Minimum effort plan to feed everyone without losing mind

[Sourcat]

What's the easiest way to feed a family of four (two teenage boys) good, healthy meals with minimum effort ? I'm so sick of thinking about it all the time.

Somehow I manage to be really inefficient so that it seems to dominate everything. I work freelance from home, and I feel like it's so hard to get anything done because someone always needs feeding.

I guess I'm thinking along the lines of a combination of a couple of slow cooker / bung in the oven / pasta meals / leftovers. I feel like it's on the tip of my tongue, but every time I start to try and make a plan, I get to about day 3 and it always feels like so much cooking and I feel defeated again and give up.

Thoughts, clever and wise MNers?

Joint of meat plus veg done in steamer is easiest in my view.

Bung joint in oven 1h30-2h before mealtime (that takes about 2 minutes). Then half an hour before mealtime stick veg in steamer - non-peelable veg much easier if time is a factor (takes 5-10 mins). Make bisto gravy just before serving.

Total prep time 15 mins maximum.

Look up sheet tray recipes and one pot recipes OP, most of them only require chopping and placing in a tray or pot, some seasoning and/or herbs/spices and then leaving it to cook. Simples!
Examples are
Chicken, chorizo and potato bake
Braised rice with lamb or beef
Casseroles, stews, curries etc

Do you have a freezer OP?

I rely on a weekly plan which takes the thinking out of it (e.g. 'Monday - sausage and mash, Tuesday - chilli & rice') and batch cooking/freezing.

E.g. Two nights a week we'll have a stew from freezer (beef & ale, beef & red wine, pork, lamb - plenty of variety) and roast potatoes (also from freezer) and frozen veg. You can freeze fish pie, lasagne, etc. Its much easier to make a really big stew and divide it into several meals. Chilli freezes well.

I'd also be trying to get two teenage boys to take a turn or two, having a night off - even if everyone has cheese or scrambled egg on toast - will feel like a big step forward OP!

Large pan of hearty soup such as bacon & bean, minestrone, lentil & vegetable, for lunches. Serve with lots of bread.

Make a vat of bolognese sauce, use some for spag bol, then for pasta bake or add chilli & beans for chilli con carne.

Make a basic casserole, serve with potatoes etc, then add tomatoes & herbs to remainder and serve with rice, or add spices aubergine & apricot and serve with cous-cous.

Delegate! 14-day plan:

Ask each family member to suggest 2 main meals, at least 1 of which they should be prepared to cook.

Then for the remaining 8 main meals, make 2 of them either ready-meals, takeaway or freezer pizzas.

6 to plan -

1: tray bake chicken thighs & root veg

2: slow-cooker bolognese

3: make leftover bolognese into chilli (add lots of tinned beans) with baked potatoes

4: tray bake sausages or slow-cooker sausage casserole

5: pulled pork (slow cooker)

6: curry (slow cooker)

Lunches & breakfasts they do themselves from what’s in the fridge or cupboards e.g. beans on toast, sandwiches, eggs etc

Once a week I cook pasta with salmon or broccoli creamy sauce. Takes about 15 minutes, I cook the broccoli with the pasta. Sauce is just onion, garlic, maybe smoked paprika, and cream with pasta water added. It's so quick and easy and DS and DP love it.

I agree to tell DS's they have to cook once a week at least.

Thai-style curries made with proper Thai paste are really easy as they don't require sautéing onions first or lots of other ingredients. Get a proper Thai curry paste, fry a spoonful of that with coconut milk, then add whatever you like; sweet potato and chick pea, add chicken or prawns once veg is cooked if you like. Oh I do have fish sauce but you could use salt. A bit of sugar. Then lime, chillies and fresh coriander on top. Tasty without much effort.
Disclaimer: I know this isn't a proper Thai curry.

Also I agree with the PP about 1- dish meals. They almost cook themselves!

This is the Thai paste I use. It's great.

Oh I see you're a family of four. Is the other person your partner. If so, surely they should be cooking too?

Also baked potatoes with cheese and tuna mayo once a week is very easy.

Some Mexican-style meals are quick and easy, like beef tacos.

Teach one kid to make risotto in the oven, the other can grate the cheese that's one night sorted.

Make 5000 portions of chilli or however much you can fit in your freezer, that's pasta and chilli night sorted.

Pick a night with an inbuilt reminder like an activity, and it's the other kid's job to put jacket potatoes in the oven when they get back from x activity every week. Have with baked beans or tuna mayo or something with no real prep.

Fill any remaining freezer space with curry, that's another night. 2 minute microwave rice is a huge time saver, or make the rice someone else's job.

Stir fries are v quick and easy, you can use ready cooked prawns straight from the freezer, ready chopped stir fry veg saves a lot of chopping and ready made sauces are tasty.

