Genuinely easy family meals you have on rotation?

[cupwithyellowflowers]

I'm a single mum to two teens, don't love cooking but can do it and love food! I am making the same meals week in week out and getting very bored.

What meals do you make for your family that are really truly easy (like 30 mins prep easy, no special equipment?) and not too pricey? Things that take ages in an oven are fine but not loads of chopping and multiple steps etc as I have a busy WFH job. The teens are not fussy and have good appetites.

Also be great to hear of any meals your teens make, so I can hopefully outsource some of the cooking :)

Ok. Not quick to prepare, but what abouf cottage pie?

In the winter months, I make it in the morning and then pop it in thr fridge.

If we have them in the house, I add onions, carrots, parsnips and mudhrooms to the mince. Then for the topping I boil sweet potato and normal potato in thr same pot and mash it together.

It is a bit sweet, but includes lots of veg and the familty like it.

It is a lot of peeling and dicing, but worth it.

My rotational dishes and family favourites are :
Fish pie . Fish pie fish mix from supermarket. Tesco, Sainsbury’s and Waitrose definitely do one. Poach in milk until fish is flaky. Boil a saucepan of potatoes. Add 3 eggs to the water. Hard boil eggs. Take some frozen peas and in a casserole mix these in with the flaky fish and sliced boiled eggs. Add a heaped spoonful of cornflour to 100 ml of water mix until smooth add to the milk from poaching . Mix the sauce into the rest of the mixture and top with mash potatoes. Place in oven at 180 c for 30/40 minutes until potatoes are browned.

Adding bay leaf’s to the milk makes a better flavour. Along with some grated nutmeg but most importantly be sure to season well with salt and pepper.
Added prawns if making it for a fancier meal. Some people like cheesy mash instead of plain. Lots of parsley is also great with the fish.

Thai Green/red/yellow/Massaman curry.

Essential. Go to an Asian store and buy paste for any of the above curries. Make sure they are made and packed in Thailand. There is no authentic Thai curry paste at mainstream supermarkets. The real deal are vacuum packed and last for months.
For 4. 500g chicken thighs/pork/beef/tofu/firm white fish. Cut into bite sized pieces. Heat a wok. Add one tbs of chosen paste and stir fry until flavours are released. Add your chosen protein. Stir fry until protein in covered in the paste. Cook for another couple of minutes. Add veg . We like baby corn, green beans, mange tout but usually just chuck in what needs using up.
Add one can of full fat coconut milk. simmer for 5-10 minutes and serve over Jasmine rice

He's just done tuna balls with couscous now on Saturday Kitchen in less than 20 minutes from scratch.

Stirfry using the Co-Op stirfry kit which has julienned veg, noodles and a sauce. Add protein of choice.

Spaghetti bolognaise
bbq pulled chicken mini burgers
easy carbonara
slow cooker fajita chicken
easy pasta bake with passata and cream cheese
toad in the hole
homemade cornflake chicken nuggets
chicken wraps
bbq pork chops with rice and veg
sausage meat meatballs with spaghetti
a roast chicken one day then leftovers in pasta

Tuna fish pie. I can do it in 15 mins prep. Cheese sauce is easy but if you’re lazy just get a packet or jar one. Tarragon on top of tuna. Get mushrooms you buy loose, much nicer than packaged ones in a box.

Do you have an air fryer? If so cut chicken and veg strips marinate in the fridge while you are at work Work throwing the air fryer for 10 minutes shaking every few minutes get a pack of wraps put them in tinfoil and put them in the oven for the same amount of time, so easy.

Fish fillets seasoned and glazed with whatever you like (sweet chili sauce, herb dressing, etc) then wrapped in foil and roasted for 17 minutes.
Roast chopped Mediterranean veg or new pots alongside.

Another one, ratatouille, shell pasta on top, cheese sauce, bacon rashers on top, bake in oven. Delicious and equally nice cold.

