Spinach and Smoked Salmon Pie

I usually like to make my own pastry but I do often have a ready to roll pack in the fridge. I normally make this pie when I am not going to have what the rest of the family is eating.

Put the pastry in greased tart dish. I normally put the empty pastry case in the oven for 10 minutes or so to make sure the base is cooked. Tonight the dishwasher was on and we can't have that and the oven on together otherwise the electricity goes off, so I put the pastry in the microwave for a few minutes. Glad to say that it worked perfectly.

Beat 2 eggs, add chopped onion, garlic and black pepper, herbs too if you like. Chop the salmon and add and mix. Sometimes I use speck, mushrooms or artichokes along with spinach.

Make sure that there is no excess water in the spinach then add to the eggs. Normally at this point I would add boiled potatoes but tonight I forgot and had to put them in after.

Pour the mixture into the pastry case. I had extra pastry left over so I asked my son to cut out some shapes to go on top of the mixture.

Brush the pastry with the egg residue that will be in the mixing bowl. I always find it such a waste cracking open an egg to brush pastry with.

Bake for about 15 minutes at 170 degrees.

Prick the pastry before you bake it 'blind'

Eggs with salmon and seasoning

Pastry after being partially cooked

Drain the spinach well

Brushing the edge with egg

Mix well

My son cutting out pastry stars

Had to take the pie out of the oven when I realised I had forgotten the potatoes

The finished pie

Ready to eat

This pie is delicious cold the next day too.

Beef Meatballs with Luganega Sausage and Cheesy Potato Pie

I came home from work to find my husband had made a sauce with meatballs and Luganega sausage. Any sausage will do though. Sorry I don't have any step by step pictures just the finished dish. Ricky used garlic, black pepper, olive oil, tomato pureè, mixed herbs, onions and some water. He cooked it slowly and added sweetcorn when the sauce was finished.

For the potato pie I boiled about 2kg of potatoes (I like to cook extra so we have something for my husband's lunch the next day). The children don't like to eat pieces of onion so I put one in with the boiling potatoes so they would pick up the flavour.

After the potaotes were cooked we drained them and mashed them. Add parmesan cheese, black pepper, a knob of butter and olive oil to taste. I used to use chedder cheese for this dish but I don't have access to that anymore.

Beat the potatoes until they light and fluffy. Put them into an oven dish. I like to make a pattern with the back of a spoon.

Bake in an oven at 180 degrees until golden, about 15 - 20 minutes.

I roasted the onion that I boiled with the potatoes.

Ricky's meatball and sausage sauce

Boiling the potatoes with an onion

Mash the potatoes

Stir in the parmesan cheese 

Make a pattern with the back of a spoon

The finished pie

Ready to eat along with carrots and roasted onion

Serve the potato pie with the meatball sauce.

Bacon and Egg Pasta

We used to love bacon and eggs on a Sunday morning so here is version you can enjoy at lunch. I suppose it is a bit like Italian Carbonara but without the heavy cream.

Add about 250g of bacon pieces to a non-stick pan. Along with broccoli, chopped garlic and black pepper. I think the bacon has more than enough salt in it so I wouldn't add any extra. Add white wine and cook under a low fire.

In the meantime put the water for the pasta on to boil.

Whisk four eggs. My mother-in -law gave me some cherry tomatoes yesterday so I added a few as well.

Add the eggs and stir well making sure the eggs are well cooked. Turn the fire down and wait for the pasta to finish cooking.

Add wine to the bacon and broccoli

Add tomatoes

Add the beaten eggs

Mix the eggs in well

Give a good stir

Add the pasta

Ready to eat

Add the pasta, stir well and serve straight away.

Mummy, what's for dinner?: Creamy Fudge

Mummy, what's for dinner?: Creamy Fudge: This is from a recipe that I found on the internet. It's still snowing so this is something to help us enjoy the cold weather. I'll share ...

Creamy Fudge

This is from a recipe that I found on the internet. It's still snowing so this is something to help us enjoy the cold weather.

