5 Quick and Easy Recipes to get your dinner ready in less than 40 minutes!

Getting off work? Too tired to spend over an hour in the kitchen? No need to worry, just follow these quick and easy recipes that will keep you stress free and satisfied before and after you’re done cooking.

Penne Pasta with Spicy Vodka Tomato Cream Sauce

If you’re an adventurous foodie then this recipe will be an interesting change from your usual tomato sauce. No need to worry about the alcohol; it cooks off and cannot be tasted. It merely enhances the flavors.

Ingredients

1 pound uncooked penne pasta 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil 4 cloves garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes 1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons vodka 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley 2 (3.5 ounce) links sweet Italian sausage

Instruction

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook for 8 to 10 minutes or until al dente; drain. In large skillet, heat oil over moderate heat. Remove casing from sausage and add to skillet. Cook, breaking up the meat, until brown. Add garlic and red pepper and cook, stirring until garlic is golden brown. Add tomatoes and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Add vodka and cream and bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and add pasta, toss for 1 minute. Stir in fresh parsley and serve!

Black Bean Burritos

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These burritos are easy and delicious to make! You can easily play around with the most of the ingredients to suit your tastes and come up with your own unique chipotle-like burrito! If you make this in a slow cooker, using a slow cooker liner can make clean up easier.

Ingredients

2 (10 inch) flour tortillas 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 small onion, chopped 1/2 red bell pepper, chopped 1 teaspoon minced garlic 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained 1 teaspoon minced jalapeno peppers 3 ounces cream cheese 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

Instructions

Wrap tortillas in foil and place in oven heated to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Bake for 15 minutes or until heated through. Heat oil in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Place onion, bell pepper, garlic and jalapenos in skillet, cook for 2 minutes stirring occasionally. Pour beans into skillet, cook 3 minutes stirring. Cut cream cheese into cubes and add to skillet with salt. Cook for 2 minutes stirring occasionally. Stir cilantro into mixture. Spoon mixture evenly down center of warmed tortilla and roll tortillas up. Serve immediately.

The Classic Kenyan-style Beef Stew

One of the simplest and the most common recipes to be found in nearly every Kenyan household. The ingredients are easy to find and the meal is ready in a matter of moments. This is the kind of dinner that warms you and your family right up.

Ingredients:

½ Kg of beef (cut into bite sizes) 1 cup of water 4 tbsp of vegetable oil (or olive oil) 3 Bay leaves 5 small potatoes, dices 3-4 tomatoes, diced Fresh ginger and 5 garlic cloves, all of them minced 2 small red onions, diced 1 tsp tomato paste 2 carrots, diced ½ tsp of paprika powder and ½ tsp curry powder Salt and ground pepper to taste and fresh coriander for garnishing

Instruction:

Take a sauce pan and fill it with 1 cup of water. Boil the meat, garlic and ginger until the meat is soft. Once this is complete, separate the meat from the broth, which you will need for the stew later on.

In a separate saucepan, fry the onions in vegetable oil on medium heat until they’re soft. Add the beef and cook until brown. Then add tomatoes and tomato paste until soft and add in the spices curry powder and paprika and mix well. Cover the saucepan and let it simmer for a while.

Now add the carrots and potatoes and stir well, before letting the mixture simmer. Stir the mixture every minute or two to avoid it sticking on the pan. Once the mixture is ready, add the broth from earlier, throw in the bay leaves and let it simmer on low heat once more until the meat is tender. Stir well and season with salt and pepper.

Garnish with fresh coriander and serve it with rice, ugali or chapatti.

 

This recipe was originally posted on allkenyanrecipes.com.

Spicy spice Chicken Curry

Easily the homiest most comforting dish, especially when served over rice or with some soft naan to mop up the lovely spicy gravy. This is one of my go-to recipes when I do not want to muck around making something too fancy or complicated.

Ingredients for Marinade

1 chicken, skin removed and cut up into 8-10 pieces 1/2 cup plain yoghurt 1 tbsp tomato paste/puree 1 tsp garlic paste 1 tsp ginger paste 1 tsp salt 1 tsp red chilli powder (optional) 1/2 tsp cumin powder 1/2 tsp coriander powder 1/4 tsp turmeric powder

Other Ingredients

1/4 cup vegetable oil 1 tspcumin seeds 1 cinnamon stick 1 cardamom 2 cloves 4 whole black pepper 1 tsp fresh fenugreek leaves/methi (optional) 4 medium onions, finely chopped or grated 4 medium tomatoes, grated 3 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks 1 heaped tbsp. tomato paste/puree 1/2 tsp ginger paste 1/2 tsp garlic paste 1-2 green chillies, chopped 1 tsp cumin powder 1 tsp coriander powder 1/2 tsp turmeric powder 1 tsp garam masala salt, to taste and fresh coriander, for garnishing

Instruction:

Combine the marinade ingredients together in a bowl, then add the chicken and mix well. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, preferably overnight.

