Stuck in a cooking rut!

cookiedough38

I feel like I am stuck in a cooking rut and end up buying more food because I don't know what to cook.

We are a family of 4, two children 5 and 8. Prefer to cook from scratch apart from those rushed days, both work full time so we get home and need something fairly quick to prepare or something we can prepare the night before to finish cooking the next day.

Not particularly fussy and happy to try new things, although none of us are keen on spicy food.

Currently have;

Tinned tuna
Chicken breasts
parma ham
Bacon
Salmon fillets

Pasta
Spaghetti
Puff pastry
Shortcrust pastry
Rice
Sweet potatoes
Potatoes

Frozen mixed vegetables
Frozen peas
Frozen sweetcorn
Red onions

Passata
Red kidney beans
Baked beans

Various store cupboard herbs and spices

Does any one fancy being inventive or fancy sharing any recipes that are popular with their families? Thank you!

happy35

we like tuna and sweetcorn pasta bake, using a tomato sauce and cheese on the top browned int he oven. I make this the night before and bung it in the oven when i get in

Also like chicken breast stuffed with philly cheese wrapped in bacon with veg and potatoes

Salmon I tend to just bake in the oven with a bit of soy sauce and ginger wrapped in foil with either egg fried rice and stir fry veg or roast potatoes and veg

we also like curry you could make this mild using either just veg or veg and a bit of chicken.

I also sometimes make thai curry wiht salmon and veg served with rice

Kathy535

I second the chicken stuffed with Philly and wrapped in ham, very quick and versatile - I do philly with cheddar and mustard: Philly with feta and sundried tomatoes; Brie and cranberry; philly and chorizo and cheddar, all are lovely.

Chicken and pasta bake - either make a white sauce (milk and chicken stock) with vegetables and cheese or a tomato based sauce. You could add the bacon to hulk it out. It would work with salmon too.

Chicken pie (using the same white sauce base)

Cajun chicken - mix together 1tsp garlic granules, 2tsp onion granules, 2tsp paprika, 1 tsp black pepper, 1tsp thyme, 0.5 tsp salt, 0.5 tsp white pepper, 0.25 tsp cumin, 0.5 cayenne pepper and coat the chicken breasts. Cook in a pan or griddle til cooked. I serve with baked potatoes and sour cream or sweet potato mash.

A similar mix works with salmon, 1tsp dried thyme, 1tsp oregano, 1tsp black pepper, 0.25 tsp cayenne pepper, 2tsp paprika, 0.5 tsp garlic granule - coat the non skin side and bake.

Fruball

Why not pop over to the "What are you making for dinner tonight?" thread and get inspiration from there?

It's a friendly group and lots of mouth watering pictures on there should give you some ideas

WantToBeSE

I second Fruballs idea of joining us over on the 'What are you having for dinner tonight' thread.
People are always happy to share recipes

Here is the link: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/3705165

cookiedough38

Thank you everyone I will take a look over there!

jap200

Or how about joining us on the "Cook through a whole cookbook challenge" - which is all about breaking yourself out of the rut and having some fun.

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4780972

VfM4meplse

If you have one of the food channels on your TV package they can offer some inspiration. If its on in the background, any recipe of interest can be googled so easily. This has certainly helped me enjoy cooking a bit more and I tend to try newer and more seasonal recipes now.