Bored With Cooking The Same Thing

[doodles]

Is anybody else bored with what they are cooking? I have just made a bolognaise sauce again!

I am so fed up with the usual rotation of pasta, casseroles, jacket potatoes, baked fish, sausages etc. Does anybody have any ideas for good wholesome family food that doesn't cost a fortune or take the whole day to prepare? Please share them with me and everybody else - I can't be the only one can I?

[melinda]

Watch Nigella and make a trifle before breakfast!

[SSM]

sorry can't help, in fact feeling the same way.

Does anyone have any recipes for salmon? Kids like salmon and peas in a cheese sauce with pasta. I marinade it for an hour or so in teriyaki sauce for OH and I and we have it with salad. I tried doing it en-croute a couple of weeks ago but it was a bit bland.

Any other suggestions would be very much appreciated.

[SSM]

Haven't watched Nigella, but I can barely face my breakfast in the morning let alone a trifle.

[Amber]

Standard reply: Sam Stern.

My kids like to cook salmon outside on a fire.

[SSM]

thanks Amber, but can't be doing with fires outside. Kids love BBQs, and I always say that it's just as easy to do things in the grill or oven

[doodles]

I roast it in the oven with butter and lemon - quite nice - or I make fish fingers with it. Really quick - cut into thick fish finger shapes, then flour egg and bread crumb and very shallow fry in frying pan. Actually doesn't take too long have with peas and bread and butter.

I had forgotten this one.

What I love about Nigella is of course I have capers, coriander etc etc in abundance in my kitchen - in fact my kitchen is probably smaller than her larder!!!!

[Milla]

salmon in foil is lovely - few herbs, squeeze of lemon, dash of white wine, a bay leaf - seal the lot up in foil and bake for 20 mins.
Anyway, Doodles, count yourself lucky. Would die for pasta, baked pots, rice et al now! Stuck in this de-porking Dukan diet all these are no nos!
Mackerel salad is lovely (mackerel cooked in foil again this time to keep smell to a minimum).
Or chicken cooked in low fat (of course!) coconut milk with a blitzing of lemon grass, ginger, galangal, chilli, lime (peel), garlic, shallots etc lovely and easy - can make the blitzed bits in bulk and freeze for as and when. Waitrose sell these fab foil packets for the freezer of "cooks' ingredients" so don't have to pfaff with bits of ginger, grating etc but still the real thing, no additives.
Quorn stirfry (or anything stirfry) is easy. Again, I reckon Waitrose do the best veg mixes if you're short of time / can't be bothered to chop millions of veg. Chuck in some water chestnuts for lovely crunch.
Or another easy one (not for me at the mo, sadly) is those ready rolled sheets of pastry, spread on some tomato sauce (either bought or home made but not ketchup, bleurgh) and then sprinkle on vegetables, ham, chorizo, mozzerella. Like an easy pizza.
Or gnocchi in an oven dish with bacon, spinach and cheese sauce. Very tasty mutha.

[Just1-2go]

Have you checked out Jamies 30 minute dinners? Some of them look lovely, although I think tonights fillet of beef maybe a little expensive for the average family budget!

[doodles]

Thanks, will try that - I prefer Jamie to Nigella - though I think fillet of beef is a little off budget at the mo!