Gemma For the majority of us, knowing what to cook is half the battle. It’s the thing I struggle with when I am tired and I can’t be bothered cooking. In these busy midweek moments it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the idea of feeding a family. That whole whole experience can bring on a domino effect of feeling guilty, spending more money (even though there is food in the fridge) and often times good food goes to waste because there wasn’t a plan in place. So what do I do to avoid this in our house? Well, some weeks it unavoidable. Some weeks are so unpredictable and busy that the best of plans don’t work. Thankfully those weeks are few and far between. Most of the time I use these quick dinner tips to help me survive.
1. Get ahead of the chaos, get a plan
When I sit down to plan meals for the week ahead I start by looking at our calendar. I want to see which days are the busiest. Week to week that can change so I check and I make a note to plan something simple on these nights.
This sounds obvious but there have been occasions when I have planned a risotto on a night where we have after school activities. We get home at 5pm, the children are starving, chaos ensues and suddenly an hour to prep and cook a risotto becomes a pizza delivery. So I get ahead of the chaos, I expect it and then I plan meals that will work for us.
2. Prep in advance
On the nights where we are busy I try to cook something that can be prepped in advance and then cooked when we get home. Chicken is great for this. You can make a quick marinade like the lemon and turmeric one in this recipe, add your chicken, cover and leave in the fridge for later that day.
If you know you have a free 30 minutes in the morning, use it. If you prefer to prep the night before, do that. If you find that you only have time to prep on the weekend then use that time to batch prep and freeze meals for the week, this is often the cheapest way to feed a family.
3. Variety is the spice of life
For me this is a big one. I really don’t like eating the same meals on repeat. So I need to have a bit of variety to keep me motivated to cook dinner. Keep a collection of simple meals that you can turn to for inspiration. This takes the drama out of the equation and gives you a resource to turn to when you are stuck.
I use the recipe index on Family Feed most weeks to get some ideas for our dinners. It isn’t always fancy and often times it’s something as simple as dressing chicken, veg, halloumi, pasta etc in a few spoonfuls of my harissa paste or pesto. Both can be made in advance and store well in the fridge/freezer.
Lemon and turmeric chicken
If you have a busy week coming up then this lemon and turmeric chicken is a brilliant meal to plan in. It is a typical mid week meal for us and it follows my quick dinner tips. I served it with salad, flatbreads and hummus. You can serve it with rice or turn it into a curry by adding a a tin of coconut milk toward the end. As always I invite you to make it work for you and your family.
Lemon & turmeric chicken
Ingredients
- 1 Lemon
- salt & pepper to taste
- 4 tbsp extra virgin olive oil plus extra for cooking
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/4 tsp chilli powder you can add more if you like
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 3 chicken breasts
- 5 cloves garlic
- 2 red onions
- 2 white onions
for the tomato and cucumber salad
- 1/2 cucumber diced
- 2-3 tomatoes diced
- handful of fresh coriander chopped
- 1/2 lemon juice
- pinch of sea salt
Instructions
- In a bowl squeeze the juice of 1 lemon, add the salt, pepper, olive oil and all the spices then give it a little mix and set aside.
- Slice your chicken breasts length ways into thin strips. Add to the bowl of marinade, mix, cover and set aside in the fridge for 1 hr or over night.
- Take care to clean down all surfaces and utensils that have touch raw chicken. Clean your hand thoroughly.
- Slice your onions and garlic and when you are ready to cook add them to a pan with a good glug of olive oil. Cook on a medium heat with the lid on for about 8 minutes or until soft.
- You can prepare your salad by mixing the diced cucumber, tomato, lemon, coriander with a pinch of sea salt, then set aside.
- Remove your chicken from the fridge and add to the pan with the onions and garlic. Give it a good stir and cook for 10-15 minutes on a medium heat (ensure the chicken is thoroughly cooked before you serve)
- Keep stirring throughout. Make sure that your chicken stays juicy, you can put the lid back of if it is getting a bit dry.
- Serve immediately with sides of your choice, you can add a bit of fresh coriander to finish.
