Chicken Pie

This one pot chicken dish is perfect for a quick and comforting meal.

Ingredients:

Store bought puff pastry or mashed potatoes can be used instead.

Diced chicken fillets

mushrooms

green peppers

spring onions

1 can of mushroom soup

1 beaten egg

Preparation:

Season the chicken

cook the chicken in a hot pan

mix in the mushrooms and peppers

Pour in the can of chicken soup, then set aside.

For the pastry, flour a clean surface and rolling pin and roll out the pastry.

Place the pastry on to the corners of the baking tin

Fill the baking tin with the chicken and cover with the pastry

and use a fork to press down on the edges of the tin

make a few holes with the fork on top of the pastry

then brush the beaten egg on the top of the pastry

set the oven to 200C and bake for 30 minutes or until the pastry turns brown

Lemon Cheesecake

This is a simple recipe for cheese cake that requires no baking and takes less than 15 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients:

1 packet of ginger nut biscuits - any biscuit without cream (like digestives) will do

250grams of unsalted butter

750 grams of cream cheese

juice of 2 lemons

1 large tin of condensed milk

fruits for decorating – I used strawberries, kiwis and blueberries

Preparation:

Crush the biscuits to a fine powder.

Melt the butter and stir into the biscuit.

Tip the mixture into the bottom of a spring form tin (if you don't have one you can use a normal baking tin lined with grease proof paper). Then use the back of a spoon to push down on the crumbs till levelled and smooth. Put the tin in the freezer to cool till when needed.

For the filling, pour the cream cheese in a mixing bowl

add the juice of 2 lemons

add 1 tin of condensed milk 

mix with an electronic whisk

bring the tin out of the freezer and spoon in the filling, put in the fridge for a couple of hours to chill

decorate with fruit and serve.

Roast Tomato and Goat's Cheese

Roast Tomato and Goats cheese

Ingredients:

3 large tomatoes

4 cloves of garlic

A handful of basil

1 tablespoon of oil

Set the oven to 200C.

Crush the garlic with a garlic press.

Chop the basil.

Rinse the tomatoes and cut in half.

Place the tomatoes in a baking tin with the seeds facing up.

Brush some oil on the tomatoes, season with salt and pepper and spread crushed garlic.

Place in oven for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and add chopped basil and goats cheese.

Place back in oven for further 10 minutes

Then serve with grilled fish and green salad

Goat's Cheese Salad and Honey and Lemon Chicken

Ingredients for the Salad:

150 grams of mixed rocket and watercress salad

3 ripe pears

100 grams of goats cheese

50 grams of pecan nuts

2 table spoons of caster sugar

French salad dressing

Ingredients for the Chicken:

4 chicken thighs

2 lemons

50 grams of butter

5 tablespoons of honey

1 clove of garlic

½ teaspoon of Knorr all purpose savoury seasoning

How to prepare the chicken:

Preheat the oven to 200c.

Remove the skin from the chicken.

Make incisions into the chicken thighs.

Squeeze the juice out of the lemons.

Season the chicken with salt pepper and savoury seasoning.

In a pan combine the butter, garlic,honey and lemon juice. Heat for one minute on a medium heat or until small bubbles appear at the bottom of the pan.

Lay the chicken in a foil lined roasting tin side by side. Drizzle the honey lemon mixture on the chicken thighs.

Roast in the oven for 1 hour or until the begin to brown.

How to prepare the salad:

Roughly chop the pecans.

Toss the pecans in a hot pan, after a minute, add 1 tablespoon of caster sugar and a little water. Continue to mix together till all the peacns are coated in sugar, then set aside on a kitchen towel.

Peel the pears with a potato peeler.

Cut the pears into wedges.

Toss the pears in a hot pan for 2 minutes, add 1 tablespoon of caster sugar and a little water. Continue to mix together till all liquid evaporates, then set aside.

Cut the goat's cheese into little pieces.

Mix the salad with a little French salad dressing.

Assemble the salad on a plate. Leaves first, followed by pecans, then pears and spread goats cheese on top.

Serve with the chicken on the side or on top.