To be fed up of cooking and no ideas what to cook!

[Redruby2020]

Now lol, I know there was a thread recently that had me in stitches recently about what kind of food Mumsnetters recommend or would be horrified about 😆

But I need simple easy meal ideas, more so for my DS. I have a small kitchen and very short on time and patience at the moment as moved in a few months ago, and first time being on my own, so it is all catching up with me, no one was lying when they said single parenting is hard work. And I am fed up of hearing people say oh but you only have a flat, oh but you only have one DS, so what! It's still hard work, but we still need to eat as healthily as we can but not to be the be all and end all of the day.
I have one or two people close to me who mention having cooked all day, and making things from scratch, that's not for me, certainly not at the moment!

Thanking in advance ☺️

@wingsandstrings

I find pasta sauces in a jar a life-saver when I just can't be bothered to do something from scratch:

• sausage pasta bake. Just precook sausages and pasta, mix with sauce and maybe sweetcorn from a tin, grate some cheese on top and stick n oven for 15 mins.
• lasagna, normally such a fiddly dish. I make a big batch of bolognese with the jar sauce to save faff and time. I make a quick cheese sauce and combine with pasta sheets to make up the lasagna. I freeze the left-over bolognese for a different meal and we enjoy the lasagna that week.

I know, I like those too, I just keep getting told off by someone I know about how bad jar sauces are, full of salt etc. They make theirs from scratch, they have more kids and little DH help, so then I feel even worse!

Don’t beat yourself up @Redruby2020 some people just ‘get’ cooking & find it easy to whip something up, some people find it difficult to find inspiration to it from scratch.

I don’t ‘get’ driving. I am a mother, with a business and mortgage and I have been trying to learn how to drive for over 15 years and just can’t get my head around it

Start with a few simple things from scratch, then they’ll become easier & more natural to make without measurements etc.

You don’t have to suddenly throw yourself into cooking gourmet meals 7 nights a week!

Speedy chicken breasts with side.
Start with a 6-pack of small chicken breasts (skinless and boneless). Put 2 chicken breasts in 3 Tupperwares (or even freezer bags)
Cover each set of 2 chicken breasts with one of the following: pesto or harissa or yogurt with curry powder mixed in, or lemon juice herbs and garlic and place the container in the fridge or freezer depending on when you want to cook these.
Defrost morning of cooking, place in a shallow tray once defrosted and cook at 190c for 40 minutes.
While it’s in the oven, prepare your side dish of choice - examples below:
Serve with salad (chopped tomatoes, cucumber, peppers, spring onions), or baby new potatoes, or plain rice, or tortillas and shredded lettuce and sliced tomatoes, or any steamed veg or even stir-fry veg and noodles/bean sprouts.
When the chicken is cooked, pour off the cooking juices and mix with mayonnaise for a lovely sauce.
3 evening meals will only take 10 minutes of preparation on day of purchase, and on the day, it’s just how long it takes you to prepare and cook the accompaniments...