Chicken, broccoli & stilton pasta bake

A great pasta dish to make in advance for a quick, family meal, or to re-heat for lunches in the week!

This pasta bake is really moist and full of flavour - it would also be great with bacon in too.

I have posted a similar recipe before, here.

Serves 4

- 450g pasta (I used penne and farfalle)

- olive oil

- 4 chicken thighs (or breasts), chopped

- 4 cloves of garlic, crushed

- 2 onions, chopped

- 1 large broccoli, chopped small

- 50g butter

- 50g plain flour

- 500ml milk

- few dashes of Worcestershire sauce

- salt & pepper

- pack of stilton, crumbled

- parmesan, grated

1. Cook the pasta in a large pan of salted water according to packet instructions.

2. Meanwhile, fry the chicken thighs in olive oil until browned, then add the garlic and onion. Once cooked, leave to one side.

3. When the pasta is about 5 minutes from the end of its cooking time, add the broccoli florets. When the pasta is cooked, drain with the broccoli and set aside.

4. To make the white sauce, melt the butter in a saucepan then stir in the flour. Using a whisk, over a low heat, gradually whisk in the milk until fairly thick - not too runny but enough to generously coat all of the pasta and ingredients.

5. Add the Worcestershire sauce and season to taste then take off the heat.

6. Return the pasta and broccoli to the large pan they were cooked in, then stir in the chicken and onions, and coat in the white sauce, stirring until well mixed. 

7. Stir in about 3/4 of the crumbled stilton, then pour the pasta into a large baking dish. Pre-heat the oven to 200 degrees.

8. Top the basta bake with the remaining stilton and sprinkle with a generous amount of grated parmesan.

9. Bake in the oven for about 20 minutes, or until bubbling and golden on top! (May need longer if prepared way in advance - make sure it is piping hot in the middle)

Enjoy :)

Penne with pesto and field mushrooms

I bet you're thinking oh god not another post about pasta and pesto... sorry, I just couldn't resist! This is my all-time favourite meal when I want something quick, satisfying, delicious and not too unhealthy (so most nights, haha). Two ingredients - pasta and pesto, and you can do so many different things with them. This is pasta, green pesto, green beans, cherry tomatoes, fresh basil, field mushrooms, fresh parmesan and some caramelised onion chutney mm mm. I would usually just add green beans, mushrooms, onion and spinach like here, but recently I've started liking cherry tomatoes a lot more and had some large flat mushrooms in the fridge which I wanted to bake in the oven. This is vegetarian so for those who have to have meat with dinner, chicken and/or bacon are brilliant with this too, and probably salmon or tuna, although I have yet to try that. This is a perfect dish for students who will nearly always have pasta and a jar of pesto in their cupboard - onions are really cheap to add in, as are tomatoes and green veg to make sure you're being fairly healthy. Parmesan is expensive so have it without or grate some cheddar cheese on top if you wish. I have some friends who cook pasta and pesto almost every night at uni but it's different each time because you can add so many different things, so it takes a while to get boring. I didn't use onion or garlic in this recipe because I wanted to keep it all to one pan, so this is also ideal for students who are trying to save time and don't want to do a lot of washing up!

**I will be making some posts in the near future of easy but delicious meals for students, as this has been requested, so check back if you're in need of some recipes to follow or just some tips and ideas on how to eat well on a budget!**

Serves 1

- 90g wholewheat penne

- 2 large field mushrooms

- olive oil

- handful of fine green beans, cut in half

- cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered

- 1/3 jar of green pesto

- fresh parmesan, grated

- few leaves of fresh basil, torn

- 1 heaped tsp caramelised onion chutney (optional)

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 4 / 180 degrees.

2. Brush the mushrooms in olive oil and season. Place on a baking tray, cover with foil, and bake in the oven for around 20 minutes.

3. Cook the penne pasta in boiling water according to packet instructions (around 15 minutes)

4. Add the green beans to the pasta water when the pasta has about 5 minutes remaining on the cooking time. Drain together and return to the pan.

5. Stir in the cherry tomatoes and pesto until the pasta is coated.

6. Remove the mushrooms from the oven when soft all the way through and place on a plate, and serve the pasta on top / next to the mushrooms.

7. Sprinkle with parmesan and fresh basil, and serve with caramelised onion chutney if you wish.

Enjoy :)

Cheesy broccoli pasta bake

I made this the other night - it's nothing too special, I just really fancied some comfort food and a pasta bake is the ultimate comfort food for me. I made a simple cheese sauce and although I'm not a huge broccoli fan, I do love it in pasta bakes (what doesn't taste good when it's coated in cheese sauce anyway?) We also had some bacon in the fridge, and of course I always like to use onions and garlic with pasta so voila, this dish was born! And it is scrummy...

Serves 2-3

- 200g whole wheat penne

- olive oil

- 2 cloves garlic

- 1 small onion

- 3-4 rashers bacon, cut into chunks

- 150g broccoli florets

- 20g butter

- 20g plain flour

- 200ml milk

- 1 tsp wholegrain mustard

- 75g cheddar cheese, grated, plus extra for sprinkling

- pepper, to season

1. Pre-heat the oven to gas mark 5 / 200 degrees. Cook the pasta according to packet instructions, and add the broccoli florets around 5 minutes to the end of the pasta cooking time. Drain and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, soften the onion and garlic in the olive oil, then add the bacon until beginning to brown and crisp. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3. Using the same pan, to make the cheese sauce melt the butter and stir in the flour over a low heat until it forms a paste. Gradually add in the milk, stirring constantly until the sauce begins to thicken. (Be patient, it may take a while!) Once the sauce is coming together, add the mustard and the cheese; at this stage the sauce should be thick and smooth from the cheese. You can always add a little more milk if it is too thick 0 keep stirring!

4. Return the pasta and broccoli to the pan, add the bacon and onion and stir through the cheese sauce. Pour into an oven proof dish. Sprinkle with the remaining cheddar. I added some brie too because we had a bit leftover. Parmesan would work too and add breadcrumbs if you want a crunchy texture.

5.  Season with pepper and bake in the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until bubbling and golden brown and crisp on top.

Enjoy :)