BBQ Bean & SPAM Pie

However much I try and be that mum that cooks healthy meals from scratch all of the time, there are those times when I, y'know, fail miserably. Since we got back from our holiday over two weeks ago, where I cooked some amazing family meals, I've lacked a touch of motivation. I haven't even managed to do a full 'big shop' since we've been back, and have been popping to the supermarket for essential items every few days (or emailing a list to the husband).

Yesterday whilst searching my almost bare fridge and packed pantry (why is the fridge always bare but the cupboards are still rammed with tins and packets of food), I happened across a tub of SPAM nestled next to a stack of baked beans. Teamed with the bowl of mashed potato in the fridge (the only way to serve our current, rather floury, allotment spuds) it made a rather decent dinner for a Monday night, if I do say so myself.

BBQ Bean & SPAM Pie - serves 2/3

1 tub of SPAM, chopped ham & pork

2 400g tins of baked beans

squeeze of bbq sauce

1 bowl of leftover mashed potato

handful of grated cheese

• chop the SPAM, and mix with the baked beans and bbq sauce in an ovenproof dish
• smooth the mashed potato over & top with the cheese
• bake in a preheated 180C oven for approx 30 minutes, until golden brown & heated through

serve with a side of vegetables if you want to be good, or a slice of thick white bread and butter if you want to be popular

Pulled Pork & Potato Frittata

One thing I dislike quite a lot is food waste. By this I mean the fresh foods and leftovers that households throw away every day. There's not a lot of food that gets thrown in the bin here, mostly because I try and re-use leftovers from one day in a meal for the next. I make a rough meal planner for the week which I use when doing the online shop, but it's usually really flexible and I don't stick to it rigidly, especially if there are foods that need using up.

Last week I cooked a shoulder of pork in the slow cooker and made pulled pork for dinner. There was some leftover but I knew it wouldn't be enough to go around 4 or 5 of us the following day, so I decided to be creative with it, along with some leftover boiled potatoes from the allotment (there was rather a lot of these!), and some green beans.

Frittatas are a great way to use leftovers as, I suppose, it's a bit like a bubble and squeak made with the leftovers from a roast dinner, with the addition of eggs. 

This can be eaten warm or cold, and is great for taking on a picnic.

Pulled Pork & Potato Frittata 

2 tbps olive oil

leftover boiled potatoes, sliced

leftover green beans

leftover pulled pork

6 eggs

splash of milk

approx 100g cheddar cheese, grated

• Heat the oil in a large non stick frying pan
• Add the potatoes and fry until lightly browned on both sides
• Add the pulled pork and green beans, and fry gently, dispersing evenly in the pan
• Beat the eggs with the milk and pour into the pan
• Cook gently until slightly wobbly on the top
• Scatter the grated cheese over the top
• Place under a hot grill until bubbling and golden grown

A couple of days later I still had lots of allotment potatoes, along with some chorizo left over from my chicken & chorizo paella, and made a chorizo & potato frittata in much the same way as this one, with the addition of some red pepper and chopped tomato.

Wartime Woolton Pie with a Modern Twist

To mark the 70th anniversary of VE day (8th May) the Potato Council are bringing Potato Pete back to life through wartime recipes that have been given a modern makeover. Potato Pete was created to encourage Brits to 'Dig for Victory' and grow their own vegetables during the war when foods were rationed. One such wartime recipe that uses a plentiful supply of homegrown vegetables was the Woolton Pie; a filling & nutritious pie of root vegetables with a potato and wheatmeal crust.

source

Potatoes are the original superfood, with research showing children get more Vitamin C, B1, B6, Folate, Iron, Magnesium and Potassium from potatoes than from the 5 superfoods; beetroot, bananas, nuts, broccoli and avocado combined.

Average intakes of potassium, iodine, folate and vitamin B6 are more than 10% higher in adults who regularly consume more potatoes rather than alternative carbohydrates such as pasta or rice. The average intakes of potassium, folate, vitamin A and vitamin B6 are also more than 6% higher in children who consume potatoes regularly.*

• *In 2011 Potato Council worked with nutritionists who analysed original data files from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS), a programme of surveys designed to assess the diet, nutrient intake and nutritional status of children and adults in the UK. Data was categorised according to whether adults and children ate more potatoes than alternative carbohydrates (rice/pasta) over the 4 days of the NDNS survey 
  

I decided to make a modern version of the Woolton pie by pimping the vegetable filling up a bit with garlic, white wine and cream, and topping with a flaky pastry crust made with butter, which would have been a luxury with wartime rationing. Of course, if you want to make this healthier you can add half fat creme fraiche instead of double cream, and reduced fat cream cheese.

