I have had a melt down tonight, I can not find quick easy meals?. I have cried into my kids

[willbealright]

dinner and am running out of ideas that are quick and easy for all the family,help me please{grin}.

There are some brilliant ideas here, and I am saving this thread and taking lots of notes thank you to you all.

Another vote for having lots of ingredients in the house. A chorizo is a few quid and lasts weeks and weeks in the fridge. Olives, roast peppers, capers, herbs and spices etc. Part bake bread another awesome thing to keep in, as well as pita pockets in the freezer.

My go to quick meals mainly made with frozen or cupboard items.

Tin chipped tomatoes.
Tin chickpeas.
3 roast peppers from a jar.
Chilli powder, cumin, coriander, pepper, salt.
Chunks of chorizo (optional)

Chuck all in pan and heat up.
Meanwhile boil the kettle and pour boiling water over couscous.
When the couscous is ready (5-7 min) fluff with a fork with some olive oil.
Serve with a dollop of plain yogurt if required.

Pasta and pesto.
Pasta and pasata with herbs.

Frozen fish cooked in oven or microwave served with microwave or norm rice and a bag of salad or frozen peas.

Birds eye frozen chicken breast in breadcrumb type things cut up in pita pockets with salad and cheese and ketchup. Cut up some raw carrot for more finger food interest.
Frozen veggie burgers in pitta.

Not so kiddy friendly but fry some onion with Italian herbs and garlic, dump in a tin of green lentils and heat up. Serve with some veg (I love carrots but salad or peas or anything would work well) and some crusty bread or toast. Also amazing with sausages if you have any left over / can be bothered to cook them.

Mushrooms fried with garlic and butter on toast.
Scrambled eggs on toast.
Beans on toast.

Tinned sardines on toast.
Omelette.

Veg stock with a tin of butter bean and pinto beans (or 2x beans of your choice, or those tins of mixed rand are good) with, frozen peas, frozen green beans and Italian style herbs. Eat with crusty bread.

Baked potato in microwave and cheese/beans/tuna. Reckon I could fit 2 big jackets in the micro and that should feed you and the kids.
Sandwiches...

A bit controversial but pancake mixture is cheap and takes a few mins to mix up and I'm partial to a cheese and ham pancake rolled up. Quite fun too of your kids are being difficult.

Not every meal needs to be perfectly nutritionally balanced. I wouldn't want to eat my 'quick' meals every night but they are great to crack out if I get home late and hungry.

All easy and cheap and v v v quick and nearly all eliminate chopping. Mainly veggie which might not please everyone but my DP is veggie so I tend to cool mainly veggie at home. Hence things like chorizo which last for ages and satisfy the meat craving when it hits :-)

Things to whizz up:
Stir fry
Egg fried rice
chicken fried rice

But batch cooking and freezing is the answer

Thanks Bumpinthenight I try.

ph yeah and quesadillas

2 wraps with cheese/cheeses plus tomatos/ham/precooked chicken breast sandwiched between dry cooked in frying pan

jazz up the adult portions with some chillis. with guacamoie/salsa/sour cream (homemade or otherwise)

Meal plan. Decide on Sunday meals for Monday to Friday. Do not deviate, hesitate etc. batch cook and freeze. Little dish wtc ready meals not the end of the world if unstuck.

Packet cheese sauce (Bisto is great and normally found in the pound shop!)

Mix with cooked fish, pile on the smash + extra cheese = fish pie

Stir in tuna and sweetcorn and dump over pasta

Pasta + soft goats cheese + peas is quick like pasta pesto

Waitrose, and now Tesco, do bags of frozen fresh pasta and risotto. Very quick and easy. Similarly, stir fry noodles and rice are widely available.

Microwave jacket spuds + veggie sausages (less fat, faster because it's better to fry them) + frozen veg.

Omelette and beans.

Roast a couple of chickens on Sunday then use the leftovers during the week. The breast is really nice in a salad or pasta and pesto and the other bits are good in a curry or soup. When you've picked all of the good bits off the carcass just stick the bones in the slow cooker with a liter of water for 10 hours plus or minus a couple of hours to make stock for soup.

Oh, and if you have time to pick up stuff on your way home then stir fry = under 10 mins

If you can afford the pre chopped packs of veg they can take a lot of time and stress out of preparing a meal.

Fresh salmon poaches nicely in the microwave.

I second what others have said - NEVER make just one portion of chili, bolagnaise, soup - anything that can be frozen.

If you can be bothered to chop veg then fajitas are quick and fun and won't seem like a lazy tea to your kids. The kits take the hassle out of 'deciding'

I find the most wearing thing can just be thinking of what to cook every day, so try and get all that our of the way on Saturday!

Another quick one is frozen prawns fried up with garlic, parsley and oil. Chuck in tin of chopped toms to go further. Serve with crusty bread or toast.

PurplePidjin fresh frozen risotto you say?? That sound really good!

Do any of your partners or husbands share the cooking?!

