Family dinners you can prep during nap time - inspiration required for a crap cook

[NoEuropeWho]

Currently I am catering for DC1 (4yo), DC2 (9mo) and me (30yo) to sit down about 5-6pm. DC2 is sometimes happy to amuse himself in his playpen but typically 4-5pm is very much not that time. So even ‘quick’ suppers which require 20 mins of sustained attention are a struggle at the moment.

He does however tend to have a decent pm nap so I’ve had some success prepping things like pasta bake or (not too salty) macaroni cheese while he has a kip which I can then bung in the oven later. Also cottage/shepherds pie although tbh I always find that slightly more faff than anticipated and end up frantically mashing while he yells from his cot.

Any other ideas? I have a slow cooker which has only been used for stews but I have the feeling may be an untapped resource.

DC1 is no fussier than average but, you know, he’s 4. DC2 will shovel anything in as long as it’s vaguely pick-up-able and gummable.

Help.

Google oven baked risotto or maybe try a pilau which is also cooked in the oven. Both will take bits and pieces of leftovers, peas etc.

Pilau has now overtaken risotto in the popularity stakes here.

I do a tray bake thing, sausages, parsnips, and sweet potato with a honey and mustard glaze. Could put it all together at lunch and then hung in the oven later. I sometimes do some brocoli with this as well.
Suppose you could adjust the amount of mustard you add based on taste.

Burgers. No prep.

Eggy bread.

I'm a single mum with 3, less than 3 years between them all.

My too tip is to feed everyone their main meal at lunchtime, or 3pm. Then they need a small snack at dinner time.

Something like weetabix or a banana and a cracker.

Changed my life when I worked that out.

Have you got a food processor OP?

For tray bakes you can prepare ingredients (season the meat, chop the veg) put into a zip bag and chuck in freezer

Pretty much everything is coolable in a slow cooker, Google it x I've just discovered shwartz sachets for meals, I just use them in the slow cooker! If you load up your slow cooker you can then freeze extra portions for future xxx

Frozen onions and frozen mash are a revelation to me! This is great - I’m taking notes (especially the tray bakes).

Frozen onions are the business. I'm definitely a convert. Apart from the lack of crying through peeling and chopping, it also means no waste, as you can use however much you need and not have 1/2 an onion left over.

I'd also 2nd (3rd?) the idea of having the 'main meal' at lunchtime rather than in the evening.

In terms of slow cooker, I do different sorts of stew / casserole. I also do curries, chilli (you can do really mild one for the little ones), spag bol.,

Have a look at the 'roasting tray' books by Rukmini Iyer. Most of her recipes take about 10mins of prep and then you just bung them in the oven. Quite a lot of dishes also work well for lunches the next day.

Slow cooker lasagne
Potato wedges with chilli on top
Baked potatoes in slow cooker (but need to go on by lunch)

I'd do the meal at nap time then eat it later.

Chicken casserole - leave in oven, it'll still be hot by 5/6pm. So cook the casserole from 12-1 say, then turn it off but leave in the oven. Serve with jacket spud, sweet potato, baguette. Do the same with beef casserole, curry, soups, whatever, if it's too cool just reheat it.

Also, you could do in the oven (to save the faffing on the stove etc):

Sausage, jackets, carrots/beans
Chicken, roast spuds, broccoli
Pie, roasted veg
Kiev, roast sweet potatoes, peas

If it's tinned veg or beans you can just put it in a dish for ten mins in the oven to heat up. Any veg you want to do on the stove just pre prepare it and put it in five mins before you want to serve it.

Fritata is piss easy and very healthy.

Sausage with peppers and onions. Basically brown the sausages when baby is asleep. Add to a pan with sliced onions and peppers and a large can of diced tomatoes. Chuck in oven for 45 minutes before you need it.

Pulled pork and chicken in slow cooker
Meatballs and sauce in slow cooker.
Chicken lettuce wraps take no time at all.
Roasted butternut squash soup with bread. Roast butternut squash in oven until caramelized. Fry garlic ginger and onion add chicken stock and bubble slowly until squash is cooked. Add squash and bubble for rest of time you have free. Liquidize and omg! Delish!

Get yourself an Instant Pot from Amazon - totally amazing and can cook from frozen, and do risotto with barely any effort. I use mine all the time in the winter. It also does slow cooking and can make yoghurt.

I've made bbq pork chops, sausage and mash (all in one go), curry, stew, roast chicken, pork and beef, eggs - pretty much everything. It has a sauté facility so you can brown things off as well. Very much along the slow cooker route of throw it all in, press a button and forget about it - but so much quicker.

I made lemonade syrup in mine today, added sparkling water and the kids loved it as a treat.

Use your slow cooker to roast meat. A whole chicken bunged in and left, prepsome potatoes and veg and just heat he veggies when you are ready to eat.

A chicken, even the (not even the mythical MN one) will do another meal or two so the following day use the meat cold with a salad ot put in a curry or make fajitas, Or freeze the meat i dingle portions with veg (cook double veg on day 1).

