Chicken Taco Pasta Bake

• 2 chicken breasts (or 1 packet of turkey, beef or pork mince)
• 2 onions, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped fine or pressed
• 1 packet Taco mix (36g)
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 large can sweetcorn
• 2 large or 3 small red or green peppers
• 1 jar tomato sauce or 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 50g grated cheddar cheese
• 500g pasta
• 1/2 packet cheap tortilla chips, smashed into small pieces
• 1 ball mozzarella cheese

Makes 8 servings

You'll need a large pan for the sauce (enough to hold the sauce and pasta) a large pan to cook the pasta and to preheat the oven at 180 degrees.

If using chicken, either chop very small or put in a food processor and blend until almost mince like.

Put a tablespoon of oil in a pan on a medium heat and add the onions.  Saute for 5 minutes until soft.  Add the garlic and then the chicken.  

Once all cooked add the Taco seasoning (use half a packet if you don't want it too spicy) and stir in well, leave to cook for a couple of minutes and then add the hot water.  Allow to simmer for 5-10 minutes.  I usually put the pasta on to cook at this point.

Add the sweetcorn and peppers, mix in well and then add the tomato sauce with the cheese.  Mix until all well combined and lower the heat to allow to simmer.

Once the pasta is cooked, strain and mix it together with the sauce.

Put the pasta mixture into an ovenproof dish, cover the top evenly with mozzarella cheese and the smashed tortilla chips.

Bake in the oven for 30 mins until the top is golden.

Easy hotdog pasta

Picture to come :)

One of my favourite quick and easy meals to make during the week.

• 1 pack red dog chilli hotdogs (usually in tesco)
• 2 small onions or 1 large
• 1 packet mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika (add more if you really like it!)
• Small pinch chilli flakes (to taste)
• 1 glass red wine
• 1 jar tomato and chilli pasta sauce
• Your choice of pasta

Chop the onions (doesn't matter what size) and saute in a pan.  Once soft add the mushrooms and cook.

Open the hotdog packet and chop them into 1cm pieces, add to pan.

Sprinkle in smoked paprika and chilli flakes and make sure all is coated.

Add wine and tomato sauce, mix well and leave to simmer.

Cook pasta and add to pan of sauce, mix well and serve with parmesan cheese.

Spicy pasta meatballs

• 4 Pork and chorizo burgers (or any speciality burgers from a supermarket)
• 6 Pork and chorizo sausages (or any speciality sausages from a supermarket)
• 2 large onions cut into chunks
• 4 rashers of bacon cut into small pieces
• 8-10 large mushrooms cut into chunks
• 300ml red wine
• 2 jars tomato sauce
• smoked paprika
• dried chilli to taste

Heat a large flat bottomed pan on the stove with some oil in.

Cut each burger into eighths and roll gently into ball shapes.  Cut the skin of the sausages and take out the meat and roll into balls equal in size to the burger ones.  Put all the formed meatballs into the pan and lightly brown them then put them to one side.

Saute the onions in the empty pan for around 5 minutes until soft and then add the bacon and cook as well.  Finally add the mushrooms and saute until cooked.  Add around a teaspoon of smoked paprika and stir until all is coated.  Add the chilli to taste (just a pinch makes it nice and spicy).

Pour in the jars of tomato sauce and add the red wine.  Bring to the boil and then simmer and add the browned meatballs.  Cook on simmer for around 30 mins.

15 mins into the simmer, put on the pasta of your choice.  Then once cooked serve with Parmesan cheese and enjoy :)

Spicy chicken and chorizo pasta sauce

• 3 chicken breast fillets chopped
• 225g whole chorizo (remove paper skin, cut in half and chop into chunks)
• 1 onion
• 2 cloves garlic
• 4 peppers (any colour you happen to have in, cut into chunks)
• small pinch chilli flakes or powder (to taste)
• 1 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 jar dolmio or other pasta sauce
• 1 tin chopped tomatoes
• 200ml red wine
• handful chopped basil

Use a large flatbottomed pan for this one, a big frying pan or a chefs pan is good.

Heat the olive oil on a medium heat and add the onions and garlic and saute slowly until soft and golden brown.

