What are your go to quick family meals?

[Rovinonmars]

Life is about to get a whole lot busier for me, and dinner time is already a drag in this house. Can anyone share some really quick and easy weeknight dinners to feed two adults and 3DC? I'd love some inspiration please.

Do you have a slow cooker? I couldn't be without mine.

Slow cooker meals
Cook double at weekends
Prep lasagne etc at weekends so you just need to shove in the oven leaving you time to run around!
I got a subscription to Simply Cook to give me new ideas for food to cook in 30 minutes
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Pasta and pesto
Pasta with grated cheese
Stuffed pasta
Hence our simply Cook subscription 🤣🤣

'Nigella Express' has some really good, very quick recipes, and none of them requires lots of ingredients. I'm not so bothered by Jamie Oliver's book of quick recipes - far too much planning and faffing required.

Soups with part-baked rolls, or a bread maker loaf if I get my act together. We have steak sandwiches with part-baked rolls too.

I agree about the slow cooker too. I'm doing pork in cider in mine tomorrow. Mine is one that has a pot that can be put on the hob, so I can quickly brown everything in one pot (I hate the feeling of creating washing up before the day has even started!).

We love lasagne. I make individual portions and freeze. Thaw overnight and 30 mins in the oven served with garlic ciabatta and rocket salad.

Beef and onion in ciabatta with chips. cook the beef in a slow cooker, shred snd caramelise the Onions.

The TikTok feta cheese pasta recipe - so good and so easy!

vm.tiktok.com/ZMRWpssjN/

Couple tins Mexican beans, tin tomatoes, chilli powder, some garlic puree, tomato puree, chopped onion. Throw in a frying pan with a bit of water until cooked. In another pot cook rice. Mix together and serve in tacos with a bit of salad

Haddock cheese bake , quick and simple .

We were short of time tonight so had pasta with red pesto. It's the first time I've bought pesto and can see it being a new emergency dinner for when we're in a rush!

Tin of mixed beans, tin of tuna, chopped red onion, squeeze of lemon, fresh chopped parsley.

Bacon/leek or courgette/mushroom and red onion dry fried, stir in a couple of spoonfuls of Creme fraiche and add cooked pasta.

Steak/chicken/salmon etc cooked in George Forman grill with veg or salad and? Rice or noodles . Thin steaks are a minute each side so quick.

Pasta in many different forms, primavera ( pesto, peas and asparagus) carbonara (pancetta, eggs and Parmesan), De Medici (peas, ham and cream).
I also make nasi goreng with mixed frozen veg stir fried in sambal olek or goaguchang paste and then add microwave rice pouches and then kechap manis and top with a fried egg and some sriracha if you like it spicy.

You do know that if it's pasta, you must make your own?

@midsomermurderess

You do know that if it's pasta, you must make your own?

Fuck that!

This is my plan, doesn't always work out so have easy tomato pasta or frozen pizza nights as back-up. Batch cooking and freezing get me through so I'm not cooking from scratch everyday.

Sunday - roast dinner (and tend to rotate and freeze veg, stuffing, yorkies so only prepping one of two things each week while meat roasts) and prep slow cooker meal for Monday
Monday - slow cooker meal, tagine, stew, etc and portions into freezer
Tuesday - prepped meal from freezer
Weds - wfh and make big pot of something like chilli, ragu, creamy chicken and mushroom and portions into freezer
Thursday - prepped meal from freezer
Friday - frozen chips and something ready made like breaded fish, chicken, quiche
Saturday - usually curry and make a double portion and freeze so I have a night off next week

These are in regular rotation in our house:

Fry some turkey mince - takes about 5 mins to cook- Chuck in this sauce, boil in the bag rice, grate some cheese on top with some fresh coriander. All done within 20 mins

www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/dl-jardines-original-chili-mix/497630-70324-70325

Fry some pancetta and diced chicken in a pan. Boil some spaghetti. In the last minute of spaghetti boiling time add some broccoli and peas to the water to cook them without the faff of getting another pan on the go. Drain it. Crack two eggs, beat them and then pour it over the spaghetti and toss. Top the spaghetti with chicken / pancetta, season and grate Parmesan liberally. We call it carbonara but I know no self respecting Italian would agree. 20 minutes.

