Dished up: Pea and Ham Pasta

I spend time planning a menu for each week so that I don't have a panic at half four every day about what I'm going to cook for dinner. Sometimes plans change though and so does the menu and tonight was one of those nights. So as I stood in front of the fridge looking for inspiration I spotted some left over roasted gammon. Roasting a chunk of gammon is another trick of mine for a cheap sandwich filler, it is much cheaper than buying sliced ham. If you don't fancy gammon for your roast dinner just slice some for lunches and add some to a few store cupboard ingredients and you have this easy, speedy, cheap and tasty dinner

My father in law is from Sicily where Pasta and Peas is commonly eaten so I figured if I took that concept and combined it with the idea of pea and ham soup I should be on to a winner. Try it yourself and let me know what you think.

Cooking Time: you can easily make this dish in under half an hour.

What you need: 
200g left over roasted gammon, shredded
Olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
200g frozen peas
400g pasta of your choice, I used fusilli
Freshly ground black pepper
Freshly grated Parmesan

What you do:
1. Splash a good glug of oil into a pan and pop in on a low heat. Fry the onion until it is softened and just beginning to colour, about 10 minutes.
2. Meanwhile cook the pasta in a pan of lots of boiling salted water according to pack instructions.
3. When the onions are beginning to colour add the garlic and cook for a minute longer.
4. Add the peas to the cooked onions and continue to cook for a few more minutes until the peas are hot. Add the ham and warm though. Season well with pepper.
5. Drain the pasta well and stir into the ham and peas.
6. Serve with a good grating of the grated Parmesan.

I'm always looking for new pasta dishes as my husband would happily eat pasta most nights so I was really pleased to come up with this combo. It went down a treat with my tribe.

Cassie xx

Dished Up: Chicken and Spinach Lasagne

With food prices going up and up, I'm always looking for tasty but cheap sandwich fillings for the husband's pack lunches. One thing I do quite often is roast a chicken at the beginning of the week. Half a chicken is enough to feed us as a family so I use half for a meal then shred the other half and use for lunches. One of the meals I make with the chicken is this tasty lasagne. To keep the cost of this meal down I have used dried lasagne but this requires precooking for this recipe. If your budget stretches to it then use fresh lasagne. If your time stretches to it then make your own!

I think this recipe could feed four adults if you serve it with some garlic bread or something like that. We had it with a tomato salad dressed with some yummy Blonde Balsamic Dressing which was a really nice contrast to the creamy lasagne. If you think you'd still be hungry then the recipe is easily doubled.

Prep Time: If your chicken and lasagne are already cooked then the prep should only take you 10-15 minutes
Cooking and Rest time: 40 minutes

What you need:
Half a cooked chicken, shredded
380g tin of spinach
Reserved juices from the chicken, fat skimmed off
300ml reduced fat crème fraiche
1/4 nutmeg, freshly grated
Salt and pepper
Approx 250g lasagne, cooked
50g freshly grated parmesan

What to do:
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Drain the spinach really well and squeeze out all the excess water. Put this in a large bowl with the shredded chicken and mix well.
3. Mix the chicken juices with the creme fraiche. Add the grated nutmeg and season well.
4. Spread a couple of spoons of this over the bottom of an oven dish and add a layer of cooked lasagne. Reserve a couple more spoons of the cream for the top.
5. Mix the rest of the cream in with the chicken and spinach and spread half of the mixture over the lasagne.
6. Add another layer of the cooked pasta, if you're feeding hungry people then double up the pasta to fill them up.
7. Spread the rest of the chicken mix over this and top again with cooked lasagne.
8. Spread the cream you reserved earlier over the top and sprinkle the grated parmesan over the whole thing.
9. Pop it in the oven for 35 minutes. When the time is up take the lasagne out and let it stand for 5-10 minutes. This will help the layers to stick together and make the lasagne easier to serve.

Enjoy with a salad and if you want some garlic or crusty bread. Cassie xx

You can find this post and many other over at Snippets Of Inspiration here.

Dished Up: Leek And Potato Soup

Being a mum of three young children one luxury I indulge in is grocery delivery. Mr Tesco's arrives at my door with my weekly shop and all I have to do is put it away. Mostly this is a wonder but occasionally things don't quite go to plan. A few weeks ago I ordered 3 leeks, or so I thought. Turns out I had actually ordered 3 packs of leeks, just a couple more than I needed! Whoops. So what better to do in the bleak mid winter than whip up some tasty soup. I made leek and potato and crumpled some crispy bacon on top but the recipe can be adapted for any vegetables you have hanging around which I usually do after Christmas. 

What you need......

• Veg oil
• Knob of butter
• 500g leeks
• 1 medium potato
• 1.5 litre hot vegetable stock
• 100ml double cream (optional)
• 3 rashers streaky bacon

How to make it.....

1. Half the leek lengthways and slice it thickly. Wash it thoroughly and shake off the water. Peel the potato and and cut it in to 1cm cubes.
2. Put the butter and 1tbsp of oil in a medium pan with a lid and place it over a low heat until the butter has melted. For the record the oil is to stop burning and the butter is for flavour.
3. Throw in the leeks and give them a stir then put the lid on. You want to soften the leeks like this, they will sweat in their own juices. It will take about 10 minutes and all you have to do is stir them every couple of minutes just to make sure they don't burn.
4. Take off the lid and add the potato stirring for one minute then add 1 litre of the stock. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Meanwhile put the bacon in a dry frying pan over a high heat. Cook it until it's really crispy. Cool it on some kitchen towel and then crumble it.
6. When the potato is really soft turn off the heat and use a stick blender to purée the soup. Season well with salt and lots of black pepper. If the soup is too thick then add in some more stock and if you're feeling indulgent stir through 100ml double cream to serve.
7. Share it between the bowl and sprinkle the bacon on top. Serve it with some of you favourite bread.

You can make this recipe with any root veg. Chop and soften an onion and then add 500g of whatever you've got (except potatoes). Add the stock and simmer until the veg is soft. If you're brave you might want to throw in some spices when the onion is soft then add the veg when it becomes fragrant. 

Play around with it. Sometimes it will be delicious, other time it may not be such a success but it's better then throwing away your veg and if you make it without the butter and cream it's a great healthy lunch to start the new year with.

Cassie xx