Meatballs in Coconut Milk Gravy

Leading a busy life and cooking full meals from scratch every night isn't always easy, so I like to have a few staple items in my freezer to help me out on those days when I'm in a rush, or just feeling a little uninspired. Along with the usual sweetcorn and garden peas I like to have ready chopped onions, sliced mushrooms, peppers, cooked chicken strips and meatless meatballs or mince, which can be used to make bolognaise, chilli, curries and pasta dishes in minutes.

I also like to freeze my fresh herbs in a ziplock bag which makes it convenient to then add them to dishes - once the herbs are frozen they can be scrunched up in the bag, so no need for chopping.

A couple of weeks ago I made some meatballs and discovered that a very tasty 'Ikea-like' gravy could be made using a beef stock pot and a can of coconut milk. Making the meatballs from scratch takes a bit of time, but ready made meatballs from the freezer are really convenient, and these meatless meatballs from Asda are great for a vegetarian dish (substitute the beef stock pot for a tbsp Marmite).

Meatballs in Coconut Milk Gravy - serves 4

tbsp olive oil
1/3 bag of frozen chopped onions
1/3 bag of frozen sliced mushrooms
bag of frozen meatless meatballs
1 beef stock pot
1 can of coconut milk

• Heat the oil in a pan
• Add the onions and fry until softened
• Add the mushrooms and meatballs and fry for 5 minutes
• Stir in the stock pot and coconut milk
• Bring to the boil and simmer for approx 15 minutes until the gravy has thickened

This is great served with mashed potato (which can also come straight from the freezer) and peas

I’m working with BritMums and Coolcookery.co.uk highlighting the versatility, economy and nutritional benefits of cooking with frozen food. All opinions are my own. For recipes and ideas visit http://bit.ly/coolcookery