Shin of beef with ginger and soy sauce

This recipe was take form Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall's Every Day book which can also be found here. It really nice and not too fiery despite the addition of chillies. The long, slow cooking makes the beef meltingly soft and shin of beef is a very economically priced cut which means that this could make a great alternative to a traditional Sunday dinner. I served it here, as suggested by Hugh, with noodles and cavalo nero, but i have served it with rice before which is lovely for soaking up the flavourful sauce.It does take quite a while to cook, but once it's on then it can be left, there is little preparation, especially if you get your butcher to chop the meat for you. this means once it's in the oven (or on the stove on a low heat) you can be doing other things while the gorgeous aromas fill your kitchen.  This has long been an addition to my repertoire and I think that if you try it, it will soon become and addition to yours!!

Pasta in a hurry

The other day it was just me for dinner. I don't mind this usually, but I looked in the fridge, already quite hungry, and with no idea what to cook. I had some mushrooms in there, and some soft cheese (Philadelphia style).  Nigella does a nice looking recipe for this here but it uses raw mushrooms. The thought of this didn't appeal, so I decided on using the soft cheese to make a sort of creamy sauce. This was the result:

It's so simple and easy to make:



Ingredients (for one hungry person)

100g dry lingune (or any other long pasta)

1/2 pack button mushrooms, sliced

2 small garlic cloves, crushed or finley diced.

handful of parsley, chopped

2 tablespoons of soft cheese

tablespoon of veg oil

method:

Put pasta on to boil for the time stated on the pack. Mean while heat the oil in a frying pan, when hot add the crushed garlic cloves and soften. Then add the mushrooms and cook till soft and golden. Add the soft cheese and allow it to melt down to a creamy consitency. Drain the pasta and add to the mushroom mix. stir thoroughly to make sure it's all mixed properly (you may need to add a bit of water to loosen). Add the parsley and season to taste. Serve.



Lentil Ragu

As you may or may not know, I am currently trying to reduce the amount of meat (especially red meat) in my diet. I have stopped short of going vegetarian, but am trying to have at least 4 totally meat free days a week.
Yesterday it was just me eating and I came across  this recipe in an old copy of Good Food Magazine. After reading some of the comments I was a bit apprehensive about trying it, but I though it was really nice. It's easy to prepare; once you have chopped all the ingredients they just go in a pan and are left for about an hour. One thing I did find (as stated in some of the comments) was that this recipe made loads. I halved it, thinking that it would do me yesterday and again today. I was wrong!! This made loads, I now have enough for my dinner today and probably enough for a few more in the freezer. Therefore I would recommend if you're going to make it that you either make sure you have a crowd to feed, or have space in your freezer for the excess. I speak as someone who likes slightly larger portions too.
Good Food recommend that you serve the ragu with pasta- specifically spaghetti. I had mine with linguine, but i think any sort of pasta would work. I'm not sure that I would try it with any other starch though, maybe rice might work. I've  got plenty in the freezer if I want to give it a go.
I topped mine with Parmesan cheese which isn't vegetarian, but any other strong cheese would probably do.

Bacon and sweetcorn chowder.

Continuing with my cheap meals theme, yesterday I decided to make a chowder. I don't really like clams so I was quite happy when I came across a clam-less version in an old copy of Sainsbury's magazine. A similar version can be found here. I didn't have any bacon but had half a pack of ready diced pancetta in the fridge so used that instead. Also I added 250g of fresh white fish (on offer in the supermarket) to add a bit of bul and flavour. Beacuse of this i didn't add any stock though. I was worried that it might taste a bit too milky but it was quite a savoury flavour. I used semi-skimmed milk; I think skimmed might be a bit too watery.
I felt that it was enough as a meal on its own but my boyfriend had a mini baguette with his. He also added a bit of Tabasco, but then he does like his food spicy!!!

Here is the final result , I know  it doesn't look that appetising but trust me it is lovely.

Pasta bake

So, recently I have been trying to come up with cheaper meals as I have noticed that my weekly shopping bill is creeping up and up. Yesterday I decided to cook the student favourite pasta bake. Admittedly I also love it and think it's easy and can be jazzed up if needs be. This served the two of us pretty generously and there is a bit leftover for my lunch today.

Pasta Bake
(serves 2-4 depending upon how hungry you are)
Ingredients:
250gr dry pasta shapes
1/2 pack pancetta or 4 rashers smoked, streaky bacon
100gr strong Cheddar cheese
1 large leek
1 pack of white sauce mix
1 tsp wholegrain mustard.
1 tbs veg oil


Method

Pre- heat the oven to 200C
Heat the oil in a large frying pan.
Slice the leek finely and add tho the frying pan, add the pancetta or sliced streaky bacon. Fry gently until cooked but not coloured.
Meanwhile boil some water in a large pan and cook the pasta according to pack instructions. (usually around 10 mins)
Make up the white sauce as well.
Drain the pasta and add to the leeks and bacon, add the white sauce and mustard and mix thoroughly.
Tip the whole mixture into an oven proof dish and top with the grated cheddar. Bake in the oven for 20 mins or until bubbling and golden on top.
Serve with green salad.

Any leftovers should be refrigerated when cooled and reheated until piping hot the next day.