I love having a Chinese takeaway at the weekend and I wanted to see if I could create my own Chinese night at home. Most of it was ok, but it was just not the same, not to mention that I spent more on ingredients than just ordering the takeaway in the first place.

Anyway the things that did work, were lovely, and they were really tasty; one recipe that went well was the crisp Chinese pork. I had found the recipe from a Ken Hom book, lucky I had done my reading in advance of cooking up the Chinese meal as the pork needed to be dried out over a period of 8 hours.

So if you are wanting to try your hand at making this delicious recipe, here it is:

Serves: 4 -6 people
Preparation time: (8 hours for the pork to dry) then 20 mins
Cooking time: 2hrs 30 minutes

Ingredients

• 1.5kg of boneless pork belly keeping the rind on
• 2 tsp Chinese five spice
• 2 tbsp ground Sichuan peppercorns
• 4 tbsp coarse salt
• 1 tbsp sugar

Utensils 

• Meat hook(optional)
• Sharp knife
• Large pot
• Ladle
• Wok
• 2 x roasting tray

To Cook

1. In a large pot add water and bring this to the boil
2. Whilst the water is boiling, you need to place the pork into a roasting tray so that rind is facing upwards, and using the sharp knife pierce the skin all over
3. Once the water is boiled, using the ladle slowly spoon this over the pork, three to four ladles should be enough, and set it to one side
4. Heat your wok until it is very hot
5. To this add the spices of the peppercorns, five spice, salt and sugar
6. Stir fry for 3 minutes
7. Allow this to cool for 5 – 10 minutes
8. Whilst still slightly warm rub the spice mixture onto the flesh of the pork
9. Now leave the pork to dry for 8 hours, or leave it overnight – you can leave this on a new clean baking tray, or if you have a meat hook you can attach it and hang it out to dry
10. Once dry and you are ready to cook, preheat the oven to gas mark 6/200C
11. Place the pork straight onto the oven rack, middle is best, with the rind side facing upwards
12. On the oven rack below this place a roasting tray with some water in it
13. Roast for 15 minutes
14. Reduce the oven temperature to gas mark 4/180C
15. Cook for 2 hours
16. Increase the heat to gas mark 8/230C
17. Leave for a final 15 minutes
18. Remove from the oven and allow to cool
19. Serve in strips or as bite size chunks with a dipping sauce

This is such a simple recipe where less ingredients make for a tasty dish. The technique used is one that they use to make peking duck. By leaving it to dry and cook slowly the pork meat is going to be very tender, whilst the top of the rind is going to be lovely and crispy.

This post was written by Joe Davies, home and garden blogger, on behalf of Culshaw Bell Handmade Kitchen Furniture.

Image: avlxyz

Today, we enjoy the flavor and style of preparation of cowboy meals without the heroism and hardship. Moreover, we don’t have to go far to find the ingredients and time to prepare the following cowboy-cooking creations.

Steak and Eggs

Good morning, cowboy, the sun will soon rise on another day’s journey. Despite the hours of expended energy, it takes only a few to prepare a cowboy breakfast. You’ll need some staple items and a big smile lasting till sun’s fall. Proportion ingredients as needed depending on the number of your bandits:

Ingredients (for 1 serving):

• cooking spray
• 4-ounce steak
• 1-2 eggs, depending on preference
• 2 bacon strips
• onion and green pepper
• Salt and pepper

Spark up a bed of hot coals, laying a pan on top. Give the pan a shot of cooking spray. Place the steak and bacon on the pan; while sizzling, whip the eggs, chop the onions and combine with peppers for the omelet portion of the meal. Stir the eggs frequently; the pan gets hot.

The eggs should take less than ten minutes to prepare, while the bacon and steak longer, to desired temperature and preparation. No trail to the taste buds is complete without seasoning; use salt and pepper as desired.

Prairie Patty

Along with steak, hamburgers are a popular dish among the cowboy population, living up to the association. Burgers make great snacks or main meals depending on one’s journey and proposed plan. As with the steak and eggs, this recipe calls for a lone ranger, but add ingredients as necessary.

Ingredients (for 1 serving):

• cooking spray
• 1 quarter pound beef
• 2 tbsp of your favorite brand of barbeque sauce
• a hamburger bun
• lettuce, tomato, onion, etc.
• Salt and Pepper

Start your fire, burning the coals, using a frying pan to flip the bbq-sauce-glazed hamburger patty every 4 minutes. Drenching the burger accordingly before cooking facilitates flavor and preparation time. Spices and fixings make most dishes taste much better; ask any cowboy keeping extra rounds of spice around. Add lettuce, tomato, pickle, salt, pepper and other toppings you normally tip your cap to.

