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What’s your favourite (relatively easy) healthy autumn winter dinner?

22 replies

Availableforbaking · 10/10/2021 17:11

Need ideas for my winter menu.
Must be fairly healthy and easy to prepare.
I have a slow cooker so slow cooker ideas welcome! Thanks

OP posts:
Fridafever · 10/10/2021 17:13

I like chopped up squash or pumpkin with sausages and onion and herbs. I put in the oven for 30 minutes then add cooked lentils for the final 10 minutes.

Glassofshloer · 10/10/2021 17:14

My favourites:
Ratatouille and dumpling bake (really quick if you use frozen dumplings)
Jacket potato with red cabbage, tuna, pickle, veg
Chilli con carne
Chicken and mushroom risotto

Milkbottlelegs · 10/10/2021 17:20

Bag of frozen Mediterranean veg. Mix in a small amount of olive oil and some hot smoked paprika. Roast for about 15 minutes. Brown some sausages, or chicken breast if trying to be healthy. Add the sausages/chicken to the roasting tray along with a tin of chopped tomatoes. Add seasoning/herbs/extra spice to your liking.

It’s nicer with fresh veg (the frozen stuff is chopped a bit small) but this saves so much time mid week that I let that go.

My other traybake one is butternut squash, red onion and maybe some carrots/parsnips/sweet potato depending on what I’ve got. Roast with a little olive oil and some kind of spice mix (harissa or ras el hanout work well). Marinade chicken breasts in yoghurt mixed with the same spice mix. Add to the roasting tray for the last 20 minutes.

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Toomuchis · 10/10/2021 17:23

Puy lentil, parsnip and kale stir fry. It's in Hugh fernley whatsits light and easy book. It's fast - 20 mins and tastes great. You can add chorizo if you're that way inclined, or leave it out and just add a good splash of nice olive oil at the end to stop it being too dry.

Graphista · 10/10/2021 17:41

I've recently discovered tray baked and love that with a couple of sausages (veggie ones but I believe you can get low fat meat ones)

Slow cooker I used to have one must get another really, I generally used it for casseroles, curries, chilli, ratatouille, Mac cheese works well in the slow cooker but not sure that meets healthy criteria especially, savoury mince works well in the slow cooker too as more time to absorb flavours of whatever herbs etc you're using.

There's loads of slow cooker recipe Facebook groups inc veggie and healthy/low cal ones

CorvusPurpureus · 10/10/2021 18:58

Black eyed bean shepherd's pie was a recent success.

Chuck the beans (dried) into the slow cooker & cook over night - they need a couple of inches water/stock on top of them. They should be mostly tender but with a bit of 'bite' after this.

Next day, saute a chopped onion, couple of peppers, few cloves of garlic, & a sliced chilli & throw them into the slow cooker too.

Add a jar of pasta sauce or homemade equivalent, or even just tinned tomatoes. Then a good shake of molasses, barbecue sauce, & balsamic vinegar - anything sticky & sweet basically!

Cook for another couple of hours until beans are tender & sticky.

Transfer to a baking tray, top with mash (I used sweet potatoes)& shove in oven for half an hour until the beans are bubbling & the mash has crisped up.

Sounds like a faff, but genuinely the slow cooker does the work other than chopping a few veg. Plus ridiculously cheap, full of protein & vegan.

I had more beans than I needed for the pie so put them in the fridge. Carnivorous ds who is generally rude about vegetarian dinners scoffed them on toast for breakfast!

HarrisMcCoo · 10/10/2021 19:00

Has to be chilli con carne 😋

Chicchicchicchiclana · 10/10/2021 19:04

Any kind of stew or casserole with meat or chicken and vegetables.

CorvusPurpureus · 10/10/2021 19:06

Incidentally my slow cooker lid was killed by the cat, so I'm using a badly fitting lid from an old casserole & a tea towel - if your lid fits properly you'd probably need less liquid to cook the beans in the first place...you basically want them to absorb it before you add the tomato sauce etc.

humpyhump · 10/10/2021 19:08

Tonight we had baked potatoes done properly in the oven topped with slow cooker chilli con carne. Then melted cheese, spring onions and soured cream on top. Mmmmm!

