
Occasionally you run across a cake that is so squidgilly good that you either have to share it right away, or hide it and hog it all to yourself. This delicious loaf cake falls into both those categories. I kid you not. At first bite you will want to run to your bestest friend or partner and share it with them, coz something this scrummy just begs to be shared . . . but then again, the glutton in you may be tempted to want to hide it and save it all for yourself!

The Toddster is always after me to cook using things that we have in our store cupboard. He is always complaining about how much we have stored. It is useless for me to explain to him that your cupboards may be full, but in a lot of cases they are full of ingredients that you put together with other things to make a meal . . .

During the week, I try to cook meals which are quick and easy and not too hard on the budget. Living on a pension means we have a very basic fixed income, and so there is not a lot of room for playing around overly much, and with way food costs are rising, it gets harder and harder each week to make ends meet and still keep our meals interesting.

I think Bread Pudding has to be the Toddster's favourite all time dessert, next to apple pie. So, this week, when I found myself having a bit too much bread in the house due to the Toddster's having bought the wrong kind of bread when he picked it up for me (men ARE from Mars!) I knew exactly what to do with the excess!

One of my favourite soups has to be broccoli and cheese soup. I just love it. I love broccoli anyways, and when you combine it with cheese, well . . . that is just a match made in heaven.
This delicious casserole today had very similar ingredients as broccoli cheese soup, except it's not soup, it's a fabulous casserole that will have your family scrambling for seconds!

It also makes great use of leftover baked potatoes. In fact if I am going to bake some potatoes for supper, I always throw a few extra into the oven just so that I can make this tasty casserole the day after!
It never hurts to have already cooked potatoes on tap!

I call it Skinny Broccoli and Potato Casserole because I used to make it with full fat ingredients, but now I make it with low fat or no fat ingredients, which cuts back on the calories quite a bit.
It is surprising how easy it is to cut back on fat and calories with just a few substitutions!

And, NO, that doesn't mean you get to eat twice as much as you normally would. You just eat the same amount as you usually do and feel good about eating a bit healthier. Everybody wins!

Fat free sour cream . . . low fat cheddar and mozzarella cheeses . . . skimmed milk. Combined with chopped baked potatoes, cooked broccoli and spring onions and you are in for a real treat that doesn't taste low fat at all.
It's every bit as rich tasting as the original . . . which probably had a lot more cheese in it as well, but what the heck!

These days I am just happy if there is any cheese in anything! Seriously you are going to love this.
I could eat a plate of this and be quite happy with nothing else. I really do love my veggies, and broccoli and potatoes are two of my all time favourites from the vegetable kingdom!




The real challenge is keeping the pounds off of me! Oh, I wish I could eat whatever without having to worry about it. Sigh . . . Bon Appetit!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com Thanks so much for visiting. Do come again!
A healthy and satisfyingly delicious winter chowder recipe using up bits from the vegetable bin.
florets, separated and cut into bite sized pieces

I had some cooked chicken breasts today that I needed to use up. I had bought some already cooked ones at the weekend for something and then hadn't used them all, and so today I thought I better make good use of them. You could use home cooked chicken breasts for this, or even leftover roast chicken. It's all a matter of using what you have on hand.

I do like to spoil my husband at the weekends. These fabulous turnovers are a wonderful way to do just that. Simple to make and oh so delicious, they always go down a real treat with him!

I think Bangers (sausages) and Mash has to be the Toddsters favourite meal of all that I cook for him. He loves a good meaty sausage. He love a nice pile of fluffy mash and . . . he adores a nice onion gravy. This meal ticks all the boxes for him and he is a very happy camper when I make it for him!
There are normally only two of us eating in this house and so I normally try to cut recipes in half for us, or create dishes which are simple and make just enough for two. It's not that hard to do really. And you can normally multiply up with no problems at all.
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