Super fast meal ideas to avoid buying a takeaway

[People1pleaser]

We seem to be running out of time to cook at the moment with small hungry children and getting delayed with after school clubs/unexpected traffic etc and have ended up with both McDonald's and chip shop in one week! I need some ideas for nights when this happens to avoid takeaway. The only super fast meal I can think of is Greek salad which is no good as the kids hate it and a frozen pizza which is no good as the kids both have cows milk intolerance. Any ideas anyone?

Garlic prawns and pasta. Fry garlic in butter. Cook pasta. Throw in ready cooked prawns with egg and garlic over drained pasta.

Cook salmon in 100ml of soy sauce, and same of Kirin and orange juice. Boil noodles. Stir fry veg (e.g. Onion, red pepper, boiled broccoli, peas etc) and add together with noodles and liquid from salmon. 15 mins max.

This is really quick, the Marmite tastes almost nutty and cheesy
www.nigella.com/recipes/spaghetti-with-marmite

Slow cookers are brilliant at this time of year. Throw everything into the pot in the morning and you have a delicious, steaming pot of food when you return. The house smells amazing too. Thoroughly recommend.

Chicken cooks really quickly if it is cut into very narrow slices and the pan is very hot. 2-3 mins.

With stir fry what meat cooks quickly? I find chicken takes too long and I don't like prawns.

Quorn chicken is great, 4-5 mins to cook.

Slow cooker really easy meal - pork chops/loins, veg of choice, condensed mushroom soup. No need to add any other liquid. Serve with mash and green veg.

My kids get oatmeal with veg and fruit or if we have an avocado in the house I give them that on toast.

I struggle with my slow cooking during the week. I'm in the US and the supermarkets don't have much in the way of cheap meat. It also doesn't help that I'm leaving the house by 7:30am and DH returns at 6pm and dismisses anything I cook as substandard (because I cook simple food that isn't full of cheese, bacon and fat).

This is a brilliant thread.

Try Chinese curry paste. You mix with water and add chicken , oinion and peas or mushrooms and it tastes just like a Chinese take-away chicken curry. Super quick and not that unhealthy.
www.goldfishsauces.co.uk

Stir fry or pasta.

Steamed fish with carrot & potato smash and veg.

Put water, chopped carrots and potatoes in bottom of steamer, put on stove and get going, while you wrap the fish fillets in foil and prepare a head of broccoli. Brocoli and fish into steamer.
When pots and carrots tender fish and brocc should be done. Mash pots and carrots with a little butter and black pepper. Serve.

Spicy salmon and spinach with lemon rice.

Set rice to cook adding one or two salted lemons and a pinch of turmeric for colour.. Skin salmon filets, wash spinach. In a large frying pan saute onions, garlic chilli and ginger with some cumin and black pepper. Add spinch. Skin salmon and cut into chunks. When spinach is soft empty and can of coconut milk into the frying pan. Add a stock cube or seasoning at this stage if wished. Cook until spinach has wilted down. Add fish and cook very gently until done. Serve with rice. 20 mins.

There are lots of quick meals you can prepare in 15min or 30 min; the trick is planning and shopping in advance, the weekend before; however even 15 min can be long if your children are starving.

Could you feed them a more substantial snack (Sandwich, Wrap, fruit, yogurt, nuggets, veggies) so they can wait a bit longer for dinner. Perhaps, you can cut down on after school club. DD1 did a lot during year 4 I ended exhausted, we have cut down to a more manageable number of clubs and have now more time to spend as a family cooking and doing other things.

Jamie 15 min meals is great.

A few ideas:

Smoked Salmon Risotto : www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5965/smoked-salmon-and-lemon-risotto

Homemade hamburger: Hamburger meat already shaped, cheese, lettuce, bacon, tomato, cucumber.

Meatballs and penne pasta. Meatballs already shaped, fry in a pan, add, plum tomatoes, basil, mozzarella. Boil pasta and put on top of meatballs

Ciabatta roll with sausages: I buy sundried tomatoes sausages from the butcher, but any nice sausages will do. Cheese, tomato, lettuce, cucumber

Jamie's Smoked Fish Fettuccine

Cottage pie: cooked on the weekend and used leftovers for weekdays

Pasta Bolognaise: perhaps cooked during the weekend and leftovers for the week

Leftovers from Sunday roast and used meat for sandwiches, or chilli con carne or beef rendang

Chicken curry legs with rice and salad. Put chicken legs in the oven, cut and onion and put in the pan, add curry powder and chicken

Salmon, grill or in the oven with veggies and potatoes, boiled or mashed

Spaghetti hoops, fish fingers or chicken nuggets, veggies

Wraps with chicken, steak or minced lamb with spices, hallumi cheese, salad, Greek yogurt with lemon and mint, you can put cucumber, tomatoes, anything you want

Steak with frozen potato wedges in the oven and salad.

Chicken: cut it in small pieces and grill it, sweet potato fries cooked in the oven and veggies.

Leftover chicken salad, lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, parmesan cheese

Perhaps you can cook the night before when they gone to bed and have the meals ready when they come home. James’s 15min meals has some good recipes

We cooked about 4 main meals a week and used left over or frozen things the other days or sandwiches, readymade soups, garlic bread.

One of our quick meals in fish cakes.

Tin of potatoes, tin of some fish, an egg and a load of mix frozen veg. Mush together, shape and grill. Some rice or stir fry can cook in the same amount of time.

Ooh and sweet potato Rosti

Grate some sweet potato (I use food processor for speed!) add an egg and some flour and mix together. Fry.

While they are frying I poached some eggs and grill some asparagus and sometimes some bacon lardons. Super duper quick and filling.

One evening once kids are in bed could make a bacon and pea risotto takes about 40 mins but doesn't require constant attention so won't take up your whole evening, can then reheat the next day

pancakes
I sometimes make a great amount and the freeze child-dinner-size portions.
they are plain so can be filled sweet or savoury.
dc is doing a sport once a week, so only home at 8 so needs a quick dinner after.

I don't have a lot of time during the week. So I get my shit together at the weekend.

I get a supermarket order delivered on the Saturday (I have four shopping lists set up on the Tesco website for four weeks of meal plans, one click and some amendments and it's done, takes ten minutes or less).

On the Sunday I spend three to four hours cooking. I'll roast two chickens. While they are cooking I'll cook up a batch of soup, bread, quiche. I'll strip the birds of the meat and make some into coronation chicken (can be used with jacket potatoes, salad, sandwiches). Some will be made into a risotto (using the instant pot). Some will be kept plain to make into a curry or chicken supreme or similar (if I'm pushed for time I use a sauce).

Or I will cook a bulk batch of mince and make: savoury mince, chilli, spag bol as well as the bread, soup etc for lunches.

Or I will make a batch tomato sauce and make a veggie lasagne and a veggie chilli to have with tacos or nachos one night as well as rice another night - as well as the lunch stuff. I always make too much and will freeze some which is handy for making pizza another time.

It makes cooking through the week super quick and stops me relying on frozen chips and goodfellas pizza!

My Thai friend always kept a covered bowl in the fridge, ready for anyone who arrived home starving. Contents were based on stir-fried veg mixed with cooked rice, ready to eat hot (microwave) or cold (salad) and usually other bits and bobs in the fridge which could be added instantly, to make a dinner-sized meal if required. Having eaten this, I thought it was a good idea, and healthier than usual after-school snacks.