Put in the chicken and cook until all white.  Add the chorizo and fry until it starts to lose a little liquid.  Add the peppers and continue to saute.

Next sprinkle in the paprika and chilli, then add the tomato sauce, chopped tomatoes and red wine.  Simmer for an hour, then just prior to serving add in the chopped basil.

Steak and wholegrain mustard pasta sauce

• 2 sirloin or rump steaks cut into thin strips less than 5mm thick 
• 1 onion chopped
• 250g mushrooms, each cap cut in half then sliced
• (fresh peas)
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• 2 large dessert spoons wholegrain mustard
• 1 tsp english mustard
• 150ml low fat creme fraiche
• 140ml double cream
• 2 tbsp brandy
• salt and pepper to taste

Use a large flatbottomed pan for this one, a big frying pan or a chefs pan is good.

Heat the olive oil on a medium heat and add the onions and garlic and saute slowly until soft and golden brown.

Then add the steak and cook until just still pink in the middle.  Add the sliced mushrooms and fresh peas if using (I didn't use when the picture was taken, but think they would make a nice addition).

Saute until mushrooms are lightly cooked.

Add the brandy and then add the two types of mustard and stir in well.

Then mix in the creme fraiche and the double cream.

Add salt and pepper to taste.

Prawn and asparagus pasta sauce

• 1 bag (300g) small prawns (raw if possible but if not, cooked is fine), defrosted
• 1 bag (250g) raw king prawns chopped in half, defrosted
• 1 large onion chopped
• 2 garlic cloves crushed
• 1 packet asparagus tips
• 1/2 300ml tub low fat creme fraiche
• 1/2 300g tub chive philadelphia light
• 150ml white wine
• 75ml double cream
• 2 tsbp olive oil
• salt and pepper
• handful of basil leaves chopped

Use a large flatbottomed pan for this one, a big frying pan or a chefs pan is good.

Heat the olive oil on a medium heat and add the onions and garlic and saute slowly until soft and golden brown.

Next add the raw king prawns to the pan and fry until pink.

Then add the smaller prawns and the asparagus and stir fry in the pan until cooked.

Add the creme fraiche and the philadelphia and cook until they turn to liquid.  Add the white wine and simmer gently on a low heat for 5-10 minutes whilst you cook your pasta.

Just before you drain the pasta add the double cream and basil to the sauce and mix well, allowing to continue simmering right until serving, season to taste with salt and pepper.

Ravioli fillings

This is an extension on the Spicy Squash Tortelloni I made last year. I bought a ravioli press from Lakeland Limited which helped immensely and then the second time I tried these I had bought the pasta machine attachment for my Kenwood chef which made making the pasta sheets a lot quicker and easier.

First you need to make pasta dough, the second time I made the ravioli, as I was making four different fillings, I added different flavours to the pasta dough to change the colour, add a tablespoon of pesto to make green, a tablespoon of sun dried tomato paste to make it red, tablespoon of olive tapenade to make it black. Once the dough is kneaded and ready leave it in the fridge whilst you make the fillings:

Spicy Squash and Ricotta - I used the spicy squash recipe from above but added 2 tsp cumin seeds to the mix as well and added some courgette to the squash I had peeled. Then I mashed it all up and added a tub of ricotta to it and put it in the fridge.

Goats chesse and sundried tomato - 2 logs of soft goats cheese, 10 pieces of sundried tomato - put into a food processor and mix together adding salt and pepper to taste, put in fridge to cool.

Boursin mushroom - chop one onion finely and one 500g portion of mushrooms (preferably chop in the food processor to get very fine) mix with a 200g French Roule to make a creamy garlic mushroom mix, put in fridge to cool.

Mozerella, courgette and onion - fry onions and courgettes in a pan (probably 3-4 courgettes and 1-2 medium onions) and then chop 2 balls mozerella finely and mix in as well, leave to cool.

Pulled Beef - the day before or in the morning put a joint of beef (a cheap one will do) into a slow cooker or a very low oven with a bottle of red wine, a couple of sticks of celery and an onion chopped into two and leave to stew for 6-8hrs. Once it is cooked remove from the juice but do not discard. Place the beef on a chopping board and pull apart into strings of meat, once it is all pulled apart add it to a pan with some of the cooking juice and reduce down. Add a jar of tomato pasta sauce and again reduce down. Leave to cool.

