Honey-glazed ham joint with goats cheese salad

Lush textures and sweet! Ingredients (serves 2-3) Unsmoked gammon joint 2-3 carrots 5 tbsp honey 5 tbsp English mustard Cumin seeds Sesame seeds New potatoes Rocket leaves Goats cheese Optional: Green beans Method Preheat the oven to 200 degrees. Glaze the ham joint with a mixture of 5 tablespoons honey and english mustard and roast in the oven. After an hour in the oven add the carrots to the roasting dish and scatter over cumin seeds and sesame seeds. Boil up some new potatoes. Carve the ham after about 1hr30mins of cooking (you can probably reserve some to make lentil and bacon broth). Serve with rocket and goats cheese perhaps runner beans too.

Gnocchi, bacon, cheese and tomato bake

Got the idea for this from a Tesco recipe (originally gnocchi and courgette bake). It's quick and easy. Ingredients (serves 2 adults) Pack of fresh gnocchi 4 rashers bacon, cut into strips 1/2 onion, finely chopped Tomato passata Prepared green beans Goat's cheese Parmesan cheese Method Preheat the oven to 180 degrees. Fry the bacon strips, and after a few minutes add in the onion. Once both are turning golden brown, turn off the heat and stir in some tomato passata. Don't use too much, just enough to make a small sauce. Warm the gnocchi for 2 mins in boiling water, then drain off and place into a casserole baking dish. Pour the tomato/bacon/onion mixture over. You should have enough sauce to coat the gnocchi, but you don't want them swimming in it. Add seasoning - I used basil and black pepper. Add some green beans then crumble in some goat's cheese, shaking parmesan over the top of the whole dish. I also added a last minute garnish of halved cherry tomatoes. Bake for 10 mins in the oven, until hot through. Serve with salad.

White fish with coconut sauce and mixed pepper couscous

This works well with any white fish fillet; I used basa. I also had some leftover beansprouts in the fridge so I used them as well.

Recipe
Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6.
Place the white fish fillet onto a sheet of aluminium foil, drizzle with the oil and season, to taste, with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pull the sides of the foil together to form a parcel and fold to seal well. Transfer the parcel to a baking tray and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes, or until the fish is opaque and has cooked through.
Prepare 2 peppers, dicing them, and make up 50g cous cous in a lidded saucepan, adding half of the diced peppers, 2 tbsp olive oil, 1 crumbled chicken stock cube, salt and pepper and just enough boiling water to cover the cous cous. Set aside for 10-15 mins.
Fry the rest of the peppers and 2 chopped spring onions in a pan of melted butter, and add 1 tsp ginger. Add some frozen peas too. Then add 200ml coconut milk and simmer.
To serve, remove the lemon sole from the foil and place it onto a serving plate. Spoon the mixed pepper couscous alongside, then drizzle everything with the coconut sauce.

Wholewheat penne and cauliflower cheese (V)

This is basically a variation on Macaroni Cheese. I used wholewheat penne instead of macaroni, because it's much higher in fibre. And I confess I'm not a massive cheese fan, so these quantities make for a palatable dish for me, but for the cheese lover, you may want to double the cheese amount!

Recipe (serves 4)

1. Prepare the vegetables: Half a cauliflower and half a broccoli, chopped into florets, and either a sliced leek or a large onion.

2. Cook pasta according to packet instructions. Cook enough for 4 servings.

3. At the same time, boil the cauliflower and broccoli till tender. (around 10 mins)

4. Melt 50g butter in a medium-sized saucepan. Add the leek or onion and saute for 5 mins till softened.

5. Grate 75g cheddar and 25g Parmesan cheese into a bowl while the leek/onion cooks.

6. Stir in 4 tbsp plain flour to the leek/onion pan and cook for 1 min, stirring continuously. Gradually add 350 - 500ml milk, stirring all the time. You want to achieve good consistency, so be flexible with the amount of milk. Remember you'll be adding cheese and creme fraiche later.

