snow day

A slow cooker beef stew recipe you'll make time and time again - no browning required! We've added a little orange peel, black olives, bay and red wine for a Provençal flavour.

Slow cooker beef stew

steak,

150 milliliters/5fl oz red wine

garlic

onions,

orange peel

bay leaf

olive oil

100 grams/3½oz smoked bacon lardons

carrots, sliced

parsley

black olives

salt and black pepper

The Hairy Bikers’ take on sausage casserole makes a wonderfully warming and filling dish, and it freezes brilliantly. 

Each serving provides 423 kcal, 23.5g protein, 16g carbohydrates (of which 9.5g sugars), 28.5g fat (of which 10g saturates), 4.5g fibre and 2g salt.



Hairy Bikers' sausage casserole

1–2 tbsp sunflower oil

pork sausages

rashers rindless streaky bacon,

onions, thinly sliced

garlic cloves, crushed

½–1 tsp hot chilli powder or smoked paprika

tin chopped tomatoes

300 milliliters/10fl oz chicken stock

tomato purée

Worcestershire sauce

dark brown muscovado sugar

herbs

bay leaves

thyme

milliliters/3½fl oz red or white wine (optional)

tin butter beans

rice bread

You need to have this delightfully warming pumpkin soup in your little black book of dinners. Serve with a swirl of cream.

Pumpkin soup

onion,

carrots,

unsalted butter

pumpkin

floury potato,

litre/1¾ pint vegetable or chicken stock, a little extra may be needed

100 milliliters/3½fl oz double cream

pumpkin seeds

A recipe for sticky toffee pudding is sacred in the kitchen of a discerning cook. 


Sticky toffee pudding

175 grams/6 ounces dates, chopped

rounded tsp bicarbonate of soda

salted butter

salt

75 grams/2½oz demerara sugar

75 grams/2½oz molasses sugar

free-range eggs

flour

tsp vanilla extract

butter,

250 milliliters/9fl oz double cream

butter

molasses sugar

300 milliliters/10fl oz whipping cream

cream,

Nigel Slater’s apple crumble balances tart Bramleys with an oat crumble topping that’s made extra crunchy by demerara sugar.

Nigel Slater's apple crumble

1kg/2lb 3½oz Bramley apples

sugar,

water juice

grams/3½oz plain flour

grams/2½oz butter

oats

100 grams/3½oz demerara sugar

Flatbreads are cooked all over the world from Mexican tortillas to Indian chapatis. They are great served soft, filled with slaw or falafels, or baked until crisp and served with dips, soups or stews.

Quick flatbreads

100 milliliters/3½fl oz warm water

tbsp oil (olive, sunflower

If you could only make one dish, it arguably should be this amazingly gooey croque monsieur (that's a toasted ham and cheese sandwich). This easy white sauce will elevate the ham and cheese toastie to new heights.

Croque monsieur

200 milliliters/7fl oz milk

grams/⅔oz plain flour

salt and pepper

white bread

Dijon mustard

carved ham

cheese slices,

cheddar, grated

Up your cheese toastie game as Hersha Patel shows you how to make a croque monsieur.

Make It Easy: Croque Monsieur

This focaccia recipe is easy to make and easy to adapt with whatever herbs you have in the house. 


Focaccia

white flour

tsp salt

sachet (7 grams) dried easy blend yeast

400 milliliters/14fl oz cold water

olive oil,

fine sea salt

Simple, yet stylish, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s pumpkin risotto with crispy sage takes no time to cook. 


Pumpkin risotto

570 milliliters/1 pint vegetable or chicken stock

sage leaves, chopped finely

arborio rice

sage leaves

sunflower oil

fresh Parmesan, or vegetarian Parmesan-style grating cheese (optional)

This lightly spiced carrot soup is so simple to make, yet it makes a delicious supper on a cold winter's evening.There is a lot of butter in this recipe to make it really silky and luxurious, but you can reduce this amount if you want a slightly healthier soup. See the Recipe Tips for more substitutions.

Curried carrot soup

150 grams/5½oz onions, chopped (about 2 onions)

cumin seeds

½ tsp Madras curry powder

300 milliliters/½ pint chicken stock (or vegetable stock)

bouquet garni

tbsp chopped fresh coriander, to serve

A great chicken noodle soup recipe for using up leftover cooked chicken. Combine with broccoli, peas or any other vegetables that need eating. Good stock is the key to this recipe, so use the best you can get your hands on.


Easy chicken noodle soup

500 milliliters/18fl oz good-quality chicken stock

garlic clove, sliced

ginger,

chicken breast

grams/3½oz egg noodles

broccoli peas

2–3 tsp reduced salt soy sauce

spring onions, trimmed

chilli or sesame oil (optional)

Try making Mary Berry’s foolproof, homemade custard, perfect for slathering on crumbles, pies and puddings.

Each serving provides 872 kcal, 33g protein, 65g carbohydrates (of which 56g sugars), 54g fat (of which 26g saturates), 0g fibre and 0.7g salt.

Mary Berry's proper custard

570 milliliters/1 pint milk

55 milliliters/2fl oz single cream

vanilla pod vanilla

free-range eggs, yolks only

grams/1 caster sugar

level tsp cornflour

tbsp dark muscovado sugar

The perfect drink for a cold day: whisky with honey and lemon. You can have fun playing around with this classic recipe; use rum, bourbon or cognac instead of scotch and try different sweeteners or spices.