Take the pasta and roll into sheets, do not take it to the thinnest sheet level, but one just before to leave it a little thicker and more elastic. Each portion of pasta dough made as per the recipe above can be cut into 4 and will make 4 sheets which each make one portion of 12 ravioli so 48 pieces of each.

Once you have the sheet made, flour both sides and flour the press. Place the sheet over the press and gently push the white piece into the pasta to form the cups for the fillings. Add just under a teaspoon of whichever mix into the cups. Take an egg wash (egg mixed with milk) and paste the remaining pasta sheet with it so when you lay it over the top of the pasta with filling and roll over the top of the press it forms a good seal. Tip the pieces out of the press and cut further with a knife if needed. Place the pieces of ravioli on a floured plate and allow to dry for an hour.

To cook place in boiling water for around 6-8 minutes and serve with a flavoured butter.

Charlie's Lasagne

• 1kg mince (or mince your own from steak)
• 3 onions, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• olive oil
• 4 sticks celery, chopped
• 3 peppers (red and green), chopped
• 200g mushrooms, chopped
• 1 Knorr beef stock gel packet (or 3 oxo cubes)
• 3 jars tomato sauce (I like Dress Italian slow cooked)
• 250ml red wine
• Salt and pepper
• Chopped basil and cutting celery
• Dried lasagne sheets or fresh made lasagne
• Jar of lasagne white sauce (I know, I cheat)

Fry the onions and garlic in a deep frying pan until soft, add the mince and cook until brown.

Add the peppers, celery and mushrooms and cook off.

Melt down the beef stock and then add the tomato sauces and wine and simmer for 10 minutes, finishing off with salt and pepper, basil and cutting celery.

If making own lasagne, roll pasta through machine to make sheets and then boil in water for 2 minutes to make them more workable. Take sheet out of boiling water and place in cold water until needed.

Once ready to make up lasagne, get a deep casserole dish, take out a lasagne sheet and allow the water to drain off and then lay in bottom of dish, cut to fit and place a sheet alongside until the whole of the bottom of the dish is covered. Then cover in the meat mixture, smooth out and drizzle about 1/4 of jar of white sauce over meat. Lay lasagne sheets across the meat layer again cutting to fit and making sure all meat is covered. Cover again in meat mixture and drizzle 1/4 sauce again. Carry on with this layering until the last layer of pasta is 1cm from top of dish. Then cover lasagne layer with rest of sauce, chop up mozzeralla and sprinkle on top. Cook in oven at 200 degrees for 30 minutes.

Pasta Dough

• 500g type '00' flour (found it in Tesco's Oldham on the baking aisle, McDougall's '00' flour for sauces and pastry)
• 5 large fresh free range eggs

Mixing by hand

Place the flour on a clean surface, make a well in the centre and add the eggs. Using a fork break up the eggs slightly and then bring the flour into the middle, mixing it around until it forms a semi-soft dough. Knead the dough hard for about 3 mins until smooth, silky and elastic.

In a mixer

Use the dough hook. Add the flour to the eggs and mix at medium speed for 3 mins or until it forms a tight dough. Remove from mixer and knead on a surface for about a minute until smooth, silky and elastic.

In a food processor

Put it all in and turn it on. Within 30 seconds will look like chewy breadcrumbs. Leave it a little longer and it will start to turn into a dough. Take it out and work it by hand for 2 minutes until smooth, silky and elastic.

Whichever way you do it, once done wrap in clingfilm and put it in the fridge for 60 minutes.

Then use a pasta machine and work smallpieces of the dough through the settings until it is 1-1.5mm thick.

Spicy Squash Tortelloni

Another fantasic Jamie recipe starts this one off. Spicy Roasted Squash

• 1 medium/large squash
• 2 tsp coriander seeds
• 2 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp fennel seeds
• 2 small dried red chillis or small amount chopped chillis
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp freshly ground pepper
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tblsp olive oil
• 1 batch pasta dough (see other recipe)
• 150g Boursin cheese
• Chopped fresh basil

Cut squash in half, remove the seeds with a spoon and then cut the squash into wedges or segments. Place in a bowl or bag.

