Quick family meals...inspiration needed please.

[thesparrowflieshigh]

Busy at work and doing loads of extra hours. I'm so fed up thinking what to do for tea that's quick and easy. Please inspire me!

My favourite easy pasta recipe is Cajun chicken pasta - you just need pasta, cheese, double cream, chicken and Cajun spice. I cook the chicken in the oven then chip it up into wee bits when it’s cooked then lay aside.
Boil the pasta and when it’s nearly done decant the double cream into a large pan, add a good bit of grated cheese and as much Cajun spice as you like then just chuck the pasta in when it’s done. Add the chicken in too and give it a big stir. We put heaps of Cajun spice in and it’s soooo good!!

Pasta carbonara is quickly made and economical.

Have you got a slow cooker? They can be useful when time is short, as the prep is done long beforehand.

Using short cuts like microwave rice, cous-cous or noodles instead of potatoes, ready made polenta or gnocchi can all help when time is under pressure.

Cook prawns in garlic oil, add cream cheese and peas, serve over rice

Frittata - you can chuck anything in.
Any kind of pasta
Bean chilli - cooks really quickly without meat
Salmon in foil parcels, microwave rice, peas and sweetcorn done in a bowl in the microwave
Wraps with various fillings or paninis / toasties go down well
Stir fry
Rotisserie chicken and bagged salad and bits

Pasta and cream. With chicken and peppers/smoked salmon and spring onions/bacon and mushroom.

Fish tacos - fry some white fish in spices. Chop up avocado and add lime juice, chop some salad. Add tomato salsa, mayonnaise etc into warm tacos. 15 minutes tops.

Sesame honey chicken noodles www.myfussyeater.com/sesame-honey-chicken-noodles/
Pitta pizzas
Egg fried rice made with microwave rice www.tamingtwins.com/egg-fried-rice-recipe/ I often add cooked prawns.

Super quick fish pie www.womanmagazine.co.uk/archive/creamy-fish-pie-2326
Cheat’s toad in the hole with packet mix recipes.sainsburys.co.uk/recipes/main-courses/toad-in-the-hole-vegetables
This just takes a few minutes to prepare realfood.tesco.com/recipes/baked-chorizo-and-spring-greens-risotto.html
Cheese, ham and chive pancakes with packet mix
I use a lot of packet couscous. Ainsley Harriett does a nice range with a lot of different flavours. It only takes about 15 minutes to soak in boiling water. We like the Mediterranean style with added cherry tomatoes and some feta cheese crumbled in. I also do the lemon and coriander one with a packet of cooked prawns or cooked chicken breast.
You can get ready-flavoured tins of tuna. In the summer I use these to quickly make a cold pasta salad or in the winter have them with jacket potatoes. Tesco does a good selection. I get the tin of tuna in a Mexican dressing and have it with Mexican microwave rice and sweetcorn for lunch.
Microwave rice is a God send. Stir in a spoon of cream cheese, some peas, chopped ham and a twist of pepper. I also tip microwave rice straight into deseeded red pepper halves, before topping with slices of mozzarella and popping in the oven for twenty minutes.
Microwave Heinz Mexican Beanz and have with taco shells (or a tortilla wrap), red peppers and lettuce. www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/301925056 The Heinz lentil curry is also good www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/301925091
For another easy dish, use Heinz Creationz veg chilli www.sainsburys.co.uk/shop/gb/groceries/baked-beans-canned-pasta/heinz-vegetable-chilli-beanz-390g and a tin of sweetcorn for nacho pie. Cover the beans and sweetcorn with chopped jalapeños, tortillas and grated cheese and cook for 15-20 mins.
Make a prawn noodle salad with a packet of cooked prawns, the noodles that you just have to soak in water and sweet chilli sauce.
There are some really quick gnocchi recipes www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/724643/gnocchi-with-lemon-and-chive-pesto This one is really good for leftover roast chicken.
This is my favourite gnocchi recipe www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/creamy-gnocchi-smoked-trout-dill

Paste function isn’t working but these should come up easily in searches

Martha Stewart - Freezer Burritos

BBC good food - chickpea and red lentil soup

Eating well - black bean smothered sweet potatoes

Delia online - traditional braised red cabbage (makes loads that gets better when portioned and stored in freezer - my last portion was nearly a year old and it was fab) Just cook something sausages and microwave jacket potatoes

Carl’s Bad Cravings - best ever Greek chicken marinade. Get loads of chicken fillets, portion out and freeze in zip loc bags with the marinade. Defrost when needed and serve with salad and oven chips/baked potatoes

Jamie Oliver - 7 veg tomato sauce. Makes loads, freeze in portions. Defrost as needed and add to pasta.

BBC good food - nut roast. Freezes well in portions and goes well with (See attached picture)

Cheesy pasta- cook pasta in pan of milk instead of water. When pasta is cooked don’t drain it and stir in lots of cheese to make a cheesy sauce. I usually serve this with some breaded chicken breasts and mixed veg/baked beans.
Cooked chicken breasts chopped up and put in wraps with peppers, onions, sweetcorn is one of my favourites when I need a quick meal

Black bean tacos. Drain and heat a can of black beans, mixing in taco spice. Heat up taco shells. Serve on table for people to make their own with salsa, guacamole, grated cheese, jalapenos etc.

American alfredo sauce is a great alternative to normal cheese sauce. Melt butter in pan, add chopped garlic and fry for a minute, add grated parmesan and whisk quickly. You can do it with pasta, but it's also nice on chicken.

Naan bread pizzas.

Buy pre-made falafel or koftas and serve with pitas or wraps, houmous, cucumber, salad etc to put in them.

Thai red/green curry is always quick.

I would highly recommend an instant pot/similar programmable pressure cooker though to cut time. I use mine all the time for veg chilli, quick soups, and back when we used to eat meat it was amazing as you can cook from frozen.

Macaroni cheese