Help me!

[GrrrlInterrupted]

I have 2 kids under 2yrs old, and my DH works office hours in the week. I much prefer to eat our evening meal after they are in bed, as my breakfast and lunch is already usually either shared / harrassed / rushed.

With time being a huge constraint, i need some help!

DS1 is poorly and was a nightmare last night to get to bed. As a result my 'meal' was crackers and cheese at 8pm

I do have a slow cooker, which i've not used (wedding present!) I need recipie ideas for the slow cooker, or super fast meals please!

spag bol is great in a slow cooker. As for a super fast meal buy a pack of that ready prepared stir fry veg, add soy sauce and fivespice stir fry for 5 mins meanwhile boil noodles for 4 mins and mix.

Spanish omelette with leafy salad?

Chilli in the slowcooker, then serve with rice, baked potato or even tortilla chips/ taco shells and soured cream.

Good quality supermarket pizzas with a salad and coleslaw.

Tuna steaks (or other fish cuts that take minutes to grill), steamed veg and boiled new potatoes, you could do these earlier and eat them cold? Frozen Calamari rings are good too.

And so many pasta recipes.

bolognaise and chilli are good

money's a bit tight at the moment- i'm running out of things to do with pasta and rice though

Steak bake is really yummy, cheap and feels like a treat.
Get braising steak from the butcher if you can (cos it's cheaper!). Start at the bottom with a layer of sliced seasoned potatoes, a layer of sliced onion mixed with a crushed clove of garlic, a layer or a piece of meat then a layer of sliced tomoatoes and another layer of potatoes on top. Dot with butter and season the top, add a little water then cook from morning til teatime on medium.
Sorry for being so imprecise - I'll find the proper recipe if you need it but this works for me.

Right, chilli in the slow cooker as we speak.

Any more suggestions please?

Sticky chicken - easy to make and not horribly expensive as it will do you more than 1 meal (3 if you stretch it!)

Rub the chicken the night before (or 5 seconds before it goes in the slow cooker if you're as disorganised as I am!) with a mix of:

4 tsp salt (I use lo-salt), 2 tsp paprika, 1 tsp onion powder, 1 tsp thyme, 1 tsp pepper, 1 tsp garlic powder.

If you don't have these to hand, use whatever herbs/spices you fancy from your cupboard, but do include the salt.

Rub this into the skin and inside as far as possible. Leave to chill overnight in clingfilm/bung in slow cooker depending on level of organisation.

Heat S/C on high for 20 mins/put it on high and bung the crock in the microwave for 1 minute to warm it through, then put the chicken in and turn it down to low. 8-10 hours later you will have a beautifully-cooked chicken, so tender it will fall apart as you lift it out (so good for cheap chickens if cash is an issue and you can ignore the recent hoohah), with a lovely savoury gravy in the bottom of the crock.

Eat as a roast dinner, in slices with a rich sauce made from reducing the gravy with a tbsp of creme fraiche, with salad, in sarnies, the possibilities are endless! And it's yum...

love cat that sounds amazing!