Wonders with leftovers

I have been pushing the last couple of days with ready meals and junk food like burgers, hot dogs and pizzas and Ro hasn't complained till now. Its just plain laziness and also to prove to Ro that he needs me to survive...food-wise at least! I have also run out of almost everything and haven't made an effort to go grocery shopping either. The rains and cold winds have added to this misery and i just don't want to step out of the house. Yes, i go into these nonchalant moods once in a while and no matter what happens, until i feel like doing something, i just wont budge. Awesome right?

It was also the aftermath of a kitchen disaster where i tried to make a caramel something and it all just smoked up. Thank god my smoke alarm didn't go off, and after scrubbing and scratching the hardened caramel off the vessel, i was in no mood to be proactive. So after searching all the cupboards and freezer for an easy dinner option, I came across some pasta, sausages, bacon and asparagus and decided to make something eatable, which ultimately turned out quite tasty.

Wheat pasta (Fusilli)- 200 gms (was all that was left)

Spring Onion- 1 large

Baby tomatoes- 8 to 10 sliced in half

Green chillies- 3, sliced thin

Asparagus heads- 5 to 6, sliced

Pork frankfurters- 3 sliced into coin size pieces

Bacon- 2 rashers

Grated cheddar cheese (mature)- 2 hands full

Maggi seasoning sauce- a few dashes

Tabasco sauce- 1/2 tsp

Salt- to taste

Cook the pasta as per instructions with a pinch of salt. Drain and keep aside.

In a frying pan, fry the bacon rashers. Once cooked, remove and drain on a paper towel and slice into small pieces. In the same frying pan, fry the sausages in the oil oozed out from the bacon (If there is too much oil, pour out some and use the remaining). Remove with a slotted spoon and keep aside.

Now throw in the sliced spring onion, baby tomatoes, green chilli and asparagus and sautee till the asparagus becomes more or less cooked. Add the pasta, bacon and sausage slices, a few dashes of Maggi seasoning, Tabasco and salt and mix well. Do a taste check and if its not spicy enough, you can either put some more Tabasco sauce, chilli pwd or pepper. Towards the end, sprinkle the grated cheddar cheese and give a final stir. The heat from the pasta will make the cheese melt. So it doesn't have to be on fire. Enjoy!

Notes: You can use spinach, green peas, carrots and any other left over veggies for this meal. Ro hates asparagus, but he didn't even realize they were in it:)

If you want to make it a bit more rich, you can add some white sauce. I was lazy, so i didn't.

Instead of spring onions you can use normal onion and for baby tomatoes, the normal ones can be used. I didn't have either of those.

Also, i used both sausages and bacon, but you can choose any one or none at all if you have enough veggies to compliment

Make sure the left over oil from cooking the bacon is used to do the rest of the cooking because it gives that extra flavour to the dish.

Tuna and Pasta Bake and high on Sangria

Thanks to easy peacy cooking recipes like this, we are still surviving. I think UK has spoilt me in a lot of ways. If its not Indian cooking you are into, then i think being in a place like UK or US helps. The sachets of easy mix powders and gravy's and cut veggies and mixes, add to this luxury.

I am a big fan of the Coleman's brand and they have a various powders in sachets which you can just mix with milk or water and pour over anything from mashed potatoes to beef to chicken to vegetables to pasta. I bought a Tuna and Pasta bake sachet with the intention of using it for a simple bake, but instead decided to try out the recipe at the back of the cover. This is how it goes:

Pasta- 225 gms

Tuna- 200 gms (tinned)

Milk- 425 ml

Carrots- 1/4 cup cut into small bite size pieces

Green peas- 1/4 cup (frozen)

Onions- 1/4 cup (thinly sliced)

Pepper- 1 tsp

Salt- to taste

Cheese- to layer on top (I used Cheddar)

Regular bag of chips

1 sachet Coleman's Tuna and Pasta Bake

Oil- a wee bit

The onions, peas, carrots, pepper is my addition since i did not have sweet corn which the recipe asked for.

Cook the pasta as per instructions (with salt and enough water. Strain and keep aside)

In a heavy bottomed pan heat some oil, saute the onions till transparent and add the carrots, pepper and salt and cook till done. Toss in the tuna along with the green peas and pasta and mix well. If there isn't enough salt or spice you can add as per your requirement at this stage. Keep aside

In a saucepan, tip the contents of the sachet, add a little bit of milk and stir well so no lumps are remaining. Tip in the rest of the milk and bring to a boil, stirring continuously. Reduce heat and simmer for a minute. the sauce will be somewhat thick and creamy.

Pour this mixture on to the pasta/ veggie mix and make sure the cheesy sauce is blended well with the pasta mix. Take it off the stove and pour into a baking dish.

Crush some chips and layer it on top of the pasta, and then layer the cheddar. Bake for 20 minutes in a pre-heated oven at about 175C or heat on high in a microwave oven for 5 minutes or till cheese melts.

Note: The crisps added that zing to the dish and i loved the idea. I think children would love this dish

Its been really hot the last couple of days here in London and so i decided to make Sangria, the perfect summery drink and also because i had some leftover fruits i needed to finish.

Red wine- 1 cup

Rose wine- 2 cups

Orange juice- 1/2 cup

Gin/rum- 60ml or less according to your taste

Apple- 1 sliced into small cubes

Apricot- 3 sliced into small cubes

(Pears, oranges etc. can be added if you want)

Sugar- 3 tbs

Lime juice- 1/2 cup (lemonade if you need a fizzy drink)

Mix all these together in a bowl, pour into tall glasses and drink your heart away:)

Notes: The gin was a bit too strong and it kinda made us a wee bit tipsy after the first glass.

If you keep it overnight, the fruits will be infused with the flavour and will taste better i guess. We didn't have the patience though :)

Sangria is usually a red wine and rum drink, but i didn't have enough of red wine so i mixed it with the rose and it tasted just as good.