What to cook for dinner? 5 recipes to try this week

Dinner can be quite frustrating when you are tired of cooking the same old dishes that you and the family have gotten too accustomed to.

Gather up your ingredients and look through the following 5 recipes which you could try this week which you and the family will be sure to love.

Oxtail recipe with red wine

A hearty oxtail stew recipe packed with flavour.

Beef oxtail. Picture: iStcok

Ingredients

1-1.3kg oxtail pieces
1 large onion chopped
2 cups beef stock
1 cup water
2 cups of a robust
1 garlic clove finely chopped
2 large carrots chopped into big chunks
3 sticks celery chopped
50ml tomato paste
salt and pepper
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 bay leaf

How to:

1. Season the oxtail pieces and brown them over high heat in a cast-iron casserole if you have one or in a large pot then remove them and set aside.
2. Cook the onions until soft, add the meat, stock, water, salt and pepper to taste and wine, bring to the boil.
3. Place the cast iron casserole covered in the oven or transfer everything to an ovenproof casserole dish at 200 celsius and cook for 3 hours.
4. Add the vegetables, tomato paste, garlic, thyme and bay leaf and return to the oven for at least another hour.
5. When you remove it from the oven there will be fat floating on the top, just remove it with a spoon and let the stew sit for a while. The meat should be easy to take off the bones and the sauce should be fairly thick.
6. If it is a little watery take 1 tablespoon of flour in a little water and add it. Mix it in well and place in the oven for another 15 minutes.

Lamb curry and potatoes recipes for all occasions

Radio and television personality Kriya Gangiah has shared her must-try recipes including this classic lamb curry recipe.

Lamb curry with potatoes. Picture: iStock

Ingredients:
1 kg lamb on the bone (cut into bite sized pieces)
2 large onions (finely sliced)
2 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
1 tomato (chopped into small cubes or grated)
1 sachet tomato paste
¼ cup cooking oil
3 – 4 medium-sized potatoes
1 tsp ginger/garlic paste
salt to taste
1 ½ to 2 teaspoons chilli powder (or more)
2 teaspoons curry powder (add more if you prefer a stronger/pungent curry)
1 teaspoon Cumin powder
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
2 green chillies (slit)
1 sprig curry leaves
¼ bunch chopped coriander (to garnish)

How to:
1. Braise onion in oil until golden brown.
2. Add ginger/garlic paste and stir. Then add washed and drained meat.
3. Add chilli powder, curry powder, cumin powder, turmeric powder, cinnamon sticks and bay leaves. Toss until meat is well coated.
4. Add salt and allow to ‘fry’ on a low heat for at least 10 minutes, tossing at intervals.
5. Add tomatoes and tomato paste and allow to cook until tomatoes are softened. Then add potatoes and a bit of water (1/2 cup or more) and allow to cook on medium to low heat until potatoes cooked.

Pizza and quiche all in one low carb recipe is a winner

Think pizza and quiche mashed together to make quizza! It doesn’t have all the carbs you might be worried about.

Pizza and quiche all in one: Picture: iStcok

Ingredients
4 (Free Range if you can) eggs
4 Tbsp cream cheese
A Grind of your favourite salt or herbed salt
1 tbsp coconut oil for frying
3 medium baby marrows roughly grated
2 tbsp tomato puree
3-4 slices of quality salami (or any meat or veggie topping you will enjoy on pizza – except ham off course)
Generous handful grated cheese (Mozzarella or white cheddar)

How to:

1. Preheat your oven on grill
2. In a mixing bowl, mix the eggs and cream cheese with a blending stick into a creamy consistency.
3. Grate the baby marrows. In a medium to large pan, on medium to high heat, melt the coconut oil and spread the baby marrows over the surface of the pan. Sprinkle with salt and allow to fry for a minute without stirring. Now add the cream cheese mix and allow the batter to form a crust and set on the sides of the pan only. (About 2 minutes)
4. Pop the pan into the oven under the grill. The quizza will get puffy and will brown between 3 to 4 minutes.
5. Take out of the oven and spread the tomato puree, add toppings and lastly, the cheese.
6. Pop into the oven for another 2 – 3 minutes.
7. Cut into your preferred portion sizes and well… the rest you can figure out right?

Butter it up with this roast chicken recipe

Roast chicken is always a favourite among many meals around the table. This buttery roast chicken, with lemon and garlic, is as good as any Sunday lunch or dinner.

Roast chiken. Picture: iStcok

Ingredients

30ml (2 tablespoons) olive oil
4-5 sweet potatoes, skin on, scrubbed and chopped
1 head of garlic, halved
1,5kg free range chicken
45ml (3 tablespoons) Kerrygold butter, softened
1 sprig rosemary, leaves picked and finely chopped plus one extra
8 sage leaves, finely chopped
2 stems thyme, leaves picked plus 1 stem, whole
sea salt flakes
freshly ground black pepper
1 lemon, halved or quartered, if large

How to:

1. Preheat the oven to 180 C.
2. Arrange the sweet potatoes and garlic on a greased roasting tray. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and season with salt and black pepper. Toss to coat.
3. In a small bowl, combine the Kerrygold butter, chopped rosemary, sage and picked thyme leaves. Spread the herbed butter over the entire chicken, then season well with salt and a good grinding of black pepper. Place half a lemon in the chicken cavity and tie with kitchen string.
4. Place the chicken, breast side down, in the roasting tin. Add the lemon wedges and the whole stems of rosemary and thyme. Roast for 30 minutes. Turn the chicken over and roast for a further 50-55 minutes or until the juices run clear. Baste several times during the cooking time. To ensure the skin is crispy, place under the grill for several minutes.

Quick easy crispy bacon noodles recipe

Add a little extra to your noodles or veggie noodles by making them a bit fancier and it won’t take you longer than 15 minutes.

This 15-minute veggie Noodles with crispy golden bacon from All4Women  is for those times you might be tight for time and need to make something quick.

Crispy bacon noodles. Picture: iStock

 Ingredients

125g veggie noodles
75g bacon bits
1/4 onion – peel & chop finely
1/8 tsp nutmeg
75ml cream
40g mature cheddar
20g rocket
olive oil
salt & pepper
paper towels

How to:

1. Boil the kettle.
2. Place a pot on medium-high heat and pour in the boiling water. Add the veggie noodles and cook for 1-2 minutes until cooked but with a slight bite. Drain in a colander and drizzle with a little olive oil to keep the noodles from sticking together.
3. Bacon bits: Place a pan on medium-high heat with a drizzle of olive oil. When hot, add the bacon and fry for about 9 minutes until brown and crispy. Remove and drain on paper towels.
4. Cheese sauce: Place a pan on medium-high heat with a drizzle of olive oil. When hot, add the onion with a little salt and sauté for 5 minutes until golden brown. Mix in the nutmeg and cook for 1 minute, then pour in the cream and cook stirring for 2 minutes. Remove from the heat, add 2/3 of the mature cheddar and stir until the cream and cheese are well combined. It should be a gooey consistency. Season to taste, then add the noodles, mix through and cover to keep warm.
5. Serve the cheesy noodles topped with the bacon bits and the rest of the mature cheddar. Dress the rocket with a drizzle of olive oil, season with salt and pepper, and serve on the side.