We used to buy bags of plain, frozen fish fillets. It wasn’t the best fish, but it was cheap and convenient to have in the freezer. Covered in parmesan, however, and this is a pretty nice fish dish.

The garlic in this dish adds a subtle flavour, but can be left out if you prefer. Use real parmesan, not the stuff in the jar, the taste is light years better and a little goes a long way so is worth the extra expense. The other thing that makes the fish is real butter, melted and drizzled over the fish rather than oil, but if you’re diet conscious then spray oil will work just as well, it just won’t be quite the same tasty awesomeness .

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Navarin of lamb is a traditional French stew made with lamb or mutton and root vegetables. There are many variations to this recipe, but this is the one that I learnt in high school and have been cooking ever since. As far as stews go, this is definitely one of my favourite.

If you’ve ever wondered what the difference between a casserole and a stew is, a stew is traditionally cooked on the stove top, where a casserole is cooked in the oven. Cook this in the stew pot or crock pot or even an electric frypan.

Check this recipe to make your own bouquet garni, or just buy them at the store – they look like tea bags with herbs in them. Don’t make the mistake I did once and ask the butcher for lamb neck. That’s exactly what I got: a whole lamb’s neck. I’m not normally queasy, but this just about made me so, and it was a bugger to cut the meat off.

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This recipe was inspired by a Woman’s Weekly Vegetarian recipe that roasted autumn vegetables with whole, cut lemons, rosemary and garlic. The sharp flavours of the lemon and garlic go nicely with the buttery comfort of the cous cous, but this dish would be nice served with quinoa also.

Use whatever vegetables that you have in the crisper, and whatever is in season. Cauliflower is surprisingly nice baked. Substitute the thyme for rosemary or oregano and add a touch of chilli for some warmth.

The sweet potato I used must have been a hybrid I guess, it was half orange, half white down it’s entire length, making for some interesting roasted pieces in the meal.

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The picture is care of redfox at Flickr

Savoury muffins make a good lunchbox filler or a meal on the go and are a healthy fast food, especially if you pack them with plenty of veggies and make them with wholemeal flour. Use tasty cheese to give these plenty of flavour, or substitute feta or parmesan for a different flavour. Zucchinis have a huge amount of moisture in them so add the milk a bit at a time, you may not need the whole amount.

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This dish was inspired by a recipe that used tuna instead of chicken, so a tin of tuna makes a good substitute. Alternatively, this dish could be made to use up leftover roast chicken or BBQ chicken, reducing the preparation and cooking time as well as the cost. This makes 2 very large bowls of pasta, add a little extra of the cream, tomato paste, chicken and peas to serve 4.

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This onion jam is simple to make and can be made while the rest of the meal is being prepared and cooked.

While the recipe calls for red onion, I usually just use the brown onions from the pantry and it tastes just as good. You could also vary the type of vinegar you use. I generally don’t measure the sauce or vinegar, so taste and adjust the sauce quantities to your liking.

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I made this cake for last year’s Christmas trifle. I’ve never made it before, but it’s super easy and it has a lovely subtle flavour.

The recipe has ground almonds, which cost an absolute bomb, so I just grind some skinless almonds in the coffee grinder (that hasn’t seen coffee for a few years now!), much, much cheaper. I usually have all of the ingredients in the cupboard, so depending on how you stock your pantry, this is an easy variation to a plain butter cake that can be made at any time without fuss.

The recipe below is the original, but I made a few changes when baking it. I added a little vanilla to this recipe (can’t help myself) used one less egg, a little less butter, a little more s/r flour and a splash or two of milk to get a cake consistency. It just makes the cake a bit less heavy for the trifle and that’s the way I prefer my cake.

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This was one of my Christmas day contributions, an old fashioned English Trifle. Always a hit, there are endless variations to a trifle, basically it’s just layers of yumminess.

I nearly did morrello cherries and kirsch, but stuck with the traditional after all.

Make this one day ahead to allow for the liquid to be absorbed by the cake.

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A drizzle of good sauce can turn an ordinary meal into something special, without being expensive or difficult. The photo shows the aioli over tuna rissoles, giving them a touch of class.

For aioli, you can make your own mayonnaise from scratch or for a speedy alternative, use bottled mayonnaise. If you use bottled, use the best quality, whole egg mayonnaise that you can find and avoid the imitation stuff, the difference in taste is huge. Making mayonnaise is not difficult, but I usually just use bottled whole egg mayonnaise. Fresh chilli is best, dried chilli flakes will do if fresh isn’t available.

Makes about 1/2 cup

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I’ve been watching too much telly. I had a craving for one of those chicken sauces in a jar. It tempted me in the supermarket as I walked past it’s shelf.

I didn’t buy it, I decided to make my own version which was pretty easy and doesn’t include any extras like preservatives or artificial flavours.

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