Creamy Carbonara

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 1 onion, sliced
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 4 rashers bacon, sliced
• 250g mushrooms, sliced
  
• 1/2 cup chicken stock
• 300ml thickened cream
• 1 egg, beaten
• 250g fettucine cooked

Method

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan, saute onion and garlic until tender.
2. Add bacon, cook until beginning to brown. Stir in mushrooms, cook for 1 to 2 minutes.
3. Blend in stock and cream, bring to the boil and reduce heat. Simmer until you see the sauce beginning to thicken.
4. Take the saucepan off the heat, and whisk the egg through. Return to the heat and add salt and pepper, still stirring. Simmer for 30 seconds.
   
5. Stir through cooked pasta.

Serve with garlic bread and salad!

Chimichangas

Ingredients

• 8 flour tortillas
• 2 grilled chicken breasts, thinly sliced
• One onion, and 2 red or yellow peppers sliced and sautéed until soft
• 250g of mozzarella, cheddar or Red Leicester, grated
• Refried beans
• Vegetable oil for frying
• A flour and water paste mixed to make thick "glue"

Directions

1. Lay out all 8 tortillas on a work surface. You're going to put all the ingredients onto these and roll them up for frying. You want to pile all the ingredients in the very center of the tortilla, not edge to edge as you would for a burrito; this is so you will be able to roll it up and seal it later.
2. Add a couple of spoonfuls of refried beans into the center of your tortillas, and then divide up all the other filling ingredients into piles on top of the beans.
3. Take one of the tortillas, and roll it over once. Add some of your flour glue to the two ends, and fold them in towards the center. Roll it again, and use some more glue to seal off the edge. Repeat with the remaining tortillas. If your tortillas are breaking, you can warm them up in the microwave a bit first, to make them more pliable.
4. Heat some oil in a skillet. You can either deep fry these, or shallow fry them in a skillet. The deep fry method is better, but most people at home prefer the shallow fry method. (These instructions are for the shallow frying method.) You want to add about an inch of oil to your deep skillet, and heat it up over medium heat. When hot, (a little piece of tortilla starts bubbling immediately when dropped into the oil), add your chimichangas.
5. You will probably need to do this in about three batches, as you don't want to over crowd the skillet and drop the oil temperature down too much. Fry for about 2 minute's per side, or until crispy and golden brown.

Serve these with salsa, sour cream, guacamole etc.

Ham & Pea Soup

Ingredients

• 500g split peas


• 1 large ham hock (or 2 small ham hocks)


• 2 bay leaves


• Chicken stock

Directions

1. Add peas to a large pot, cover with stock and add extra.


2. Add hocks to the pot, and boil til meat is falling off the bone.


3. Cut off all meat and add back to the pot, discard bones.

Serves 6

Baked Ziti

Ingredients

• 455 g dry penne pasta*
• 1 onion, chopped
• 455 g lean ground beef
• 1456 g spaghetti sauce
• 170 g provolone cheese, sliced
• 345 g sour cream
• 170 g mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 10 g grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add penne pasta, and cook until al dente, about 8 minutes; drain.
2. In a large skillet, brown onion and ground beef over medium heat. Add spaghetti sauce, and simmer 15 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease a large baking dish. Layer as follows: 1/2 of the penne, Provolone cheese, sour cream, 1/2 sauce mixture, remaining penne, mozzarella cheese and remaining sauce mixture. Top with grated Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake for 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until cheeses are melted.

Serves 10

*Penne pasta is the best substitute for Ziti

Chorizo and Bean Stew

Ingredients

• 60ml olive oil
• 1 red onion, peeled, chopped
• 500g chorizo sausage, sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 400g can butter beans
• 410g can diced tomatoes
• 2 fresh bay leaves
• 150ml beef or chicken stock

Directions

1. Heat the oil in a large pan. Add the onion and cook for 3-4 minutes until just softened. Add the chorizo and cook until it starts to turn golden.
2. Transfer chorizo mixture to a plate and set aside. Add garlic and chilli to the pan. Cook for a few seconds, then add butter beans, tomatoes, bay leaves and chorizo mixture.
3. Pour in stock, bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in parsley and serve with crusty bread & rice.

Serves 4