Second this. I often do mashed potatoes with it. Easy, yummy and cheap.

I am quite fussy in that I like tasty meals and dislike dry foods. My kids love the below & the meals are quick and filling

Chicken fajitas - always with beans & guacamole to bulk it up.
Chilli con carne with rice
Beef stew with potatoes
Pasta dishes eg carbonara, chicken & cream cheese/paprika, salmon with cream fraiche/mustard, meatballs with sauce, spaghetti bol
Cottage/shepherds pie
Chicken pie can use similar sauce to pasta dish
Sausages & mash & onion gravy
Large jackets with tuna mayo/cheese & beans, chilli con carne.
Chicken curry with rice
Roasts

Things that make things faster; frozen veg, frozen mash, sofrita mix, crowns, sauces in jars eg Mutti

Cajun chicken - coat chicken fillets in Cajun and chuck them in the oven. Boil up wild rice. Cook broccoli (I usually throw it in the oven with the chicken for ease). Good one to do extras off and box up for the week.

Spaghetti carbonara - put a pan of water on to boil, peel and press four cloves of garlic, break three eggs into a bowl and add 100g grated parmesan along with black pepper. Put 300g spaghetti in boiling water. Melt butter in a frying pan, add smoked pancetta cubes and fry for a few minutes, then add garlic (I leave it in but it's popular to remove it), add the spaghetti (but keep back the water), take off the heat, chuck in the egg/parmesan/pepper mix, use the pasta water to help it mix / keep it saucy. Serve. Takes me less than half an hour from start to finish. Garlic bread makes a good side.

Chicken zorbas - dice chicken breast. Add 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp ground cumin, 1/2 tsp turmeric, juice of a lemon to the chicken. Ideally leave for a couple of hours or overnight. Or just put it to one side while you mix half Greek yoghurt with half hummus and put it in a bowl. Open a bag of rocket. Fry up the chicken. Toast pita breads. Then let everyone build their own dinner - chicken, rocket and sauce.

Fajitas chicken and halloumi, chilli, spaghetti Bol, shepherds pie, Sunday lunches, fresh pasta with sauce garlic bread and salad, quick freezer tea so oven chips and whatever’s lurking, salmon with sticky rice and green veg, pho with gyozas, sausage and root veg tray bake.

Following for ideas!
I invested in a very large slow cooker and make a big bolognaise mix and pad it all out with hidden veg (grated carrots, courgettes, spinach balls, onions, mushrooms, tomatoes instead of expensive sauces then seasoned) and it makes tonnes.
We have spaghetti bolognaise that night, then it does 2 lasagnes or 1 lasagne and a tub of bolognaise for the freezer and you’ve only done all the peeling and chopping once!

assign each teen one day a week they have to cook! Doesn’t matter if it’s bean on toast, pizza, pasta and sauce.

they each have a day and have to cook for everyone.

this will free up some of your time too.

My SEND DS has been cooking for the two of us regularly for years started with sandwiches and toasties and now it’s spag Bol from scratch, homemade pizza etc.

Our easy family dinners are:

Mixed bean fajitas. Just fry an onion, a pepper and two tins of any type of beans or chickpeas with fajita spices and serve in wraps with grated cheese/sour cream/avocado. It's cheap, nutritious and most of it is made with store cupboard ingredients. I can have it on the table in 10 minutes start to finish.

Welsh rarebit and a side salad.

Chorizo cajun pasta. Fry chorizo in cajun spices, boil pasta with whatever veg you want, add pasta to cajun chorizo frying pan and then off the heat stir through a bit of cream. This works well with halloumi too.

Gnocchi with garlic and thyme mushrooms. I make a sauce with a bit of cream cheese and a ladleful of the water the gnocchi cooked in. Again that is under 10 minutes start to finish.

