Chicken & Onion Quesadilla The inspiration for this recipe comes from a KFC special they used to cook abroad a couple of years ago. I instantly fell in love with it and ever since they stopped selling them, I have been cooking them at home. Great dish to prepare for a party! serves 4 500g chicken breasts (about 3)

500g grated mild cheddar

1 onion

1 red or yellow pepper

4 tortilla wraps From the cupboard:

vegetable oil

barbeque sauce

½ tsp salt, pepper

1 tsp paprika powder, mixed herbs 1. Firstly prepare the chicken – wash & dry, then cut it up into thin strips. Spread it over the surface of your chopping board and sprinkle over salt, pepper, paprika powder and mixed herbs along with a dash of vegetable oil. Roughly mix to spread the seasoning. 2. Prepare the vegetables. Peel and chop an onion into medium sized pieces and place in a pan with some oil over a low heat. Meanwhile prepare the pepper – remove the inner membrane and seeds. Cut it up into medium pieces and add to the pan about 3 minutes after the onion. Leave to cook while mixing occasionally until the onions are caramelized but the pepper still retains a bite. 3. Preheat a large frying pan to a high heat and add the chicken. Keep moving it around the pan until cooked through and browned. Then remove from the pan and leave to cool slightly. 4. Now comes the assembly stage. Take a clean large pan, put it over a low heat and place a tortilla wrap in it. On one half only, add the following in this order – cheese (generously), chicken, onions & peppers, barbeque sauce and then some more cheese. Fold the empty half over the other and keep flipping the quesadilla until both sides are nicely coloured and the cheese inside melted. Repeat three times with the other wraps while placing the finished ones in the oven to keep warm. 5. Serve cut up into wedges with extra barbeque sauce on the side.

And to drink… If you’re on a budget forget about buying expensive packaged drinks. Water from the tap is perfectly safe, very cheap and is great as a base for drinks (though I recommend buying one of those water filter jugs – it greatly improves the flavour). Just add a few ingredients to transform humble water into something special. (Pink) Lemonade 3 lemons

2 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp strawberry/raspberry puree (optional)

1 litre of cold water Juice the lemons thoroughly into a large jug, add the sugar and half of the water. Stir until the sugar is dissolved (best way to stir is get a fork and stir three times left, three times right repeatedly). Add the remaining water, strawberry puree if using, stir again and serve. Ice tea 5 teabags (use flavoured black or plain green tea)

1 lemon (juiced)

2 tbsp sugar

750ml of ice cold water

250ml of boiling water Make the tea by placing the teabags into a cup and pour over the boiling water. Leave to infuse for about 5 minutes and remove the teabags. Add the sugar, stir to dissolve and add the ice cold water along with the lemon juice. Serve with ice cubes.

Macaroni & Cheese A classic with a bacon twist. Use any cheese that you get your hands on. Cheddar is the classic, but I love blue cheese and cheddar. Best thing to do when on a budget is to buy the cheeses in larger packets and split across two or three different recipes (hint: cheese risotto – coming soon!). Cheeses store well in the fridge when wrapped in cling film. You can use up to £2 of cheese in this dish. Serves 4 800ml whole milk

½ onion

250g grated cheese (any combination of cheeses)

400g pasta (choose from macaroni, penne or rigatoni)

4 rashers of streaky bacon From the cupboard:

50g butter

50g plain flour

Salt, Pepper

Olive oil 1. Cook the pasta in a large pot with salted boiling water according to your liking. For me perfectly cooked pasta is just after it cooks through – no chalkiness. Keep tasting during cooking until you like it. Drain and cool under running cold water. 2. Preheat the oven to its highest grill setting. Fry the bacon in a pan like you would for an English breakfast, then remove and leave to cool . Cut it into small pieces and place in the fridge until needed. 3. Place the milk and ½ a peeled onion (it’s just for flavour, will be discarded) in a pan over a medium heat until it just starts to boil, then turn down the heat and maintain the temperature of milk. 4. Make a simple roux – melt some butter in a pan and add the same amount of plain flour. Cook gently for about a minute, but don’t let it get any colour. Then start adding the milk, ladleful at a time until it is incorporated into the mix, until you reach a loose consistency of a sauce (the cheese will thicken it slightly). You may need to wait before additions and bring the mix to a boil to reveal the true consistency. 5. Stir in 200g of the cheese in batches and turn off the heat – you never want to cook anything with cheese in it otherwise it will split. Mix the remaining cheese with a few bacon pieces for the topping. 6. In a large bowl place the pasta and bacon, pour over the cheese sauce and mix through. Tip into a baking dish and sprinkle with cheese and bacon mixture. Place it in under the grill until the topping is golden. Allow to cool slightly and serve.

Burgers and Wedges One of my all time favourites. For those who eat burgers on a regular basis I would recommend a burger press, it helps the meat hold together during cooking. If you have time you can ground your own beef (use chuck), but bought mince will do just fine. You can even experiment with different meats – lamb or pork will be just as good. Be cautious about cooking bought mince anything less than well-done – it just keeps things safer. Serves 4 500g Minced beef

2 Mozzarella balls (from cow’s milk will do just fine)

1 Large Tomato

1 Onion

4 Burger buns

3-4 Large potatoes (Maris Piper or White or Baking) From the cupboard:

Ketchup / mustard / mayo

Olive Oil

Paprika, mixed herbs, garlic (granules), barbecue seasoning, salt, pepper 1. Place the mince in a large bowl and sprinkle with 1tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper. Gently mix through being careful not to overwork the mix – the more the strands are intact the more tender the burger on the table. Shape into four individual burgers slightly larger than the buns (burger will decrease in size during cooking). Gently push a small whole in the center of each burger – this will avoid the cooked burger being too thick in the middle. Refrigerate for 20 minutes to firm up. 2. Preheat the oven to 200C. Cut the unpeeled potatoes into wedges (first in half, then in half again, then one more time) and place them into a large bowl. Add 1tbsp paprika, 1tbsp mixed herbs, 1tsp garlic, 1tsp barbecue seasoning, 1tsp salt and 1tsp pepper and mix thoroughly. Place on a baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes until crispy. 3. Wash the tomato and with a sharp knife carefully slice it into thin slices – you want to have at least 8. Peel the onion, then slice across the layers. Blanch it in boiling water for 10-20 seconds to remove the harsh taste. Leave to cool. Lastly slice up the mozzarella balls. 4. Then preheat the pan/grill to a high heat and add a little oil. Fry the burger until a nice crust has formed, then turn the heat to low and cook longer to your desired liking. Leave to rest for 3-5 minutes (somewhere warm) and place mozzarella slices on top. 5. (Optional) Change the oven setting to grill. Slice the buns in half and place them under the grill, inside side up until nicely coloured. 6. Assemble the burger – bottom bun, meat with mozzarella, tomato, onion, sauces, top bun. Serve with wedges.