Pasta bake

This is based on a Jamie Oliver recipe. My kids whinge about the vegetables but the bacon bits and crunchy cheesy topping make up for it. The quantities are vague because I tend to use whatever I can find in the fridge.

Ingredients

Pasta shapes (macaroni, penne etc.) - a bit less than you would normally use for the number of people you're feeding
vegetables - e.g. broccoli, carrots, cauliflower, green beans, frozen peas, chopped reasonably small
one pack of lardons
1 clove garlic
1 small onion
1 small pot of cream
lots of grated cheese
breadcrumbs

Instructions

1. Put the lardons (or bacon) and chopped onion into a large oven dish, put in the oven at 180°C to cook while you get on with the rest of it.
2. Cook the pasta in a big pan along with your vegetables until just done.
3. Drain but save a mug full of the cooking water.
4. Stir the pasta and veg into the oven dish with the bacon and onions, add the chopped garlic (at this point I also mash up the broccoli and cauliflower). Stir in cream and half the cheese, and add enough of the cooking water to make it nice and saucy. Cover with the rest of the grated cheese and some breadcrumbs, then bake for around 1/2 hr until crusty on the top.

Beef cobbler

This is a keeper: everyone liked it. If you load the stew with veg you won't even need to cook any extra to serve.

Stewing beef
onions
carrots
celery
frozen peas

For the cobbler:
150g SR flour
50g butter
milk / yoghurt

Chop the onions, carrots and celery finely and sweat in a little oil until soft. Stir in the meat with 2 tbsp flour, about 500ml of stock, a few shakes of Worcestershire sauce and a bay leaf, and simmer gently on the stove for an hour and a half, or in a low oven, or bung it all in the slow cooker (which is what I did - all day on Auto).

When the stew is cooked and the meat is tender, assemble the cobbler. Tip in some frozen peas and stir it around. Make the scone batter by rubbing the butter into the flour and adding enough liquid to make a soft and slightly sticky dough. I added a couple of tablespoons of cottage cheese, which worked out quite well. Pat out until it's about 2cm thick, then cut into cobbles and place on top of the stew. If you make the dough slightly stickier you can dollop it on in spoonsful.

Brush with beaten egg or milk, if you like, then bake for about 1/2 hr at 180°C, until the cobbles are nicely browned.

Quick fish curry

The kids weren't convinced about the fish but I think it's worth another try. Got the recipe from BBC Good Food.

1 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 tin chopped toms
2 tbsp curry paste
fish fillets

Soften onion and garlic, add curry paste, tin toms and half a can of water. Boil up for 5 minutes then add the fish, cut into cubes. Simmer gently for around 5 minutes.

If you stir in a tin of lentils you may be able to do without a veg option.

Serve with super-easy homemade nan bread.

Green salad

green stuff
salad leaves (lettuce, spinach, chicory, try something different if you remember)
herbs if you have them (or pick some weeds from your veg patch - chickweed, wood sorrel etc)
cucumber
avocado

optional extras
bacon bits
croutons
toasted seeds
cubes of cheese

Serve with a simple vinaigrette dressing.

Omelette

It seems almost silly to add this, but if no one reminds me I will forget it is possible to make omelettes.

ingredients (per omelette)
2 eggs

fillings
cheese
sautéd mushrooms and shallots (do this in a separate pan or your omelette is guaranteed to fail)

1. whisk eggs lightly
2. put your "little gem" omelette pan or non-stick alternative on a medium-high heat and add a smidge of butter
3. when the butter has stopped foaming and before the little black bits start to appear, pour in your eggs
4. keep pulling the cooked egg mixture away from the sides until the omelette is looking billowy but is not yet completely set on the top
5. turn down the heat, add your choice of filling, fold in half and leave until the eggs are almost set in the middle and the cheese (if applicable) has melted.

Serve with a nice green salad or tomato salad.

Salad tricolore

ingredients
1 ball of mozzarella cheese
2 tomatoes
1 ripe avocado

1. chop or tear the mozzarella
2. finely slice the tomatoes (peel and deseed if you can be bothered)
3. slice avocado
4. arrange artfully on 2 plates, add salt and pepper, drizzle with olive oil, balsamic vinegar

Serves 2, just barely. Add bread to make it more filling.