My special needs boy needs help with making meals, and one day, he’ll likely have to try and make his own, and on a budget.  For this, I kept the ingredients light, and it was to feed 7 people, although we could easily manage 8 small to medium bowls with these ingredients.  The price…..   We kept it low.  20p for Tesco 500g spaghetti, £1.99 for 2 jars of Carbonara sauce from the Co-op, which fabulously, actually has real bits of ham in it, and a creamy sauce.  It’s the best version I have used for this.

Count the milk and butter, and we are at around:

• £2.50 to feed 8 the basic carbonara.
• Plus garlic bread from Tesco Hearty Food Range at 32p each x 3 = Optional 96p for three baguettes.
• Total £3.46 for Spaghetti Carbonara and Three Garlic Baguettes.

Easy Spaghetti Carbonara

Lesley Smith

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Prep Time 5 minutes mins

Cook Time 15 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Mains, Pasta

Cuisine Italian

Ingredients

  

• 500 g Spaghetti
• 30 g Butter
• 2 Jars Carbonara Sauce Co-op
• 2 Teaspoons Salt
• 200 ml Milk

Instructions

 

• Very simply, just bring the spaghetti and salt to the boil, and simmer until the right consistency for your palate. My boy likes it soft, and other like it al dente, so choose your favoured options by the instructions on the packet you buy.
  
  
• Drain the pasta, rinse with boiling water and drain again.
  
  
• Return the pasta to a pan and add the carbonara sauce. Heat and stir until thoroughly hot.
  
  
• Add butter, stir, then add milk until your carbonara reaches your desired consistency.
  
  
• Serve with garlic bread.

Songkran is the annual festival which takes place over three days during the traditional Thai New Year, this year falling on Friday 13 – Sunday 15 April 2018.  Throughout Thailand there are celebrations, festivities and plenty of food; all culminating in a momentous country-wide water fight!

In the run up to Songkran, Sanguan Parr, Head Chef at Nipa Thai in London, has shared her recipe for Massaman Gai (Yellow Thai Chicken Curry). A popular but classic recipe from the Southern region of Thailand, the curry is simple to make but guaranteed to impress – the perfect dish for your Songkran celebrations!

Recipe: Authentic Massaman Thai Curry

Author: Head Chef Sanguan Parr at Nipa Thai

Ingredients (to serve four):

• 2 Chicken breasts
• 600ml Coconut Milk
• 2 tbsp Roasted Peanuts
• 5 Small Onions; sliced
• 4 Medium Potatoes; cubed
• 3 tbsp Massaman Curry Paste
• 2 tbsp Fish Sauce
• 3 tbsp Palm Sugar
• 3 tbsp Tamarind Juice
• 3 Bay Leaves
• 1 piece Roasted Cinnamon; 1cm long
• 5 Roasted Cardamom Pods
• 1 tbsp Vegetable Oil

Method:

Step 1: Cut the chicken into chunks, around 2 inches in length.

Step 2: In a wok, heat the vegetable oil, curry paste and 200ml of coconut milk. Keep stirring over a low heat until fragrant.

Step 3: Add the chicken to the wok, turning frequently so all the meat is covered in sauce.

Step 4: Pour in the remaining 400ml of coconut milk and simmer gently for 5 minutes.

Step 5: Add the cubed potatoes, roasted peanuts, onions, fish sauce, palm sugar, tamarind juice, bay leaves, cardamom and cinnamon. Keep over a low heat to simmer until all the ingredients are tender.

Step 6: Remove from the heat and serve with steamed white rice.

Throughout Songkran 2018, Nipa Thai will be offering its traditional menu. Nipa Thai is open from 5pm-10.30pm, Monday-Sunday.

Nipa Thai, Royal Lancaster London, Lancaster Terrace, London W2 2TY

Tel: 020 7551 6000 or www.niparestaurant.co.uk

Now we’re past the most depressing day of the year, why not have a look at one of the recipes from Aldi, to brighten up the rest of the month.  In the past, I’ve never been much for spiralising, but it does look very good in pictures and on plates.  Happy January.

