My mom used to make chocolate soufflé all the time. I loved walking into the kitchen filled with a chocolaty aroma and seeing chocolate soufflé rising up out of a dish. Oh the joy! With soufflés all the more popular here in the UK, I couldn't help noticing a continual pang for my mom's kitchen delight. And with super cheap chocolate, how could I not give into my desires and enjoy the fluffy chocolaty goodness?!

Ingredients:
(Serves 4)
4 oz of dark or semi-sweet chocolate
1/4 cup sugar
4 egg whites
2 egg yolks

4 ramekins, or mugs (as I used), or a soufflé dish if you have one

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350F

Melt chocolate in the microwave or over a double boiler

Separate the yolks from the whites, set both yolks to the side

Add sugar to the egg whites and beat (easier with electric mixer or a handy husband) until the whites form meringues with stiff peaks

Add yolks to melted chocolate

Take four ramekins (or mugs), grease them and coat with white sugar (adds a nice little crispy touch)

Take a spoonful of meringue and mix it in with the chocolate

Take the chocolate mixture and add it to the rest of the meringue. Fold the chocolate into the meringue until mixed. Do not over-fold or the meringue will loose its puff

Divide the mixture into the four ramekins/mugs

Put in the oven for 17-20minutes, until soufflés rise and top begins to crisp (Do not open the oven while baking or the soufflés will fall)

Eat right away before they deflate! Great with cool whip, vanilla ice cream, or with chocolate cream poured into the center.

My toddler, Sweet Pea, helped me make some of these for a dinner with friends. I had her mix the dry ingredients as not to get a gooey mess all over her. Well, she took a big bite of flour, then a spoonful of cocoa powder, and lastly, a lick of vanilla extract becoming increasingly disgusted. The brownies were great, fudgey like my man likes them, with a crispy layer on top...mmmm, delish. But Sweet Pea wouldn't try them, she asked for an apple instead. I think this endeavor was a success on many levels.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup oil
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F

Cream together oil, sugar, vanilla and eggs

Mix together dry ingredients and then add to wet

Stir everything together and pour into a greased 8x8 dish. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Don't overbake!

These are great topped with ice-cream (I guess that goes without saying)

Quintessential soul food...the pot pie. I can't post a pot pie recipe without mentioning my dad, the pot pie lover that he was. Growing up, he had a special selection of Marie Callender's pies in our freezer. And I find pot pies are perfect for leftover whatever, veggies, turkey, chicken... And on a cold winters night, enjoying a simmering creamy sauce paired with the crunch of a buttery puff pastry...it's a beautiful thing.

I find that this dish is really quick and easy to make as long as you have somebody help you chop.

Ingredients:
2-3 Tablespoons of oil or butter
1 onion, diced
1 cup mushrooms, quartered
3 cloves garlic, minced or 1/2 tea garlic powder
1/3 cup flour
2 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 med-large potato, peeled and diced (I like to dice small so potato cooks quicker)
1 cup milk
1 large carrot, grated
1 cup sweet peas
2 cups shredded chicken
1 teaspoon salt or to taste
1/8 teaspoon cayenne

Puff pastry sheet for the top (Pillsbury, freezer section)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F

In a dutch oven or large pot add oil and sautee onions, mushrooms, and garlic until onions are translucent

Add flour and mix until sautee is evenly covered, then pour in chicken stock

Stir and add potatoes. Bring to a boil.

As potatoes start to soften, add milk then chicken, carrots, peas and seasonings (salt, pepper, cayenne) Let simmer for 10 minutes

Pour sauce into casserole dish and top with puff pastry. Press sides of puff pastry onto sides of the dish

Put pot pie in the oven and bake about 20-25 minutes or until puff pastry is golden.

Let rest for 10 minutes so you don't burn your tongue!

Yes, it's true. The actual name of this dish is in fact, Bubble & Squeak. The name refers to the sounds the ingredients make while cooking (not too sure how that was concluded...). The dish got some press around Boxing Day (the day after Christmas) when folks use leftovers from Christmas or Sunday roast to cook breakfast. How could I not try a recipe who's very essence is about being thrifty and using leftovers (and with such a fun name)?! I actually roasted some veggies specifically for the "Bubble" since I had some onions, carrots, and 'taters that needed to be used up anyway. It took me about 5 minutes to chop things up and I didn't bother peeling a thing. A few turns of oil, salt, whack it in a 400F degree oven for 45min, and voilà. Roasted veg ready for some Bubble.

