Meet the 'smugger'

So, the truth is out. The nation’s mothers rely on a mere nine recipes to feed their families. Gulp. But hang on, that isn’t so bad,  is it? We’re only talking 14 meals a week, once breakfast is taken out of the equation (and bet there are loads of variations on that one. We even stretch to banana pancakes at the weekend). On hearing the results of a survey into maternal cooking habits, conducted by Merchant Gourmet, I did what any self-respecting (er, paranoid) mother would do. I whipped out a notebook and jotted down what I tend to serve in a week. Well coat me in batter and call me a deep-fried smugger (my new name for those scary organised mothers), but my repertoire  runs to about 20 dishes. Not bad – something different every lunch and tea for a week and a half. What I probably won’t shout about is that many of these ‘recipes’ involve the slam dunk approach to cooking – sausages/fish fingers/oven chips slammed in the oven, frozen peas dunked on the hob. Actual ‘cooking’? Yes, spaghetti bolognaise (identified by the survey as the most frequently cooked dish) was up there. As was lasagne and cottage pie. I make a mean fish pie, even if I say so myself (good old Jamie Oliver), and my children love  mussels. Strange but true, and there’s  nothing easier than buying a pack ready cooked in garlic sauce, and add chopped mushrooms, peas and pasta.

Apparently the reason why we cook so ‘few’ recipes is a lack of time, plus an understandable desire to avoid turning mealtimes into battle zones when children refuse to try new things. But I’d personally love a few more old faithfuls, so how about a cookery tell-all? Give your best standby recipe in the comments section below, something simple that you can cook standing on your head while doing two lots of homework and sewing on a nametape.  We’ll collate them and pop them on our main website. One of my standbys is butternut squash risotto (mine love it, promise!), and the recipe is below. Hope they eat it…

Tags: Food for thought, The Urchin Rants

1. angels&urchinsblog says:

   November 18, 2009 at 11:17

   BUTTERNUT SQUASH RISOTTO

   8oz Arborio risotto rice
   1 butternut squash
   1 pint hot chicken stock
   1 small onion, finely diced
   Couple of tablespoons of olive oil
   Couple of handfuls of whatever cheese you’ve got in the fridge (though blue cheese probably a no-no!)

   METHOD
   Quarter the butternut squash, de-seed and place skin side down on a baking dish. Drizzle with olive oil and roast for 35 minutes or so until soft about about 180 degrees.
   Fry the onion until translucent.
   Add the rice and stir for a couple of minutes until coated in oil.
   Add the hot chicken stock, ladle by ladle, until completely absorbed
   Add a huge handful of whatever cheese you’ve got in the fridge
   Take half the butternut squash and puree. Chop the other half into small cubes and fold into the risotto
   Sprinkle with more cheese and serve
2. Dee Uzoka (DeeVAS) says:

   November 18, 2009 at 13:49

   Thanks for the butternut squash recipe! I bought one recently and had no ide what to do with it. Now I do. Woo hoo!
3. maria says:

   November 18, 2009 at 15:32

   I have a lot of pasta recipes and this one is one of my favourites.

   Pasta with broccoli and anchovies

   Ingredients for 4 people
   800 gr of pasta, any shape is fine, preferably a small cut; 700 gr of broccoli; garlic; anchovies to taste; extra virgin olive oil
   Fry the garlic in olive oil on slow heat, then add the anchovies and let them melt in the oil. Cut the broccoli after blanching them in salty water and add them in, cover and finish cooking in the oil and anchovies until the consistency is soft. Normally the anchovies are salty enough so you don’t need to add any more salt. Boil the pasta in the same water where you blanched the broccoli for added flavour, then add the pasta to the pan with broccoli mixing it carefully and serve.
4. angels&urchinsblog says:

   November 18, 2009 at 20:13

   Thank you Dee, hope you’re now a butternut squash addict!

   And Maria, will your children eat anchovies? Or do they ‘melt’ down and not taste too fishy? One of mine ate one on a pizza once, declared ‘hairy fish!’ and is now terrified of them.

   This recipe was sent in by email from Anne Evans. It’s as simple as it gets – soft boil an egg and serve with a range of raw sliced veg, such as carrots and cucumber, as well as the usual soldiers. Yum.
5. Ali says:

   November 18, 2009 at 20:22

   This is a really easy recipe for kids. Pasta, pesto, chicken and peas.

   Cook some pasta, 4 mins before the end, add a handful of frozen peas.
   Meanwhile cut up some chicken into 2cm chunks, fry in a little oil until cooked through and add 1tbs of pesto and heat for 1 min.
   Add pasta and peas to chicken and pesto and serve with grated cheese on top.

