Due Nov 08 - Survival recipes for post baby

[vbab78]

Please post any recipe suggestions or ideas that you think are quick, easy and delish. Ideally which can be frozen to aid survival in those first hectic and exhausting weeks when baby is home!

MonkeyMargot - Delia's Boeuf Bourguignon (from her classic/original book) is really easy and delish with mash/tagliatelle or baked spuds. I will be making a vast quantity nearer the time and freezing in portions.

Also, Anthony Worrall-Thompson's lamb tagine (you can google it) is fab and freezes really well. Again, you can serve with cous-cous, rice, baked spuds.

www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/database/moroccanlambtagine_6696.shtml

Ohhhh, how about...Beans on toast?! Ok...sorry! Will find out my bestest recipies (I'm a fly by the seat of my pants kind of girl who only "loosely" follows recipies)and post them here.

Thanks Vbab for setting this up.

monkeymargot - Quick mushroom sauce... Slice an onion into thin rings and saute. Remove. Saute sliced mushrooms and remove. Add half glass white wine to pan, degalze, then add small tub creme fraiche, half a squeezed lemon, teaspoon of wholegrain mustard to pan anad bubble up. Season with lots of salt + pepper, and put onions and mushrooms back in. Pour over (chewy) steak or cardboard.
Delish!

Jacket potatoes.
3 potaotoes in the microwave for 10 mins. Then in the oven @ 200 degrees, for 10 minutes. Lovely. Lifesaver.

Cool vbab, will also have a look for some recipies...

If i am not in mood for anything fancy I just roast either a whole chicken or some thighs/legs and pour a nice jar of sauce over it for the last 30 mins cooking time.

Paul Newman's - Cajun sauce served with rice/naan bread & salad is a favorite here...

as is Chicken Tonight - Spanish Tomato one served with baked potaoes and veg

You can try with any sauce you like tho of course!

Ooh you're a droll bunch.
Madhur Jaffrey's Easy Chickpea Curry is also a good one to freeze (from her Curry Bible). If anyone wants this one, let me know and I'll type it out.

Think I will need to buy that Curry Bible MonkeyM - I looovvve curries! Have a really simple Chicken Chasni recipe somewhere too.. Feel a bit posting mine tho as they are ultra simple so u prob all know them already!

Quick and Easy pasta:

Chopped toms
Crushed garlic
Mushrooms
Onions
Olives
Capers
Basil

Throw it all in a pan - as much or as little of each as you like and simmer for 10 mins. Add to pasta and eat. You can add/take out anything you like - other things to add are peppers, courgettes, sweetcorn, ham, green beans.

Sparkle get your Chicken Chasni on here!!

Think it is for anything really hanaflower.. can always print them out for our DH/DPs to follow if can't be prepared in advance!

Will look it out MonkeyM! DS loves it too.

If anyone likes dim sum then its such a quick and easy thing to make (and tastes just as good as a restaurant as they do the same thing) - you can buy it at a chinese supermarket like in China Town in Birmingham or London, or there is a big Wing Yip in Croydon. You buy dim sum which is ready to cook and frozen so lasts forever in the freezer - and you just need a bamboo steamer. My favourite is Char Sui Bau which is a dumpling filled with barbequed pork - in the steamer they take 12 mins. You can also buy prawn dumplings, pork dumplings etc which all take 10-12 mins in the steamer. Great for a light lunch / dinner.

Choc - I LOVE those Char Sui Buns - they're like the chinese equivalent of Suet Dumplings - love em!! I haven't yet met anyone who likes these except me! Hooray!
Ha ha - have you seen that new cookery show, "Chinese Food Made Easy"? I'll tell you how to make it easy - PHONE THE LOCAL TAKEAWAY!
P.S. I'm having the easiest tea in the world tonight - baked potato, baked beans and sausages.......almost ready...

Loving this

Quick and easy prawn and asparagus cous cous - less than 10mins.......

Ingredients
Cous COus
Lemon
Prawns
Asparagus
COurgette
Fresh Mint

Boil kettle. Meanwhile chop courgettes and pan fry in good olive oil, pout to one side and drain on kitchen paper. then add asparagus into pan and fry for 4 mins until soft.

Whilst asparagus is cooking, add boiling water to couscouse in a large bowl and add freshly squeezed lemon and chopped mint.

add asparagus and courgette to cous cous and warm the prawns in the pan - add to cous cous and serve.....

I promise takes less than 10 mins.....

