Hi,

Happy New Year to you all and I hope that you’ll find some culinary inspiration throughout the year from my monthly newsletter. Although most people I know kept a tight grip on their spending over Christmas I think we’re all feeling a bit stuck for money as we start 2010. So I've decided to abandon the traditional weight loss recipes common at this time of year and instead I want to show you how to make the most of your humble left-overs. The recipes I’m giving you this month are ones that I use all the time and I have demonstrated recently at The Cook Club.

I cook a chicken about once every ten days and I can then get lunch and dinner the next day as well as stock from it. Not only does this save me money it also saves me time which is just as important to me, and I'm sure most of you reading.  So, as well as the roast on the Sunday, I can make soup from the stock (for soup ideas you can look at my soup recipes) and then stretch the rest of the chicken into these family-friendly recipes:

• chicken and sweetcorn pancakes which are perfect for after-school,
• chicken fried rice or chicken & cauliflower bake for easy family dinners.

I also recommend a trip to your local Asian Food store where you’ll find litre bottles of soy sauce at very reasonable prices as well as noodles, rice and spices. There is a great new shop in Galway on Market Street called Eurasian with unbeatable prices and a fantastic range of products. For those of you living in Dublin check out the Asian Market on Drury street. The large supermarkets are now carrying a great selection of ethnic foods, however, I find them pretty expensive so I think it’s worth the effort to make a special trip to your local Asian store.

These recipes have all been tested on my children and the children of my Cook Club attendees and the results have been positive. So give them a go and let me know through the forum how you get on.

Happy cooking,