Seven hearty meals to beat the rainy weather

Beat the gloomy rainy weather with these delicious and hearty meals, which will warm your bellies and put a huge smile on you face.

Try creating each recipe for each day of the week if you are struggling with dinner ideas.

Creamy herb chicken

Ingredients

• 4 chicken breasts
• 2 teaspoons each of onion powder and garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon of fresh chopped parsley
• ½ teaspoon of each of dried thyme and dried rosemary
• Salt and pepper, to season

For the sauce

• 4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 teaspoon of fresh chopped parsley
• ½ teaspoon of each of dried thyme and dried rosemary
• 1 cup of milk
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon of cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon of water

Instructions

1. Coat chicken breasts with the onion and garlic powders and herbs. Season generously with salt and pepper.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of oil a large pan or skillet over medium-high heat and cook chicken breasts until opaque and no longer pink inside (about 5 minutes each side, depending on thickness). Transfer to a plate; set aside.
3. To the same pan or skillet, heat another 2 teaspoons of olive oil and sauté garlic, with parsley, thyme and rosemary, for about 1 minute, or until fragrant.
4. Stir in milk (or cream); season with salt and pepper, to taste.
5. Bring to a boil; add the cornstarch mixture to the centre of the pan, quickly stirring, until sauce has thickened slightly. Reduce heat and simmer gently for a further minute to allow the sauce to thicken more.
6. Return chicken to the skillet. Sprinkle with extra herbs if desired. Serve immediately.

This recipe was found on cafedelites.com

One-pot spinach beef soup

Ingredients

• 450g of ground beef
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 cartons of reduced-sodium beef broth
• 2 cans of diced tomatoes with green pepper, celery and onion, undrained
• 1 teaspoon of dried basil
• ½ teaspoon of pepper
• ½ teaspoon of dried oregano
• ¼ teaspoon of salt
• 3 cups of uncooked bow tie pasta
• 4 cups of fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
• Grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. In a stockpot, cook beef and garlic over medium heat until beef is no longer pink, 6-8 minutes; crumble beef; drain. Stir in broth, tomatoes and seasonings; bring to a boil. Stir in pasta; return to a boil. Cook, uncovered, until pasta is tender, 7-9 minutes.
2. Stir in spinach until wilted. Sprinkle servings with cheese.

This recipe was found on tasteofhome.com

Egg noodles

Ingredients

• 250g of parboiled fresh noodles
• 3 egg
• 1 cup of chopped, grated cabbage
• 1 cup of grated carrot
• 1 cup of sliced onion
• 7 slices of green chilli
• 2 teaspoon of powdered black pepper
• Salt as required
• 2 tablespoon of sunflower oil
• 3 teaspoon of ginger paste
• 3 teaspoon of garlic paste
• 1 teaspoon of ajinomoto
• 1 cup of finely chopped bean
• 2 tablespoon of soy sauce

Instructions

1. To make this easy recipe, begin with par-boiling the noodles. Once done, drain the excess water and keep it aside. In the meantime, heat a pan over a medium flame. Once the oil is sufficiently hot, add the ginger-garlic paste and fry for some time. If you like to make it more delicious, add some finely chopped green chillies. You can also use chillies soaked in vinegar.
2. Then add the onions, beans and green chillies in the same pan and saute for a minute or two. Add the carrots, cabbage, salt, pepper powder, soy sauce and Ajinomoto. Stir-fry the ingredients for some time. Once done, add the boiled noodles and break the eggs into the pan. Mix well and cook for a few minutes. If you like smoky flavours, stir the veggies mix on a high flame.
3. Cover the pan with a lid and allow it to cook for around 2-3 minutes. Once done, transfer the dish to a serving bowl and garnish it with coriander leaves. Serve hot and pair it with a spicy gravy of your choice. Make sure you try this recipe, rate it and let us know how it turned out to be.

