We鈥檝e all done it. Let the day get the best of you and hit the dinner hour without anything planned and a hungry family shuffling around the kitchen expectantly. There鈥檚 always KD with frozen peas thrown in for the good-parenting effect, but here are a few pinch-hitters I call on that take minutes to make and usually pacify the hungry hordes.
Polenta pizzas: You鈥檝e probably walked by them on the bottom shelf of the pasta section 鈥� those squishy tubes of plastic-encased polenta. They keep for ages, so having a roll handy in the fridge for times like these is easy enough. Cut into 陆 cm (or thicker) rounds. Lay out on an oiled baking tray and top with tomato, shredded zucchini, basil, parmesan or whatever else you have starting to shrivel in the dark recesses of the fridge and bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees 鈥� voil脿, healthy mini-pizzas and a cleaner crisper drawer. Delicious with a nice pinot noir and some Louis Armstrong to make you feel like a winning food provider for your Squabbits.
Baked apple pancakes: When I was small, one of my favourite non-dinner dinners made by my mom when she was running late or hadn鈥檛 prepared anything was a German baked apple pancake with orange syrup. As we all know, a little more about sugar these days, it鈥檚 easy enough to trade the syrup for apple sauce or yogurt and you have a healthy-ish dinner that smells and tastes delicious and your kids will feel like you really do understand them for a night.
Just peel, core and slice three to four apples (any kind will do) and fry in a cast-iron pan with a few tablespoons of butter. If you don鈥檛 have a cast iron pan just fry the apples in a regular pan and transfer to a baking dish when done before adding the batter.
Beat three eggs with a half cup of flour and a half cup of milk (or milk substitute). Sprinkle the fried apples with a touch of sugar and cinnamon 鈥� whatever amount suits your fancy because we all know you sugar-haters are going to cut the sugar anyway 鈥� then cover with the batter mixture.
Bake in a hot oven 鈥� 500 degrees 鈥� for around 15 minutes until the pancake puffs up. Remove from the oven for a moment and dot with butter and another sprinkle of sugar and cinnamon, then pop back in for a few more minutes to brown the top. The pancake with start to deflate a little as you serve it, but it doesn鈥檛 matter because it鈥檒l be gone as soon as it hits the plates. Serve hot with whatever kind of topping you like and call it a night.