My DP doesn't do much in the way of cooking because I'm a way better cook than he is and am quite fussy about the quality of a meal. Even if that wasn't the case I'd still do more because I work from home so can get dinner started a lot earlier.

I did this tonight 30 min chicken casserole didnt do tarragon or creme fraiche

I find bbc recipe pages really good.

Cook double or triple at the weekend, stews, casseroles that can be served with rice are good. Beef strogonof, chicken casserole, curry, beef goulash? Cook double soups for lunch when you're off and freeze too. Potato and leek with bread will do for dinner, tomato soup with chickpeas or chorizo or my favourite indian spinach and potato with chickpeas. You can do this, it'll take time to fill up the freezer and stock up, and it'll be expensive to start with but it'l be worth it for less stress. Roast a chicken on Sundy night and you can have it cold on Monday with baby potatoes and green beans.

Proudnscary no we don't this time of the year, his job means he is out from 8.00am or earlier in the morning till 9.00pm at night or later.

Its up to me I am afraid,its rare now because of his job, even at weekends.

Mine does, he gets home before me so picks up the boy, does dinner. I buy and prep, he cooks - mostly.

Also, have a load of half hour, bung in the oven options - we roast chicken breasts, cous cous and veg, baked mushrooms and cheese - sausages, beans and new pots - chicken breast, jar of curry sauce - pack of bhajis just for a bit of posh!! Ham and Eggs, pasta, chicken and pesto, garlic bread etc.

The odd decent ready meal can be a sanity saver too. Its hard going though, don't be too hard on yourself.

Oooo don't cry, you'll get into the swing of things...promise!

What I find really helpful is sitting down over the weekend and putting together a meal plan whilst doing my shopping list. Each day you get in (boil the kettle immediately either for a cuppa or you're bound to need it for boiling or draining) you know what's going on the table, you know you've got the ingredients and then it's go, go, go!

Just another idea for spaghetti Bol is to throw in some dried red lentils, 3 small handfuls, really bulks the dish up...filling/health/cheap...I just freeze half and we eat the other.

One of our fav family meal is sausage pasta. Normal sausages cut into chunks, start frying with red onion & mushrooms whilst pasta cooking (I always buy fresh...3 minutes). Once sausage brown pop in some cut up rosemary and 2xpack of cherry tomatoes and let then pop...I usually add some garlic, balsamic vinegar or whatever is to hand. Can also add leek, peas...whatever! Once tomatoes gone to mush, add drained pasta...it's yum and once youve done it once you'll be able to get it done start to finish in 15 mins x

Good luck OP.....I don't work but still have to work this way..getting organized is key. Xx

I'm currently doing a Cook 2 Freeze 2 thing - for every meal, i try and have enough left over to put another meal away for later (2 adults and a 36 week bump in the house)

Particularly good is roast chicken. Roast at leisure in Sunday, eat legs. One breast does fajitas on mondays (fry with mush, onion, peppers, serve in tortillas); other breast goes in sauce with pasta on Tuesday.

With enough veg, i can do fajitas for lunch on Tuesday, and 2 portions of pasta in sauce for the freezer on top of three days of dinner!

Beef or lamb stew slow-cookered on Saturday makes excellent pie filling another day, just wrap ready made pastry round it and serve with chips and veg. You need half as much stew for pie as you do for full portions iyswim.

DH and I argue over who cooks because whoever doesn't has to wash up:) We both like cooking.

Uncle Ben is your pal, his microwavable rice, precooked salmon fillet and some salad or microwavable veg. 2 mins

Aunt Bessie is also your friend, Roasted spuds, parsnips, yorkshires, carrot and swede mash, frozen peas, cooked chicken from the super market or roast beef from the deli counter, instant gravy= roast dinner in 25 minutes.

Fresh noodles, stir fry veg and a sauce from supermarket, add cooked prawns or chicken. 10 mins max.

Tinned stewed steak, mix with baked beans, top with frozen/ instant mash and cheese in oven 25 mins (cowboy pie) serve with micro veg.

Baby new potatoes, boil in the skins, Fish wrapped on foil, drizzled with lemon, bake for 20 mins in oven at 200, serve with frozen veg and tartare sauce.

That's a week for you xxx

Mine does at weekends but during the week I'm home at four and he's home at seven.

Mmmmmm who said ham & eggs....?!!!!
(drooling!)

Frozen bags of stir fry veg are good. As is frozen garlic, chili, onions, peppers. Really handy to have in.

Oh and for a super quick and lazy dinner throw a packet of Quorn mince in a pan, pour over bolognaise sauce and simmer for about fifteen mins, serve with pasta. It is the easiest and quickest dinner ever.

Make a big pan of lentil soup and freeze half for the following week so you can just defrost and serve with crusty bread and butter. Lovely, warming and filling.

Chili and rice is pretty quick too.

Hope you're feeling a bit better.

Me. Has to be big old posh eggs though.....

I do all the cooking unless it's on the BBQ....but then he doesn't get home till about 9pm and even I'm not that cruel!