I'll share the link http://www.carnation.co.uk/pudcasts/ultimate-fudge

• 397g can Condensed Milk
• 150ml (¼pt) milk
• 450g (1lb) demerara sugar
• 115g (4oz) butter

Add your own flavouring. I like to use vanilla.

Add butter, condensed milk,brown sugar and milk

Bring to the boil and simmer

Adding vanilla flavouring

The fudge starts to become firm

Pour into a tray lined with greased greaseproof paper 

Cut into squares

Delicious fudge

Pasta with Seafood

It's snowing outside. Lots. I took a look in my freezer and saw half a bag of mussels and prawns. There was a packet of smoked salmon and courgettes in the fridge. I always have pasta and tuna in the cupboard.

Put a large pan of water on to boil.

 I put the prawns and mussels in a large non-stick pan, added white wine and the courgettes which I cut into small pieces. I often cook with wine that way I don't have to fry food. Next I put chopped garlic, black pepper, parsley and a little tomato pureè into the pan. Let everything simmer. Just before the pasta is cooked add the tuna including its oil and the chopped smoked salmon. Give the ingredients a good stir.

I time the cooking of the seafood by the pasta. Once the water for the pasta starts to boil I  turn the fire under the seafood down very low just to keep the ingredients warm and then I give it a quick burst of heat just before the pasta is cooked.

Once the pasta is cooked I add it to the seafood ingredients straight away. Add parsley to garnish and serve.

Prawns, mussels and courgettes in white wine

Seasoning and parsley added

Adding smoked salmon and tuna

Make sure the ingredients are stirred well

Add parsley

Ready to eat

This is a really quick and tasty dish.

Panettone Pudding

Whisk the eggs

There's nothing like lovely puddings to follow a meal especially when it's cold.
At this time of year in Italy panettone ( a bready Christmas cake) is on sale at greatly reduced prices.

This is my version of Bread and Butter Pudding.
Use a 750ml oven to table dish. Grease it. I use a little sunflower oil for greasing, something an old Aunt told me to do.

Sprinkle spice on the panettone

Add milk to the eggs

Pour the custard mixture over the panettone

Break up slices of the panettone and place a layer in the dish. Sprinkle cinnamon or nutmeg or both on top. Repeat with another layer of pannetone until it reaches the top of the dish.

 Whisk 2 eggs together add some more spice if you like and 25g of brown sugar. Whisk to dissolve the sugar.

Sprinkle sugar on top

Warm 400ml of milk (do not boil). I use a jug as it makes pouring easier. Pour the milk into the egg mixture and whisk until the mixtures are uniformed. Pour the mixture back into the jug and then pour over the panettone in the dish. Sprinkle brown sugar on top.

Leave for about 20 minutes then bake in an oven at 160 degrees for about 20 minutes until the pudding has risen and is golden.

Leave to rest before baking

The finished pudding

Panettone pudding with icecream

Serve hot with cream or icecream. My husband likes to eat it cold for breakfast.

Stuffed Chicken Breast

We love stuffing so as I had some chicken breast in the fridge I thought I would stuff them and roll them up.

For the stuffing you need about 4 slices of bread whatever kind you like and a packet of crackers (in Italy they come in packs of 4 or 5 crackers). Break up the bread into as many small pieces as possible and crush the crackers.

Add your favourite herbs, (I used parsley), salt and pepper, chopped garlic and onions.

Add a knob of butter or olive oil. Boil some water and add to the mixture stirring until it becomes nice and smooth.

I had about 8 chicken breasts. Put a tablespoon of the stuffing mixture onto one end of the breast and then roll. Place on greaseproof paper. Pour some olive oil on top of the chicken or use knobs of butter and then cover again with greaseproof paper.

Bake in an oven for about 10 to 15 minutes at 170 degrees. Check that it is cooked. You could try cooking the chicken in white wine in a non-stick pan.

We had the chicken with roast potatoes that were bought frozen. I also added shredded carrot to leftover rice from the night before. Artichokes were cooked in white wine with herbs, garlic, onions and olive oil.