Easy cheesy recipes

Katy Power teaches her students that the key to cooking great-tasting, nutritious meals day after day is to keep it simple.

The majority of teenagers have simple tastes and the underlying goal in a household is to make sure there are plenty of basic ingredients available so that meals and snacks can be prepared and cooked when needed.

We have included a number of simple recipes suitable to make as a snack, lunch, or for dinner over the school holidays, when the students need something to occupy their time and satisfy their appetite.

Our Mini Cheese Muffins and Cheesy Rolls are ideal for the junior cooks as well as the older teenagers. The Cheesy Rolls are a popular South Island variation of cheese on toast while the mini muffins offer a small serving size that is great as a healthy snack between meals. All recipes are a good source of protein, calcium and healthy carbohydrates and are easy and quick to make.

To increase the appeal of the mini muffins, a savoury filling can be added once they have been baked and cooled. Arrange them on a platter and garnish with a sprig of rosemary or any fresh herb and they make a popular appetiser when presented at a family or social function and a plate of food is required.

For a substantial lunch or dinner, we have prepared macaroni cheese with bacon, mushrooms and broccoli. Macaroni cheese remains a favourite among teenagers and the seniors in our Food and Nutrition Department insist upon including the vegetable component to boost flavour and nutritional value.

Traditional macaroni cheese has loads of calories and saturated fat due to the butter, cheese and milk in the dish. The three ingredients can be easily altered to make the recipe more healthy if you wish to do so:

Substitute a portion of the butter with your favourite oil to increase the proportion of unsaturated fat.

Replace the whole milk with a fat-reduced milk or replace some of the milk with a little vegetable liquid saved from cooking the vegetables.

Reduce the amount of cheese or use 1-2 tablespoons of parmesan cheese instead, which has a strong flavour so you can use less in a recipe to obtain the cheese flavour.

The addition of vegetables adds nutrients, but you could keep the macaroni cheese plain and then serve vegetables or salad with the meal.

Learn to experiment and have confidence in your cooking.

The key point to consider when making macaroni cheese is to produce a smooth, velvety sauce that has a pouring consistency. If it is too thick, add a little more milk. Have enough sauce to coat the pasta well. Too much pasta in proportion to sauce will result in a dry, starchy dish. Cook the macaroni cheese in a large oven dish and save any leftovers for the following day.

Serve it for lunch with a green salad and a fresh bun, or for a more substantial evening meal, with extra vegetables and meat or fish of your choice.

Enjoy the school holidays and let the family loose in the kitchen.

If you enjoy Kai with Soul recipes, the first two years' worth have been collected in a great new book. Published to celebrate the school's jubilee, you can buy it from Benny's Books, Oakura Pharmacy, The Crafty Fox and Down to Earth for $30. All profits go to the school.

Mini Cheese Muffins

Makes 24

1 1/4 cups flour

1 Tbsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Pinch of cayenne pepper

1 cup milk

1 egg, beaten

1 cup grated tasty cheese

Sprinkle of dried mixed herbs (optional)

1/ Preheat the oven to 180[Degree] and grease 2 mini muffin pans.

2/ Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and cayenne into a medium bowl.

3/ Measure the milk into a small bowl. Add the egg and whisk together.

4/ Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the milk mixture and the grated cheese.

5/ Stir until all the ingredients are just combined. Don't overmix and don't worry about lumps.

6/ Place spoonfuls of the mixture evenly into the greased muffin pans.

7/ Sprinkle a little extra grated cheese or dried mixed herbs over the top of each muffin.

8/ Place into the preheated oven and bake for 10-15 minutes until they have lightly browned and the tops spring back when lightly pressed down.

9/ Remove from the oven, cool slightly, tip out of the tray and serve hot or cold.

To serve:

Cream cheese and relish filling: 2 Tbsp softened cream cheese and 1/4 cup tomato relish. Place the creamed cheese in a small bowl and soften to a spreading consistency. Add the tomato relish and mix together. Cut each muffin 1/3 of the way across and place a teaspoonful of the creamed cheese/relish mix inside.

Sour cream and smoked salmon filling: 2 Tbsp softened sour cream and a few pieces of fresh smoked salmon. Cut each muffin half the way across and spread lightly with sour cream. Place a small portion of fresh smoked salmon on top of the sour cream.

South Island Cheesy Rolls

Makes 22

1/2 cup milk

1 packet dried onion soup

1 cup grated cheese

1/2 cup hot water

1 loaf wholegrain sandwich bread

1/ Place milk and soup mix in a saucepan and mix until smooth.

2/ Add the hot water and boil until the mixture is thick.

3/ Add the grated cheese and stir until melted. If the mixture gets too thick, add more milk.

4/ Let the mixture cool.

5/ Cut two crusts off each slice of bread from opposite sides. This makes rolling the bread easier in step 8.

6/ Lightly flatten each slice of bread using a rolling pin. Place a spoonful of mixture in the centre of a slice of bread and spread it evenly over the bread.

7/ Roll up the bread slice, starting from a crust end.

8/ Place on a lightly greased oven tray with the crust end tucked under the roll and bake at 200[Degree] for 5-10 minutes until they are lightly brown on the top.

Macaroni Cheese with Bacon and Mushrooms

Serves 4-5

2 cups uncooked macaroni pasta

250g brown or button mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 rashers bacon

1 head broccoli

30g butter + 2 Tbsp oil

1/4 cup flour

3 cups milk

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3/4 cup grated cheese

Topping

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 cup grated cheese

1/ Preheat oven to 180[Degree] bake function.

2/ Cook the macaroni in a large saucepan half filled with rapidly boiling water for 12-15 minutes, stirring occasionally to keep it from sticking, until the macaroni is al dente or just soft.

3/ Wash and cut the broccoli into evenly sized pieces and add these to the macaroni in the last 5 minutes of cooking time. Drain the macaroni and broccoli and return to the saucepan.

4/ Remove the rind from the bacon and cut or chop into small pieces. Preheat a small frying pan and panfry the bacon for 1-2 minutes then add the sliced mushrooms and fry for a further 2 minutes until the mushrooms are just tender and lightly cooked. You may wish to add 1/2 tsp of oil when cooking the mushrooms. Remove from the heat and set aside while you make the cheese sauce.

6/ Melt the butter in a medium- sized saucepan. Add the oil.

7/ Add the flour and stir together with a wooden spoon for 1 minute until it bubbles.

8/ Add 1/2 cup or so of the milk and stir until smooth (a whisk works well for this step). Add another half cup of milk and stir until smooth. Add the rest of the milk and stir until smooth. Cook, stirring constantly, for a further 3-5 minutes until the sauce thickens.

9/ Stir in the first measure of grated cheese, the salt and the freshly ground black pepper.

10/ Add the cheese sauce to the macaroni and broccoli and stir in the bacon and mushrooms with a wooden spoon. Transfer the mixture into a large, greased oven dish.

11/ Mix the second measure of grated cheese and breadcrumbs together in a small bowl and scatter over the macaroni mixture.

12/ Place into the preheated oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until it looks golden and has cooked through.

13/ Remove from the oven and serve hot.

- © Fairfax NZ News