of the butter and a little milk

Remove the fish from the oven and drain liquid into a saucepan or jug and add the remainder of the milk.

Cheese sauce

Melt the rest of the butter in a saucepan over a low heat, stir in the flour and cook on a low heat for  2-3mins remove from heat and gradually add milk, stir constantly and simmer for about 4 - 5 mins, when sauce is smooth and creamy  (I use a balloon whisk for making all my sauces) gradually add the cheese.

Add the peas and pour the sauce over the fish mix, spoon the mashed potatoes over the top adding a little extra cheese on top and bake for 20-25 mins....

Vegetable Soup

Serves 2

1 lb mixed vegetables (must include potatoes as this is the thickener/onions/ leeks/carrots/parsnips broccoli )

knob of butter

3/4 pint of water add a vegetable stock  cube/ or use chicken stock

4 fluid ounces of single cream

melt butter in a saucepan and add onion or leeks gently cook but not brown, while this is cooking chop all the other veg into small pieces, then add all the other veg with the liquid and simmer for 20 mins, take of the heat and blend with a hand blender, it doesn't matter if there are some larger pieces of vegetables add the cream leaving some to swirl on the top before serving,

serve with nice crusty bread.

Quick and easy Vegetable curry

Serves 2

half teaspoon olive oil

half an onion, chopped

1 clove garlic crushed

1 1/4 tablespoon curry powder

1 tablespoon tomato puree

200 g tin chopped tomatoes

1 tablespoon raisins 

1 vegetable stock cube

6oz frozen mixed vegetable

6 fluid ounces water 

salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan, over a medium high heat, heat oil and saute onion and garlic until golden

Stir in curry powder and tomato puree, cook for 2 to 3 minutes

Stir in tomatoes, vegetable stock cube, mixed veg, raisins, water, salt and  pepper and cook for approximately 20 to 30 minutes until vegetables are well done (not crunchy).

Serve with Naan bread and natural plain yogurt

Bacon, Cheese and Mushroom Quiche  

Pastry

3 oz  hard margarine

6 oz plain flour

cold water

rub together margarine and flour then mix in water until it makes a soft dough

I have a patty tin that I can make 4 individual quiches, so I lined these with pastry.

Quiche filling

2/3 rashers of bacon

1 large mushroom

2 eggs

3 fluid ounces of milk

2oz cheese

seasoning to taste

Cut bacon into small pieces fry, add a large chopped mushroom and continue frying for a short time

Mix the egg and milk together with the seasoning

divide the bacon, mush and cheese and put into the pastry cases, then add the egg and milk mixture 

bake in a preheated oven (Gas Mark 6) for 30 mins or until cooked through