Give me your unusual/interesting dinners please!

[Comedycook]

I'm very very bored or making and eating the same dinners every night.... chilli, fajitas, steak and chips, stir fry, blah blah blah

Do you make anything really unusual or different? Inspire me please!

Bumping for the evening crowd

Smoked haddock gratin. In layers, in an ovenproof dish, starting at the bottom: wilted, chopped spinach. Smoked haddock. Sliced tomatoes. Creme fraiche. Grated gouda. Bake in the oven for 30 mins or until the fish is cooked. Finish under the grill for a few mins to make the cheese bubbly. Serve with green beans and boiled potatoes.

Let me have a think for more.

I made savoury blini for pancake day. Filled with potato, onion and cumin. Can add beef if you eat that.

Tonight on my own and I'm having walnut, Roquefort and pear salad, with black olives, pizza express dressing and frozen pizza.

Bloody delicious!

Koftas with tzatziki dip and spicy rice is a favourite here.

A favourite with my family is bobotie, not unusual but a bit different to the standard mince recipes and super tasty.
I make it with beef or lamb, and sometimes add ginger and lemon rind if I have it, but most importantly curry powder. Some recipes also add chopped onions and almonds. Traditionally, bobotie incorporates raisons or sultanas. Then add in a couple of bay leaves and maybe walnuts if you haven't already put in almonds.
The topping is bread soaked in eggs.
We usually have it with salad and loads of chutney.

I like sweet potato and peanut butter stew with kidney beans. Sounds mad but is v v easy and delicious - even my picky ds likes it

my recipe is from my favourite recipe book, Pulse

I like veggie peanut stew too, I use this recipe
https://cookieandkate.com/west-african-peanut-soup/

Frittata -potato, onion, peppers maybe and eggs. And then a bit of cheese on the top and under the grill.

Thanks ..these sound great

Cheese & leek bread & butter pudding is easy & very tasty. I use this recipe but with extra leeks & minus the stilton (ie with just the 200g cheddar) as otherwise it's a bit too overwhelmingly cheesy. (Also obviously cheaper with just the cheddar!)

Our family favourite treat is “Cowboy Pie”
https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/cowboy-pie

or “Mediterranean Cottage Pie”
I make the meat sauce more tomoto-ey and add chopped black olives and Italian herbs. Then top with pesto mash.

I'd also recommend the Rukmini Iyers roasting tin books, especially the Green Roasting Tin for easy but different recipes. This is great & you can sub regular mushrooms & a few soaked dried shiitakes to make it cheaper for an everyday dinner.
(Not veggy but we eat a lot of meat free meals & when we do have meat it's usually sausage & mash or something quick)

This has become my go to website. Every recipe works, no weird ingredients, there's a jump to recipe button, slider adjustment for portions and also cook mode which stops your screen going blank
Genius

www.dontgobaconmyheart.co.uk

Any children or allergies to cater for OP?

Pre-covid, I did a yo sushi course, so now make sushi from scratch. Easier than you'd think. Have a Japanese night and start with miso, edamame beans and get some sake.

Vietnamese summer rolls. Lots of youtube videos on how to roll them. I eat meat, but actually prefer them vegan, they are also gluten free. I serve with a basic satay sauce. In a jar I mix about 2T crunchy peanut butter, 1/2T sweet chilli sauce, 1/2T soy sauce, 1/2T sesame oil. Shake, then continue adding small amounts of water until its a pourable sauce. They can be made earlier in the day, or even the say before as long as they are covered in cling film.

Baked potatoes with a choice of toppings. Chilli, Bolognese, coleslaw, tuna/sweetcorn or last nights 1st was coronation chicken using leftover roast chicken. It was much better than expected.

When I make rice for a curry, I always make extra. The following day, its the perfect base to fried rice meal the next day.

A lot of people think my traybake is a bit odd but personally think it's fine - maybe just the people I know!

Sausages
Corn on the cob
Potatoes
Carrots
Sweet potato
Red pepper
Chilli
Bake for about 45 mins
Put bbq sauce on last 10 mins

Love a ratatouille with jacket spuds too!

Ooooo lovely! I did try sushi once ...was a disaster 😂

The Vietnamese rolls sound good

And yes I have two DC but they are v. specific in their tastes so I'm looking for inspiration for dh and me! We can eat anything except prawns

Why not try a couple of new cookbooks with cuisines you don't normally cook from? Indian, Chinese, Thai, Middle Eastern/Mediterranean... Some of my favourites for "interesting " flavours and combinations are Ottolenghi, Madhur Jaffrey, Claudia Roden. You usually only need a couple of extra spices in the spice rack, some fresh herbs, a couple of store cupboard jars like tahini or preserved lemons, and they open up a whole raft of new recipes.

Never tried Ottolenghi...I might have a look thanks.

I like to try different cuisines...but have lost my mojo recently!

Pink pasta- in a deep frypan or wok, cook some broccoli, red peppers and onions in a bit of oil, when almost cooked add a tin of diced tomatoes, a cup of cream cheese and a head of roasted garlic
Add cooked pasta, fresh ripped basil , oregano and sage, and ground salt and pepper to taste

Tonight we had pollo con cassereccia but we changed it to pollo con veggies as I limit carbs.

I roasted a chicken. Kids had some with veg and Waitrose macaroni cheese.

I striped the remainder off and made a sauce out of a chicken stock pot, and water, harissa paste, spinach, and single cream. Served with air fryer peppers, mushroooms and courgette.

OP- I also love trying different cuisines and often buy a cook book from any country I visit. Here are a few more I thought of:

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/pasta-alla-norma

https://www.seriouseats.com/pasta-pasta-con-le-sarde-sicilian-pasta-with-sardines The idea of sardines really isn't my thing, but they mellow in this recipe and its surprisingly delicious, and cheap when buying tins of sardines from aldi/lidl etc.

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/moussaka

Lamb or chicken tagine

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/thai-pork-peanut-curry I've also made this with chicken, or make it veggie with sweet potato and spinach instead

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/bobotie

https://www.taste.com.au/recipes/old-fashioned-beef-rissoles/47bca051-ee98-4466-8841-f47da6895eaf

Thanks so much everyone

Chinese tray bake. Roast loads of veg; cauliflower, cabbage, carrots, broccoli, thinly sliced potatoes, onion, celery, sweetcorn. Top with small pieces of pork or chicken and cover in salt and pepper and chilli seasoning and roast again until all cooked and crispy.

Everyone in our house eats it all, even the fussy veg avoidant kids. They love roast broccoli with s&p flavouring.