Must admit, I'm not one for experimenting very much, as my hubby isn't in to strong flavours of any kind, except for perhaps a slight hint of chilli (and me too, since my gall bladder op causes nasty reflux if I put too much spice into food)
That said, a mixture of Keith Floyd (RIP) and Jamie Oliver got me into trying to be different with the midweek meal. Needs to be quick, balanced, low spice and (preferably) fairly low fat. Spaghetti bolognese, shepherd's/cottage pie, chilli con carne you can ring the changes a bit, a splash of sherry here and there perhaps, even a dash of curry powder in the pie. Just lately dreamed up a couple of recipes that were original recipes once, and have ended up being my own:
Base is chicken, onion, pasta shapes and a jar of pasta sauce, carbonara or tomato based, it changes. Anyway, chicken and onion gets fried up, pasta gets boiled for maybe a couple of minutes. Whole lot goes into an oven dish, along with some veggies. Some fresh, usually frozen. Some streaky bacon perhaps....garlic maybe...ah mushrooms left over, in they go. Stir up, into the oven GM5 20-25 mins. Then cover with cheese unless conscience doesn't stretch quite that far. Back in the oven, served in 20.
Another is chicken broth. Carcasse gets boiled up for an hour or two with an onion. OK, maybe not a quick midweek meal, but I tend to do this the day before I plan it. Once drained etc, the lot goes into the pot, anything I can find. Fresh chicken, mushrooms, peas, pasta shells, carrots, parsnip, swede, potato...anything in the cupboard or fridge that I can find, excellent for clearing out stuff in the fridge. Along with lots of seasoning and plenty of stock cubes, gets simmered for about an hour, and my 5 litre pot generally stretches to two days worth. Beauty with this is that there is very little washing up.
So anybody out there from the "chuck it all in" Floyd school of cookery?