#KitchenClearout recipe : Old Mother Hubbard's Pasta Bake

We do our weekly shop on a Saturday morning so by Friday, the fridge is looking pretty empty. That's not usually a problem because Juliette and Pierre eat at the school canteen, Madhouse Daddy eats with some friends in a little restaurant in town, I eat at my school canteen or with Madhouse Daddy and Sophie is happy with a ready meal for one or whatever leftovers she can scavenge in the fridge ! Today, however, Pierre was poorly so I took a sick child day off and needed to rustle up something for everyone to eat at lunchtime from the (minimal) contents of the fridge and cupboards. I made a poor man's version of a pasta bake, using up odds and ends, which I thought was quite bland but the kids loved it.

Old Mother Hubbard's Pasta Bake

ingredients :

a few handfuls of macaroni

knob of butter

1 leek

2 mushrooms

can of sweetcorn

a pack of hot dog sausages

1 pack cheese sauce mix

1/2 pint milk

end of a bag of grated cheese

crème fraîche/milk

Gently fry the leek and mushrooms in a little butter. Toss in the chopped hot dog sausages for the last couple of minutes. Put the dry pasta in an ovenproof dish and toss in the mushrooms/leeks/hot dog sausages and the tin of sweetcorn.

I usually tend to make cheese sauce from scratch but there was hardly any cheese left so I used a packet mix that was in the cupboard. Follow the instructions then pour the cheese sauce into the dish with the pasta and stir. Top up with crème fraîche and/or milk until the pasta is nicely covered.

Put in the oven at 180° while you go on the school run - probably about 40 minutes. Scatter some grated cheese over the top 15 minutes before the end.

Linking up to this month's #KitchenClearout linky