Chicken and pasta bake. Pasta? Good. Chicken? Good. Broccoli? Meh. But other than that, what’s not to like?
If you’re looking for a simple, hearty dish, quick to make and quicker to eat, then look no further.

Ingredients

350g fusilli pasta
200g broccoli chopped into very small florets
2 chicken breasts
150g soft cheese with garlic and herbs
85g cheddar cheese
2 spring onions
4 tbsp sundried tomato paste
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried thyme
Salt
Pepper

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 190c or Gas Mark 5
2. Bring a large pan of boiling water with salt and a dash of olive oil to boil. Add in the pasta and cook for 6 minutes. At this point, add in the broccoli and cook for a further 5 minutes, or until the pasta is cooked.
3. At the same time as the pasta is cooking, pre-heat a skillet pan to a medium/high heat. Lightly sprinkle the half of the thyme over one side of the chicken breasts, add salt and pepper to your tastes, and place that side down into the skillet. Sprinkle the remaining thyme, salt and pepper on the top of the chicken breasts as they are cooking. After 5-7 minutes, turn the chicken breasts over. After a further 5-7 minutes, remove from the pan and slice into even slithers.
4. Once the pasta/broccoli is cooked, drain, keeping the pasta/broccoli in the pan. Over a medium heat, add the chicken slices, cheese and sundried tomato paste into the pasta. Stir through until the cheese and tomato paste have coated all of the pasta.
5. Pour the pasta out into a large oven proof dish, and cover the top with the cheese and sprinkle the spring onions over this.
6. Place the dish into the oven, and heat through for 20 minutes.
7. Remove the dish from the oven, and dish onto plates for you to enjoy!

Note, you can add roasted pepper antipasti/sundried tomatoes or even olives into the pasta prior to heating through in the oven to vary the dish.

Macaroni Cheese

Macaroni Cheese, the staple diet of countless students across the world. Who would have thought that the simple
combination of pasta and cheese could be such a mouth-watering combination? This recipe is adapted from my mother’s recipe, the perfect comfort food, and cheap too!

Ingredients

• 250g macaroni
• 40g butter
• 40g plain flour
• 600ml milk
• 150g grated mature cheddar cheese
• 100g monteray jack cheese
• 50g grated parmesan
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Method

1. Cook the macaroni in a large saucepan of boiling salted water for 8-10 minutes; drain well and set aside.
2. Next, melt the butter over a low to medium heat in a large saucepan. As the butter starts to gently bubble, add the flour. Be sure to add the flour slowly and stir constantly for 1-2 minutes.
3. Now, add in the milk, again gradually, and stirring constantly. Cook for 8-10 minutes until the sauce is a thick, smooth and creamy complexion.
4. Remove the sauce from the hob, add half of both the cheddar and monteray jack cheeses and stir until the cheese is well combined and melted into the mixture.
5. Add some salt & pepper to the mixture to taste.
6. Add the macaroni to the sauce and mix well, ensuring all the macaroni is fully coated. Transfer to a deep ovenproof dish.
7. Now sprinkle over all the remaining cheese, as well as the paprika and place the dish under a hot grill. Cook until the cheese is browned and bubbling.
8. Serve straightaway.

Welsh Rarebit

Welsh Rarebit is one of those ultimate comfort foods, quick and easy to make, but at the same time so morish. But why Rarebit? Apparently it’s pronounced ‘rabbit’, and harks back to eighteenth century England,back in the day, rabbit was the meat you ate if you were poor, but the Welsh were so poverty stricken that even the meagre rabbit was beyond their means. So they ate cheese instead. And when it comes out this good, who could blame them?
Ingredients

• 50g butter
• 1 tablespoon plain flour
• 100ml of good quality dark British ale
• 350g mature Cheddar cheese
• 2 teaspoons of English Mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 pinch of pepper
• 4 slices of fresh thickly sliced bread

Method

1. Melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat. Once melted add the flour and stir constantly until the mixture thickens, 2-3 minutes.
2. Toast the bread.
3. Next add the ale, stirring constantly again until the mixture thickens, which should be 1-2 minutes.
4. Turn down the heat, add the mustard, salt, pepper to taste. Stir the mixture slowly until all the cheese has melted, around 2-3 minutes.
5. Get the toast, and pour the sauce mixture evenly over the bread.
6. Add a few dashes of Worcestershire sauce, and finish off under the grill for a crispy top.

Serve with grilled tomatoes and salad or with tomato soup.

Chilli Con Carne

Chilli Con Carne. A staple food known the world over, one of the best exports
from Mexico and the official State dish of Texas. It’s also one of the quickest,
easiest dishes to make, and so perfect for any beginner, or anyone who simply needs
a fool-proof and easy one-pot recipe.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 1 large onion
• 1 red pepper
• 2 garlic cloves
• 1 heaped teaspoon chilli powder
• 1 teaspoon of paprika
• 1 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 500g lean minced beef
• 1 beef stock cube
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• 2 tablespoons of tomato purée
• 410g red kidney beans

Method

1. Firstly, dice the onion into 5mm squares. The easiest way to do this is to cut the
   onion in half from root to tip, then peel and slice each half into thick
   matchsticks lengthways. Make sure not to cut all the way to the root end so it’s
   still held together. Now slice across the matchsticks, making nice neat squares of
   onion.
2. Next up is the pepper. Cut your pepper in half lengthways, remove the stalk and wash the seeds away, then chop into similarly sized squares.
3. Heat a large pan or wok over a medium heat, and add the oil leaving for 1-2 minutes,
   or until hot. Add the onions and cook, stirring fairly frequently, for about 5
   minutes, or until the onions are soft and translucent. Tip in the garlic, red pepper,
   chilli, paprika and cumin. Give it a good stir, then leave it to cook for another 5
   minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Now brown the mince. Turn the heat up a bit, add the meat to the pan and break it
   up with your spoon or spatula. Keep stirring and prodding for at least 5 minutes,
   until all the mince is in uniform, mince-sized lumps and there are no more pink bits.
5. Next up, crumble your stock cube into 300ml or 1⁄2 pint of hot water. Pour this into
   the pan with the mince mixture. Open the can of chopped tomatoes and add these as well. Add a good shake of salt and pepper. Squirt in about 2 tbsp of tomato purée and stir the sauce well.
6. Simmer it gently. Bring the whole thing to the boil, give it a good stir and put
   a lid on the pan. Turn down the heat until it is gently bubbling and leave it
   for 20 minutes, making sure to stir it every couple of minutes and checking that it
   hasn’t dried out. If the mixture starts to dry out too much, reduce the heat and add
   water.
7. Now, remember to add the beans! Make sure the beans, if you’re using tinned beans,
   have been thoroughly washed and rinsed. Add these to the mixture, and gently simmer for a further 10 minutes to allow the beans to soak up the flavour. Again if it looks a bit
   dry, add more water.
8. Finally just season with salt & pepper and dish up with rice. If you’re feeling particularly adventurous, add a heaped tablespoon of sour cream on top to serve and enjoy.