With school holidays drawing to a close, in the not too distant future, there might be a little more time to spare a thought for home-cooked meals. Or at least, time to spare a thought without having to juggle holiday admin and all the other endless jobs you’re not sure you ever signed up to.
A healthy diet is, of course, important to us all. Combine good quality meat and fish with veggies, pulses and wholegrain carbs and you’re on your way to feeding your family a nutritious, delicious and balanced meal.
Planning home-cooked meals not only helps to keep us healthy, but it can also help to minimise food waste. Some pretty shocking stats tell us that if food waste was a country it would be the third biggest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, whilst it is estimated that food waste costs the average UK family over £800 a year.
Our leftover sausage pasta ticks all the after-school-boxes. It’s easy to cook, full of store-cupboard ingredients, child-friendly and has less than 15 minutes of hands-on cooking time (the oven does the rest). A delicious mid-week feast, and perfect for using up those BBQ sausages you couldn’t quite manage.
Leftover Sausage Pasta
Our leftover sausage pasta ticks all the after-school-boxes. It’s easy to cook, full of store-cupboard ingredients, child-friendly and has less than 15 minutes of hands-on cooking time (the oven does the rest). A delicious mid-week feast, and perfect for using up those BBQ sausages you couldn’t quite manage.
Prep: 10 Mins | Cook: 35 Mins | Serves: 4
5 x Toulouse sausages, pre-cooked and roughly chopped
50g West Country Mature Grated Cheddar
1 white onion, finely diced
1 large clove of garlic, crushed
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tbsp olive oil
400g fusilli pasta
Sea salt & freshly cracked black pepper
Method
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onion and sauté for 5-7 minutes until soft and translucent. Add the crushed garlic and continue to cook for a minute or two.
Add the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and seasoning. Stir to combine and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Season to taste.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to packet instructions and heat the oven to 180C.
Drain the cooked pasta. Combine with the tomato sauce and chopped cooked sausage, mix well and tip into a large oven-proof dish. Top with the grated cheddar and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden and bubbling.
We’re passionate about the benefits of home-cooked food and have put together a few recipes which are perfect for feeding hungry mouths. Keep your eyes peeled on our blog and social media for the full recipes and meal planning ideas, including nutritional benefits.