Shop bought breaded chicken in the oven, boil in the bag rice, boil some of this with water to make a Kathy sauce, serve with bagged salad and Wagamama eat your heart out. Also 20 mins.

Cheats ramen - best with leftover pork from a Sunday roast otherwise I chuck a few chicken breasts to roast on the oven for 20 mins.

Add to that fajitas, meatballs and pasta, chicken curry, stir fry and some slow cooker stuff

We wouldn’t be without our Instant Pot. Curries, stews and soups in around three quarters of an hour including prep time; or a whole pot roast chicken in 30 minutes.

Also really like Nadiya Hussain’s teriyaki chicken and noodles, and Jamie Oliver’s Sorta Salmon Nicoise adjusted into a main course with more green beans and salmon.

@MavisMonkey

These are in regular rotation in our house:

Fry some turkey mince - takes about 5 mins to cook- Chuck in this sauce, boil in the bag rice, grate some cheese on top with some fresh coriander. All done within 20 mins

www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/dl-jardines-original-chili-mix/497630-70324-70325

Fry some pancetta and diced chicken in a pan. Boil some spaghetti. In the last minute of spaghetti boiling time add some broccoli and peas to the water to cook them without the faff of getting another pan on the go. Drain it. Crack two eggs, beat them and then pour it over the spaghetti and toss. Top the spaghetti with chicken / pancetta, season and grate Parmesan liberally. We call it carbonara but I know no self respecting Italian would agree. 20 minutes.

Shop bought breaded chicken in the oven, boil in the bag rice, boil some of this with water to make a Kathy sauce, serve with bagged salad and Wagamama eat your heart out. Also 20 mins.

Cheats ramen - best with leftover pork from a Sunday roast otherwise I chuck a few chicken breasts to roast on the oven for 20 mins.

Add to that fajitas, meatballs and pasta, chicken curry, stir fry and some slow cooker stuff

Kathy sauce - is it named after someone?

My kids favourite is literally some fresh pasta with a stir in sauce. Add some peas, cheese on top....takes less than 20 mins!

Also stir fry for dh and me. I buy pre cut stir fry veg, a pkt sauce and some straight to wok noodles.

Instant Pot stuff. Stews, curries, soups, pasta sauces. It's all really quick and can often be put in from frozen.

Variations on dirty rice- it's a Cajun dish but I adapt veg/protein/sesoning for what we have in.

Naan bread or flatbread pizzas and salad.

Tarragon chicken - 20 minutes

Super quick - Tilda tomato rice, stirred through with some chorizo and prawns, plus a bit of chopped parsley and squeeze of lemon. Takes under ten minutes in the microwave. Maybe but entirely healthy, but works for us.

In a similar vein, kedgeree - microwave rice with curry powder, stir through hot smoked mackerel and top with hard boiled eggs.

But also, any fresh pasta. And lots of cooking an extra portion which can be reheated when we eat at separate times.

Taco Tuesday - chicken or tofu cut the night before with peppers and onions with seasoning. Quick fried on the day

Noodle stir fry, with or without meat... Meat is best tofu of leftover chicken from a roast

Carbonara
Puttanesca

Mexican lasagna - I don't work Mondays and prepped it then and put in the oven when I got home from work tonight and sat on the sofa.

Dd gets home before me now, sometimes she chucks some baked potatoes in the oven... I always marvel at how good and personalized baked potatoes can be!

And then the usual freezer/batch cooked stuff and freezer leftovers.

Also couldn't do without slow cooker- Spag bol / pulled pork / beef bourguignon / chicken chasseur / curries / fish pie mix (buy ready made mash to add to top before serving) / lentils / and if I'm not around to serve, it's great they can help themselves at the various times they come home

Other quick and easy are pesto pasta / oven baked salmon with easy veg & flavoured quick rice / quesadillas/ even a mid-week roast can be quick with a couple of tins of potatoes seasoned and chucked in the oven, ready made Yorkies and quick gravy and whatever joint whacked in / bangers and mash / stir fry / fishcakes / jacket potatoes and salad

Spaghetti carbonara, pasta primavera and pasta Alfredo are all popular here.
Cous-cous or microwaved rice instead of potatoes to serve with casserole type meals.
Fish fillets baked in foil packets served with flavoured rice.