Dinner time.

To follow my previous post, here are a few suggestions of meals that don't take too much effort - you know that that take-away isn't good for you, and you can't reaally afford it.

Stir fry! Quick and easy!

Selection of - Sliced pepper, onions, mushrooms, carrots, beansprouts, sliced beans. Throw in some diced chicken or prawns, add a sauce at the end - keep a sachet or two of black bean, lemon or oyster etc in the cupboard. For more bulk serve with egg noodles (cheap and keep in the dry cupboard just add boiling water and soak for 3 mins, drain and serve!) Takes about 5 mins!

 

Beef Mince

Cook up a batch of mince - onion, garlic, beef mince, can tomatoes, seasonings. Freeze in foil trays, defrost as required. Add kidney beans and chilli for chilli con carne, add oregano and a few mushrooms for bolognaise. Serve with rice, pasta, crusty bread, tortilla chips.

 

Jacket Potato

Wash and stab a couple of times so it doesn't explode! Bake in a medium over (175c) for an hour and quarter or until soft inside. Get your homework done while its cooking, or speed up by giving 10 mins in the microwave first then 15 mins or so in the oven! op with your beef mice or cheese & pickle, tuna mayo.

 

Pasta Salad

Cook extra pasta if you're having it with something else. Add tin tuna, sweetcorn, mayo etc and keep in a box in the fridge to have as a quick fix!

 

Lentil Soup

Chopped onion, garlic, 2 diced carrots, 2 - 3 oz lentils, stock cube and cover with water. Bring to boil and simmer until lentils tender ( 20 mins or so) mash to thicken with potato masher. Freeze or refrigerate left overs.

 

Cous Cous

A bag of cous cous goes a very long way!

Put a few table spoons into a heat proof bowl and cover with boiling water, cover and leave for several mins. Loosen with a fork. Add herbs, raisins, chick peas,teaspoon of cumin powder, lemon juice, drizzle of olive oil,salt, pepper and anything else you like! keep in the fridge. Serve as it is with leaf salad or fill toasted pitta breads!

 

Fish.

Piece of salmon, white fish, mackerel (available in frozen fillets) Place on large square of foil, top with herbs, knob of butter, splash of lemon juice. Wrap up, place on tray. Bake at 180c for 15 mins or longer if frozen.

Coconut Dhal

I love love love this recipe. We found it in an Olive magazine recipe booklet and I've had it at home quite a few times. I never realised quite how simple it was to make – perfect if you’re short on time and don’t want loads of washing up to do! It is just delicious, and as a lover of creamy, coconutty curries like Korma, this is perfect for me. You can adapt it to be as spicy as you like it. Enjoy it with some flat-breads or rice. 

If you’re only cooking for one, like me, then this recipe makes too much. You could halve it, but as the coconut milk I had was a 400ml tin, I didn't like to. So I've frozen it instead and now I have an instant meal for another day!

Ingredients:
2 medium tomatoes (chopped)
250g red lentils
400ml tin coconut milk
1 onion (chopped)
green chilli’s (as many or as few as you require)
1 teaspoon turmeric

Method:
Put all the ingredients in a pan with 300ml water and simmer for 20 minutes until the lentils are tender.

There’s ONE step. How great is that?!
BEWARE: This has a habit of sticking to the pan, so regular stirring is a necessity.

To garnish:
(Optional) Fry one sliced onion in four tablespoons of oil until crisp. Add a handful of fresh curry leaves or coriander and two teaspoons of mustard seeds and sizzle together. Pour over lentils.

I left this out as it means using another pan, but if you can be bothered, go for it as it does add a great flavour and texture.

(Photo from BBC Good Food)

Finally, a recipe... Tray Bake

As you all already know, I got this idea from Jamie Oliver’s magazine. It’s so easy to adapt and there’s no skill at all involved, just chuck some food that you fancy on a tray. Here’s my version for you all to peruse…
(There are no pictures because 1) This meal was no great shakes looks-wise, 2) My camera appears to be broken and 3) I was too hungry to delay eating by trying to take a decent photo of it)

Ingredients:
Half an aubergine
A whole red pepper
Halloumi cheese
Palma ham
Salt, pepper
Dried herbs (I just used oregano)
Sunflower oil
Couscous
Boiling water

Method:

Cut up your aubergine, red pepper and halloumi into equal sized chunks and put them all on a tray, drizzle with the oil and season with the salt, pepper and herbs. Mix it around a bit. Put it in a hot oven – I have no idea what temperature I turned the dial to but it was probably around 200 Celsius.

Cook until the veg has softened and the halloumi is starting to turn a little bit golden – this time will vary depending on how big you’ve cut your veg. It probably won’t be more than 20 minutes.

Towards the end of the cooking time take the tray out and add in some chopped up ham – I also drizzled the veg with a bit of balsamic glaze which added a nice flavour – and pop it back in the oven.

Now, you’re meant to add “1 part couscous to 1 part water” but I just tipped some couscous in a bowl and poured boiling water over it so the water came just a bit higher than the couscous. (Turned out I’d used far too much couscous and a little too much water so I ended up with a mountain of damp, sticky couscous – it still tasted nice.) Anyway, so add the water and cover the bowl with a lid of some sort and wait until it’s absorbed all the water – five-ten minutes.

When that’s done, season it, fluff it up, take the veg out the oven and plonk it on top.

It tastes nice, I promise. And it’s so quick and easy. Pretty well balanced and healthy too.

As I made much too much for just me, I kept it in the fridge and tonight I used it as a filling for stuffing peppers which were super tasty.