Roasted tomato, cheese and basil quiche

Bacon, Mozzarella and Basil Pasta Bake

Bacon and Cheese Muffins

Bacon and Cheese Muffins with a dash of Soy Sauce

Some people ask how I come up with ideas for recipes. This is how I came up with this recipe for Bacon and Cheese muffins. I was idly flicking through a cookbook which of course has the starters at the front. I saw a recipe for something with cheese. Mmm, I like cheese. I don't know what cheese it was for but nevermind. Keep flicking and in the main courses there's a recipe with bacon in it. I like bacon too. I prefer it to be smoked bacon for the flavour. The recipe was for chicken breasts with bacon wrapped round it. Not really interested in that. I move on and I get to the cakes and sweet bakes. Ooh, chocolate muffins. I might make something with chocolate in later and then it hits me – cheese, bacon, muffins. All three of them could go well together. So there you go recipe idea.

Muffins, like in my cookbook, are usually of the sweet variety so you need something to replace the sugar in the basic mix. I added some mustard powder but also some Kikkoman Soy Sauce, which they kindly sent to me. Both the bacon and cheese are quite strong flavoured and salty so to help cut through that I used the Kikkoman Less Salt Soy Sauce.

To get the taste of both the cheese and bacon you do need to use some strong, mature cheddar and also some smoked bacon. Anything milder and the flavours won't be there. You can serve these cold like a sweet muffin or just let them cool slightly before serving warm. If you let them cool they would be a tasty addition to a picnic or an interesting alternative in your lunchbox.

Makes 12

Equipment: 12 cup muffin tin lined with paper cases

Ingredients

4 Rashers smoked streaky bacon

8oz (225g) Self-raising flour

2oz (55g) Plain flour

1 tsp (5ml) Baking powder

½ tsp (2.5ml) Bicarbonate of soda

½ tsp (2.5ml) Mustard powder

6 tbsp (90ml) Sunflower oil

7fl oz (200ml) Milk

1 Large egg

1 tbsp (15ml) Kikkoman Low Salt Soy Sauce

4oz (110g) Mature cheddar cheese, grated

Method

1. Line the muffin tin with the paper cases.

2. Grill the bacon until cooked and crispy. Leave to cool then cut into small pieces.

3. Pre-heat the oven to 200°C/Gas mark 6.

4. In a large bowl mix together the flours, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda and, mustard powder.

5. In a separate bowl beat together the oil, milk, egg, Soy sauce, cheese and bacon.

6. Mix the two sets of ingredients together until just combined.

7. Cook for 20-25 minutes.

8. Leave to cool on a wire. Can be eaten warm or cold.

Kikkoman sent me sample of their sauces to try for free. No payment was made for this post.

Cheese topped beef pie

Years ago the standard Sunday meal was a roast joint of meat of some variety. The brilliant thing about a joint of meat is that a long cook on the Sunday meant little cooking on Monday as the leftovers were used in a quick and simple dish. Often in my house as child Monday was actually 'Cold meat Monday'. This would involve slices of the cold roast meat from the day before (never my favourite; warm it up, please), salad made by my Nan sometime in the afternoon so by dinner time it was a soggy mess, and boiled potatoes but not potatoes that should have been peeled and boiled. If we were lucky there would be enough meat to have on the Tuesday and this would be cooked treat and for beef my Mother would cook 'Cheese topped beef pie'. Normally a pie means pastry but in this case it's more like a crumble topping. 

The original recipe was one my Mother had kept from many years previously and was probably issued by some promotional board such as the 'Beef farmers of Britain' or the 'Automated Electrical Company of the UK'. I remember phoning my Mother and asking her the recipe and scribbling it down so I could share the delights of this dish with my family. Over the years I've added and tweaked it to just how I like it but it's easy to adapt. If you have some leftover vegetables such as carrots or something green like peas, broccoli or beans, you could add them in too.

One of the reasons that Sunday roasts are no longer the norm in many households these days is that so many families don't sit down together for meals and a Sunday dinner is seen as something that should be eaten out at a pub or restaurant rather than at home. Another big factor is the price. Meat is expensive, therefore squeezing as many thrifty meals out of a roasting joint is essential. Where my Mother lives there are number of supermarket – Tesco, Sainsbury's, Asda and Waitrose, and they all have more than one branch nearby. Amazingly, they all seem to reduce short dated food by up to 90% on a regular basis and when I go to visit my Mother she insists I take back a freezer bag full of food. This is only way we were able to enjoy a top rump of beef for Sunday dinner this week. The original price was £12.99 but was reduced to £2.60. If you don't believe me here's the evidence!

How else could you make two meals for a family of four for such value? I also make up extra gravy to use in the recipe. Alternatively, just use some instant granules. The cheese topping needs a small quantity of strong cheese, so root around in the back of fridge for any that needs using up. The rest of the ingredients should be hanging your kitchen. For this reason I am entering this recipe into February's Credit Crunch Munch run by Helen at Fuss Free Flavours and hosted this month by Camilla at Fab Food 4 All.

Cheese topped beef pie – Serves 4

Ingredients

1 large onion

1 tablespoon (15ml) oil (sunflower, vegetable – your choice)

1 tablespoon (15ml) plain flour

¾ pint (450ml) beef/meat gravy

8oz (225g) cooked roast beef, diced

black pepper, pinch

nutmeg, pinch (if you don't have any just leave out – no disaster)

Topping

2oz (50g) plain flour

1oz (25g) margarine, spread or butter

1½ oz (40g) strong cheese (mature cheddar or a blue cheese such as Stilton works well)

Method

1. Fry the onion until golden.

2. Add the flour until it browns but doesn't burn.

3. Add the gravy and bring to the boil.

4. Mix in the beef and seasonings.

5. Put the mixture into an oven-proof dish.

6. Make a crumble topping with the flour and fat by rubbing together in a bowl.

7. Add the cheese.

8. Put on top of the beef mixture.

9. Cook at 190°C / gas mark 5 for 15 minutes.

I served mine with reheated roast potatoes, Chantenay carrots (reduced of course) and broccoli.