Lunch box 'meals' and ten minute dinners

[Haypanky]

Hi folks, my childcare is changing in a couple of weeks and I'm going to have to feed the beasts myself!

I'm after suggestions for lunchboxes, other than sarnies. Kids are nearly 4 and 15 months, so need high ish calorie food that will keep them going.

Also after suggestions for super quick recipes for when we get home, as they won't be able to wait! As in I'll probably have about ten mins to get it onto the plate, with a crying one year old hanging off my leg! I need to cover Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday so not all week thank goodness!

Do you have time for doing a slow cooker meal? If so, I would do that in the morning, or even some you can get ready the night before and put it on in the morning.

Not sure what to suggest lunch meal wise as mine are all adults.

Microwaveable rice and veg save time. I get golden rice and stir the two in together, ricey-veg cook some chops to go with it. You could chop up the chops and stir that in with the ricey-veg. A dollop of coleslaw/potato salad. Quick and easy.

I also cook big stews and have them over two days with crusty bread.

Some kind of frittata in lunch box? Either sliced or done in muffin tin. Plus malt loaf (Soreen). Pasta for tea, with ham, peas and creme fraiche, or with salmon and broccoli. Or egg on toast with baked beans and raw salad veg, or croque monsieur with peas.

Make fishcakes from tinned tuna and frozen mash, or make pork and apple burgers (both could be made in advance, kept in fridge for a couple of days and fried quickly on the day).

All going on my list!!! Good stuff thank you!

I will defo utilise Sunday left overs and also slow cooker, but may struggle to fit in more than a bung it all in type slow cooker thing.

Also couscous with fried fish fillet or bashed chicken breast. Teriyaki sauce always a winner here.

For lunchboxes things like falafel, hummus with pitta bread, cocktail sausages, chunks of cheese and pasta salad are all possible options

For quick dinners, macaroni cheese and pesto pasta are quick - and if you have rice for dinner one night then make extra, pop it in the fridge and then use it to make egg fried rice with peas and prawns the next night for the little ones

Quick dinner
servesoneandahalf.blogspot.com/2012/03/pot-noodles.html

"Pot noodles" - prep the noodles (just re-hydrate, drain and keep in fridge) the night before for even quicker, although doing it on the day doesn't loose too much time ... use rice noodles, glass noodles, wheat noodles, even pasta.

I add a dash of rice vinegar (DD loves vinegar).
You can use bullion powder rather than a cube. We love www.waitrose.com/ecom/products/marigold-swiss-vegetable-bouillon-powder/024252-11774-11775?gclid=EAIaIQobChMI64CUs8Te3AIV7rztCh2cfQ3yEAYYASABEgLH5_D_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CJjMsbjE3twCFcLHUQod4YICxA

I always have a batch of bolognese in small portions in the freezer. I cook then freeze them in portions flat so they are quicker to defrost ( I reheat in a non stick frying pan, I don't have a microwave).

Angel hair pasta cooks in 3-5 mins - use boiling water from the kettle.

Fried rice - cook the rice the night before, let it cool and put in the fridge otherwise it doesnt fry as well... needs to be cool.

If you don't want bacon, left over chicken (from roast and in bit in the freezer) or even the frozen mini shrimps like these. Any meat in proportion. Or just with sweetcorn, peas, carrot etc.

servesoneandahalf.blogspot.com/2012/04/favorite-dinner.html

if they havent had sandwiches for lunch, a toasted cheese sandwich with soup. Quick and tasty!

At 6his time of year, you can give cold cuts and salady bits. So roast a chicken at the weekend, have that as a meal, then the cold meat can be served cold for as long as it lasts. Easy enough to put another roast on, midweek, even if you don't eat it the same day.

Cold meat can also be used in a stir fry or with pasta and a premade {or jarred} sauce.

Buy or make pizza bases and top them the night before and cook them when you get home (or just buy the odd ready made pizza!)

Posting to read up later!

We do thosr mini pizza bases (cook in under 10mins) sometimes add topimgs. Add salad bits (carrot sticks, cucumber circles etc). Today I made it look like a face.

Anything with veg sticks as a "starter".

Soup and ready to bake rolls.

Pesto pasta is probably easiest we do with frozen peas and sweetcorn

I've been making a lovely lunch the last few days which works hot or cold.
packet of flavoured couscous, crumble feta cheese over the top then cut up some ripe cherry tomatoes and mix it all together - takes no time at all to make, tasty, cheap and pretty healthy

My DS much prefer wraps to sandwiches. Mine like chicken, lettuce and mayo but you can be more imaginative than that!

For dinners I will do lots of cooking on a Sunday afternoon / evening. This involves...

