Following research by Ingham’s revealing midweek dinners as the top meal challenge for Australians, the company has teamed up with celebrity chef Manu Feildel to create a series of ‘Dinner Done’ recipes.
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The series includes 15-minute instructional videos, downloadable recipe PDFs and shopping lists, plus tips and tricks to save time in the kitchen, work with flavours, food styling and more.
The Ingham’s research revealed that when it comes to midweek dinners, most people experience a tension between ‘easy and faster’, and a desire for more variety, while being faced with limited evening capacity, fear of failure, limited repertoire, and a lack of motivation when grocery shopping.
Manu’s top five tips for planning and preparing midweek dinners to save time and please the whole household are:
Stock up on and cook from frozen
Frozen is just as good as fresh; stock your freezer with quick, versatile options such as chicken schnitzel, nuggets and wing dings, which can be cooked from frozen — and can be served traditional-style for kids or incorporated into tacos, burgers and salads for more sophisticated palates.
Create a ‘capsule’ pantry
Stock your pantry and fridge with staples made up of a limited number of versatile ingredients based on the foods your household enjoys eating, and which can be combined into a variety of meals.
Fill your pantry, fridge and freezer with these essentials and then adopt new simple recipes that centre on these foods — with a couple of ‘top up’ ingredients — as they are most likely to please the crowd. And don’t be afraid to adapt a recipe to better suit your family’s tastes.
Cook plain and add sauces and spices to taste
This is particularly for when young palates and fussier eaters need to be considered. Herbs and spices can be divisive — particularly hotter spices or herbs like coriander. Serving plain and having sauces and spices on the side can help solve this.
Take the easy option
Buy ready-made sauces and use quick cooking options like air-fryers and pressure cookers to get dinner done fast, and with great taste.
Get your household involved in planning
Planning and preparing meals solo can feel like hard work, or ‘Groundhog Day’. Get the household involved by inviting everyone to choose a cuisine or simple meal. Turn on and up your favourite music or follow a YouTube cooking tutorial to make it a home cooking class.
To learn more visit: inghams.com.au/dinner-done
Here’s one of the featured recipes.
Nugget Tacos with Corn & Avocado Salsa
Ingredients:
Ingham’s AirMAZING Chicken Breast Nuggets
½ cup whole-egg mayonnaise
2 tsp chipotle sauce
1 tbsp lime juice
10 mini soft flour tortillas
Little gem lettuce leaves and lime wedges, to serve
Corn & Avocado Salsa
2 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp Mexican spice blend
2 corn cobs, husks removed
Salt and pepper, to taste
1 large avocado, coarsely chopped
320g punnet tomatoes
½ small red onion, diced
¼ cup chopped fresh coriander
1 tbsp lime juice
Method:
Cook the nuggets as per the instructions on the box.
Meanwhile, to make salsa, heat a barbecue grill plate over high heat. Combine Mexican spice blend and half the oil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper, then brush over corn.
Cook corn on heated grill plate, turning occasionally, for about 8-10 minutes, until charred. Remove and cool slightly. Cut kernels from cob.
Combine corn with avocado, tomatoes, onion, coriander, lime juice and remaining oil in a bowl. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
Combine mayonnaise, chipotle sauce and lime juice in a bowl.
Cook tortillas, one at a time, on same hot grill plate for 20-30 seconds each side, until charred. Remove and wrap in foil to keep warm.
To serve, spread chipotle mayonnaise over tortillas. Top with lettuce, nuggets and salsa.
Serve with lime wedges.