What's your favourite (easy ish) recipe for a meal?

[TeaJunky]

Right then. I think it's time I got serious about feeding my family decent, home cooked food now that dc2 is on the way and dd is 3 and eating proper meals with us.

The only problem is I am USELESS at cooking - and just not very creative! I dont know if it's a confidence crisis in the kitchen or what but honestly, I'm just not one of those people that can knock up something nice in half an hour and I so would LOVE to be

So lovely mners, I need your easy meal recipes pleeease, nothing too fancy mind, as I'm rather clueless but I don't mind a decent challenge either we eat meat but not pork.

TA vair much

Invest in a copy of Delia Smith's Complete cookery course - it is like a bible and she explains everything in great detail so you can never get confused.

Kedgeree

bake some smoked haddock in foil, 15 mins
Hard boil three eggs
cook basmati rice

large knb of butter in pan, put in frozen peas and cook, large sloosh of medium curry powder, put in cooked fish chopped egg and rice and give it a good stir for 5 mins

See my post at 10.22 last night for stock recipe.

Sauté means to lightly fry for a few minutes and I think blanch is in hot water and then into cold water but I'm not posh enough to need to blanch things

And the dust clears pissy

Thanks ever so much

I just use stock cubes to make stock!

Risotto is very easy and great for using up leftovers. A risotto base: 100g rice per adult, 1/2 onion per adult, 500g stock per adult. Fry onion in a little butter or oil. When onion is see-through (there's a technical term for this which i can't remember), add rice and mix in the frying pan. When rice is coated in oil, add the stock. To be faffy, you can add it a tablespoon at a time. I sling in the whole litre over 200g of rice, and simmer it for 20 mins. Turns out lovely.

So that's the basic risotto, then you need to add flavours. I do a nice prawn and chorizo one, with some sun dried tomatoes. I fry all these up in a separate pan with a tsp of harissa (my fave ingredient ever) and just add it to the risotto mix at the end. Another one we make here is "traffic light risotto" which has chopped courgette, chopped orange peppers and sun dried tomatoes. Also fried in harissa. For this one we also add in grated gruyere cheese. Tis yummy. Either of those is about half an hour start to finish, though you do need to stay with it and keep stirring throughout - it's not a meal you can ignore.

No worries Tea, just say if you want any more tips, I'm a bit of a cooking junky myself

jimmy you blog is great!

jimmy that blog looks fab!
teajunky the good food website is a good starting point and agree that delias complete cookery course is really good. Are you a member of a library as I would say to look at her books there. She did a series that answers all your questions......oh and she has a website- goggle deliaonline and it comes up. Loads of good recipes.....try her oat crunch biscuits- only 4 ingredients, your dd could help and everyone raves about them that I make them for. Have lost count of all the people that have asked for the recipe!

This is the store cupboard special in our house:

tin of anchovies (don't worry they break down completely- you can't really taste them!)
olive oil
garlic
tin of chopped tomatoes
capers
tin of tuna
spaghetti
salt and pepper (to taste)
tabasco (to taste)

1. Put pan of salted water on to boil.
2. Cover base of frying pan with a couple of mm of olive oil and put on medium heat.
3. Add 6-8 anchovies to the oil and break down using a wooden spoon.
4. Turn down to a low heat and add 4-6 grated/chopped cloves of garlic. Mix around with wooden spoon until light yellowish- brown colour. Do not allow to burn!
5. Put spaghetti into pan of now boiling water.

6.Chuck can of chopped toms into frying pan and slosh a little water around the empty can, pour into frying pan as well.

1. Add a heaped tablespoon of capers and tin of tuna, and leave to simmer on a low temp while the pasta cooks.
2. Season with salt, pepper and Tabasco to taste.
3. When pasta is cooked, drain, pour into frying pan, and mix with sauce.

10. We scatter a bit of Parmesan over when we have some knocking around.

Serves 2 as a main course, but v easy to double up.

Chicken drumsticks roasted in the oven with sliced onions are delicious

I update the blog several times a week, so keep checking back :)

This is a doddle:

Mango chicken

One skinless chicken breast per person
Double Cream
mango chutney

Brown the chicken breasts in oil or butter (use a casserole dish which you can put on the hob and also in the oven).
Mix together double cream and mango chutney - I use a small carton for the two of us - and a couple of heaped tablespoons of the chutney; you can use more if you want. Pour mango/cream mixture over the chicken. Put on a lid and place in a pre-heated oven (170 degrees C) for approximately one hour. The white cream mix should turn golden brown and go "gloopy".

This is delicious, and it tastes as if you've made a real effort.

I serve it with either baked potatoes or baby new potatoes, broccoli, sugar snap peas and carrots.

Good luck with your cooking!

Think my dh decided he'd marry me after I converted him to quiche! My quiche never fails and is always eaten by Dcs, and grown up guests....

Make 3, eat one, fridge one and freeze one...

One pack of frozen pastry rolls out for enough to line 3 quiche dishes. Grease them first. If u don't have quiche dishes use casserole lids. Chop up about 3/4 rashers of bacon (or if u don't like pork, tasty vine tomato slices) grate lots of cheese and fill up the quiche dishes. Then whisk 3 eggs and a good slug of milk mixed together and pour into each with other ingredients, grind black pepper on top...cook at about 170/180 until golden. Tastes great hot or cold, serve with salad and new potatoes! Yum yum

Hi, we've moved this into Recipes, so it doesn't fall into oblivion. Thanks.