Fferny1 · 10/10/2021 19:18

A recipe from Olive Magazine from a Mexican cookery book.
Rub a Chicken with a paste made from garlic, smoked paprika & olive oil or just chuck everything on top! Place on a bed of butternut squash, butter beans with olive oil. Then add a punnet of baby tomatoes & torn basil to the toasting tray 15 mins before eating. Serve with Rice. I normally add a couple of extra garlic bulbs as well as I love roast garlic with rice.

Invasionofthegutsnatchers · 10/10/2021 19:19

I made a gorgeous shepherd's pie this evening 😋

PearLime · 10/10/2021 19:25

Stuffed peppers.

Put long red peppers sliced in 2 in the oven. Then make the filling- whizz bread, any nuts and chic peas in a food processor along with salt and pepper. Add any fresh or dried herbs you like. Fill the peppers with the blitzed up mix then grate some cheese on top. Cook until crispy. Serve with rice or couscous and salad.

BirdIsland · 10/10/2021 19:29

The aubergine chilli linked by @Hobnobsandbroomstick is divine, a bit faffy initially but once it's in the pan it just cooks away. My toddler loves it, and it freezes really well. We have it with rice, tortilla chips (the cheap supermarket basics ones), sour cream and guacamole 😋

Rainydaypuddles · 10/10/2021 19:38

For easy dinners we like soup - chicken, veg and rice is a favourite and can be prepared quickly. If you want to bulk up your meal you can serve it with crusty bread. I would make this on a Sunday and it will keep until Tuesday. Very handy for hungry children as can be reheated very quickly. We serve with par baked baguettes and it is a lovely dinner.

I know some people will say it isn’t a meal but it really is.

Another fave is chilli with rice and sour cream, with baked pitta bread.

Chicken - we cook a whole chicken in the slow cooker and you get so much more meat from it.

Chicken thighs (skinless and boneless) - 30 mins in the oven. We add Schwartz spices and serve with uncle Ben’s rice and veg if we are in a hurry, or we make home made oven chips and they cook at the same time as the chicken.

Fajita chicken stuffed peppers.

Fajita chicken stuffed courgette boats.

Sausage n mash. Potatoes boil while sausages cook. Heck 97% pork sausages are lovely.

Sorry I don’t really use my slow cooker! I feel everything tastes the same and turns the same colour. I prefer to find meals that take 30 mins to cook if we are in a hurry midweek.

Realitea · 10/10/2021 19:42

We like sloppy joes served with bread rolls and sliced cheese!

Curries - always good
Sausage and spinach rigatoni pasta - very filling
Pork belly with mash and spiced red cabbage
And lots of roast dinners

RemusLupinsBiggestGroupie · 10/10/2021 20:03

Veggie sausages, roasted with whatever veg (onions, peppers, mushrooms maybe, or butternut squash, onions and a bit of sage) with a jacket potato.

Veggie chilli with all the trimmings

Veggie sausage casserole with hassleback potatoes

Dhal

Soup - either lentil or leek and potato tend to be favourites here

Stilton and mushroom pie

melonhead · 11/10/2021 05:48

Tacos are a hit here. I make a big batch of Chili and freeze it in portions, then once a week have it with taco shells, grated cheese, sour cream and lettuce

Silkieschickens · 11/10/2021 05:56

Salmon, new potatoes and spinach in butter
Fajitas with steak or prawns
Baked potatoes with sour cream and smoked salmon and a side salad with garden salad, raddish and spring onion
Cod in breadcrumbs and grilled med veg

Silkieschickens · 11/10/2021 06:00

And roast dinner on Sundays

TheWatersofMarch · 12/10/2021 18:14

This is embarrassingly easy student fare...I put 2 tins chopped toms, 2 tins beans, mixture of meat and veggie sausage, chopped onion, enough chunky chopped spuds for 4 in the slow cooker and by evening passable sausage casserole. Serve with something green (buttered Savoy cabbage last night). Leftovers for my lunch.

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