Stilton crust veggie or meat sausage rolls (20 mins prep/30 mins cooking)

These sausage rolls are really simple to make, using shop-bought ready-rolled puff pastry (which you roll a few extra times with crumbled stilton) and either veggie or meat sausages.  They take 20 mins to prepare and about 30 mins to cook.

The stilton gives the pastry a lovely subtle flavour.  We had the sausage rolls for dinner with sweetcorn, tuna and mayo salad and will eat them as a snack tomorrow. Yum! We all loved them.

My boyfriend stuffed the little bit of leftover pastry with chorizo and that was a big hit too.

Stilton crust veggie or meat sausage rolls (makes approx 18 small ones)

Sheet of ready-rolled puff pastry (375g)

100g stilton, crumbled

Plain flour, for rolling

6 medium sized veggie or meat sausages (I used Quorn veggie sausages)

Beaten egg, to finish

Lightly flour a work surface and lay the sheet of puff pastry on it.  Cut it in half and crumble the stilton evenly over the first half.  Lay the second half over the top and gently press it on so it is sealed, then roll with a rolling pin until twice the size.  Fold it over and roll again, and then repeat this again so the stilton is spread.  You want the final sheet to be the same size as it was originally.  Cut it in to three pieces lengthways, and lay two sausages down each of the three sheets.  Fold the pastry over the sausages, allowing a 2cm ish overlap.  Seal each sausage roll with your fingers and brush each one with the beaten egg.  Cut each sausage roll in to six equally sized pieces (making 18 in total). Place on a non-stick baking tray and bake for 25-30 mins, turning so that all four sides are golden brown and the filling is piping hot. Remove from the oven and eat!

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Potato, spinach and spring onion crustless quiche (25 min prep/40 min cooking)

I am very excited to share this delicious, seasonal and gluten free recipe!  It is quickly becoming a staple in our house for three reasons: firstly it can be eaten hot at home or cold as a portable snack (so great for picnics!), secondly you can vary what you put in it and thirdly it works out at about £4 for 10-12 portions.  Allow 25 mins to prepare the mixture and 40 mins to cook.

You basically boil and mash some potatoes, add soft cheese, eggs, cheddar, torn spinach and spring onions and finally some ground nutmeg (available from supermarkets) to add a particularly lovely and delicate flavour.   Spoon the mixture in to a tray and bake until golden.  I don’t peel the potatoes as it saves time and I like the nuttiness of the skin, but if you want a smoother consistency you could peel them.

If you use the mashed potatoes, soft cheese, cheddar and eggs as a base then you could experiment with these ingredients: torn smoked mackerel, smoked salmon, cooked ham, chorizo, peas, asparagus, broccoli, leeks, mushrooms, dried or fresh herbs.  I would love to hear of any combinations that work well!

Potato, spinach and spring onion crustless quiche (8-12 portions)

400g potatoes, diced (new potatoes are particularly nice but any would work, and there is no need to peel unless you want a smoother consistency)

100g spinach, torn up

10 spring onions, finely chopped

200g soft cheese (I use the value one)

4 eggs, lightly beaten

50g cheddar, grated

1/4 tsp ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 190 degrees/gas mark 5.  Line a smallish baking tray with greaseproof paper.

Gently boil the chopped potatoes for about 10 mins, until tender (but not mushy).  Mash well.  Stir in the torn spinach and chopped spring onions.  In a separate bowl mix the soft cheese with the beaten eggs and then fold in to the mash.  Add the cheddar, nutmeg, some salt and pepper and mix well.  Spoon the mixture in to the lined baking tray (it will rise slightly during cooking).

Bake for 35-40 mins until golden at the edges and firm (when you insert a knife in it should come out fairly clean).  Leave for 5 mins then carefully cut wedges out (you can leave the quiche in the greaseproof paper if you want to eat it cool).

Light and delicious yoghurt and blueberry cake (10 mins prep/1 hour cooking)

This is a lovely recipe for the warmer weather, using yoghurt instead of butter to give the cake a springy lightness, and blueberries which go all swirly and pretty when they cook.  It takes only 10 minutes to prepare plus one hour to cook, there is no whisking (whoop!) and it is great for using up fruit and yoghurt as the other ingredients are cupboard staples for anyone who bakes once in a while.  You can also vary what fruit you use – as well as blueberries I have also used chopped strawberries, and I reckon raspberries and dried (or fresh) apricots would also work well.

The recipe is based on one by Ruby Tandoh that I have simplified slightly according to what I had at home. The cake will keep for a few days in a sealed container.  Serve on it’s own or alongside ice cream!

Yoghurt and blueberry loaf cake

75ml vegetable/sunflower oil

125g full-fat/greek yoghurt

150g caster sugar

2 large eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract/vanilla essence

Zest and juice of 1/2 lemon

210g plain flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

170g blueberries (or strawberries)

A pinch of salt

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees/gas mark 4.  Grease and a 20cm (ish) long loaf tin (or small-medium cake tin if you don’t have one).

In a large bowl, mix well together the oil, yoghurt, sugar, eggs, vanilla extract and lemon zest.  In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder and salt.  Pour the dry ingredients into the yoghurt mixture along with the blueberries and fold the lot very gently together, taking care not to mix too much.

Pour the batter into the prepared loaf tin and bake for 55-60 minutes, or until the edges are slightly golden and a small knife inserted into the middle comes out clean. Leave to cool on a wire rack before cutting in to slices and serving!

Cooking with kids – Fish in a parcel (15 mins prep/18 mins cooking)

This is a nice activity to do with kids.  You lay out some fish, veg (I chose mini corn, green beans and pepper), couscous (optional) and sauce on the table and they can load a sheet of tin foil with what they like.

Then they wrap everything up in the foil and pop it in the oven to steam for about 18 minutes.

When their parcel is done they can unseal it and eat their ‘dinner delivery’!  Feel free to vary what fish and veg you use (broccoli, carrots and asparagus would also work well and cheaper fish would bring the cost down).  The sauce here consists of soy sauce and honey to keep it simple but for an adult version or for adventurous kids you could add chilli, garlic and/or ginger.  My boys are really in to chopsticks at the moment (you can get cheap kid friendly ones off Amazon) so eating with these added to the novelty of the dish.  Allow about 15 mins to prepare the food before cooking.

I am going to put my thinking cap on for other dinner in a parcel ideas!

Fish in a parcel (serves 4)

Optional – 1/2 cup couscous, cooked as per the pack instructions (usually involves pouring with hot water, adding butter and leaving for 5 mins)

1/2 stock cube (I like OXO vegetable as it crumbles easily)

Oil, for brushing

2 handfuls mini corns, chopped in half lengthways

1/2 pepper, chopped lengthways

2 handfuls green beans, trimmed

5 spring onions, finely chopped

2 skinned fillets fish, cut in to chunks (e.g. salmon, trout, haddock, coley)

1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce mixed with 1/2 tbsp honey

4 sheets tin foil

Lay the tin foil out on the table.  Mix the cooked couscous with 1/2 crumbled stock cube and put that, plus all the other ingredients, in separate bowls on the table.  Brush/spoon oil on to the middle of the foil.  Put the couscous on first (if using) followed by the chunks of fish then the veg.  Spoon over the sauce.  Seal the foil tightly but ensuring there is some free space inside so it steams properly.  Pop in the oven for about 18 mins until the fish is flaky and everything is cooked.  Remove the foil parcels and let them cool for a few minutes (for young kids open them up to get rid of the steam and cool the food inside down before resealing)  Let the kids open up their parcels and eat!