Mushroom and Bacon Pot Pie

May in the UK can be getting the sun cream out one minute then racing back indoors for an umbrella and a coat the next so my cooking swings from barbecues to heartier fare.

This pot pie is nothing fancy but it is very tasty.

Slow Cooked Chunky Beef Chilli

I love chilli made with minced beef but I love this recipe even more with meltingly soft and tender chunks of beef in a rich, spicy sauce.  You get far more texture and variety making chilli this way and the slow cooking makes the flavour awesome.  Smoked paprika may sound like an odd ingredient but it gives a sweet smoky depth to the stew.  Just make sure you use sweet smoked paprika or test the flavour first as you can get spicy versions.

Chilli flakes and powders vary (mine was a pretty new jar and the more recently the jar or pack is opened, the spicier it will be) so you may find this less spicy than you like.  My top tip though is to use some tabasco or other hot sauce to bring up the spice at the end if you feel that it needs it.  The problem with slow cooking is it tends to intensify the flavours of chilli so it's easy to end up with a chilli at the end which is more "blow your head off" than "gently warming" so I'd err on the side of cautious then correct the flavour at the end.  The other benefit being you then have a more multidimensional flavour.

Lamb Kebabs

A recipe which is ideal for the barbecue or the grill (broiler) if the weather is disappointing.  Lamb is great for grilling; it has natural fat which keeps the meat tender but also, like steak it benefits from being served slightly pink.

This is a very simple recipe for some simple lamb skewers.  If the weather ever improves I'll be nibbling on this delicious lamb and hummus for the rest of the summer.

Chorizo Rice

I've been making this recipe for years.  Traditional paella does not contain chorizo but after trying an inauthentic recipe with it in, I realised that if I just made a rice dish with the chorizo, it would be a pretty tasty.  Also as you miss out the saffron, this makes this recipe pretty cheap.  The extra smoked paprika flavour means you don't need much chorizo for this dish either.

Harissa Lamb Chops with Cous Cous

I had a sudden lusting for lamb while in the supermarket today.  Lamb isn't something I eat a lot of but there is something delicious about lamb with Middle Eastern and North African ingredients.

Chicken with Haricot Beans

I love haricot beans, pulses are a great way to contribute towards your 5 (or 10 a day) while also getting a great source of energy, a fantastic alternative to pasta, rice or potatoes.

This recipe is not exactly healthy but it is delicious and reheats surprisingly well.

The Ultimate Steak Sandwich

This morning I went on a 6.5 mile training run.  I had a plan for a healthy lunch but in the supermarket there was a beautiful looking fillet steak which was reduced so this was my delicious lunch.

Yes, this is indulgent, no way is it healthy but this is all about one of the greatest sandwiches you'll eat.  It's a bit messy to eat so have a napkin nearby.  Cucumber and tomatoes are optional, some rocket leaves would be lovely as well.

This is also a great way to pad out a small steak.  If you served this with one or two side dishes this would be a great meal for two.

Slow Cooked Chinese Style Pork

I had some pork belly strips in the fridge and wanted to treat them so they'd end up in a sweet, sticky and spicy glaze.  This is what I came up with, with the crunchy vegetables it turned out to be a delicious feast.

Beef Pot Roast

Pot roasts.  Gloriously, flavourful, delicious, falling apart beef gorgeousness.  Are you with me yet?

Is it pretty?  Not really unless you love hunks of meat (sorry veggies, sometimes I do, everything in moderation).  Does it taste great?  Absolutely.

I have to get my disclaimer in first.  There is no making a pot roast for one.  There, I've said it.  So why am I posting this recipe?  Well despite the fact I made this in my weeny household, I did seriously cook 1kg of beef and it was so blooming tasty I certainly didn't mind eating leftovers for a few days but see tips towards the end for more on that.

Spicy Chicken Salad

This dish is something I've been making and tweaking for years.  It started off as a Vietnamese chicken salad with poached chicken breasts and a spicy dressing.  Over the years the recipe evolved to using thighs and baking the chicken then using the dressing as a marinade and here is where I am now.

Nothing authentic about it; in a way it's like a Vietnamese chicken salad meats caramel chicken mash up; sorry for the mish mash of influences.

Most of all though, it tastes great.  The harshness of the garlic and chilli are mellowed out by them being cooked.  The chicken thighs are much juicier and flavoursome than the poached breasts but benefit from the oven cooking to give them flavour and cook out some of the fat.  The freshness is still in the dish from the salad.

Venison and Chestnut Stew

When the weather is chilly outside, I often look to my slow cooker for something delicious, hearty and filling.  Venison may not be the most obvious choice but I bought some wild venison from my local supermarket.  Some people get very squeamish about eating it presumably because deer are prettier than cows?  I don't.  We have several deer parks in the UK and deer are a pest in many areas, especially Scotland.  I also can't see a better life to lead than a completely wild one.