Cowboy Cider

Every cowboy likes to take his saddle down, pull up a seat, and enjoy a warm beverage. This cowboy concoction is alcohol free and filled with tasty goodness.

Ingredients:

• 1 gal apple cider
• 1/2 gal apple juice
• 4-5 sticks cinnamon
• 3 cups sugar

Mix the elements and boil over an open flame for 15 minutes. Settle in, and survey the scene of a hard day’s work in reverse, reflecting on your adventures across the prairie or whatever modern-day town yours may reside. You now have three, good-tasting meals to add to your road of cowboy recipes.

Peter Richardson picked up cowboy cooking from his granddad. He enjoys sharing recipes and stories on cooking and lifestyle blogs. For steak recipes, visit the link to learn more.

Image: Pixel Playa

Yes, there are plenty of wonderful restaurants around where you can enjoy sundowners, followed by supper – but it would be even more wonderful to pull together an inexpensive meal you and your friends can enjoy as part of a picnic on the lawn, while the men watch the Super Bowl?

Here is an idea for a light summer supper.

Starter: Mini Caprese Salad

Ingredients:
Halved baby tomatoes
Basil, cilantro, rocket
Cubed mozzarella cheese or crumbled feta
Olive oil
Basil Pesto
Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a wine glass, small dessert ramekin, or Styrofoam cup: Add the basil, cilantro, and rocket, then the baby tomatoes, and finally the mozzarella or feta cheese. Dress with olive oil, basil pesto, and add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with a spoon.

Mains: Chicken and Veg

You’ve gotten a nice dose of vitamins with your starter, now it’s time to wow them with the main meal. Of course you don’t want anything too heavy or rich, so a simple meal with chicken is the perfect balance.

Ingredients:
Skinned and deboned chicken
Corn
Peppers
Spinach
Garlic
Butternut
Optional: Lemon juice, ginger, herbs

Directions:
Cook your chicken for 30 – 50 minutes (oven temperatures vary). While the chicken is cooking, peel and de-pip your butternut, then place in boiling water for around 30 – 40 minutes. Once the chicken is almost done, throw in the corn, mixed peppers, spinach, and garlic, stirring constantly so nothing burns. Drain the butternut, cube it once it cools, and then add it to the plates. Remove the chicken mixture from the heat and serve over the butternut.

Optional: Dribble lemon juice over the top of the meal, along with some grated ginger to give the food an oriental flavour. Sprinkle a pinch of mixed herbs over the top to act as a garnish.

Dessert

Finish your night off with a simple berry and cream dessert to keep things light and airy.

Ingredients:
Strawberries
Blueberries
Raspberries
Maple syrup
Cream

Directions:
Wash and de-stem your fruit. Place them in the dessert bowls. Mix a tablespoon of maple syrup and pouring cream together (this will add some sweetness to very fresh, tart berries). Pour the cream-and-maple mixture over the fruits, and serve.

Great Side Dishes to Try

Optionally, skip the main meal entirely and consider doing a variety of side dishes to mix things up a bit. This way, if you have vegetarian friends, they can enjoy everything without having to worry about needing a third helping of your picture-perfect but rather bland (by their taste), salad:

• Asparagus and garlic tossed with butter and sliced onions – serve in a shallow bowl
• Pasta with cheddar cheese, tomato sauce, and mixed herbs – tastes just like pizza
• Corn, peas, carrots, onion, and broccoli stir fry – some healthy veggies
• Creamed spinach (mix spinach with cream cheese and a bit of milk) – adding bacon is optional
• Grated carrots, celery, and mixed peppers, served with a creamy ranch sauce – a “no fuss” salad
• Potato salad – a summer staple
• Can of sweet corn mixed with grated parmesan cheese – creamy and delicious
• Fried mushrooms with onion or garlic – always a winner
• Avo, tomato, and onion chopped and mixed with cilantro, lime juice, salt and pepper – serve with Doritos or Nacho chips
• Roasted and sliced red peppers filled with ham, onion, and cheese

Author Bio: Roseanna McBain is a writer for TravelGround. She enjoys creating fresh, healthy meals and inviting friends around to partake in them, when she’s not out exploring Cape Town.

