Recipe: Sausage and Bean Lunchbox

As mentioned previously, I've taken some time out of my routine over the Christmas period. When returning to bake this weekend both recipes I made were pretty awful.

Never again will I cheat and melt chocolate in the microwave. I missed a tiny bit of foil and nearly blew up the kitchen with molten chocolate. Not an entirely bad thing you may be thinking, but I'm still wafting that burnt smell out of my flat.

Secondly, a recipe from a book I've had for some time promising healthier, natural treats. Not only did the biscuits require a whole expensive bottle of honey, they were tasteless and soft (and ugly!). Which reminds me, all recipes I've attempted from said book have been naff. I'm now going to recycle the book in the hope that it comes back in its next life as something more useful!

I had been tempted to throw the blogging towel in and join the circus. Except I'm not sure what I would do in the circus.

One recipe that I was pretty impressed with was Saturday night's dinner in which I threw everything in my fridge into one pot. Living on my own and working unsocial hours I spend some time each week making large meals that I can portion the leftovers off into the freezer for my lunchbox.

Admittedly this is quite a substantial lunch for a regular 9-5er, but you could add more vegetables than sausages. For me, this will be perfect to take to work this evening. I even got some nice new glass containers...just to make me feel more of a grownup.

Sausage and bean one-pot lunch
(Serves 4-6 depending on portion sizes)

6 sausages of your choice (I like the chunky Sainsbury's outdoor bred ones)
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves
2 celery sticks
a generous spoon of sumac/paprika or seasoning of your choice
2 peppers
2 tins chopped tomatoes
250ml vegetable stock
1 tin aduki beans/kidney beans or any other of your choice

serve with your choice of vegetables

To start, warm a large stock pot or pan with a knob of butter or drizzle of oil. Fry the sausages for a few minutes, turning to brown all the edges. Take out of the pan and set aside on a plate.

Cook the onions, garlic and spice in the same pan until the onions start to become soft and transparent. Whilst the onions are cooking, thinly slice the celery and peppers and add to the pan.

Add the chopped tomatoes and stock and bring to the boil. Turn down low to simmer and add the sausages. Drain your beans and add. Throw in a generous serving of salt and pepper and give everything a good stir to make sure all the sausages are covered.

Cover and leave to simmer on a low heat for 30 - 45 minutes.

To save on washing up, I used a fold out steamer to cook my vegetables in the last 10 minutes in the same pan.

Leftovers will keep in a sealed container in the fridge for a few days, or a few months in the freezer.

Still not quite a grown up with my lunch bag.