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
- Weird - for some reason the 'yahoo . com' was **** out in the link above ...... (remove the spaces - and replace the '%2A%2A%2A%2A' with the 'yahoo' bit that should be in the link, if you clicked on it.)
I've done it as a PDF as well .... so you can read it below - but obviously you can't watch the video unless going to the link above. good luck! - Ooooh - some time ago @iserbrown put a link up for cooking WHOLE potatoes in an Airfryer .... but the link didn't work - but I've FOUND IT! (see below) :) The Taties look SCRUMMY too.
Give it go - it actually shows a Ninja Airfryer (2 drawer) that my buddy in Batemans Bay uses - it is terrific!!
You can cook your meat/chicken in one drawer & vegs in the other - it can even 'schedule' the time the 2nd drawer starts to cook - so both finish cooking at the same time! .......
Ninja Dual Drawer is about $250 at Amazon.com.au .... (I have the single drawer Ninja & love it!)
https://news.yahoo.com/made-baked-potato-air-fryer-134400457.html - EASY scone recipe with Cream and Lemonade .... made by a 92 year old CWA member .... BRILLIANT
https://www.facebook.com/ABCRural/videos/561556208091477 - Wow! Great recipes...this is my go to and its great for the warmer months brown bulgur salad
1 cup cooked brown bulgur
1/4 cup chickpeas
1 small tomato
1/2 cup chopped cucumber
1/4 cup red onion
1/2 cup fetta
1/4 cup chopped pistachios
parsley
drizzle with olive oil, lemon juice..salt...toss and eat delish!! You can add what you like - A really EASY and YUMMY contribution to any Xmas gathering (or any time in the year, really!)
I saw this a couple of weeks ago at an October BC Fund Raiser ... and thought it would be too sweet - but it was SCRUMMY! The strawberries are actually quite 'tart' compared to the sweetness of the marshmallow - so wasn't as sweet as I thought they'd be!
And they look TERRIFIC!!
A 500g punnet of strawberries (choose 'smaller' strawberries so they fit the size of the Marshmallows!) and a packet of pink & white marshmallows will make between 10-15, depending on how thinly you slice the strawberries (mine were thickish) .... Keep the 'pointy bit' to 'crown' the pointy end of the skewers!
I did 4 x strawberry slices & 4 x marshmallows
Nicely presented .....
ENJOY - Who likes slow cooker recipes? Check this out
.... they also have 'freezer dump bags' where you whack all the raw ingredients in a plastic bag - and freeze them .... they take up less space as they are flat .... good for travelling ..... and cook them up on the road whilst you are travelling - ready for dinner!
Or just make a bunch up & freeze them at home - and chuck one in the slow cooker in the morning - no need to chop stuff up!
A lot of these recipes would work just fine in the oven too .....
https://slowcookertip.com/
https://slowcookertip.com/freezer-dump-bags/ - Don't you LOVE a good Cottage Pie? They used to be made from left over Roasted meat that was ground up & made into a pie .... but hey! Why not make a BIG ONE from scratch & then make up a few for the freezer? Add the Orange Sweet Potato as the topping & DOUBLE YUM!
Those alfoil takeaway containers with the cardboard lids - are invaluable!
I use them with my Smoked Fish Pies, too :) Each one would feed 2 people easily.
(I never realised the difference between Cottage Pie & Shepherd's Pie .... did you??)
Not only is this dish the perfect comfort food for a chilly evening, but it’s also a meal with an interesting history.
Made to use up any leftover meat, Shepard’s pie dates back to the 1790s. When it is made with beef it's called cottage pie and if it is made with lamb, then it's shepherd's pie.
The sweet potato really spices this recipe up a bit to give it some kiwi flavour.
Ingredients:
- 2 tbsp. butter, olive or coconut oil
- 1 brown onion, finely chopped
- 2 medium carrots, medium diced
- 2 celery sticks, medium diced
- 450g lamb mince
- 1 ½ (375ml) cups beef stock
- 1 tbsps. Worcestershire sauce
- 40g tomato paste
- 2 large sweet potatoes, peel and cut to quarters
- 2 more tbsps. of butter
- Dash of cream or full fat milk
- ½ cup mozzarella cheese grated
- ¼ cup parmesan cheese, grated
- Freshly ground salt and pepper
Method:
- Preheat oven to 180°C for a fan forced oven.
- Heat butter in a large pan and on a medium heat add onions, carrot and celery.
- Cook stirring for 5 minutes or until vegetables are softened.
- Add lamb/beef mince and cook until browned, for about 5-8 minutes, squashing any lumps with a fork.
- Add beef stock, Worcestershire sauce and tomato paste.
- Season with salt and pepper.
- Reduce heat to low, stirring occasionally and cook for 30 - 40 minutes or until sauce thickens.
- When meat sauce has thickened, spoon into an oven proof dish and spread with mashed sweet potatoes (I would store some in separate alfoil containers at this point in time ....) and then continue with the smaller serve for 'this evening's meal' ...
- Sprinkle with the two cheeses.
- Bake 20 minutes or until the top is golden and juices are bubbling through.
- Serve with some simple steamed broccoli.
- The peanut butters biscuits are even more decadent if you pull them out of the oven just before they are cooked so they are still gooey inside
- You can't beat a good casserole - very much 'comfort food' for Winter - but also good for Summer, specially when camping! Nothing nicer than a scrummy casserole for dinner before climbing into the tent or campervan!
They can also be terrific to turn into Jaffles for 'left overs' (YUM!).... A few Tablespoons put between 2 pieces of bread & cooked in the Jaffle Iron. I have a gas hob now, so can do them at home! :)
Call me a hoarder .... but I still have THOUSANDS of Recipes from when I used to work with AGL 40+ years ago, as a 'Cooking Demonstrator' (I grabbed virtually the FULL SET before I left ....)
So, if anyone wants any specific recipes or style (eg Greek, Chinese etc) - ask me & I'll see if I can find them!! They were tried & tested hundreds of times back in the 70s & 80s before being unleashed on the public ....
My Weekly Cookery Classes were hilarious - everyone would put $1 on the table & someone would go & grab a cask of wine - and we'd have a sit down meal at the end of the demonstration ..... It was SO much fun!
Sometimes, we started the wine BEFORE the cooking demonstration started .... with some hilarious results .... often with ingredients still left on the counter! LOL - Oh dear @Blossom1961 ... I fear your secret recipe is 'out'!! It was online - Grandma's tasty recipes, I think it was!!
Hmmmm .... maybe someone in the family has blabbed??
ooooh - I like the addition of a touch of cinnamon or choc chips too! Makes them quite decadent!!
So you can guarantee that they are nice??? I just thought they were 'easy'! LOL
(For me - any recipe that says "Cream the butter and sugar'' = TURN THE PAGE!!) LOL
