help main course recipes needed please please please

[mummytojames]

hi all im here after some new ideas last year my cooking went very slack (jar or tin kind of slack) so new years resolution is to cook more healthy meals problem is i havent got a clue what my family can be very fussy the very rarely eat fish only meats are chicken and beef and veg limited to youe useual potatoe peas and carotts im thiking of stuff like baked potatoes things on toast but i was brought up as these things were snacks and not proper meals for a family (lord how times have changed)so could someone please give me some ideas i started up my own recipe book to keep them all in but so far ive got chilli con carne and basic pizza base recipes i would love to make thing like mother does and did like cottage pie and home made bolognase but havent got a clue where to start havent got time to ask her to write it down or show me because im either busy with ds or shes in work
please please please im begging here recipes please or even web sites to push me in the right direction
oh and does anyone know any high protein foods as me and dp are on a high protein low fat helthy living diet to shead some of those very unwanted pounds
tia

[kinderbobsleigh]

Make roasts and live off the leftovers both good for sandwiches and other meals such as hot pot and chicken burritos.

Roast lamb or beef can be reincarnated with the peas and carrots added and some stock (or if you are like me, a veggie oxo and a beef oxo) and then put sliced potato on the top - voila "hot pot".

Roast chicken can be wrapped up with salad in a flat bread as a sandwich, or to be more fancy added to a tin of tomatoes or a jar of dolmio, and veggies family will eat, wrap in soft tortillas, place in baking tray, more tomato sauce on top and grated cheese. Put in oven until cheese brown and tomato bubbling. Or add roasted chicken to pasta with a tomato sauce and add a few olives if they will be tolerated.

Roasted veggies are excellent and can be eaten for days if you make a pile, they are sweet and therefore generally eaten by children. Peel and chop any of parsnip, yams, sweet potatoes, beetroot, carrots to the same size, sprinkle olive oil over top and cook for about an hour in a hotish oven. Squeeze a lemon over about 1/2 in and add fresh rosemary or thyme for last 15 minutes.

Day 1 Roast Chicken with roasted veggies
Day 2 Chicken burritos
Day 3 Roasted veggies with pasta
Day 4 Roast Beef/lamb (keep 4 slices from roast back uncooked)
Day 5 Hotpot
Day 6 Hot beef sandwich and a baked potato

Roasts are easy, all the other meals are just putting together leftovers. Lots of protein in the meat.

[morningmayhem]

Hi, Let me have a think today and I will get back to you. I've got to rush out now! The bbc food site is very good to look around. Have a look at this spag bol

[morningmayhem]

have a look at this Cottage pie

[WideWebWitch]

Custardo's plea for easy and healthy recipes here

[mummytojames]

ty ty ty all i will definatley be making cooked dinners once a week from now on (im ashamed to say it will be the first time in 6 years did it once when i was married to him and made a total disaster i mean as in burnt everything)loved the idea of turning leftovers into other meal mean i can cook in batch (my favorite) and those chicken burritos are making my mouth water just at the thought
the cottage pie and the spag bol sound good aswell is it possible to freaze them and just reheat them at later dates so i can spend one made day cooking and two weeks reheating i know the mince and dolmio mix can be
well thanks again going to get recipe book and start writing my family wont know there born or afraid of food poisoning lol

[mummytojames]

scaltygirl i had the delia smiths how to cook book last year as a joke present and i must say that a women who made millions out of cooking after following her recipe to the tee she cant cook it was digusting but thanks for the tip i will look out for that one see if shes improved i just wish they would bring out a book called im thick help me feed my family i would be the first one out to by it its silly realy im 24 been married and divorced and still cant cook unless the recipe is in front of me it makes me wonder how my mother used to do it she would come in after working a full shift just throw a few things in a pan and voila a mouth watering meal

[morningmayhem]

Both can be frozen. I cook the pasta fresh on the day thats its needed.
Yes Batch cooking is a really good idea when ever I cook I always try to make double so I can freeze half for another time. For example When I cook mince I brown loads of mince with garlic,carrot,celery and onion then I divide it up in to three pans one for spag bol one for chilli and the other for cottage pie just by adding a few different ingredients to each pan you have 3 meals to put in the freezer It saves so much time and you have really nice home cooked food.

[mummytojames]

scalty girl thanks i will definatley look out for that cheap cook book as i have just found out im on a tight budget for a while have you tried it is it any good? its silly realy i can make homemade tomatoe soup and chicken with sweet and sour with my eyes closed and have even tried my hand at homemade curry once (dont ask) foods like that i picked up from recipe books easy its just the simple things that i should know how to cook i find dificultand morning mayhem that was a crafty idea of batching up the mince with onions then just seperating them for three different meals i usualy cook three large tray of mince at once for a bolognase only because i can drain more fat of them so it makes it more healthy in the long run will have to get both woks out and start cooking crazy
next time i am doing a vulk shop i was thinking of getting 12 large packs of mince in and cooking it all up at once then doing morningmahems idea of course after cooked they would be froze down in sevable portions
oh and any simple recipes for the bolognase and the chilli (i know im hopeless)its just the one i found for the chilli has a million and one ingrediants and the one for the spagetti bolognase requires cubed steaks god anybody think were rich the way half of these chefs does these recipes
thanks again for being so patiant with me

[mummytojames]

oh and i always cook pasta the day were going to eat it because ds and me love pasta with grated cheese (simple and ds always comes back for secounds useual mine)