Images: Katchakitcha, Jessica Splengler, Mr T in DC

Indeed, bake sales provide an ample opportunity for the world (well, the local community to be more realistic) to sample the tasty treats that until now, only close friends and family have tasted. Baking is generally a rewarding experience all by itself, but wouldn’t an opportunity to monetize your baking be even better? Whether you are pocketing the extra money, or donating it to a charitable cause, bake sales present the perfect opportunity for bakers to debut their success and generate a bit of revenue in the process.

Before you can even begin to plan to sell your baked goods at any venue, you should take a bit of time to truly assess whether you have enough recipes constitute your participation. While you may be known for that iconic lemon-meringue pie, complete with a flaky, vodka-infused crust, and whipped meringue topping that is to-die-for, do you feel as though it will bring you a day’s worth of business at a bake sale? If so, then please accept my respect for being a baking pariah. For most people though, multiple recipes are the key to a healthy amount of bake-sale success. So while you’re chilling your lemon-meringue pie, perhaps you could make that banana bread you have not made in a while.

Bake sales are usually a community affair. Basically, that just means that most of the patrons who flock to the sale will probably have familiar faces since they most likely reside in the surrounding community. If you hope to expand your reach, then expect to do a bit of promotion on your end. Even though, the pie to the right is a mouth-watering sight, it shouldn’t be your only means of marketing. Instead, rather than committing all of your creativity to your baking efforts, devote some to developing somewhat of a marketing scheme. Promotional products such as pens, business cards, flyers, and even t-shirts, are a great way to promote a bake sale. Not to mention, they generally can be found pretty cheap too!

Of course, finding a desire to sell at bake sales is relatively simple; actually finding an open bake sale on the other hand might prove to be a slightly more difficult task. With that being said though, why not just organize a bake sale yourself? In fact, most businesses, organizations, and especially churches, are eager to help (or even host) a bake sale as long as a portion of the proceeds are for a charitable cause. Moreover, while you want your baked goods to stand out, you certainly do not want them to stand alone. Luckily though, most businesses and organizations are more than happy to contribute their own tried-and-true recipes, with some being so generous as to donate tables and chairs to accommodate the culinary confections as well.

When the actual day of the bake sale comes, it is time to let your creative juices flow once more by presenting your dishes in an aesthetically-appealing manner by incorporating elements such as colorful paper, foil, and plastic wrap, accented neatly with ribbons, bows, and other finishing touches. You can even use this opportunity to market your baked goods a little more by “accidentally” leaving your business card in the packaging.

The baked goods themselves are not the only things that benefit from added decorations. Make it a point to arrive at the bake sale an hour or two early so that you can decorate the tables, chairs, and other prominent features of the venue. You’d be amazed at just how far a simple frilled tablecloth can go in boosting appearance. Think of your table as a freshly-baked cake, fresh from the oven. That cake would be plain and boring by itself, so we add a delicate layer of buttercream icing, followed by a smooth layer of fondant to really set it off. In this situation, think of the cake as your table, which is pretty boring all by itself; therefore, it is up to you to doctor it up a bit.

That is really all there is too it! Simple, right? Moreover, the beauty of bake sales are that they offer a productive and fun way to spend an afternoon; even if you end up selling less than what you had originally hoped. That recipe your grandma left you for a chocolate-praline pecan pie that you love so much, might encounter just as much love from other people too. So grab your apron and get cooking!

This post was written by Andrew Brusnahan, who owns QuiteHungry.com. He has been following his passion for baking for quite some time now, creating interesting posts like this one to entertain us all. If you would like to hire Andrew, or simply ask him something, send him an email at abrusnahan@yahoo.com.

The Christmas holiday season brings with it the dreaded realisation that Brussel sprouts may be the only side dish with your turkey, but there are several alternatives which will deliver lots of flavour, imagination and enjoyment to your meal.

An interesting recipe which could be served with a beef or lamb joint on Christmas Eve for example, is fresh tarragon green beans with butter, lemon and a splash of white wine. Melt three tablespoons of butter in a large, high-sided frying pan over a medium heat. Add a finely-chopped shallot and cook, stirring constantly until it is soft and translucent. Add the green beans and gently toss in the pan to mix with the butter and shallot. After 2 minutes, add 150ml of white wine to the mixture, and raise the heat to medium-high. Cook, while stirring often, for 10-12 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium and when the beans are tender, another 3 minutes or so on this heat, mix in two tablespoons of fresh tarragon, squeeze over the juice of half a lemon, and season generously with crushed black pepper, and salt.