A soup with extra veg from Sunday Dinner
A curry sauce to go with leftover meat from Sunday Dinner
A cottage pie
A Bolognese (or perhaps lasagne if I am feeling adventurous)

I then freeze the meals or put in the fridge depending on my menu plan. Some may take longer than 10 minutes to cook in the oven but if you put them in as soon as you walk through the door you can then occupy the children until they are done.

We also often have jacket potatoes for tea with tuna or baked beans and cheese or cold meat. You can microwave the potatoes or set the oven to come on or cook previously and reheat.

Tuna pasta with sweetcorn and peppers is super speedy
Bagels with cream cheese, smoked salmon and crudités.

A friend gets fresh chicken breasts, bashes them thinly, dips in egg then breadcrumbs and freezes them (loads!) Get a couple out to defrost in the morning in fridge and shallow fry for a couple of mins. Keep meaning to do this!

Tuna pasta also good for lunch box

Or cheese and crackers

For evenings I suggest egg noodles with peas and tinned sardines in tomato sauce mixed together into "pasta!". Gets their oily fish in too.

Omelettes also go down well, and you can throw anything into a pan to make an omelette with.

Having some meat cooked ready in the fridge meats that with a packet of microwave rice, you can have a stir fry ready in 5 minutes.

Lunches - I really would just give them a sandwich. There's no reason to change it up, most kids eat a sandwich every day. Unless they're clinically underweight AND not eating, in which case I'd pack a supermarket sausage roll.

Couscous takes about 15 minutes. I use the packets of flavoured couscous such as Ainsley Harriett's sundried tomato and then add some chopped cucumber and crumbled feta. If you want a recipe...www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/11690/10minute-couscous-salad
Gnocchi is so much quicker to cook than pasta. Delicious with pesto and left over roast chicken.
Stir-fries with left-over cooked meat or pre-cooked prawns are super speedy if you use straight-to-wok noodles. I always make sure we have a bag of frozen stir fry veg in the freezer and a jar of stir fry sauce in the cupboard!
You could also make up some pancake batter in the morning and leave it in the fridge during the day to make savoury pancakes for dinner (we have ham and cheese with ours).

I have a few quick recipes. One of my quickest post playgroup lunches was houmous and avocado on toast, and although not a proper meal (as such?!) I felt it had enough good stuff to count, sometimes with a tin of sweet corn on the side.

We also do a version of Tom Kerridges pea and ham pasta, you boil water (in kettle) and then pop pasta and frozen peas into the water (together) and boil for as long as the pasta needs to cook (if you are concerned about the peas overcooking add them after a couple of minutes) then in a separate pan pop a tin of anchovies and 'melt' then add a pack of shredded ham or some cut up sandwich ham, add a table spoon or two of the pasta water to loosen the sauce and then add the zest of a lemon and a handful of chopped mint (some supermarkets sell frozen chopped herbs, but chopping fresh only takes 30 seconds) then stir in a table spoon or two of crepe fraiche and add the drained pasta and peas. Very quick and tasty.
I've cooked chicken in our slow cooker and it needs to 'sit' ok some vegetables tonstop it sticking so you can pop in carrots parsnips and then you've pretty much got a roast dinner?

Mini spring rolls are a good sandwich alternative for lunch. My DC also like mini scotch eggs (I buy packs of 12 from Tesco) falafel and cheese scones with marmite.

bacon cheesy pasta.time saver with pasta dishes is sticking the peas or veggies in with the cooking pasta.just put the broccoli in the same pan as its boiling.
could you could a rirce salad or pasta salad batch and stick it in the fridge.
make some mince big pack and split into two.one for tonight and one to freeze.then you can add pastry.pasta.chilli.spices.have with rice potatos or even mince on toast.the next night other half from fridge.(or the next night even) something different or freeze other half
veggie or chicken stiry fry with noodles
fish parcels.stack of noodles.then fillet of salmon and some spring onion garlic lemon peppers peas or mange tout etc.wrap in foil.cook in oven for ten.the kids love to open them too!
cook big batch of rice.couscouns.the Tupperware it.it can be made into veggie medley with some simple frozen vegg.stir through some tomatos or pesto.have with some meat.
fish cooks in the microwave in ten
pasta bakes.
carbanora
condensed tomato soup.tuna.pasta shapes.favourite kid dish
dolmio jar.pasta.frankfurter sausages.cheese sorted.
buy in store ready to rolled pastry.use it as pie tops.for pizza type slices.little puff pastry pies.anything

Tesco are doing some great veggie frozen ranged at the moment.glamorgan sausages and veggie burgers are fab.
you could part bake some jacket in the microwave for say 8 mins then finsh nicely in the oven.
or if some of them don't look jacket worthy anymore cook in the microwave then mix with tuna or fish food little fishcake or make rosti or frittata.
make mash mixed with cheese herbs and bacon and onions.
cook roast chicken in the evening.then have it the next day warmed up or cold with salad rice or potatos and veggies.you could even do it as a roast the next night it just means its cooked and ready to go.