Toast the seeds in a dry frying pan until you can smell the spices, then add to a pestle and mortar or flavour shaker with the dried herbs and pound. Then add the salt, pepper, garlic and olive oil. Add the paste to the squash and mix it round until coated thoroughly.

Place the squash pieces in a casserole or on a baking tray skin side down and roast in oven at 200 degress for about 30 minutes.

Once cooked scoop the squash flesh away from the skins into a bowl. Add chopped basil and the boursin cheese and mash until combined.

Using a pasta machine or rolling pin roll the pasta dough out into sheets then use a cicular cookie cutter (about 4-5cm diameter) to cut circles out of the dough.

Place about a third of a teaspoon of mixture in the centre of a circle. Brush water round the outside edge and fold the circle in half, sticking the dough together at the edges. With this semicircle, bring the two corner points together in the middle and squeeze to make a slight barrel shape. Put onto kitchen roll (drying them out makes them easier to handle) and carry on making the rest!

Once all are made, boil a pan of water and add to pan for just 3-4 minutes. Place in bowl and drizzle on melted butter mixed with pesto as seasoning. Serve with fresh parmesan cheese.

Jamie's Meatballs

My favourite all time Jamie recipe from his Naked Chef book

Serves 4-6

900g/2lb mince (If its for a special occassion then I buy good beef or steak and mince it myself)

2 slices bread (blitz to make breadcrumbs)

1 onion, finely chopped

1 clove garlic

1 tblsp olive oil

1 tblsp dijon/wholegrain mustard

2 tblsp dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds

1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds

1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds

1/2 small dried chilli or a little chopped fresh chilli

1 tblsp chopped fresh rosemary

1 egg yolk

salt and pepper

4 tblsp olive oil

2-3 jars Tomato sauce (I buy the new Dress Italian slow cook jars cos I'm too lazy to make my own!)

250ml red wine

2 handfuls fresh basil leaves, torn

Mozzarella ball

Fresh Parmesan (grated)

Add olive oil to frying pan and saute the onion and garlic, once soft add the mustard and leave to cool.

Put the minced meat and breadcrumbs in a large bowl.

Put the cumin seeds, mustard seeds and coriander seeds in a dry frying pan and lightly toast for 2-3 minutes until you can smell the spices. Place the toasted seeds in a pestle and mortar or a flavour shaker and pound until powder like.

Add these spices to the meat along with the dried oregano, chilli, rosemary and the egg yolk. Add some salt and pepper and finally add the cooled onions.

Wash your hands then stick them into the bowl and mix all the ingredients together. Then with wet hands roll the mixture into meatballs of any size you like. I prefer smaller ones, but thats my choice ;)

Preheat a frying pan or a griddle with some oil in and lightly fry off the meatballs to brown the outside and keep them together. Keep turning them to make sure they brown all over.

Put the meatballs in a casserole dish.

In a pan put your tomato sauces and the red wine, mix together then pour over the meatballs. Then tear up basil and mozzarella and sprinkle over the top.

Cook in oven at 200 degrees for about 25-30mins until golden brown.

Serve with your choice of pasta.

Stilton and Courgette Carbonara

Yes, I know, its courgettes again, but in my defence I have a lot of them, makes you inventive!

• 1 pk cooking bacon
• 1 leek (sliced thinly)
• 2 cloves garlic (minced)
• 12 assorted mushrooms (I used normal and chestnut, chunky chopped)
• 4 medium sized courgettes (sliced lengthways once then chopped so half moons)
• 1 tbsp fresh thyme
• 1 tub ricotta cheese
• 1 tub low fat creme fraiche
• 2 tbsp double cream
• 200g stilton (crumbled)

Saute the leek and garlic in a pan. Add the bacon.

Once bacon cooked add the mushrooms and courgettes and thyme.

Saute for around 5 mins until soft.

Then add ricotta, creme fraiche and cream and put on a low heat until bubbling. If sauce too thick add a little water.

Finally add stilton and stir.

Boil pasta and then add to pan and mix well.