Delicious Christmas Stuffing

I made this stuffing after having some sausage meat left over from something else. It has a wonderful, complex flavor which goes really well with chicken and turkey but would probably be great with goose too. The amounts here are for a chicken of about 1.3kg which should serve at least 2-3 people. This stuffing is so good, you could use to stuff vine or cabbage leaves or make a meatloaf. I didn't add any salt to my mixture but it may depend on the sausage meat you have.

• 1 dessertspoon of canola or light olive oil
  
• A teaspoon of ground fennel seeds
  
• A teaspoon of cumin
  
• 1 large, good quality pork sausage
  
• 1 medium sized onion finely chopped
  
• 1 dessertspoons of walnuts
  
• 1 dessertspoon of raisins
  
• One dessert spoon of balsamic vinegar
  
• A large handful of fresh herbs (thyme, parsley, rosemary, sage, basil, tarragon), roughly chopped
  
• Salt and pepper to taste
  

Under a low heat, lightly fry the cumin and fennel in the oil

Next add the onion and soften

Add the walnuts and sausage meat (remover the sausage from its skin)

Fry until the sausages starts to brown

Add the raisins and vinegar and reduce

When the sausage meat is cooked add the fresh herbs and check for seasoning

Spaghetti with Easy Meatballs

We had a friend over for dinner and to show off our new Tv by watching some American football. Well, they watched and I fell asleep! I had been busy all day and decided on this low maintenance dish made extra special by the addition of wine and cream. Add some dried herbs if you want, I didn't have any. Make sure the sausages are cold when you make the meatballs, they are easier to handle.

Serves 3

6 pork sausages
Large onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic sliced
1 tablespoon of oil
A large glass of red wine
1 tin of tomatoes
Salt
Sugar
450 grams of spaghetti
3 dessertspoons of cream

Soften the onions and garlic over a moderate heat.

Take a sausage, squeeze a third of the meat from the case, it should be kind of ball shaped, but you can mould it a bit with your hand and drop it into the frying pan

Repeat with the rest of the sausages

Cook until sealed though not necessarily brown on all sides

Add the wine and reduce for about five minutes

Add the tomatoes and break them down with a spoon

Add salt, about half a teaspoon, but taste carefully, some tinned tomatoes are saltier than others.
Add a scant half teaspoon of sugar.

Simmer gently for about 40 minutes until you have a thick, rich sauce and tender meatballs.

Cook the spaghetti in plenty of well salted water.

Divide the spaghetti into three dishes

Add the meatballs and sauce (there should be six, good size balls per dish)

Spoon over a little cream and serve.

*When I made this, I think the meatballs were a bit too big, they should be bitesized.*

Lunch Idea

Making lunch isn't easy these days, sandwiches are not cheap to make. Nice bread costs a lot more as does cheese, ham etc. cooking is often easier, hence this concoction which was really tasty. I don't have a very catchy name for it, but it took just a few minutes to make as I had cooked the lentils the day before. The lentils I used are green, they cook quite quickly I did soak them in water for about 30 minutes first but doubt I really needed to. After cooking 250g of lentils in unsalted water for about 20 – 30 minutes, drain and return to the saucepan. While still hot add salt, a good slug of olive oil, the juice of a lemon and small slivers of garlic. Replace the lid on the saucepan and leave to steep for a couple of hours.

The lentils can then be used in salads, added to other dishes or used for the recipe below.

• Sausage with lentils and cabbage for 1.
  


• 1 dessertspoon of olive oil or vegetable oil
  


• 1 sausage
  


• 1 handful of shredded cabbage
  


• About 50 grams of cooked lentils.
  

Remove the skins from the sausages.

Heat the oil in a wide bottomed saucepan and add the sausage meat, break it down with a fork.

When browned, add the cabbage and fry for a minute.

Add the lentils cover and cook until the cabbage is wilted.

Taste for seasoning (the lentils will have salt and lemon already) if necessary add some salt and more lemon juice.