🍄 Creamy Mushroom Chicken
🍗 Gravy Baked Drumsticks
🍯 Honey Garlic Chicken
🌿 Lentil Curry
🥣 Lentil Soup
🫛 Dal (Indian)
🧆 Afghan Chickpea Curry
🥦 Roasted Cauliflower
🍗 Chicken Dishes
Your 1.4kg breast + drumsticks doing the heavy lifting for the week
Creamy Mushroom Chicken Breast
Meal Prep
Ingredients
Amount Item 2 large Chicken breasts, halved horizontally (makes 4 thin steaks) 200g Sliced mushrooms (you have these!) 1 Brown onion, diced 3 cloves Garlic, minced ½ cup White wine OR chicken stock 1 cup Thickened cream ¼ cup Parmesan, grated 2 tbsp Plain flour (for dusting) 15g Butter To taste Salt & pepper
Instructions
# Step 1 Cut each breast in half horizontally to get 4 thin steaks. Season with salt & pepper, dust with flour on both sides. 2 Melt butter in a large frypan on medium-high. Cook chicken 2.5 mins per side until golden. Remove & set aside. 3 In same pan, sauté onion 2 mins, add garlic 1 min, then add mushrooms until golden (~3 mins). 4 Add wine or stock, scrape up all the brown bits from the pan. Let it reduce by half. 5 Add cream and parmesan. Simmer 2 mins until slightly thickened. 6 Return chicken to pan, cook 2 mins in sauce. Serve over jasmine rice.
💡 Tip: Meal preps 3–4 days in fridge. Keeps the sauce from drying out.
Gravy Baked Drumsticks
5 Min Prep
Ingredients
Amount Item 1.1kg Chicken drumsticks (you have these!) 1 Brown onion, sliced 1.5 cups Chicken stock 2 tbsp Plain flour 2 tbsp Butter, melted 1 tsp Garlic powder 1 tsp Onion powder ½ tsp Paprika To taste Salt & pepper
Instructions
# Step 1 Preheat oven to 200°C (180°C fan). 2 Mix flour and all spices in a large bowl. Toss drumsticks in butter, then in the flour spice mix to coat. 3 Scatter sliced onion in a baking dish. Pour stock over the onion. 4 Place coated drumsticks on top of onion in a single layer. 5 Bake uncovered 50–55 mins until golden and cooked through. The stock + flour drippings become gravy underneath. 6 Serve with rice and spoon gravy from the pan over everything.
💡 Tip: Want more gravy? Add an extra ½ cup of stock. The more the better honestly.
Honey Garlic Chicken
12 Min
Ingredients
Amount Item 500g Chicken breast, halved horizontally 3 cloves Garlic, minced 3 tbsp Honey 2 tbsp Soy sauce 1 tbsp Apple cider vinegar (or white vinegar) 15g Butter 2 tbsp Plain flour (for dusting) 1 tbsp Oil
Instructions
# Step 1 Mix honey, soy sauce, vinegar and garlic together in a small bowl. Set aside. 2 Dust chicken with flour on both sides. Season with salt & pepper. 3 Heat oil in pan over medium-high. Cook chicken 2.5 mins each side until golden. Remove. 4 Reduce heat to medium. Add butter and sauce mix. Let bubble 1 min until thickened. 5 Return chicken, coat in sauce, cook 1 more min. Done. Serve over rice.
💡 Tip: Works great with drumsticks too — just bake them first at 200°C for 40 mins then pour sauce over and bake 10 more mins.
🌿 Lentils & Beans
Cheap, filling, and absolutely filthy good when done right
Coconut Lentil Curry
Vegan
Meal Prep
Ingredients
Amount Item 1.5 cups Dried red lentils, rinsed 1 Brown onion, diced 4 cloves Garlic, minced 1 tbsp Fresh ginger, grated 400ml Coconut cream (1 can) 400g Canned crushed tomatoes 1.5 cups Water 1.5 tbsp Curry powder 1 tsp Turmeric 1 tsp Cumin seeds (or ground cumin) 2 tbsp Oil or ghee To taste Salt + squeeze of lemon to finish
Instructions
# Step 1 Heat oil/ghee in a large pot on medium. Add cumin seeds, let sizzle 30 seconds until fragrant. 2 Add onion, cook 5 mins until soft and golden. Add garlic & ginger, cook 2 mins. 3 Add curry powder & turmeric. Stir and cook 1–2 mins to bloom the spices. 4 Add lentils, tomatoes, coconut cream and water. Stir well. 5 Bring to boil, reduce to a simmer. Cook 20–25 mins stirring occasionally until lentils are soft and sauce is thick. 6 Squeeze lemon over, taste for salt. Serve over rice with a dollop of yoghurt.
💡 Meat upgrade: Chuck in raw chicken thighs or drumsticks at Step 4. They cook in the curry liquid in 25–30 mins. Pull apart with forks. Insane.
