Easy quick family meals

[Mexicantortilla]

Please can you give me your quickest and easiest family meals? I’m stuck in a rut, hate ready meals with a passion, prefer to cook from scratch but don’t get home til 6pm, if I cook it’s never ready before 7.30 and need to be getting kids to bed, it’s just not working for me! I don’t have a dishwasher and always have to wash up before I can prep and cook, it’s just becoming a nightmare and I’m out of options of what to make. No one likes fish either!

Spaghetti bolognese, use cook from frozen Mince and a jar of sauce and tinned chopped tomatoes. Takes 20 mins to prepare and cook.

Salmon en croute... Ready rolled pastry, salmon fillets from Lidl, take skin off, layer herby cream cheese, fish then cheese again, and roll pastry round it, brush with egg wash. Takes 10 mins if that to prep and 20 minutes max to cook. Serve with frozen green beans steamed in microwave.

Turkey steaks, grilled, served with big pile of steamed veg (we like beans, peas, leeks, tenderstem broccoli) and gravy.

Sausage, egg and chips.

Fajitas.

I hate cooking and these are my go tos.

Ah sorry, just reread about no fish....

Stir fry with one of those easy kits from Co op or Tesco. We have just had one.

Onion, peppers, green beans and chicken in a pan, bit of garlic. Add 50ml soy sauce, a squeeze of ketchup and a spoon of honey plus some water to make it saucey. Boil off some noodles 4 mins, pop those in. Easy. To be honest I throw anything in I've got in the fridge. I just always have soy sauce, honey and ketchup in so this is super easy. Works with rice or bulgar wheat too. Delicious.

Jacket potatoes - pierce them and start them off in microwave first then finish off 15-20 minutes in oven

pasta with any sort or stir in decent shop sauce or pesto.

pitta bread pizzas - buy grated cheese to make it quicker.

This is nice, the full recipe is online you don’t have to buy the gousto box!

Check out tamingtwins on Insta - Sarah Rossi is her real name and this is her thing, she’s got loads of recipes for easy family dinners for free on her site and also a new cook book out x

Their 10 minute bolognese also looks ok

Part baked Baguette pizza.
Slice bagettes in half. Cook for half stated time.
Top with tomato puree, cheese & any fancied topping. Put back in oven for 5-10 mins.

Chicken nuggets with lettuce, tomato & mayo in a wrap.

Pasta with meatballs. Add a pasta sauce & grated cheese.

corned beef hash

tin of corned beef
1 large onion
potatoes - cut into little cubes
oxo cubes/gravy granules

put on low it’ll be ready by home time serve with a baguette

Fajitas
chickdn/peppers/onion/wraps/sour cream/

scrambled egg & toast

home made curry with maysan powder micro rice and prawn crackers

mccain jacket pots with whatever you like

if you insist on cooking from
scratch then it will be more time consuming

Chicken & bacon mustard mayo on either a part baked baguette with lettuce, or jacket spud.

Defrost the chicken. Slice up & pan fry. Add chopped bacon. Leave to cool slightly for approx 5 mins & then mix with mayo & wholegrain mustard.

We have 3 nights of 30 min meals a week as so rushed - this week we’ve had mince tacos. Mince in pan with garlic powder and Cajun spices, chopped pepper and onion - dry fry while chopping salad, mushing avocado and grating cheese. Soft mini tortilla folded over shelf in oven - on table to all help selves.

burgers which I made on Sunday in prep, straight under grill and potato wedges tossed in herby oil then in airfryer. Corn cob and side salad.

tomorrow is Thai curry - chicken, paste and veg in pan with coconut milk until cooked (15 or so mins) rice on to boil with peas and spring onion added at the end

I meal plan & shop to it, & I do a fair bit of slow cooker dishes & batch cooking.

This week we have had:
Slow cooker mango chicken curry
Thai vegetable curry & noodles - veg was quickly mandolined then fried with thai curry paste, coconut milk
Beans on toast
Slow cooker ratatouille - will be stirred through pasta, lots of freezer leftovers
Tex mex slow cooker pasta (swapping in vegballs for chicken)
Aloo gobi shepherd's pie - leftovers will be filo samosas

Currently using the 'Bored of Lunch' book a fair bit, & also 'One Pot, Plan, Planet' - both are good.

