My new resolution is too from scratch more often. What do you regularly cook from scratch?

[WUME]

I do chilli, spag bol, curry, stew and lasagne from scratch.

The rest of my meals are made up of things like pesto pasta, fish fingers.

What do you cook on a weekly basis?

[comeagainforbigfudge]

Oh we just tried making our own fish fingers. Were amazing. It wad from their diet books but here's a recipe from BBC food

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/homemade_fish_fingers_85938

I would highly recommend all three of their diet books. Everything we've tried has tasted amazing! I'm not on a diet though. Just trying to eat better.

Aside from the books I like to make
Chicken pot pies
Lentil soup
Minestrone
Mince pie filling.
Chicken fajitas


Hope that's a good wee start for you

(I'm making myself hungry!)

[Namechangeyetagaintohide]

Roast chicken
Stew
Stir fry

[comeagainforbigfudge]

*hairy bikers/dieters, don't think I made that clear!

[WUME]

Thanks for the link and recomendation. I've heard a lot of good things about that hairy dieters book. Think I will def buy that

[Butterpuff]

I second the hairy dieters books, fab. Also Jamies 15/30 minute meals are good if you want to make mostly from scratch but don't mind a few cheats and want to cook quickly.

Baked fish (in tin foil with garlic, ginger, spring onion, chilli flakes, soy and white wine vinegar) alongside roasted cherry toms and couscous with whatever you have to had to chuck in and make it tasty.

Roasted veg and chicken thighs, inc. lots of cherry toms to make sause then mix through pasta (or include baby pots in the roasting tin to make an all in one)

Carbonara

Chicken stuffed with yummy stuff wrapped in bacon with veg and pots

beef stroganoff is a favourite we have that as often as possible.

Stir fry's

Paella, I love paella we have that at least once a week in the summer.

Fish pie/cottage pie

Chicken noodle soup this time of year yummy.

[CogitOIOIO]

I make lots of soups, casseroles, frittatas, grilled meat/fish, meatloaf, various pasta dishes, risottos, kebabs, roast dinners. Quicker things during the week and longer stuff at weekends.

[FunkyBoldRibena]

Pretty much everything...

[ReindeerCarpaccio]

We very rarely buy ready meals or takeaways, so 95% of the time, our dinners are cooked from scratch.

We often have bolognese, chilli, soups (vegetable or Thai pumpkin), a pork chop with risotto/pasta/veg of some kind, roast chicken with veg and maybe mash or sweet potato fries, salads with chicken or beef, fish and a salsa (BBCgoodfood recipe), stews/casseroles with mash, osso buco, roast pork or beef, stir fries or curry dishes.

I like reading cooking magazines and get inspired by their recipes, as well as food blogs and cookbooks.

[MadeMan]

"I do chilli, spag bol, curry, stew and lasagne from scratch."

Yeah, I cook these meals from scratch (maybe not lasagne), risotto as well, but fish fingers I buy frozen.

[ElephantsAndMiasmas]

Risotto - really quick one you can do just involves frying onion, adding rice, add stock bit by bit til the rice is cooked then add some veg just before the end. Frozen peas, some sliced asparagus or cherry tomatoes, fresh spinach, stir it in for 5 minutes then add cheese and some herbs/wine just before serving.

Roasted veg - chuck it in the oven, throw in some cubed halloumi or goats cheese 10 minutes before the end, serve with pitta.

Homemade sweet potato wedges as an alternative carb (with chilli for example) is good too, not bad for you and really delicious.

Baked potato with selection of salady things, pickles and cheese.

Spicy omelettes with various veg, some chilli and maybe cumin throw in.

Broccoli & cauliflower cheese - just boil the veg for a few mins while you make the cheese sauce, drain water, stir together. Chuck in the oven with some extra cheese on top to brown if you're feeling fancy (I CBA). This is good with the wedges too.

I'm veggie but sure meaty variations could be made on all these.

[pinkfrocks]

Poached salmon and salad with homemade sweet potato chips/ wedgies.

Fish cakes

Fish pie

Chicken or King prawn stir fry

Pasta with king prawns and broccoli

Roast chicken and all the trimmings

Risotto

Cold leftover chicken with salad and jacket pots or Coronation chicken

Now and then- lamb chops , grilled.

Cauliflower cheese with bacon.

Roast pheasant

Nice quality sausages with mash and veg like savoy cabbage.

Baked fish with roast veggies- aubergine, peppers, sweet potato, tomatoes

[BlackeyedSantaStuckUpAChimney]

usually cook vegetarian chilli with lentils
vegetarian bolognaise
bean soup
trout and roast veggies with pasta and white sauce
veggies and beans in tomato based sauce
cauliflower and broccoli cheese with mushrooms
stir fry
veggies and butter beans in white sauce

[VivaLeBeaver]

Bolognase
Chilli
Burritos
Lasagne
Roast dinner
Macaroni cheese
Pea and potato curry
Soups
Stir fry

[Thumbnutstwitchingonanopenfire]

We do quite a lot of meat or fish and 2 veg style dinners:
lamb chops, steak, fish (GF crumbed or just pan-fried, or grilled - used to do baked in foil but DH has gone off it that way ), turkey breast steaks (sometimes "kiev'd", using garlic butter or Boursin and then GF crumbs).
Also do a lot of pasta dishes - usually mince pasta (you couldn't at any price call it bolognese as it has no tomato and lots of other veg in it), or seafood pasta, or turkey carbonara without the bacon, or I do a nice cheesy broccoli and cauliflower pasta.
Risotto, stews, stir fries are all on the menu too. We used to love a good mushroom risotto but the boys don't like mushrooms (textural issues, I get it) so that's been out the window for years :(
Homemade pizza (spelt dough) with tapenade-style sauce (no tomato)
Roast dinners too.