Whilst baby is sleeping (or get DH to do) put 2 chickens into the oven to roast.

Do one plain roast stuffed with lomon and thyme and the other with balsamic vinegar and chilli rub on bird.
Put onion, carrots, pepper, celery, sweet potato and butternut squash on pan and roast.

Preperation takes 10-15 mins you get enough chicken for sandwiches, chicken with salad, chicken with risotto, chicken soup, chicken fajitias, chicken stir fry etc etc etc

Hunters chicken

Buy a jar of BBQ marinade
take 4 chicken breasts and stuff with mozarella
wrap a rasher of bacon around and pour the BBQ marinade on top.

Roast in oven for 40mins and serve with microwave rice (takes 4 mins)

Open bag of salad on side

Monkey if you love Char Sui Bau and dim sum I recommend Cheung Chung Ku restaurant in china town - I've been going there since I was 4 for dim sum - lunchtime is best as they serve off trolleys. Yum, am hungry just thinking about it. Just typing whilst waiting for our takeaway curry to arrive - but I do cook too, honest!

monkeymargot, loving the sound of a chickpea curry (am completely obsessed with vegetarian food this preg!)

and brilliant idea about the chickens, dozy. sound delicious too. hope my taste for meat comes back after the birth as i still can't even look at it.

ok, so i have had a bit of a thing about kidney beans this pregnancy and have been eating a lot of the following dish which is extremely quick and easy to make, healthy and also freezes well so perfect for post birth... have made this recipe up so amounts are rather random but just to give you a general idea...

zonedout's kidney bean ratatouille

2 tins of kidney beans/mixed beans (rinsed)
2 tins of toms
tomato puree (lots)
2 or 3 courgettes
1 or 2 peppers (red or yellow)
couple of carrots
1 aubergine (optional)
large onion
little sugar to take the edge of the toms
salt and pepper to taste
some herbs would work well but for some reason i can't stand herbs this preg!
also might need a touch of water for cooking

i simply sweat the onion in a little (olive) oil, chuck in all the veggies (chopped roughly), stir for a couple of mins then add the toms, tom puree, sugar, salt and pepper and a little water if necessary. Then add the beans, cover and simmer for 20-30 mins. yummy served with rice or mash or baked pot or couscous.

i actually puree this up to turn it into a pasta sauce with loads of hidden veg for ds and he loves it with lots of cheese on top.

also, just made a v quick and easy broccoli soup...

roughly chop
1 head of broccoli
1 onion
3 or 4 courgettes
2 veg stock cubes

chuck in saucepan, cover with water and boil for 20-30mins. whizz it up with blender and yum. even my carnivore dh loves it...

more recipes to follow...

This is one of my faves - Pork and Pineapple gravy - It IS nicer then it sounds

Diced pork cooked through then simmer for 20 minutes in gravy.
In the last 5 mins add pineapple cubes and pineapple juice to gravy and serve with rice.
DH HATES hot fruit and loves the pineapple gravy minus the chunks.

I love this new thread!!
Choc - thanks for the Chinatown recommendation - I am going to go next week for lunch. Yum yum.
Some great recipes appearing - dozy , I like the sound of the prawn cous-cous.

Here's an easy recipe for moroccan lamb burgers:
(Serves 4):
600g lamb mince
1 red onion, chopped
1 red chilli finely chopped
4 x tablespoons chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1 red and 1 yellow pepper chopped
Natural yoghurt.
200g cous-cous

Mix mince, half the chopped onion, chilli, spices, half the mint in a bowl. Season well, mix thoroughly and shape into burgers.
(NB these can be made in advance and left in fridge for a day).
Grill burgers under hot grill for 4 minutes each side. In meantime, pour boiling water on cous-cous and leave for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork and mix through half red onion and chopped peppers. Season well and drizzle with olive oil.
Mix yoghurt with remaining mint and thin with tablespoon water. Serve!

I came to this thread before the main one first - what does that say about me greedy foodie that's what!!!

I am going to investigate your dim sum place as well chocorange as I LOVE dim sum. Our local chinese will prepare it for me but have to give them nOTICE.....A tripo to chinatown is dEFINATELY on the cards!!!

Just don't do what I did - filled freezer up with batches of chilli, bolognese sauce, lasagne, lentil soup, and curry - All things that we eat on a regular basis and can be made in large batches and freeze well. What I didn't realise was that ds, who I was BF, would not feed if I had eaten ANYTHING with tomatoes and/ or garlic in! Serves me right for thinking I was organised!