The pie was delicious, and probably a million miles away from the somewhat bland pie of the 1940's. We ate it for lunch at the weekend, and it would make a great accompaniment to a Sunday joint.

Wartime Woolton Pie with a Modern Twist - serves 4-5

1 tbsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, crushed
25g butter
1 tbsp Marmite
tbsp fresh thyme
400g potatoes, peeled & diced (I used Vales Sovereign variety which are firm and smooth and hold together well in a pie)
250g swede, peeled & diced
250g carrots, peeled & diced
300g cauliflower
300ml white wine
150ml double cream (for a healthier dish substitute with half fat creme fraiche)
black pepper
1 egg, beaten

pastry
250g plain flour
pinch of salt
2 tsp fresh thyme
150g cream cheese
150g cold butter, diced

• Heat the olive oil in a large pan over a low heat
• Add the garlic and fry for 1 minute
• Add the butter, marmite & thyme and stir until the butter has melted
• Add the potatoes, swede & carrots and fry for 2 minutes whilst stirring
• Add the cauliflower and white wine
• Stir everything together and place the lid on and simmer for approx 15 minutes until the vegetables are tender
• Make the pastry by combining everything in a food mixer until it just comes together
• Roll the pastry out to just larger than your pie dish
• Remove vegetables from the heat & stir in the double cream and season with black pepper to taste
• Add the vegetables to you pie dish and cover with the pastry (I don't bother trimming to size and instead just tuck the edges in)
• Brush generously with beaten egg
• Bake in a preheated 200C oven for 30 minutes, until golden brown

• For more information about potatoes and recipes visit www.lovepotatoes.co.uk 
  

If you like what you see here then please consider voting for me in the 2015 Britmums Brilliance in Blogging Awards, in the food category. Thank you.

This recipe has been commissioned by The Potato Council

Healthy Soups - Creamy Leek & Potato

The healthy eating has started and the fitness mission is well and truly underway. Extra vegetables are being consumed, and whilst the kids aren't particularly fussy about eating them, one of the best ways to make sure they get enough is in home made soup. Two of the most popular flavours I make are a butternut squash and a curried parsnip soup, but this time I tried another flavour, which is always a risk, not knowing if the kids will enjoy it.

Soup is usually a very thrifty meal, and a potato soup is possibly one of the thriftiest. Throw these together with a couple of leeks and you have enough soup for a family for less than £2. According to the 'Real-time Food Consumption in the UK' infographic produced by Quandoo, since you started reading this blog post over 4000 kg of potatoes have been consumed in the UK.  Obviously I didn't use quite that many in this recipe, although if I did I'm sure it wouldn't have taken very long for my lot to eat it all!

Creamy Leek & Potato Soup

1 tbsp olive oil

1 large onion, chopped

1 clove of garlic, crushed

250g leeks, sliced

6-8 medium potatoes, peeled & diced

1 litre vegetable stock

150ml reduced fat creme fraiche

salt & pepper

• Heat the oil in a large pan
• Add the onion, garlic & leeks & fry for 2 minutes
• Add the potatoes & stock & bring to the boil
• Place a lid on & simmer until everything is softened (or add to a slow cooker and cook on medium/high for 3-4 hours)
• Stir in the creme fraiche
• Either blend with a hand blender, or mash with a potato masher if you like a bit more texture to your soup, adding additional stock if you want a thinner soup
• Season with salt & pepper to taste 

Thankfully everyone loved this soup so it's another one to add to our regular soup list. I like to add a swirl of hot pepper sauce to mine...

I found these beautiful duck egg bowls & plates in Tesco at the weekend and couldn't resist buying them.

Why not go back to the infographic and see how many potatoes have been consumed since you last checked...

This post has been commissioned by Quandoo

Sardines Two Ways

This is the final week of our 4 week oily fish challenge with Fish is The Dish. For this week I chose to cook with sardines, and bought tins of boneless sardines in tomato sauce. They're not quite the same as fresh sardines but they are very versatile and good for quick and easy meals.

