20/30 minute healthy dinners

[MrsLeclerc]

I’ve gone back to work after maternity leave and am struggling to find quick healthy recipes for us.

I have 30 mins at most to prepare and cook dinner by time I get home.
We have a slow cooker but I hate leaving it on when we’re out all day as I imagine the house will burn down!

Any ideas for fast recipes or tips on prepping the night before?

Stir fry - you can make so many different variations of this depending on your choice of sauce/protein/carb

Fillets of fish baked in the oven with tomatoes/courgettes/onions - if it's white fish spread a little harissa, tomato puree or pesto on top - if it's salmon then try pesto or mustard - serve with potatoes (I like boiled new ones) and some sort of green veg

Frittata - a great way of using up whatever odds and ends of veg / meat/cheese you have in the fridge

Make a big batch of mince with carrots, tomatoes, onions etc at the weekend and then you can divide it and mix in some kidney beans and spices for a chilli, use some for cottage pie, some for bolognaise etc

My favourite daal takes 20 minutes. It also freezes very well so I tend to make a big batch and freeze it in portions.

www.tinnedtomatoes.com/2013/10/spinach-and-coconut-dal.html?m=1

Veggie chilli with tinned chickpeas/any type of bean is very quick.

I’d you don’t mind jars, curry is easy to do quickly with tinned chick peas and random fridge veg, or paneer and frozen spinach, or cauliflower. New potatoes are also great in curry. They can be cooked with a different meal and just reheated in the sauce with whatever veg you fancy.

Tuna burgers www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/5863/tuna-sweetcorn-burgers
Pancetta and pea gnocchi www.olivemagazine.com/recipes/meat-and-poultry/parmesan-pancetta-and-pea-cream-gnocchi/
Prawn stir fry realfood.tesco.com/recipes/one-pot-prawn-and-noodle-stir-fry.html
Couscous salad www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10minute-couscous-salad
Lemony tuna pasta www.greengiant.eu/lemony-tuna-spag-bol/
This recipe is easily halved to serve two www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/4404/easy-stuffed-peppers. It takes 15 minutes from start to finish and uses minimal ingredients. I often use mozzarella instead of goats cheese.
Lamb tagine www.hellofresh.co.uk/recipes/quick-lamb-tagine-5af5b9b330006c42e634f1f2
Fish in tomato sauce www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/tomato-thyme-cod
Prawn pilaf www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/quick-prawn-and-brown-rice-pilaf/
Chicken curry www.easypeasyfoodie.com/quick-chicken-curry/

Great suggestions rice Krispy!

I don't have a slow cooker but I understand they are good for dishes that reheat well.
Could you put it on overnight so the dish is ready in the morning and then reheat the food (in under 30 minutes) just before eating.

If that wouldn't work, do you have a pressure cooker? It might work better for someone who doesn't feel at ease leaving appliances on while away from home. They really speed up cooking times.
I make risotto in the pressure cooker. It takes 5-10 minutes to prepare 7 minutes to cook and there is no stirring so I can prepare a salad while it is cooking.

Homemade fish finger sandwiches.

Do you have a freezer? Then you could have extra portions of curry, chilli, bolognaise, casseroles, pies etc kept in there. Take them out and put in thefridge the night before then reheat the following night.

I'd say 3 out of 5 of our weekday meals are from the freezer. I usually spend one weekend afternoon a month cooking 3 or 4 different freezer meals so there is always something different to choose from.

The other 'easy' meals are usually things like an omelette, jacket potato with tuna, natural yogurt and salad, or baked salmon and stir fried veg with leftover rice.

Stirfry
Pasta with pesto and green veg
Dahl
Pittas with falafel, hummous and salad

Fry chopped bacon or pancetta in olive oil, add plenty of chopped garlic and a pack of halved cherry tomatoes. Fry until soft while the pasta is cooking. Toss together and add loads of chopped basil. Chili in with the garlic if you want.

The other night I made super quick stir fry using bag of stir fry vege from supermarket, leftover roast chicken - add garlic, ginger, onion, soya sauce etc. Noodles take 4 min to cook.

Use the precooked rice to make a fried rice - add bacon, prawns, vege etc to suit.

Thank you for the great suggestions!

Never made a dhal before but will definitely be giving it a try.

@Ricekrispie22 thanks for the links, the lamb tagine looks particularly yummy!

@PorridgeAgainAbney I think that I’m going to try cooking some extra meals on the weekends to freeze so I have a few days where I’m not rushing around like crazy.

@Blondie1984 I love the idea of doing a mince base to adapt to different recipes depending on the time I have.

I use Simply Cook for quick, easy and tasty dinners. It's a touch costly at £2.50 for just the flavours for a meal but they are bloody tasty. Their balinese curry is my fav and I just add some microwave rice and a chappati or naan. I think the trial box is only £3 for 4 meals so worth a try.

Tray bakes-you could prepare in advance although to be honest it doesn’t take much chopping. We had one tonight, diced potatoes and sweet potatoes in to roast first, then add a pack of sausages, then add some chopped pepper, courgette and finally baby plum tomatoes. Green beans on the side (mostly to satisfy the 4yo!). You could vary the veg/meat, even use halloumi. Cut out the potatoes and use bread and it’s even quicker

I'm having my batch cook day tomorrow and have just worked my plan!

1. Pasta sauce using roasted peppers, courgette, aubergine and onion which I'll add to a sauce of tinned tomatoes, garlic and herbs. It will be reheated either to go with small chicken breasts and sauteed potatoes, or to make a tuna pasta bake.

1. Meatballs. Saves time (as they will just need reheating for 10 mins rather than mixing, chilling to firm up then cooking) and money as it's cheaper to make them using a pack of mince than buying as meatballs.

1. Veg curry. Just onion and curry paste browned then add chopped peppers and aubergine, then add tinned tomatoes, leave on really low heat for an hour, add chickpeas and spinach, and some creamed coconut block and cook for another 10 mins.

Is it just for two adults, or for kids too?

If the former, maybe have a couple of nights a week with something really easy:
'posh' avocado on toast
nice sausages in nice bread with salad leaves and chilli jam
omelettes and salad
baked camembert and stuff to dip in it - celery, radishes, left over new potatoes fried in a bit of olive oil
mushrooms on toast
pitta breads stuffed with salad and whatever else you fancy eg falafel, feta, griddled haloumi

Sorry - some of mine are not very healthy! Although I reckon even Camembert counts as healthy if you dip celery into it!

Stir-fry, either with chicken or just veggies
Salmon & rice + salad
Pan fried halved chicken breasts topped with cheese + boiled potatoes
Baked (microwaved) potato with whatever toppings
Baked camembert with some nice bread
Anything pasta is very quick. Pasta with tomato sauce, pasta with canned tuna +cheese or mayo, pasta pesto...
Sometimes, we just have toasties or throw some chips in the oven 🤷‍♀️