Tinned salmon is something which I have in the cupboard all the time.  If you always keep a few things in the larder, like tinned salmon and tuna,  you always have the makings of a tasty meal.  Be it sandwiches for lunch, or a delicious casserole for supper.   Tinned fish always comes in really handy.

Tinned salmon is something I always have in the house.  It's a very versatile ingredient and something which we both love.  It's great in sandwiches and pate's . . .  in casseroles, on it's own, in salads, etc.  One of my favourite ways of using it is to make these delicious salmon patties!

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 . . .

I know what you are thinking.   She tortured the old man with pasta, yet again.   What can I say?  Guilty as charged.  

This is a recipe I had bookmarked a long time ago in a little cookery book I have from the BBC Good Food people, entitled 101 Storecupboard Suppers.  I love the little BBC Good Food Books.  They are not that expensive and are usually chocker block full of recipes that I want to cook.  I know . . . I know . . . I have enough cookbooks, but as any food enthusiast knows, you can never have too many!  (Todd doth protest!)

This is one of those dishes that is made from simple things which most of us probably have in our cupboards and larders at any given time. It is incredibly easy to make and quite delicious. 

The simplicity of it might cause one to believe that it's not special in any way, but that is where you would be very wrong.   This is probably one of the most delicious supper dishes that you could ever want to eat.


Admittedly it is not all that attractive to look at. In all truth it looks a bit like a dog's dinner. Don't let what it looks like put you off.  

This is a case where you truly cannot judge a book by it's cover.   If you pass this by, you are missing out on a real gem.  Its a tried and true, family favourite, having been a staple on British tables for many, many years.




I think I had been over here for several years when my friend Angie asked me had I ever eaten Corned Beef and Potato Pie.  No, was my response.   It was not something which I had ever heard of.

Angie assured me that it was a most delicious dish and quite economical too and gave me the recipe to add to my big blue binder of cooking treasures.  My big blue binder is something which has been travelling with me all over the world since I was a very young woman. A teenager in fact.


It is fairly bulging with recipes that I have collected through the years from family and friends, newspaper clippings, magazine clippings. You just know that all of them are quite delicious. Yes, I have been a lover of food and recipes for a very long time.

All of the recipes in this binder are tried and trues, family favourites. You just know if someone cares enough to want to share a recipe with you that it is going to be one of their treasures.  You cannot beat an edible treasure.




It has a delicious bottom filling, created by stewing corned beef with beefy juices, onions, seasonings, herbs and ketchup. This filling is topped with a fluffy mashed potato topping.  Then there is a  layer of  crispy cheese topping blanketing the top. This spells a winning combination all round.

It is somewhat like a cheaper, but tastier cousin of cottage pie.  I always keep tins of corned beef in my cupboard.   Don't turn your nose up at it! Tinned corned beef is a real store cupboard gem! You can do ever so much with it!



 I normally buy the lean tins of corned beef so it's not all  that fatty.   This Corned Beef and Potato Pie is really delicious.  The first time I made it, I couldn't help myself,  I went back for seconds.  So did Todd. It very quickly became a real favourite around here.

It makes a perfect and economical weeknight supper, just perfect for January when the temperatures are dropping and our bank accounts are depleted after all of the indulgences of Christmas. 

Cheap, cheerful and simple is the order of the day . . . and this is certainly all of that and more!






Top the corned beef with the mashed potatoes.  I like to rough it up a bit with a fork on the top.   Mix together the cheese and bread crumbs.  Sprinkle this evenly over the top.   Bake for 20 minutes, until well heated through and nicely browned on top.   Serve hot.



Note - Sometimes I use crushed cracker crumbs instead of breadcrumbs on the topping for an extra crispy topping.   You won't want to pass this tasty dish by!  Trust me!


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Sunday lunch/dinner is a huge tradition over here in the UK . . .  with roast dinners and all the trimmings.  In fact in most pubs on a Sunday you can't order off the menu.  It's roast dinner or nothing.  Mind you, most give you a choice or beef, pork, lamb or turkey, so it's not that bad really.   We don't eat out on Sundays and we never have a roast dinner at home.  We spend half of the day in church and to be honest  . . . when I get home I can't be asked to cook a big roast dinner then.

I am a big fan of delicious and simple one pan suppers.  Especially during these warmer months when I tend to spend more time out in the garden and less time in the kitchen cooking.  Quick, easy and simple suppers are the rule of order most days.



This is one of our favourites.  It combines a lot of the flavours of your favourite corn chowder, with pasta and cheese . . . with  a lovely smokiness from the sausage, garlic,the heartiness of corn, the richness of cheddar cheese and a bit of stodge from the pasta bow ties.

 

It's like a very thick chowder and every bit as satisfying as you favourite corn chowder, except it is a lot heartier and makes an excellent family dinner for four.  I add herbs . . . marjoram and thyme . . .  which go very well with the sausage and corn . . .  and the cheese.  There are a few sausage skillet supper recipes floating around the ether, but this is mine and it's an original.  It's showing here today for the very first time!



The spring onions scattered on top add a nice touch of colour and additional texture.   All you need to make it a complete and very satisfying meal is to add some crusty bread to sop up all those rich cheesy juices and a salad on the side to help complete some of your needed five a day.



*Cheesy Smoked Sausage and Corn Skillet Supper*

I think fish fingers have to be most kiddies favourite meal.   Kids just love bits of food that they can pick up with their hands and dip.  My children were no different.  Fish fingers, chicken nuggets, chicken wings . . .  kids just love to eat with their hands!



The long and short of it is . . . fish fingers are very budget and family friendly.   Today I wanted to show you how you can create something delicious with them you probably would have never thought of.  Polynesian Fish Fingers.  



