STUCK IN A FOOD RUT! Ideas please for a rushed ex foodie

[meggymoo]

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another idea is pork or lamb fillet in honey and mustard sauce
lamb neck casserole (lancashire hotpot) will give you my secret rec tom if your interested !

Quick 'n' easy put stewed fruit or veg in ready made puff pastry (you can stew loads in advance when/if you get a spare moment and then defrost in the m wave) shove the filling in the parcel and into the oven...it's a J Oliver special in his latest book great for hot and cold snacks and DS loves them.

Rib/chicken BBQ sauce equal measures of tomato puree, marmalade/honey, soya sauce, worcester sauce, a slug or two of non diet cola drink, a clove of garlic crushed up, few sesame seeds bit of grated ginger season to taste as they say then spread it on your raw meat. Great for oven cooking and BBQ the non-diet cola and honey gives it a nice glaze, you can either cut up your chicken (if for the tiddly peeps) of leave on the bone for grown ups.

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Cod how plain is plain? Will DS3 do chicken strips if so how about mix of dips to go with? And what's wrong with pork pies? If you make your own you can even sneak in veg and apples. We have the opposite problem that unless it's in a sauce it won't go in.

DS 18 mnth likes chicken or veg curry made with coconut milk and ground coriander, cumin and turmeric and a bit of garlic makes a very mild korma if you stick in some peanut butter (depends on your alergy advice) you can call it a satay - like DW and me likes the naan and popodams too (though we limit his intake of the popadoms!)

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lamb kebab thingys

diced lamb, grilled or dry fried with pepper and rosemary
wholemeal pitta bread
salad - something like, tomato, lettuce, feta
dressing - greek yoghurt mixed with a spoon of mint sauce

stick it all together

Take a couple of salmon fillets and season on skin side and then place skin side down in a non stick frying pan and cook gently for about 5 mins. Turn them over and add some chopped up leeks and mushrooms to the pan and then add 4 tablespoons of soy sauce and cook until salmon is done.
Serve with new potatoes and salad.
It's very yummy in fact I think I will cook this for tea myself.

Lemon/garlic chicken thighs - marinade chicken thighs/legs in zest and juice of lemon, garlic, s&P, olive oil, cover bowl with cling and fridge for an hour. One lemon+two garlic cloves per person is what i do, but adjust to preference. Roast until skin crispy(about half an hour for 4 thighs). i serve with rice/couscous as it mops the juice up well

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this takes 30 mins start to finish BUT actually you pour water on couscous and do a little light chopping, then sit twiddling thumbs until you've got to the 25th minute, then there's five mins at stove.

pour water on couscous, leave till soft, then mix in chopped toms, herbs, cucumber, feta, spring onions, whatever, with olive oil and lemon juice, S&P;
cut chicken breasts in half so they're very thin (or bash under clingfilm with rolling pin) and fling on v hot griddle pan (or frying pan) for 2 mins each side
(you can, if time, marinade chicken in OO, lemon juice, chilli flakes, crushed garlic etc but it tastes nice regardless)

Chop up onion, mixed peppers, mushroom,( whatever base veg you fancy), fry until reduced and golden add chopped up pork pieces, fry until sealed. Add orange juice, mustard( i use dijon, but wholegrain would work too) and honey. Simmer for about 20 mins until reduced and syrupy. Serve with couscous and salad leaves.
Sorry for my vauge recipe instructions, i am defiintely from the jamie oliver school of cooking by inaccuracy. I tend to look at a recipe, write the ingredients down, and make it up from then on - comes out ok mostly.

any suggestions that don't include meat or fish? Or am I weird not to eat meat or fish every night (not veggie but have lived with veggie dh for years, and it woudl seem really strange to me to eat meat or fish every day - not to mention totally blowing the food budget!)
Tonight we are having baked potatoes with baked beans and cheese
But we did have some lovely homemade falafels yesterday!

meggymoo - I find lamb is usually really fatty, so I don't like to add more fat, it doesn't dry out too much. It wouldn't matter if you fried it in oil though.

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well, I think it is true that meat/fish more easily lends itself to quick and easy meals.
I came up with something I was quite pleased with at the weekend: fried onion and garlic, added chopped carrots, veg stock, tomato puree, bayleaf and creamed coconut, cooked for 15ish mins, added chunks of cheap trout fillet, cooked for 10ish mins, added a handfusl of frozen sweetcorn, served with rice. It was a bit bland for adults (I'll have to work on the flavourings, I wasn't sure ds's would go for coconut so didn't add much) but the ds's wolfed it down. and p* easy.

Quick veggie stuff is mainly pasta isn't it? We also do a chickpea-and-spinach thing that takes about half an hour, and also risotto with whatever veg we feel like.

and we tend to have baked potatoes once a week - set the oven to timer so they are ready when we get in from work.

you can always rely on a bakedpotato

These are a couple of faveourite quickies.

Pasta Napoli - Chuck a couple of tins in a saucepan, add mushrooms, peppers, garlic, mixed dried herbs and chillies if you like it hot. Simmer for 30 mins, put cooked pasta into dish top with the sauce and grated mozzarella and put in oven for 5 - 10 minutes on 200 c.

Tuscan pork - Chuck 300g of passata, mixed herbs and peeppers into a saucepan and heat together. Meanwhile spray some pork steaks with with low fat cooking oil and quickly fry for 2 mins on each side to brown. Add grated mozzarella to the passata sauce and stir until it melts. Season & pour over pork. Cover and cook in preheated oven 180 c for about 35 mins.

Cajun chicken - seal chicken breasts in pan with loads of schwartz cajun spices then cook in oven for 30 minutes. Serve with anything you fancy. I particularly like it with cheesy mash and mushrooms or in a wrap with peppers, plain cous cous and a little salad dressing.

Here's one for fish... any fish! Cod, Hoki, Salmon whatever.

Take fish fillet, smear on pesto + cover with breadcrumbs. Slide onto roasting tray and bake until done. You can also put sliced toms between the pesto and breadcrumbs, but it's not as crispy.

Happy Cooking

Quick thai chicken curry

Heat oil in pan, fry one spoon of thai green curry paste
add 1 can coconut milk and heat until oil appears on top of cream add choped chicken breasts and chopped aubergine. cook on low for 12 mins.

Serve with rice and cucumber slices

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Hi Meggymoo

I know what you mean about the same old food.
Anyway a quick staple in our house is a 'home made pizza' - some toasted muffins with veggies, olives, sundried tomato paste and a bit of cheese then warmed under the grill. Many many hundreds of variations of the same theme to be had!

Polenta and quinoa are also good as a change from pasta or rice.

made a lovely quiche with lentils the other day. just simmered them with a softened onion, a few herbs and some milk for about 25 mins then added that to eggs, cheese, into pastry. we had some little cutesy ones as well as a large quiche, the children always find them more attractive. come to think of it, so do i