What’s YOUR "Go-To" Meal?

Sometimes with little ones it’s a full time job just thinking about what to feed your family each night.  I know I’m super happy that we all eat the same thing now and that Master A is no longer on his pureed mash.  I think that’s my least favourite stage of babyhood – where they’re not strictly breast or bottle feeding, but not yet able to eat whatever you can find when out and about.  I hate having to lug little tupperware containers full of pureed veges everywhere (and don’t get me started  on the challenge of finding somewhere to heat them up….)

So, I’m glad that phase has long gone.  

But still, there are times when I have forgotten to take some meat out of the freezer in time for dinner (we don’t have a microwave) and those nights turn into ‘vegetarian’ ones!  Luckily I have a pretty good ‘store cupboard’ and keep the basics on hand in good supply so I’m able to rustle something hearty yummy pretty quickly if need be. 

I started making this ‘mystery dish’ a while back, and then recently started to make it again.  

A week or so ago when I remembered how easy and yummy it was as a last-minute-throw-together-meal option, I took pics of the step by steps to show you just how simple it is to make something out of nothing (or rather, a bunch of leftovers).


And tonight after one a good friend was asking for new meal ideas for her kiddos, I remembered I had meant to post this.  So here we go:

It doesn’t have a name, but it’s super easy!

Ingredients:

Past sandwich-useable bread – several pieces depending on size of your pie dish/baking tin

1/2 C milk

4 eggs

Cream if you have it

1 x onion finely diced

Whatever you want to include for filling.  This time mine had: 

– left over potatoes from the night before

– some roast chicken

– cherry tomatoes

– homemade pesto

– some cheese to sprinkle

Spray or grease your dish and line with the bread – tear it to fit and squish it in.  There is no need to make it pretty.

Next, sprinkle over everything you are using as your ‘filling’.  Here I have put my onions on the bottom, then the chicken, tomatoes halved and dotted pesto on top of it all.

Now mix up your eggs and milk and cream (you don’t need the cream) and season with salt & pepper.  Pour over the entire dish as evenly as you can.

Sprinkle the entire thing with cheese and put in oven at around 200 degrees (celsius) for 25 minutes – or until it’s really puffy and golden and the cheese is browned. 

I served it with coleslaw but you could serve with whatever you wanted – green salad, tomato relish or simply on its own. 

Other times I have used ham, left over cooked veges like broccoli or cauli, frozen peas or other veges, salami, sweetcorn off the cob, capers, feta cheese, tinned salmon, fresh salmon – whatever you fancy or whatever you have on hand.  You get the idea – hence the nature of the “surprise”. 

Bon Appetit