FLOWER POT KITCHEN: MAKE AHEAD DINNERS

11 Mar 2018

MAKE AHEAD DINNERS

Mums Power Hour

WoW 42 Dinners Done Ahead !!!

I love stocking my freezer with these make ahead sheet pan tray bake dinners, knowing a fabulous family dinner full of natural flavour, good for you ingredients can be on the family table in 20 minutes with none or very little prep depending on what veggies you want to bake with them, is sorted, means I can spend more time with my family and have the freedom to do anything at a moments notice because dinner is sorted, often with left overs for lunch salads, wraps, quesadillas and tacos this is a winning formula. What I love about get ahead dinners is the whole family are involved in making the weeks prep ahead dinners list which at some point usually gets a little loud with a hundred or so suggestions a minute being launched at me! This is my family's next choices for this batch of get ahead dinners,

Prep time 2 hours Made 42 Meals!!! / Cooking time 18-20 minutes

BACON WRAPPED CHEESE STUFFED MUSTARD CHICKEN THIGHS

Skinless boned out chicken thighs seasoned with salt and pepper, rolled in Dijon mustard, filled with sliced mozzarella forked in half and wrapped with sweetcure bacon, tossed in olive oil. To cook place on sheet pan and roast for 18-20 minutes, turning half way through.

CHILLI CUMIN GARLIC HANGER STEAK FOR TACOS

Tri tip or skirt steak seasoned with Himalayan sea salt, black pepper, Kashmiri chilli powder and ground cumin, place in bag with good glug of olive oil. To cook sear the steak in a skillet for 2 minutes each side, remove from the pan and leave to rest for 5 minutes, slice on the bias and serve with all the usual taco fixings.

FEATHER BLADE OREGANO SALT PEPPER KEBAB STEAK

Tri tip of skirt steak seasoned with Himalayan sea salt, white pepper and dried oregano, toss with olive oil. To cook sear the steak in a hot skillet for a couple of minutes on each side, leave to rest for 5 minutes, very thinly slice on the bias and serve stuffed in to pitta breads topped with ice berg salad, lime slaw, chilli sauce, garlic mayonnaise and green kebab pickled chillies

SESAME SOY GARLIC GINGER CHICKEN STIR FRY

Chicken, soy sauce, sesame oil, sesame seeds, Himalayan sea salt, white pepper, grated ginger, fresh garlic, spring onions and olive oil. To cook empty the chicken in to a roasting tin and bake in the oven for 18-20 minutes, serve with shredded stir fry veggies of broccoli, asparagus, red and white cabbage wok seared with sesame oil, soy sauce and a dash of shaoxing wine

CHICKEN THIGH OREGANO KEBAB

Diced boneless skinless chicken thigh meat, olive oil, Himalayan sea salt, black pepper and dried oregano. To cook place in a roasting tin and bake for 10-12 minutes until just cooked, serve with kebab flat breads stuffed with salad, slaw, chilli sauce, garlic mayonnaise and kebab pickled chillies.

CHICKEN FAJITAS

Chicken, olive oil, Himalayan sea salt, black pepper, dried oregano, ground cumin, coriander, chilli, paprika, onion powder, garlic powder and ancho chipotle chilli powder. To cook place in a roasting tray with sliced red and green peppers and sliced onions, bake for 18 minutes, serve with soft flour tortillas, guacamole, sour cream, pico de gallo, pickled jalapeños, iceberg salad and grated cheese.

BUFFALO CHICKEN WITH BLUE CHEESE

Chicken, olive oil, whole bottle West Indian hot sauce, Himalayan sea salt and black pepper, blue cheese reserved for later. Place in a roasting tin with sliced peppers and onions and bake for 18 minutes, 3 minutes before cooking time is up crumble the blue cheese over the chicken to melt. Serve with broccoli and home fries, or stuffed in to tortilla wraps or tacos with iceberg salad and fixings.

CHICKEN CACCIATORE

Chicken, olive oil, diced red and green peppers, onions, mushrooms, garlic, tin of chopped tomatoes, sea salt, black pepper, dried Italian herbs, tsp tomato puree and of sugar, dash of red wine optional, olives optional. To cook empty the bag in to your roasting tin and cook in the oven for 20-24 minutes, serve over pasta or with rice and veggies.

