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Genuinely 5 min involvement meals and recipes

71 replies

Combusting · 06/09/2023 17:30

Enormous juggle between two FT adults and 2 smalls. Tell me you genuinely truly 5 mins prep/involvement meals - I’m a creative imaginative cook so can work with quick ideas.

Have got : air fryer, instant pot, slow cooker, oven, grill, hob microwave and am after dinners which require NO MORE than 5 mins involvement from me.

I know lots of recipes use words like just “throw/chuck” and yet are long though! What do you serve up which does not need you beyond 5 mins?

No allergies and no fussy eaters, all omnivores!

OP posts:
RagzRebooted · 06/09/2023 23:36

Another quick meal I do often is nugget (actually, dippers) wraps. Wrap, salad, nuggets, sauce. Air fryer is great for chicken nuggets, 20 mins max (toss them once ideally if you're doing a lot), chop/open some salad. Open wraps. Definitely less than 5 minutes in the kitchen.
If you want a non-processed version, then toss some chicken strips in seasoned oil and air fry those. You can be off doing other things while the airfryer works its magic. Or make instant pot shredded chicken breasts and use those. I love my kitchen gadgets! Barely use the oven now.

RagzRebooted · 06/09/2023 23:40

This sounds good. Why add the beans at the end? Do they go bad being cooked too long?
Argh, did reply instead of quote. This was to @Chelsea26

RagzRebooted · 06/09/2023 23:48

Mirabai · 06/09/2023 23:32

Realistically you can’t prep anything decent in 5 mins unless you live off ready meals and pasta.

You need to rethink your food prep.

I have to admit, all our quick after work meals are pretty unhealthy. Would be fine if the kids liked things like salmon and veg/salad! I haven't ever had much luck with the slow cooker just chucking everything in, it seems to need at least the onions and meat frying first. Even without that, there's usually a lot of veg chopping needed.
Batch cooking works for some, but with 5 adult sized people to feed, I struggle to make enough for two meals!

D1nopawus · 07/09/2023 07:17

Mirabai · 06/09/2023 23:32

Realistically you can’t prep anything decent in 5 mins unless you live off ready meals and pasta.

You need to rethink your food prep.

I think the trick is to keep a stock of frozen chopped vegetables, breadcrumbs, grated cheese etc and use lazy garlic, ginger & chilli pastes and tinned beans & pulses.

Plenty of meals then require little prep.

I make an easy butternut squash & chick pea curry by roasting pre-prepped squash as soon as I get in the door whilst I have a cuppa & sort out DC, dogs & any house admin.

Half an hour later, sweat spices & garlic, add passata or tinned tomatoes, chick peas & the roasted squash.

Combusting · 07/09/2023 07:19

RagzRebooted · 06/09/2023 23:48

I have to admit, all our quick after work meals are pretty unhealthy. Would be fine if the kids liked things like salmon and veg/salad! I haven't ever had much luck with the slow cooker just chucking everything in, it seems to need at least the onions and meat frying first. Even without that, there's usually a lot of veg chopping needed.
Batch cooking works for some, but with 5 adult sized people to feed, I struggle to make enough for two meals!

So one of our saving grace is that both kids are very adventurous eaters and salmon guacamole and feta are DS’s and my favourites for example! Plus being a half asian household means loads of spices since when they were floatijg in my chilli and garlic flavoured amniotic fluid 🤣so they'll accept experimentation no probs. It's a struggle to get 7 yo DS to eat carbs as he costs us a bomb in fish meat and cheese but I think some salmon/chicken based pasta and gnocchi dishes would work very well!

OP posts:
Chelsea26 · 07/09/2023 12:37

@RagzRebooted Thanks - it is really good!

The beans are hit and miss, sometimes they were fine and then just occasionally they went all hard and horrible, I couldn’t work out if it was a certain brand etc so now I just think better safe than sorry!

SpaceOP · 07/09/2023 13:06

Does it need to be on the table in 5 minutes or just 5 minutes of your time? Because tray bakes can be great - stick chicken on tray, add whatever flavourings, stick in oven and serve with rice/boiled veg.

