I've mentioned before on this blog that I cook the majority of our family meals from scratch, and on most nights of the week. We rarely eat out, and only have takeaways very occasionally, and if we do it's only usually from the local chippy.
We also have very little food waste in this house, which I put down to meal planning (albeit a bit haphazardly at the moment), cooking from scratch, and always using up any leftovers by making them into another meal, freezing them, or eating for lunch the following day.
I also encourage our family to eat our evening meals together as much as possible. It's not always easy with two teenagers though, especially at this time of the year when they're out with their friends for the majority of the evening, so it's often only three of us at the dinner table. At least 3 or 4 times a week we do all manage to sit down together though, and some of our favourite meals involve a large panful of food in the centre of the table with breads, salads and vegetables on the side for everyone to help themselves to.
This article about the benefits of family meals is a very interesting read, and should encourage all families to try and eat together as much as possible.
This Paprika Chicken dish is one of the many dishes that I enjoy cooking, as I know everyone will enjoy it, and it takes a minimal amount of effort to make. As the majority of the ingredients used are from Iceland's cook from frozen range it means that you can always have a supply of ingredients in the freezer ready to whip up a meal at any time, without the worry that anything is going to go off.
The dish could be served with salad and bread or roast potatoes and steamed vegetables, but I chose to serve it with a large pot of ratatouille (which is always delicious the following day on a jacket potato or pasta), bread rolls (who knew you could buy frozen ready baked bread rolls), and Iceland steamed rice.
Ratatouille is also a great way to use up vegetables from the bottom of the fridge, such as onions, peppers, mushrooms, aubergines, courgettes and tomatoes, as well as carrots, leeks, butternut squash and cabbage. Just like a 'fridge bottom' soup or curry, almost any veg can go into a ratatouille, but using the Iceland Mediterranean Vegetables as a base gives it a great flavour, as well as saving valuable time by not having any chopping to do.
Paprika Chicken with Chorizo & Olives by Helen Jessup on Scribd
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