CHICKEN PIRI PIRI

Chicken, olive oil, Himalayan sea salt, black pepper, oregano, ground ginger, ground cardamom, garlic and onion powder, piri piri chilli powder, cayenne pepper, sliced peppers, onions and butter. To cook place in a roasting tin and bake for 18-20 minutes until cooked serve over pasta or with home fries and veggies or stuffed in to flatbreads with salad

PARMESAN MEATBALLS MARINARA

Ground beef, sea salt, black pepper, grated Parmesan, onion powder, garlic powder, turmeric, chilli powder, oregano, mix and shape in to balls. Marinara

Sauce onions, garlic, olive oil, chilli powder, pinch sugar, oregano, tomatoes, leave to cook for at least one hour then chill and cover meatballs. To cook place in a roasting tin and bake in the oven for around 25 minutes serve with spaghetti or stuffed in to subs loaded with melted cheese.

GARLIC BUTTER MUSHROOM CHICKEN

Chicken, butter, olive oil, garlic, mushrooms, asparagus, sea salt and white pepper. To cook place in a roasting tin and bake for 18 minutes, serve with fries, veggies or add a glug of cream and white wine and serve over pasta with Parmesan.

12 PORTIONS TEXAS RED CHILLI BEEF

All in one pot at the same time, onions, garlic, olive oil, onion powder, garlic powder, mexine powder, cayenne, ground cumin, oregano, ground beef, tins tomato, tomato purée. To cook leave to gently simmer away for a couple of hours finish off with a few knobs of butter.

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LIFE MY PASSION

Welcome to my daily life of cooking, one winters day many years ago my family and I were all inspired by a back to back rainy day of River Cottage this got us to stop talking about and start actually doing, suddenly three weeks later eight vegetable beds were dug, greenhouse erected and our first vegetables were propagating, this was the start to raising and growing our own food, our fabulous son Oscar changed our path in life which lead us to sell our small thriving restaurant of 10 yrs and to start our new life (Terrifying!) a life of the self sufficient in touch with nature and seasons, taking a step back and looking forward to a slower change of pace and making the most of every moment.

My passion for cooking was stronger than ever and having time at home with Oscar I found I had a new direction and I was no longer striving for perfection, I was suddenly very passionate for the enjoyment of the other side of food, something I had not realised, being the Chef/Cook and every other duty of your own small restaurant made me see that I never actually took time to cook what I wanted!

So there I was muddy boots and hands digging deep in more than one sense and I found myself transported back in time to where everyone grew some of their own food, it is a wonderful world with a real sense of achievement and loss, Slugs Snails and Caterpillars! But thats another story! Childhood memories of summers when I lived with my grand parents reminded me of so much that I had learnt about the make do and mend generation that I had forgotten.

Now as a family we love our free wild food days where we gather what nature has provided, have gone from being mini mini garden urban small holders, who did raised pigs at home because we could not wait to find land and supporting ourselves from our garden to now owning a very small farm that allows us to grow more vegetables for the whole of our family and neighbours, raise our own gorgeous Gloucestershire Old Spot pigs, (Sausages!) and pets! Dorset Down sheep, chickens for eggs and pet goats! Suddenly having large quantities of produce started to wake up the Cook in me!

The Cook was awake that part of me that wants to cook for the masses and I found myself setting up Flowerpot Kitchen, a Farmers Market Stall, I wanted to use our honest raised meats and make old fashioned pork pies, rabbit pies and game pies from the local game keeper along with old fashioned techniques and the best hot water crust pastry. This in turn grew to a small cottage industry from home weekly supplying three farm shops and a deli along with also attending three farmers markets A few years later there came a time when my son Oscar's health changed and it was an easy decision to stop.

I still hold the occasional pop up 40 seater restaurant or gourmet lunch which we do for local charities for the love of sharing food and to remind that Cook in me why I love our go slower self sufficient life!

So here I am sitting amoung the vegetables watching the chickens loving that every season nature teaches me something new and that nature is in charge! She has taught me to just go with it and grow. Give it a try from a tray of salad on your windowsill to a few tomato plants it all counts.