Homecooks club

[Hevz]

Hiya....I'm a keen homecook and enjoy cooking my family's food from scratch. But hey....I'm no purist and use cheats sometimes and even fish fingers


Just thought others with the same interests would like a place where we can share recipes, ideas, etc and just talk about food.


So all you Nigellas out there.....come and join in

 

[Tezzy]

Hey!

i make all our food from scratch because my husband is allergic to a million different things and both our children are intollerent to milk protein and lactose.

 

[Serene123]

I'm going to stalk this thread for ideas

 

[Tezzy]

lol toria

 

[smartie]

I'm going to stalk this thread for ideas

Ditto!

 

[Hevz]

Stalk away....but you have to give us some ideas of what you're looking for and then maybe we can help. Like ......
finger food ideas
1st tastes
Older kids food
Family food in general
Birthday cake ideas/recipes

tezzy, I know a lot of things that you don't expect can have lactose and milk protein in them. I'm sure we'd be interested in hearing your hints and tips for other people with family members with similar problems

 

[smartie]

If anyone has any quick and easy teatime meal recipes I'd appreciate them. By the time I get in from work its after 5pm and Hannah gets her supper bottle at 6.30pm and in bed by 7pm so need to be able to get something ready for her quickly.

 

[Serene123]

If anyone has any quick and easy teatime meal recipes I'd appreciate them. By the time I get in from work its after 5pm and Hannah gets her supper bottle at 6.30pm and in bed by 7pm so need to be able to get something ready for her quickly.

Yeah I always find starting from scratch takes me hours if I don't manage to do preperation during the day! No idea how people who work cook too

 

[Tezzy]

you can premake losts of things for hannahs age, you could make a batch of pasta one night, let it go cold then split the pasta in half mix one half with a tablespoon of light mayo and chop some cucumber, red pepper, sweetcorn and tomato.. mix together and you have a quick pasta salad. then you can put the other half in the fridge for the next day, then you can make a quick tomato sauce and mix the pasta into it.

i make batches of tomato sauce and put them in the freezer.. i also blend veg into mine so rhys cant see it.

 

[Tezzy]

i spend wednesday mornings every week cooking and freezing things so i can just grab stuff out of the freezer when i need it!

 

[Tezzy]

you can also chop some chicken into chuncks, whizz up some bread in a food processer then dip the chicken in flour, egg and the breadcrumbs then you can bake for 15mins to make quick chicken nuggets.. serve with some salad or new potatoes. you can also use fish for this too

 

[Hevz]

yeah Tezzy I do that with chicken too but I add a tbsp parmesan to mine and sometimes a sprinkling of sweet smoked paprika....tastes delish.


Quick and easy meals, lordy there's thousands that are very quick but will have to type a few out later (baby to feed at the mo). Ainsley's Meals In Minutes book is fab as is Nigella Express. I have over 200cookbooks, probably nearer to 300 now and Ainsleys meals In Minutes,
Ainsleys Low-Fat Meals In Minutes,
Alastair Hendy "Home Cook" and
Finger Foods For Babies And Toddlers

are my favourite cookbooks coz they're all simple, quick, easy and tasty recipes

 

[Tezzy]

ok.. some quick things to make of an evening:


Burgers
some mince ( i use turkey mince)
shape into patties
grill (8-10min)
put onto bun!

you can add things like onions to the mince (my OH is allergic to onions) and just add salad/ketchup to the bun!

homemade chips
chop a potato into chips
heat 4 cm of oil in a pan
when oil is hot add the potatoes and cook until brown (6-8mins)
use kitchen roll to remove oil before putting onto plate

chicken stew

chop some carrots, potatoes, swede and parsnip
cube some chicken
(you can add onions/leeks to a pan at this point but oh is allergic to both lol)
fry off the chicken(onions&leeks)
add homemade chicken stock.. i make in batches then freeze)
add the veg, seasoning
cook for 15/20mins
add frozen peas/sweetcorn and any other veg you want to add
continue to cook until chicken is cooked through and potatoes are soft (should take 25-30min from start to finish)

homemade tomato sauce (suitable for freezing and great for pasta/bolognaise)

a handful of tomotoes, pour over boiling water and leave for 15 seconds
take them out of the water and peel their skins
then chop and add to a pan with some olive oil

(you can add garlic and onion to the pan before you add the tomatoes but again oh is allergic lol)

add some basil leaves chopped up really small, salt and pepper and cook on a low heat for about an hour or until the sauce goes thick

you can add some parmasan cheese into it at the end and fresh basil leaves on top when you serve it

i put into containers and freeze until i need them

 

[Tezzy]

will type more later when i have time

 

[bigbloomerz]

you can premake losts of things for hannahs age, you could make a batch of pasta one night, let it go cold then split the pasta in half mix one half with a tablespoon of light mayo and chop some cucumber, red pepper, sweetcorn and tomato.. mix together and you have a quick pasta salad. then you can put the other half in the fridge for the next day, then you can make a quick tomato sauce and mix the pasta into it.

i make batches of tomato sauce and put them in the freezer.. i also blend veg into mine so rhys cant see it.

I also do this, im Allergic to Dairy, Citrus Fruits, Lactose, Caffeine, and Fish.
So I find it really hard to just buy a jar of sauce from supermarket that doesnt contain any of those!
I make all my own sauces for curries, chilli's, bolognaise with ingredients like passatta and herbs and spices, no additives or colourings and then freeze them, I also plan my shopiing list for meals for everyday so I dont spend as much in the supermarket and know exactly what day I need to defrost things for! x

 

[Tezzy]

i know how you feel! we can never buy jars/packets of anything!

my oh is allergic to

onion
leek
cucumber
peppers
courgette
garlic
pickles
onion powder (which is in EVERYTHING!)

 

[Linzi]

I cook from scratch every night because my OH is on a diet and Ive told him Im in control in the kitchen!!!

He loves a version of spaghettti carbonara I make.

1 tub low fat creme fraiche
25g parmesan
spaghetti
bacon
garlic
whatever vegetables you have (I usualyl use green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, sweetcorn and peppers)

Cook the spaghetti & the vegetables (seperate pans)
Fry the bacon with chopped garlic in another pan
In a seperate dish, mix the creme fraiche with the parmesan
When the 3 pans have all finished cooking, drain off the water & mix everything together
Pour the creme fraiche and cheese mix in and stir well

Its really nice, cheap and takes 20 mins

xxx

 

[malpal]

I cook most things from scratch, but will also admit to do cheat sometimes!!!
I am a veggie so cook mainly for a vegetarian diet. I do still eat dairy though.
My fave is a egg and mushroom pie! So quick and easy and honestly tastes better than it sounds! Will dig out the recipe!
xx

 

[morri]

Unfortunately I can'Ät go further than a spaghetti with sauce, but maybe I get something to learn here ??

 

[Neecee]

I'm going to stalk this thread for ideas

Me too!