Favourite meals you can make in the time it takes to cook pasta

[Etherealhedgehog]

I'm talking actual recipes (and doesn't have to involve actual pasta, though that is welcome). I love cooking but DD is nearly a year, we're both back at work - already or soon - and we really don't have the energy to cook at the end of the day. But after spending the first four months living off pasta pesto/oven pizza/fish finger butties on rotation, I feel in need of more varied fare, and something to make me feel like I haven't completely abandoned my love for making a tasty meal.

I feel like there should be a great food blog out there covering just this, but yet to find it.

So, what's your favourite super quick recipe? I'll start, mine is: jillianleiboff.blogspot.com/2013/07/wholewheat-spaghetti-with-green-olives.html?m=1

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/oven-baked-leek-bacon-risotto

Or I just do mushrooms & peas but use the above method. I don’t add the wine or Parmesan, I just Chuck a stock cube in.

Courgette pasta:
Dice some courgettes (discard the seedy inners)
Dice an onion
Finely chop a red chilli
Grate Parmesan

Melt butter, add onion and cook until almost sort but not coloured. Add courgette and chilli. Cook until courgette is slightly softened but retains some bite. Salt and pepper. Pasta and cheese.

Soft not sort

Salmon stir fry is quite quick - bake the salmon fillets (15 minutes) and then stir fry veg and noodles while they cook. Also baked salmon with pesto and Parmesan on top (cook some veg/rice while it bakes).

Omelettes and frittatas are fairly quick.

We do a lot of batch cooked stuff like chilli, so we just have to cook the rice to go with it.

Any type of stir fry with noodles.

Salmon, rice or cous cous with veg (salmon takes 3.5 mins in microwave)

We've had some great 10 minute meals from gousto that we make again e.g:
www.gousto.co.uk/cookbook/vegetarian-recipes/mushroom-biryani-with-cucumber-raita
I'd recommend them also because you don't need to measure or weigh anything so that saves time.

Salmon. Singapore noodles. Stir fry veg.

This is my go to busy night staple- generally if we have after school clubs etc. Use whatever veg you have and mix it up with adding feta or Chorizo. I tend to have the dry ingredients grated and mixed on the fridge in the morning then mix a quick batter and on the table in twenty mins. Great for getting veg in kids too.

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/sweetcorn-courgette-fritters?utm_source=app

Naan pizzas realfood.tesco.com/recipes/naan-bread-pizzas.html

Lamb biryani
Mushroom risotto
Gong bao chicken
Pesto gnocchi

Thanks all, these look amazing. And I hadn't even thought about a recipe box - have resisted for years but it might finally be the time. Gotta be cheaper than the extreme takeout habit we're currently falling into!

We do Simply Cook which is just the sauces etc rather than fresh ingredients and they're all around twenty - thirty mins to make. It helps us to get out of the rut of omelette and pasta. I only have one box a month but you can change the frequency to suit you. If you want to try it use this link for a free box (i get a free one too if you do)
simplycook.com/invite/T3Q0KP?via=app

Does it need to be cooked n 15 minutes or can it be prepared in 15 minutes but cooked in the oven while you're doing bath and bedtime? Because my favourites in that category are any kind of chicken tray bake, usually served with new potatoes and steamed veg. Or roasted veg served with couscous and feta/goats cheese.

A quick "cooked" one is to chargrill selection of preferred greens with bit of olive oil and salt. Then fry halloumi slices. Once almost ready, add some chopped garlic, lemon/lime juice and honey and allow to caramelise. Serve in a wrap or flatbread.

Thai chicken "soup" I do sometimes involves steaming some chicken breasts. While that's happening, fry off some red curry paste (with some extra coriander stalks, ginger, garlic, chilli if you like). Add a tin of coconut milk and the same again of water. Stir, bring to the boil then add a few vegetables. Boil gently for five minutes or so. Shred the chicken breast and add to the soup/curry along with a teaspoon or so of fish sauce, the juice of half a lime and a teaspoon of brown sugar. Season with salt if required. Then serve with rice noodles. If you feel "fancy" add a few sliced spring onions and chilli bits on top and sprinkle over some coriander leaves.

@TiredButDancing good question - on weeknights there probably won't be enough time between nursery and the start of bedtime, but sheet pan meals is a great idea for weekends - definitely don't make enough strategic use of the oven. All your ideas sound delicious!

[quote Etherealhedgehog]@TiredButDancing good question - on weeknights there probably won't be enough time between nursery and the start of bedtime, but sheet pan meals is a great idea for weekends - definitely don't make enough strategic use of the oven. All your ideas sound delicious![/quote]
When DC were that age we often didn't eat the same food. So I'd do the DC scrambled egg perhaps or a pre-made meal (home made or ready made) or similar while assembling a tray bake (for example), then we'd eat as soon as the DC were down.

@TiredButDancing oh definitely, to be clear, at dinnertime we don't eat the same food (I appreciate the meal as grown-ups only time...also I like too many salty, not super baby friendly foods). We have a batch cooked freezer stash for her teas (and try to eat lunch together). The issue is just that by the time we've finally finished the bedtime routine neither of us has the energy for more than just whacking some pasta in a pan (or recently...hitting order on Deliveroo )

Steak and white bean mash (one of Nigella’s) is very quick. If you like white bean mash, you could do it with sausages or other meat. Alternatively, many people on another thread were singing the praises of tinned potatoes!

Stir fry
Fried rice
Pho if you buy a ready made broth
Gnocchi - mine love it fried with a bit of diced chorizo and Parmesan
Quesadillas
Omelettes
Tortilla if you cook the potatoes the night before
Stroganoff
Chorizo and white bean stew

Veggie haggis, potatoes and veg. Haggis cooks in the microwave in a few mins, veg cut small and steamed/boiled.

Steak and salad 😀

Also as pp's, stir frys. Pre-cut duck or chicken, packet of stir fry veg. Noodles if you need extra carbs. Quick and tasty.

I've had three 10 minute meals from Gousto this week: nasi goreng, Teriyaki tofu with rice and sesame greens, spicy halloumi stew with couscous.

Good for putting in the oven is the roasting tin books. Cook time varies but prep is quick

My go to for a quick meal is haddock cheese bake : cherry tomatoes in a shallow ovenproof dish with some olive oil , lay the haddock fillets (I use smoked and skinless) on top and then cover in a mozzarella and cheddar mix (grated ), stick in the oven for 20 minutes on 180. I serve with crusty bread .

[quote Etherealhedgehog]@TiredButDancing oh definitely, to be clear, at dinnertime we don't eat the same food (I appreciate the meal as grown-ups only time...also I like too many salty, not super baby friendly foods). We have a batch cooked freezer stash for her teas (and try to eat lunch together). The issue is just that by the time we've finally finished the bedtime routine neither of us has the energy for more than just whacking some pasta in a pan (or recently...hitting order on Deliveroo )[/quote]
I hear you. The use of a traybake or roasted veg etc for me came about for this exact reason. I could shove it in the oven while doing the kids bath and bedtime.

It's relentless isn't it!? we're out at a friend tonight and there was a brief moment where I thought we'd have to cancel and my only thought was, "but then I'd have to cook. Nooooooooooo"

Try upgrading your pasta game first. Good pasta takes 45-90 minutes to cook (at least) if you use good quality natural ingredients.