Please hit me with your insanely easy recipes

[Mrmontgomeryburns]

I'm a competent cook and usually enjoy it but I have an ASD older child and a young baby who doesn't sleep and I'm on the edge of what feels like a breakdown tbh. Please give me your very very easy dinner recipes that also have some semblance of nutritional value (this is for DH and me - baby isn't on solids yet and my older DC has an extremely limited diet). I'm talking things like pasta and jarred pesto with added frozen peas and sweetcorn stirred in. Things that use minimal pans and don't require too much chopping or prep. We don't have any particular dietary requirements.

Thank you ❤️

My walk in the door, rush meal is couscous, I don’t even measure it now. Add cous cous to a shallow large bowl, generous pinch of salt and dried herbs, cover with boiling water and a couple of plates.

Take coat off!

Fluff cous cous after 5-6 mins, add slug of olive oil, bit more water if it looks dry.

Crack open a jar of chickpeas, grilled peppers, tin sweetcorn, tin tuna, feta chunks and throw in. Tip some rocket on top and serve, the options are endless really.

Also a good way to make a meal with any leftover roast veg.

Throw seasoned Diced chk breast and bacon in the slow cooker, buy a prepack bag of caesar salad ingredients and put it all on a plate when ready.

I make a big tortilla type omelette with boiled sliced potatoes.
fry onions till soft, then add peppers, chillis, ham, mushrooms etc. then the boiled potatoes. Add as many beaten seasoned eggs as you like then cook for a bit, finish under the grill with grated cheese.
It keeps well for a couple days and you can slice it and heat in the microwave. With salad. Napolina do a great tinned bean salad as well that you can serve with it. X

Slow cooker is what you need for some of the days.
Easiest meal I do is Bean chilli.
Kidney beans etc
Can of baked beans
Can of chopped tomatoes or pasatta
Dash paprika
Slug of maple syrup
Fresh or jarred chillis to taste
Slug of pesto

You can add some peeled quartered potatoes on the top with a bit of butter over them and then serve them with the chilli. Or microwave packet rice. Or add French stick.

This is really quick and my young DDs both eat it.

Tomatoes, cucumber, basil, garlic, red wine vinegar, bit of chilli (I don't bother with this), and sun dried tomatoes (I used sun dried tomato paste because I never use sun dried tomatoes enough to finish the jar) all chucked in a blender until smooth, poured over pasta, topped with tuna and cheese.

It's more of a summer meal I think. But really quick. You can make the sauce earlier in the day and put in the fridge, then just heat through once the pasta is drained.

🙄

A simple vegetarian winter warmer :
Fry a small onion, a diced red pepper and 3 fat cloves of garlic. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes and simmer on a low heat for 5 minutes. Add a teaspoon of all purpose or Cajun seasoning and set aside. Boil potatoes cut small till just done. Tip into a baking tray, top with tomato sauce smother with cheddar and bake for 10 minutes at 180 degrees.

Serve with salad or steamed veg.

Boil pasta

Fry bacon lardons until crispy, add any green veg, fresh or frozen...add cream cheese and a dash of milk to make a sauce. Add cooked pasta. Done... can top with some grated cheese

I like a chickpea and sweet potato curry in the slow cooker.
Tin of chickpeas, some frozen sweet potato chunks, tin of chopped tomatoes, whatever frozen veg I have in, and curry powder. Cook in slow cooker, stir in some yoghurt just before serving.

Someone has mentioned something similar up thread but I made this the other day and my kids wolfed it down - it took 5 mins and was lovely!

Heat tablespoon of oil in a pan,
add a teaspoon of lazy garlic and a teaspoon of ginger puree (if you have them)
add a packet of microwave rice
add tin of tuna
add tin of sweetcorn
1-2 tablespoons soy sauce

stir it for a couple of minutes over the heat and serve

Black bean beef and broccoli.

Buy a couple of steaks... slice. Fry with a handful of broccoli florets. Add a jar of black bean sauce.

Serve with microwaved packet rice.

Sausage, baked potato, beans, all done in oven.

Beans in a small over proof dish, sausage on a tray, jp wrapped in foil (maybe zap in microwave beforehand)

Naice fishcakes and peas

Use pataks paste, or even better the spice tailor kits to make a curry out of whatever meat/veg you have to hand

Make a tomato sauce and add a can of chickpeas and some fried chorizo. Eat with couscous

Baked potato with cheese and salad

This is dead easy and quick to prepare and cook:

Salmon fillets
Place each fillet on a sheet of cooking paper
Squeeze on some lemon & throw in the peel too
Seasoning
Frozen dill
A few capers if you have them

Wrap the sheet like a big sweet wrapper, place on a frying pan and into a hot oven (180 ish) for 15/20 mins.

