Cheese and bacon pasta bake

Ingredients
200g pasta, boiled
200g smoked bacon, chopped
4 eggs
200ml creme fraiche
100g mature cheddar

1. Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F / gas 4 and grease a baking tin / dish

2. Fry the bacon until crisp. Put bacon and pasta into tin

3. Beat the eggs and creme fraiche together and add the cheese. Stir.

4. Pour mixture over the past and bacon in the tin and stir

5. Bake for 40-45 minutes

Serves 4

Corned beef and potato pie

Ingredients
225g plain flour
50g butter
50g lard
30ml water
pinch of salt
340g tin of corned beef
300g potatoes, boiled

1. To make the pastry mix flour and salt then rub in the fat to make breadcrumbs. Add cold water and mix into a stiff dough.

2. Preheat oven to 190°C / 370°F / gas 5. Grease a 20cm / 8 inch ovenproof plate

3. Divide pastry in half and roll out. Line the plate with one half.

4. Mash potato and corned beef together and place it in the pie.

5. Wet edges of pastry and cover the pie with the other half of the pastry. Seal edges

6. Brush with egg or milk and bake for 35-40 minutes

Chicken and mascarpone wrapped in ham

Ingredients
Chicken breast
2 tbsp mascarpone
Rosemary, chopped or dried
2-4 slices of ham
1 tsp lemon juice

1. Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F / gas 6

2. Mix the rosemary into the mascarpone and season

3. Cut a slit in the chicken and put the mascarpone inside

4. Tightly wrap the slices of ham around the chicken until it is all covered

5. Wrap in tin foil and bake for 25 minutes until cooked through

6. Pour lemon juice over and serve

Turkey burgers

Ingredients
500g turkey mince
1 small onion, chopped
50g fresh breadcrumbs (about 2 slices of bread)
1 tsp rosemary
1 tsp sage
4 large bread buns

1. Fry the onion until soft

2. Mix together the mince, onion, breadcrumbs and herbs

3. Shape into 4 burgers and chill for 30 minutes

4. Grill the burgers for about 10 minutes each side until cooked all the way through

5. Serve in bread buns

Serves 4

Mince pasta bake

Ingredients

400g minced beef

300g pasta (any shape)

1 onion, sliced

4 tbsp tomato puree

1 beef stock cube

300ml water

1 mozzarella ball, chopped

1. Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F / gas 4

2. Fry the mince and onions until the mince is brown and onions are soft. Stir in tomato puree

3. Place mince, onions and dry pasta in a baking tin

4. Dissolve stock cube in water and pour over the other ingredients in the tin

5. Scatter the mozzarella over the top and bake for 30 minutes

Serves 4

Tomato risotto

Ingredients
300g risotto rice
1tsp olive oil
1 vegetable stock cube
900ml water
400g tin of chopped tomatoes
1tbsp tomato puree
120g soft cheese
basil

1. Dissolve stock cube in water and bring to the boil. Keep hot

2. Heat oil in pan, add rice and cook for 2 minutes

3. Pour 1 ladleful of hot stock over the rice. When this has absorbed, stir and add another ladleful of stock. Keep doing this until all stock is absorbed

4. Add tomatoes and tomato puree and stir well.

5. Remove from heat and stir in the soft cheese

6. Garnish with basil leaves and serve immediatley

Serves 4

Salmon with mozzarella and herb crust

Ingredients
1 salmon fillet
30g mozzarella, cubed or sliced
25g breadcumbs
1tbsp dried herbs (I used dill and parsley)
2tsp olive oil

1. Preheat oven to 200°C / 400°F / gas 6

2. Wrap salmon in tin foil and bake for 15 minutes

3. While salmon is cooking, mix herbs with breadcrumbs, add olive oil and stir well

4. Put mozzarella on top of the salmon and then the breadcrumb mixture

5. Bake for another 5-10 minutes until breadcrumbs have browned

Serves 1

Mediterranean eggs

Ingredients
200g potatoes (chopped into small cubes)
2 slices bacon
250g tomato pasta sauce
2 eggs
half an onion
tomotoes and red peppers
basil

1. Boil the potatoes for 10 minutes until soft. Drain

2. Fry the bacon, onion, tomatoes and peppers for 5 minutes then add the potatoes

3. Add the pasta sauce and herbs and stir well.

4. Make a hole in the middle of the mixture and crack 2 eggs into the hole

5. Cover and cook over low heat for 10 minutes until eggs are cooked

Serves 1

Chocolate cheesecake

Ingredients

200g digestive biscuits (crushed into crumbs)

2 tbsp cocoa powder

150g butter

900g soft cheese

4 eggs

200g milk chocolate

200g sugar

1 tsp vanilla essence

1. Preheat oven to 150°C / 300°F / gas 2. Grease a loose bottomed tin and line the bottom with greaseproof paper

2. Melt butter. In a bowl, mix biscuit crumbs and cocoa powder together then add the melted butter. Press into the bottom of the tin

3. Mix the soft cheese, sugar and vanilla essence then add the eggs and mix, one at a time. 

4. Melt the chocolate then add the cheese mixture slowly and mix

5. Put the cheese/chocolate mixture into the tin on top of the base and bake for 40 minutes or until set (should still be a bit soft in the middle)

6. Leave to cool then refridgerate for 12 hours. Decorate as desired

Salad nicoise

Ingredients
50g tuna (drained)
Lettuce
4 small potatoes
2 eggs
15ml olive oil
5ml vinegar
Parsley
Chives

1. boil potatoes for 15 minutes. Boil the eggs

2. Put potatoes, lettuce, tuna, totmatoes, parsley and chives in a bowl

3. Mix olive oil and vinegar together and pour over the ingredients in the bowl. Mix well

4. Peel eggs, cut in half and place on top of the rest of the ingredients

Serves 1