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Original poster

Quick midweek meals

12 replies

Pennyres · 22/12/2023 10:02

I’m in a complete rut with our meals and have resorted to eating way too many takeaways.

Just me and DH during the week, I don’t eat meat and would ideally like to make just one meal per night (DH is quite happy with no meat as we both love salmon, cod, prawns etc so he doesn’t feel his meal’s missing anything).

Does anyone have any quick, easy midweek meals they could share with me please? I’m determined to stop wasting £££s on food we’re too tired to cook then more £££s on takeaways!

OP posts:
Whataretheodds · 22/12/2023 10:11

How quick is quick? Do you have a slow cooker? Would you batch cook and then heat up when you need it?

This is easy, cheap and tasty but might take longer than you're hoping for - I make a batch and then heat up portions through the week.

Air fryer also good for cooking more quickly than oven for traybakes

Baldieheid · 22/12/2023 10:15

We had my fav quick tea last night.

Sliced celery, courgette and mushrooms sautéed gently in a teeny bit of oil for 10 mins. Cook pasta while that's going on.
Just before pasta is ready, stir in red pesto and philby and then scoop in the pasta and some of the starchy water to create sauce. Simmer for a couple of mins.

Vary veg, add your prawns, chuck in cooked sausages....very flexible, takes 20 mins tops

Chimchar · 22/12/2023 10:18

Have a look at https://www.tamingtwins.com She does fab everyday meals and there are meal plans too that you can follow and print for shopping lists. Her recipes are for 4, so you could half them or freeze leftovers.

Baldieheid · 22/12/2023 10:28

Baldieheid · 22/12/2023 10:15

We had my fav quick tea last night.

Sliced celery, courgette and mushrooms sautéed gently in a teeny bit of oil for 10 mins. Cook pasta while that's going on.
Just before pasta is ready, stir in red pesto and philby and then scoop in the pasta and some of the starchy water to create sauce. Simmer for a couple of mins.

Vary veg, add your prawns, chuck in cooked sausages....very flexible, takes 20 mins tops

Philly not philby!!!!

Original poster
Pennyres · 22/12/2023 11:58

Whataretheodds · 22/12/2023 10:11

How quick is quick? Do you have a slow cooker? Would you batch cook and then heat up when you need it?

This is easy, cheap and tasty but might take longer than you're hoping for - I make a batch and then heat up portions through the week.

Air fryer also good for cooking more quickly than oven for traybakes

Quick as in 30 minutes of prep/standing over the cooker, longer if it’s a throw in the oven and let it do it’s own thing meal.

I don’t have a slow cooker and I’m not keen on batch cooked meals - I may need to change my thinking though because slow cooked/batch cooked are so much better than takeaways (that we don’t even enjoy!)

OP posts:
Flockameanie · 22/12/2023 12:11

This is my fave quick one: prawns with white beans and harissa
finely slice a leek and saute in olive oil until soft. Add in a minced or chopped garlic clove and saute for a few more mins. Add 12 g harissa paste, half a tin of chopped toms (I freeze other half for next time I make this dish) and about 100-200g water. Stir in half a teaspoon of veg stock powder (optional) add salt and pepper. Simmer for 15 mins. Add a tin of drained cannellini beans and simmer for 5 mins. Add a bag of frozen prawns and the zest of a lemon. Heat gently until prawns are defrosted and all is piping hot

Serve with greens and/or crusty bread

Whataretheodds · 22/12/2023 12:32

What's your issue with batch cooking? I'm not a fan for something like a stir fry (which fits your definition of quick anyway) but for soup/stew/curry/chilli/risotto it's ideal, no compromises on texture.

Whataretheodds · 22/12/2023 12:34

I would look up recipes from The Roasting Tin/Rukmini Iyer or traybakes in general (sheet pan in the US) and oven-baked risotto and paella dishes

Snowpaw · 22/12/2023 14:31

Once a week usually we have a salmon tray bake:

  • Cube a couple of large potatoes and tip into roasting tin with a chopped onion (chopped fennel is also nice if you have it). Drizzle with olive oil, bit of white wine vinegar / salt / pepper / garlic powder and roast until mostly cooked.
  • Then add salmon fillets to the pan and some kind of green veg (broccoli or green beans usually for us). Back in oven until the fish is cooked

Its quite hands-off and I often chop up the veg earlier in the day so that I can just put it in oven in the evening.

Letstrysomethingnew · 22/12/2023 17:18

Kedgeree takes less than 20mins if you use cooked fish (usually defrosted leftover fish in our house).

M&S do garlicky herby cooked prawns that are often on a deal and quickly add flavour to a stir-fry or speedy risotto. They're also great chopped up in fried rice.

Salmon fillets cook better and faster in the air fryer than the oven in my experience. Then just add microwave rice, a bit of veg and some kind of sauce to pull it all together. Max 20mins again.

Fishcakes on the other hand seem to take forever and create loads of mess to clear up.

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