Pot roast is also easy im a sc.

Put a floured beef brisket in the middle of the sc and pack it round the edges with with potatoes and veg then add a stock cube and boiling water.

If you don't have one get a rice cooker. I know rice is simple but a cooker won't boil over or boil dry, Argos have cheap ones (I only got mine as it was 3 appliances for the price of 2).

Rice (whatever type you like,, I tern to use basmati or jasmine for this) 1 can of coconut milk - remember to shake it before use. A bit of seasoning (I like a bit of ginger) a hand full of frozen peas, a handful of frozen sweetcorn - you can use fresh veg but this is the quick version.
Either serve it as is or add a piece of salmon for each of you, just put the salmon on top of the rice and add the water, if you are prepping ahead leave the water until about 20-30 mins before you eat.

There are lots of other things you can make in a rice cooker, have a look online.

Add the water and leave

I also just remembered our instant pot (because I’m up with baby Dd and pooped downstairs to make a bottle and saw dh had left it on the side with ingredients and instructions for me). Absolute game changer.

He did a whole chicken the other day in it. Whole chicken red curry paste coconut milk tinned potatoes. Cooked in about 30 minutes then kept warm all day. Fell off the bone. And then we had it with a bit of rice spring onions and oooodles of coriander.

Used the leftover sauce and chicken for a yum soup.

Tray bakes

I used to prepare tea whilst my little boy slept aswell. I agree tray bakes with potatoes , veg and meat work well. Other things to do are meal plan so say if you are making sausage and mash then cook and mash the potato cook the veg and sausages then you can just bung in the oven to reheat. I used slow cooker for lots of hot pot type things bung meat ( you can use mince ,braising steak , lamb fillet ect ) and veg in some times I did mash or sliced potatoes on top. You can make chilli / bolognese/ curry in the slow cooker. Pasta bakes work well you can make a nice one with just pasta then bolognese mixed in with cheese on top/ macaroni cheese but really you can add anything in sausage / chicken / veg ect things like lasagne/ cottage pie / fish pie can be made earlier and bunged in oven. I also do things like pie and quiche then you get 2 days teas from them. Also if you get a joint of meat and cook in slow cooker then just cook potatoes, veg and Yorkshire enough for a few meals ( use meat at lunch aswell for sandwiches ect ) you will have the next days tea ready just to reheat.

The sistema rice steamer for the microwave is ace too!

I find fish very quick and easy, a regular for us is stir fry and noodles or rice, filleted fish like sea bass. Prep stir fry during nap time. Fish can be cooked in oven or griddle pan, noodles on, veg stir fried- takes 15 mins tops. Fish cakes could be prepped in advance and then cooked in oven.
Also fast sweet and sour chicken, bbc good food, prep in advance can be done in microwave if really short on time, or just stir fried.

@NoEuropeWho could you post your macaroni cheese recipe please.

I prep during nap time but usually finish cooking and heat up later, we probably have 4 vegetarian curries per week, a veggie burger and home made chips with salad meal, a pasta meal and a fajitas or similar meal. Most things will heat up but things that won't I put on oven trays during nap time then I just have to turn on the oven and serve.

How about macaroni or cauliflower/broccoli cheese. Can prep and assemble earlier/ night before and then just shove in oven for 30 mins.
Burgers or sausages cooked in oven (means not having to keep eye on grill/pan).
Soup to just reheat when needed. I make a nice leek and potato one.
Egg fried rice? Cook and cool rice earlier in day. Then egg fry - and I add peas and pre cooked prawns.

Your slow cooker and frozen veg are your friends. Especially if you make big batches and freeze portions so that some days you only have to heat through.

I use mine for bolognaise, chicken terriyaki, fajitas, sausauge casserole and stews often. Also gammon in coke or joints of meat.

The Feed Your Family for £20 page is great for slow cooker receipes. I don't use it for the money side, but I've seen some great recipes on there and really use my slow cooker more now.

Consider buying (or borrowing from your library) a copy of The Roasting Tin for ideas of quick easy dishes cooked in one oven tray.

Also, maybe consider buying an electric Pressure Cooker. Since I bought mine, I don't use my slow cooker anymore. You just chuck your ingredients in the pressure cooker, add about 300ml of hot stock and it will cook a mince or chicken and veg based meal in under 10 minutes. Handy if you've forgotten to defrost your meat beforehand as you can also cook meat from frozen in it. When it's finished cooking, it switches to the keep warm function so you can safely do other stuff for say, half an hour and return to dish up your dinner. I have an Instant Pot and my friend has a Pressure King Pro. Both are very similar.

More brilliant ideas - thank you. Spotted the Rukmini Iyer book in my local bookshop so have snapped that up for reading later. I have a pre-prepared sausage-based tray bake in the oven right now

TheSunAlsoRises the macaroni cheese is from the Gill Rapley BLW cook (online here: twotinyhands.co.uk/macaroni-cheese/) - it’s a bit bland for adult taste tbh so I add extra Parmesan/seasoning at the table...

Thank you @NoEuropeWho