If I roast a chicken I always put cherry tomatoes, chunks of red pepper and a head of garlic in the roasting dish first with a bit of oil. Roast the chicken on top of it and then serve it with whatever you're making but save the tomatoes, peppers, garlic and juices and put in the fridge. Then just blend it with chicken stock, add a bit of cream and you've got a really tasty soup the next day.

I like baked gnocchi for a quick meal. You can have most of the ingredients waiting in the cupboard for an emergency.

Pack of gnocchi, tinned tuna, tinned sweetcorn, green olives from a jar.
Drain everything.
Mix it together in a baking dish with a tub of crème fraiche or cream.
Grate on some cheese and grind on some pepper, and bake in the oven for half an hour.

Serve with salad from a bag.

Very low effort, Dc have been putting it together themselves since quite young.

If I’m feeling fancy, I add some cherry tomatoes to the mix.

It’s quite filling, so a little goes a long way, but you can easily double up quantities, and swap in ingredients - peas for sweetcorn, shredded ham or chicken for tuna etc

BBC Good Food sausage and sweet potato traybake, but using baby corn and make about 3x as much sauce as it says in the recipe. I often do a double batch of this (so yes, 6x the sauce!).

I do a "sticky chicken"
Get pack of skin on, bone in chicken thighs or drumsticks (or a mix) Usually come in packs of 6 -8. Put in a roasting dish.
Make a marinade of runny honey (about 2 tablespoons), and about 1 tablespoon each of soy sauce and seasam oil. Could add some crushed garlic or chilli flakes if want to.
Pour over the chicken.and marinade fir as long or little as you want turning occasionally to coat all the chicken
Must admit I usually throw together just before cooking!
Put in oven for 30 - 40 mins at 180c until chicken is cooked. Wgen serve up pour somebof the sticky sauce over the chicken.
I usually do this with rice (and just add some plain cashew nuts to serve), and either broccoli or pak choi. There's also usually some left overs for lunch.

Also like a lamb kleftiko - quick prep and cook in oven for 2 - 3 hours. However not cheap due to the cost of lamb!

Creamy Garlic and Paprika Chicken Orzotto

Ingredients - serves 2 adults and 2 children

2 large chicken breasts diced
300g orzo
750ml chicken stock
2 tsp paprika
2 tsp oregano
3 garlic cloves
1 onion
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp Parmesan cheese

Method

Add the chicken, olive oil, 1 tsp paprika and 1 tsp oregano to a large mixing bowl and mix well.

Place a frying pan over a medium-high heat and add the seasoned chicken. Fry until golden and just cooked through stirring regularly then place to one side on a separate plate.

Meanwhile dice the onion and finely chop the garlic. Add the butter to the pan and add the onion and garlic and stir fry for a couple of minutes until the onion turns soft and garlic becomes fragrant.

Add the oregano and orzo to the pan and mix well, before pouring in the chicken stock. Reduce the heat and place a lid on the pan and simmer for 10 minutes.

Remove the lid and stir in 1 tsp paprika, and the Parmesan. Mix well then return the chicken, mix again then serve. You can add crème fraiche to make it creamier but we don’t.

ds is 14 and Pulled pork in the slow cooker is one of his favourites - serve with rolls/wraps/flatbreads, corn on the cob, homemade coleslaw and salad (you don’t have to do all those sides- it’s nice just in rolls with green salad for a quick dinner, you can also put cheese on top). Then I use the leftovers for egg fried rice the next day. I use pork shoulder and cut the rind off before as so it doesn’t get too fatty. You can dry and salt the rind and cook it on a rack in a hot oven or air fryer for crispy crackling on the side.

lots of recipes online for pulled pork but I just shove it in with a bit of passata, smoked paprika, cumin, onion powder, oregano, honey, balsamic vinegar. Then shred it at the end and mix into the sauce (tip out some sauce if you think there’s too much). Serve with extra bbq sauce on the side.

You can minimise the time spent using convenient frozen vegetables.
How lazy do you want to be?