Ingredients:
Measurements very with the amount of vegetables and potatoes leftover
40% Leftover roasted veggies (mine were onion, carrot)
60% Roasted potatoes
salt to taste

Eggs for scrambling (1-2 eggs/person)
Shredded cheddar for topping

Directions:
Mash potatoes and veggies together (I just used my fingers and mushed -works better than a masher)

You can do 1 of 2 things, make a few small mash pancakes or add the whole mash to the skillet and make 1 large veggie pancake (the smaller ones are easier to manage)

Cook "bubble & squeak" or pancakes until crispy on the bottom, than flip

In a mixing bowl, whisk together eggs for scramble. I also like to add 1 Tbs water per egg to make them a bit fluffier

Once the "bubble" is crispy on the other side. Put on a plate and set aside.

Add eggs to the hot skillet and cook (should take just a few minutes)

Put scrambled eggs on top of the "bubble" and top with shredded cheddar. I like to serve bacon and sausage on the side.

Even my toddler, the veggie-hater herself, liked this! A little traditional English to start your day. Maybe serve it up with some tea!

Yes, yes, I know! More roast potatoes?! I have quick roast 'taters for dinner in a bind, but if you want traditional roast potatoes and you have the time, make these. It's well worth it. They have a crispy shell that is just oh so divine. You can make this with oil or butter. Butter tastes better but oil is cheaper and better for you, so we opted for the latter option. Cheap and I gobbled up a third of this dish for dinner and then proceeded to gobble up half by bedtime. Whoops!

Ingredients:
6-8 medium potatoes, peeled and cut in half
1/4 cup oil or butter
salt to taste
2 sprigs rosemary (this is optional but we have a rosemary plant in our backyard, so I used it)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F

Par-boil potatoes in salted water for 10 minutes or until potatoes get soft but still hold their shape well.

Mix potatoes with oil and place cut-side-down in greased roasting pan. Salt generously.

Place in the oven for 25min

After 25min, take the 'taters out of the oven and gently press down on each potato with a potato masher (we don't own one so I used the bottom of a cup -hey, we're cheap and we're not living in England forever). You should be able to smush the potato but you don't want to mash so hard that it falls apart (a few of mine did anyway).

Top with rosemary and put the roast back in the oven for 25min more or until golden brown and crispy.

Let cool for 10 minutes and serve up. These are best right out of the oven. Mmmmmmm!

This is for my cookie-dough enthusiast roomies back in DC. They could sit with a bucket of Pillsbury cookie-dough and eat it by the spoonful while watching TV. I had these little diddies at a Christmas party a few years ago and have been continually planning on making them ever since. Well my procrastination has come to an end! I came up with this recipe and it's exactly what it looks like, cookie-dough wrapped up in a little chocolate package.

PS- what makes this dough extra great is that there is no egg in it (since we're not baking it) so no chance of salmonella, always a good thing!

Ingredients:
Cookie-dough:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
3-4 Tbs water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 cups flour
1 tea vanilla
dash of salt
1 cup mini chocolate chips (my fab mom brought me some from the US)

Chocolate coating:
1 12oz bag of chocolate chips or 12oz of bar chocolate (we used milk chocolate since it's Cheap's fave)

Directions:
Cream together melted butter, sugars, and water.

Add the rest of the ingredients. The end result should be a greasy-type "dough" that you should be unsticky enough that you can kneed it by hand.

Roll the dough into inch-sized balls, place on wax-papered pan. Chill for about an hour.

After an hour melt chocolate (for coating) in microwave or over a double boiler.

Dip chilled balls into chocolate and place back on wax paper.

We had a little chocolate left over so we drizzled it over the chocolate-covered truffles to be artsy-fartsy in our own little way.

Cheap wanted me to add that we made these the day after Sweet Pea's "Ma" & "Papa" left. So sorry guys!