It's a cooking one! (Help me, I'm useless)

[HungryHippo9]

Hello! I appreciate this isn’t AIBU but thought I would get more responses and tips in this section. It’s a cooking thread...

I’ve recently started a new job working long hours and I won’t be home during the week until after 7:30pm. Over the years I have wasted so much money on takeaways, meal deals and microwave meals and I really want to change that. I’m trying to be a bit more responsible with money and save up for a mortgage.

For context, I am 26, live by myself and I have no kids so will only be cooking for myself. I am a terrible cook (mum did all the cooking when I lived at home so silly me never took an interest and tried to learn) and have no patience what so ever. I honestly can’t think of anything worse than having to stand and cook a meal after a long day in work either. I am ideally hoping to batch cook easy/healthy/cheap meals on a Sunday for the week where I can then just pop them in the microwave or oven whilst I go in the shower and get into my pjs!

I prefer to shop in Aldi or Lidl as I find Tesco/Asda/Sainsbury’s quite expensive and for some reason when I shop in Aldi/ Lidl I will actually buy proper food to make a meal rather than just junk food like I do in all the other shops (not sure if it’s because the other shops tend to have the junk food scattered around everywhere and it’s more in your face if that make sense).

I love most foods including, pasta, red meat, fish (except salmon). I am hoping to learn to cook some easy and convenient meals which don’t include lots of ingredients and cost me a fortune to make, so mumsnetters if you’ve got this far please could you suggest some meals for me! Thanks

Another one to say yeah for slow cookers! I batch prepare and then freeze, defrosting just as I need them. I also bulk prepare tomato sauces (I use lentils instead of mince, but same idea). Favourites if friends are coq au vin, teriyaki chicken, beef adobo. I also just chuck potatoes in and when I return home they are ready to go. Lovely nutty taste to them.

I also batch bake muffins and prepare cookie dough, and pop in the freezer.

A friend gave me the hairy bikers pie machine. AMAZING.

Also, a nutribullet or smoothie maker, you can. I found mine second hand, and make smoothies and freeze in pouches. Good way for pasta sauces and gravy's.

A nice quick and easy meal that I used to make when getting home late was a flash fry steak or pork loin steak coupled with frozen veg I microwaved all of which took 5 mins.