This recipe was found on recipes.timesofindia.com

Chicken and ham pie

Ingredients

• 6 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cubed
• 3 carrots, chopped
• 3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 teaspoons of chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
• 850ml of hot chicken stock
• 50g of butter
• 2 onions, chopped
• 50g of plain flour
• 300ml of milk
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 2 tablespoon of chopped parsley
• 4 thin slices of ham, cut into strips
• 500g pack of short crust pastry
• 1 egg, beaten

ALSO READ: Four delicious and easy corned beef recipes

Instructions

1. Put the chicken in a large pan with the carrots, potatoes, celery, half the thyme and seasoning. Add stock and bring to the boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook gently for 15 minutes. Set a colander over a large bowl, pour in the pan contents and remove thyme. Reserve 600ml/1 pint stock (rest can be frozen).
2. Rinse the pan, return to heat and melt the butter. Cook the onions until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in the flour, then the reserved stock a little at a time, to make a smooth thick sauce. Add the milk and simmer for 2 minutes. Off the heat, stir in the remaining thyme, lemon juice and parsley. Season.
3. Mix together the chicken, vegetables and ham in a deep 2.2litre/4 pint ovenproof dish, preferably with a rim or lip. Pour over the sauce and leave to cool slightly. Preheat the oven to 180°C.
4. Roll out the pastry to about 5cm/2in larger than the top of the dish. Cut a 2.5cm strip from all round the pastry. Brush the rim of the dish with egg and press the strip all round. Brush with egg and lift the pastry on to it, pressing the edges to seal thoroughly. Trim off excess, then mark the pastry edge all round with a fork. Make 4 small slits in the centre.
5. Brush with egg and bake for 25–30 minutes until crisp and golden.

This recipe was found on bbcgoodfood.com

Fried rice

Ingredients

• 3 cups of cooked rice
• 2 tablespoons of sesame oil
• 1 small white onion, chopped
• 1 cup of frozen peas and carrots thawed
• 2-3 tablespoons of soy sauce more or less to taste
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2 tablespoons of chopped green onions, optional

Instructions

1. Preheat a large skillet or wok to medium heat. Pour sesame oil in the bottom. Add white onion and peas and carrots and fry until tender.
2. Slide the onion, peas and carrots to the side, and pour the beaten eggs onto the other side. Using a spatula, scramble the eggs. Once cooked, mix the eggs with the vegetable mix.
3. Add the rice to the veggie and egg mixture. Pour the soy sauce on top. Stir and fry the rice and veggie mixture until heated through and combined. Add chopped green onions if desired.

This recipe was found on therecipecritic.com

Creamy four cheese pasta with spinach

Ingredients

• 227g of uncooked quinoa or chickpea pasta (such as rigatoni, penne, farfalle, or rotini)
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 8 cups of baby spinach
• 1 tablespoon of chopped garlic
• 57g of fontina cheese, shredded
• ½ cup of low-fat ricotta cheese
• 28g of 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, softened
• ¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
• ⅛ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• ¼ cup of finely grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions

1. Prepare pasta in a large stockpot according to package directions, omitting salt and fat. Drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup cooking liquid. Return pasta and reserved cooking liquid to stockpot.
2. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high. Add spinach and garlic; cook, stirring often, until spinach wilts and garlic is slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Add fontina, ricotta, and cream cheese; cook, stirring constantly, until cheeses melt and mixture is creamy, about 30 seconds. Immediately remove from heat; add to pasta in stockpot. Add salt and cayenne. Stir gently to coat pasta with sauce.
3. Divide pasta among 4 bowls; top with Parmesan. Serve immediately.

This recipe was found on myrecipes.com

Baked potato

Ingredients

• 4 medium russet potatoes
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Sea salt
• Cashew sour cream
• Bacon bits
• Chives

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 218°C and line two baking sheet with parchment paper.
2. Use a fork to poke a few holes into the potatoes. Place on the baking sheet, rub with olive oil, and sprinkle liberally with sea salt all over. Bake 45 to 60 minutes, or until the potato is fork-tender and the skin is crisp.
3. Slice open each potato. Assemble with a dollop of sour cream or cashew cream, tempeh bacon bits, and a sprinkle of chives. Serve with remaining cashew cream and tempeh bacon on the side.

This recipe was found on loveandlemons.com