Simple meal ideas for a very basic kitchen

[karmakameleon]

DH and I are staying in a serviced appartment for six weeks until our new flat is ready but the kitchen is very basic, eg so far of the items that I would use regurlarly there is no frying pan, wok or potato masher. There are plenty of sauce pans and there is a microwave.

I also don't want to buy too many different ingredients as I have no where to store them. Therefore my staple of curries is out as it would mean buying lots of spices.

So far we have had a couple of ready meals but I have a six month old baby that I need to start weaning. Given the lack of blender to puree food, I was planning on going down the BLW route so need to avoid ready meals and processed foods due to the salt content.

The only things I can think of making that we eat regularly are pasta and risotto. I can probably do a roast chicken at the weekend when I have more time but this is going to get a bit dull over six weeks so I need more meal ideas or suggestions for inventive ways of using the limited equipment at hand.

TIA

Stir fries, rice with chilli or curry (pre made sauces), stove top casseroles with dumplings are all great for cooking on the hob. There are also some great one pot recipes on BBC Good Food.

I was without a kitchen when i was weaning my DD. We had a microwave and a camping stove for nearly 3 months. I used to steam veg for DD and mash with a fork or stick blender. If you're going to go down the BLW route you can just give your baby the steamed veg once it's cooled. Fruit such as banana and sticks of soft peeled pears are great too.

If you have a casserole dish and saucepans you can make simple one-pot meals, pasta bakes, stews, chunky soups and pot-roasts. After roasting the chicken you can turn the rest of the meat Day#2 into pasta, risotto, soups, even a pie. Jacket potatoes with various things on top are quite nice. Things 'on toast' like poached eggs. Or just simple grilled meats with steamed veggies and a starchy carbohydrate like rice, pasta or spuds. Lots of choices.

BBC Good Food have loads of one pot recipes

Buy curry pastes - Pattaks aren't bad. Lots of roasted meats/fish - buy the marinades, salads, pasta.

Thanks, some good ideas here. Chilli, soups, stews and jacket potatoes can all go on the list. Didn't think to grill meat and fish as I usually do it in the frying pan, but can try that too. I'm not a big fan of the bought curry pastes but I may use Patak's if in need of an emergency curry fix.

If you don't have one get a slow cooker. You can do roasts, stews even baked potatoes.

If you buy the ready chopped fresh veg you can microwave them.