I made the sardine rarebit for myself but it's definitely one that my husband will love, so I will have to put it on the menu for him soon. The pasta bake doesn't really have much fish in for 5 people but I didn't want to make it too fishy and put Sam off, as I wanted him to eat at least one of my fish dishes. The good news is that, despite smelling the fish, and then being able to taste it, he still ate it, AND he liked it!

I've actually quite enjoyed our challenge, and I will definitely be adding more fish to my shopping basket in the future.

Sardine Rarebit - serves 1

95g tin boneless sardines in tomato sauce
few dashes of Worcestershire sauce
handful of grated mature cheddar cheese
crusty bread slices or ciabatta

• Mash the sardines with a fork
• Mix in the worcestershire sauce and cheese (reserving a little for the top)
• Spread over the bread or ciabatta
• Place on a baking tray and bake in a preheated 180C oven for approx 15-20 mins - adding the remaining grated cheese for the last couple of minutes of cooking time

Mexican Sardine Pasta Bake - serves 5

olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
Knorr mexican Flavour Pot
95g tin boneless sardines in tomato sauce
1 red pepper, chopped

400g tin chopped tomatoes

can of baked beans

100g sweetcorn
300g dried pasta
200g half fat creme fraiche
150g mature cheddar cheese, grated

• Heat the olive oil in a pan
• Add the onion and fry for 3-4 minutes until softened
• Add the mexican flavour pot, the sardines and pepper
• Cook for a few minutes, adding a little water if necessary to prevent sticking
• Add the tomatoes, beans and sweetcorn
• Bring to the boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes
• In the meantime, cook the pasta for 10 minutes in lots of boiling water
• Drain the pasts and add to the sauce, mix well
• Pour everything into a large baking dish
• Top with the creme fraiche and then the grated cheese
• Bake in a 200C oven for approx 20 minutes, until the cheese is bubbling

this post has been commissioned by Fish is The Dish

Green Lentil Biryani

Since going on an Indian cookery course a couple of weeks ago, my 12 year old says that I have become a little addicted to making curries, and I'm inclined to agree with her. I'm sure it's just a phase and it will pass in time, but for now we're eating curry at least twice a week and we're enjoying it!

This weekend I cooked a Korma when family came over, and as usual I cooked far too much rice. I was going to make fried rice with it, but a last minute visit from the parents called for eeking it out a little further, and I cooked up some green lentils and made it into a biryani.

Green Lentil Biryani - serves 6/7

250g dried green lentils

vegetable oil

2 extra large onions, sliced

1 tsp garlic & ginger paste

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp chilli powder (optional)

1 tsp turmeric

salt

600-700g cooked Basmati rice

flaked almonds, toasted

• Pour boiling water over the lentils and soak them for a couple of hours, then drain & rinse
• Add oil to a large pan and fry the onions until lightly browned
• Add the paste and spices and fry for 2-3 minutes, adding a little water to prevent it sticking
• Add the lentils and 200ml water and mix well
• Place a lid on, bring to the boil and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed
• Stir in a pinch of salt and the rice and mix well and heat through
• Serve with toasted almonds scattered on top 

Simple Student Pasta

The time has come for my final #RespectThePasta challenge with ASK Italian. This challenge was to involve the kids in something, so I took the opportunity to encourage my teenager to cook his own dinner. I do most, if not all, of the cooking in this house, but I really should encourage them more as they really quite enjoy it when they do.

I jotted down some basic instructions to cook the pasta, add the passata etc, and then left him to it. Twenty minutes later, he proudly presented his bowl of pasta.

Simple Student Pasta - serves 3/4

500g Pasta

500g Passata

1 tsp dried Oregano

Grated cheese

• Cook the pasta according to the directions on the pack, and drain
• Add the passata and herbs to a pan and bring to the boil
• Turn off the heat and stir in the cooked pasta
• Divide between bowls and top with grated cheese to serve

I think this may be a weekly event now, and you never know, he may even make his own pasta one day.

#RespectThePasta Challenges

Challenge 1 - Respect the cook

Challenge 2 - Doing it right

Challenge 3 - Re-respecting the pasta

Challenge 4 - Respect from scratch