Hot toddy

milliliters/2fl oz hot water

tbsp honey

milliliters/2fl oz scotch whisky

milliliters/1fl oz freshly squeezed lemon juice

Angostura bitters

lemon (optional)

Someone I met in Palermo once told me that the secret of good Italian dishes is ‘esagera’ – put more of everything in – and so it is with this mac & cheese recipe. There’s masses of cheese and plenty of smoked bacon.

Equipment: you will need a 35x20cm/14x8in ovenproof dish.

Mac & cheese

grams/3½oz butter,

1.2 litres/2 pints full-fat milk

75 milliliters/2½fl oz double cream

cheddar,

nutmeg

macaroni

100 grams/3½oz smoked bacon lardons or smoked pancetta cubes

60 grams/2¼oz white breadcrumbs

grams/1¾oz Parmesan, grated

Beans on toast gets a facelift with this easy-to-make and healthy recipe.

Each serving provides 478 kcal, 17g protein, 60g carbohydrates (of which 11.5g sugars), 16.5g fat (of which 2g saturates), 12.5g fibre and 0.8g salt. 

Tuscan beans on sourdough toast

tbsp olive oil,

red onion, roughly chopped

garlic clove, crushed

tin haricot beans, drained and rinsed

rosemary

x 75 grams/2¾oz (or 4 x 37.5 grams/1¼oz) slices sourdough bread

¼ garlic clove

The secret to a perfect mushroom risotto is keeping a creamy, almost soupy texture at the end, and not over-cooking it to stodge. Feel free to use a mix of mushrooms depending on what's available. Wild mushrooms have a more distinctive flavour, but cultivated chestnut or portobello mushrooms are still very good.

Perfect mushroom risotto 

1.2 litre/2 pints chicken stock

grams/½oz dried porcini mushrooms (or dried mixed mushrooms)

mushrooms, mushrooms

grams/2½oz unsalted butter, cubed

1–2 garlic cloves, finely chopped

shallot, finely chopped

250 grams/9 ounces carnaroli or arborio risotto rice

100 milliliters/3½fl oz dry white wine

grams/1¾oz Parmesan

parsley,

Joseph Denison Carey takes you through the steps to creating the perfect, creamy risotto.

How to cook risotto

This quick and light chicken stew is an easy and comforting midweek meal. It's packed with vegetables and fairly low in calories, so it's healthy too. 

Each serving provides 415 kcal, 48g protein, 26.5g carbohydrates (of which 7.5g sugars), 11g fat (of which 2g saturates), 8g fibre and 0.5g salt. 

With a GI of 49 this meal is <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/diets/high_protein_low_GI_diet">high protein, low GI</a>.

Quick chicken stew

onion, roughly chopped

garlic cloves, finely chopped

chicken thighs, boneless, skin removed, cut into bite-sized pieces

700 milliliters/1¼ pint chicken stock

level tbsp wholegrain mustard

star anise (optional)

cinnamon

celery sticks, sliced

300 grams/10½oz small new potatoes, scrubbed and halved

beans

tbsp finely chopped fresh tarragon

A completely flexible winter vegetable soup recipe with a bit of optional chorizo. Feel free to use any fresh winter root vegetables and cabbage that you have. 

Winter vegetable soup

onion, finely sliced

garlic cloves,

turnips,

potato (preferably Maris Piper), cut into 1.5cm/¾in chunks

parsnip,

paprika

tomatoes

grams/4½oz chorizo sausage (we

100 grams/3½oz Puy lentils,

1.75 litres/3 pints stock, made with 1 chicken stock cube

grams/3½oz cavolo nero, kale or spring greens, tough midribs removed, shredded into 2cm/¾in pieces

sea salt and black pepper

soured cream

The Bikers put together two delicious seasonal soups.

Summer and winter vegetable soups

Top 20 snow day recipes from across the web

The most viewed snow day recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine

Top Tags

Slow cooker beef stew

Hairy Bikers' sausage casserole

Pumpkin soup

Sticky toffee pudding

Nigel Slater's apple crumble

Quick flatbreads

Croque monsieur

Focaccia

Pumpkin risotto

Curried carrot soup

Easy chicken noodle soup

Mary Berry's proper custard

Hairy Bikers' sausage casserole

Hot toddy

Mac & cheese

Tuscan beans on sourdough toast

Perfect mushroom risotto

Quick chicken stew

Winter vegetable soup

Basic bread rolls

Top 20 snow day recipes from across the web

The most viewed snow day recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engineic_arrow_forward_48px

Top Tags

Slow cooker beef stew

Hairy Bikers' sausage casserole

Pumpkin soup

Sticky toffee pudding

Nigel Slater's apple crumble

Quick flatbreads

Croque monsieur

Focaccia

Pumpkin risotto

Curried carrot soup

Easy chicken noodle soup

Mary Berry's proper custard

Hairy Bikers' sausage casserole

Hot toddy

Mac & cheese

Tuscan beans on sourdough toast

Perfect mushroom risotto

Quick chicken stew

Winter vegetable soup

Basic bread rolls

The most viewed snow day recipes by Recipe Cart users, saved from over 6,000 sites. Or, go to our Recipe Search Engine