1. Roasted parmesan carrots
Chop carrots into chunky sticks.
Crush 2 cloves of garlic in a bowl with 100g grated parmesan, 2 tablespoons of rapeseed oil, salt and pepper and chilli powder or paprika.
Dip the carrot sticks into the mix, then dip into more grated parmesan, lay them on a lined roasting tin and roast at 180 degrees for 20-25 minutes.
If using carrots that are already cooked, then do as above but only roast for about 10 minutes.
Great as a snack or starter or as vegetable with meat.
2. Boxing day toasties
Gorgeous Boxing Day toasties are a must!
Stick to the traditional layers of turkey with melted cheese, stuffing and cranberry or roast slices of squash and red onions, with a few chilli flakes and rapeseed oil, then add to turkey with chutney and blue cheese for a comforting and tasty toasty with a twist.
Recipe courtesy of Miranda Gore Browne.
Miranda is a food writer, home-baking expert, director of The Kitchen School and passionate foodie. She was also a finalist on the first series of The Great British Bake Off. Miranda has written two books, Biscuit and Bake Me a Cake as Fast as You Can, both published by Ebury Press.
3. Festive quiche
A simple festive quiche is hard to beat, and this lazy version will crown you the domestic god or goddess in your kitchen.
Add a couple of pre-cooked pastry cases to your Christmas food shop, or if you are super-organised, blind bake a few and freeze.
In a jug, mix together 3 eggs, 250ml of double cream and 250ml of crème fraiche, season with salt and pepper and beat gently with a fork.
Grate any varieties of Christmas cheese and spread a layer in the base of the cooked pastry case, chop Christmas leftovers and heap on top.
Stand the pastry case in its tin or foil case on a baking tray and pour in the egg mixture.
Sprinkle lots of cheese on top and bake in the oven at 180 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until golden and bubbly on top.
4. Fill your freezer
This Christmas don’t miss out on the opportunity to fill your freezer with lots of turkey stock.
Make sure you have a stack of pots, approx. 500ml storage pots with lids are a great size as you can then take one out at a time and use them for soup, risottos, stews and sauces.
The big turkey bones can seem unmanageable, so don’t try to boil them all up at once. Put about a third of the bones into a large pan, add a peeled onion, some chopped celery, a couple of carrots and some bay leaves.
Cover with water, bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 2 hours.
5. Turkey noodle soup
If you want a pot full of comfort that will kick-start healthy habits and boost immunity, then get busy making turkey noodle soup!
Shred about 250g roast turkey, finely slice 4-5 mushrooms and 2 spring onions.
Put about 1-litre of turkey stock into a pan, add 1 clove of crushed garlic and about 2cms of fresh ginger (grated) and bring to the boil, then simmer for about 15 minutes then add 4 nests of noodles, the shredded turkey, the mushrooms and spring onions and 1-2 tablespoons of soy sauce and simmer for about five minutes.