Maybe calling them Polynesian is a bit of a stretch, but it does encompass some tropical flavours . . . such as soy and pineapple . . .  and rice.  I can see you rolling your eyes, but hear me out.  This is not so strange a mix as one might think.   Mild flavoured fish actually goes very well with fruity flavours . . .  and sweet and sour is also a great flavour to add.



Add to that the convenience of using already cooked basamati rice and frozen peas, mixed together in a pineapple sweet and sour sauce, and sweet pineapple chunks and you have a winning combination all round.  It's really quick to make as well, which makes it the perfect meal for a week night supper when everybody has plans and not a lot of time to throw a meal together or sit and eat it.  A salad on the side goes very well.



This is a great store cupboard meal that you can have on the table in not much more than half an hour.   I always have packets of cooked basamati rice in my cupboard, pineapple chunks in the larder and frozen fish fingers in the freezer, not to mention frozen peas.  I think you will find that this meal is not only very tasty and pretty to look at, but very economical, quick to make and deliciously different to boot!  I hope you will give it the old college try!



*Polynesian Fish Fingers*

NOTE:  I reserved some of the thawed frozen peas to garnish the casserole for photography purposes.  Normally they will be kind of blah looking, but it still tastes gorgeous even with blah looking peas.  I like to use Frozen Petit Pois.  They are the only kind I like.  Yes, I am spoiled and a bit picky sometimes, although you wouldn't think it if I'm eating fish fingers would you?  I guess I'm one big enigma!

Spam was not something which we ever had when I was growing up.  I am not sure why that was.  We never had tinned meat of any kind except for deviled ham, which my mother sometimes bought to make our sandwiches for lunch with.  It came in a tin which was placed inside a paper wrapper decorated with little red devils.  I am not sure, but I think the devils somehow made it taste better!



The one and only tme I can remember ever enountering Spam was at school.  A boy in my class wanted to trade his Spam sandwiches with my peanut butter ones.   I wouldn't trade because I did not know what Spam was and I was a bit afraid of trying something that I had never had before.   Besides, I really liked peanut butter.

 

I was very lucky.  I grew up in a country that was untouched by war in my lifetime and I had a father with a really good job.  People over here in the UK have not been that lucky.     Having been through two World Wars, and rationing, etc.  tinned meat is something which has pretty much been a staple on family tables for a long time.




I am ashamed to say I had never eaten it until I came over here, but I have to say . . . I quite like it actually!  You can buy the low fat one, and so it's not all that bad for you.  It's economical and quite tasty.   I made Spam Fritters last year and they were delicious.  When I saw a recipe recently on  unihomemaker.com  I just had to bookmark it to try here at home.  It looked really tasty.



I changed it a tiny bit.  I made use of store cupboard ingredients and used a pouch of the already cooked Uncle Ben's brown basamati rice that I always have in the cupboard and I added some shredded savoy cabbage both for colour and taste.  We like cabbage in our fried rice.



I also grated my carrot instead of cutting it into chunks, which meant it cooked much faster.   I was going to add some grated swede, but forgot.   Oh, and pineapple chunks.  I thought they would be really good, but it was bucketing down and the pineapple was out in the shed.  I didn't fancy getting wet.  But I reckon some pineapple chunks would go really well in this.  

 

In any case, I really hope that you will try this.  It's really, REALLY tasty and is now on our favourite list as Casa de Rayner.  I spose you could use leftover ham if you wanted to, but the Spam was really tasty.  In fact I am craving it again already.   I know . . . I'm such a glutton.




Beat the eggs and cream together.  Coat a large skillet lightly with olive oil and heat.   Dump in the eggs and quickly scramble them.  Remove the scrambled egg to a bowl and keep warm.  Add a bit more oil to the pan.   Add the spam and brown it well on all sides.   Scoop out and keep warm with the egg.  Add the chopped onions, garlic and shallot.   Cook to wilt and then add the carrots and cabbage.   Cook, stirring, until wilted.   Add the curry powder, salt, pepper and soy.   Stir in the rice and return the eggs and spam to the pan.   Stir in the frozen peas.  Heat through.  Check for seasoning and adjust as necessary.  Serve hot.



Did you know that the 3rd to the 9th March 2014 is Spam Appreciation week?  Neither did I, but it's official.  2014 is going to be a fab year to remember for the iconic meat SPAM ® Chopped Pork and Ham, as  the Monty Python gang reunite, and a whole new generation of people get to enjoy their humor and acquaint themselves with their favourite meat!  This is no better time to realize just how unique, tasty and versatile SPAM with it's incredible 75+ year history can be.

To honor and celebrate this special week, fans are again being asked to demonstrate their love of SPAM ® by uploading a video, photo, drawing, or even writing a short sentence to show their appreciation of SPAM ® products.  There are five theatre wekeend breaks to be won courtesy of Show and Stay, plus 100 runner up prizes.   The competition opened on the 20th of January and will be closing on the 28th February, 2914.  The best entries will then be displayed on
www. spam-uk.com for appreciation.

Here's the video that won last year's competition.



A few facts about SPAM®

• More then seven billion cans of SPAM products have been opened since it's launch in 1937
• They may only be islands, but Hawaii and Guam go crazy for the stuff.  In Aloha State more than 7 million of the products are sold per year and Hawaii even hosts its own SPAM JAM festival in Honolulu.  While in Guam an average of 16 SPAM ® products are consumed by every person per year.
• SPAM ® Chopped Pork and Ham is made from more than 90% prime shoulder pork and ham.
• Clebrity SPAM® fans include James May and Heston Blumenthal.
• In South Korea, SPAM ® Chopped Pork and Ham is considered a gourmet delicacy and is often given as a gift.

So now you know it all!

SPAM ®, it's not just a fad to follow . . . it's dinner.