Spiced Lentil Soup
Vegan
Freezes Great
Ingredients
Amount Item 1.5 cups Dried green or red lentils, rinsed 1 Brown onion, diced 2 Carrots, diced 2 stalks Celery, diced 4 cloves Garlic, minced 400g Canned crushed tomatoes 1.5L Vegetable or chicken stock 1.5 tsp Cumin 1 tsp Coriander (ground) ½ tsp Turmeric 2 Bay leaves 1 Lemon, juiced (finish)
Instructions
# Step 1 Heat oil in a large pot. Sauté onion, carrot, celery for 5 mins until soft. 2 Add garlic and all spices. Cook 2 mins, stirring, until fragrant. 3 Add lentils, tomatoes, stock and bay leaves. Bring to boil. 4 Reduce heat, simmer 25–30 mins until lentils are very soft. 5 Remove bay leaves. Use a stick blender to blitz about 1/3 of the soup for a creamier texture (optional). 6 Add lemon juice, taste for salt. Serve with crusty bread or your sourdough rye.
💡 Zucchini bonus: Dice your zucchini and throw it in at Step 3. Adds bulk, uses up your veg, basically free dinner extension.
Indian Dal (Lentil Curry)
Vegan
Ingredients
Amount Item 1.5 cups Chana dal or yellow split peas (Coles, international aisle) 1 Brown onion, finely diced 4 cloves Garlic, minced 1 tbsp Fresh ginger, grated 400g Canned crushed tomatoes 1 tsp Cumin seeds 1 tsp Turmeric 1 tsp Garam masala 1 tsp Coriander ground 2 tbsp Ghee (must use ghee here!) 3 cups Water Tadka (optional but don't skip) 2 tbsp Ghee or butter 1 tsp Cumin seeds 1 Dried red chilli
Instructions
# Step 1 Rinse dal until water runs clear. Optional: soak 1 hour. 2 Heat ghee in large pot. Add cumin seeds, sizzle 30 secs. Add onion, cook 8 mins until deep golden. 3 Add ginger & garlic, cook 2 mins. Add all ground spices, stir 1 min. 4 Add tomatoes, cook 3 mins. Add dal and water. 5 Bring to boil, simmer 40–50 mins (or 25 mins if soaked) until dal is completely soft and mushy. 6 Tadka: heat ghee in small pan until smoking. Add cumin seeds + chilli — let sizzle 20 secs. Pour directly over the dal. Stir through. Serve with rice.
💡 This is THE one. The tadka (spiced butter) at the end is what separates restaurant dal from sad home dal. Do not skip it.
Melting Afghan Chickpea Curry
Vegan
Freezes
Ingredients
Amount Item 2 cans Chickpeas (400g each), drained & rinsed ¼ cup Dried red lentils (thickens the sauce) ¼ tsp Baking soda — the magic trick 1 Brown onion, finely diced 4 cloves Garlic, minced 1 tbsp Ginger, grated 400g Canned crushed tomatoes 2 cups Water or stock 2 tbsp Ghee or oil 1.5 tsp Cumin 1 tsp Coriander 1 tsp Turmeric ½ tsp Cardamom ½ tsp Cinnamon
Instructions
# Step 1 Heat ghee in large pot. Sauté onion 8 mins until deep golden — don't rush this. 2 Add garlic & ginger, cook 2 mins. Add all spices, stir 1 min. 3 Add tomatoes, cook 3 mins until darkens slightly. 4 Add chickpeas, lentils, baking soda and water/stock. Stir well. 5 Bring to boil, then simmer 30–35 mins. Lentils will dissolve and thicken the sauce. Chickpeas become incredibly creamy. 6 Taste for salt, add lemon squeeze. Serve with rice or bread for dunking.
💡 The baking soda trick: ¼ tsp baking soda added to the chickpeas breaks down their structure and makes them meltingly soft inside. Trust the process.
🥦 Cauliflower
Stop boiling it into sadness. Roast it until the edges are almost burnt. That's the secret.
Spiced Roasted Cauliflower
Vegan
The base recipe — throw it in anything after
Ingredients
Amount Item 1 head Cauliflower, cut into florets 3 tbsp Olive oil 1 tsp Cumin 1 tsp Smoked paprika ½ tsp Turmeric ½ tsp Garlic powder ½ tsp Coriander ground To taste Salt & black pepper 1 Lemon, juiced (after roasting)
Instructions
# Step 1 Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan). High heat is non-negotiable. 2 Mix oil and all spices in a large bowl. Add cauliflower and toss until every floret is coated. 3 Spread on a baking tray in a SINGLE layer. Do not crowd them or they'll steam instead of roast. 4 Roast 25–30 mins, flipping once at 15 mins. You want the edges dark brown and slightly crispy. 5 Squeeze lemon over the top the second it comes out of the oven. Eat immediately or throw into curry/soup.
💡 How to use it: Throw finished roasted florets into your Lentil Curry, Dal, or Afghan Chickpea Curry in the last 5 mins. Or eat as a side with the chicken dishes. Also incredible cold on top of the lentil soup the next day.