WITH the summer holidays approaching, parents’ lives are about to get busy.
When juggling work with childcare and expensive days off, you may be worried about the cost of feeding your children.
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If so, help is available in the form of Grace Mortimer’s brilliant economic recipes.
What started as a test to see if she could make nutritious meals with five main ingredients turned into enough recipes for a cookbook, My Family Meals, released on August 29.
Grace also has an Instagram page, @MyFirstMeals.
She says: “I’m not a professional chef, I’m a busy mother who is often fussing in the kitchen to the tune of: ‘Can I have something to eat?’ I am hungry!’.
“What greater reward is there than putting together something that turns out to be an excellent meal, enjoyed by all, seemingly produced from scratch.
“My recipes require no special devices and can be prepared in batches, so there is little to no waste.
“I hate throwing food away – it’s like throwing money in the trash.”
Here Grace gives Kirsty Spence her five tastiest recipes.
- My Family Meals by Grace Mortimer (£20, HQ), released 29 August. Photos: Haarala Hamilton
Chicken and spinach alfredo
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes, Cooking time: 20 minutes
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Grace says, “Trying new meals increases the likelihood of having adventurous little foodies in your family.”
YOU NEED:
- 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
- 300ml double cream
- 2 handfuls of grated parmesan
- 250g pasta shapes
- 100g spinach leaves
- Sunflower oil
METHOD: In a frying pan, heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat and fry the chicken breasts until golden.
Then add the cream and half the parmesan and lower the heat.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package instructions and drain.
Once the pasta is cooked, add it to the chicken along with the spinach and the remaining parmesan and mix.
Turn off the heat and leave for a few minutes so that the parmesan melts and the spinach softens a little.
Season if desired.
Sausage and hash brown pie
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes, Cooking time: 1 hour
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Grace says: “Amidst the chaos of life, I find something deeply therapeutic in cooking.
“If you’ve had a rough day and just want a hug in a bowl, look no further.”
YOU NEED:
- 8 sausages, cut in half lengthwise
- 1 sliced leek
- 1 sliced red onion
- 150g garlic and herb roule cheese
- 12 frozen French fries
- Sunflower oil
METHOD: Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6.
Place the sausages in a large ovenproof dish with a drizzle of olive oil.
Bake for 20 minutes or until sausages begin to brown.
Remove from the oven and add the leek and onion. Spoon the cheese into the openings and place the fries on top.
Bake for 40 minutes until cooked through and golden.
Bake pizza
Serves: 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes, Cooking time: 15 minutes
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Grace says: “This is the kind of thing I make for dinner when I really can’t be bothered to make anything!
“It’s quick, easy and delicious.
“Plus, if you have stale bread that could otherwise go to waste, this is a great way to use it up.”
YOU NEED:
- 250ml passata
- 1 beaten egg
- 4 slices of bread cut into cubes
- Handful of sliced chorizo
- 2 handfuls of grated cheese
METHOD: Preheat the oven to 220C/200C fan/gas mark 7.
In a jug, mix the passata and egg.
Place the bread in an ovenproof dish, sprinkle with the chorizo, drizzle with the tomato sauce and mix well.
Cover with grated cheese and bake for 15 minutes and that’s it!
Ham and zucchini pie
Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes, Cooking time: 40 minutes
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Grace says: “I think this is my favorite recipe in the book.
“It goes into the oven without much appearance and comes out looking like a golden, crispy, cheesy dish, with layers of savory zucchini and sweet ham running through it.
“It’s the kind of meal to cheer everyone up a bit.”
YOU NEED:
- 125g breadcrumbs
- Handful of grated parmesan
- 2 zucchini, cut lengthwise into thin strips
- 100g sliced ham
- 125g mozzarella
- Oil
METHOD: Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6.
Place the breadcrumbs on a plate along with the parmesan and mix.
Coat each zucchini slice with the breadcrumb mixture, placing it on the plate and pressing down, turning and pressing again.
Place 3-4 slices of zucchini in the bottom of an ovenproof dish.
Then place 3-4 slices of ham on top.
Tear off a few pieces of mozzarella and place them in the gaps (don’t worry too much about filling the gaps completely).
Then add another layer of zucchini, followed by ham and mozzarella and so on.
Finally, cover everything with the remaining breadcrumbs, drizzle with a little olive oil and bake for 40 minutes.
Remove and you are ready to serve.
Baked Cajun Salmon Platter
Serves 4
Preparation time: 5 minutes, Cooking time: 45 minutes
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Grace says: “This is something I do over and over again. It’s easy, delicious and looks great.
“One tray to wash the dishes and everyone will have a hearty meal that looks a lot more complicated to put together than it was.”
YOU NEED:
- 750g new potatoes
- Oil
- 2 tablespoons Cajun seasoning
- 4 salmon fillets
- Handful of asparagus spears
- 130g frozen peas, defrosted
METHOD: Preheat the oven to 200C/180C fan/gas mark 6.
Add the potatoes to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with 1 tablespoon of Cajun seasoning.
Mix everything and bake for 30 minutes.
While the potatoes are cooking, place the salmon in a bowl with a little olive oil and the remaining Cajun seasoning to marinate.
After half an hour of cooking, add the salmon and asparagus to the potato tray.
Bake for exactly 12 minutes and then remove.
Turn the peas over and that’s it, ready to serve.
This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
