Recipe Ideas

[PinkPingu24]

Hi all,
I have limited cooking experience I can do basics etc but I tend to stick to the things I know so meal plans are pretty limited. I am trying to expand on this but struggle to come up with new ideas and was wondering if anyone could offer some new recipes etc that I could try?
Thank you

https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/saucy-sausage-pasta-0

https://beatthebudget.com/recipe/nandos-spicy-rice/#wprm-recipe-container-21723 I cook some marinaded chicken breast and stir it through right at the end.

https://www.aldi.co.uk/slow-cooker-chicken-curry/p/000000314549700

These are all quite simple to make (all good websites to find other recipes too).

What sorts of things do you cook currently? Any dislikes or dietary requirements?

Thank you :) will check them out

Do you think I you'd like a Sausage Traybake.

There is some cooking but it's mainly preparing the veg.

Currently loving this recipe - wonderful with salmon but would work well with chicken too.

This is really easy as well and great for batch cooking.

Another chilli idea that we regularly cook.

We regularly make this recipe but not as stuffing. We leave out the egg, we don't bother shaping it into balls. We just put a few spoonfuls in a Pyrex bowl, top with Parmesan and bake for half hour. Works well with fish.

How about a traybake ? This is my favourite, & very simple.

https://www.hairybikers.com/recipes/view/spanish-style-chicken-bake

The BBC food site (not the BBC Good Food Mag) has a large section on "How to" which might be useful.

www.bbc.co.uk/food/techniques

Do you want simple and easy or more complex?

Pasta carbonara is surprisingly simple. Cook your pasta then pour it back into the source pan, crack an egg into it, add cheese and chopped cooked bacon and mix through over a very very low heat.

Red coleslaw is shredded red cabbage and carrot, couple of table spoons of any vinegar and toss, season to taste and finish with a little mayo to lightly coat. I serve with pre bought kebabs that grilled. Also serve with yoghurt dip below

5 big heaped spoons of full fat plain yoghurt, juice from half a lime, 3 tablespoons of good olive oil. Chopped cucumber, chopped herbs e.g. mint, coriander.

Egg fried rice, good for using up left over cooked rice and veggies.

Add plenty of oil to the frying pan or wok. Toss the veggies to warm them up, add to crushed cloves of garlic and plenty of esame oil, cook for a minute. Chuck in your cooked rice and mix for a few seconds to warm. Add two TSP of soy sauce and mix through. Clear a space in the pan and crack an egg into it. Mix the egg like you are scrambling it until it nearly cooked then mix through everything else. Taste it and add more soy sauce as needed. Serve. Can mix in meat too. You can use fresh veggies too just cook for a couple of minutes before adding the cooked rice to stir-fry them.

Aloo gobi traybake https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/aloo-gobi-traybake.html
Ham, egg and chips
Spicy pork chop traybake https://realfood.tesco.com/recipes/asian-pork-chop-traybake.html (make sure the soy and hoisin sauce is GF)

Alot of frozen foods and very simple like chicken dishes etc

Finally perfected a Bolognese recipe which goes down well but would like to build on this and try new stuff too

No dietary requirements, no real dislikes but not fan of sea foods

Think could work well, recently tried a sausage pasta bake which has gone down well with the family - unfortunately link you gave me said recipe not found do you have copy?

Thank you, will def give the chilli a go (my husbands favourite meal and def on the list for recipe to learn rather then jars), unfortunately don't think salad would work in my family (too many against tomatoes here) but thank you

That traybake looks really appealing will def add that to my list to try :) and will def try out that website thank you

I think simple to start with then build up to more complex dishes

Carbonara is one I've tended to avoid over the years, 1 because always felt it must be difficult and 2 because I've avoided dishes that were 'creamy' or had cheese/white sauce (something from my childhood) but in recent years I've tried dishes that I've previously avoided and been pleasantly surprised so may give this one a go and see how we go :)

I do like coleslaw but again always assumed was a complicated process but from what you put it doesn't seem too difficult so may give it ago

Egg fried rice is one I've tried and tried to perfect as one of my favourites but so far everytime I've tried its not been great - will try this and hope :)

Thank you

Ham, egg and chips is one we have often

The other 2 I'll take a look at and give a try - thank you

I think as a beginner cook, the trick is to find recipes that are relatively forgiving. So I can totally see why the fried rice thing is hard for you - you need to be comfortable with using high heat, the technique to do it etc.

So my advice would be:

Traybakes - chicken in particular but lots of people do fish too (chicken is often more forgiving). Look on somewhere like BBC Good Food for recipes and try the ones that appeal.

Pasta sauces - again, look online for things that appeal but anything that's going to simmer for a while to get the flavours all together is a good choice and you can, over time, add to your reportoire.

If you don't mind standing over the stove, risottos are quite easy and again, lots of online recipes to find one you like.

Stews/casseroles are also relatively easy and forgiving.

Slow cooked pieces of meat - eg I never recommend a roast chicken for a beginner cook. Way too much room for error. But a lamb shoulder or a rib of beef - very forgiving, can be cooked relatively slowly so there are fewer problems if you don't nail it 100%.

When I started out I stuck with simple one pot things like bolognaise, chilli con carne and stew. Learning that a roast dinner was actually really easy to do was a god send. But my favourite "wow" meal is doing a simple but delicious teriyaki style dish stolen from Nigella Lawson (she's great, especially Nigella Express).

First do some rice or chips or veg to have with the meat.

The sauce is easy

60 mil Soy Sauce, 60 Mil sweet sherry or Mirin, 50 grams soft brown sugar.
Mix these until the sugar is dissolved and marinade the meat in it for a few minutes (goes with anything - fish, chicken, pork, beef).

Take out the meat and cook in a hot frying pan for a few of minutes until cooked through, then pour the rest of the sauce over the meat and simmer for a couple of minutes.

Then take out the meat and plonk on your rice/chips/veg. Pour a small amount of vinegar in the pan which still has the sauce in it. Stir while it simmers for a minute or so. Turn off the heat. Pour the sauce over the meat. Voila.

Thank you for the advice its really helpful, think I may hold off on trying fried rice again until I've gained a little more experience etc

Going from some of the recommendations here I think traybakes are definitely going to be a starting point, some have these have been really appetising and will definitely spend some time on the good food website

Pasta sauces - I have perfected a bolognese recipe that I'm quite proud of lol and now want to expand on this for like lasagne and pasta bakes etc

Risottos are not really something our family have gotten on with in the past but we love a good stew/casserole esp in winter using the recipe sachets from Tesco and would like to expand on these (again we tend to use same ones in winter be nice to add some new options into the mix)

Thank you :), yeah Ive gone bolognese down and chilli con carne is next on my list to perfect (hubbys favourite) - I was also really surprised with how easy putting together a roast dinner was but I've only done so with chicken I want to perfect cooking other joints too - cooked a gammon the other week with a honey and mustard glaze which came out really well :)

Will give that recipe a try and will have a look at some other Nigella recipes :)

Nigel Slater's Real Fast Food book is great for simple, straightforward recipes imo, ditto Delia's How to Cook series/books

I still make Delia's mozzarella pasta bake!

Tomato and basil sauce (these days I omit the basil and do a mild chilli version)
Cooked penne
A ball of mozzarella (diced or shredded)
Grated cheddar
Assemble, then bung in oven

Fried rice recipes are not as scary as they sound. The trick is to cook the rice in advance. let it cool down and then put it in the fridge to go cold

Apropos of another thread, I'd suggest that instead of asking for individual recipes, you buy yourself one or two cookbooks.