Cheap, fast and easy?

[LifesLittleDeciders]

Had anyone got any super easy ‘weeknight’ meals that don’t take a million ingredients? I hate to say that as I love to cook, but I’m back at work full time, my 1 year old is at nursery and I’m constantly knackered - as well as putting away as much money as possible to go towards our wedding so I’m looking to cut back on the food shop and try and make healthy, home made meals that don’t cost the earth to make.

Haven’t made it easy for you have I? But fire away! I need inspiring 🤩

Simple red lentil Dhal, naan breads, kachumber salad

Chicken thigh tray bake, with potatoes, onions and herbs - tip in some frozen peas towards the end

Mac 'n' cheese. Look up Jamie Oliver's Greens Mac 'n' cheese. It makes A LOT so could for leftovers too.

Tuna pasta mayo and sweetcorn.

Tray bakes might be your friend. Minimal prep and usually only 20 to 30 minutes in the oven. Eg:

Sausage and apple
Veg halloumi and chickpea
Fish/chicken with baby potatoes and roast veg*

• Do extra roast veggies such as peppers, onions, courgette etc and they can be added to a quick pasta dish or couscous with feta or even just a salad for an even faster dinner the next day. Also, when cooking pasta make extra and have a pasta salad with eg tuna or precooked chicken or whatever the following day.

Other minimal prep, on the table in minutes ideas:

Omelettes
Fresh tortellini with pesto
Stir fry with rice/noodles (ok potentially lots of ingredients for a nice one but here I’d cheat and buy a prepared one )

Don’t forget the old reliables like scrambled eggs on toast, tuna melt, beans on toast and so on for those days you just don’t have the energy to think!

I'm vegetarian but there are plenty of recipes on the Quorn website using Quorn products, lots of quick and easy ones on there.

Otherwise in less than 30 minutes I can make things like bolognaise, pasta/gnocchi/spaghetti/tortellini in tomatoey sauces, jacket potatoes (frozen) with cheese and beans, sausage and bean casseroles, gnocchi bake, stir fry, quick curries (chickpea, paneer, Quorn chicken), fajitas, tacos, cous cous salads...

Jacket potatoes. Not quick but if you happen to be working from home very easy to bung in the oven and leave them to it.

Chickpea curry or kidney bean curry. I find these helpful because we always have a ton of one of the other in the cupboard.

Pasta. I have about half a dozen easy pasta dishes that both boys eat. They are carbonara (I add peas to cover the veg or cherry tomatoes on the side), puttanesca, Jamie Oliver pasta with Savoy cabbage and pancetta, delia pasta with bacon and leek, crab linguine (I use tinned crab to make it an easy store cupboard staple), sausage and kale. There’s probably others but these are the current favourites.

Sausages. Lately I’ve been doing a tray bake with potato, parsnip and carrots with some green veg on the side.

Stir fry. I just stir fry suitable veg with noodles. Add a dash of soy sauce and Siracha. Some peanuts/cashews or leftover meat if I have some.

Bean burritos. I make a quick chilli with onions, peppers, tinned pinto beans and frozen sweet corn. It freezes well for when I’m in a particular hurry. Serve with tortillas, salsa, mashed avocado and cheese.

Also tonight I made smitten kitchen’s pizza beans which went down well served with her garlic bread. Will probably add that to the rotation.

Current favourite - pork belly slices covered in pre-made hoisin sauce and baked in the oven for 30 minutes. Served with Microsoft jasmine rice and green veg of choice.

Egg & chips!

Spaghetti carbonara or primavera.

Vegetable and bean stew, with dumplings if you've got time. Use prepared veg and tinned beans for speed.

Sausage & tomato bake, serve with gnocchi for speed.

Good grief 🙄 MICROWAVE. Bill Gates has nothing to do with my dinner.

Tomorrow's tea is chicken tikka masala (I batch made and froze 5!) with micro rice as I have a busy day.

Brown mince and freeze. You can leave it to defrost and add what you want to make a meal without the faff of browning the mince. I do the same with chicken. I poach or bake a pack of chicken breasts and then freeze them individually. Take out what you need. Ready for sweet and sour, fajitas, fried rice...

