Butternut squash pasta bake

I had tons and I do mean tons of the soup leftover so decided to use it to make a nice healthier pasta bake. Lots less cheese but much more flavour.

Serves 8 (this made two whopping big pasta bakes)

Ingredients:
Leftover soup from the previous recipe
Handful of chopped mushrooms
500g dried macaroni or similar pasta
Mature cheddar grated (around 2 matchboxes size)

Method:
1. Pre-heat oven to 220•C. Heat up the soup. Once simmering add the mushrooms and pasta.
2. Stir regularly and simmer for 10 mins until the pasta has swollen.
3. Once the pasta has pretty much doubled in size, pour it all into 2 lasagne dishes
4. Top with the grated cheese (at this point allow one bake to cool and once cold pop it in the freezer).
5. Bake for 15-20 mins until the cheese is bubbling

Butternut squash soup

This creates a really flavoursome velvety soup and although there's no cream, I do add some lowest fat cream cheese with garlic and herbs. It gives it real tang and a creaminess that you can't fake. But considering how many  servings it makes , I don't worry so much.

Serves 4-6  plus half left for the pasta bakes (recipe to follow)

Ingredients:
1 large onion chopped
1 large butternut squash, peeled deseeded and chopped
2 large carrots peeled and chopped
4 cloves of garlic peeled
1tsp chilli powder
2 veggie oxo cubes
1.5ltr boiling water
1/2 pack lowest fat cream cheese with garlic and herbs

Method:
1. Dry fry all the veg for 10 mins in a large stockpot
2. Add garlic, chilli powder, oxo and boiling water
3. Bring to the boil and simmer until all the veg is tender
4. Using a stick blender whizz up the soup until velvety and smooth
5. Add the cream cheese and blend again to incorporate.
6. Serve

300 calorie meat and potato pies

I decided a while ago to have a go at these. The recipe makes 6 individual pies and will be using 2 today and freezing the rest for another day. The "pastry" is actually pizza base.

They've turned out fab!!!! And my hubby thinks so too!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/low-fat_minced_beef_and_34423

spicy veggie beanie burgers

Using up my leftover mash to make these spicy babies. This makes a lot of burgers so I've frozen most of them. Think I'll serve these with salad and homemade salsa.

makes 12 patties

ingredients

2-3 cups leftover mashed potato
1 tin kidney beans rinsed and drained
1 tin chickpeas rinsed and drained
1 red onion finely chopped
2 eggs
1tsp ground corriander
2tsp ground cummin
1tsp ground turmeric
1tsp paprika
1/2tsp mild chilli powder
1tsp ground ginger
salt and pepper to taste
sesame seeds to sprinkle

method

1. puree the chickpeas and kidney beans in a food processor.
2. Put all ingredients except the sesame seeds into a big bowl and mix really really well.
3. Form into palm sized patties and sprinkle each side with about half a teaspoon of sesame seeds and pat until they stick. Put on a non stick baking tray.
4. Cover in clingfilm and refrigerate for an hour, to ensure they set up properly. At this point freeze any you're not going to use immediately.
5. preheat a non stick pan on the hob for a couple of minutes and place them in the pan dry. Cook until a crust forms then turn over and repeat.
6. To finish cooking through put on a baking tray lined with greaseproof and bake in a moderate oven for 15-20 mins until piping hot through.

Ham and pickle salad

Such a simple but refreshing salad. Leftover ham, beet root from a jar, pickled red cabbage, red pepper, salad leaves. Toss handfuls together as desired and enjoy. The sweet juices from the beet root mix with the vinegar from the cabbage and create a tangy and characterful dressing.

lunchbox revolution! why didn't I think of this sooner?!

Caught River Cottage Everyday yesterday and had a lunch appiphany.   What's wrong with my packed lunches at the moment?

They're repetative, dull, and ultimately not exciting.

I'm going to start looking at my lunches from a different perspective. Instead of the usual ham or cheese sandwiches or tuna pasta salad ... I'm gonna treat my fridge like my own personal deli and build my lunches like a pick and mix with 5 main components.

My husband got really excited at the prospect of this style of meal and as long as everything is prepped, he can put together whatever he wants and we can have what we each want rather than me avoiding foods I like but he doesn't as its easuer to make one batch rather than two.

The fun stuff is the sprinkles and condiments as they add the excitement to the lunchbox.  But I figure, if I fill my fridge with some of these prepped up I can put together any number of combinations to keep it exciting:

Starchy fillers:

Rice
pasta
New potatoes
cous cous
chickpeas
lentils
noodles
sweet potato
pitta bread
crutons
jacket potatoes
wraps


Tasty protein:

Leftover roast meat (chicken, beef, pork, lamb etc)
Tuna
smoked fish
prawns
quorn
bacon
sausages
chorizo
cheeses (feta, halloumi, cheddar, cottage etc)
Boiled eggs
butter beans
meatloaf/meatballs


Veg and fruit:

salad leaves
spinach
rocket
Carrots
asparagus
cucumber
beetroot
broad beans
tomatoes
red onions
peas
butternut squash
peppers
broccoli
beansprouts
cress
mango
apple
strawberries
citrus fruits


Sprinkles:

Herbs (basil, parsley, chives, mint, thyme etc)
Nuts and seeds
spribg onions
capers
dried fruit
chillies


Condiments:

Dressinds
hummus
pesto
curry paste
ground spices
mayonnaise
chutneys
pickles
chilli sauce
Natural/greek style yoghurt
soy sauce
sesame oil
peanut butter
homemade veggie pate`s (beetroot and mint, butterbean and chilli)

Broccoli cauliflower cheese bake - all frozen veg!

Cheese and broccoli sauce made for cauliflower cheese for tea. Not a lot of cheese but seems really creamy so should be nice. And you get to use frozen veg. Having a go at a jamie Oliver recipe:

http://www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/the-best-cauliflower-broccoli-cheese