'@annasfamilykitchen one pot wonders!

This week Anna @annasfamilykitchen shares delicious recipes using leftovers from the fridge and store cupboard. Lots of delicious and wholesome family meals from Spanish Chicken to Shakshuka and all made in one-pot!

Spanish Chicken, Chorizo & Chickpea One Pot

This 30 minute one pan meal can be tweaked so easily depending on taste and what you have to hand. I’ve used sweet potatoes but squash would also work. The chicken could be switched for prawns. You could even make a vegetarian version omitting the chicken and chorizo adding an extra tsp of smoked paprika and some beans.

INGREDIENTS for 4:-

300g cooking chorizo sliced
600g thighs or breasts cut into strips
1 large red onion sliced
1 red pepper sliced
200g sweet potatoes peeled and cubed
2 garlic cloves crushed
400g chopped tomatoes
400g chickpeas
1 tbsp Smoked Paprika
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
200g spinach
Fresh thyme

Add the chorizo to a hot pan and colour on both sides. You shouldn’t need oil as it releases plenty of its own.

Lift out the chorizo and drain off excess oil. You need about 2 tbsp worth of oil left in the pan.

Add the chicken, onions, red pepper and garlic to the pan and colour for a minute.

Add the sweet potatoes, 1 tsp sea salt, some pepper, the smoked paprika then add the chopped tomatoes, chickpeas and balsamic.

Stir and simmer for 20 minutes adding a splash of water if the dish starts to look dry.

Stir through the spinach and finish with fresh thyme or oregano.

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Sausage & Vegetable Tray Bake

So, what inspired this dish? A pack of sausages, a crazy busy day, a message from a friend asking what could be made using Butter beans…. and all the veg I could lay my hands on in the veg drawer of my fridge! Sometimes the simplest dinners are the best. You could switch the butterbeans for any type of canned bean you have in your cupboard, or chickpeas… or lentils. You can switch the courgettes for aubergine, sweet potatoes or squash. You could use chopped tomatoes in place of the fresh. This traybake really is your flexible friend. All the ingredients thrown into a roasting tin with just a finishing touch of a herb, it is ready in 30 minutes and used just one tray.

INGREDIENTS for 4:-

8-12 sausages
400g Butter Beans drained
2 red onions cut into wedges
300g tomatoes halved or quartered
2 courgettes trimmed and sliced
50g olives
1 tbsp capers
2 tbsp balsamic
Fresh basil to finish

Colour the sausages in a casserole or roasting tin for 10 minutes.

Add the onions for 5 minutes and then all the remaining ingredients except the basil. Give the pan/tray a toss.

Roast for 15 minutes stirring half-way through the cooking time.

Throw over plenty of basil and serve either on its own or with crusty bread.

Shakshuka

This is probably one of my all-time favourite brunches but it’s also great as a quick lunch or dinner. So simple in concept, Shakshuka is a tomato based sauce, flavoured with Moroccan spices, to which eggs are added and poached in the sauce. You could throw in chopped aubergines, peppers or courgettes. Just throw in whatever is lurking and needs using up from your fridge drawers. Finish with cheese – I used feta but mozzarella is also a great topper and arguably more family friendly. Leftovers make a great pasta sauce so it’s probably worth making extra.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀

INGREDIENTS for 6:

2 red onions chopped⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
3 garlic cloves crushed⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
1 red pepper⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
3 tsp Ras El Hanout⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
2 cans chopped tomatoes
400g can of chickpeas drained
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
100g spinach⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
4 eggs
50g feta cheese
Fresh coriander or parsley to serve

Colour the onions for 5 minutes, add the peppers and garlic and colour for another 5 minutes.

Add the balsamic vinegar and then the Ras El Hanout. Give the pan a stir then add the chickpeas and tomatoes.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Simmer for 15 minutes or longer if you want a richer sauce.⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
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Add the spinach. Give the pan a quick stir then make 4 wells in the sauce. Crack an egg into each.

Sprinkle over the feta or mozzarella and put under a grill or in a hot oven for 5 minutes. Alternatively, just pop a lid on the pan for 7-8 minutes.
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Serve with crusty bread.
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Chicken & Mushroom Stroganoff

Quick, simple, hearty & family friendly, with the addition of pasta this is a great one pan midweek meal. I added fresh pappardelle but you could cook any type of dried pasta and throw that in.

For the mushroom haters out there (I know there are a few!!) you can leave them out. Broccoli, spinach or frozen peas would also be a welcome addition.

INGREDIENTS for 4:-

3-4 chicken breasts cut into strips
1 tsp paprika
1 onion chopped
3 garlic cloves crushed
150g halved chestnut mushrooms
1 tbsp flour
100ml white wine
250ml chicken stock
300g fresh pasta or the equivalent of dried, cooked pasta
4 tbsp soured cream, double cream or natural Greek Yogurt

Heat a tbsp of oil and add the chicken together with 1/2 tsp salt and a good few grinds of pepper. Add the paprika and colour for 5 minutes then using tongs remove and set aside.

Add the onion and garlic and colour for a couple of minutes before adding the flour and mushrooms. Cook for 2 minutes then add the wine. Let it bubble then add the stock and return the chicken to the pan.

Add the pasta. Give everything in the pan a toss. Let the dish bubble for a couple of minutes adding more a splash of water if needed.

Stir through the soured cream and finish with parsley.

Hidden Vegetable Pasta Sauce

We all know the benefits of including more vegetables into our diets but with vegetable adverse children or fussy eaters it can be a challenge. Here’s a great recipe to get your family on the way to their 5 (or is it now 7?!) a day.

You can play with the mix of vegetables. Frozen spinach, red pepper & aubergine all work well. I’ve made this into a sausage pasta but you could add sliced chicken, prawns or keep it vegetarian.

And sometimes simply mixing up the pasta type or shape breathes new life into family meals. I went with Trofie which is made from durum wheat semolina.

INGREDIENTS for 4:-

1 red onion chopped
1 carrot chopped
1 courgette diced
1 leek sliced
2 cloves garlic
2 cans chopped tomatoes
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
Salt and black pepper

12 good quality sausages each cut into 4-5 chunks.
320g dried pasta

If adding sausages, colour them in a pan in a small amount of oil for 10 minutes. Set aside. If you’re not catering for a vegetarian, you can use the same pan for the sauce.

Add a tbsp oil, the onion & carrot to the pan & soften for a few minutes. Add all the other veg. Colour for a few minutes then add the oregano, 1/2 tsp salt & some black pepper.

Add the chopped tomatoes and oregano. Simmer until your pasta is cooked.

Cook your pasta according to packet instructions and drain.

Blitz the pasta sauce using a hand blender and return the sausages to the pan.

Stir through the pasta and finish with grated Parmesan & fresh herbs if you like.