super quick family meal ideas

Pink.

Hi jackk,

There was a recent thread on this with some good ideas and links to other threads that might help so I've added your post to it to keep the suggestions together.

Do you have a slow cooker? On Wednesday night in our house everyone is coming and going at different times and they all want fed before they go out again and I find the slow cooker invaluable.

Pink

jackk_2

Thanks for the shove Pink , i do have a slow cooker but i'll be out of the house for around 9 hrs (7.30am - 4.30pm), do you think it'd be ok to leave it all that time un-attended.

Jackie x

Pink.

jackk wrote: »

Thanks for the shove Pink , i do have a slow cooker but i'll be out of the house for around 9 hrs (7.30am - 4.30pm), do you think it'd be ok to leave it all that time un-attended.

Jackie x

Definitely. Just make sure it has plenty of liquid in it. If I'm leaving mine all day I cook on the lowest setting and it's fine.

Pink

Boodle

Cook some pasta then stir in a tin of sardines in tomato sauce - cheap to boot!

I like using tins of ratatouille too - they are so handy. Mix with a tin of tomatoes as a base for a "stew": tuna and prawns stirred in make a Mediterranean Seafood Stew, cooked chicken stirred in gives you Mediterranean Chicken. Just heat through together for a few minutes.

A tin of green lentils, a tin of tomatoes and and tin of mixed beans is a nice bean bolognese. Not just great for pasta, but nice on it's own in bowls with garlic bread.

The nachos suggestion has kicked off a memory of "Arabic Nachos" (don't remember where it comes from) which is pittas cut into triangles. Drizzle with oil and toast them. Meanwhile, cook some minced lamb. When the pittas are toasted, top with the lamb, some hummus and crumble some feta over the top. Grill for a couple of minutes until melted. Just had another thought - best it would be lovely with sundried tomatoes spinkled over too... :cool:

FairyElephant_2

Wow! I'm glad that my 'tuscan bean pasta' inspired Lunar Eclipse!

Another one I do for the SK's (DH won't eat Tuna, so don't do it when it's just the 2 of us!):

TUNA/SWEETCORN PASTA BAKE
Cooked pasta
Tin cheap chicken soup (Mr A's own is 18p at the mo)
Tin Tuna
Tin Sweetcorn

Combine all together in ovenproof dish, top with grated cheese & bake for 15-20 mins in hot oven. Allowing time to cook pasta first this takes about half an hour - Simple, fairly cheap and the SK's love it!


Edit - costed this from my shopping at Mr A's this week:
Pasta - SP on offer this week - 19p packet
Soup 18p tin
Tuna 35p tin (also on offer) - you may want 2 tins though - I usually do for the SK's as they are teens with big appetites, so that would be 70p
Sweetcorn 20p tin (ALSO on offer - this must be the week to make this dish!)
Total - £1.27 to serve 4 - not bad going!

fizzel81

are there any good threads with any

im back at work, boys are with childminder till 6 which gives me 2 hours to get them home, sorted fed and in bed

time in morning is limited so slow cooker can be used but it needs to simply be quick things i can sort easily in morning (ie under 10 mins prep) and then i need easy meals to cook at home without resulting to microwave, take outs and junk food

and to top it off i would like to get my shopping done for under £60 a week (eek) for me, my kinda partner(and he eats alot) and the 3 boys

stef240377

When on a tight time scale i do my family a vegetable paella. The recipe says it feeds 4 and takes 35 mins. It fills them up and means i havent had to let them goout with a sandwich and a bag of crisps.

1 onion finely chopped
1 garlic clove crushed
1 red pepper + 1 green pepper seeded and finely chopped
100g/4oz chestnut mushrooms sliced
225g/8oz long grain rice
850ml/1.5pt veg stock
half tsp paprika
large pinch of saffron strands
85g/3oz peas
2 tomaotoes sedded and finely diced
2tbsp chopped flat leaf parsley
green salad to serve.

Heat some oil in a ffrying pan and fry onion for 2-3 mins until softened and stir occassionally. Add garlic, peppers and mushrooms cooking for a further2-3 mins stirring occassionally.
Stir in the rice and fry for 1 min, stir in the stock, paprika and saffron. Bring to the boil and simmer for 10-12 mins stirring occassionally until rice is just tender (top up with more water if necessary). Stir in the peas and cook for a further 2-3 mins seasoning to taste.
Spoon the paella on to serving plates and sprinkle over the tomato and parsley, serving immediately with the green salad.

Penny-Pincher!!

Hiya!

You could peel the spuds and veg in the morning then get some fish, pie, chops etc out of the freezer to cook along with them when you get in?

Your SC would be ideal in this situation...stews etc are very easy to prepare and sling in there or a sausage cassarole etc.

Does your childminder feed the children a hot meal through the day...if so, maybe you could just have soup and a sarnie or something on toast. Baked spud?? Omelette and wedges?