We love roasted tomatoes so I do big trays of cherry tomatoes or similar (ie no chopping) with olive oil, bit of balsamic, salt and chilli flakes - if they've already had the leaves removed this takes about 60 seconds to prep - with olive oil and whole garlic cloves roasted on slow for about 60 minutes. Made with couscous and feta. But only works if you're then using that hour to do something else.

Cook pasta (then wonder out of the kitchen while it's mostly cooking). Just before you drain it, remove half a cup of cooking liquid and add a bag of baby spinach. Drain. Put back into the hot pot and add a tub of ricotta, some grated parmesan, some chopped garlic, some olive oil and some lemon zest. Stir enthusiastically, using some of the cooking water if necessary. Generous salt, pepper and more parmesan and serve. I haven't done this, but suspect a few strips of smoked salmon through it would work well too.

Sausages in the air fryer are genius and easy. Ready made mash or new potatoes on the boil with other easy veg like frozen peas/corn.

Scrambled egg on toast with smoked salmon.

Burgers with a bagged salad.

We love chargrilled greens - usually tender stem broccoli, leeks and cavalo Nero or some combination. I shove them in pita breads with either:
quick fried steak slices
Fried halloumi.
If Halloumi - when I turn the halloumi over, I add lemon, honey and garlic to the pan and let it caramelise to give a little sauce.
These work well for us also as portable options on the way to football or other sports activities so quite popular.

Similarly, I sometimes use the air fryer to cook crumbed chicken breasts and put those in rolls with lettuce, tomato, gherkins and mayo for an on-the-go chicken burger.

SpaceOP · 07/09/2023 13:08

Oh, and my favourite quick convenience food is frozen gyoza! I do rice noodles and chopped veg with a soy/honey/sesame dressing while they're cooking. But that is probably 10 minutes, not five!

BarnacleBeasley · 07/09/2023 13:18

I am in the batch cooked food out of the freezer camp, but I think the only things I can do with literally 5 minutes of input from me are slow cooker meals first thing in the morning. Sausage and lentil casserole: I would brown the sausages (maybe at the same time as a roughly chopped onion), add red lentils which don't need soaking, a tin of tomatoes, some tomato puree and stock, a couple of carrots and a bay leaf, and leave it all day. I also have a rice cooker with a timer function.

BarrelOfOtters · 07/09/2023 13:21

Frozen smoked haddock, put in a dish with a slug of cream, some peas, a bit of cheese grated on top, cover with foil and oven for 12 minutes - take foil off and leave in oven for cheese to colour a bit. Serve with spinach or veg from freezer and bought mash. (or mash made night before by boiling potatoes up while you eat. and you can use spare mash to make fishcakes for very easy meal another night).

BarrelOfOtters · 07/09/2023 13:22

sausage tray bake.

chicken thigh tray bake

salmon tray bake.

Accismus · 07/09/2023 13:22

Pack of premade meatballs in the slowcooker with a tub of fresh tomato and basil sauce. You can use the saute function on the instant pot if you want to brown them a bit before adding tomatoes, but not necessary.

You can literally just chuck in meatballs and sauce then press slowcook (probably takes about 1 minute). Leave it for the day, then just boil pasta (fresh if you want it super quick). You can use airfryer for garlic bread whilst pasta is cooking. Serve with premade salad.

BarrelOfOtters · 07/09/2023 13:24

https://www.amazon.co.uk/COSMOPOLITAN-after-work-cookbook-Richard-Ehrlich-dp-0091751055/dp/0091751055/ref=dp_ob_title_bk

This book was amazing when I first started work....oh so many years ago....

