Easy meals for kitchen-phobic boyfriend

Hi all!

I'm working on putting together recipes for my SO that are quick, easy and require little prep/washing up. He is at a total loss in the kitchen, and gets worked up if he is following a recipe and has an ingredient missing. He isn't too confident on being able to substitute,or what to use where, so I've tried to go with fool-proof ideas and variations so essentially he can make different tasting dishes with the same base ingredients/methods. (wish me luck!), and uses ingredients we typically have at home. Nothing too fancy!

With a little more confidence & flair, they can be quite the fancy looking dish too.

He is already doing well on some of these, so I thought I would share occasionally in case anyone else finds them useful, and if anyone should have some of their own to share, please do!

Remember to have fun experimenting, and you don't always have to stick to a recipe. Add in whatever makes YOU happy :)

"1 pot Paella style rice:" -1 cup rice (or pasta of your choice)

-1 tblspoon olive oil for frying

• 1 can whole/chopped tomato

-1 onion, chopped

• 3 cloves of garlic (or more to taste),chopped

• 2 or 3 veggies (whatever you have lying around),chopped

-1 cup of meat,chopped (again, whatever you have – chicken breasts/steak/mince)

Seasoning (optional):

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce 1 tablespoon curry powder 1 teaspoon chilli flakes Salt & pepper to taste

1. Make sure everything is chopped to roughly the same size
2. Brown the meat off in a pan with olive oil, add the rest of the veg and let fry for about 5 minutes.
3. Mix in the rice or pasta
4. Add the chopped tomato and seasoning,this should cover the other contents otherwise add some water (or beer)
5. Bring to the boil, then cover, reduce heat and let simmer until rice is cooked, stirring quite frequently.

Variations: - Different meat/veg

• Whatever spices meet your fancy

• Use beef/chicken stock instead of canned tomato

• Add more liquid during cooking if you want it more wet, less if you prefer it drier

• Serve with grated cheese / parsley/ chopped chilli/ plain yoghurt spooned on top

“Easy chicken & mushroom pasta sauce”

• 3-4 chicken fillets, cubed
• 1 onion
• 3-4 garlic cloves (we really like garlic)
• ½ pack of powdered (or canned) mushroom soup –if using canned ignore the milk and water
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup water
• 1/2 pack of pasta (screws, elbows,butterflies – anything big works well)

1. Fry the chicken until it starts turning white, add garlic and onion and fry until onion is translucent.
2. Mix half the powdered mushroom soup with milk and water – no lumps (or use whole can of soup)
3. Add to the chicken, reduce heat and let simmer til chicken is cooked (nopink!) andsauce is nice and thick. Stir often to prevent sticking (add water if needed)
4. Put pasta water on and cook pasta after sauce is done

Variations:

-add real mushroom when you add the onion

• sprinkle with fresh black pepper and parsley

• Use chicken thighs or whole fillets instead and serve with rice

EDIT:formatting, because I can't type Reddit

bon appetit