I'm a stay at home mom in need of quick recipes. Help!

[H0neyandme]

I love cooking, but the food I make is not practical for a stay at home mom. I need to be able to make quick, tasty meals and I don't know how so I'm stuck between my son eating chicken nuggets or being bored while I cook my elaborate meals.
Also, my cooking takes a toll on the food budget. My meals have a lot of ingredients and food prices are very different in the UK opposed to the States, and a meal which have costed me $20 back home, will nearly double here. Thanks very much.

Have you got a slow cooker? They're quite cheap to buy and perfect for things like stews or bolognese so that the main part of a meal is pretty much already cooked and you just need to cook a quick bit of pasta or whatever before you eat.

This time of year I do things like spatchcock a chicken, rub in a marinade of preserved lemons, chipotle paste, herbs, oil & salt in the morning (takes 10 minutes) and then roast for 45 mins in the evening and serve with flatbreads & Greek salad.

Steamed fish fillets with roasted veg

Traybakes - sausages/chicken thighs/ fish on a bed of green veggies and in the oven till the protein is cooked. Lemon, olive oil & mustard dressing when it’s done.

Gnocchi with herb butter & a green salad

Lamb koftes- minced lamb, cumin, pinch cinnamon, grated shallot, garlic & ginger and tons of finely chopped coriander and parsley, form into hand-sized sausage shapes and grill or pan fry. Serve with flatbreads, hummus & tzatziki.

Burgers with all the sides. If you get decent ones they’re almost as good as homemade.

Stir fry with prawns, tofu, bok choi, sugar snaps, baby corn etc.

A ‘picnic’ dinner with quiche, salads, Parma ham, nice cheese, nice breads etc.

All lovely and very little prep time, and still eating really well.

Pasta and cream cheese.

Put the pasta on to boil, when it is ready turn of the heat but don't drain yet.

Put the cream cheese in a pan, about 2 desert spoons per person and stir with a wooden spoon, add a couple of spoons of the pasta cooking water and in about 2 mins you have a creamy sauce for your pasta.

Drain the pasta and add it to the sauce before serving.

You can then add to this eg by frying mushrooms before putting the cheese in the pan. Or bacon, mushrooms, spring onions, onion etc you get the idea.

I'd agree with getting a slow cooker, for a roast just put the meat in the sc and leave, do the veg when you are ready to eat.

I have an electric steamer as well so I can put the meat on first thing, prepthe veg and leave them in the steamer, 10-15 mins before I want to serve I just turn the streamer on.

Another easy sc recipe - some meat (pork ribs or chicken pieces), put it i the sc, put the kettle on, add some tinned kidney beans, some sliced chorizo and a packet/jar of passata. If needed top up with boiling water and leave to cook.

Have you got a rice cooker? Argos do a cheap one and often they have offers on buying appliances together.

OK assuming you have a rice cooker, put in the rice for how ever many you are serving, shake and open a tin of coconut milk, add it to the rice. Then add frozen or tinned sweet corn, kidney beans, peas, whatever you like.

Either eat the rice as a vegi dish or you can add a fillet of fish, just put it on top of the rice, I tend to do this with salmon.

Pitta pizzas www.myfussyeater.com/5-minute-pitta-bread-veggie-pizza/
It doesn’t take long to whip up a couple of pancakes which my DC eat with cheese and ham.
Gnocchi www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/speedy-mediterranean-gnocchi
Noodles www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2768/proper-spicy-pot-noodle
Tuna and sweetcorn burgers www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5863/tuna-sweetcorn-burgers
This recipe takes 15 minutes from start to finish and uses minimal ingredients. I use mozzarella instead of goats cheese www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4404/easy-stuffed-peppers.
This takes 10 minutes www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/11690/10minute-couscous-salad It can be prepared whenever you’ve got a spare few minutes as it doesn’t need to be eaten hot.
5 minute spicy prawn noodles www.supergoldenbakes.com/2015/03/chilli-prawn-noodles-fiveminutemeal.html It serves two but I usually double it. I also use frozen prawns as they're cheaper. You can also use them in this:
www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/quick-prawn-and-brown-rice-pilaf/
Leftover bread and butter pudding recipes.sainsburys.co.uk/recipes/leftovers/cheese-and-tomato-bread-and-butter-pudding
Quick chicken curry www.easypeasyfoodie.com/quick-chicken-curry/

Thank you so much ladies. You are the absolute best!

Good thread idea OP

MustardScreams - that all sounds amazing. Is it cheeky to ask for more of your ideas?

I visit Costco every couple of months and stock up on organic meat and fish, which I freeze. This helps me have protein for tray bakes and grills at a sensible cost.
My DC love the double baked potatoes that mn reminded me off, dd likes a cheese one, DS likes tuna.
I buy fresh pizza dough, which is only a couple of dollars in the supermarket and DC make up their own pizzas with fresh veg and other toppings.
We also make our own poke bowls quite cheaply although we often use cooked cubes steak instead of fish.

My cheap quick meals are:

• Pasta bake (I made a veggie sauce and blended it to hide the veg)

• Omelette with roast potato cubes (I dont bother peeling the potatoes, just chop them into small cubes and roast for 40 or so mins)

• Spatchcock chicken (as a pp said, serve with any kind of salad that you like. I make a bulgar wheat one with feta and herbs)

That's all I can think of for now.

I found that my kids were also very impatient waiting while I finished cooking dinner so I'd sit them down with a bowl of raw salad veggies to chomp on while i finished. It was a good way to make sure they got their veggies in too instead of tok much rice/pasta/starch, which given the choice they'd always take an extra helping of instead of vegetables.

I made some nice marinated chicken the other day that was quick as long as you factor in the marinading time. I served mine with a green salad and added a couscous salad for dd and a tzitiki dip.
Slice chicken breast into thin slices about 1cm. Marinade is 1 clove garlic crush or chop, paprika 1/2 tsp, onion powder 1/2 tsp, salt and pepper, 1 tsp cider vinegar and enough milk to just cover chicken. Leave it to marinade for an hour in the fridge or longer if you like. Fry the chicken until cooked through and golden brown, about 2 mins a side.

Where were you that food was cheaper than the U.K.? I have been here (US) years but am still horrified by the price of food! And the quality. Sadly the U.K. will probably have the same poor quality food after Brexit. I think you should take advantage of seasonal produce. Make your own chicken nuggets? Or a kabob? All kids like food on a stick!