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In these tricky times, we're all looking for ways to make the most

of our weekly food shop.

So, in this series, I'll be sharing the savvy recipes I rely on

day-to-day, to save me time,

money, and do my bit to help the planet.

We didn't throw anything away, just think about that for a second!

I'll show you clever ways to transform food scraps

into fabulous dishes.

This started life as a sad bag of salad leaves.

Spin boring old leftovers in to imaginative new meals...

It's magic, right?

This is what it looks like to love your leftovers.

...and bake batch-friendly treats to get ahead.

This is what cooking once and eating twice is all about.

Plus, I'm showcasing creative cooks from across the UK,

who share my passion.

I love using stuff up.

I take great pride in not wasting anything.

It is like chocolate heaven in here.

Cook Once, Eat Twice is my feel-good food philosophy.

Yum!

Convenient, cost-effective and I promise you, totally delicious!

This week, my speedy recipes to save you

time during the mayhem of a busy week.

Look at that. Full, delicious, yummy, really easy.

A super-tasty dinner that delivers a bonus second meal.

Make this, because it's quick, it's simple, it's perfection.

My waste not, want not granola.

This has got all the flavours of a cinnamon bun,

using leftover bread.

Plus, my cook once, eat twice corn chowder.

I've also made my filling for my pie.

That's it. Two in one.

And first, a recipe for when you need a fantastic feed fast.

# Oh, if you can't see that rainbow

# As you're flowing down the river

# Sunny days will always follow you... #

A quick midweek meal is all about maximum flavour

and minimum work, and my Mongolian Beef is just the thing

if you're rushed off your feet.

My sticky sweet stir-fry not only cooks in a matter of minutes, but

it also doubles up as a different dinner for later in the week.

This is kind of the perfect midweek meal.

For me, Monday to Friday, it's kind of all about getting the kids

fed, feeding myself, but quickly.

When my wok comes out, I know it's going to be fast

and it's going to be delicious.

This mouth-watering meal begins with thinly-sliced steak.

I like my beef to be in sort of strips,

and that cooks really quickly.

If you have huge chunks, that's not going to stir-fry,

it's going to stew.

And my seasoning couldn't be speedier, it's just oil...

...soy sauce and my shortcut to super crispy beef - cornflour.

So I'm going to get my hands in.

I love new ways of cooking things, and Mongolian food tends to

have this overarching theme of sweet and spicy, and salty,

and lots of garlic.

So into the hot wok goes a splash of oil,

and seven, yes, seven cloves of minced garlic for oomph!

Cook once, eat twice, it's always been something that I've done

and it's just become second nature to me.

I'm kind of always thinking, "How can I stretch this meal

"and make this go in to tomorrow or to next week?"

Weirdly, somehow, through doing that,

I've managed to claw back time to do some of the things that I love.

Next, it's in with a handful of dried chillies

for a subtle, smoky heat.

If you break in to them, they're spicy.

And if you're feeling brave, go for it.

My husband would happily eat through all of these chillies.

Now, I'm going to transfer these into here.

Next, stir-fry the beef in batches.

And if I overcrowd the pan,

what'll happen is there'll be too much steam and moisture,

and I don't want that, so, the more space we can give it, the better.

That's becoming lovely and golden, and that cornflour's starting

to crisp up and all of that is just going to add lots of flavour.

And then I'm just going to whack that straight

on top of the chillies,

and the garlic.

With the beef ready, make a speedy

but sensational sauce using water, dark soy and brown sugar.

Mix, then pour straight in to the wok.

It's going to season it.

You get that kind of caramelly flavour that comes with brown sugar.

And when you're cooking really quickly,

it's little things like that that make all the difference.

We haven't used tonnes of ingredients,

but, we've got tonnes and tonnes of flavour.

Can you hear that? All of that stuff, that's all flavour.

Now, add a cornflour

and water slurry to instantly thicken the sauce.

