Forum Discussion
What are your easiest, tastiest meals - quick to prepare when you can't think of anything!!
Hi guys
I have a few 'standard' easy meals that I always have the ingredients handy, in case I seriously can't be bothered cooking a 'fancy' meal ....... feel free to add your own 'Favs'! ;)
Last night, we had our winter favourite 'comfort food' - Lamb Shanks!! I cheat, and buy the Aldi FROZEN Lamb Shanks (2 for $12 already cooked - they usually cost that 'RAW'!!) - that way you can always have a couple in the freezer. I often take them with me when I am camping too - SO easy to just cook in the microwave with some sweet potato 'on the trot'!
Take them out of the box and they are even easier to store in the Freezer. If you decide to cook them up later in the day - just pop them in the sink (or big container) with cold/lukewarm water & they'll thaw out pretty quickly. Change the water if you want them to defrost quicker. They come in 'individual Vac Pacs' - and because they are already Pre Cooked - when you open them, the 'cooked fat' is already 'in solid form' and you just pull it out - so they are healthier for you too!!
There are 2 flavours - one with Mint in the gravy & the other one based on a red wine gravy. Both are LOVELY! This is how I prepare them for 2 people .......
In a BIG casserole pot, add 1 tin of diced tomato & 1 drained tin of Chickpeas. Add 1 x Cubed Potato, 1 x cubed small Sweet Potato, 1 x chopped/cubed Carrot. Mix them into the tomato/chickpeas sauce. Remove any 'solid fat' from both of the Shanks and add them to the casserole pot along with all the gravy in each pack. Mix the gravy well with the tomato mix. Cover the pot & cook at 180 degrees Celsius oven for 2-3hrs ..... stir every hour. The meat will just fall off the bone and I bet you enjoy them!
BONUS: After serving up with the gravy and veggies (and cabbage or your choice of greens...) whilst the remaining gravy & veg are still hot - use a Bamix (or similar) to pulverise it all ..... this will make a wonderful soup for the next day or so! I usually water it down a bit as it can be quite thick. Lovely with some toast for lunch.
One of my other favs is the 'Vac Pac'd' 'FLAT CHICKEN' .... once again, Aldi do a lovely one - with yoghurt & garlic with NO BONES - so you just cut up the chicken in slices when cooked. Just do a BIG ROAST - I do it in 2 dishes - the chicken in one (with alfoil under the chicken on a cake rack to reduce the cleaning!) and all the potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, carrot & onion in another tray, all into the oven at the same time as the chicken - and it takes a bit less than 1hr to cook at 170 degrees Celsius. Turn the chicken & veg around after 1/2 hr. Cook greens in the microwave 5 mins before serving time. This gives us 2 full sized meals for 2 for 2 nights. Once again - keep one of the chickens in the freezer - as they are 'flat' they store really easily & don't take long to defrost in the sink in cold/lukewarm water - great for when unexpected guests turn up, too.
When my Grandmother first went into secure living (with her own kitchen) I suggested that she cut up a whole chicken (for numerous meals) and put it into a casserole dish with a packet of Chicken Noodle Soup & the required amount of liquid, as well as a chopped onion & sliced red capsicum ..... cook it for about an hour - and it was YUMMY - and gives lots of meals too - served with salad. (Whole frozen chickens are VERY reasonably priced ......)
Here's the 'after pic' of my lamb shanks last night ....... just as well we don't have a dog .... nothing much left! ;)
I have a few 'standard' easy meals that I always have the ingredients handy, in case I seriously can't be bothered cooking a 'fancy' meal ....... feel free to add your own 'Favs'! ;)
Last night, we had our winter favourite 'comfort food' - Lamb Shanks!! I cheat, and buy the Aldi FROZEN Lamb Shanks (2 for $12 already cooked - they usually cost that 'RAW'!!) - that way you can always have a couple in the freezer. I often take them with me when I am camping too - SO easy to just cook in the microwave with some sweet potato 'on the trot'!
Take them out of the box and they are even easier to store in the Freezer. If you decide to cook them up later in the day - just pop them in the sink (or big container) with cold/lukewarm water & they'll thaw out pretty quickly. Change the water if you want them to defrost quicker. They come in 'individual Vac Pacs' - and because they are already Pre Cooked - when you open them, the 'cooked fat' is already 'in solid form' and you just pull it out - so they are healthier for you too!!
There are 2 flavours - one with Mint in the gravy & the other one based on a red wine gravy. Both are LOVELY! This is how I prepare them for 2 people .......
In a BIG casserole pot, add 1 tin of diced tomato & 1 drained tin of Chickpeas. Add 1 x Cubed Potato, 1 x cubed small Sweet Potato, 1 x chopped/cubed Carrot. Mix them into the tomato/chickpeas sauce. Remove any 'solid fat' from both of the Shanks and add them to the casserole pot along with all the gravy in each pack. Mix the gravy well with the tomato mix. Cover the pot & cook at 180 degrees Celsius oven for 2-3hrs ..... stir every hour. The meat will just fall off the bone and I bet you enjoy them!
