I haven’t cooked a whole chicken for ages, so when they had big, fat fresh ones in the butchers window I just had to get one.  Now, I’ll have to admit I’m not a huge fan of touching raw chicken meat, so the thought of stuffing it with something was not pleasant, so it had to be easy and the least hands on it could be!!

What You Need:

• 1 large chicken
• 1 lime
• 1 large fennel bulb
• 2 carrots
• 2 sticks celery
• salt
• pepper
• 2 tablespoons butter (optional)

What You Need To Do:

As I said earlier, I’m not too keen on the feel of raw chicken so I rinsed the chicken under cold running water and pat it thoroughly dry with some paper towel.   Roughly chop the carrot and celery into large chunks, you dont even have to peel the carrots if they are clean and fresh.  Place them into a tray lined with baking paper and sit the chicken on top of the veges.

Cut the fennel bulb into chunks and slice the lime into four thick slices.  Place the fennel and 2 of the lime slices into the cavity of the chicken.  You can tuck the other 2 slices in behind the wings just to flavour the skin a bit if you like.

Now the butter!  It is optional if you are trying to be more healthy than me, but I had seen it being done to an enormous turkey on Martha Stewart, so I thought I would give it a go.  You have to gently separate the skin on the top from the meat underneath.  To do this, you run your fingers between the two layers, starting at the cavity end, and gently push them apart.  You move your hand down toward the breast and the skin should separate from the meat.  It is into this gap you put the butter.  So, when you are done you will have layer of butter between the meat and the skin.

Season with salt and pepper, and a little squeeze of the lime, and bake for about 45 minutes, depending on the size of the chook you have.  The juices should run clear when it is done.

Now I wasn’t too pleased about having to do this but I ended up with a very moist, golden skinned chicken that didn’t require constant basting.  So maybe I have conquered a little fear of mine!!

The veges underneath the chicken can be used to flavour some gravy or eaten with the meal, whatever you like!!

I made this for lunch today, just for two.  Did you read that, Just. For. Two. It’s a rare occasion that lunch is just for us to share, without the need for the mad juggling of plates and glasses that goes on when little people are dining!  It’s simple to put together and doesn’t require much preparation, or washing up, which is always a bonus!  I only had a small cut of pork to work with, and it was probably cooked a little more than I would have liked, but that is what happens when you have to bail out the washing machine because it decides it just wants to keep on filling up and not wash! Oh the glamorous life I lead!!

What You Need:

• 200g pork fillet

Glaze

• 1 tablespoon hoi sin sauce
• 1 tablespoon kecap manis
• 2 teaspoons soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon chopped garlic

What You Need To Do:

If you have time you can make the glaze the night before and marinate the pork overnight, but if you don’t have the time ( or inclination!) it will still taste yummy.  All you do is mix all of the glaze ingredients together and coat the piece of pork.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees and oil a baking tray.  Bake the pork until it is done, this piece took about 20 minutes. You can carefully baste the pork with some of the juices from the pan while it is cooking to help keep it moist.  Take it out of the oven and set it aside for about five minutes before you cut it.

I served the pork with some basmati rice and some wilted bok choy, just because that is what I had!  You could stir fry some veges or even have a little salad with it.

I make this a lot because it makes enough for dinner for four, and then sandwiches for 3 for a few days, so it goes a long way! It’s very simple to put together and is one of those recipes where you can use just about anything you have in the fridge.

What You Need:

• 1kg beef mince
• 200g pork mince (optional)
• 1 small carrot
• 1 onion
• 1/2 zucchini
• 2tbsp tomato sauce
• 2tbsp soy sauce
• 2tbsp worcestershire sauce

• 2 eggs
• 10 bacon rashers
• salt & pepper

What You Need To Do:

First of all grate the carrot, onion and the zucchini into a bowl. If you dont have zucchini, you can use squash or sweet potato or you can leave it out. It just adds a bit more flavour to the mix. As I said, you can substitute with whatever you have.

Add all the sauces and the beaten egg to the bowl and give it a little stir. Put all of the meat in and season with the salt and pepper. Now, using your hands, mix all of the meat and veges together. Yes, it will be freezing to your fingers, so I use one hand at a time, just so the other can thaw out!!

It will seem a bit sloppy at first but if you keep mixing it will come together and be able to be shaped into a loaf to fit into your baking pan. I use my bread tin because it is non stick and about the right size.

Now for the fancy bit! Trim the bacon slices so they are neat long rectangles and lay them over the top of the loaf. Using a weaving pattern, criss cross the slices so they cover the whole loaf. I brushed a little seeded mustard on top, again for more flavour and a little glaze for the bacon.

Bake at 170 degrees, for about 45 minutes, until the bacon is brown and sizzling and the juices of the meatloaf should run clear. Let it sit for about 5 minutes before you cut it otherwise it will just break up. We have it with mashed potatoes and honey carrots for a filling dinner.