Anna Says - Cooking In A Hurry

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Anna Says - Cooking In A Hurry

The clock says 5:15pm, the kids have been c.r.a.z.y. all afternoon and are now in the bath. You realise with grim dread that you have not thought of what to make for dinner at all during the busyness of the day.... Oh dear. What to do?


If you keep a well stocked fridge and pantry, this shouldn't be too much of a problem. Being organised means that you can have some meals that are easy to prepare and can be made in the time it takes to cook pasta, rice or heat the oven. Here is a list of things that you should always have in your pantry, fridge and crisper and how to make FIVE quick meals for a family.

Freezer

Bacon

Peas

Pizza Bases

Bread

Fridge

Butter

Cheese

Garlic

Ginger

Olives

Eggs

Pantry

Peeled tomatoes

Pasta Sauce

Honey

Olive oil

Pasta

Rice

Crisper

Capsicum

Carrots

Onions

Spices & Condiments

Bolognese Herbs

Soy Sauce

Oyster Sauce
Worcestershire Sauce
Balsamic Vinegar

Salt & Pepper

I have not added quantities in these recipes, as I rarely take note of how much of things I use. This is meant to be a list of ideas that are not set in stone so that you can adjust them to your own preferences.

Meal Idea # 1 

Bacon & Tomato Pasta

1. Put water on in a big pot to boil. Cut up all ingredients.
2. Put pasta into the boiling water to cook.
3. Fry onion, bacon, diced carrots. Add some garlic then add pasta sauce and a tin of peeled tomatoes.
4. Add some Bolognese herbs, a splash of balsamic, a whoosh of worcestershire sauce, a smidge of honey and some salt & pepper. Simmer for a couple of minutes. 
5. Drain pasta when it is cooked. To the sauce, add peas and olives to heat through. Mix the pasta through the sauce.
6. Serve with grated cheese.

Meal #2 

Bacon Pizza

1. Preheat Oven to 220 degrees Celcius. Take pizza bases out of the freezer.
2. Cut up all ingredients. Fry the diced bacon and onion.
3. On to lined baking trays place the pizza bases. Add the following ingredients in this order:

Pasta sauce

Bolognaise Herbs

Cheese

Bacon

Onion

Capsicum

Olives

4. Pop pizzas into the oven and immediately turn the oven down to 180 degrees Celsius.
5. While they are in the oven you have time to make a simple salad of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, carrot and olives. Or, you could get a head start on the dishes...

Meal # 3

Fried Rice

1. Place rice into a saucepan, then add 2 times more water. Bring to the boil.
2. Chop bacon, onion, capsicum, carrot.
3. When the rice has come to the boil, take the lid off, boil for 5 minutes. Then put the lid back on the rice and turn the stove off.
4. Fry your chopped ingredients in olive oil until they are golden. Add garlic and ginger.
5. When the rice is cooked add it to the other cooked ingredients. Add soy sauce, oyster sauce, a drizzle of honey, peas and some lightly beaten eggs. 
6. It is ready to eat when the eggs are cooked.
NOTE: This will be quite a wet friend rice. To get fried rice that is not as wet, cook your rice earlier in the day and let it cool on a baking tray so that it is can dry out a bit. If you do this, dinner will be even quicker to prepare!

Meal Idea #4

Frittatas 

{or fancy scrambled eggs if it all goes bad}

1. Chop onions, bacon, capsicum. Grate cheese.
2. Lightly beat eggs, add a splash of milk and a handful of cheese.
3. Fry bacon, add onions and cook until onions are tender. Add capsicum and some frozen peas.
4. Add a small knob of butter, add eggs. Cook until the top is set.
5. Flip it anyway you can.... you could slide it onto a plate and flip it back into the pan. Or you could cook the top under the grill, or you could cut it in half and fold it... whatever works!
6. When cooked, serve with hot buttered toast or a salad.

Meal Idea # 5

Bacon & Eggs 

1. Fry bacon.
2. Make toast.
3. Fry eggs.
4. Serve.


I have a friend in London who is a dietician, she told me years ago that baked beans and eggs on wholemeal toast is one of the healthiest and most complete meals you can get. We have bacon and eggs on toast for dinner way more than I would have thought. The kids eat it, it can be made more interesting with some sauteed mushrooms, capsicum and tomatoes, is cheap, is quick and is not too unhealthy. You know when all else fails....