Are you looking for quick and easy meals to feed your family? We all lead very busy lives. All too often the temptation is there to want to pick up a ready meal or a takeaway.
Having to prepare something fresh and delicious for our families every day can also sometimes seem a bit of a chore. Maybe you find yourself in a bit of a mealtime rut, cooking the same things day in and day out.
Today I am sharing some weeknight dinners that are not only delicious, but quick and easy to make as well. They are also very family friendly and budget friendly.
Some tasty ideas and recipes that are sure to add a bit excitement and interest to your family dinner table, because, lets face it, we all can use a bit of help every now and then!
CHICKEN
Like as not, I often turn to chicken for my choice of protein. Its much healthier than red meats and is so adaptable to a wide variety of recipes and flavors. Here are some of my favorites.
SIMPLE LEMON & HERB CHICKEN - Chicken thighs flavored with lemon and herbs, baked on a baking sheet with potato wedges and asparagus. It doesn't get much easier or tastier, and if you line the baking sheet with aluminum foil, clean-up is minimal! A salad on the side goes wonderfully. The recipe is for two, but can easily be doubled or tripled.
LEMONY CHICKEN AND RICE -This is a smaller batch slow cooker recipe for two, but can easily be doubled to feed more and cooked in a larger crockpot. Tender lemony chicken with lemon, oregano, feta cheese, spinach and cream. What's not to like? The fact that there is only one pot to clean up afterwards is also a huge bonus!
GROUND BEEF
PORK
FISH
OTHER OPTIONS
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com
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Can you guess what day this is? You are right! It is Meals of the Week Day! The day when I gather together and share with you all the meals that I have cooked or eaten over the past week.
You have all said that you enjoy these posts, and I actually find this very helpful myself, for a few reasons. One if helps me to look back on how I have been eating and perhaps make some changes in future weeks, and two, it helps me to plan my meals for the week ahead.
The temptation when one lives by themselves is to not cook, or to eat out of cans, bottles and boxes. Frozen dinners, ready meals, etc. I don't want to be that person. Already prepared food is quite expensive for one thing, and it is usually filled with salt, fat, sugar and a lot of other things I don't really want to be eating.
When I lived in the UK, eating small was a lot easier actually. The UK is the King of the Ready Meal! They have it down to an art and some of them are really quite good. Marks and Spencer is the best at it. I used to love LOVE shopping there. Their ready meals were fabulous and did I live in the UK, I would probably eat more of them.
I discovered this American couple on YouTube this week. The Magic Geekdom. They had a whole video dedicated to shopping in M&S. Do check it out if you are interested. They were huge fans. they made me feel quite homesick, and they were in the Chester M&S also, the one I used to shop at.
In any case, ready meals here in Canada cannot compare to M&S. I cook for myself all the time. I might cheat every now and then and buy a rotisserie chicken, but who doesn't!
In any case these are the meals that I cooked for myself, or was treated to over the past week. I ate out twice and had dinner at my sister's on my Brother in Law's birthday, so not everything was cooked at home. I have provided recipes for those alternatives in the place of the restaurant food that are equal to or better then most of the restaurant food I had.
SUNDAY May 28th, Grilled BBQ Chicken
Usually on Sundays I go to my sister's for Sunday dinner. This week I had everyone here so that my sister could have the treat of going out golfing with her husband Dan. Because I had church in the morning, I kept it really simple with some Grilled BBQ Chicken.
I also made a Herbed Potato Salad. I had some baby potatoes that we had bought at Costco the other week that I wanted to use up and had everything in house ready to do it. Its a very simple salad I think. Must easier than the mayonnaise type. It has a vinaigrette and herb dressing that you toss the warm potatoes into. They soak up all the lovely flavors. Light and delicious.
We also enjoyed a mixed salad and some garlic bread sticks from the store. (DON'T! Essentially they were hotdog buns coated in garlic butter. Not that great. Very bready.) For dessert my sister had brought over a Sugar Free Apple pie. Yummy!
THURSDAY, June 1st. - True Newf Poutine, copycat
We are coming into BBQ Grilling season now. I don't know about you, but I love food cooked outdoors on the grill. Hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken. I love it all.
A lot of people can a bit afraid to cook chicken on the BBQ. I think the fear of not cooking it through all the way is the biggest fear people face.
- Whether you choose to eat the skin or not, DO leave it on. The skin provides a barrier and a protection against over-cooking and helps to seal the juices inside the chicken where they belong.
- Moderate the heat on your grill. Have a hot area for searing and a cooler spot for cooking the chicken.
- Don't rush it. Patience is the key here. Sear your chicken to begin with and then move it over to the cooler spot on the grill and take your time. Good BBQ Grilled chicken on the bone will take, when done properly, at least an hour and often 2 hours.
- Slow and steady makes for great grilled chicken. Timing is the key to perfection. Don't be in a hurry.
- Cover the grill while the chicken is cooking so that the heat stays in the grill and helps to cook the chicken through.
- Season the chicken only with salt to begin with, and season it all over. You can start to slather on the BBQ sauce when the chicken is closer to being finished. That way it does the job it is supposed to do, seasoning and spicing the chicken rather than burning.
- Legs and thighs are better suited to grilling. But that doesn't mean you can't do breasts. Start the legs and thighs first, and the breasts later, as they will cook much faster. Bone in is best for all of the chicken.
- You can grill a whole chicken, but for that I recommend spatchcocking it. This is a matter of removing the back bone of the whole chicken and then pressing it with the heel of your hand to flatten it out. You can find a great tutorial for doing that here.
- 4 pounds (scant 2 kg) bone in, skin on, chicken pieces (I tend to buy a while chicken and cut it up.)
- fine sea salt
- light olive oil or canola oil
- BBQ sauce, store bought or homemade
Grilled BBQ Chicken
Ingredients
- 4 pounds (scant 2 kg) bone in, skin on, chicken pieces (I tend to buy a while chicken and cut it up.)
- fine sea salt
- light olive oil or canola oil
- BBQ sauce, store bought or homemade
Instructions
- Rub your chicken pieces with some oil and salt them all over. Set aside.
- Prepare your grill by preparing one side of the grill for high heat and the other side for a lower heat.
- Once the grill is heated or the coals are ready, place your chicken pieces skin side down on the hottest part of the grill. Sear well, without burning. Turn over and then move to the cooler side of the grill.
- For a gas grill, maintain the flame on one side of the grill only. Move the chicken to the other side, not directly over the gas flame.
- Cover and cook the chicken, without disturbing, for 20 to 30 minutes. Uncover and baste the chicken with some BBQ sauce, flip over and baste again. Cover and allow to cook for a further 20 minutes.
- Repeat this process, cooking for a further 20 to 30 minutes. The timing all depends on the size of your chicken pieces.
- The chicken is done when the internal temperature at the thickest part reaches 160*F/71 (breasts) and 170*F/77*C.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan at aol dot com
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