I need some inspiration… desperately

[Littlemisssunshine31]

I’m sick of what I’m cooking! I’m not a natural cook but improving.
Family of 4 soon to be 5 (first trimester sickness now coming to an end but a big culprit in us getting totally stuck in a rut of boring/processed food)
me and DH plus a 4 year old and 22 month old. We eat meat, the kids are a little fussy on spicy things but pretty good.

what I really want is some home cooked , healthy ish EASY and QUICK (less than 20 mins start to finish) meals which we can all eat together. I loathe cooking dinner as the kids just go feral about 4.30 pm and I usually have a least one hanging off my leg!

at the moment we seem to rotate :
salmon pasta mixed with cream cheese and broccoli (probably the healthiest thing)
pesto pasta
jackets with beans and cheese
fish fingers and chips
chicken burgers and hallumi and salad
Ham and mushroom pizza

it’s mainly the salt content and mainly processed stuff I’m concerned about

any recipes gratefully received I’m sick of it !

We've just had a very nice M&S quiche that I jazzed up with added mushrooms and extra cheese on top and served with courgettes, peas and sauerkraut. Prep took minutes, very tasty.

Tomorrow prob fishcakes with peas and brocoli.
Microwave rice is good with cooked veg and tofu or egg (comes out like an egg fried rice).

Both these are quick and healthy.

Forgot to specify we use the wholegrain microwave rice.

Chicken thighs with potatoes and salad
Spag bol or veggie Bolognase
Tray bake salmon and veg
Tray bake chicken and veg
Egg fried rice
Salmon rice and frozen veg
Pre made frozen falafel in wraps with salad and hummus
Fajitas
Chick pea curry...this one is dead easy! Tin of chick peas, some lentils jar of curry paste well a couple of spoonfuls, Passata, coconut milk wack it all in a saucepan and 20 mins later done!
Have to say though I feel you with trying to think of meals and after cooking family meals for over 10 years I really am tired of it all!!

I have a 6 month old baby and traybakes are my best friend as I can prepare them earlier in the day when baby is napping and then all I have to do is whack it in the oven at dinner time and prepare a salad.

This is a nice one and literally takes 3 mins to prepare:

themodernproper.com/lemon-chicken

That lemon chicken looks lovely. Have you ever done it in the air fryer? I just wondered how the times would compare.

Low fat sausages, mash with gravy and onions

Low fat smoked sausage pasta using Philadelphia lightest as the cheese sauce

Home made pizza bagels (cheese, onions, peppers & a watered purée with garlic salt & herbs) with home made chips or sweet potato fries or with salad

Creamy cajun chicken enchiladas with sweet potato fries or salad

Chilli bowl with all the trimmings and chop up a wrap into triangles and have them as tortillas

I was obsessed with all of the above in my first trimester.

The Quick Roasting Tin cookbook has lots of recipes that take 20 minutes. And some are absolutely lovely.

I really like it as you can shove it all in one dish, put it in the oven and just walk away. No need to stand next to the hob.

there are a few recipes that I make all the time from there - Gnocci with ham hock, crème fraiche and peas; tandoori salmon; keralan prawn curry and something else that I will remember as soon as I press ‘Post’ I’m sure.

Jamie Oliver’s five ingredients sausage pasta carbonara would be a good one for you

Tuna spaghetti www.wcrf-uk.org/recipes/spaghetti-tuna-bolognese/

Prawn chow mein thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/prawn-chow-mein/

Fish finger tacos realfood.tesco.com/recipes/fish-finger-tacos.html

Pasta with cherry tomatoes, garlic, prawns and fresh parsley.
Pasta with garlic mushrooms and Parmesan
Gnocchi and sausage traybake with apple, leeks and parsnips (slightly more than 20 mins but that's just time in the oven not hands on time)
Fritata can be 20 mins if you do it the day after a dish with new potatoes so you have leftovers!
Chicken stir fry with rice noodles, and a simple sauce
Field mushrooms stuffed with microwaved rice, what ever veg you need using up quickly fried off (chop small), a few herbs and topped with cheesy breadcrumbs, then baked.
Chicken breasts bashed thinly (so they cook quickly) in marinade/spice rub of choice (we do honey and mustard, lemon, garlic and herbs, paprika,
Coriander and lime juice (optional chilli), harissa, ras el hanout, whatever's out any really) cook in the air-fryer/ grill. Serve either in wraps or pita with salad, or roasted veg and cous cous.
Cod wrapped in pancetta is really quick with some green veg and micro rice.

Halloumi burgers www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/halloumi-burgers

Risotto www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/easy-baked-tomato-risotto

Chicken kebabs www.sainsburys.co.uk/gol-ui/recipes/chicken-and-lemon-kebabs

Could you stretch to Hello Fresh or similar for a few weeks? They often have deals for new customers with the first few boxes at 40% off. You choose the meals sent and can opt for just the rapid 20 min recipes. The delivery comes with the recipe cards, which you can keep and reuse if you like them, and the instructions are easy to follow. I did this recently when I wanted some new quick ideas, and some have become firm favourites.

I second suggestions for tray bakes. take longer to cook but prep time is minimal and you could have chicken for about a week without actually having the same meal! :)

Other easy quick things we like are:

Tomato based pasta sauces made with bacon/chorizo/chicken and whatever veg are lying around.

Steak or chops, fried, and served with new potatoes and vegetables or salad.

Fajitas - although the slicing and frying of the peppers in my version does add a bit to the time.

Stir fries - I usually do a bag of chopped "stir fry" veg and then bulk up with sliced onions and whatever other veg I have lying around. Sometimes use a pre made sauce but usually just add lime juice and soy sauce. Or some hoisin sauce with a bit of water.