Hit me with your speedy dinners

[TulipsInbloom1]

Menu planning for the week ahead and id like some inspiration. What are your go to meals that are quick? Under 30 mins deffo, pref under 20.

Im pretty savvy cooking wise, and have a decent store cupboard so happy to try any and all quick recommendations.

Jacket potatoes tuna and cheese (microwave) is my main go to...
Then stir fry... we’ve got a pressure cooker which makes life so easy so ours are also stew, chilli and spag bol!

Pasta and a jar of pesto super quick, I add left over cooked chicken if I have some

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/hungover-noodles/

Cottage pie. Fry some mince and carrots and onions with mash on top. In the oven for 20 mins !! I always make a big one then the next day it can be reheated ! Pasta pack with sauce. If you live near an Aldi they have got red / green Thai curry mix you just fry with chicken and rice / noodles and salad !

bag of doritos and a selection of salsas

Sausage, mash and gravy made with Linda McCartney veggie sausages, steam fresh veg, root veg mash, Yorkshire pud and bistro. Takes 20 mins and mainly the microwave!

I second pasta and pesto, stick some frozen veg in with the pasta.

Poached eggs on toast (anything on toast for that matter).

Cajun Chicken and couscous

Creamy Cajun chicken pasta.

For the first: diced chicken- fry with Cajun spices until browned, add peppers and onions, put lid on. Couscous into bowl. Boiling water, veg stock, garlic and oregano in a jug. Cover couscous in said water. Lid/plate on top. When Chicken is cooked through, couscous will be ready.

For the second: boiling water, throw pasta in. repeat step 1 as above. Take lid off, ass cream and a bit of vegetable stock. Stir. Drain pasta, back in pan, launch the creamy chicken mix in. Done.

Both 10 mins max.

I use salt in pasta and couscous too as we have no children.

grated courgettes ( water squeezed out) tons of garlic chili cooked with olive oil. season and toss with hot cooked pasta
stir in grated parmesan and top with chopped spinach

Egg fried rice www.asdagoodliving.co.uk/food/recipes/egg-fried-rice
Gnocchi www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/3065/gnocchi-with-two-cheeses-and-bacon
Prawn stir fry recipes.sainsburys.co.uk/recipes/main-courses/chinese-prawn-stir-fry
Lamb tagine www.hellofresh.co.uk/recipes/quick-lamb-tagine-5af5b9b330006c42e634f1f2
Fish with tomato sauce www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5939/tomato-and-thyme-cod

Cook some penne or rigatoni pasta
Toast some pine nuts
Grate a load of Parmesan
Cook quite a lot of broccoli
Mix it all together with a good dollop of crime fraiche

Takes as long as the pasta takes to cook - 12 to 14 minutes. Delish.

Love a quesadilla as wraps are so easy to store in the freezer. Any fridge food that goes with cheese can be bunged in and heated up.

One of my fave quick meals is real spaghetti carbonara (see here for an example but there are quite a few variations around)

I usually use pancetta (because it's easier to get hold of) and either parmesan or pecorino works well. I'm a bit flexible with the eggs, too: quite often only use 1 if cooking just for the 2 of us.

Second the suggestion for pesto & pasta. If I've got left over meat like chicken or ham I'll shred some of that up and chuck it in as well. The purists will complain, but my husband loves it :)

Carbonara www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/pasta-recipes/gennaro-s-classic-spaghetti-carbonara/

Steak, broccoli and carrots

Pea and bacon soup - per person - bring 3 mugs of stock to the boil, add a mugful of frozen peas and a thick rasher of smoked bacon. Simmer for 3 or 4 minutes, take the rasher of bacon out, remove the medallion and chuck the rest back in then blitz it all to a smooth soup. Add salt and pepper to taste. Chop up the bacon medallion and sprinkle it over the finished soup.

Spread cod fillets with Harissa paste and bread crumbs and grill for 10-15 mins serve with salad and garlic bread.

Butterfly chicken breasts and dust with paprika. Grill and serve in toasted ciabatta with coleslaw on the side.

Put pasta on to boil.
Fry off onion and garlic add a can of chopped tomatoes and a good glug of balsamic. Add a tin of sweetcorn and a tin of tuna and season well. Add to cooked pasta and top with cheese.

Soup and pudding

Any pasta, description in a bit if pasta water when you drain. Or cook till nearly dry, chick in greater cheese. Let the heat melt the cheese and stir the left over water acts as a thickener, season to taste, salt pepper. Various mustards, grain mustard us good, Dijon is also good. Pour into bowl, drop in front of kids.

If you use a fresh pasta not dried you can get it down to 5 - 10 mins 10v- 20 with dried

Thats everyone, this will be dead handy to get me started.

Thats everyone, this will be dead handy to get me started.

Speedy go to is Lemon Pasta with Caesar salad. We’re vegetarian so I have to get veggie ‘Parmesan’ but regular parmesan ok otherwise. 200ml good olive oil, 200ml fresh squeezed lemon juice and zest grated in too, approx 250g grated parmesan whisked in to oil and lemon til ‘melted’ and creamy. Cook linguine, pour over sauce and mix through. Serve with lots of black pepper and the salad. Yum.

Stir fry
Anything salmon - faves are a jamie one with green beans, pesto and lemon in a foil parcel with some new potatoes OR Asian baked one (soy, sesame oil, honey, rice vinegar, ginger) chuck salmon in the marinade in a pyrex and bake for like 10 mins, serve with wilted pak choi and rice

Jamie Oliver’s courgette frittata is lovely and quick.

This except I just 'wazz it all up' together and cook. I don't pre fry anything and just blend all ingredients . Sausages are optional and I throw a can of beans/chickpeas in for protein, and throw in some fried peppers if I can. It's a big fave in our house. I keep some thin slices of crusty bread/some sort of bread and toast in the toaster. I butter with garlic butter (always have a tub in the fridge homemade) et voila garlic toasties.

I use dried herbs also... In fact I think I've changed the recipe just to suit store cupboard 😂😂

mylovesinlife.wordpress.com/2013/04/06/jamie-olivers-sausage-pasta/

Kedgeree - boil rice, boil eggs, boil peas (can do peas in the egg water while you're doing the next bit), remove skin and flake packet of smoked mackerel fillets, peel and chop eggs roughly, mix everything together.

Jacket potato (I love the Aldi frozen bannisters potatoes, takes 5 min in the microwave) with cottage cheese and/or beans

Tinned baby potatoes, gammon and tinned carrots

Mackerel in tomato sauce (tinned) And pasta. Just cook pasta then mixed the tinned mackerel in and chuck some grated cheese on it

Fishcakes and chips with mushy peas done in the oven

Lamb shanks (can microwave this), with smash and tinned veg

Mayflower chicken curry with peas and mushrooms (again I usually use veg in a tin, very quick and convenient) and rice (if you get already cooked chicken in a packet and microwave rice, then that'll all be done in less than 20 mins)

Two fish and rice ones.

Smoked haddock
rice (basmati or arborio)
orange juice
water
salt and pepper

Chop the fish into chunks
Boil the kettle
Put everything in a pan (50/50 water OJ) simmer for 15 mins, until all liquid is absorbed.

I do this one in the rice cooker but could be done in a pan or possibly oven

Rice (jasmine or basmati)
salmon fillets - 1 per person
tin coconut milk
chopped spring onion
pinch of ground ginger (try different spices)
put the rice in the rice cooker, mix everything except the salmon together and add to the rice (it may need topping up with water)
put the salmon on top and set to cook