Stew in slow cooker made with beef, frozen casserole veg (they didn't have any so I listened to an episode of something whilst I chopped up real veg), tin of tomatoes, wine, two oxo.

Chili - use a bag of that chopped celery, onion and carrot fried, brown the mince, add a jar of chilli sauce stuff from Lidl. Add kidney beans and cook. Serve with rice. Mix it up with an extra tin of different beans.

Stir fry - Morrisons sell everything you need usually on a deal. That's as quick as heating up the wok and stirring for until its done.

Roast potatoes done in the air frier are less effort than mash.

I always think a roast dinner is really easy - apart from the effort of chopping up the veg and potatoes. Slow cooker for the meat and roasties and yorkshires in the air fryer.

I do chilli, bolognaise, curries of all sorts in big batches - 1 big pot of 1 and freeze a few portions individually. Makes the chopping feel less problematic. And doing single person portions means they defrost quicker but you can also adapt to changing numbers of diners. Or spicy curries for those who like that but have a milder one also available for the person who can’t take the heat..or a beef chilli and a veggie chilli in portions to suit a vegetarian and meat eater in the house.

Somedays I will chop a large bowl (a full mixing bowl) of peppers, onions, mushrooms, cherry tomatoes, courgettes, whole/half cloves of garlic etc, season well with Mediterranean herbs (thyme, oregano, rosemary, basil - whatever I have, fresh or dried), salt and pepper, olive oil and a good slug of balsamic vinegar. The important thing is not the size of the chunks (that just dictates the cooking time) but that they are the same size so they cook at the same time. They can be roasted or BBQ’d, and frozen either raw (so easy to slide into the oven for midweek meals, straight from frozen if need be) or cooked to reheat. I like to use them raw as a bed under chicken joints or salmon darnes or a lamb chop, (a pork loin is great for bigger groups but I am currently solo) with some halved baby potatoes in the same tray or a separate tray - for a very easily prepped and left to cook for 30ish minutes dinner. Already cooked leftovers are great added to tomato sauce with cooked bacon lardons, leftover cooked chicken, or as a veggie dish with pasta.

The other useful thing is, if you ever do roasts and have leftovers - slice some of the meat very thinly and freeze in small portions, or freeze flat and then bag up loose. This is a great start to a Chinese stir fry.

I also find that the 40
minures when I get in the door are frantic - everyone’s hungry, mail needs attention, stories need to be shared and problems solved as well as getting dinner on the table….but after dinner at washing up time is much calmer. So I often prep my veg and take out anything from the freezer and marinade anything I am planning etc at that stage for tomorrow. So when I get in from work, I am reheating or just starting straight into cooking and stirring rather that the faff of prep work. Even better are the days when I have a lasagna or a cottage pie or a chicken and mushroom or a smoked fish and brocolli pie already made or my veg and meat/fish and potatoes traybake planned - that I can have it made/prepped/defrosted and in the morning I set the oven to automatically turn on/off so dinner is hot and ready when I get home or within a few minutes.

Tuna pasta bake always goes down well with mine.
Also macaroni cheese with a side salad or peas & sweetcorn
Anything chucked in the oven as a tray bake - with chicken/sausages/salmon
Bolognese or chilli
Jacket potatoes with a choice of fillings

I always have some chopped frozen veg in (onions, sweet potato, squash are good) then you can save chopping time.

Salmon stir-fry traybake

1 salmon fillet per person (or however many they eat)
2 bags of stir-fry veg
Sesame oil
Sesame seeds
Teriyaki sauce
Rice (I use microwave)

Tip your bags of stir fry veg into a large baking tray. Drizzle with oil and bake for 15 minutes at about 180. Stir around, top with the salmon pieces and drizzle the teriykai sauce and sesame seeds over the salmon. Cook for another 15 minutes or until the salmon is cooked through.

I know its easy to do a stir-fry but I actually prefer the taste of the veg oven cooked plus I don't have to stand over it - I can get other jobs done.