It'll coat the beef really nicely,

rather than just kind of sliding off.

And that is exactly what we want.

It's sticky, it's unctuous.

Then add the beef back in to the wok

along with some chopped spring onions.

Just for some freshness, for some colour,

we're not cooking them, we're just going to warm them through, cos then

you've got like a bit of a crunch along with that delicious beef.

Finally, sprinkle on some sesame seeds and we're done.

It's so simple.

Just look at that, it smells so good.

And you can see, like, all that flavour that we've got is, like,

clinging to the beef, and that's what I love about this recipe.

It's perfection.

Like, if you're going to get your wok out and make this,

because it's quick and it's easy.

I love having it with sticky rice,

out of a packet.

If it's midweek, I'm not doing any work.

My Mongolian Beef stir-fry is so scrummy.

It's sweet, salty and sticky,

making it a fuss-free supper everyone will enjoy.

It's hard to believe that you would've made that

in the middle of the week amongst the madness with so few ingredients.

But it is a flavour explosion in your mouth.

And I mean, if you think this looks delicious,

wait till you see what I do with the leftovers.

As part of my cook once, eat twice philosophy, let me show you

how I transform today's stir-fry in to tomorrow's sushi-style wrap.

To your leftover beef, add creamy mayo, spicy Sriracha,

plus crunchy black sesame seeds, then mix.

On to a sheet of seaweed goes some surplus sticky rice,

spread with wasabi for heat, then stack up sliced cucumber.

Then top with your beef mixture.

Tightly wrap in to a perfect parcel.

And as if by magic, a second midweek meal in almost no time at all.

Now, for a breakfast treat that delivers for days.

My next recipe turns stale old bread in to a moreish breakfast

that you bake once and enjoy for the rest of the week.

My cook now, store for later granola, crammed full of crunch,

is an absolute winner when it comes to waste.

# Nothing's more precious than that

# It feels so good being alive... #

First, just chop up a few slices of stale bread into small chunks.

You can have white bread, brown bread,

whatever you've got in the house.

Bread is one of the things that we waste all the time.

We've all been there, the bread's in the bread bin, or

in the cupboard, I don't think about it and then I go, and I'm like,

"Oh, my goodness, it's covered in mould," and it has to go in the bin.

Well, you can avoid that. Stick it in the freezer.

But, if you've got stale bread, you can make the most,

and I'm not joking, epic, epic granola you've ever eaten.

With our stale bread prepped, it's on to the granola.

First, 50g of oats,

followed by the same amount of buttery sunflower seeds.

Then, 200g of flaked almonds.

And 25g of desiccated coconut.

We're going to really get that flavour, once it's baked.

It's looking a little bit like it needs a sunbed, but we'll get there.

Then to hold it all together, I've got a winning combination,

starting with 200ml of melted coconut oil.

It has that lightest of coconut flavour that is just perfect, but

not overpowering, and works really well with the desiccated coconut.

For flavour and fragrance,

I'm adding two teaspoons of vanilla extract.

Plus one of almond.

I know, slightly rogue,

but I also really love the combination of vanilla with almond.

It's like that hint of Bakewell that you get.

To make our granola glorious,

I'm using 200ml of maple syrup. It adds a real earthy note.

All this liquid is going to soak in to the oats, the bread,

the nuts, all of that.

I want it to kind of flavour every bit of this granola.

Now for my secret spice weapon -

three teaspoons of ground cinnamon sprinkled over.

This is what I love about ground spices,

you get that kind of intense flavour without doing any work.

This has got all the flavours of a cinnamon bun, but in a granola,

using leftover bread.

And if you ask my kids what their favourite thing to eat

for breakfast on a Sunday morning, it would probably be a cinnamon bun.

And for zing, citrus zest is the answer.

Orange in a granola, does it work? Yes, it does.

Make sure to just swipe it across the zester,

and then you're just taking that thin orange layer off,

and then underneath,

you've got the kind of paler orange. When you get there, stop.