Roasted Spiralised Carrot & Feta Salad

Aldi

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 8 minutes mins

Total Time 18 minutes mins

Course Mains

Ingredients

  

• 2 Courgettes washed and trimmed
• 2 Carrots trimmed and peeled
• 2 tbsp Olive Oil
• 1 tbsp Balsamic Vinegar
• Freshly ground Salt and Black Pepper
• 100 g Feta Cheese crumbled
• 50 g Walnut Pieces
• 1 tbsp Fresh Parsley chopped

Instructions

 

• Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/Fan 180°C/425°/Gas Mark 6.
  
  
• Spiralise the courgettes and carrots using the ‘thin spiral cone’.
  
  
• Place in a bowl and add the oil, vinegar and seasoning and mix well.
  
  
• Spread the vegetables onto a large (or 2 smaller) baking tray and roast for around 7-8 minutes, stirring a couple of times.
  
  
• Meanwhile, toast the walnuts in a dry pan, stirring frequently to prevent burning, then tip onto a plate to cool.
  
  
• Remove the vegetables from the oven and place in a serving bowl.
  
  
• Sprinkle over the cheese, walnuts and finally the parsley.
  
  
• Delicious served as a light lunch or as an accompaniment to grilled meats or fish.
  
  

Guest Recipe.  When it comes to healthy eating, home cooking is a great place to start. But when the reality of all that dicing, slicing, washing, chopping and prepping to make holier-than-thou fresh nutritious meals dawns, it’s easy to lose your way! Whether you’re going gluten-free, paleo, low-carb or FODMAP, the Very Lazy range of pre-chopped and ready-to-use essentials from chopped garlic, chillis and ginger to lemongrass paste and cooking concentrates will make it easy as pie (or pie’s much healthier cousin).

Thai Fishcakes with Chilli Dipping Sauce

Very Lazy

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• 450 g skinless and boneless cod or haddock fillets roughly chopped
  
  
• 1 teaspoon Very Lazy Chopped Ginger
  
  
• 1 tablespoon Thai fish sauce
  
  
• 1 teaspoon Very Lazy Lemongrass Paste
  
  
• 1 teaspoon Very Lazy Garlic Paste
  
  
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped coriander
  
  
• 1 teaspoon Very Lazy Chopped Red Chillies
  
  
• 1 egg white
  
  
• 2 spring onions thinly sliced
  
  
• 1 tablespoon oil for frying
  
  
  
  
• FOR THE LIME CHILLI DIPPING SAUCE
  
  
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
  
  
• 1 teaspoon Very Lazy Chopped Red Chillies
  
  
• finely grated zest and juice 1 lime
  
  
• 2 teaspoons caster sugar
  
  

Instructions

 

• Place all the ingredients for the fishcakes in a food processor and blend to a smooth paste. Put the mixture in a bowl and stir in the spring onions. With slightly wet hands, shape the mixture into 12 patties.
  
  
• In a small bowl, whisk all the ingredients for the dipping sauce, until the sugar has dissolved.
  
  
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan and cook the fishcakes for 4-5 minutes each side until golden brown and cooked through.
  
  
• Serve immediately with the dipping sauce.

A lot of us are watching the pennies right now, so making meals that are both healthy and filling can be challenging on a budget.  With few ingredients, and whatever is in your cupboard, adding things to split green peas is fairly simple.

This makes a fairly large batch, so unless your diners don’t eat large portions, halving the quantities might be a good idea.

Peas Pudding Recipe

Lesley Smith

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 1 hour hr 25 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 40 minutes mins

Course Mains

Servings 10

Ingredients

  

• 250 g Green Split Peas Dried
• 150 g Onion chopped.
• 150 g Leek chopped.
• 50 g Butter.
• Water.
• 3 Vegetable Stock Cubes.
• Salt and Pepper.
• Herbs of Your Choice.
• 1 Crushed Clove of Garlic or 1 Cube of Frozen Garlic.
• 200 g Bacon Turkey or Chicken Strips.

