3 Fresh dinner ideas using basic ingredients

Sick of serving up the same meals week-in, week-out? From lentils and beef to brown rice and potatoes, these fresh, tasty recipes will liven up your next family dinner with extra vitamins and nutrients.

Sausage and lentil stew

A new twist on the basic old sausage and potatoes, this lentil-based dish is chock full of nutrients — and it’s so rich and flavourful, your family will rave about it. It’s sure to become a signature dish!

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 1.5 kilograms of potatoes, chopped
• 400 grams of can diced tomatoes
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, diced
• 2 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon of olive oil
• 450 grams of Polish sausage, sliced
• 400 grams of lentils
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a frypan set at a medium-high heat, fry the sliced sausage in olive oil until edges are lightly crispy.
2. Heat a large pot over a medium heat and wait for the water to boil.
3. Place the tin of tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic into the pot. Add the fried sausages and cook with a lid on the pot for 15 minutes.
4. Stir lentils into the pot. Add more water if necessary to ensure that all of the ingredients are covered. Season with salt and pepper.
5. Bring the pot to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium-low, and continue cooking for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally, until lentils are tender.

Jamaican beans and rice

A tasty dish as a side or delicious on its own, this creamy dish is made with coconut milk and tangy chilli pepper. The recipe calls for only one chilli, so it shouldn’t be too hot for your little ones, but taste as you go to ensure the meal isn’t too spicy for your kids.

Serves 4–6 sides, 2–3 main

Ingredients:

• 200 grams of dry kidney beans
• 250 millilitres of coconut milk
• 400 grams of brown rice
• 1 sprig of fresh thyme, finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, minced
• 1 eschallot, chopped
• 1 hot red chilli pepper, sliced

Directions:

1. Combine beans and coconut milk in a large saucepan and cook over a low heat for two hours.
2. Stir in thyme, garlic, eschallots and chilli pepper and simmer for 6–8 minutes.
3. Stir in the brown rice and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce the heat to low-medium, cover the pot and simmer for 25–30 minutes, or until all liquid is absorbed and the rice is tender.
5. Serve on its own with a dollop of sour cream, or on the side of a grilled chicken breast for a healthy and delicious main meal.

Poor man’s shepherds pie

Shepherds pie is an easy and flavourful dish that is sure to appeal to everyone in the family! Soy and Worcestershire sauces add richness to the brown rice and ground beef in this nutrition-packed dish.

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 150 grams of brown rice
• 300 millilitres of water
• 450 grams of mince
• 1 can of condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 2 eschallots, chopped
• 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce
• 1 teaspoon of soy sauce
• Pinch of ground black pepper

Directions:

1. In a medium saucepan, bring water to the boil and add brown rice.
2. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 45 minutes.
3. While the rice is simmering, in a medium frypan over a high heat, brown the ground beef. Transition to a paper towel to drain the fat, then put back into the frypan.
4. Stir in the mushroom soup, chopped eschallots, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce and pepper into the frypan with the beef.
5. Simmer on medium-low heat for 10 minutes until the flavours have infused with the beef. Serve over rice.

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