The best half-term lunchbox - sausages, sandwiches and flapjacks

Heading out for a day of family fun this half term? Pack up a lunchbox full of homemade goodies – sticky sausages, tasty sandwiches and flapjacks. They beat anything you can buy when it comes to flavour and you'll save a fair few pennies too.

Sticky sesame sausages

Makes 12

Delicious on their own or stuffed into buttered rolls.

1 x 375g pack Taste the Difference Cumberland chipolatas
(there are 12 in a pack)
3 tbsp sweet chilli dipping sauce
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sesame seeds

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Bake the sausages in a roasting tin for 15 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk together the sweet chilli sauce and soy sauce.

2. Drizzle the mixture over the sausages and toss together. Return to the oven for a further 10-15 minutes or until golden.

3. Remove from the oven and scatter over the sesame seeds. Leave to cool.

Chicken, sweetcorn and mayo sandwich filling

In a bowl, combine 1 cooked chicken breast, shredded, 2-3 tablespoons of sweetcorn and 1-2 tablespoons of mayonnaise. Season with salt and pepper.

Pine nut, apricot and pumpkin seed flapjacks

Makes 24

3 tbsp pine nuts
2 tbsp pumpkin seeds
175g butter
100g light brown soft sugar
3 tbsp clear honey
100g chopped dried apricots
250g porridge oats

1 Preheat the oven to 180°C, fan 160°C, gas 4.

2 Spread the pine nuts and pumpkin seeds over a baking tray and toast in the oven for 5 minutes or until lightly golden. Leave to cool, then roughly chop.

3 Gently heat the butter, sugar and honey together in a small pan until melted, stirring occasionally. Remove the pan from the heat and leave to cool slightly.

4 Tip the dried apricots and oats into a large mixing bowl. Add a pinch of salt and the chopped pine nuts and seeds. Pour in the butter mixture and mix well.

5 Lightly butter a 20cm square loose-bottomed baking tin. Tip in the flapjack mixture and press down firmly with the back of a spoon to make an even layer.

6 Put the tin on a baking tray and bake for 30 minutes or until lightly golden.

7 Remove from the oven and leave to cool in the tin for a few minutes to firm up, then remove from the tin and leave to cool completely on a cooling rack. Cut into 24 pieces.