RecipeTin Meals is our food bank, where we make and donate 100,000 homemade meals annually to the vulnerable here in my hometown, Sydney. Here are the top 10 recipes we make, regulars because they’re crowd pleasers, freezable and economical!
RTM on TV!
There was a lovely segment on TV yesterday about RecipeTin Meals, my food bank (“RTM”), on the Channel 7 Sunrise show. The crew came and spent the better part of a day in our cosy little kitchen, filming the team at work and interviewing us! Here it is:
So it seems timely to share a list of the recipes we make most often at RTM, something I’ve been meaning to do for months. Especially because most of the recipes are from my website!
OUR TOP 10 RECIPES ARE:
Economical
Freezable
Straight forward
Crowd pleasers
Easy to scale up
While the last point may not be relevant to everyone, I know the other points are things that many readers look for in recipes. So, here they are. Hope you find some new ideas! To read more about RTM, head here.
Top 10 recipes we make at RecipeTin Meals
With bonus commentary from Stephen Fixter, the boss chef at RTM!
1. Lamb Shawarma Soup
Stephen says: A crowd pleaser with the recipients and my personal fave. Love the spice mix and the flavours combined. Also easy prep wise, and all the cooking is done on the stove so we can utilise the oven to prep for the next day.
Nagi says: Personal fave for ME TOO! If I was a soup, this would be me. Big flavours. Bit exotic. All the typical spices. Quick to make. Punches way above its class for effort vs output! (PS Is it weird to compare myself to a soup? 😂)
2. Marinated Vegetable pasta salad
Stephen says: A little bit more work than your average pasta salad but a nice change to the boring ones you see. Zesty, punchy dressing. Great for keeping spend down as there’s no protein and depending on season you can sub out the asparagus for broccolini, green beans or spinach when the prices increases.
Nagi says: Marinating makes all the difference. Adds stacks of flavour into the veg! (PS “Marinating” is a fancy term for “pour dressing over vegetables while hot so they suck up the flavour”.)
3. Cowboy RICE Salad with chicken
Stephen says: Nice mix of colours and veggies. Quick and easy to pack so you can do other prep in the background.
Nagi says: AND it’s cool cause it’s called “cowboy”. 😂
* Note: He uses my Cowboy Rice Salad recipe, pictured, and adds cooked chicken.*
4. Sausages with French lentil ragout & salsa verde
Stephen says: Looks good, feels restaurant-y. 🙂 I love the lentils, as it’s a nice change of garnish/carbohydrate and they are cheap. Obviously more time consuming prep wise but worth it.
Nagi says: Stephen, did you take humble sausos and fancy them up with salsa verde?? That’s SUCH a cheffy thing to do!!😂
RECIPES
Sausages (it’s just pan seared sausages, skip the gravy in the recipe)
5. Chilli Beef Mac ‘n Cheese
Stephen says: Combo crowd pleaser and freezer safe!
Nagi says: The recipe on my website is a convenient one-pot version that serves 5. When scaling up, that’s not viable. So the pasta is cooked separately from the sauce, then they are mixed together.
6. Baked Chicken breast with Garlic Butter Kale Rice
Stephen says: Ingredients are all reasonably priced and it utilises both stove and oven at the same time effectively. This halves the days’ cook time, giving us the opportunity to do more prep for other dishes.
Nagi says: How good is that rice, right??!! Nobody complains about eating kale when it’s with that rice!
7. Crispy Salami Risoni Salad
Stephen says: Or as we call it, “the pizza supreme salad”. We just love it because it’s a little different, it’s nice to prep and pack. Salami is of a reasonable price too.
Nagi says: Puh-lease tell me we use a machine to chop the salami…. I can’t imagine hand chopping 20kg / 40lb of salami!!
8. Chorizo potato stew/soup
Stephen says: Because its chorizo!
Nagi says: Amen to that! (PS Do you guys think it’s a stew or a soup?? I’m still undecided! 😅)
Recipe: This recipe is in my cookbook, page 90. Video tutorial here!
9. Garlic Chicken Thigh with bean ragout, tomatoes & broccolini
* This is the recipe we were making when Channel 7’s Sunrise came to film us at RTM!*
Chef Stephen says: Again, I just love the way it looks and it’s the kind of food I love to cook. All components are usually cheap/reasonable and it’s one of those meals you drop off and the ladies are like “ooooh what’s this”. 🙂
Nagi says: So Stephen, what you’re telling me is that this is on high rotation because you enjoy the female attention?? 😂
RECIPES:
Garlic chicken thighs recipe here
The bean ragout is from the Crispy Skin Fish with Bean Ragu from my cookbook (p67), video tutorial here.
The tomatoes are lightly roasted – method in this recipe.
The broccolini is steamed.
10. Spaghetti Bolognese
Nagi says: Of course Spag Bol is in our top 10! It ticks all the boxes – budget friendly, freezable, quick prep, easy to make in big batches and everybody loves it.