7. Preheat the grill to high.

8. Bring white sauce to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 mins, stirring frequently. Meanwhile, drain off the pasta (but leave a little water) and the cauliflower and broccoli, and tip them all into an ovenproof dish. Mix well.

9. Finish off the white sauce by stirring in 2 tbsp creme fraiche and your grated cheese. Heat through until all the cheese has melted.

10. Pour the cheese sauce over the pasta, cauliflower and broccoli, coating everything evenly. Sprinkle cheese over the top and grill until the top is golden.
(around 10 mins)

Variation: Add bacon or chicken for some meat in the dish. You could also serve with sweetcorn or carrots.

Beef Steak with warm sweet potato salad

This takes about 30 mins to prepare, and has a lovely combination of flavours and textures. If you don't have a microwave, you can oven bake the sweet potato and baking potato, but it will take around an hour.

Recipe (serves 4)

1. Prepare 2 baking potatoes by scrubbing well. Prick with a fork then microwave on full power for 10 mins.
2. Prepare your vegetables: chop up 1 large or 2 small red onions, a handful of mushrooms, 3 green peppers, and 2 large or 3 small sweet potatoes. The sweet potatoes should be scrubbed then cut into 3-4 big chunks. You don't need to peel them.
3. When your baking potatoes have finished cooking, wrap them in foil and set them aside. Put the sweet potato chunks in a microwave dish, add 2 tbsp water, a sprinkling of oregano, thyme and black pepper, then cover and microwave for 10 mins (you may need to stir half-way through).
4. Heat olive oil in a deep frying pan and a saucepan. Fry the red onions in the frying pan and put the mushrooms and peppers in the saucepan with the lid on, to cook slowly.
5. Once the onions have softened, add 4 steaks to the frying pan. You can add seasoning here- Cajun spice, chilli powder and black pepper. You could always marinade the night before if you're organised!
6. Prepare a lettuce by washing and cutting into thin strips, and halve 4 tomatoes. You can fry the tomatoes with the steaks or keep them raw for the salad.
7. Cook the steaks on both sides to your preference, and stir the vegetables so they are nice and tender.
8. Once the sweet potatoes are done, put them into a salad bowl with the lettuce (and tomatoes, if you aren't cooking them). Add a sprinkling of lemon juice. Add the mushrooms and peppers and mix well.
9. Serve up the steaks (with fried tomato if applicable) and halve the baking potatoes. People can help themselves to the sweet potato salad. Ketchup, BBQ sauce, mayonnaise and mustard work well as condiments with this meal too.

Chicken pasta salad with pesto

A great way to use up leftover chicken from a roast; otherwise buy a pack of cooked strips of chicken.

Recipe
Cook 150-200g pasta according to packet instructions (I like using wholewheat fusilli).
Prepare salad by shredding some lettuce and quartering a handful of baby tomatoes.
Heat up the chicken by microwaving for a few minutes. Make sure it's piping hot.
Microwave a tin of runner beans for 2-3 minutes.
Once pasta is cooked, drain it and stir in 3-4 tsp green pesto. Add the runner beans and chicken and mix well.
Serve up the green salad with the pasta mix on top. You can also add black pepper for seasoning.

Chicken and leek stroganoff

Recipe (serves 2)
Fry 2 chicken breasts in a pan till golden. You could add some white wine- I tried white wine vinegar but the resulting flavour was a bit too tangy!
Prepare 1 leek by cutting into 3 lengthy chunks, then halving across the middle. Wash carefully, then add to the pan.
Put on 100g long grain rice to boil.
Prepare around 6 mushrooms, slicing them thinly. Add to the pan.
After another few minutes, add 2-3tbsp creme fraiche and stir in well. Add 1 tbsp lemon juice.
Use some herbs to add extra flavour, such as thyme and oregano. 1 tsp is enough.
Serve up with the rice once the stroganoff is heated through.