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 ❤️

These look fab!

@Mrmontgomeryburns

the nigella chicken thighs peas and leaks
so simple it hurts and it tastes fab! You don't need the dill!

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/chicken-and-pea-traybake

There's a cook book called "The Roasting Tin" which is all one tray meals you can shove in the oven. You will need to do some chopping etc. But they're easy peasy and there's sections for quick, medium, long meals.
Or canned Lentils/rice and a load of roast veg with Feta
Halloumi flatbreads with salad (from a bag)
Frozen fish with rice and frozen mixed veg
Spaghetti with butter and lemon sauce, peas, leeks (optional) chuck some breadcrumbs on
Don't have many meat ideas as I'm veggie but frozen veg are perfect for quick meals as are ready made pulses etc

A very quick standby here is a pack of chicken thighs (skin on.) Just slash them then liberally smother in bottled reggae reggae sauce/peri-peri etc and shove in the oven. Turn occasionally/baste.

Oven chips and a bagged salad with an avocado and few cherry toms thrown in. you can add a bought dressing or make your own. Hardly any effort required but always goes down a treat.

Agree with others upthread on salmon fillets - another no effort from chez diggins. Place in foil - squeeze of lemon, some dried dill, S&P, knob of butter. Wrap and bake in the oven. Ready washed new potatoes onto boil. Cook, drain, serve with lashings of butter and the sauce off the salmon. Microwave green veg on the side, failing that a bag of rocket with lemon and olive oil and balsamic drizzled over.

Frozen prepped veg and an air fryer will save you.

Sausage casserole is suddenly easy when you just chuck in chopped frozen onion and peppers then chuck in a bit of orzo at the end.

My easiest is sausages in air fryer, pasta with fresh marscapone sauce and frozen spinach (microwave and excess water drained). Chopped up and mixed.

Baking paper is my bestie!

pack of prepared Mediterranean veg and pre cut chorizo or pancetta dumped into a baking tray & in the over together for 25-30 mins - cook pasta drain and stir through naice pesto and serve with what ever cheese on top (feta is especially nice)

No chopping and minimal clean up 👌

do You have an air fryer ?

I also swear by Idahoan instant mash it’s absolute mumsnet treachery and slatternly in the highest as we must always have 5 kids work 60 hour weeks and cook 3 meals from scratch a day but that’s not real life is it ! Some weeks I’m flying and making my own hummus, curry from scratch, soup in my soup maker before work and freezing home made smoothies for toddler dds breakfasts. Sometimes life gets in the way and we have to just survive and be grateful for the food we can access so easily and for our health and Sanity! For me it’s not the cooking it’s the cleaning up and endless pans bowls wiping sides down etc. so things that don’t take hardly any clearing up are the best.
All these things I regularly make use literally the air fryer for which I use a silicon liner which is easier to clean, a microwave bowl with lid, maybe another bowl to mix in. That’s it.
Last week basically looked like this for us. My toddler eats this too so child friendly.

Monday: ready made fish cakes, packet mash, frozen mixed veg, tin of sweetcorn
Tuesday : air fryer jacket potato, tin of tuna mixed with mayo and black pepper, handful of bagged rocket on the side with dressing
Wednesday- chippy tea zero fucks given
Thursday - Crosta & Mollica (best brand IMO!) frozen pizzas, handful of bagged rocket and some chopped up cucumber and red pepper, frozen garlic baguette
Friday - quorn ‘chicken’ nuggets on a wrap with cheese, mayo and lettuce, oven sweet potato fries (frozen), tin of sweetcorn
saturday - beans on toast for lunch, penne pasta with green pesto, peas and ready made cooked salmon from a packet, frozen garlic bread
Sunday - plate of cut up fruit/peppers/cucumber/cheese/ham/crackers for lunch. Ready made steak pie, oven chips, mixed veg, bisto gravy.

Also : the fresh ravioli / tortellini from Co-op with the tomato and mascarpone sauce, handful of mixed leaves or rocket with dressing, frozen 80p garlic baguette… satisfying AF! Takes minutes

I did something really easy and lazy tonight in the air fryer.

Red pepper, halved and cleaned out. Stuffed with a bit of chopped feta, chopped cherry tomatoes and spring onion plus a few herbs and spices. Did those in one side of the air fryer. On the other side, I did drained tinned new potatoes tossed in spices and a bit of oil. Served with salad.

Chop and steam some veg... leeks, broccoli, cauliflower etc...

Put in a heatproof dish and stir in a tub of cream cheese... grate some cheddar, Parmesan, whatever on top & grill until brown.

Delicious with sausages, grilled salmon steaks, chicken, veggie sausages... or just on its own!

Roasting Tin 'Chow Mein'

Chopped meat into a large roasting tin. Mix with a supermarket sachet of stir-fry sauce. Add a ¼ cup or so of boiling water from the kettle and cook at 180ºc for 10-15 minutes depending on the type of meat. Stir through a pack of prepared stir-fry vegetables and a pack of so-called 'fresh' noodles. Add a splash more water and a good shaking of soy sauce. Another 10 minutes in the oven sprinkle with a little toasted sesame oil and serve straight from the tin.

