Midweek Meals: five quick dinners that even fussy eaters will enjoy
Even the most veggie phobic member of the family will like these dinners.
Hidden vegetable pasta sauce
This sauce is really versatile. It can be used as a base for bolognaise, lasagne or even burritos. It freezes well and it is worth making in a big quantity and dividing up into portions
Servings
4Preparation Time
5 minsCooking Time
20 minsTotal Time
25 minsCourse
MainIngredients
1 tbsp olive oil
1 carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 celery stick, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1 red pepper, deseeded and diced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
400g tin tomatoes
1 tbsp dried oregano
Salt and pepper to taste
Heat the oil in a pan over medium heat.
Method
Add the carrot, celery, onion, pepper, oregano and garlic and cook for about 6 minutes, add a dash of water if the pan becomes dry.
Add in the tomatoes and 300ml of water.
Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes. Remove from the heat and puree the sauce until it is smooth.
Photo by Greta Hoffman from Pexels
Chicken parmigiana
How to make chicken parmigiana worthy of The Sopranos
Servings
4Preparation Time
20 minsCooking Time
30 minsTotal Time
50 minsCourse
MainCuisine
ItalianIngredients
4 chicken breasts, sliced through the middle and flattened
150g panko breadcrumbs
100g Parmesan, finely grated
3 eggs beaten
200g flour
100ml olive oil
For the sauce:
2 tbsp olive oil
3 cloves garlic, crushed
600ml passata
1 onion
1 tsp butter
Salt, pepper, sugar, to taste
For the parmiagana:
2 balls of mozzarella, sliced
Basil or parsley, chopped (optional)
Method
First, make the sauce.
Add the olive oil and garlic to a cold saucepan. Turn on the heat to medium and as soon as the garlic starts to sizzle, pour in the passata.
Cut your onion in half and add to the sauce along with the butter. Cover, turn to low and simmer for twenty minutes.
Taste, check for seasoning and add salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar. Remove the onion.
While your sauce is cooking, set up a breading station by pouring your breadcrumbs and cheese onto a plate, your flour onto another plate and your beaten eggs onto a third plate.
Dip your chicken first in the flour, then in the egg and finally in the breadcrumbs. Place onto a wire rack and place into the fridge for ten minutes.
Heat the olive oil in a heavy-based frying pan and heat to medium. Fry the chicken for seven to eight minutes, flipping halfway through, until golden and cooked through. Leave to rest on the wire rack.
Preheat your grill
In an oven-proof dish place the chicken in a single layer. Spoon over the tomato sauce and top with the cheese. Grill for around eight minutes, or until the cheese is golden and bubbling. Serve with a green salad.
Almond crusted chicken strips
These chicken strips are packed full of flavour and crispness from the almond crust. If you have time to marinate the chicken please do but they will be lovely either way. A top recipe tip is to make extra for lunch tomorrow!
Servings
4Preparation Time
5 minsCooking Time
25 minsTotal Time
30 minsCourse
SideIngredients
4 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp honey
3 tbsp mixed dried herbs
pinch of salt
4 free-range chicken fillets, cut into strips
120g ground almonds
Method
Mix the soy sauce, olive oil, honey dried herbs and salt in a big bowl.
Add the chicken and use your hands to mix the marinade into the meat.
If time allows, cover and leave in the fridge for at least 1 hour. If not don’t worry!
Preheat the oven to 180°C.
Spread the almonds out on a plate. Roll each chicken strip in the almonds. Place the coated chicken on an ovenproof dish.
Bake for about 25 minutes, until each chicken strip is cooked through.
Pizza wraps
These pizzas are ready in minutes and are a big hit with everyone. In the little time, it takes for the pizzas to cook - you could make a nice green salad to serve on the side
Preparation Time
5 minsCooking Time
10 minsTotal Time
15 minsCourse
MainIngredients
4 tortilla wraps
2 tbsp tomato passata or basil pesto
Toppings of your choice. I like cooked chicken, sweet corn and thinly sliced vegetables
200g grated mozzarella cheese
Method
Preheat oven to 180°C/ gas mark 4. Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
Spread an even layer of the passata or basil pesto - or both if you like - over the wraps.
Top with toppings of your choice and scatter over the cheese.
Place on a prepared tray and bake in the oven for 10 minutes.
Cut the cooked pizza into slices and serve on a warmed serving plate with sides of your choice.
Topping ideas:
Roasted vegetables, olives and slices of goat cheese
Leftover roast chicken or ham, barbecue sauce and pineapple
Pepperoni, thinly sliced onions and jalapeno peppers
Sloppy joes
This is a great recipe to get fussy children to eat some vegetables — you could even add a carrot or two to the recipe and they will not notice
Servings
4Preparation Time
10 minsCooking Time
20 minsTotal Time
30 minsCourse
MainIngredients
450g minced Irish Angus steak
2 onions
2 cloves garlic
1 red pepper
3 stalks celery
1 green chilli
1 tin chopped tomatoes
3tbsp tomato purée
2 bsp Worcestershire sauce
4 burger buns
A head of little gem lettuce
1 beef tomato
Some thinly sliced onion
200g Irish vintage Cheddar
Method
Roughly chop the onion, red pepper, celery and chilli. I leave the seeds in my chilli as I like a little heat in my Sloppy Joes but leave those out if you prefer. Pop the lot into your food processor and pulse them until they are very finely chopped. You can do this by hand if you prefer, but it is much quicker and easier in the food processor. Add a few washed and peeled carrots cut into chunks to the vegetable mix if you want to get some extra vegetables in. Because everything is very finely chopped, fussy eaters will not even notice the vegetables, and they add loads of flavour as well as being nutritious.
Warm a heavy pan with a little olive oil and add the finely chopped vegetables. Sauté over a medium heat for about ten minutes until soft. Add the minced beef, stirring to break it up and mix it thoroughly with the vegetables. Cook, stirring it regularly, until the meat is browned and begins to caramelise a little. Now add the tomato purée, stir that in well, and cook for a few more minutes. Blitz the tin of tomatoes in a blender and add that. For ease, you can use some passata, but a tin of chopped tomatoes blitzed until smooth is just as good and a lot cheaper. Season with salt and fresh ground black pepper and add the Worcestershire sauce.
Bring everything to a soft boil, turn down the heat, before covering the pan with a lid and simmer for about twenty minutes. When the twenty minutes has passed, remove the lid and taste, add more seasoning if required. The Sloppy Joe mixture should be quite thick by now with a lot of the moisture cooked out. If it is still a little wet, allow it to simmer away for another few minutes with the lid off. You want something the consistency of a thick bolognese sauce, that will hold together in your burger buns and not simply pour out when you go to eat it.
Shred some lettuce, thinly slice some onion, slice a large tomato, a beef tomato is perfect for this, and grate lots of vintage cheddar. Lightly toast your burger buns Now you are ready to plate up. Add some lettuce to the bottom half of each bun, then a big slice of tomato. Now pile a quarter of the Sloppy Joe mix onto each bun. Top that off with lots of grated cheddar and some thinly sliced onion.
Note: You could add other of your favourite toppings of you like. I often have these with some pickled gherkins or jalapenos as well which are delicious. Add a generous portion of your lovely oven chips, and you are done. This is finger-licking food, fun and a little messy to eat, but full of fabulous flavour.