PP
xx

fizzel81

for this week im doing them packed lunchs so that they eat what there familier with whilst she gets to know them and vice versa, i eat a hot meal during work (perks of the job though the meal is far from healthy) if i had bigger freezer id solve it by batch cooking but untill ive passed the first 4 weeks its pointless shelling out on a small chest freezer, my biggest worry is im going to rely heavily on junk (for instance tonight we had takeaway but part of that is the fact everything is very rund down cupboards and freezer wise)

im so used to haveing the time to spend in the kitchen iykwim rather than wanting something that takes say under 20 mins start to finish even if i cook whilst the boys are in the bath

blueopal5577

My suggestion was going to be freezing food but if you dont have enough freezer space, its pointless!

That said im single but a shift worker so often dont feel like cooking when I come home. I would look into buy cous-cous, pearl barley. These tend to be very cheap when bought in bulk, and you only have to soak them! Theyre very healthy and filling. You can flavour with spices (cheaper from asian or chinese supermarkets btw, or the own brand supermarket versions) of any cuisine... i.e. go italian oregano and garlic.... or a sprinkle of mild curry powder for more exotic flavours etc. You can get cans of vegetables (best to get without sugar / salt) and beans which you can stir in.

I particularly like cous-cous with salmon or tuna. Its good to get kids used to grains and because theyre quite neutral, theyre more inclined to like them.

Also you could part-bake potatoes, so you just have to finish them off... or just do them in the microwave! Beans, tuna and so on. Or you can scrape out the inside and make fish cakes for the kids with a cheap can of tuna. The flakes are just smaller, theres no other difference than the expensive brands!

Always have a bowl of salad on the go... makes it much easier to just grab a handful. Its the only way i can get myself to do salad.

Look in charity shops for a steamer - chinese supermarkets actually have them very cheap, the bamboo stackable style. In here you can bung in frozen veg (often healthier and cheaper than fresh!) along with fish (try to get it reduced from the fish counter) or chicken pieces. They usually have a section for rice too, although cous-cous etc are a great substitute. Because its steamed, its quick and since its not boiling you dont have to keep checking on it. There are lots in charity shops. I got given one and use them at work, and even the most basic does the job.

I'm a freezer fan - comes with people a single shift worker but hope this helps?

Obviously pasta can be done in 10minutes and if you go for brown (no taste difference really) and cheap canned tomatoes with a few herbs, and add canned sweetcorn or so on, you've got a cheap quick meal, and one that kids might not turn their noses up at! Add some canned tuna and its a really balanced meal. One combination i didnt know was so yummy is pasta with chickpeas - try it it really works!!!

Another meal is get pitta breads, halve them, toast them or grill them for say 2 minutes, just so they crisp up... add canned tomatoes or tomato puree / passata etc... and cheese (that youve grated up for the week already, or rope in a child to do it!) add ham, tuna, sweetcorn, pineapple chunks and so on, and the kids have "pizzas". Obviously herbs and so on can make an adult alternative. Serve with a handful of salad.

Obviously stir frys and so on. Organisation i think is key, if you've got food marinating for the day, you can get something yummy by nighttime. I would avoid chicken legs, and go for the cheap off cuts of fillets - lower in fat and also much quicker to cook. Go for lots of canned beans and lentils.

Egg noodles are cheap, and can be just left to soak in hot water for 5 minutes while u get on with other things, toss in some soya sauce, or tomato based flavour (canned tomatoes, puree etc - kids tend to warm to anything red!!!) chop in some tomatoes, or prepacked stir fry - these always seem to be reduced, and theres always cheap versions anyway. Throw in some frozen veg and you've got a meal.

Quessadillas:

Tortilla wraps
Cheese

Optional:

Sausage
Bacon
Chicken
Peppers
Sweetcorn
Peas
Pineapple (pineapple, cheese and ham is a good kiddy combo)
scrambled egg
mushrooms
beans - baked or a can of refried beans
sprinkling of herbs or spices to reflect your choice.

For a more filling / adventurous adult version buy a supermarket version (cheaper!!) of a fajita mix and use minced beef, onions and peppers.

Dry fry the tortilla for 1 minute in a hot pan, add your sprinkling of cheese, and choice of fillings and fold over. Cook til the cheese is melted. Slice fillings smaller = cooks quicker obviously.

Slice the semi circle into sections, serve with salad... beans... vegetables... coleslaw.

Or you could have a couple of days where you have a sandwich night, doesnt have to be boring... at the end of the week use up all left over salad in the bowl, do a combination of wraps and bread sandwiches. Breads and hams are always reduced and egg fillings go down well. Kids feel like its a party and you can chill out and know theres no waste. Kids could 'cook' this dinner with the childminder!!

Hope ive given you a couple of ideas.

xxx