BONUS: After serving up with the gravy and veggies (and cabbage or your choice of greens...) whilst the remaining gravy & veg are still hot - use a Bamix (or similar) to pulverise it all ..... this will make a wonderful soup for the next day or so! I usually water it down a bit as it can be quite thick. Lovely with some toast for lunch.
One of my other favs is the 'Vac Pac'd' 'FLAT CHICKEN' .... once again, Aldi do a lovely one - with yoghurt & garlic with NO BONES - so you just cut up the chicken in slices when cooked. Just do a BIG ROAST - I do it in 2 dishes - the chicken in one (with alfoil under the chicken on a cake rack to reduce the cleaning!) and all the potato, sweet potato, pumpkin, carrot & onion in another tray, all into the oven at the same time as the chicken - and it takes a bit less than 1hr to cook at 170 degrees Celsius. Turn the chicken & veg around after 1/2 hr. Cook greens in the microwave 5 mins before serving time. This gives us 2 full sized meals for 2 for 2 nights. Once again - keep one of the chickens in the freezer - as they are 'flat' they store really easily & don't take long to defrost in the sink in cold/lukewarm water - great for when unexpected guests turn up, too.
When my Grandmother first went into secure living (with her own kitchen) I suggested that she cut up a whole chicken (for numerous meals) and put it into a casserole dish with a packet of Chicken Noodle Soup & the required amount of liquid, as well as a chopped onion & sliced red capsicum ..... cook it for about an hour - and it was YUMMY - and gives lots of meals too - served with salad. (Whole frozen chickens are VERY reasonably priced ......)
Here's the 'after pic' of my lamb shanks last night ....... just as well we don't have a dog .... nothing much left! ;)
338 Replies
- Lemon Sago was the one we had to cook at the technical school cooking class. Still have the old Emily Mac cookbook we used but the calico apron and embroidered hat are long gone .... !
- Fruit cobbler
1 bag frozen mixed berries.
Plain cake mix
Lemonade (not diet)
Empty fruit into shallow dish
Sprinkle a liberal amount of cake mixture over the fruit but not too much
Drizzle lemonade over the cake mixture no need to thoroughly wet it. Use about quarter of a can. This helps to make a delicious sweet sauce.
Bake @200 until golden about 20 mins - Oh YUM ... I used to LOVE a decent Sago Plum Pudding - my Gran had one we used every Xmas instead of regular Plum pudding!!
Oh dear, @iserbrown - I tried to find my old 'school recipe book' & I think hubby may have beaten me to it ... it is NOT THERE!! Grrrr
hehe, Still got 5 Anzac biscuits left - I may be making some more tomorrow! They ARE pretty easy! ;) - Sago Plum Pudding - Heaven!
- Thank you for that link @arpie - I will check it out. As she was born in the UK it may not hold any secrets. Even on her death notice her kids had put "mother's maiden name: Unknown". :)
Any Anzac biscuits left in the tin now ??? - I am Pretty sure I still have my old 'Basic Foods' Recipe Book from 55+ years ago @iserbrown ..... I still refer to it now & then for 'tried & true' recipes - untainted by modern thinking! I laugh at some of my comments written in it!! LOL
I dropped a container of 10 biscuits off to my uke buddy, for giving me her Golden Syrup!! ;) - From my school cookery book - from long long ago
- Thanks @Summerhill38 - that would be VERY interesting! Put her full name into Trove (https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/) you may be very surprised what comes up!! I've found a HEAP of information, including all my own family's birth, death & marriage notices & all sorts of unexpected stuff - including the possible suicide of said great grandfather (above) in 1929! :(
So ... I grabbed the Golden Syrup from my buddy - and luckily had all the other ingredients on hand for Anzac Biscuits (I really couldn't be bothered queuing up for the one ingredient, so very lucky Wendy had some!) I will take 10 around to her as a Thank You!
And here are my Anzac Biscuits - the proof is in the pudding! I got 31 out of the mix ..... I seem to recall 'my old recipe' having them flatter bigger & more caramelized, particularly around the edges (that would sometimes burn!) I also recall the bicarb soda foaming up WAY more than today .... With @iserbrown thinking it a bit 'wet' I added a bit more coconut & Rolled Oats - so whilst 'pliable', wasn't 'wet'.
10 are eaten already! YUMMY! Hubby will have to use a LOT of discipline to not scoff the lot over a couple of days! LOL
Anzac Bikkies and rice bubble chocchip cookies for the grandies some for us and some bagged up for them....
Made double batch got about 80 out of it