From that point on, it's bitter. You don't want that.

Then, mix well to ensure every single piece

is coated to perfection.

And what you're going to get is bits that stick together,

bigger clumps, smaller clumps, that's exactly what you want.

This is so simple,

our ginormous tray of granola is all ready to bake.

What I love about making big batches is that I can eat this today, but

then I'm going to pop it in a jar

and it'll last me the rest of the week.

I mean, I say that. I have to hide it

if it's supposed to last the rest of the week. But it will.

Look at that!

It smells incredible!

It's all kind of come together beautifully,

and you can really smell that orange.

Listen to this, this is what you want.

RUSTLING

It's got to sound like that.

That way, you know everything's toasted.

Once our golden granola has cooled,

scatter in 200g of chopped dates for a sticky toffee sweetness.

With any good granola, you've got to have a little bit of fruit.

And for this, I think dates work really well.

I love dates, I always have dates at home.

One last mix and we are ready to jar up.

Think about where you're going to hide it,

cos the kids will be looking for it. Every scoop, there's a waft.

It's so good.

Can we appreciate for a second that that bread could have ended

up in the bin, and now we've made yummy cinnamon sweet granola?

As breakfasts go,

this is perfect with a bit of yoghurt, with a bit of

fruit, and I've got some more in my jar, ready for the rest of the week.

As well as giving stale bread a new lease of life,

my twist on a breakfast classic is a great way to kick-start

a busy day when you're short of time.

Just get a bit of everything.

Straight in there.

This is everything you can want in a granola - it's crispy,

it's crunchy, it's toasty, it's nutty, it's chewy.

Everything! Everything.

Why would you ever, ever buy granola ever again?

I love maxing out my time in the kitchen,

and I'm not alone.

In St Albans, cookbook writer Thuy Pham is at it too,

with a cook once, eat twice recipe inspired by her Vietnamese heritage.

Food doesn't have to be expensive or complicated to make.

It just has to be made with care.

So today, I'm making a swede ancl mango Vietnamese salad.

It's a take on the Vietnamese papaya salad with hot salmon on top

and then we're going to use the leftovers to make a pickle.

Swede is great as a replacement for the papaya

because a papaya is hard to come by.

Ancl it's so expensive.

What's great about this dish is that it's raw.

Midweek, it's super-fast, it's super easy.

I grew up on the Mekong Delta in Vietnam with my grandparents.

Because we had very little,

my grandma made sure that I used everything,

yet every meal was so delicious.

Next, we're going to add the mango.

The hardest mango in the store because you don't want to

lose the crunchy texture throughout the salad.

Now, what's missing is colour, so we're going to add some carrots.

I've got some purple ones here, and orange.

Next, Thuy's sublime Vietnamese dressing,

just dissolve sugar in hot water, then add lemon juice and fish sauce.

Make a litre, make two litres.

Keep it in the fridge for three months.

Now, it's ready for fresh ingredients.

First, garlic and chillies.

Then add a tropical taste from fresh pineapple.

If you're from the south of Vietnam,

we like to add pineapple to most things, but what's really

unique and special is having it fresh on sauces and dressing.

Look at this, it's incredible.

Thuy's transforming surplus dressing

and raw veg into a second recipe that couldn't be simpler.

Mango and swede pickle.

It's actually really big in Vietnam.

We would have it with our barbecues, noodles,

we would have it inside our sandwich.

It's like a rainbow in ajar. I love it.

I think stretching ingredients is vital.

I'm always thinking, "How can I make it big enough or two

"different styles without actually taking longer?"

There you go.

That's my pickles complete.

There is a misconception, I think, that the

more time you spend doing something, that the dish is better.

I don't think so.

And Thuy's midweek meal isn't just super speedy, it's a

taste of her birthplace too.

It's not Vietnamese until it's got the herbs,

and in Vietnam, it's integral that it comes across fresh and fragrant.

