Dial 999 and ask for nikkisly! (Emergency Dinners)

Member Name: nikkisly

Product:	Emergency Dinners
Date:	20/11/01 (57 review reads)
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Tuesday nights in summer are golf night for Mr nikkisly. They are also my night off from the cooking as, since I never know what time he'll be home after a gruelling 18 holes, he usually calls at the chip shop on his way home for an instant meal for two. Unfortunately, he often tarries too long at the 19th hole (the clubhouse to the uninitiated) and the chip shop is long since closed. Hence it's just as frequently my night for cooking an emergency meal.

Will a sandwich do? Will it heck! After a full day at work, followed by 18 holes of golf, he demands a man sized meal in a hurry.Never mind the fact that I've been looking forward to cheeseburger and chips all night - he wants feeding and feeding now!
The following all use ingredients from the store cupboard or freezer and can be made in a matter of minutes - the quantities given serve two.

Fire Brigade Chilli.

Small pack of lean mince beef
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can tomatoes, chopped.
1 red chilli (from the freezer) finely chopped
1 can red kidney beans, drained
1 dollop of tomato puree
1 red Oxo cube
Tabasco sauce to taste
Cornflour to thicken
1 square of good quality dark chocolate (optional)

Fry the minced beef with the chopped onion, chilli and garlic until the meat is evenly browned. Add a tablespoon of cornflour and stir well. Add the chopped can of tomatoes, tomato puree and crumbled Oxo cube (and a little water if necessary) and cook on a low heat, stirring frequently, until the onion has softened.

Season gradually with Tabsaco to taste. Just before serving, drain and add the red kidney beans and the square of dark chocolate, stirring well to heat through. Serve with plain boiled rice.

Vegetarians can substitute boiled red lentils for the minced beef and flavour with a teaspoon of Vegimite rather than the Oxo cube.

Pasta.

All the following recipes have
as their base dried pasta and "oiled bunion" (as it's called in the Sly household). I use penne tricolor and a medium sized onion, finely chopped, boiling the two together in lightly salted water until the pasta is cooked. While it's cooking,I make up one of the following pasta sauces:

1. Cheddar, ham and mustard:

Melt about a tablespoon of margarine (must be suitable for cooking) in a saucepan, then stir in a tablespoon of cornflour, mixing well. Blend with milk, stirring continuously and bring to a gentle boil until the sauce thickens. Then add two teaspoons of grain mustard, about 3 ozs Cheddar cheese and some diced, cooked ham. Continue to stir until the cheese has melted.

2. Spicy Tomato.

Mash a tin of tomatoes in a saucepan using a potato masher. Add a tablespoon of cornflour, a crumbled vegetable Oxo cube and Tabasco sauce to taste. Sir well and boil gently, gradually adding water to achieve a thick sauce.

3. Tomato and Red Wine.

Mash a tin of tomatoes in a saucepan, add two cloves of crushed garlic, a crumbled vegetable Oxo cube a tablespoon of cornflour and some chopped basil, preferably fresh although dried will do. Add a glass of any red wine and boil gently until the sauce has thickened, adding water if necessary.

Drain the cooked pasta and onion and add to the sauce, stirring well to evenly coat the pasta. Serve with chunks of French bread.

"Tiddies and Beans"

3 Baking potatoes
1 medium onion, chopped
1 large can of baked beans
3 ozs cheddar cheese, grated
2 eggs
Salt, pepper, a knob of butter and a little milk.

Peel the potatoes, cut into small pieces and boil until cooked, with the chopped onion. Drain and mash with the butter, grated cheese and a little milk if necessary, seasoning with salt and pepper. In an ovenproof casserole, make up layers of baked beans, and potato mix, ending with potato. Using the back o
f a spoon, make two depressions in the top layer of the potato mix and crack an egg into each one. Top each egg gently with a small knob of butter and bake in a hot oven until the eggs are cooked.

Quick Curry.

Two frozen chicken breasts or about 6 ozs of frozen cooked prawns.
1 medium onion, chopped
1 tin tomatoes, chopped
Little oil.
1 red chilli, finely chopped
Curry paste/powder to taste
2 cloves garlic crushed
1 Chicken Oxo Cube
1 small tin of pineapple pieces in juice
2 ozs creamed coconut.

Chop the chicken breasts (no need to thaw providing they are cooked thoroughly) into 1" chunks. Place the oil, chopped chilli, garlic and curry powder or paste in a saucepan and fry gently for about a minute, stirring well to release the flavours of the spices. Add the chicken and chopped onion, tin of tomatoes, crumbled Oxo cube and the juice from the pineapple and cook over a gentle heat until the chicken is thoroughly cooked. Just before serving, add the pineapple pieces and the creamed coconut, stirring well until the coconut disperses. (If using prawns rather than chicken, add these at the same time and make sure they are heated through.) You may need to thicken the sauce slightly - if so, use cornflour mixed to a paste with cold water. Serve with plain boiled rice.


After serving any of these meals, simmer for the rest of evening in protest at having to cook an unexpected meal so late at night. Stew gently, gradually coming to a slow boil until an apology is forthcoming. Extract a promise of a pub meal on the weekend in compensation. Then rest on a bed of warm sheets until all resentment has dissipated.

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