How do you put a twist to your midweek favourite recipes? Share your top twists with Sainsbury's and you could win a £300 voucher NOW CLOSED

[MichelleMumsnet]

We've been asked by the team at Sainsbury's to find out how Mumsnetters put a twist on their favourite midweek recipes.

Sainsbury's say "As a nation we cook over 5 billion midweek meals a year - and Sainsbury's is passionate about offering great quality, everyday food to inspire households that are cooking the meals that matter to Britain. The store cupboard is a goldmine of interesting twists in waiting. With more ingredients available than ever before, now is the time to reclaim the store cupboard and start experimenting!"

So, how do you put a twist on your favourite recipe? Maybe you add balsamic vinegar to a pasta bake? Or perhaps you add some chilli to a shepherds pie? Maybe you've even added peanut butter to a stir fry?

Whatever your top twists are for your weeknight meals, Sainsbury's would love to hear about them. Take a look at the Sainsbury's Homemade website for inspiration and to see what twists they've suggested.

Everyone who posts on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one winner will receive a £300 Sainsbury's voucher to spend in store or online at sainsburys.co.uk.

Please note your comments may be included on Sainsbury's social media channels, and possibly elsewhere, so please only post if you're comfortable with this.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

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I don't go to Sainsbury's.

The closest I get to a twist is changing up what I do with the same ingredients, eg mince in gravy with yorkshire puddings becomes "shepherds pie", becomes meatballs in gravy.

I add marmite to casseroles and stews and will sometimes pop a chicken stock cube into the veg I am cooking for a different flavour.

Marmite or semolina added to roast spuds.

adding spring onions to mash is a good way of getting more greens into kids dinners, as which kids don't like mash. Also try bumping up spag bol by adding carrots and other veg.

We are a veggie family so we eat a lot of quorn - my hubby came up with veggie Fajitas which are delish - mixing quorn chicken-style pieces with lots of veg, we have those with salad in wraps.

A meat (beef mince) pasta bake can be lived up a little with red wine vinegar and nam pla to bring out the flavours. It sounds random but it works as they break down the meat and make it more flavoursome.

I add worcestershire sauces to loads of things, it gives it a bit of a kick. I also do a nice mashed potato with leeks, mustard and pancetta.

For stews I add a tin of oxtail soup, it really adds to the flavour rather than just using a straightforward gravy.

Grated carrot and spicy sauce to bologna isle

Penne with tomato sauce and tuna - I add some chili flakes and black olives to mine and DS's. (Tomato sauce made from: tinned tomatoes, olive oil, salt, chopped garlic, water, simmer for half an hour until reduced)

Veggie spaghetti bolognese with Quorn mince - I add a teaspoon of Marmite to the mince.

I add a little bit of mustard into my mash potato - it gives it that extra something and encourages the children to eat it!

I love cutting my veg into different shapes so the food looks different. For example, if I cut carrots into small circles and my son decides he doesn't like them, then next week I'll cut them into chips and try to catch him out! It often works!

We jazz up a few dishes but the one the kids love the most is macaroni cheese with a little cream cheese added to it with crispy bacon and sweetcorn and tortilla chip crushed on top for a nice crunch

My husband puts chilli sauce in all meals!!

Balsamic vinegar to pasta sauce / bolognaise sauce. Gives it some flavour :)

I add dark chocolate to chilli con carne which is really really nice.
I add chorizo to roasted vegetables to make a meal and serve with bread
I add wholegrain mustard or pesto to mash potato to make it seem more special
My easiest dish is chicken breasts with a tin of ratatouille poured over it and sliced mozzarella on top with Parmesan sprinkled on it, if I have a bit more time I crush some crisps with Parmesan and leave out the mozzarella

try new sauces... shops offer a huge choice of different flavours and sometimes just a little amount can transform your ordinary "boring" meal into an exciting explosion of flavour

Serve salad in a baked tortilla bowl, cous cous served in roasted peppers and make beetroot and courgette crisps to garnish with.

I blitz frozen spinach into pesto to make it go further (and to get the DC to eat spinach!).

I chuck cherry tomatoes into macaroni cheese for little pops of sweetness.

I add peanut butter to stir fry as well - in fact one sauce I make has a base of peanut butter, ketchup, and soy sauce...again DC love it and will eat just about any veg it covers.

Mac and cheese twists - ham, salmon, white fish, green beans, sweet corn, chicken, cheesy breadcrumbs on top, frankfurters (not all together - just occasional add of one and they still prefer it plain!) - does using types of pasta count - kids most excited by mini macaroni (for soups?) that looked like hamma beads!

Pasta bakes, ragu etc - same sauce mix to start but I separate into two baking dishes and add extra chilli and garlic (& wine) for grown-ups.

Sausages in jam (usually plum with red onions).

Chicken strips - variations on flouring - crushed cheesy biscuits, seedy bread flour with honey, peanut butter

Now I am really hungry!

I make lasagne with chilli con carne for a change, also add some crumbled up nachos an top of the white sauce before adding cheese. Goes down a treat.

I put blackcurrant jam in my gravy sometimes to give it extra depth.

I love mashed potatoes, but DH and the kids think they are boring, so I add different things to make them tastier for them. Sometimes I add grated cheese, other times Mustard, or spring onions, or spinach. The list is endless really and makes them think they are getting something different for dinner!

I've just been right the way through this thread and am astonished nobody's mentioned miso!

A small spoon of miso paste gives great umami to Bolognese, chilli, stews, etc. You can also add it to the cooking water when you do rice to give it some flavour. And if you loosen the paste up with a bit of oil then add it to par-boiled potatoes before you shake the pan to rough them up for roasting, you'll have the tastiest roast potatoes you've ever had.

I also put layers of spinach in anything savoury that has layers...fish pie, lasagne, shepherd's pie...

Once the brownie batter is in the baking tray ready to go in the oven, swirl either biscoff spread or peanut butter through it.

I add mace to both meat dishes and to spinach sides with butter.

If I'm after a healthy meal but don't have much fresh food in, I chuck frozen spinach, a tin of drained chickpeas, a 75ml tin of coconut milk, veg stock cube, red lentils, a chilli pot (or chillies in some form), spices (particularly ground cumin and smoked paprika) into the slow cooker with about a pint of water and let it cook for a few hours. Makes a gorgeous thick veggi curry out of stuff I always have in the cupboards and freezer.

Layers of parma ham in a lasagne add a delicious flavour