Perfect steak

Cheat risotto

Cordial martinis

Shortbread-so-simple

Veal escalope with aromatic vegetables

I hadn't had veal in forever, but on our honeymoon in Italy, hubby and I had it a few times, and I promised him I'd source some for dinner at home. Regarding the ethics of veal, we bought ours from Waitrose whose meat-raising practices are excellent Waitrose veal

Ingredients
Veal escalope
Flour
Olive oil
2 garlic cloves
1 courgette
1 red pepper
1 aubergine
fresh thyme and rosemary (2-3 sprigs of each)
sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions
Chop all the veg and garlic finely (I whizzed mine in the food processor bit of my kMix).  Heat some olive oil in a heavy based pan (I use a shallow casserole dish on the hob) and chuck it all in with the thyme and rosemary. Stir well, season and cook for 5 minutes. Turn the hob off (if gas) or take off the hob (if electric), cover and leave to keep warm.

In a frying pan, coat the veal escalopes in flour. Heat some oil in a frying pan. Cook the escalopes for about 1 1/2 minutes each side. Serve on top of the vegetables. If you need some carbs, some crusty Italian bread is yummy.

This has to be cooked when you want to eat it. However, the prep is so simple, it makes a quick entertaining option if you have guests in the week.

Salma Hayek fajitas with guacamole

What is Salma Hayek? A slimline Mexican. Introducing healthy fajitas that take 15 minutes from start to finish! The avocados need to be ripe - to tell if they are ripe, press the top with your thumb. The easier it depresses, the riper they are.

Ingredients
Fajitas
4 wholewheat tortillas
300g beef cut into strips
1 red onion sliced
2 peppers sliced
Chopped chili to taste (1 teaspoon mild - 3 teaspoons medium, more teaspoons if you fancy it hot)

Guacamole
2 avocados
200g zero fat greek yoghurt
3 fresh tomatoes
handful fresh coriander
juice of 1 lime
seasoning to taste

Instructions
Brown the beef in a tablespoon of sunflower oil
Add the chilli and vegetables and cook for 5-10 minutes, until the veg is to your liking
Peel the avocados and whizz in a food processor/blender with the yoghurt, coriander and lime juice
If you don't have a food processor etc, use a potato masher.
Add in the chopped tomatoes and do a little more whizzing/mashing

When the beef and veg mixture is ready, assemble by putting a ladleful of the mixture on a tortilla and top with the guacamole. Using greek yoghurt makes it taste quite rich, considering the low fat content. The guacamole will last 2 days covered in the fridge - the lime juice stops it going brown.

Other versions
Chicken can be substituted for the beef - it will need the full 10 minutes of cooking to be ready
For meat free, skip the meat and put carrots, peas and sweetcorn

Sandwiches for the freezer

So the PA team at work think I am hysterically funny because I make loaves of sandwiches at a time, freeze them in rounds and hey presto, packed lunches a go-go. The advantages are manifold:

• Once you've got all the stuff out to make one sandwich, doing a few more doesn't take much more time.
• They defrost quickly, so you only need to take them out in the morning of the day you want them and they are chilled yummy sandwiches at lunchtime.
• They don't defrost THAT quickly, so if you suffer from my hubby's issue of eating his packed lunch at 10:30, you won't be able to
• You'll save POTS of money

What's the downside?? Well, there's a whole lot of stuff you can't freeze, such as salad and mayonnaise. However, the following sandwiches are foolproof

• Ham and mustard
• Cream cheese and smoked salmon, with lemon juice and black pepper
• Grated cheddar cheese and ham
• Peanut butter and jam
• Beef and horseradish
• Boursin and salami (I know but it's really nice, take chewing gum to work)