Or, what to cook in your combi steam oven, May 29-June 4, 2023
Welcome to my Steam Oven Meal Plan for this week!
New to this blog series? Check out the first Steam Oven Meal Plan for notes about how I do my meal planning and cooking, or just dive in and add this week’s ingredients to your shopping list.
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A cosy and nourishing steam oven meal plan
This week’s plan is full of cosy and comforting dishes. Although it’s heating up in the Northern hemisphere, we’ve finally hit Autumn proper here and the nights are chilly. I’m still cooking fresh and mostly healthy, just with an extra level of heft to our meals that I don’t go for during summer.
Happy cooking, see you here again soon.
Monday
I should call Mondays ‘muffin Monday, I think! Apart from when the kids get bored and I switch to a simple loaf cake, we go through a full batch of muffins in a few days here, between snack times and lunchboxes. This week I’m making savory muffins, full of cheese and bacon.
For dinner, a noodle soup made from homemade chicken stock. The stock will cook away during the day, with almost no intervention. I’ll strain it and add a few aromatics like ginger, soy and star anise, then cook a handful of fresh egg noodles per person. Steamed greens, a soft boiled egg and sesame seeds scattered on top to finish; it’s kind of like ramen noodle soup but so much simpler.
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Tuesday
My new obsession for dinner tonight; steam oven vegetarian gnocchi bake. A five minute prep and around 20 minutes in the oven, and you’ll have a hearty, nutritious and meat free meal on the table (though, if you like, you can always turn it into a carnivore’s delight with the addition of some chicken or sausage).
Wednesday
I have steam oven roasted pumpkin to use, so I’m adding it to some frozen chili con carne. Don’t knock it till you try it; pureed pumpkin mixed into a casserole or stew gives the dish extra fiber and makes the sauce nice and thick. The earthy, underlying sweetness of pumpkin actually sits very nicely alongside the heavy spicing of chili, and I guarantee the kids won’t even know their dinner suddenly got healthier.
Thursday
I have been trialling a lot of dumpling recipes for my next cookbook, and most of them are in the freezer! So it’s mixed steamed dumplings night here. They can be steamed straight from the freezer, taking about 10-12 minutes to cook. A quick dipping sauce of soy, sesame oil and sweet chili sauce, and a pan of steamed broccoli, and we’ll have a great little banquet.
Friday
Macaroni cheese to satisfy my 7 year old’s constant cravings (sorry if that gave you an earworm the same way it did me, ha).
For Friday dessert we’re having a delicious fruit crumble. Strawberries are hard to come by, so I’ll replace them with frozen raspberries in this dish. Vanilla ice cream is not optional in our house.
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Weekend
I’m kinda boring, but all the pumpkin soup in my freezer dictates that we’ll be having pumpkin soup for Saturday lunch or dinner. The other meal will be takeout, because even I don’t want to make and serve every single meal. 😉
Indian inspired tandoori roasted chicken will be Sunday dinner. I’m doing roasted potatoes, flatbreads, coriander yoghurt and mango chutney, so everyone can DIY their own plate to suit their preferences.
One Response
Hi Emily. I’m loving your meal plans and very excited to see you are including dumplings in your new book. I love to make my own dumplings, and would love to steam (not fry) them in the steam oven, but I am unsure of the settings and cooking time – for both fresh and frozen (raw) ones.
Thanks,
Judy