On Christmas Day you may want something more traditional to go with your roast turkey and roast potatoes. Live well for less’s Cauliflower cheese is a great example of a very tasty and easy to prepare side dish that will banish any memory of Brussel sprouts! All you do is boil the cauliflower in water for 8-10 minutes until soft and then place in an ovenproof dish. Take a saucepan and melt a little butter, before adding 40g of flour and keep over the heat for a minute. Remove from the heat and add 400ml of milk, stir continuously until the milk is incorporated then return to the heat. Keep over the heat, whilst stirring, until the sauce has thickened. Preheat the grill to a medium heat before adding half-a-teaspoon of mustard and 150g of cheese to the sauce. Season with nutmeg and lots of black pepper and then pour the sauce over the cauliflower, topping with enough breadcrumbs to cover and more cheese if required. Grill for 5 minutes until bubbling.

Another tasty accompaniment is roasted garlic and clementine carrots, which have a lot of flavour and are very simple to prepare. Peel the carrots and the outer layers of 2 garlic bulbs, halve 2 clementines and squeeze the juice over the carrots in a large roasting tin. Drizzle well with olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Roast for 45 minutes in an oven at 200°C turning the carrots halfway through cooking. Alternatively, for those who would prefer a more traditional carrot dish, replace the clementines with a generous drizzling of honey, and two tablespoons of red wine vinegar. Similarly, you could do the same with roasted parsnips, or even both in the same roasting dish.

Finally, another excellent Christmas side dish – especially for those seeking slightly more exotic flavours – is a delicious cranberry sauce, with a ginger and garlic clove twist. In a medium-sized saucepan, put in a bag of cranberries, about eight tablespoons of dark-brown sugar, a measuring cup of water, a tablespoon of finely grated and peeled ginger and one or two finely-chopped cloves of garlic. Bring it to the boil over a high heat before reducing to a simmer, stirring occasionally until the cranberries have burst and the sauce is slightly thickened – this is the pectin reacting with the sugar during cooking. Remove from the heat and leave to cool before serving as a fantastic fresh accompaniment to your turkey.

Written by: Vanessa is a blogger and work-from-home mum who writing about cooking and parenting, when not tied up by her two toddlers. She’s also into arts and crafts, likes things that glitter and any excuse for a childrens’ party.

Photo: owlpacino

One of the main plus-points of a self-catering holiday is the lack of having to keep to a schedule to make sure you and your family enjoy a tasty evening meal. If you are having a great day on the beach or lots of fun on the fair, the last thing you want to do is cut it short so you can make it back to your hotel or holiday camp in time for dinner. Instead you want to make the most of your holiday and worry about food when your tummy starts rumbling.

At the same time, the last thing you want to do is spend so much time preparing and cooking food that you feel as though you are still at home and stuck in the same routine.

For some, the only time to consider a non self-catering holiday is when travelling abroad. And it’s no surprise as shopping for food and preparing meals can be quite stressful when you don’t speak the language and have to guess the contents of tins and jars. On the other side of the fence, UK breaks are great for self-catering as familiar supermarkets are dotted around the country, and if you want to, you could do the food shopping at your local store and take it with you. If you don’t have enough space in your car or time to shop, order your food online and arrange for delivery to your accommodation.

Keep it Simple

When it comes to choosing meals for a self-catering holiday it’s best to keep things simple and light. A Sunday roast isn’t a great meal for a short summer break as it takes hours to prepare and cook and it can leave everyone feeling rather sleepy!

Salads are great though. They may be a bit old hat, but with some imagination, a few herbs such as basil, lemon balm and chives, and a delicious dressing, which you could buy or make yourself, you could prepare a really tasty meal in just a few short minutes.
Salads are perfect for getting your kids involved too. They’re easy to make and they don’t involve using a cooker or going anywhere near an oven.

If you have a hard time getting your kids to eat green stuff, you might instead consider the versatility of pasta. There are plenty of options– tuna and mayo pasta ticks all the boxes for a quick and easy meal while on holiday, so does pasta and pesto. Both of these dishes are very easy to make and very little can go wrong.

The point of a holiday is to relax and have fun. Cooking, preparing and eating food can become part of that as long as you keep things simple and healthy.

