G'day. Have had a month you would hope to only read about, but I won't bore you with the details. However, that means I haven't had time to think of anything to lighten the load so I thought we'd do an each-way bet with two dishes - one quick, easy and freezeable (not sure if that is a word, but it works for me), and a second one for someone like me who gets home and and winds down by mucking around in the kitchen. The first one is also excellent if you have a bunch of people drop in and need to feed one to six or more. Each recipe serves four.

VICK'S CHICKEN + PASTA

Originally named something along the lines of Chicken Diabolo (which is, I think, Spanish for Devil), this is a favorite of Vick's (my ex-wife , the terms are interchangeable). Having said that, she is still my best mate. We just can't seem to live in the same cave. [I suspect that's more to do with you than Vicky, Brad. - Ed] This dish is pretty quick from scratch, but is also good frozen for those times you just need something to reheat for a quickie.

- 1 tablespoon olive oil

- 1 large onion peeled and diced

- ½ capsicum deseeded and diced (for the beginner: cut in half lengthways and scrape out the insides with a dessertspoon)

- 1-2 cloves garlic minced (if you're not using a garlic press, ½ to 1 teaspoon from the jar)

- 1 small chilli (do the deseeding thing again), chopped, or a few dashes of Tabasco sauce - some may be brave enough to use both

- 2 cans Roma tomatoes

- 1 can champignons

- 1 dessertspoon sugar

- Italian herbs (you know, the jar of ready-mixed ones)

- Meat from one barbecued chicken (DIY or buy) sliced into strips, or 3-4 poached chicken breasts (fry pan, white wine, just bring to the boil then turn down and simmer until cooked through, which will be about 10-15 minutes depending on the size of your breasts - the chicken's, I mean)

- 250-300g spiral pasta, or whatever floats your boat

Boil a medium size pot of water. Add the pasta, which usually takes 10-13 minutes, but check the instructions on the packet. (I'm assuming you have bought the pasta, can read the instructions on the pack, and that you haven't made your own. If you have made your own, I reckon you know how long it should cook, and I have no idea why you'd need to read my recipe. Maybe you can give me some tips?)

Preheat to about 180.

Fry onions, capsicum, chilli and garlic in oil until aromatic (starts to get up your nose, but it's gooooood).

Add tomatoes, sprinkle on the Italian herbs, Tabasco if you've decided to go that way, and the sugar. Bring to the boil, turn down and then simmer for 10 minutes.

Mix in the chicken and champignons.

Place cooked pasta into an oven-proof casserole dish, pour chicken mixture over the pasta, cover with grated cheese and bung it into the oven, uncovered, and bake until cheese has melted and started to brown.

Serve with crusty bread.

Okay, we'll now have a look at the second dish. This one is a bit of a twist on a veal cordon bleu.

STUFFED VEAL (in the very best sense)

This would also serve about four, but I would not freeze it after cooking.

- 4 large veal steaks

- 16 green king prawns

- Camembert or Brie [Another Heart Smart recipe, Brad? - Ed.]

- Cup of Flour

- 2 eggs

- Breadcrumbs

- 2 cloves garlic

- Tablespoon of butter

- Olive oil

Melt butter in pan and add minced garlic. Toss in 12 prawns (completely shelled) and 4 prawns with tails intact. Remove from pan when just pink and set aside.

If you haven't purchased schnitzel-thickness veal, grab your mallet and bash it until thin. If you don't have a mallet, I know a bloke who used a rolled up newspaper wrapped in kitchen plastic wrap ... it worked, sort of.

Beat the two eggs together in a bowl.

Pour and spread breadcrumbs on a plate.

Put a couple of the completely shelled prawns in the middle of each piece of veal together with slices of the cheese. Fold the veal in half over the prawns and cheese. Bring the edges of the folded veal together and join them by brushing the edges with a little of the beaten egg and pressing together. Dust the veal, both sides, with the flour the dip it in the egg, put it in the breadcrumbs, and crumb both sides.

Using the same pan you cooked the prawns in, medium-low heat, now shallow fry the veal until golden.

Arrange on plate with one of the tailed prawns on top with a slice of the cheese and a sprig of parsley.

Serve with your choice of green vegies, but I'd be going with snow peas, maybe broccolini, and definitely fried potatoes (cholesterol free oil or baked).

Hope these do the trick if you're on your own, with a friend, or have a bunch drop in with short or no notice.

Catch you next month, be well.

Brad

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