That said, venison is a lean, delicious meat but not a cheap one.  This is why I bought cheap pieces of venison for slow cooking and also had the idea to include chestnuts.  I've included chestnuts once or twice in stews before and if you've not tried it, I urge you to.  They add a textural difference and a delicious, sweet note, they also make 300g of expensive venison into 3 portions.

Chicken and Vegetables with Sticky Honey and Ginger Sauce

I decided to do a chicken and vegetable stir fry which was more veg than chicken.  Sometimes it's great to have a small amount of meat in a dish, it's a great way to make it a bit healthier and count towards your 5 a day.

This dish contains a whopping 170g of lovely vegetables, more than 2 of your 5 portions a day.

Leftovers Soup

When I was a child, I used to really look forward to having turkey soup a the end of the Christmas celebrations.  My Mum used to make stock from the bones and it would just taste fantastic.  I never realised she was being thrifty.  I tend to have my leftovers soup a little earlier in the Christmas period but it is still just as delicious.

I've included chestnut stuffing in mine but you could include any sausagemeat based stuffing or miss it out completely.  Of course you could go the whole hog (sorry, bad pun) and use leftover vegetables as well.  I don't because leftover vegetables aren't quite so nutritious and if there is any soup left they won't be pleasant after another reheating.

Slow cooked lamb curry

This is a cracking frugal recipe which you could adapt to what you have available.  It makes the most out of quite a small amount of lamb.

If your lamb is on the bone, cook it in the curry bones and all and take them out later (if you like) as this improves the flavour.

Chicken in Sherry Sauce

Ah... sherry, beloved of Grandmas... boring eh?  NO!  Sherry rocks!  Forget your thoughts of cream sherries of your Grandma, it is a delicious fortified wine which can take you from deliciously dry and crisp Finos and Manzanillas, fantastic with tapas to Pedro Ximenez which is delicious as a dessert wine.  My favourite is those labelled as Solera taking some of the citrus fruitiness of Palomino with the sweetness of Pedro Ximenez.

So anyway... try it, I urge you.  A bit more about sherry at the end for those of you keen to learn more.

But in the meantime, sherry is often used in cooking in Spain but it's not normal to use the sweeter sherries in savoury dishes.  This was an invention of mine which might sound strange but it is delicious.  Imagine the stunning sweetness and depth of flavour of roasted onions and then you're getting the idea.

Chorizo and Butterbean Soup

Soup season is definitely here.  When I get home at night in the dark a bowl of thick, hearty soup is definitely top of my list.  What's great about using pulses in soup is they naturally break down slightly as the soup cooks thickening it beautifully.

I've used butterbeans here but haricots would also be good.  All in all this takes about 20 minutes to cook, great when you need something quick after a hard day.

Leftover Chicken Curry

I don't always have a full roast for a Sunday Lunch and there are other great Sunday Lunch ideas out there for meals for singles or small families.  That said, when I do make the effort to have a roast, I always love the fact there are leftovers in the fridge.

After a day or so though you want something to mix it up a little and a curry is a great way.  Of course you can reach for a pre-made sauce or paste but this is easy, dirt cheap to make and absolutely delicious.  Even though the chicken has been cooked once before as you're fully cooking it again, I still had the leftovers the next day for lunch (cue jealous stares from colleagues!)

Lamb Koftas

Kofta are a great middle eastern and balkan dish normally made with lamb.  There are various versions across the region and I can't claim to any authenticity here, this is more from taste memory.  I've tried making Koftas around a skewer before and it is tricky to keep it on the stick if I'm honest.  I had an idea to make them into small patties and it worked.  The addition of bread as well made them lighter and softer.

This is a great starter or great in a wrap with salad, the yogurt dip and maybe a few chillis.

Beef and Mushroom Pie

Slow cooking is not the most obvious thing to do when cooking for one but actually the great thing about it is that it always freezes well and is adaptable.  You can serve as a stew or as an awesome pie like this.

Game stew

Now autumn feels like it's properly here.  I love summer but the first flushes of autumn with stews, pies, traditional puddings are like the coziness of coming home.  Autumn, season of mists and mellow fruitfulness, at the end moving into winter, the crisp cold, maybe snow.  The older I get the more I look forward to every season and everything it brings.

The dried mushrooms in this massively add to the flavour.  Without them, it wouldn't be the same, it wouldn't have the depth of flavour so I really would give it a go.

This was going to be a game pie and it would be fabulous to make into a pie filling if you prefer.  I was just too lazy and my son liked the smell of it so he wanted to taste it straight away (it was a hit with the 6 year old too!)