 

Heat the oil in a pan, add the cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cardamom, cloves and whole black pepper. Allow them to splutter, then add the fenugreek leaves if you are using them. Next add the onions and fry until a deep golden. Then add the chopped chilli, ginger and garlic pastes. Stir them in until fragrant. Add in the tomato paste, cumin powder, coriander powder and turmeric powder, stir them in for a couple of minutes. Then add the grated tomatoes and cook them down until they dry up slightly. Now add in the chicken pieces and the marinade. Stir over high heat for about 3-4 minutes. Then add 2 cups of water, turn the heat down and cover the pan. Let the curry simmer gently for about 20 minutes, giving it an occasional stir.

In the meantime, put the potato chunks in another pan and cover with water. Add a sprinkle of salt and a pinch of turmeric. The turmeric helps to give the potato chunks a slight yellow tinge. Bring to the boil and simmer gently for about 5-8 minutes or until tender. You can check by piercing a potato chunk with the tip of a knife, it should go in easily. Drain and set aside. 

 

Once the chicken is cooked and tender, add in the boiled potato chunks and stir them in. Simmer together for another 5 minutes to infuse all the flavours into the potatoes. At this point you can either thin out the gravy by adding a bit more water, or simmer for a little longer over low heat until it thickens to your preference. Adjust salt and then sprinkle in the garam masala and chopped coriander. Turn off the heat and leave the pan covered for at least 5-10 minutes before serving.

This dish goes beautifully with rice, naans, chapatis, parathas or even bread.

This was originally posted in Fauzia M. Afif’s blog, where you can find more delicious recipes similar to this one.

Cheesy Lasagna

A classic luxurious and hearty Lasagna, packed with meat sauce, white sauce and lots of cheese! 

Ingredients for Meat Sauce

500 gm beef mince (you can use chicken or lamb mince if you like) 4 onions, chopped 1 tsp ginger paste 1 tsp garlic paste 8 fresh tomatoes, blended until smooth 4 tbsp tomato paste/puree 2 tbsp tomato sauce/ketchup 1 green or red capsicum, chopped 2-3 sausages, fried and chopped (optional, you can leave this out) 2-3 green chillies chopped 1 tbsp sugar salt to taste black pepper to taste chopped coriander oregano (optional) 4 tbsp oil chopped veggies like beans, peas, carrots, sweet corn (optional, or you can use any that you like and leave the rest out)

Ingredients for White Sauce

3 tbsp butter 3 tbsp flour 4 cups milk salt to taste white pepper powder to taste (you can also use black pepper)

Other Ingredients

Approximately 12 lasagna sheets 2-3 cups grated mozzarella and cheddar cheese oregano(optional) chopped coriander (optional)

Instructions 

First, prepare the Meat Sauce:

Heat oil, then add the onions and fry until soft and translucent. Add the ginger and garlic pastes, and when they release their aroma, add the mince and sprinkle some black pepper over it and fry whilst breaking the bits of mince so that there are no lumps until the mince changes colour to brown.

 

Now add the capsicum, green chillies and veggies, and sprinkle the spices of your choice (I normally add a pinch of turmeric and a tsp. of cumin powder) fry them with the mince for a few minutes, then add the chopped sausages if you're using them, tomato paste and blended tomatoes. Cook on low heat, whilst covered, until the sauce thickens, and the mince is ready then add the ketchup, sugar and adjust salt and chilli. Sprinkle some oregano if you have it, or a bit of garam masala, squeeze the lemon juice in and sprinkle some chopped coriander, then turn off the heat. This sauce should not be dry, it should be saucy.

 

Next, prepare the White Sauce

Melt butter in a saucepan, stir in plain flour, then cook on low heat for 5 minutes. Cooking the flour in the butter helps reduce the 'raw' smell of the flour so don't skip this step! Slowly whisk in milk, if you pour the milk in too quickly you will form lumps, so add gradually whilst whisking briskly to get rid of any lumps and form a smooth roux/mixture. Then bring to the boil, whilst stirring. Turn down heat, then cook until the sauce starts to thicken and coats the back of a wooden spoon. Prepare your lasagna sheets, about 12 should be enough. Check if they need to be boiled first, or if they can be used as is. It is normally indicated on the carton. If they need to be boiled, follow the instructions on the pack and proceed to boil them for the time specified. Keep some shredded mozzarella and cheddar cheese ready, my favourite combination!

 

Finally, assemble the dish

Grease a baking dish with some butter, then add a bit of white sauce (to prevent your lasagna from sticking to the dish), followed by some lasagna sheets. Try to avoid overlapping, you can break the lasagna sheets to fit your dish. Now pour some meat sauce, followed by white sauce and some cheese. Again add a layer of lasagna sheets, again the meat sauce and once more cover with the white sauce. You can add a third layer if your dish is deep enough. Make sure the final layer is covered with white sauce and you can sprinkle some cheese on top, and some chopped coriander and oregano if you like.

Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 C for about 40 minutes. If the top is browning too quickly, then cover it with some foil and continue baking. Once ready, remove and let it sit for about 10-15 minutes before cutting into the lasagna. This will ensure that your cuts will be neat and tidy.

This was originally posted in Fauzia M. Afif’s blog, where you can find more delicious recipes similar to this one.