Winter Warmers

 Bring to a boil and leave to simmer for a couple of hours.

This should make a hearty supper and the left-overs an excellent soup. As all these dishes they taste even better heated up the next day.

Substitute a beef brisket for the chicken and leave the same seasonings.- yum.

You cant go wrong with a pasta bake. Make a simple roux. Chuck in the ingredients you want and top with lots of lovely cheese. A good cheddar is perfect, but add a bit of Parmesan if you have it.

With the frosty weather and a depleted post-Christmas bank balance. Staying in for home made hearty food becomes very appealing. 

Most of these meals are one pot and very simple. The deliciousness comes from good fresh ingredients and slow cooking. With meat the tastiest joints are often the cheaper ones, which just need a little more TLC to make just a good a dish as something more fancy.



Don't forget to shop at local markets. We go to the market in Wimborne and seem to spend about half of what you would at the supermarket. The veg seem to last longer and you end up with a lot less packaging. Ok they may not have the same range you want, but it is really nice to get back to eating fruit and veg in season.

First of all pizza is really easy. I use the pizza setting on my bread machine to make the dough, but substitute olive oil where the recipe says butter. The great thing about home-made pizza is you can choose the thickness and the ingredients. You also know exactly what’s going on the pizza. Yes not quite as easy as a frozen one but not a lot more!

 

A simple on pot dish. Most importantly buy the best quality chicken you can afford. The seasoning in this dish is minimal (a few cloves of garlic, some rosemary, a few bay leaves and some peppercorns). The rest is down to the quality of the chicken.