I've listened to Xenia. How do I outsource cooking? Could I find someone to do this:

I got a great book called Saving Dinner by Leanne Ely. It plans the meals out for you, 6 meals a week, gives you a shopping list and everything. Very American but most of the dinners have been a big success in our house. Also very healthy because you are given a long list of healthy veg to eat with your meals. The ds's now love butternut squash and sweet potatoes and we've had to resort far less to tasteless frozen stuff.

If you want super quick ideas for dinner

Buy a pack of stir-fry veg and some fresh noodles (M&S do a good size pack for 99p, veg expensive though).

Finely slice half an onion, crush 1 clove of garlic and finely chop a 5p piece of fresh ginger. Cook all these in a hot oil, add veg, some soya sauce, add noodles and a drop or 2 of of sesame oil. Stir fry for few mins and serve. (you can do it with sliced chicken breast, pork or beef - but add them after the onion/garlic/ginger).

Takes 15 mins or so.

DarthVadar, the M&S Cook Range cannot do the schoolrun or light housework though!

you need organising my dear

I only work 3 days and it is a pain in th arse on those days, I get in at 5pm and hit the ground running

on those 3 days, my girls eat at 5.30ish and we eat later

they have the following on rotation:

pasta with tom sauce one day
chicken nuggets with potatoes and veg
houmous, pitta and veggies

rest of the time we all eat together

can you not have 'easy' meals one day - like pitta etc, wraps, pasta with tom sauce and garlic bread etc

then M&S cook one night

sandwich type picnic tea one night

then at weekend do a huge pot of something to use in the week reheated

we do chilli and spag bog on rotation

I really really really do not like my children in the kitchen when I am tired after work tbh so them 'helping' would not be helping, it would be torture

Message withdrawn

Oh dear, I'm advised it's already been done

see Carmenere's link

I should have done my research first, see. There's already a competitor in the market place.

thyme

1.) Steamed salmon
Buy a big piece (750 g).Cut into portions. Place in bamboo steamer over simmering water.Done in 15 mins. Have with salads.

2.) Smoked salmon,creme fraiche and pasta with capers.
Cook pasta.In the meantime cut smoked salmon into strips and fold into pot of creme fraiche with a slug of olive oil and some capers. Fold into drained pasta. Chopped fresh dill good too instead of capers

3.) Sardines
Buy fresh. I gut my own but accept it's not everyone's idea of fun. Put them in the oven (no accompaniment needed0They're done in 15 mins. Serve with tomato and basil salad and hot bread.

4.)Baked white fish
750 g of something like cod or haddock. Slice tomatoes and courgettes very finely, Place in bottom of an oven proof dish with a glug of olive oil and maybe some time. Slices/chunks of fish on top and then cover with more veg. Cook for 20 mins or so

5.) Frozen prawns (uncooked pref.)
Fry onions,garlic and ginger. Add few tablespoons of good Thai curry paste. Add the prawns (500g) Add 500g of topped and tailed green beans and/or a tin of babu sweetcorn. Add a tin of coconut milk.
Ready in 20 mins.

That do y'all???

OK, I'll start a new thread (feeling we're in the wrong place here!)

moondog, could you give us some ideas for quick fish recipes please? Something that can be chucked into the oven ideally.

We will have a mn cookbook and it will feature many of Moondogs recipes

I would add though that given the choice, any kid will go for the stuff that we parents might not choose.You have to make a decision and stand firm. It may be impossible to please all the people all the time. One choice.Like it or lump it.No nagging,no moanig,no comments. Up to the kids.

My ds has just refused the pasta with salmon and cream for the second night running.

Rightyo then. Start a thread and make your remit clear.

Moony, I can do all that and can even make a roux.

The recipes I want are quick to cook, which DS likes, which DH finds satisfying and which I find healthy. And I want a week's worth.

Seriously, I think we need a MN Cookbook. These things are all over on different threads, surely they just need pulling together?

lol Ruby re shagging dh.
Peachy,I took the Nigella comment as a compliment.

Ruby, I've posted a few recipes on MN.

If you can

-make a decent vinaigrette
-roast a chicken
-understand that a base of onions and garlic can take you a looooooong way
-make a decent marinade for grilled/bbqd meat
-do an omelette
-stirfry a load of veg chopped to same size and finished off with a bit of sherry,soy and cronflour
-get a good cupboard of staples together

..you can master just about anything.

Tell me what you want a recipe for.

M&S Cook range
Easy, quick, tasty, healthy, cheaper than an au pair.

Sorted.

Ruby, I've just snorted outloud and now DS wants to know what I'm laughing at. Thanks!

That sounds like you don't have to prepare anything Sal - problem I found with meat in a slow cooker was that you still have to brown it / heat it thruogh first.

Not the case with veggies???

Evening all. Thanks so much for all these ideas. I'm going to have to go through them properly.
Feeling a little sheepish - can't believe I got so upset about food last night.
Only thing I don't get about lots of these quick meals is that there doesn't seem to be a huge amount of veg involved. I do try and do a proper balanced meal and maybe I'm just putting pressure on myself but I do want to eat a bit healthily.

Moony, sorry I called you Nigella.
Lazycow, I think you hit the nail on the head. This isn't MN, it's CBT.

If you only wanted 15 hours a week I'm sure you could find a live-in au pair for 40 pounds a week - she could always find a bar job or cleaning during the day if she wanted extra cash.

Even if an aupair cannot cook, it is fairly simple to show her how to chop up vegetables.

For me, the timeconsuming bit of cooking is not in the actual cooking, but in the preparation and washing up. But prep and washing can easily be done by an aupair with a bit of organisation on your part.

I plan weekly menus, have an ongoing shopping list, do 1 big grocery shop a week. Do as much prep as I can over the weekend (3 hours for the week's meals). Most meals will double up for another day.

On the night before, take whatever I need out of the freezer to defrost for the next day.

On the day itself, lay out the vegs on the chopping board in the quantities I need. Gasp the instructions to the aupair as I hurry out the door with dd at 7:15 am.

By the time I am home, cooking should be about 15 mins + 5-10 mins serving out the food and laying the table. Washing up is done by aupair.