[ArtDecoChristmasFairy]

Soup, chicken pies, cottage pie, roast dinner. That's about it. Everything else is mainly home made but with a little help from sauces, dried pasta etc.

I'd love to make fully from scratch spag bol and lasagne but I'm scared of my pasta machine. And of making pasta... kudos!

[muffinmonster]

So easy it's not really 'from scratch' but I cook lamb or pork steaks (brushed with peri-peri sauce and cooked on the grill pan on the stove), couscous (just soak it) and peppers, either roasted or (quicker) cooked in a little oil in the frying pan wit the lid on.

[Thumbnutstwitchingonanopenfire]

Ah yes, I forgot our sausages and mash, and cottage/shepherd's/swagman's pies. And no, we don't make our own sausages, of course not - but they're raw from the butcher so qualify as "from scratch" in most people's minds.

[WUME]

Bloody hell I don't make pasta

I just meant I cook my own sauces - I don't use jars.

[Thumbnutstwitchingonanopenfire]

Don't worry, WUME - most people use packet pasta! still counts as "from scratch" in most people's minds.

[itsonlysubterfuge]

The only things I don't really make from scratch are chips and Yorkshire puddings. My husband eats Yorkshires puddings every single night, so it's easier to buy frozen and I normally make chips as a super easy, throw it in the oven dinner when we are really tired.

[Theenormouscrocodile]

We do roast chicken, lemon chicken risotto, spaghetti carbonara, mince & potatoes, chilli, bolognese (sp), chicken fajitas, tomato pasta, pesto pasta, Cornish pies, shepherds pie, veg risotto, soups, pizzas. AlL homemade from scratch. I've surprised myself there, I'm normally racking my brains for something for dinner.

I also like the jamie oliver home cooking skills website, it has really helped me learn to cook and some of the above recipes are from that.

[pregnantpause]

Pumpkin, chicken , salmon or red pepper laksa - dependant in season

Roast dinner

Rissoto/ paella/ jambalaya / veg and egg fried rice

Lasagne/ stuffed cannelloni / carbonara/ puttanesca/ pesto pasta ( pesto is easy to make and I go half and half basil and spinach to sneak a veg in) aubergine or courgette parmigiana.

Ratatoille

Potato, swede, celeriac and parsnip hot pot/ gratin/ dauphiouse/ boulongere/ mash with pork / chicken/ sausages

Red lentil dhal

Stews and casseroles- beef and ale, cawl, corned beef, pumpkin, chicken and leek, veg, lentil etc

Soups- potato and leek, tomato, country veg, pumpkin, split pea, chicken noodle, cream of chicken, mushroom

Mince and dumplings, meatballs, burgers, cottage pie, bolognaise, chilli, dirty rice ( mince rice)

Frittata, tortilla, shashuska, egg and chips.

I can't say I make curries from scratch because I do use ready made paste, I can't say I make pies from scratch because I use ready roll pastry but I make these regularly too and , to me, these are cheats that are forgivable and often necessary.

[Mominatrix]

Loads - but I don't think it would be helpful to make a list for you.

I think that what you need to tackle is why you don't cook "from scratch" more - is it lack of desire (does not seem like it), lack of knowledge, lack of time?

I started cooking from scratch when I had more time - when it was just me and I was working crazy hours, I'd eat lots of salads, omelettes, and quite a bit of cheese on toast. I'd save cooking for weekends when I'd have friends over.

If it is time, grilled fish dishes are very fast - serve with steamed veg and a starch, alongside an interesting sauce. Another time saver are casserole type things and pasta sauces which I freeze in meal portions. I do make my own pasta, which I also freeze in meal portions. Homemade soups are quick and easy, and can be made substantial by throwing in a protein and some starch. A real quick, lazy supper at this time of year is a quick fondu thing where I poach some smoked sausage, steam some tender stem broccoli, cut up some apples, and cube some bread. I then take a medium size wheel of Vacherin Mont d'Or cheese which I stud with garlic and a splash of white wine and place in the oven at medium heat. Half an hour later, dinner is ready!

If it is ideas which you find you lack, look at food magazine and keep a list of things you'd like to try which are doable. Also, subscribe to some food blogs (David Leibovitz, smitten, Leites Culinaria) which will give you some inspiration.

[Lovecat]

Roasts
Bolognese sauce, Carbonara sauce, various other pasta sauces
Cottage Pie/Shepherds pie
Stir fries
Chicken or pork paprikash
Soup
Risotto
Stews of various meats/mince & dumplings
Curries (although I do use thai curry paste for thai ones as I can't be fagged with buying lemon grass and other weirdness then having it hanging around the house going off after I've just used a few cm of it)
Chicken breasts wrapped in streaky bacon stuffed with boursin
chicken thighs in a roasting tin with olive oil, thyme & oregano, new potatoes, tomatoes and Mediterranean vegetables (a 'no-thought' dinner)
Salmon with a herb crust
quiches
Refried beans for fajitas
Pea and bacon puree for white fish (it's bloody gorgeous)
Corned beef hash
Frittata
Chilli

[WUME]

I think the problem is time. I have a baby who hates being put down/left alone/not being held.

I can get away with a bit when she is asleep or happy for 5 minutes playing with the saucepans.

Twice a week I need a really quick meal to give dd1 and dd2 so we can get to their activity on time. I just keep throwing pesto pasta at them I really need inspiration as well.

I'm so bored of cooking the same things over and over and I think the family is sick of eating it

I also need to lose weight so need to take that into consideration