AIBU to ask for "proper" meal ideas?

[Bumble1830]

I always do the same dinners, every week, I googled meal ideas and what came up was, in my opinion, are not things every day people cook on an every day basis, You have to have every single herb, pulse, and spice there is, as well as cupboard essentials such as chickpeas, capers and wine vinegar. Ok, so I usually cook the normal stuff, a spag bol, chicken casserole, roast dinners. Am I old fashioned in my cooking or is Spiced chickpeas with halloumi a normal every day dish?? And any dinner ideas would be gratefully received.

I can post recipes if you need them, these are what I usually cook (I live alone so batch cook)

Jamie Oliver's beef and ale stew
Chicken fajitas
Tacos
Chicken thighs with peppers, onions, cherry tomatoes and courgettes all roasted with garlic
Corned beef hash (with red cabbage!)
Cottage pie
Pasta bake - did one this week with ham, sweetcorn, cherry tomatoes, tomato and garlic sauce and cheese on top
Fake quesadillas - ham, cheese and spring onion in two tortillas, cook in a dry pan until cheese melts, have with sour cream
Meatballs in a tomato garlic sauce with veg and sweet potato mash
Jacket potatoes
Gnocchi bake (same as pasta bake!)

I forgot breakfast a fry up for tea!

This seems special but v easy - cod or haddock, bung a good dessert spoon of red pesto from a jar on top, spread around a bit, wrap in a couple of slices of parma ham, bung in the oven 15 min

Also like pasta with creme fraîche, those lightly smoked salmon fillets chopped up, and throw in whatever green veg you have to hand, courgettes asparagus brocolli or frozen peas or whatever

I do make curries from scratch though. I make my own curry paste with onion garlic ginger and dry fried spices, in massive batches then freeze in small portions. Them it's an easy meal just adding meat and a bit of yoghurt or a tin of tomatoes when you're cooking in the week

Also cook a lot of Asian food - stir fried rice or stir fries with noodles is good to use up whatever veg you have lying around. Again I tend to batch cook sauces so I always have a satay sauce in the freezer. Or when I'm getting a takeaway I get a couple of extra sides of my favourite sauce and freeze

This week we will have
Spaghetti bolognese
Roast lamb and veg
Leek gratin with puy lentils and feta
Carbonara (made by dd!)
Salmon steaks and veg
Lemon chicken tray bake
Sausage red pepper and lentil stew

If you fancy increasing your repertoire I recommend a Simply Cook subscription. They send you various spice pots and recipe cards each week. makes cooking delicious recipes easier and faster than you would expect.

Ive retired myself from cooking properly. It was never appreciated for the effort and time I had to put in. This week now looks like:

Today - slow cooked beef brisket ragu and tagliatelle
M - Kiev wedges and brocolli
T - easy cook gammon ready made mash and veg
W - spag Bol
T - spaghetti with chorizo and peppers
F - butter chicken with a spice tailor sauce and spice packet
S - enchiladas with left over brisket from tonight

My typical rotating menu looks something like;
Chicken pasta bake
Sweet and sour chicken
Pork chops and mash
Shepherds pie
Spag Bol
Something from the freezer (usually nuggets and chips or fish fingers and chips)
Roast chicken or roast pork.
I might occasionally mix it up with chilli instead of spag Bol and curry instead of chicken pasta bake, but basically this is all I ever cook/make. Simply because my cooking isnt great (although I can bake!) and my family/myself don’t seem too bothered by different foods!

OP re different slow cookers - there's one (I think it's Morphy Richards) that you can use on the hob. Usually if you want something browning you have to do that first before you put it in the slow cooker, eg sausages, bit of a pain because more washing up. So the hob-safe one you can actually brown in the metal liner directly on the hob.

Joints of meat I put in the slow cooker with maybe a cup of water to prevent dryness. Beef brisket and pork shoulder are both really nice slow cooked.

Get an instant pot not a slow cooker. It has been life changing for me.

Some great recipes on this thread.

I cook a variety of meals - 'traditional' stuff like casseroles, more adventurous stuff like homemade curries etc , easy stuff like homemade burgers or stir fries. I also make extra and freeze meals like Bolognese etc for convenience.

The last few weeks have included

Spaghetti Bolognese
Pork with rice and veg (all fried in a pan with spices and soy sauce)
Roast dinner
Creamy mushroom and bacon tagiatelle
Stir fry (using a variety of meats and sauces)
Chilli con carne (with or without rice)
Chicken fajitas
Pepper, cheese and turkey burger with sweet potato fries
Homemade pizza
Lamb tagine
Chicken curry
Omelette
Tomato and mozzarella chicken bake
Pasta bake
Chicken jambalaya

Not the most adventurous, I admit! I am trying one or two new recipes each week to keep things fresh. The WW website is good. I know it's for dieters but you can use full fat stuff or do bigger portions, but the recipes on there are really varied

My kids are fussy plus allergies which restricts things. Feeling quite smug about the recent addition of spinach (aka ‘Shrek’) pancakes which they actually eat. Yes!!!

We've got one of those slow cookers that's also a steamer and a pressure cooker. You can brown meat or saute onions in it too if you're starting off a casserole, so minimises washing up. Admittedly it wasn't cheap but we use it probably 3 or 4 times a week and it's been an absolute godsend. It also does a pretty good quick no-stirring risotto. And brilliant for making stock/soup.