Photo: usdagov

Let me paint you a picture. It’s a horrible, grey Friday night in a rundown club in a dirty town and I’m caked in mud after a long, hard day gardening. In walks the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. It was love at first sight. But how to get her to notice me…I mean, really notice me. After introducing myself and running through a bit of small talk, I managed to steer the conversation around to food and this gave me the chance to offer to cook a special meal for her the following Friday night, which she gladly and kindly accepted.

I rushed home and tried desperately to find a recipe in my cook books to impress her with. I needed something that was quick, easy and looked really, really posh. Cheese on toast wouldn’t do. It had to be perfect. Before long, I found it scribbled on a bit of paper and lodged in the back of one of my Nan’s old books.

Friday night came and I cooked this for her in her kitchen.

Two years on and I’m now married and have two children, a dog and a mortgage with that girl.

It worked. It works

Let me share this with you now, because for me, this recipe quite literally changed the course of my life. If you’re looking to impress a girl, and more importantly, make a lifelong impression, then this is the recipe for you. Her taste buds will love you forever.

Ingredients

4 salmon steaks
Soy sauce
Honey
Sprig of parsley
Olive oil

Method

1. Drop 1/2 tablespoon of olive oil into glass mixing bowl or jug and add a 1/3 bottle soy sauce & enough honey to thicken the mixture to personal preference.
2. Pour half the sauce into a pan and gently fry the steaks, so that the salmon absorbs a fair amount of the sauce. Once cooked to taste, serve and drizzle the remaining sauce on top. Garnish with parsley, and you could even serve with some fresh salad and homemade garlic bread.
3. You could also use tuna steaks instead of salmon, and you can vary the thickness and flavour of the sauce by adding different amounts of the honey or soy sauce. You can also experiment with frying the fish steak in with various herbs and spices to enhance the flavour, however, I usually go by the rule of “keep it simple” because over doing the number of flavours can lead to confusing and undesirable combinations.

So there you have it. I hope this recipe brings you as much success in life as it has brought me. It’s one of my favourite easy meals to cook and it is incredibly tasty too! Leave a comment below with your ideas and suggestions, who knows; maybe we can make it even better?

Written by James of Oakhouse Foods; delivering fresh groceries to your door every day.

The key to this dish is in the timing. The brown rice and the chicken take the same amount of time to cook, so put them on at the same time. Prepare your vegetables during the cooking time, and fry them on high about 10 minutes before the chicken and rice is cooked. If you get it right, this is quick, easy and filling. If you need something on the go or need something for lunch the next day then this is the perfect meal. This can be made the night before and served cold but do not reheat. Made this way it makes 4 servings.

To make this dish you will need the following ingredients:

4 chicken thighs with skin on
240g brown rice
1 red onion
10 sugar snap peas
Handful of Chestnut mushrooms
1 large yellow pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon basil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon liquid stock (any style)
1 teaspoon Worcester sauce
3-4 teaspoons cracked mixed peppercorns

Method

1. To start with, preheat you oven to gas mark 8/ 230°c/450°F.
2. Baste your chicken thighs with olive oil. Place in a baking tray with the garlic clove, cover with foil and put in the oven. Cook for 30-40 minutes until the meat is cooked through. Whilst, the chicken is cooking, chop up your vegetables and coat in olive oil, Worcester sauce, ground coriander, ground cumin and basil. Mix well and then add the stock.
3. Put your brown rice onto cook. If using microwave rice, wait until the chicken is out of the oven. If you are preparing dry rice from the packet it should take between 25-30 minutes to cook. Place the rice in a large saucepan, cover with cold water and add the cumin seeds. Boil on high for 10 minutes before reducing the heat and popping the lid on the pan. Leave to cook for a further 20 minutes before draining.
4. Put a skillet (or deep frying pan) on a high heat with no oil. Once it’s very hot, gently pour the vegetable mixture in. Watch out for spitting. Cook on high for 5-10 minutes or to your preference.
5. Once everything is cooked, layer the rice on the bottom, followed by a generous ladleful of the vegetable mix. Take your chicken thighs, remove the skin and gently pull the meat off using a fork. Arrange the chicken on top of the vegetables and sprinkle generously with pepper.
6. Serve or store in an airtight container. Keep refrigerated.

This recipe was produced by Barrie from Oakhouse Foods – delicious frozen foods delivered to your home.

Picking a wine to enjoy with an Indian curry can be a tricky business but it is not an impossible task and sitting down to a curry with a glass of wine rather than a beer is achievable!

