New to being a working mum (with teenagers) - ideas?? Please?

[goingmadinthecountry]

Hello
I've ended up working full time - not planned by I like it and am not complaining.

What I need is healthy(ish) homemade quickish food ideas. Am not prepared to buy ready made food. Love cooking but hate washing up therefore it has to all fit in one dishwasher load! No food hates (except eggs). Please inspire me and don't suggest batch cooking - making food for 6 is bad enough without doing major job for 12!

To give you an idea, this week so far as been teriyaki beef with cabbage and spinach lasagne.

Have between 4 and 6 of us here depending on time of week/year - only one non teen (9yo dd).

Not a recipe but - teenagers cook a night a week. If you have four that's three nights left - I find if I cook dinner the evening before, and it's ready to come home to, it's easier. So I come in, eat, load th dishwasher and cook the following nights meals.

We eat a fair bit of stirfry - quick and easy - chicken, put in tinfoil and stick in oven, or make a casserole and put in oven...dishes that take minimal prep and can cook slowly on their own work for us.

Mine will cook - 9yo as well as teenagers - just getting bored of the same old stuff! We also do lots of stirfries, fajitas and pasta dishes. Would really like to widen the repertoire a bit

I'm thinking casseroles are the way to go. Any ideas on using slow cooker while leaving at 7.30? No time in my morning schedule for browning but have time the evening before....

I don't bother browning stuff for the slow cooker - I often throw in a big spoonful of onion marmalade though, which acts like really nicely caramelised onions... much easier!

Popular recipes are pork with star anise, orange, hoi sin and sweet chilli sauces and sherry (sort of adapted from a recipe in a fab slow cook recipe book I have but can't remember the name of, will try to dig it out tomorrow), slow roast lamb shoulder or chicken, beef in beer or wine, beef casserole...

If it's going to be on all day then definitely go for low if you have the choice I reckon (although probably worth double checking about the chicken). And if you have somebody coming back earlier than you, maybe they could switch to a 'hold' heat rather than having it still cooking?

Hey, I could do no browning and chuck in onion chutney! I'm now deciding whether to go back to work long term. How easy I can make home life is a big part of it. 1st home can obviously turn off.

I'm just so new to this stuff. And hugely disorganised..........

I haven't been organised enough to try this yet, it was linked to on another thread a while back.

You chop, bag up and freeze a lot of meals in one go. Each day, take a bag out of the freezer the night before to defrost, then put in the slow cooker in the morning.

If you're leaving at 7:30 I think you'd need a timer, either on a wall plug or the SC itself.

A quick meal is salmon in foil parcels, rub a bit of butter on the foil, put the salmon on, then a squirt of lemon juice, salt and pepper, fold up parcels and put in oven for about 20 mins. With new potatoes, either boiled or microwaved. Carrots and broccoli in microwave.

Some time saving ideas aren't so money saving, so it depends on your individual circumstances.

Bags of frozen rice mean no pan and no sieve to wash up, but it's about £1.20 for 4 portions.

Disposable foil trays for things like lasagne and shepherd's pie.

I use a brilliant fish curry from a blog, easy, quickish and in one pan (if you don't count the rice) reciperifle.blogspot.co.uk/2012/11/curried-fish-in-yoghurt.html serves 4 but could easily be sized up to six.

Pasta pesto with a salad and parmesan

Spanish omelettes/tortillas with various vege in

A quick one I've been doing lately is a v quick beany dish to fill bought tacos - onion, peppers, passata, spices, a couple tins mixed beans. Cheese and salad. Done.

Thai curry is quick if you don't mind a paste.

Baguettes, sausages, onions, balsamic vinegar or mustard, salad

If you all like curry, then the Hairy Dieters prawn one (I do Quorn or chicken instead) one takes 5 min and is reall tasty.

Another superfast tea here is prawns and hot smoked salmon bits (or a couple of microwave from frozen fillets) with creme fraiche and peas (just stir it all together and heat), plus some snipped chives. Serve with pasta or rice noodles

Turkey enchiladas go down well. Fry an onion and red pepper for 2-3mins add a clove of crushed garlic and some turkey mince. Fry for 8-10 mins until cooked through. Stir in 2-3tbsp pesto and optional grated cheese. Pack into flour tortillas and roll then place in an ovenproof dish. Sprinkle with grated cheese or top with a tomato sauce. Ovenbake for 15mins at 200deg cent.

Honey and mustard chicken in pitta also nice. Mix 3tbsp honey with 1tbsp wholegrain mustard and coat 4 sliced chicken breasts. Grill pitta on both sides and then grill chicken. Stuff pitta with shredded lettuce and coleslaw then the chicken.
Another favourite,
www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2852672/crispy-chilli-beef

Here's what I do, I go to the Chinese wholesaler and bulk buy foil containers and then cook massive massive pots full of curry with loads of vegetables and then put them in the foil containers. I make about 20 meals at a time, and these foil containers constitute half a meal, the other half is made up of rice or pasta. The children can cook rice/pasta and they can turn on the oven, select a meal and put it in the oven. Not difficult for them and it's a lovely homemade meal.