In my recipe, I do the proper step of tossing the pasta with the sauce before serving. But at RTM, we just put plain cooked spaghetti in the containers then spoon the sauce over, and sprinkle with parmesan. This holds up better in the freezer.
And here you have it!
If you have any questions about how we cook at scale, whether it’s logistics or food safety, or cost management, drop them below! I’ll get either JB to answer them (he’s the big boss Chef who works at RTE with me, Stephen reports to him) or I’ll get the answer from Stephen.
And to learn more about what we do at RTM and where our meals go, head to the About RTM page.
Hope you find some new cooking inspiration from this list. Thrifty meal-prep excellence! – Nagi x
Life of Dozer
Dozer has not nor will he ever step foot paw inside the RTM kitchen which is subject to strict healthy regulations. But he’s there in spirit on the wall, with his motto that we live by:
“Because no one should go hungry” ~ Nagi & Dozer x
Hi Nagi, thank you for being part of my family and career for the last 10+ years. I’m a member of a lawn bowls club and I would love to make your sticky toffee pudding, apple cake and mini cheesecakes for for our presentation night. We’ll be feeding about 80 members and I was hoping you could help me out with numbers for a bulk cook. Love your work and hope Dozer is recuperating well.
Oh Nagi, thank goodness for you! What an exceptionally beautiful kind-hearted soul you are. Thank you for being you ❤️❤️❤️
You are amazing Nagi! It astounds me that you can feed hungry people (and employ staff) from the $ generated by clicks on your website. You deserve every success x
OMG you have been filling my belly for years, now you just filled by heart! What a hero chef–the best.
Congrats on your new kitchen! i love your recipes — many of them are in my “tried and true” family favorites. And what you are doing with RTM is wonderful! not only are people in need getting nutritious meals, but they are also REALLY good! I remember when you would mention taking your leftovers from the recipes you made for your blog to the homeless – and now you are able to do it on a larger scale.
Congratulations! recipetineats.com is my go to site for recipes. I love golden retrievers, and Dozier is one of my favorites! You need his likeness in a BIG poster on the kitchen wall. I wish you the best issue start work in your new kitchen.
Nagi, none of us are angels, but what you and all of you do for ‘the least of these’ touches my heart.
I pray that God continues to richly bless you personally and prosper your endeavors for what you are doing for others.
Please let me know how l may contribute to your efforts in the future, although l am on a fixed income, l would like to help what your doing, plus l love your recipes ❤️
Great TV segment and truly your work is so wonderful for those who are less fortunate and just need a boost. What joy there is in eating such a gourmet meal!! God bless you.
Nagi you are the most amazing soul your wonderful kindness to those not as fortunate as we are you work relentlessly to help people we need more Navi’s in this world.
I have followed you from almost day one I have made many recipes of yours and loved them all.I brought your book last November and since then about 7 friends have also brought the cookbook including my son .
Thank you Nagi and your beautiful Dozer I hope you every happiness..
Rhonda.
God bless you nagi ,and those kind hands and hearts that put together all that food for those that need it the most.
Yes we say the same in our home
“No one whether animal or human should go hungry “.
Keep it up hun all the very best
Absolutely love your community contribution through Recipe Tin Meals. As well as helping those who need a hand, you’re acting as a wonderful role model to other organisations. Well done and thank you.
I like when you put nutrition information as I keep track of the protein numbers. Very important as we age and I don’t always eat right. And others are watching different information.
I purchased your cookbook but I found the print very fine and light. So very difficult to read. Am I the only one? Or is it because I had cataract surgery? But love you and your puppy. Looking for very easy recipes as the cleanup is part of cooking. I get real tired just standing and find cooking difficult now.
My teenage son first recommended you to me via YouTube. We love your recipes, your smile and of course, Dozer! My son bought your cookbook for me for Christmas last year, and it’s my favourite! Thank you for being the amazing angel you are, and for your recipes, which have brought my son and I together in the kitchen ❤️
Thank you and your wonderful team for all the hard work that you put into recipe tin eats. Through your love and selfless dedication many people go to bed with a full stomach. Long may you continue in good health. Wish I could be there to help you (in spirit I am)
I wish to make your meals for my husband and myself but he can’t eat chilli I can mildly de can we just double or triple the quantity on a pension we need to do it healthy and cheaper
Ure receipes r amazing and easy to follow. U r doing a great Job helping others
Nagi, you are an Angel sent from above! Love how you’re feeding so many people with love. And love love your recipes. Thank you for sharing all your delicious recipes.
What a real life angel you are Nagi! I love seeing your happy & gorgeous face when I need a recipe- your kindness & love shine from you. May all good things come your way in life x
You are a true angel, Nagi! ❤️
Just ordered 2 cookbooks. One for my daughter for Christmas, and the other for myself!
Thank you for being an amazing person and giving back as much as you do. I want to grow app and be like you!