As the oven is on, throw in potato wedges and/or peas in a bowl of water and/or other veg.

You can sometimes find tartare sauce in the fish section.

What I had tonight!

Throw 2 sourdough rolls in the air fryer, torn into rough cubes. Tip a packet of merchant gourmet jumbo chick peas into other side of your air fryer (or oven for both!)

In a salad bowl, toss baby tomatoes, cucumber, crumbled feta, celery, asparagus, red pepper and a balsamic dressing

Add the roasted chickpeas and sourdough cubes and toss the lot together

Serve

Healthy, filling and takes ten mins maximum

Boil some new potatoes and (add in later) sugar snap peas. Fry chorizo chopped into coins. Toss all together. Tada.

Egg fried rice - fry up chopped spring onion, lazy ginger & garlic puree, add in any other veg you like to stir fry with the spring onions. Add in a pouch of pre cooked basmati rice. Once sizzling nicely, add in beaten eggs. Season with sesame oil & soy sauce.

I make black bean and sweet corn tacos

Get a can of black beans, rinse and drain the beans.
Mix in a cup of frozen sweet corn kernels.
Stir in salt, cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp ground cumin, 1/4 tsp ground coriander, 1/4 tsp dried oregano and microwave until hot (about 1 to 2 minutes)
Put into tortillas with grated cheese, salsa, guacamole, and sour cream

Sausage casserole.
(Prep time 5-10 mins, cooking 40-60 mins)
8 good quality sausages cut into chunks.
1-2 large onions, sliced/chopped (whatever you have time for)
Tsp mixed herbs
c 2 cloves garlic (out of jar or tube)
1-2 tins chopped tomatoes
Spoon of flour
Oxo cube
Bit of water
Oil.

In a large flame-proof casserole dish, fry the onions until soft, add the sausage pieces and brown, then stir in the garlic for a few mins. Spoon in the flour and stir the whole lot around for a minute. Then add the tomatoes (swilling out the tins with a little water) and the Oxo cube. Salt and pepper to taste.
Then simmer with lid on, either on hob or in oven, for about 40-60 minutes.

Serve with rice/oven chips/mash/ wedges of brown bread. Or add more water and cook mini pasta shapes in with everything else.

All of the recipes from the Roasting Tin book series, like:

https://thehappyfoodie.co.uk/articles/10-one-tin-recipes-from-the-roasting-tin-series-that-will-definitely-make-your-life-easier/

slice chorizo and add to a dish - usually use half the long sausage for two
into oven with lots of oil about 180 for about ten minutes
tip in a pack of raw prawns - Swizz about so they get coated in the nice chorizo oil
back in oven for about five mins
you can do some peas at this point if you want to
get a pack of salad - rocket and spinach in good - divide between two bowls. Add the peas if you’ve bothered
divide the chorizo and prawns between the bowls, have a quick mix so the salad wilts a bit in the lovely chorizo oil
serve with nice bread and butter to dip in the oil.

Sorry, I forgot to say I would add red peppers to the chorizo thing

Cheesy- peasy pasta. Cook pasta (any). Whilst pasta is cooking, fry some lardons until golden. Add a cup of peas to the bacon pan, plus some chilli flakes and/or mint if you have any. Add the pasta to the pan with a cup of the pasta liquid. Grate a load of Parmesan in. Toss until it is all coated and looks glossy. If you're feeling fancy you can deglaze the bacon pan with marsala wine or white wine before adding the peas. If you have some cream or creme fraiche in the fridge stir that in when you add the cheese.

Other excellent pasta dishes to Google: aglio e olio, cacio e pepe, nigella marmite spaghetti. Marion Grasby instant noodles with cheese and spring onions.

We've just had pork loin steaks with cubed potatoes and veg. Fried steaks, finished in oven / air fryer. Make sauce in frying pan:

White wine (can leave out)
Stock pot / cube
Soured cream
Mustard

Feels like a really posh dinner but took about 20 minutes start to finish

Chicken surprise tray bake.... Chicken thighs, potato wedges and option1: chorizo, cherry tomatoes pepper and onions
Option 2: lemon, garlic onion olives
Option 3: whatever is lurking in the fridge/ cupboard

Coat all in olive oil, add herbs, garlic and random spices as you see fit...
Throw at the oven in a large tray. 170ish for 40 minutes. Needs no stirring or anything fancy. Can be done in an air fryer

I saw someone put the oven baked gnocchi... I can second that

Passata pesto bit of garlic and parmesan stirred through... Herbs if you can be bothered... Again throw it at the oven.