In your circumstances I'd be looking at batch cooking and freezing/chilling so you just have to re-heat something when you get in and while it's heating you can sort out veg/salad, rice etc. Bolognese, stew, chilli, pies, lasagne, shepherd's/cottage pie.

Another way would be to put something into a slow cooker first thing but that wouldn't be practical for everybody.

I don't understand about the washing up. Can't you do that the night before or at breakfast time?

Stir fry - buy a bag of stir fry veg & add some extras and fry with quorn/chicken. Add rice or noodles.

Pasta & pesto. Sometimes with bacon, spinach, kale, cheese.

Jacket potato with beans & cheese or tuna.

Spaghetti bolognaise or chilli.

Quick curry from a jar. Fry onions & chicken then add sauce.

Oven chios with something from the freezer.

Also consider using hello fresh. All ingredients fresh and you’ll be cooking from scratch

you can choose rapid meals that are prepped quickly

Chicken and chorizo ragu - bbc good good recipe. Can have with jackets/pasta/rice.
cook double and freeze half for a quicker meal next time.

stir fry

sausage (or chicken thigh) and veggie tray bake - if you prep the veg the night before it makes it quicker.

make a big vat of pasta sauce and freeze in portions - can be added to pasta with chicken/bacon/sausage/meatballs.

Placemarking

What I dio is make a big batch each of bolognase / chilli/ curry/ casserole..... whatever you like to eat.
Take out of freezer to defrost and reheat while cooking pasta/ rice/ potato and veg.

Here's two v quick but delicious pasta dishes we make regularly:

Mushroom & prosciutto pasta (Bill Granger recipe)
This serves 3 so scale up or down as needed.
Peel & slice half a punnet of mushrooms
Cook in a large pan in butter with lots of black pepper.
Chop up 3 slices of Parma ham & add to to the mushrooms. Cook for about 3 orc4 mins. Add in 2 minced/ grated garlic cloves & stir. Add 100ml chicken stock & 100ml cream. Season & simmer.
Meanwhile cook pasta (we like fettuccine with this) & stick a garlic baguette into the oven.

Let the sauce thicken a little while the pasta & garlic bread are cooking. Once ready use a slotted spoon to transfer the pasta to the pan, allowing some of the cooking water to splash into the pan

Stir to coat the pasta well.

Serve with with loads of parmesan, good grind of black Pepper, the garlic bread, Olives & green salad.

While its all cooking make a quick dressing for the salad - 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar, 1 tablespoon honey, 2 teaspoons dijon mustard, salt & black pepper & whisk.well

Delicious dinner on the table - 20mims from start to eating

Or finely dice a red onion & fry gently in some olive oil, when soft add 2 grated garlic cloves, then add 2 diced chicken breasts & season. Add a jar of passata (I like the one with added herbs) & about 150mils cream
Allow to simmer ads fresh basil.& adjust seasoning
Serve with pasta (we like penne with this)., garlic bread, Olives & salad
Again dinner in 30 mins

Forgot to say we throw broccoli cut into small florets in with the pasta for the last 5 mins cooking time when making th e chicken pasta

My new fav is a 10 minute orzo dish. It’s like a quick fake risotto.

Bang orzo in a pan, splash with milk, throw in a bit of stock and some frozen spinach cubes. Keep stirring. Add stock as needed. Grate half a bar of Parmesan in and some butter. Done.

Agree - her recipes are great. I made a katsu curry sauce the other day that she put on Instagram and it was so lovely. I did with quorn nuggets I had in the freezer and rice.

Another quick one is stir fry - the frozen stir fry veg bags are great. I sometimes add in a tin of water chestnuts and make a sauce with hoisin, soy and honey and serve with egg noodles that only take 3-4 minutes to cook.

I forgot all about orzo…this recipe is lovely and quick

We usually have gnocchi once a week, because it’s very quick. Two of our favourites are these:
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/creamy-broccoli-gnocchi

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sausage-kale-gnocchi-one-pot
(although I just use sausagemeat instead of faffing with sausages, and spinach instead of kale!)