I'm going to add some hot smoked salmon.

My swede and mango salad reminds me of home.

It's not hard.

It's inexpensive and I can almost picture my grandparents

sitting right there.

Thuy's Vietnamese salad, plus pickle side, is a quick

and easy way to stretch ingredients in to more than one meal.

My next recipe is all about forward planning.

Getting ahead in the kitchen is the secret to a stress-free week,

and these ever-ready burritos are a game changer.

These deliciously useful family favourites are designed to be

frozen so you can have a meal at your fingertips,

even on the most manic of days.

# Take it easy, take it easy

# There's no need to worry... #

I have three children, and these burritos are a complete lifesaver.

It comes out the freezer, you warm it up, you eat it, that's it.

Like, everyone loves them. Like, ready-meal at its best.

Start by frying a clove of minced garlic with a diced onion

and season with salt.

And this is going to help to kind of remove the moisture from the onion.

Nobody wants wet burrito.

Simple ingredient and I am all about that.

My husband will disagree.

He likes to think I complicate everything.

While that cooks, slice up two blocks of halloumi into chunks.

Turn up the heat and fry.

We create a bit of a texture on the outside, and that rough

exterior allows any sauce that you put on there to cling.

Because the halloumi's quite smooth.

Imagine putting lotion on a dolphin, you see what I mean?

Like it... It will just go, slide off.

Now to dial up the flavour.

Take a lime.

Adding a little bit of citrus to anything,

especially a creamy halloumi, helps to kind of balance everything out.

Next, to add some heat.

Two tablespoons of chilli sauce.

If you're like, "Whoa, what is she doing?

"That is way too much for me,"

no problem, just don't put it in, or put a tiny little bit.

That's up to you.

But don't be afraid to add in some smoked paprika.

Paprika is much, much sweeter than chilli powder.

If you really love that kind of barbecue flavour, it's all in there.

Next spice, ground cumin, which I always have in my cupboard.

This really complements the smoked paprika cos it's got that

really lovely earthy, deep flavour.

And then it's just a case of giving it all a good mix

and cooking out the spices.

You can call me boring, and close to 40, but I love planning.

I have to know what we're going to eat.

When you plan ahead, you feel like you've accomplished something.

Just frees you up some time, and that's valuable.

You can't have a burrito without tortilla wraps.

So I like to warm these up just to stop them from cracking when I roll.

For just a few seconds, just to make them a little bit more malleable,

it's little things like this that just make life a little bit easier.

When they're all warm, layer up the tortillas and pieces of foil

in a stack, and cooking once and making multiple meals.

And when you think batch cooking, I think, often,

people just think casseroles, stews and curries. No!

No. No. It can be burritos.

Now, for my favourite part -

building the burritos, starting with a layer of cooked rice,

followed by our spiced halloumi. One thing you will do

when you make a burrito for the first time is overfill it.

Guaranteed. Everyone does it.

Everyone.

The trick really is to create a line sort of horizontally

across from you cos that's the way we're rolling.

OK, so now, in with our pickled onion.

You need something that has a bit of crunch, and a bit of a tart flavour.

They're also really beautiful.

Next, sprinkle on grated Cheddar and spring onions for freshness.

Then, we're ready to roll.

It's like commit, you take that little bit there,

and then you kind of go over.

Like, really firm.

And then roll.

And the reason why I have the foil here is because if I let go,

it's game over.

Just going to move it to the middle while I've got hold of it.

Foil over, and then wrap

really nice and tight.

Twist one end.

And then twist the other.

And that's going nowhere.

Then it's just a case of rolling up the rest and labelling them

for easy identification in the freezer.

When you're ready to eat these,

pop the oven on 180 and straight in, from frozen, 25 minutes.

You'll be making burritos till the cows come home now.

Yes, you will!

Look at that!

Full, yummy, really easy burritos.

