What is your favourite midweek easy meal ?

[munchkintrouble]

I'm doing spag Bol & chilli every single week and it's getting a bit boring now. I need a couple of midweek easy dishes to change to.

Any recommendations would be great.
I have a baby so have to be quick!!

Vegetable/egg fried rice

Pesto pasta with bacon and mushrooms

Stir fry or omelette

Stir fry. Get yourself a rice cooker that will keep the rice warm, so you don't have to juggle the times. You can chop the meat/veg up earlier on when the baby naps or is being good.

Leek and potato soup (thermomix)

I throw diced chicken, onion , mushroom , peppers , garlic and cooked rice into a wok lots of olive oil , chilli spice salt and pepper. Sometimes may add a egg in to make the rice egg fried. Easiest meal ever and very tasty

For easy meals I like traybakes - 5 mins active prep time whenever you have a minute, but then sit in the fridge until ready for the oven, then in the oven until we eat. The kind with the meat, veg and carb all on the tray together like chicken thighs, Brussels sprouts and potato wedges with honey mustard.

Fajitas

This is what I cooked last night.
Chicken thighs - skinned, deboned and fat cut off. You can buy them like this. Brown them off and set a side
Bacon lardons - fried untill crispy
Shallots - cook off with the bacon
Garlic
Peas
Pinch of thyme
Chicken stock cube and chicken gravy cube (to make a thicker sauce)
Stick all in a big oven proof dish for 20-30 mins A crowd pleaser in our house

Oh and add some water for the stock

Cheat’s fish pie on Friday nights www.tamingtwins.com/easy-fish-pie/

Fish pie.

Bung frozen fish pie mix, frozen prawns and frozen peas in dish.
Cover with parsley sauce (when I'm feeling super lazy I use Bisto stuff - its like gravy granules)
Top with frozen mash.
Bake.

*when I'm feeling less lazy I make my own mash and parsley sauce.

Not quick, but easy with a baby - jacket potatoes with cheese/beans/tuna etc.

That's my favourite night. Everyone can choose their own toppings so no grumps at the table!

New potatoes
Honey roast ham in the slow cooker
Green beans
Cauliflower cheese (shop bought)

So easy, light and tasty

Tip washed spinach leaves in to a lidded casserole dish with one teaspoon water. Put salmon fillets on top, skin side up. Scoop a jar of pesto on top. Put lid on casserole, put in oven until salmon cooked through. Peel off skin. Serve with pasta and garlic bread

Toad in the hole. Proper comfort food

Fresh stuffed pasta. Stir in Pesto.
Maybe add chopped hot dogs or pre cooked chicken fillet pieces.
Joint of ham in the slow cooker all day. Just honey and mustard thrown on top of it. On slow. Jackets in the oven when home, serve with coleslaw.

Souvlaki, salad, rice, flatbread and tzatziki. Essentially grilled marinated meat (chicken or pork). Super healthy and delicious. BBC food website has plenty of recipes.

@DinosApple

Not quick, but easy with a baby - jacket potatoes with cheese/beans/tuna etc.

That's my favourite night. Everyone can choose their own toppings so no grumps at the table!

If you start them in the microwave, you can do them in about 15 mins including crispy skins.

Put oven on very hot about 230-250 C.

Microwave potatoes 5-10 mins depending on how many.

Put potatoes in oven for 5-10 mins to crisp up.

Prepare your toppings.

Second the tray bake options. I chop up peppers, mushrooms, onions and squash or sweet potato and roast for about 20-30 mins. Serve with fish, chicken, lamb or halloumi. You can just put it all in one go, but I'm worried about things being under/over done, so would probably do the protein bit in a griddle pan.

Also batch cooking, aim to cook at least two meals worth every time to half the number of times you have to cook.

Quick Ratatouille with garlic bread is dead easy.

Chop up aubergines, peppers and courgettes into 2-3cm lumps, toss in a little oil and bung them in the oven for 20 mins.

While they are roasting make some garlic bread or do some other carb eg rice or pasta.

Towards the end of the roasting time saute some garlic & smoked paprika in a large pan, add tinned chopped tomatoes and heat to reduce a bit, add chopped fresh basil salt and pepper.

When the roasted veg are ready stir them into the pan and you are all done. It feels like virtually no effort apart from the chopping.

Can be served with lumps of goats cheese or slices of stilton on top if you like, but that's totally optional.

Ham, egg and chips 😋

Sesame noodles- Chrissy Teigan has a good and extremely simple recipe online. I use shiritaki noodles, broccoli and sugar snaps or frozen peas, sometimes with tofu instead of the chicken as I'm veggie.

Vegetable pasta bake
Cook pasta
Brown onions, mushrooms, garlic, peppers.
Add tin of chopped tomatoes and half can of kidney beans, good glug of balsamic, black pepper and some Italian herbs.
Add to pasta, pour into oven proof dish, top with cheese and bread crumbs and bake.

Sweet potato, chilli and tuna fish cakes

Skinless, boneless chicken thigh marinaded in jerk seasoning and cooked in the oven 180 degrees C for 25 mins. Served with rice or new potatoes and prepared frozen veg which I microwave. Very easy. Line baking sheet with foil before baking the thighs and there's no greasy tray to wash up.