Busy, working mums. Need some tea ideas please

[Nazz10]

I work long days 3 days a week and finding something that is healthy, quick and easy to make for my little one's tea is proving difficult.
Any ideas?
We don't have a slow cooker.
I'm sh*t at batch cooking and freezing (tried it and failed multiple times. Plus I don't like the idea.. I don't even have a lot of stuff in my freezer other than fish fingers, chicken nuggets, chips and veggies because of this 🙈)

I need ideas that are fool proof for dad who isn't the best chef

Thanks in advance 😊

Our potatoes don't last a week either. We've stopped buying them :(

We even used a potato sack (hessian sack with lining inside so it was pitch black)

Get your dh/dp a really simple cookbook and let him crack on with it. Slightly random choice, but I got my 16yo ds the Nosh Student cookbook (obv serves 1-2, but very easy to scale up a little) and the recipes are nice and quick and easy. All he'd have to do is use low salt stock cubes and low salt soy sauce and they'd all work.

I buy the pre made meatballs from the fresh meat section In Asda. Chuck em in the air fryer for 10 mins then 10 mins simmering in some tinned tomatoes and/or passata. Served with spaghetti and cheese and veg/salad

Nosh has lots of different books and they are great.

There is one called Nosh for busy mums and dads.

Let your DH sort it. The only way he will learn to cook is through practice.

Why do you have to give your partner ideas for recipes to cook?

is his brain or Google broken?

why can’t he figure it out himself? I assume he’s an adult with no additional needs?

Polenta with broccoli or mixed veg
orzo with mixed veg
omelettes
mixed platter w carrots, hummus, ham, cheese, egg, tuna, tomatoes etc
puff pastry w veg and cheese on top (mozzarella), 15 mins in the oven
Chicken wraps

Thanks so much everyone!!
I'll have a look at the nosh books

@FurAndFeathers because if I left it up to him entirely he would make him processed crap which ideally I don't want him to be having if it can be avoided. His mother did everything for him unfortunately so the majority of the life skills he has now came from me. He didn't even know the difference between washing powder and fabric softener 🙈 however... my brother is exactly the same so I probably shouldn't blame it on up-bringing

So why not buy him a recipe book? I assume he can read?

if he’s choosing to feed your child processed crap it’s because he’s a lazy parent not because he’s unable to Google recipes.

assuming he’s aware that food like jacket potatoes, omelette and stir fry exist, he could easily work this out for himself.

it’s just easier for him if you carry the mental load.

I expect you’ll ‘nag’ him to cook healthy food for a while, he’ll carry on shoving processed crap in the oven cos it’s ‘easier’ and you’ll either give up or take over the cooking yourself so it gets done ‘properly’.

standard male ‘opting out’ to leave the domestic workload to the woman.

I expect both he and your brother were raised in households where women did the majority if the work at home and at work. They’re choosing to replicate that because it makes their lives easier and you’re enabling it.

cooking/washing etc isn’t brain surgery. They don’t need years of training to figure it out. The simply need to want to contribute to an equal partnership, and they don’t, cos it’s easier if the women do everything.

Honestly, I'd have a go at batch cooking again. I try and do one dish a week and you end up with a good supply in the freezer then. Only if you like the kind of foods that freeze well though I suppose! Our usuals are bolognese, chilli, curry and chicken shawarma.

We're in a very similar situation - both work, DH is home first. Try to avoid too much actual cooking in the week partly because he's not much good at it and partly because it's just hard when the kids are at each other's throats.

My kids favourite meal is actually cheesy wraps. They ask for it every night. Literally just tortillas and grated cheese. Some cucumber/tomatoes type veg on the side. Can use whatever fillings your little one likes. Or quesadillas are nice for that age.

Sausage dinner is another one, but just sausages, Yorkshire puddings and peas (we warm peas in the microwave so it's quick and less dishes).

@FurAndFeathers actually my dad did most of the cooking and washing. They both did their fair share but he mostly did those.

DH is actually really good with other things around the house such as cleaning so I don't think he's being lazy or 'opting out' in hopes that I will do everything. He's just not very confident with cooking and washing and he's making improvements as time goes on

Thank you for your advice though

It's like banging your head against a brick wall. Stop enabling this shit, he can cook a jacket potato for crying out loud.

He's just not very confident with cooking and washing

learning how to make a basic meal and bung a load of laundry on don’t require ‘confidence’ 🤨

Why can't your son's dad a) get better at cooking and b) look for some ideas himself?

Omelettes - heat a bit of butter in a non-stick pan. Beat two eggs in a jug, Pour in to the pan. Sprinkle in some filling - grated cheese, chopped tomatoes or ham or pepper or mushroom, flakes fish, spring onion - anything really.
leave to cook over a moderate ring until the base is good and solid.
Fold half the omelette over, encasing the fillings in the middle. Slide onto a plate.

Takea 5 mins and if you have dcs who like different things, you can do cheese for one, ham for the other etc. Not expensive either.

Anyone can make an omelette! My 14yo ds can make an omelette.

Pasta is definitely your friend - eg I do pesto with chargrilled Mediterranean veggies (you can buy a bag of frozen veggies for convenience) leftover chicken and sour cream with sun dried tomatoes is great with pasta too, salmon and cous cous (add those frozen med vegetables) very quick, fish in general- you can buy it frozen for speed.

You can make a speedy idiot proof risotto by sautéing onion, some chopped garlic, then adding a cup of risotto rice, half a can of chopped tomatoes (freeze other half) a fish stock cube and 2 cups boiling water, add a tablespoon of dried oregano cover and simmer until water nearly absorbed, add half a bag of mixed frozen seafood (from frozen), cover and let the seafood warm up (its already cooked) add chopped parsley and serve. Seriously idiot proof serves 3-4

Mind, the cost of heating an oven for over an hour for a couple of jacket potatoes probably doesn't make sense this winter.

I've always gone with pasta as a "Aagh, what can we have for tea?" meal.
Different shaped pastas mean the same meal looks different to the dc if it gets repeated too soon . Then, depending on how lacking in confidence he is, either fry onion and garlic, (and whatever else you find loitering in the bottom of your fridge - peppers, courgette, spring onion, leek, etc) , add some chopped tinned toms , and simmer for a bit. This can be 'as it is' with some grated cheese, or can mix in ham, or chiritzo, or lardons, or grill and chop up some bacon, (tuna, if they didn't 'not like' it), left over cold chicken, or you could buy some meatballs or whatever for a variety on this. Alternatively, a jar of pasta sauce does the job.

Diced chicken with an array of jar sauces - Chicken tonight (or own brand) do lots of flavours, or things like a curry sauce or a sweet and sour sauce

Carbonara is easier than I used to think.

A thick soup with some nice bread

A bought pie with some chips and gravy, or some mash and veg

I mean, I LOVE our slow cooker, and it really is forgiving of an inexperienced cook. My (adult) ds swears by his air fryer - reckons you can cook everything in it. I realise this involves an initial purchase but I think the amount you save in gas / electric costs will recoup that.