   Easy peasy and v tasty
6. Melissa says:

   November 18, 2009 at 21:00

   We do butternut risotto in our house too. Other things on my rotating menu:

   Toad in the hole: bang pork sausage into a baking dish with some oil. Cook for about 10 mins until sort of brown. Make the batter with 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of milk, 2 eggs and a pinch of salt. Once oil/fat from sausages is super hot, pour the batter over the top. 20 minutes later you have perfection. I use bisto instant gravy when I can’t be arsed and serve with whatever veg we have in the house.

   Variation on sausage theme: bangers and mash OR cowboy supper (this is chippolatas browned, with finely chopped onion in a pan, add in some rice and stir it around, then add in double the quantity of veg or chicken stock, maybe a few herbs or a splosh of Lea&Perrins, then a tin of cannellini beans, lid on and simmer till rice is cooked and liquid absorbed). Obviously it’s called cowboy supper because all cowboys eat sausages and beans right?

   Spaghetti and meatballs: I buy ready made meatballs, brown with finely chopped onion and some garlic, bung in a tin of chopped tomatoes, a sprinkle of herbs, a pinch of salt and sugar, simmer. Serve with spag.

   Chili con carne – no need to explain this one.

   Thai chicken stir fry: fry up strips of chicken breast, peppers, onions, carrots, courgettes (whatever), add some thai red curry paste (however hot your kids can bare it), add coconut milk, a splash of soy sauce and possibly some chicken stock and simmer. Serve with rice or noodles.

   Chicken with lemon, garlic, honey and rosemary – I can’t remember the exact quantities now but bung chicken pieces into a tray with some cubes of potatoes. Melt some butter, lemon juice, honey, garlic and fresh rosemary together, pour over chicken and pots, season, bung in over for about 45 mins. Yum.

   That ok for now?
7. Urban Mums London (lindsey) says:

   November 18, 2009 at 22:39

   I completely identify for your reasonings why many mum’s cook the same thing–no time + avoiding difficult eating times with kids! My no-brainer go-to dishes include Chili con Carne (I use the Shwartz seasoning which makes it oh so simple!) and like the survey said, Spagahetti Bolognese (I am a sucker for Waitrose’s fresh Bolognese sauce).

   My kids also love salmon, which proves an easy meal. Grill it, then boil some rice + green beans. They love it, oddly enough!
8. maria says:

   November 18, 2009 at 22:46

   My son likes the taste of anchovies and if you put them in at the beginning they will melt so there won’t be any bits. The taste however is quite particular and many people are not keen, but the recipe works just as well without the anchovies.
9. angels&urchinsblog says:

   November 20, 2009 at 17:10

   Ali – that looks completely delicious. I am going to make it tomorrow (am doing my mussels-in-a-packet special tonight!).

   Melissa – wow. How about adding a cookery book to your repertoire? Am drooling just thinking about the chicken with lemon, garlic, honey etc (also sounds good at warding off colds and vampires!!)

   Urban Mums London – with all that salmon, your children must be the most brilliant on the block!

   And Maria, I’m going to try it. I love anchovies, and as you say they kind of melt when you cook them, don’t they? Yum.
10. Tracee Hegre says:

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11. Bez says:

    December 6, 2009 at 03:05

    I reckon one proper cooked meal a day is going it some – so seven meals a week, sometimes more, sometimes less. Our family favourite is lasagne, yum. To a backdrop of Take That!
12. angels&urchinsblog says:

    December 7, 2009 at 20:14

    Tracee – just checked out your site, lots of lovely food there!

    Bez – Take That and lasagne sounds a delicious mix.
13. Magic Mummy says:

    December 17, 2009 at 11:26

    My old faithful is bolognaise done in the slow cooker,. On a morning before work i just whack in some mince, chopped onions, 2 tins of toms and my magic ingredient (a packet of spag bol mix) and by the time I get in from work its ready.

    I either serve it with pasta or you can make it into a lasagne really quickly.

    The next day I add some chopped chilli’s and some baked beans (we don’t like kidney beans) and we have chilli and rice.
14. angels&urchinsblog says:

    December 17, 2009 at 14:45

    Thanks MagicMummy – I must invest in a slow cooker. I remember eating delicious chicken stews made in one, to which my mother would add dumplings. I don’t have the first clue how to make dumplings, but rather hankering after some now that the weather has got so cold.

    And here’s another easy peasy one that my children always lap up:
    Heat up a carton of soup (doesn’t matter which flavour as long as they like it!), add a cup of cous cous. Pour into bowls, liberally sprinkle with cheese, and job done in about two minutes flat.
15. cake recipes says:

    April 3, 2010 at 12:23

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    July 30, 2010 at 22:26

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