Chopped frozen onions and garlic

[DashingRedhead]

What a lifesaver. Thank you Waitrose. Convenience ingredients. Worth every penny when you never have enough time. Anyone else got any speedy cooking hints?

Chopped frozen onions is one of my standbys!

Also frozen mackerel fillets that can be grilled from frozen. Very handy. Ditto bags of any kind of frozen vegetable - still super healthy but from getting home to dinner on table is about 10 minutes!

Cream cheese/yoghurt as cheat sauce for pasta - fry (chopped frozen ) onion and bacon, add splash wine (optional) and spoon of cream cheese and serve with pasta. Cheats macaroni and DH does it for DS now as well (minus the wine and onion).

Fresh pasta in the freezer. Cooks from frozen in about 5 minutes. Topped with pesto (from a jar) and away you go. [does this count as cheating?]

Lots of supposed quick eats involve pre-planning - eg batch cooking and freezing. I do that, and it helps, but it's not as easy IMO as things that are designed to be done from frozen or that come out of a jar or tin.

Oh, and bags of rice that you microwave. such a ridiculous expense but DH and I would not be without those now.

Ooh that's a good one, your cream cheese one. I sometimes get sausages and cut them up into chunks with the scissors, fry with the inevitable onions and garlic, add a tin of tomatoes and some chopped herbs and serve as mini-meatballs with pasta. That's another super speedy one.

Except that you have to have sausages in the fridge! Or take the time to defrost them. Since I went back to work after DS, I've found my ability to think abut dinner ahead of time has completely disappeared. And it means I'm having to change the entire way I cook and shop. Before, with a fridge full of random ingredients I could pull something together, but it would probably take longer than I'm currently willing to commit to and it definitely takes more brain power.

But my staple ingredients in the house now that can lead to a quick meal are: frozen fish fillets/fish fingers/crumbed chicken breasts (the only chicken I buy that isn't organic free range. And I feel guilty every time), frozen vegetables and chopped onion, pancetta and/or chorizo (lasts in fridge forever practically), microwave rice pouches, baked beans, other beans, tinned tomotoes. Not exciting, but I can put meat/veg/carbs on table in a max of 20 minutes with minimum effort.

although if you do have sausages, try cutting them up and frying with onion (optional) and fennel seeds. Then add some chilli flakes and lemon zest (oh, another staple!) and chopped fresh tomatoe (optional). Add equal amoutns white wine and milk. Bubble. Then add a large spoon or two of creme fraiche or even yoghurt. Lots of pepper and parmesan with pasta. YUM. and actually pretty darn quick too.

Bling - I buy frozen sausages that you cook from frozen in the oven, DD buys microwave sausages at uni.

I was held up at work today so we had thai green couscous with belly pork in hoi sin sauce chopped into it with salad. Took all of 10 mins!

Frozen sausages, In oven? Mmmm, ....

I love these ideas! Can we have more please!?

I recently discovered frozen herbs which I think are pretty great as I always forget to water the plants so it was becoming an expensive habit!

I have noticed the onions and peppers in same section of sainsburys but I have not tried them yet - I couldn't work out whether it was good value for money! One thing that would save me time was if sainsburys sold frozen sliced carrots. DD loved carrots and I wish I could just pick up a handful of sliced carrot to go with her tea on the nights that she is eating by herself.

Oh dear - the things I wish for have changed dramatically in the last 2 years...I never thought that I would be longing for frozen sliced carrot....sigh!

This thread is great! I am lucky enough to have a lovely MIL who, every time we see her, presents me with a carrier bag full of peeled, chopped carrots, parsnips & swede, bagged up in portion sizes big enough for a casserole.

When I do not have any of these left or when I buy a glut of reduced veg or a big bag of onions, I just spend half an hour or so peeling them, then run through the food processor & put the chopped veg in the freezer in portions. It does mean spending that half an hour or so initially, but saves loads of time & money in the long run.

I also make extra whenever I do mashed potato & freeze the excess in portions big enough for the DSes dinner. Then when I am having a lazy day exceptionally busy, I just bung one of these each in the microwave with a blob of butter, to go with fishfingers/sausages etc.

To clarify, veg from MIL is frozen (by her), otherwise it would go distinctly mushy (ick!)

Chepstow... Yes yes yes. In South Africa frozen carrots in slices, frozen baby carrots, frozen big carrots are all staples. Here, you get carrots in mixed bags of frozen vegetables so I simply don't understand why you can't get them alone?

having said that, we buy small organic carrots. Last forever in fridge, don't really need peeling so can be chopped up pretty quickly and tossed in the microwave to cook. Although when I'm busy, even cutting carrots annoys me!

jenduck your MIL really knows her stuff - that is a great idea. My parents have our two DC two afternoons a week so that's two suppers I don't have to worry about.

Baby frozen chantenay carrots from Waitrose. Hm, spotting a theme here! And yes frozen herbs too.

Frozen herbs from Waitrose are great, also frozen chopped shallots.

I keep meaning to prep casserole veg for the freezer but never seem to find the time (perhaps if I spent less time on here...)

Really?

How much does a bag of ready chopped onion cost?

An onion takes, what, 2 minutes to chop at most?