After spending the day working on her solo career, you’d forgive Natasha Hamilton for ordering takeaways, but in fact she relishes the challenge of cooking up a storm at her home in Liverpool.

“I like to cook a nice meal - do the nice role of the wife,” she says, with only a hint of irony.

Not one to rotate seven tried-and-tested recipes throughout the week, Natasha prefers to improvise every night.

“I make it up as I go along. I’ll just go to the shop and think, ‘that looks nice’, then I’ll put some salad with it, and some potatoes. Everything’s grilled, so my cooking is quite health-conscious.”

According to a recent survey, family meal times are firmly back on the agenda, with four in five people believing it’s important to eat with the family.

Natasha agrees, but adds that cooking for lots of mouths doesn’t need to be complicated.

“Keep it simple. Make a simple pasta with a bolognese sauce and get the kids involved. They can stir the sauce or set the table. It doesn’t have to be a slap-dash rush.”

Happy to use cook-in sauces if it can make her life easier, Natasha just wants her two boys Harry, aged four, and Josh, six, to eat well.

“Often, if you give the kids a pile of peas and carrots, they end up flicking them across the table.

You’ve got to try and make it interesting for them.

It’s nice to buy sauces that have got lots of veg in them anyway.”

The singer has also taken inspiration from former bandmate Liz McClarnon, who triumphed on Celebrity Masterchef last year.

“Liz was thrilled. Every step of the way she said, ‘I can’t believe what’s going on’. But she’s always had a passion for food. Even in the band in the early days, when we’d be really boring and eat steak and chips, Liz would be eating lobster and balsamic.

And we’d all be like, ‘Oh my God, what’s that?’”

But will her husband, businessman Riad Erraji, start lending a hand in the kitchen?

“It doesn’t bug me that he doesn’t help me,” she says. “It’s quite cute really. It makes me feel a bit proud, ‘There’s my man not cooking’.”

Just to prove that she’s a housewife through and through, Natasha says her signature dish is her roast dinner.

“I always rub the skin with Oxo. It makes it really tasty.”

Here she offers up these simple recipes for a quick and tasty family meal.

Meatball Spaghetti These meatballs are made with sage and onion so have a delicious ‘sausage’ flavour that both children and adults will love. The sauce is ideal for making ahead and reheating to serve.

Serves 4 400g extra lean minced pork 25g fresh breadcrumbs 1 egg, beaten 1 onion, very finely chopped 2tbsp chopped fresh sage or 1tsp dried sage 500g jar supermarket bolognase sauce 400g spaghetti In a large bowl, mix together the pork, breadcrumbs, egg, onion and sage. When well combined, shape the mixture into 20 firm balls.

Heat a large non-stick pan and lightly brown the meatballs. Add the sauce, cover and simmer gently for 15 minutes until meatballs are cooked through.

Meanwhile, cook the spaghetti in a large pan of boiling water, according to the packet instructions, then drain well.

Spoon some of the sauce onto the pasta and toss so it is well coated. Divide between bowls and spoon the remaining sauce and meatballs on top.

Cook’s Tip: Any breadcrumbs (white or wholemeal) are suitable for these meatballs. Just whiz up some day-old bread (don’t worry about removing the crusts) or the ends of a loaf in a food processor to make fine crumbs and freeze until needed.

Roasted Vegetable Macaroni This tasty, vegetable-packed meal will make sure you and your family are well on your way to five-aday.

And it’s a one-pot dish so you save time on the washing up too.

Serves 4 2 large courgettes, diced 1 large aubergine, diced 1 sweet potato, peeled and diced 1 large onion, roughly chopped 1tbsp olive oil 400g small macaroni or other small pasta shape such as conchigliette 500g jar supermarket bolognase sauce 750mls hot vegetable stock Preheat the oven to 220C / Gas 7. Toss together the diced vegetables and olive oil and tip into a large baking dish. Roast for 15 minutes until softened and golden.

Lower the oven to 200C / Gas 6. Stir the pasta, sauce and stock into the dish. Cover with foil and bake for 20 minutes or so until the pasta is tender. Serve at the table directly from the baking dish.

Cook’s tip: Vary the vegetables used in the recipe to match what you have in the fridge - peppers, carrots and leeks will all work well too. Fresh rosemary could also be added to the sweet potatoes before adding to the large baking pan.

Make sure the stock you add is very hot or the pasta will take longer to cook.

Baked Chicken with Mushrooms, Red Onion and Peppers A very stylish and nutritious supper dish that’s incredibly simple to make.

Serves 4 2 large red onions, cut into wedges 2 orange peppers, halved, seeded and thickly sliced 1tsp olive oil 4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts 500g jar supermarket bolognase sauce with mushrooms Crusty bread and green salad, to serve Preheat the oven to 220C / Gas 7. Toss the red onion, peppers and olive oil together and tip into a large baking dish. Roast for 15 minutes until softened and golden brown.

Lower the oven to 200C / Gas 6. Nestle the chicken breasts in with the roasted vegetables and pour over the sauce. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove the foil and cook a further five minutes until the vegetables are tender and the chicken is cooked right through. Serve with salad and crusty bread.

Cook’s tip: This dish is ideal for making ahead and freezing. Fully defrost before reheating in the oven and ensure it is piping hot before serving. Try tucking a few bay leaves in with the chicken breasts during roasting for some added Italian flavour.