What you want is a burrito with no space, just full packed with

halloumi, lots of rice, and all of that delicious goodness.

My simple and spicy burritos are not only foolproof,

but make a great grab and go emergency meal on days

when you're just too busy to cook from scratch.

Everything about those flavours are absolutely delicious, it's

smoky, slightly sweet, that hint of lime, got rice, we've got pickled

onion, like, you've got everything you want, and that's what a burrito

should be - it should be everything, all in one, one whole meal.

Now for a double duty recipe where one easy meal can be

effortlessly stretched in to two.

My corn chowder is supremely comforting and puts in a double

shift as the fabulous filling for my hearty hand-held pies.

The recipe I'm about to show is my daughter's absolute favourite.

I have been making corn chowder for her since she was four,

she's 14 now, and she absolutely loves it.

First, dice three onions.

If you're looking at this, thinking,

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, that's a lot of onion," don't.

Trust me, what I've found, over the years,

is the more onion I add, the more delicious it is.

Then melt some butter in a pan.

Add in the onions.

Season with salt, and mince in some garlic.

That is just going to give you that garlic hit,

without it being too intense.

It doesn't need cooking for very long.

So just till it's soft.

You want your onions to just start breaking down

and they're just lovely and translucent.

Next, add two tablespoons of cracked black pepper.

You heard right.

Pepper in its own right is such a wonderful spice,

and if you use it in abundance, you can actually taste it.

And what it does is not only give you that little kick,

a bit of heat, but it gives you aroma.

That's what black pepper should smell like.

It's beautiful.

Now for the key ingredient in my chowder - sweetcorn.

I love this stuff.

But you know what frozen corn is?

It's cheap and it goes a really, really long way.

We are going to put all that corn in to the pan.

We're not even waiting for the sweetcorn to defrost, we're ready.

It's quick and it's easy.

And to turn this in to a chowder, it needs thickening,

so add some plain flour.

Then pour in whole milk.

Give it a good mix.

That's it, that's my corn chowder done,

ready for dinner.

But, I've also made my filling for my pie, that's it.

Two in one.

To finish off the pie filling, take half the chowder, add grated

Cheddar, a sprinkle of chilli flakes and stir before cooling.

That cheese is what really brings it together and stops it being a

chowder, and more of a pie filling, cos when it cooks and it melts, it

all kind of... it just brings it all together and it's just like, "Mm."

Making my mini pies is a doddle.

Just line each hole of a muffin tin with squares of ready-rolled

puff pastry, and cut another set of squares for the lids.

Then, spoon in cold filling.

Brush the pastry edges with egg wash,

and pop another square of pastry on top.

Just bring the corners in,

and then without even trying,

you've got this beautiful star shape on top.

It looks like you've made this huge effort,

and you haven't really, it's just one square on top of another

square and we just put it all together.

And it looks amazing.

Pop the pies in the freezer for 30 minutes to help them

to hold their shape in the oven.

Then, brush the lids with egg wash.

And then a sprinkling of salt on each one.

And get them baking.

How smug am I feeling right now?

One simple recipe and we've got two dishes,

using the simplest ingredients.

I mean, life's good.

Life is SO good!

My chowder, speckled with sweetcorn, fragrant with pepper,

really is a hug in a bowl.

And its swift transformation

into a perfect pie couldn't be more satisfying.

As soups go, chowder is my... Like, up there in my top three,

because I love a creamy, rich soup.

You can still see the onion.

Filling, creamy, warm and abundant,

like, that's exactly what chowder should be.

Flaky pastry, delicious chowder filling.

Oh, my goodness! The pastry and the pie filling and the cheese,

all in one.

Mm!

Mm-mm!

Mm-mm.

Next time, it's pure weekend comfort food.

This is the best chocolate cake, EVER.

My roast chicken with epic leftovers.

And a heavenly no-waste sweet treat.

You made something so special out of pretty much nothing!