In this article I would like to explore matching some white wines with Indian curries. First off I would mention high alcohol wines may bring out the heat in a curry potentially making it unpleasant; we are not looking for the bottle of wine which will get us the drunkest, we are searching for a bottle that will complement our meal. You can buy some superb wines online including a staggering number of delightful white wines and find bottles that are not available in the supermarkets.

Not all of us can stomach a vindaloo and mild curries are extremely popular, especially a chicken curry with a buttery sauce. Indian Butter Chicken (Murgh Makhani) is an example dish that can be made as spicy as you like. Not all Chardonnay white wine will pair well with a curry but these milder, buttery curries will pair well with fruitier chardonnays. Preferably the Chardonnay will be unoaked or lightly oaked. I would recommend searching for some of the Chardonnays produced in the vineyards of the New World.

Another bottle of wine that we will be familiar with is the Chenin Blanc and if you hunt down the sweeter bottles of this popular wine you will find that the sweetness is able to balance the spicy heat of Asian dishes so this could be an option to enjoy with your curry.

Generally, I would say that we are familiar with Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc as a wine buying nation and we may want to take this opportunity to explore a different type of wine.

Viognier is a white wine grape that is becoming increasingly popular; this interesting article by Fiona Beckett in the Guardian details this grape’s rise in popularity. As mentioned in Fiona’s article the Viognier grape is the only grape allowed to be grown in Condrieu, an Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée (AOC) in the northern Rhône area.

A bottle of Viognier can be paired with curried dishes although I would avoid the hotter end of the curry spectrum, as some of these wines may be higher in alcohol than other grapes. The same can be said for Gewürztraminer as the high alcohol content of this wine can combine with the spices to create an unpleasant heat sensation.

Matching food with wine should be a fun experience and there is lots of guidance and “do’s and don’ts” on the internet and in books you should also not be afraid to experiment, it’s part of the fun I think!

Photo: Robert S Donovan

As the temperature drops for the winter months we all start to hanker after hot, nourishing food to warm and comfort us. You may also find yourself snacking more or craving large meals during cold periods; this is a natural response from our bodies as they seek more calories to keep us warm. But, if you choose foods that are both comforting and nourishing it doesn’t mean you’ll pile on the pounds.

Soups
Soups are a classic go-to food when you’re feeling the chill. To avoid a calorie-laden bowl you can reduce the cream content and thicken up your soup with potato or pulses instead. The fleshy, orange pumpkin is more than just Halloween decoration; it’s a versatile vegetable too. The best part is its flavours combine really well with spices such as cinnamon, ginger and chilli, making your soup an extra-warming meal.

Shepherd’s Pie
A truly loved British classic, Shepherd’s Pie is a hearty dish that is really simple to make. This delicious meal contains minced lamb, hearty vegetables such as carrots, turnips and onions, seasoned and topped with a filling layer of potato. It is baked to perfection in the oven in a large dish so there’s always plenty to feed the whole family.

Sausage Casserole
A slow cook pot is handy for this substantial meal and the one-pot method is great for sharing. There shouldn’t be much preparation involved, apart from chopping that is, and any leftovers can be frozen for another day. British Sausage Week (5th-11th November) is a celebration of the Isles’ finest sausages so why not pick from the best to bulk up your stew and yourselves? A high protein meal may also help reduce the craving for extra carbohydrates and leave you feeling fuller for longer.

Chicken and Mushroom Pie
Chicken and mushroom pie often makes the list of Britain’s top comfort foods and it’s clear to see why. Break into its crusty, pastry casing and out oozes a creamy filling of chicken and mushroom deliciousness.

Bubble and Squeak
The traditional British dish of Bubble and Squeak can be made with leftover veggies from a roast dinner or similar. Chopped vegetables (and meat, if used) are mixed with mashed or crushed potatoes then the mixture is split into portions. These are then fried in a pan until golden brown. For an interesting twist why not serve with a fried egg on the top or a side portion of crispy bacon?

Apple Crumble
For those of you with a sweet tooth there’s nothing more comforting (in my opinion) than an apple crumble. Plus, autumn is the perfect time of year to make use of the freshly harvested apple crop. This steaming hot dessert with sweetened apple and a crumbly topping is easy to make and equally easy to eat.

So, don’t let the winter get you down. Take control in the kitchen and rustle up some warming British meals for all the family.

Mel is a keen food blogger who recommends you head over to the Love Pork site for more information about British Sausage Week.

Photo: Diekatrin