Toooldtocareanymore · 07/09/2023 14:53

I have to admit all my five min prep meals would probably have to have some sort of cheat as in suing something already made, using pre made mixes, etc I find those Maggi so juicey meals where you simply pop a pack of chickens fillets/legs in bags , add seasoning and pop in oven and walk away for 40 mins are really easy , and my family like them, some you add baby potatoes into bag when cooking, some I do with home made wedges -cut couple large potatoes into wedges add seasoning toss in a little oil and put on a tray in bottom of oven, either option certainly would fall into less than 5 mins prep, when ready I'd warm a tin of sweetcorn or microwave some frozen veg

brrrwinteralready · 07/09/2023 15:10

Put pack of ready cooked lentils in a large bowl. Add Albacore tuna in oil (from a jar), diced feta, halved cherry tomatoes, one clove of garlic finely crushed, plenty of good olive oil, juice and zest of a fat lemon, chopped fresh herbs if you have any, season like it's going out of fashion. Mix and serve.
You can vary thus: use flaked hot smoked salmon fillets, change lentils for pack of cooked mixed grains, use up bits of roast veg leftovers, change the cheese. It's nice whatever is used.

ILookAtTheFloor · 07/09/2023 17:59

midgemadgemodge · 06/09/2023 17:39

Oh 5 mins prep / attention is tight

Tuna pasta bake
Cook pasta
Stir in tin of tuna and frozen veg and top with grated cheese and pop in oven

Goats cheese pasta
Chop onion and garlic and fry if you can bear it
Add tin tomatoes and spoon of sugar and leave to cook for a while ; add frozen veggies to bulk out
Stir in a dash of chill and melt goats cheese

I have a two week old BF baby who I can't put down, I made the tuna pasta bake you suggested and it was fab! Used the frozen Mediterranean veg bags from Ocado.

Thank you for this fab idea!

Dogsitterwoes · 07/09/2023 18:10

Maybe not 5 mins unless you buy pre-prepped veg, but for easy meals I do a tray of veg - potatoes, carrot, onion, leek, cauliflower etc, toss in oil and herbs, and then put the meat on top and throw (ha) in the oven till cooked. Good with chicken pieces, sausages, chops.

D1nopawus · 07/09/2023 18:44

If Halloumi - when I turn the halloumi over, I add lemon, honey and garlic to the pan and let it caramelise to give a little sauce.

That sounds awesome @SpaceOP

You've just made me very hungry

quince2figs · 16/09/2023 09:23

Some great suggestions on this thread!

Stovetop Macaroni Cheese in 10 minutes - I tried it recently, and the result was so delicious, much better than I expected. I have been trying to find an alternative to bechamel sauce macaroni cheese, as I find that too heavy and too much faff. The other suggestion is usually creme fraiche plus butter and cheese stirred into hot pasta - quick, but too rich and creamy.
Complete game changer. My teens and their mates inhaled it, along with some broccoli, leeks and cauliflower I’d braised separately. Could vary with bacon lardons, semi-dried tomatoes, sweetcorn,spinach etc

https://www.thekitchn.com/creamy-mac-and-cheese-22943647

As we don’t have half and half in the UK, I used less water, and whole milk for the remainder of the liquid. I found that I needed a fair bit more liquid to get a good amount of sauce. I used most of a litre of UHT whole milk (another short cut) in the end.

similar recipe here for a version then cooked in oven for a crispy top. You could prepare up to the sheet pan stage the day before, fridge (maybe freeze?), then just add breadcrumbs/Parmesan/herbs topping and put in oven/air fryer.
https://www.thekitchn.com/sheet-pan-mac-and-cheese-22997415?epik=dj0yJnU9a3o3eDlBVGNVcEZGeGVxUFRsVEpLaGF2NWQ5ZG9UWFYmcD0wJm49YW43UkMxRmx4dW9WYlhObTQyMVFUZyZ0PUFBQUFBR1VGWWJN

JupiterTheFireEngine · 17/09/2023 20:08

Things on toast
egg
beans
mushrooms
cheese
tomatoes

quesadillas- wraps, protein of choice (I do a lot of refried beans, but leftover chicken or whatever roast meat you have, or deli sandwich type meat, or even leftover chilli would all be fine), veggies (spring onion, peppers and sweetcorn are popular here but again whatever you have and like) and cheese. Add salsa/guacamole/sour cream and puts some extra veg sticks on the side.

cheats burritos - as above but add a packet of microwave rice. The Mexican one from Aldi is our preference but there’s loads to choose from.

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