Cook At Home Meal Planner 19/09/2022

 

School is back in session!

Whilst we’ve got you covered in the lunch department, here’s a few hearty evening meal planner ideas to get you back in the swing of term time.

Monday

Mac & Cheese with a Twist

Ingredients

400g Fusilli pasta
300ml Whipped cream
4 Tbsp Butter
250g Shredded emmental
2 large onions
Salt & pepper

Method

  1. Cook the Fusilli al dente
  2. Preheat the oven to 200° (Fan oven) and butter a casserole dish.
  3. Melt the butter in a pot then add the onions and caramelise for 10-20 minutes on medium heat until brown.
  4. Add Whipped cream and 200 g of cheese to the onions and melt together.
  5. Add Fusilli to the mix and season with salt and pepper.
  6. Put everything into the casserole dish and sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top.
  7. Bake for 10 minutes or longer until the cheese on top is melted and the edges are beginning to get a little crispy.

Tuesday

Minced Beef & Sweet Potato Stew

(Add Quorn mince instead for a vegetarian option)

Ingredients

330g Sweet potatoes
65g Onions
65g Mixed bell peppers
5g Smoked paprika
3g Garlic powder
65ml Water
3g Bouillon (Vegetable)
265g Tinned chopped tomatoes
330g Minced beef or vegetarian equivalent eg. Quorn mince
660g Red Kidney Beans
Mixed dried herbs

Method

  1. Peel then dice the potatoes into bite sized pieces.
  2. Sauté the chosen mince, onions and peppers in a pan until it has browned then add potatoes.
  3. Add the garlic powder and the smoked paprika.
  4. Add the bouillon paste.
  5. Pour in the chopped tomatoes.
  6. Add in the kidney beans.
  7. Add water then simmer until thickened and vegetables have softened.

Wednesday

Vegetable Moussaka

Ingredients

58g Red lentils
400g Ware potatoes
75g Onions
1 Garlic clove
75g Button mushrooms
5ml Vegetable oil
28g Tomato puree
2g Dried oregano
300g Aubergine
173g Tomatoes

28g Margarine
28g Plain flour
375ml Skimmed Milk
1 Egg
1g Mustard powder
123g Cheddar cheese

Method

  1. Rinse lentils and place in a pan. Cover with water then bring to boil, cover and simmer for about 45 minutes until soft. Drain and reserve stock.
  2. Scrub the potatoes, cut and cook in boiling water for 15 minutes. Cool and slice. Then chop the onions, crush the garlic and slice the mushrooms.
  3. Heat oil in a pan then fry the onions and garlic for 5 minutes. Add mushrooms and lentils, mix well and cook for 5 minutes. Remove from the pan in order to add the tomato puree, oregano and a little stock.
  4. Fry the aubergine slices until soft, drain then place the mixture in layers, lentil, aubergine and potatoes and tomatoes.
  5. Make the Bechamel sauce by melting butter over medium heat. Sprinkle flour over the melted butter and cook down for a few minutes until it thickens. Stir frequently. Reduce the heat to low, then slowly add in the milk and whisk occasionally whilst allowing the sauce to thicken. Beat in the egg and season to taste.
  6. Pour the sauce over vegetable layers and sprinkle with cheese.
  7. Bake in a moderate oven for 40 minutes until the cheese is golden brown.

Thursday

Homemade Chicken Tikka with Rice

(Add tofu or Quorn chicken instead for a vegetarian option)

Ingredients

140g Onions
120g Tomato puree
3g Garlic powder
3g Chilli powder
17g Curry powder
40g Vegetable bouillon
490g Tinned chopped tomatoes
20ml Vegetable oil
20ml Lemon extract
280g Natural yoghurt
280ml Water
280g Long grain rice
400g Chicken or vegetarian substitute

Method

  1. Mix together the tomato paste, vegetable bouillon, garlic, chilli powder and curry powder to make a paste.
  2. Chop the onions and sauté in the oil until soft.
  3. Dice the chicken/tofu into small bite size pieces and add to the onions and brown off.
  4. Add the tomato paste mixture to the onions and chicken and warm through gently.
  5. Add the chopped tomatoes and water.
  6. Heat gently then add the lemon juice.
  7. Cook to a core temperature of 82 degrees centigrade.
  8. To finish the dish add the yoghurt and stir through. Heat a little longer before serving.
  9. Wash the rice thoroughly, cook in water until al dente.

Friday

Homemade Calzone

Ingredients

For a homemade pizza dough:
Take a look back at Thursday’s entry of last month’s meal planner: here.

For a homemade pizza sauce:
In a bowl mix 1 tbsp of dried oregano, 2 minced cloves of garlic, 2 tbsp of tomato paste, 2 tbsp of ketchup and 2 tbsp of olive oil until well combined.

For pizza toppings:
Use any ingredients you prefer.
Cheese, Ham, Onion, Olives, mushrooms, chicken? The list goes on and on.

Method

  1. Divide the pizza dough a desired number of pieces (note: more pieces mean smaller sized calzones). Roll each piece into a ball and then flatten into a round, thin crust. For easier rolling sprinkle some flour on the dough.
  2. Spread some pizza sauce, making sure to leave the edges free.
  3. Top one side of the pizza dough with your chosen toppings. Close the pocket and press down with your finger around the edges to seal them.
  4. To double-seal, take the edge of the dough and fold it back towards the filled area and press down.
  5. Transfer it carefully onto a baking tray lined with baking parchment. Brush with olive oil (optional) and repeat until you have as many calzone pizzas as you like.
  6. Bake at 200° Celsius for 15 minutes or until the top and bottom turn brown.
The original recipe post by can be found: here