Cauliflower/Macaroni Cheese - MS Word document for downloading

Cauliflowers were on “special offer” today - very fresh and good quality, so I bought two - one for a very tasty soup which will go into the freezer (recipe shortly!) and another for supper tonight. We haven’t had Cauliflower Cheese for a long time. I like the variations possible with this dish, not only with the different cheeses you can use, but also by adding chopped fried crispy bacon, mushroom and onion to the sauce, (as shown in the photograph) or a well-drained can of salmon. A mixture of cauliflower and broccoli florets makes a colourful and even more attractive dish.

You can use the same sauce recipe with macaroni. Depending on the size of the appetite, allow between 50-100g (2-4oz) of macaroni per person. Cook according to the instructions on the packet.

Not into sauce making? I’ll give you an alternative recipe, based on crème fraiche which you could use with the cauliflower, macaroni or mixed vegetables - preparation time then would be 5 minutes.

Serves 4.

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Pork In Mustard Sauce - MS Word document for downloading

Pork in Mustard Sauce is so good it used to be sold (at quite a price!) as a ready meal, with the meat cut up and the sauce already mixed. It may still be sold like that. If you make your own version, you can add the amount and type of mustard you like. You can also choose whether to use cream, crème fraiche, or half fat crème fraiche, which was my choice this evening.

It’s this recipe, and a very similar one using chicken, which first made me realise how many people wanted really quick and easy recipes. So many colleagues tried it and then told others just how simple it was! I particularly liked the fact that some people who said they couldn’t cook could make this in next to no time and be really proud of the result.

Serves 4

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 10-15 mins
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Devilled Chicken - word document for downloading

Serves 4

5 minutes to prepare – 1 hour to cook     

So quick to prepare and so tasty! Delicious served  hot with creamed potatoes, or rice and vegetables of your choice. Alternatively, serve cold with salad.

This smelt wonderful as I came home late, as is usual on Monday. Yesterday, I had cooked the casserole version detailed at the end of this post. All I had to do today was cook some veg.  As you can see, I was a bit generous with the peas!  There’s a lot more to this food photography than meets the eye! No wonder they often have ten dishes to photograph and then choose the best one! We had to go with this one, as the other chicken portion fell to pieces as I took it out of the casserole dish! Having watched the programme on the esbl e-coli on Channel 3, I was really glad the chicken had been so well-cooked!

For pudding, we had Bananas and Cream. All very quick and easy. What made me feel really virtuous was preparing the salads for lunch tomorrow as the peas cooked! I just knew I wouldn’t want to make them after we’d eaten! Read more »