Instructions

 

• Put the green split peas into a fairly large pan, with around 1.5 litres of water. Bring to the boil and let simmer for around 40 minutes. You need to keep a close eye, as the water can boil off pretty quickly. You may need to top up the water levels.
  
  
• Drain the green split peas, then pop them back into the pan, add all the other ingredients and adding 1.5 litres of water again. Mix well, and bring to the boil, letting this simmer until the water reduces by about two thirds. Be careful you don't leave this alone as it will burn quickly if you do. I added a good measure of salt and pepper at this stage. Some people add basil and thyme, and even rosemary, but I know my boys wouldn't eat that, so I leave it out.
  
  
• Add your slushy peas mix to a baking tray, and let it set in the oven for around 25 minutes, at 180 degrees C. Your oven might take slightly less time, or more. It won't set firmly at all, but will be easy to cut when it's ready.
  
  
• I cook my meat separately, and add it to the top of the peas pudding in the last five minutes, before removing from the oven. Some people add it when it first goes into the oven, and cook it as part of the dish.

Making our own burgers is incredibly easy, and we then know what’s actually in them.  I don’t expect to have to mince slabs of meat, but I do like getting bags of mince, that I can use to make my own burgers, meatballs and more, as it’s just so easy to do, and saves me having to decide on different things when I’m shopping.

It takes very little time to actually throw some ingredients together, and it’s a bit of a no brainer to me.  Yes, the kids sometimes go to buy a sweetie and come back with a pack of sausages (yes, I know they’re strange) but I like to have choices when I’m using ingredients in my kitchen.  I used mince from The Lean Butcher, which is always fabulous, as it can come delivered straight to my door.

This is so simple and just thrown together with some mince and chopped veg.  It’s all fresh, it’s all ours, and I don’t have to worry what’s been added to it in the forming process.

I only had some peppers and onion left over from soup, so they were a perfect go together for these burgers.

We used our samples of the new Ora Stack to eat our burgers with, as they’re a perfect size.   They’re a super absorbent and ultra strong kitchen roll, that comes in a circular shape on a stack, which means it’s a one handed lift off, simply by using a thumb.

As they’re a one hand grab, I’ve found myself reaching for these before using my regular kitchen rolls, so mine disappeared pretty quickly.  I’ve not seen them in shops here yet, but I’ll be picking some up when I do.

There’s nothing worse than having to rip off a piece of kitchen roll with two hands, when one is covered in food while I’m cooking.  I found them very absorbent and one piece went a long way.

Burgers with Red and Orange Peppers Recipe

Home Made Burgers with Red and Orange Peppers

Lesley Smith

4 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Course Mains / Burgers

Cuisine British

Servings 5 -10

Ingredients

  

• 800 g Lean Minced Beef.
• 60 g Red Pepper chopped.
• 60 g Orange Pepper chopped.
• 50 g Onion finely chopped.
• Half Teaspoon Salt.
• Half Teaspoon Pepper.

Instructions

 

• Put your mince into a bowl, and then pour in the chopped vegetables.
  
  
• Add in the salt and pepper.
  
  
• I use my hands for best effect with this, as I find that a wooden spoon takes too long, and just doesn't allow the peppers and onion to be fully mixed with the mince. It takes a couple of minutes to thoroughly mix the food together until it is in a loosely bound state.
  
  
• I use a cheap burger press I bought from Lakeland that makes burgers around 180g each, but before that, I used to make mine by hand, simply taking a dollop of the mixture and shaping it into a patty with my hands.
  
  
• For smaller burgers, you could easily get around 10 from this mix, but I made 5 larger burgers.
  
  
• Everyone had different requirements for how they like their burgers cooked, ie red in the middle, fully cooked, or almost burned black. I like mine well done, so gauge your own timings for cooking in a moderate oven for as long as you need to.