Food and Mood - Recipe 2, Corned Beef Cobbler

Prep time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 6-8

This is called a 'cobbler' because the dumpling things look like a bit liuke the surface of a cobbled street when cooked. You could make just the hash if you wanted.

Ingredients - Hash

1 small onion, chopped
1 tin corned beef (buy one with a ring pull, not a key. Ring pull tins are safer and easier to get the corned beef out of)
4-5 medium potatoes
1 standard tin baked beans
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 stock cube

Method

Pre-heat oven to 200C (gas 6)
Peel potatoes and chop into chunks, put into a pan together with the carrot pieces.
Add enough water just to cover the veg.
Bring to boil then simmer until veg are cooked.

Whilst the veg is cooking make the cobblers.


Ingredients- Cobblers

150g self raising flour
25g margarine or butter
1 teaspoon mixed herbs
Milk to bind

Method

Rub the flour, herbs and marg or butter together.
Add milk gradually, mixing as you go, until you achieve a firm dough.
DO NOT ADD too much liquid! Go steady! The mi should hold together, without sticking to the bowl.

Roll into small balls then flatten a bit, place on a plate and pop intop fridge until needed.

Now chop the corned beef up a bit and add it to the pan along with the veg and beans.
Bring to the boil, then transfer whole mixture to a casserole dish.
Fetch cobblers out of fridge and arrange on top of the hash.
Bake for 15-20 minutes until cobblers are browned.

Food and Mood - Recipe 1, Butternut Squash Lasagne

Food supposedly affects mood a lot, so one of the things I am currently accessing is a short (too short!) 'Cook and Eat' course at my local community centre. It's not what I hoped for, mas we cook as a team rather than individually, but I am enjoying it.

We make 3 courses each week. I thought I might share some of the recipes here, as they are pretty easy to do, even for a cooking-idiot like me.

Butternut Squash Lasagne

Prep. time: 60 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients

1 butternut squash, peeled and de-seeded
I courgette, skinned and sliced
1 large onion, peeled and chopped
1 large tin of tomatoes
2 tablespoons of tomato puree
1 clove of garlic, peeled and chopped
Ground black pepper to taste
6 lasagne sheets

Drizzle of oil for cooking squash
Small knob of butter or marg for cooking other veg


Method

Pre-heat oven to 200C
Place butternut squash pieces on a baking tray, drizzle lightly with oil and cook for 15 minutes.
Put onions and courgettes in a large pan with a small knob of marg or butter and cook for 3-4 minutes until softened
Add remaining ingredients to pan, bring to boil and simmer for 15 minutes
Remove squash from oven and add to pan. Cook for further 15 minutes

Whilst this is cooking make the cheese sauce.

(Keep the oven on meantime, you'll use it again soon)

Cheese Sauce
1/2 pint or 300ml milk
40g flour
25g butter or margarine
100g strong cheese grated

Method

Melt 25g marg or butter in a small pan.
Add flour, mixing well.
Remove pan from heat and add the milk a little at a time, stirring well so that it forms a smooth mix.
Return pan to heat and bring slowly to the boil, stirring all the time.
Reduce heat and continue to cook until sauce thickens.
Remove from heat and add cheese gradually - Keep a little cheese back for sprinkling on the top later.


To make up dish layer veg, then lasagne, repeat until all used, finishing with a lasagne layer.
Pour over cheese sauce and sprinkle with remaining cheese
Cook in oven for 30 minutes.

Don't forget, you can freeze any left overs for use another time.