Time to get ready for six weeks of holiday nosh… let us get you started with two fun and easy recipes

THE summer holidays test the skills of even the keenest cook.

If you’re preparing three meals a day for the next six weeks, you’ll have served up around 250 dishes by the time you send the kids back to school.

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But if you stock up on basics, buy the best deals on meat and fish and have a fully stocked freezer, you’ll sail through summer.

Here are six tips and two recipes for you to kick off the holidays with. Good luck!

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IF the thought of six long weeks of cooking fills you with dread, follow Morrisons Development Chef RICHARD JONES’ reminders on how to have fun with food.

• Always make double of anything you are cooking from scratch such as pasta sauces, Bolognese or curries – then freeze the other half so you have it ready for another meal.
• Bread dough is fun and easy to make with the kids and can be used for pizzas, rolls for sandwiches and garlic doughballs. You can freeze them, too.
• Making ice lollies is quick and a whole lot of holiday fun for the children. Encourage the kids to try out some healthier ideas such as half orange juice and half carrot juice.
• Homemade ice creams are also easy. Mix crushed-up fruit with mascarpone and condensed milk then freeze for six hours.
• Frittatas are a useful way of using up ingredients and are really tasty.
• Another easy idea is an open pie using ready to roll pastry as a base, and topping it with tuna, sweetcorn and grated cheese.

Apple flapjack bites

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THESE mini flapjack bites are just the right size for a teatime or lunchtime treat. Topped with red-skinned apples, they look as good as they taste.

Makes 24 bites

YOU NEED:

180g butter

125g light soft brown sugar

5 tbsp clear honey

300g oats

1 tsp ground cinnamon

3 red-skinned apples

METHOD:

Heat up the oven to 180C/160C fan/Gas 4. Lightly oil an 18cm x 22cm rectangular cake tin.

Place the butter, sugar and 4tbsp of honey in a pan and heat gently until it is melted.

Tip the oats into a mixing bowl and stir in the cinnamon and melted ingredients, then mix well.

Core and dice one of the apples and mix in.

Press the mixture into the prepared tin, then core and slice the remaining two apples and arrange on top, pressing in gently.

Drizzle with remaining honey and bake for 25 minutes.

Allow to cool in the tin for ten minutes, then mark out and divide into 24 squares.

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Basic white bread dough

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Makes one 900g loaf
YOU NEED:

550g strong white flour

1 tsp salt

7g yeast

1 tsp caster sugar.

TO MAKE:

Sift the flour into a mixing bowl and stir in the salt, yeast and sugar.

Make a well in the centre and add the water.

Bring the mixture together with a spatula initially, then use clean hands to mix together thoroughly and form a soft dough.

Turn out on to a lightly floured surface and knead for at least five minutes until the dough is soft and elastic. This gives the bread a good springy texture.

Place back into a clean, lightly oiled bowl and cover with a polythene bag.

Leave in a warm place to prove until doubled in size. If you are using the bread dough for a crusty white loaf, then continue from here:

Knock out the air from the dough and knead for another minute.

Shape into a loaf and transfer to a 900g/2lb lightly oiled loaf tin. Cover loosely with a damp tea towel and leave to rise for 45 minutes.

Heat the oven to 220C/200C fan/Gas 7.

Bake the proved loaf for 15 minutes then reduce the oven to 200C/180C fan/Gas 6. Cook for a further 15-
20 minutes until the crust is golden and firm.

Tap the base of the loaf. If it sounds hollow, it’s ready.

Allow to cool on a wire rack.

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