Tuna Pasta Salad

I haven't got much time for anything at the moment. I certainly haven't got time to be standing cooking for hours on a weekday at all. What with little babies needing my undivided attention, children needing to be picked up, the ever-growing mountain of washing and cleaning, and my heavy boxing training schedule - I should be the perfect candidate for a takeaway lifestyle. But that ain't ever gonna happen! So I need some cheeky recipes that I can make in advance or only take a few minutes to throw together.

Let me indroduce you to my little friend - The Tuna Pasta Salad. It's so easy to make, it can be made in advance and popped in the fridge, and everyone loves it. Job done. Can I have a mummy prize please?

The Mean Green Smoothy

Everyone's doing green smoothies. If you haven't - where have you been? Here's the big Mean Green Smoothy. Start your day with a big fat kick of goodness! And you'll be on your way to your five-a-day, or seven-a-day, or ten-a-day......

Sausage & Tortelloni Soup

I've never been a huge fan of fresh Tortelloni until I used them in this recipe. This soup is a great midweek recipe and no child can resist little balls of sausage! Whilst they are cooking, you can prepare the rest of the soup.

BULGUR WHEAT BABY PILAF

I think bulgur wheat must be the ideal baby grain - it's the perfect size and it packed full of goodness including protein.

1 tablespoon bulgur wheat

1 thin slice of butternut squash, finely chopped

1 cherry tomato, halved

small handful of spinach

1 teaspoon yoghurt

4 tablespoons water

Lightly fry the bulgur wheat and squash in a small amount of olive oil. Add the tomato and the water and bring to the boil. Cover, turn the heat right down and simmer for 12 minutes. Add the spinach and as soon as it has wilted, remove from heat and whizz to desired consistency. Add yoghurt before serving.

Steak and Chips

You can't beat a classic, so here's my Steak and Chips. The main course of the Mean Mother Cooker Valentine's menu. The steak is served rare with a red wine jus, horse radish cream, potato and sweet potato baked chips and wilted spinach.


Ingredients:
2 rump steaks - or the steak of your choice
1 wine glass of red wine
2 teaspoons of horse radish
1 tablespoon mayonnaise
1 tablespoon creme fraiche
3 potatoes
1 large sweet potato
baby spinach

HOW TO MAKE:

Cut the chips and place on a baking tray with a tablespoon of olive oil. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 200ºC. Once the chips are in the oven., get your steaks out of the fridge to bring to room temperature.

Make the horse radish cream by combining the horse radish, mayonnaise and creme fraiche. 

Season the steak with olive oil and black pepper. Make sure your frying pan is very hot before adding the steak. A rare steak will take about 7-9 minutes, turning every minutes or so. Once your steak is done, let it rest while you deglaze the pan with the wine. Let it rapidly boil and reduce to a syrup. At the last minute, wilt the spinach in a hot pan, season and serve. Always remember to season the meat with salt before serving.