Tips

Make a stop-gap version of tomato ketchup with 2–3 tablespoons of tomato puree, 2 teaspoons vinegar, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar and 1/4 pint (150ml) of boiling water. (Should be enough for four people.)

To make cold, hard butter straight from the fridge ‘spreadable’, pop it in the microwave on ‘defrost’ for about 40 seconds.

For a crunchy, low calorie snack, wash half a bag of curly kale in cold water, sprinkle with salt & vinegar (or any other seasoning you like) and pop into a hot oven on a baking tray for approx 10 minutes.

For chips that taste fried without the hassle of frying (and less calories), drizzle oven chips with a little oil and give them a good shake before you put them in the oven, then again halfway through the cooking time. (Or spice them up by mixing a tablespoon of curry paste or pesto with some hot oil on a large ovenproof tray first.)

Look out for tips and recipe ideas on packaging; you’ll find them on everything from lentils, ready-made soups and sauces to packets of biscuits, tinned fruit and jelly.

Freeze wine that’s past its best (assuming you ever have any) in an ice cube tray or freezer bag to be popped straight into soups and casseroles when you need them.

Quorn Stir Fry

Obviously a wok is the best thing for a stir fry, but if you don’t have one, a very large saucepan or deep-sided frying pan will do. The most important thing with stir fries is to get the meat and vegetables more or less the same size, so everything is ready at the same time, staying crisp and firm, as opposed to ending up a soggy mess.

As for the noodles; use fresh ones if you like, but because they seem fatty and sticky and remind me of tape worms, I prefer the dried ones that come in lumps and look a bit like shredded wheat. (They also keep for at least a year in the cupboard.)

If you’ve got time, egg fried rice is perfect with this.

SERVES 4:

1 pack Quorn pieces
1 pack stir fry vegetables and bean sprouts
Fine dried noodles (say 4 lumps)
Lime juice
Soy sauce
2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp mixed spice
Sunflower or sesame oil

METHOD

1. Warm the oil in a wok or large deep-sided pan, add the Quorn and turn the heat up.
2. Now add the vegetables and shake vigorously... or just keep turning with a wooden spoon. Add the soy sauce, plenty of lime juice and a couple of teaspoons of ginger.
3. Meanwhile, break up the dried noodles into a bowl of boiling water and leave them to soften and separate; this doesn’t take longer than a couple of minutes, so don’t overdo.
4. Strain the noodles and add to the pan, stirring occasionally for a couple of minutes, then serve.

Pacific Pie

Everyone seems to have their own version of Pacific Pie, so feel free to adapt the basic recipe – a couple of tins of tuna, some kind of sauce and plenty of crisps – to suit yourself. However you make it, it shouldn’t take longer than five minutes at a snail’s pace.

SERVES APPROXIMATELY 4:

2 large tins of tuna
1 small tin of sweetcorn
1 standard tin of chopped tomatoes
Broccoli
Natural yoghurt
Lemon juice
Grated cheese (Red Leicester is perfect, but cheddar or mozzarella will do)
Ready salted crisps (2 bags)
Black or white pepper

METHOD

1. Wash and break up the broccoli or spinach into small pieces and put in a covered dish in the microwave with a drop of water. If you haven’t got a microwave, put the broccoli in a small saucepan with enough boiling water to cover it and simmer for a couple of minutes. (If you’re using spinach, it can go straight in with the rest of the ingredients.)
2. Drain the tins of tuna and sweetcorn and put them in an ovenproof dish.
3. Add the broccoli or spinach, a handful of grated cheese, chopped tomatoes and a couple of spoonfuls of yoghurt, plus whatever seasoning you want to use and mix it all up.
4. Crush the packets of crisps and sprinkle on the top of the pie with more grated cheese and bake in a hot oven for 10–15 minutes.

ALSO TRY...

1. Instead of tinned tomatoes and yoghurt, use any, or a combination of any of the following, to make the sauce: a tin of condensed soup, crème fraiche, mayonnaise, tomato puree.
2. Include tinned broad beans and peas, or frozen mixed vegetables and peppers.
3. Instead of tuna, use a tin of salmon, or one tin each of salmon and tuna.

Noodles

You can’t go wrong with noodles, they’re dirt cheap and keep for ages; kids seem to love them and it’s easy to mix them up with healthier ingredients.

SERVES 4–6:

8 oz (250 g) packet of dried egg noodles
6 rashers of back bacon
Mushrooms (4–6 large approx)
Spinach (say 1/4 bag)
Sesame seeds
Butter
1/2 pint (125 ml) vegetable or pork stock
1/4 tsp nutmeg
White pepper
Parsley or chives

METHOD

1. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, snip the bacon into small pieces and fry with the sliced mushrooms and sesame seeds until everything is golden brown and the bacon is crisp.
2. Wash and tear the spinach up and add to the pan with the stock, (optional Worcester sauce), nutmeg and pepper, stirring well.
3. Break the dried noodles up and add them to the pan, stirring again.
4. Simmer for about 5 minutes, until the noodles are just soft, serve sprinkled with parsley or chives and a small lump of butter.

More Noodles

This is a good way of using up spare sausages and leftover (uncooked) mince.

SERVES 4 MEDIUM-SIZED CHILDREN

2 sausages + about 4 oz (100 g) leftover mince – or a bit of both.
3 tbsp flour, seasoned with salt and pepper
1 14 oz (400 g) tin of chopped tomatoes
Onion
Spinach (say 1/4 of a bag)
1/2 courgette, cut into thin quarters
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Olive oil
2–3 squares of dried noodles
Basil
Sage

METHOD

1. Roll the meat into tiny balls, about the size of a 1p coin – if you’re using leftover sausages, squeeze the meat out of the sausage skins first – using the seasoned flour to coat the meatballs. (Mix the mince and sausage meat together if you’re using both.)
2. Fry the meatballs and courgette pieces in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil in a large saucepan or wok for a few minutes and add the chopped tomatoes. Bring to the boil and stir in the cayenne pepper with whatever other spices or herbs you want to use.
3. Tear the spinach leaves up and add to the sauce, followed by the noodles.
4. Simmer gently for a couple of minutes until the noodles are just soft. Adjust the seasoning and serve.