Suggest a meal please

Fiolina

Hi all. Just looking for a bit of help here. My daughter (13) is in 1st year and as part of her Home Economics summer exam they have to make a meal from scratch. It has to be ethnic and contain examples of carbs, protein, fats etc. They have 80 minutes to make it. She was going to do a Salad Nicoise but the teacher said it has to be something cooked. Now she's talking of doing a spag bol but most of the class seem to be doing that. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

ElleEm

Fiolina wrote: »

Hi all. Just looking for a bit of help here. My daughter (13) is in 1st year and as part of her Home Economics summer exam they have to make a meal from scratch. It has to be ethnic and contain examples of carbs, protein, fats etc. They have 80 minutes to make it. She was going to do a Salad Nicoise but the teacher said it has to be something cooked. Now she's talking of doing a spag bol but most of the class seem to be doing that. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

What are her favourite meals? Then you could try put an easy version together, like a wholemeal pizza or something.

Minder

What has she made before? For example can she make a roux to thicken a sauce? Also is there a budget for the meal? Does she like spicy food? Cook a risotto, curry & rice or chilli? Are there any ingredients that are not allowed? like wine or beer?

dee_mc

She could do chicken curry, rice and raita; fajitas, salsa and guacamole; pizza and salad; macaroni cheese and salad.
Whatever accompaniment she chooses alongside the main dish should take a bit of prep time so that she's not idle while the main dish is cooking. She probably has to do a timeplan too - factor in a few minutes here and there for washing up as she goes along, big brownie points!

Tom Dunne

Stir-fry?

Chicken, peppers, onions, garlic, ginger, oyster sauce and rice.

Put the rice on to boil. Fry chicken until coloured, add in ginger and garlic. After a few minutes, add peppers. Give it 10-15 mins, or until peppers are softened and add oyster sauce, simmer for 3-4 mins, serve with rice.

(I would add a but more, but that's the basic recipe. Chillis might be a bit much for a 13-year old palate, especially the amount I put in )

Fiolina

Thanks for replies. I'd imagine they wouldn't be allowed to use alcohol. She loves spicy foods but I'm afraid I'd be more of a curry sauce from a jar person. I don't think there's a budget but I want to keep it as cheap as possible. The wholemeal pizza is a great idea but would it be hard to make the base? (sorry, I'm clueless).

dee_mc

Fiolina wrote: »

Thanks for replies. I'd imagine they wouldn't be allowed to use alcohol. She loves spicy foods but I'm afraid I'd be more of a curry sauce from a jar person. I don't think there's a budget but I want to keep it as cheap as possible. The wholemeal pizza is a great idea but would it be hard to make the base? (sorry, I'm clueless).

In that timeframe she'd probably be making a scone mixture for the base, so very easy and almost definitely something she's done before.

My favoirite chicken curry recipe is as follows - feeds 4.
4 fillets diced. Marinade in 1/4 jar patak korma sauce while preparing rest of ingredients.
1 onion, diced
1 clove of garlic, crushed and chopped
1 red pepper deseeded, sliced and chopped
2 rings pineapple cut into chunks
handful sultanas
can coconut milk
dessertspoon ground almonds

Fry off chicken, onion, garlic and pepper. Add rest of ingredients. Bring to boil and simmer for up to 45 mins.

Boil brown rice in salted water. Serve.

It is very doable for young people!

fussyonion

I remember doing chilli con carne for my Home Ec exam in school.
It was brilliant because it incorporated lean meat, pulses ("beans"), vegetables and carbs ("rice") and spices.

I think I only used minced beef, kidney beans, onions, green peppers, chilli powder, tomato puree or tinned tomatoes, a bit of stock, and served it with rice.

It was a good dish because it was easy to make yet filling and tasty and the teachers were all very impressed with me.
My mother did get fed up eating it every day though!

The Hill Billy

Have a look at the many, many recipes in The Cooking Club. A lot of these will suit the requirements & include pics, & tried & tested feedback.
Best of luck to your daughter.

Edit: Tip - for the carbs try cous cous. Pour boiling water over it & 5 mins later it is done. No worries about overdone pasta or claggy rice.

CaliforniaDream

The Hill Billy wrote: »

Have a look at the many, many recipes in The Cooking Club. A lot of these will suit the requirements & include pics, & tried & tested feedback.
Best of luck to your daughter.

Edit: Tip - for the carbs try cous cous. Pour boiling water over it & 5 mins later it is done. No worries about overdone pasta or claggy rice.

I was going to suggest the cooking club too. Loads of recipes and a great variety. She could do something really different but not complicated. Plenty of desserts and starter ideas too.

Mrs Fox

fussyonion wrote: »

I remember doing chilli con carne for my Home Ec exam in school.
It was brilliant because it incorporated lean meat, pulses ("beans"), vegetables and carbs ("rice") and spices.

I think I only used minced beef, kidney beans, onions, green peppers, chilli powder, tomato puree or tinned tomatoes, a bit of stock, and served it with rice.

It was a good dish because it was easy to make yet filling and tasty and the teachers were all very impressed with me.
My mother did get fed up eating it every day though!

I second chilli con carne.
This is a crazy easy recipe that I go by when I dunno what else to do with mince. But instead of rice, they're served with baked sweet potatoes.

Easy Chilli con Carne with baked sweet potatoes
Serves 4

4 sweet potatoes
2 tbsp oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 red/green chilli, deseeded and chopped
1lb minced beef
1 tbsp cajun seasoning
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can kidney beans, drained
Small tub of sour cream

Preheat oven at 200c. Prick the potatoes and bake for 45 min until soft.
In the meantime, heat oil in large pan, cook onion and chilli for 3-4 min.
Add minced beef and seasoning and cook for 5 min, stirring often.
Add tomatoes and kidney beans, bring to boil, partially cover and gently simmer for 30 min.
Season chilli with salt & pepper.
Cut the sweet potatoes open, spoon in some chilli and topped with a dallop of sour cream.

Fiolina

Thanks very much for all the replies. That chili sounds fab (I'm drooling here). I'll get her to have a look at the other recipes here later but that sounds fool proof enough and I love the sweet potato idea.

Jezek

I think a quick chilli con carne is a bit hard to pull off- time is needed for a great one when I make it! I agree with cous cous as the carb, she could make something like jeweled cous cous, really exotic to an irish palate, maybe with persian inspired lamb kebabs?

For the cous cous she would need only different dried fruit, nuts, some herbs and spices, and stock.

for the kebabs I do lamb mince with a lot of frech corriander chopped tiny like, some garlic and onion blended to a paste, a lot of cumin, tiny bit of cinammon, salt. Shaped on a skewer. this can sit for a while , and get cooked on a skillet or under the grill in a few minuts.

This is an easy enough dish even if it seems complicated.

Fiolina

We've just done a trial run of the chilli with wholegrain rice. Tastes great. Tomorrow's the big day in school so hopefully she'll pull it off. Thanks for all the help everyone. I'll let you know how she gets on

The Hill Billy

The very best of luck to your daughter. Be sure to let us know how it goes.

tHB

Fiolina

Hi all. My daughter had her Home Ec practical today and said the chilli turned out really well. The teacher said it tasted nice but she gave out to her for throwing away half a tin of kidney beans. She hasn't graded it yet.
Posting this here has made me see how bloody lazy I've got with cooking from scratch and I'm determined not to pass it on to my daughter. So thank you all. I'll be tuning in here a lot from now on

The Hill Billy

A result for you & your daughter! Happy Days!!