Bed of salad leaves, slices of egg and boiled potato, flaked tuna all over it and drizzled with a good quality caesar salad dressing - child could definitely make that it's 90% assembly and the eggs and potatoes can be boiled any time and left in the fridge.

Have a look at The Batch Lady if you have a freezer

Thank you everyone - these are all good ideas. I had slowly started getting the boys to cook things, but you're right; I should give them a fixed day per week where they need to do something. I couldn't care less if it's scrambled eggs, as long as someone else is doing it!

Dh does cook - he works unreliable and sometimes late hours though, so it's hard to incorporate into a fixed plan. He very often cooks on the weekend.

crunchynut I do have a freezer - not massive but big enough. You're right - I should use it more.

fatedestiny, what joints of meat do you do?! I never roast anything apart from chicken and (roast beef sometimes but obviously that's only for special occasions)

nosquirrels and needtoknow. all great, thank you.

I think it comes down to a combination of
delegating
batch cooking
tray bakes
super simple (pasta, baked potato etc.)

right?!

EatsFartsAndLeaves - that's a good idea - they do sports on alternate evenings, so one can cook (or "cook") while the other is out.

I work from home as my norm, so my meal planning is based around my work schedule. If I know that I'll be working longer one day or have stressful video conference calls, I'm kind to myself and make sure we have leftovers for that day. or something where there's very little effort like jacket potatoes. I know it sounds obvious but it works.
I also expect to have 2 or 3 big cook days maximum a week, where the cooking makes sufficient for the next day on some form and to freeze.

Roast chicken or a pork joint or chops plus whatever veg you feel like adding to the oven.

Pesto pasta with ready cooked chicken breast and cherry tomatoes is quick and easy.

Tesco sell this frozen cauliflower cheese which is surprisingly lovely. I often do gammon steaks or a roasting joint with this on the side.
www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/264754452

Frozen mashed potato is also a game changer.

A microwave risotto is great, plenty of recipes on the bbc good food site

Warm up falafels and sliced halloumi in the oven for 12 minutes, pop on the table with warmed wraps, a tub of hummus, chopped lettuce and grated carrot. Everyone can roll their own

I love Nigella's Express. Quick and easy with not many ingredients. Chilli, chicken curry - all the usual faves and they taste great.
Jamie Oliver does a couple tray bakes which are all in meals. Hit and run chicken is good- just google it. You can add different veg.

Not sure if this would be in your budget, but we have been doing Hello Fresh and it has been a game changer! The ingredients arrive bagged in meals, ready to take out and prepare. We have found the amount provided for is perfect for our family of 5, so should be fine with teens. Worth a go if you can use a voucher code.

We did (before lockdown) a three week menu plan, Mon+Tues was a repeat, Weds super quick (often eggs), Thurs+Fri was a repeat, Sat/Sun nice lunches simple tea or vice versa.

By repeat e.g. make massive panfull, serve on Mon with rice, on Tues with wraps. We are vegetarian so eat a lot of slop. Chilli, curry, tagine, daal, pasta sauces, soup. All do two days. As it doesn't come round for three weeks it didn't get (too) boring.

Weekends would be more varied and depended what we were doing.

Stuff on toast is a valid meal and just let them have as much toast as they want. When I was growing up there was always one meal a week like that.

Mum, dad and 4 teenage kids, we'd heat 3 tins of beans and cook up a dozen fried eggs, a loaf of bread under the grill. 15 minutes to get it all cooked and cheap.

Spaghetti bolognaise - just a big pack of mince with a load of mushrooms chopped into it for bulk and a family size jar of dolmio.

Shepherd pie was another favourite too.

The Roasting Tin cookbooks have brilliant simple recipes that your kids could do too- just involves bunging stuff in a tin and popping it in the oven.

The batch lady on you tube, lots of straightforward family friendly meals, freezer batch cooking. She has loads of videos on how to make a variety of meals all in one go, this one is chicken dishes for example
Her book is good too. There's an American you tuber called she's in her apron who also does lots of batch cooking videos.

We have a summer and winter 14 day menu plan - I don’t always stick to it, but it’s there in case of need.

Everyone picks a night they are responsible for cooking. DH picks 2, Sunday if he isn't usually free in the week. One night he needs to organise himself to be available. You get left with 3 (or pick if it makes a difference). They choose their meal the day before you or dh does the shop to ensure ingredients. Of you don't want 3, you could take it in turns between the 4 of you to have an extra night once a month (approx).
Choose Saturday. It is the night you are most likely to be eating out. Also you won't be juggling work.

Bread and meat

Presumably his unreliable hours don't stop him from getting involved in planning meals though?