Easy Meals for Time Poor People

Scrambled Eggs the easy way

6 large eggs
About 1/4 a cup of cream
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 a dessertspoon of margarine / butter

Put the eggs, cream, salt and pepper into a bowl - no need to whisk

Put the margarine / butter into a non stick frypan and heat until melted

Add the egg mixture and stir gently, breaking the eggs apart

and mixing everything together while heating

Serve when scrambled to the desired consistency

Shepherd's Pie

My own recipe for a tried and true classic!

MEAT MIX:
1/2 kg premium mince
Approximately 2 tablespoons each of tomato, worcestershire and soy sauces

(change this around if you like according to your own taste)
1/2 cup beef stock
Good shake of Italian Herbs and Granulated Garlic

Put all ingredients into a saucepan, mix well and cook uncovered, stirring over a medium heat

until mince is thoroughly cooked

Drain as much liquid as possible and put the mince mixture into a casserole dish

TOPPING:
3 good sized tomatoes, sliced (these will go on top of the mince mix so you'll have to judge the thickness of the slices in relation to the size of the tomatoes and the casserole dish)

3 decent sized potatoes, peeled and chopped into small chunks then boiled and mashed as desired with milk, butter / margarine, salt and pepper to taste

Make sure the mash is thick and not runny

**You can also use a mixture of potato and/or sweet potato and/or pumpkin**

And the final ingredient - grated cheese (packet stuff is the easiest because you can use as much or as little as you like and then freeze the rest)

OK, so now put the sliced tomatoes on top of the mince mix in the casserole dish

then top with the mashed potato and smooth that over the tomatoes

Top the potato with grated cheese to your taste

Cook in a moderate oven for approximately 35 minutes - make sure the cheese on top is nicely melted

**Easiest served with a slotted spoon to drain any excess liquid**

Silverside in the Crockpot

This is the easiest and yummiest way to do silverside!

Just pop it in the crockpot, turn it on in the morning before you leave the house

and when you get home it's ready

Serve with mashed potato and vegetables of your choice, along with a cheese sauce

(I cheat and use a packet sauce)

NOTE: The length of cooking time depends on the size of the piece of silverside

The bigger the piece, the longer the time

As a general rule, if the silverside is between 1 - 1.2kg I cook it for 10 hours

1.3 - 1.5kg 11 hours, and 1.6 - 2.0kg 12 hours

1 x 1.3kg piece of corned beef silverside

1 cup of water

1/2 a cup of brown vinegar

1/2 a cup of worcestershire sauce

Put the silverside in the crockpot and add all the liquid ingredients

Cover and turn on low

Leave for 11 hours

Remove from crockpot and place on a draining plate, then slice

Spinach & Cheese Slice

1 x 250 gram packet of frozen spinach, defrosted with all moisture squeezed out

1 brown onion, peeled and finely diced

250 grams of feta cheese, crumbled

125 grams of grated tasty cheese

Pepper to taste

5 eggs, beaten

6 sheets of packaged filo pastry

2 tablespoons of margarine / butter

1 x rectangular baking dish measuring approximately 23cm x 28cm

(a lamington tray would be ideal) - greased (olive oil spray is good)

Combine spinach and onion in a bowl and stand for one hour

then drain off any excess liquid

Add feta and grated cheeses, mix well

Melt the margarine / butter in the microwave or on the stove

As you use each sheet of filo pastry, gently fold it to form a rough rectangle

so it fits the baking tray you're using

If you're going to get the pastry ready first, fold each sheet,

cover with greaseproof or baking paper then a damp cloth and stand until required

Place a piece of folded pastry into your greased baking dish

then brush with melted margarine / butter

Repeat this process with two more sheets of folded pastry,

brushing melted margarine / butter between each sheet

Press the spinach and cheese mixture firmly onto the pastry, spreading out evenly

Pour the beaten eggs evenly across the spinach and cheese mixture

Cover with the remaining three sheets of folded pastry,

brushing between each layer with melted margarine / butter

Brush the top with melted margarine / butter

Cut the slice into desired sized portions

Bake in a moderate oven for approximately 45 minutes or until the top is light golden brown

Sweet Potato & Chickpea Patties

Nice served on their own with a light green salad

or to accompany a roast meal instead of traditional roast veges

500 grams of peeled sweet potato, chopped into chunks

1 x 400 gram can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 brown onion, peeled and finely diced

1/2 a cup of coarsely chopped fresh coriander

2 tablespoons of finely grated parmesan cheese

2 tablespoons of plain flour

Extra grated parmesan cheese to coat

Olive oil spray

Baking tray lined with baking paper

Cook the sweet potato in a saucepan of boiling water until tender (about 12 minutes)

Drain, mash until smooth and put in the fridge in a bowl for about 30 minutes

Meanwhile, mash the chickpeas in a bowl

Mix the chickpeas, onion, coriander, parmesan and flour with the cooled sweet potato

Season with pepper and divide into 8 - 10 patties

Coat the patties in the extra grated parmesan and place on the lined baking tray

Spray with the olive oil spray

Bake in a moderate oven, turning once, for about 30 minutes until golden