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The family are piling up in the kitchen screaming with hunger, you have just came back home after spending ages in traffic jams or on crowded tube train, all you dream off is sitting with your legs up and a glass of wine or a cuppa... but food is needed. Is it to be a another take away? Or a (shudder!) ready made meal containing more E numbers and cardboard than food?

But cooking from scratch doesn't have to be time consuming. In fact, there are plenty of meals that can be prepared in less time that it takes for an average take away to deliver.

Pasta is a mother of all quick and easy dishes. It takes just a few minutes to cook (pre-boil the water using the kettle, it will be faster) and while it's cooking you get ready the stuff that goes on top. Choose quick-cooking meat or go vegetarian for super-fast dinner. My favourite ones are:

= = = Quick bacon pasta = = =

1.Cook pasta of your choice, I think tagliatelle, fettucine and linguine (or even plain old spaghetti) work best.

2.Heat some olive oil (or any other oil) in a large frying pan or wok.
3.Cut a few smoked bacon rashers (I think about 2 to 3 per person) into thinnish strips, pop into the pan and fry until crisp. If you are fat-avoider, you can dry-fry them or just use oil sparingly.
4.Cut a large onion into half-slices, add to bacon, fry until softened.

5.Then add all or selection of following to the pan and stir fry briskly:
6.A courgette (zucchinni) sliced into half-circles.
7.A bell pepper (red or yellow) sliced into strips.
8.Sliced mushrooms (1 medium sized per person).
9.A few florets of broccoli (small, so they cook quickly).
10.A clove or two of garlic, sliced.

11.When the pasta is just about ready, chop up tomatoes (1 per 2 persons) and add to the bacon and vegetables, cook until hot.

12.Drain pasta, drizzle with olive oil or butter, top with the bacon and veg.

You can also skip the bacon if you want a vegetarian option.

= = = Carbonara = = =

Not a choice for dieters, but a very quick and tasty dinner, ready in a blink of an eye! This recipe will feed 4 hungry people or 6 if there is a desert.

400g/14oz dried spaghetti
200g/8oz smoked pancetta (or smoked normal bacon), or a packet of ready-cut lardons (Aldi do them for 99p!)
olive oil
3 garlic cloves, chopped
handful parsley leaves, finely chopped
3 eggs, beaten
50g/2oz cheese (pecorino is the proper choice, but any flavoursome but not too hard cheese will do)
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

1.Cook spaghetti
2.Meanwhile, cut the bacon into short little strips

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