I'm in totally the same situation! Staples here include:

Chicken or salmon teriyaki

Everything from the Traybake cookbooks, as I can chick it on a tray when I have 10 mins during the day then just turn the oven on in the evening

Keema peas curry

This Nigella chicken soup tastes amazing but takes about 10 minutes

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/thai-chicken-noodle-soup

Our go to cheap and easy dinner is pasta and pesto. I but fresh pesto. Sometimes stick on garlic bread with it.

Soup and veg or potatoes.

Homemade pancakes (Jamie Oliver recipe one cup flour one cup milk one egg)

But my main tip is to batch cook and freeze as said above. Buy in aldi - eg. Stew beef or whatever and slow cook for 4 hours. I buy about 2 or 3 lb at a time and bulk out with loads of veg andserve with baby potatoes (so quick)

If you have a slow cooker then put on a chicken or gammon in the morning with a timer.

Omelettes and salad
Baked potato, toppings, salad - microwave the potato first to get it mostly cooked
Veg soup and a sandwich and some crudités
White fish spread with pesto and baked + green beans
Stir fry of cabbage, pork mince and super noodles, bit of soy, garlic, ginger, chilli etc
Shelf-stable gnocchi with frozen peas and broccoli and a quick cheese sauce
Fried rice
Quasadillas filled with veggies and served with salad

Carbonara make with beaten egg, grated Parmesan and fried bacon takes as long as the pasta plus 3 minutes. One of so few meals that everyone in the family eats and enjoys.

I recommend a half day batch cook on a Saturday morning to offset weeknight pain. I use ziplock type bags and fill them flat so they fit well into the freezer: any stew or mince dish flattens well, mashed potato (freeze without butter or milk and add those on reheating), puréed carrot with butter and cumin, Yorkshire puddings, stews, curries(except chicken).
Then I plan the weekly dinners on a Saturday with a delivery on Sunday. It saves time and money.
Cottage pie: defrost the slow cooked mince and the mash then put them in a dish and pop into oven for 30 mins until hit and golden. Spaghetti Bol? Defrost the sauce while you cook the pasta etc.
Have lots of veg in everything anyway but it's the work of minutes to chop and steam some broccoli or cabbage.

Put your mental energy into a half hour each week and everything else is just following your own list and doing simple reheating and/or accompaniments.

Stirfry or gnocchi with home made pesto are my go to short on time meals

We had this tonight and it was sooo good. 5 year old and 9 month old both ate their portions too which says it's a win for me (even better there's leftovers for work lunches)

thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/roasted-aubergine-courgette-and-macaroni-bake

I found a great recipe last week;

4 eggs
370ml milk
220ml oil
400g flour
20g baking powder
Salt and pepper.

Wiz all up to make a batter and then add veg (or whatever) - the recipe suggested diced potatoes, cheese, tomatoes and peppers; I actually used potatoes, thick cut ham, spinach and cheese. Pour into a baking tray and cook at 180c for 30 minutes. Filling, cheap, easy and delic.

My goodness, you’re all wonderful! There are so many ideas here I never would have thought of.. I definitely need to get in the habit of batch cooking as a lot of you say.

I do have a slow cooker but but other than joints of meat and the occasional curry I can never kick my brain into gear to think of something to do in it!

We eat a lot of salmon, at least once a week most weeks. DH isn’t a fan of chicken but I can get away with not pre-warning him what we’re having for dinner and going with the ‘you get what you’re given’ mind set

Deffo get your slow cooker working for you.
I don't like mince dinners made in the slow cooker but it's great for casseroles and soup it another great option. Coming into the summer now if you cook gammon and have it with salads and extra ham for omelette.

Spicy tomato gnocchi realfood.tesco.com/recipes/spicy-tomato-gnocchi.html

Tuna burgers www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/tuna-sweetcorn-burgers

Microwave mac n cheese recipes.sainsburys.co.uk/recipes/quick-and-easy/microwave-mac-and-cheese

I cook ready filled tortellini, add sliced courgettes, throw in some spinach for the last few minutes and stir humus into it when it is all cooked. Only one pan needed.

@12BottlesOfVintageChampagne

Good grief 🙄 MICROWAVE. Bill Gates has nothing to do with my dinner.

🤣

@12BottlesOfVintageChampagne

I’m more embarrassed that I googled Microsoft Rice 🥲