Jacket potatoes?

oh sounds delicious. I am trying to learn air fryer recipes.

My favourite chicken stew - chicken thighs, chopped leeks, carrots, mushrooms (or whatever you've got in the fridge) bottle of cider or beer if you've got it, chicken stock cube/pot and water just to cover the chicken and veg. Cook on low for about 30 mins, throw in a couple of handfuls of red lentils and cook for another 15 mins. Season with plenty of salt and pepper, serve with mash or crusty bread 😋 this will keep in the fridge for a good 3 days or so, leftovers are great for a hot lunch on a cold day!

Also this is really easy if you have the spices...

www.nigella.com/recipes/indian-spiced-chicken-and-potato-traybake

Put a chicken in the oven - just a bit of olive oil and salt on the skin OR stick a lemon, some garlic and thyme in the cavity. Serve with baguette and salad one night, then pull the left over meat off the bones to:

make curry (can buy a jar or do a jar of paste with coconut milk which is nicer), rice pouch and or naan and you're sorted - can also add frozen spinach or peas into the sauce for the last few minutes

make risotto buy a pack such as https://www.ocado.com/products/riso-gallo-1856-porcini-mushroom-risotto-602266011

make a quick bit of gravy while the pan is still hot from the chicken and make pie (can also be done with a tin of soup as a cheat's way) buy Tesco 3 for 2 oven ready or microwave steam veg ready bought pastry goes without saying

A bag of ready chopped stir fry veg, cooked chicken / prawns / tofu and microwave rice or quick soak noodles. Add a splash of soy sauce, chilli and garlic to the stir fry.
Boil pasta and add brocolli half way through cooking, then heat through with cooked chicken and pesto.
soft cheese is good for a quick creamy sauce.

More chicken thighs from me! Tray bake one. Thighs (always skin on here for preference) In a baking dish - along with quartered red onion, fennel and a bag of trusty washed new potatoes and whole unskinned garlic cloves. Ensure all is snug. Seasoning of choice (but ours is a small glass of white wine poured over, drizzle of olive oil, a bit of lemon, S&P and a sprigs of thyme tucked in amongst it all.)

Bake, an occasional baste. Serve - makes a lovely 'jus' too..

Beans on toast with an egg on top. Poached, fried, scrambled or boiled scooped out of shell.

Pesto chicken.

Chicken breast, one per person.

Stick it on a baking tray, smear a teaspoon or so of pesto on to each one. Slice a tomato and put a slice or two on each bit of chicken. Put a slice of mozzarella on top. Oven at 200 degrees for about 40 minutes.

I eat it with salad and bread (French sticks I’ve I’ve been shopping, if not I get those part baked baguette things and cook those with it.)

Try Simply Cook - they send you spice pots and a recipe card, recipe usually has 4-5 items (you have to purchase yourself) but makes tasty easy meals and you don’t have to think about what to eat. They’ve also got an app so you can check ingredients of the recipes while you’re out if you decide to last minute food shop.

Boil new potatoes, peas, broccoli. Fry salmon/cod and in the same pan baby or halved tomatoes. Drain veg, add butter and seasonings, serve. Can sprinkle dill on the fish too.

Stir fry of whatever veg you like, add protein of choice (prawns, chicken, tofu). Rice noodles and soya sauce. Mix up and serve.

Homemade beans on toast. Either fry down baby tomatoes or use tinned, add paprika and some balsamic, maybe a bit of courgette as it cooks quickly. Add butter beans. Serve either on toast or on a baked sweet potato with a side salad.

Fish in a bag. Fish of choice on a bed of rocket with lemon, olives, whatever else you like. Serve with a tray bake of spiced veg like sweet potato, peppers, onion, carrot, tomato.

Salmon pasta. Boil pasta and fry salmon, boil peas and asparagus. Mix all together once the pasta is drained with some olive oil/basil/pesto/creme fraiche.

Smoked salmon on toast with cream cheese and salad.

Serves two/three. Cook spaghetti and while cooking saute a grated courgette in a little oil and add 2 tins of mackerel in tomato sauce and some tomato puree. Break up mackerel and sdd some pasta water to keep sauce loose. Toss pasta in sauce and serve.

I use frozen chopped onions and frozen garlic and herbs. Handy to have in the freezer.

My kids love pasta with onion, cubed pancetta or bacon, cream, garlic , tomato puree sauce. Really easy and tasty with a bit of parmesan or grated cheese on top. fry frozen onion and garlic in butter, throw in bacon and once cooked add cream and tomato puree. cook pasta and chuck into the sauce

Really easy chilli is mince, jar of uncle bens medium chill sauce and tinned tomatos. brown mince and chuck everything else in
Pasta , tuna. mayo
Puy lentils ( ready to use), jar of sundried tomatos, feta cheese, rocket- simple and delish and can keep in the fridge as a side to fishcakes, etc You simply throw puy lentils into a tub, chop the sundried tomatos and chuck it in with the lentils, chop feta cheese and throw in rocket. Pour a little of the oil from jar of sundried and mix. Really delicious and easy

Cook some pasta, add tinned tuna, black olives and tinned sweet corn and stir together with a few squirts of mayo. Basically only takes as long as the pasta takes to cook. Easy to scale up.