super quick family meal ideas

Lunar_Eclipse

Evening all

Now that the School holidays are upon us, I would appreciate ideas for quick family meals when time is limited, maybe because you're in late from a lovely day on the beach, or you're knackered and really don't feel like cooking, but have a family to feed.

Aside from the obvious eggy bread, scrambled egg/beans/cheese on toast, I would make something like:
- pesto pasta (pesto mixed with creme fraiche)
- quick macaroni cheese (sauce from creme fraiche with grated cheese, plus peas) or
- pizza toasts done under the grill with pesto, sliced beef tomatoes & cheese, or similar.

I was inspired on here yesterday after someone mentioned combining cooked pasta into a warmed tuscan bean soup mix, topping with grated cheese and grilling to melt.

So, who's got some quick and yummy suggestions they'd be happy to share?

Rowan9

When I'm starving and past the stage of being able to think, I cook spaghetti , serve it into bowls and then drizzle olive oil onto it and top with grated cheese. Sometimes eat it standing up. Much better to sit down though and have a lovely glass of crisp very chilled white wine.

Another one although takes longer is good old corned beef hash. I prefer it layered and cooked in the oven but for a quickie I just do it all in one pan. Haven't tried it with (dare I mention it...) powdered mash but maybe it would be ok and it certainly must end up better than take away for everyone!

Another might be baked potatoes (our microwave has a baked potato setting so it's quite quick) and people choose their own toppings - very basic though - baked beans or grated cheese or both!

Or what about a quiche or pack of ham or some cold chicken and then a big pile of home made spiced wedges.

Or a kind of chilli or bean stew where you start off with maybe garlic and onions then add a couple of tins of different beans and some tinned tomatoes. You add whichever seasoning you want, so it can be herby or spicy, then serve with anything from bread rolls, to pasta, rice, potatoes, couscous etc. Even crackers would be good.

Finally...there is a site called something like cowboy cooking or campfire cooking and it has great ideas for cooking evrything in a pan - like sausages, scrambled eggs, tomatoes, beans - just cook all up in one big frying pan. I'll see if I still have the link.

Great idea for a thread Lunar Eclipse
w

gemmaj

This is what I cook when I have a miserable baby who HAS to be carried; its super fast preparation, although it takes a bit longer in the oven.

Take frozen cod in a smallish dish (I use a greased cake tin!) and cover in a tin of ratatouille. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes. Add cheese on top and give it another 5 minutes (or go by cooking time on cod packet).

Serve with rice or whatever bread you can find in the house!

Pink.

Hi Lunar Eclipse,

Some of our quickie favourites are omelettes, filled baked potatoes, fish with salad and pasta with sauces.

There are lots of ideas on these earler threads that may give you some inspiration:

it aint haute cuisine but i like it!

What's your 'can't be bothered' dinner/tea?

Pink

morwenna

Hi Lunar Eclipse

When I am hot, tired and really can't be bothered I use Nigella's idea of a ready made naan bread as a pizza base. Add tomato sauce, (bought, HM or just tomato paste with a sprinkle of herbs) add grated cheese, (I use ripped up mozzarella) and into the oven (with any favorite toppings - tuna here) for five minutes at gas 7.

got-it-spend-it

morwenna wrote: »

Hi Lunar Eclipse

When I am hot, tired and really can't be bothered I use Nigella's idea of a ready made naan bread as a pizza base. Add tomato sauce, (bought, HM or just tomato paste with a sprinkle of herbs) add grated cheese, (I use ripped up mozzarella) and into the oven (with any favorite toppings - tuna here) for five minutes at gas 7.

This also works well with pitta breads.

Lunar_Eclipse

Lots of good ideas thank guys.

I'd love to try the fish/ratatouille bake, but sadly no-one else loves (proper straight up) fish in our family as much as I do. And I'm convinced frozen fish always tastes a bit odd, well tough and watery to be precise. Maybe I'm doing something wrong.

Keep 'em coming folks .......

Trow

got-it-spend-it wrote: »

This also works well with pitta breads.

Even more frugally, it's great for the ends of loaves - or failing that a normal slice of bread, which I toast on one side.

ShelBell

Frittattattattatttaa (sorry my fingers always get carried away with that word)

Any old veg/potatoes/leftover meat fried up in a pan with a couple of beaten eggs poured over the top. Make a big one and have the left over cut into wedges for lunch the next day.

HM Macaroni cheese, soooo quick and soooo yum, just make a simple white sauce and chuck in whatever cheese happens to be lying around, with a tspoon of mustard.
Simple one is chicken and roast tats. Heat a roast tin with oil, par boil the tats and any veggies that roast well and then put in the roast tin with peices of chicken and if poss some fresh tarragon, garlic, lemon wedges etc. Let it all cook.

Quorn spag bol (meat bol should always be cooked for a few hours), very quick and yummy, again chop up some peppers finely, grate some carrot in, use oats or lentils to eek it out. Make a load and have leftovers with jacket potatoes, topped with sweet potato mash or carrot and swede mash cottage pie style, in a lasagne etc.

kazmeister

One of my kids favourites is sausage pasta. Cook penne pasta or spirals and couple mins before end add a tin of hot dog sausages cut into chunks to heat through. Drain and stir in a pot of Dolmio stir in sauce. Eat with bag of mixed salad, and part baked bread finished off in the oven. 15 mins max.

mineallmine

Couple of ideas:

- Lakeland do toast bags where you put a sandwich of say ham, cheese and tomato in and put it straight in the toaster. Yum!

- Jacket potatoes - if you don't have a microwave, they cook quicker in the oven if they have a metal skewer through them. You could put a few sausages in at the same time.

- What about an indoor picnic? Lay out a picnic blanket. Grab some bread, ham, cheese and make up sandwiches (cut into fours or eights).

- Keep a supply of quality burgers and seed buns in the freezer. Pop them in the oven and rest while everything cooks.