super quick family meal ideas

Justcoll

Just thought of another one that's quick and easy as it's all done in the oven. Not cheap but not that expensive.

You need one small whole trout per person - ask fishmonger to gut and behead - tomatoes, mushrooms and baking potatoes.

Set oven to around 170 - 200. Cut potatoes into wedges and start baking. Next you need three sheets of foil brushed with a littlecmarg or butter. Place a trout in centre of each one, dot with butter and add dried mixed herbs. fold up all sides of foil and crimp at the top - leaving space above the fish. Place these on a baking tray.

When the potatoes are half an hour away from being done put the fish in the oven.

In a pyrex dish or similar, arrange halved tomatoes and whole mushrooms (wiped and with the very end of the stalk cut off) and dot with marg or butter. Put these in oven. Give it all about another 20 mins and it should be ready.

If you want to push the boat out, toss some almonds in a pan with butter (or oill and butter). Don't do this until the very last minute and watch 'em like a hawk. They go from golden to black in seconds!

valk_scot

If Hubby and son are sitting there waiting for dinner as soon as you walk in, this might be the time to suggest they hone up their cooking skills and get started on dinner so it's ready for YOU as you walk through the door? It helps, even if it's only one or two days a week.

Apart from that you can go a long way with pre-prepped (by you) veg ready in the freezer or fridge for quick steaming or stir fry, grilled stuff, potatoes in jackets, pasta with home made sauce out the freezer, chilli and rice out the freezer etc. Sometimes half the prep time is in the washing and peeling and chopping up. Try to do this bit in advance if possible.

Really though, don't get too hung up on the idea that every meal has to be cooked from scratch every night right from peeling the spuds. You're working, you need to take a few shortcuts and presumably money isn't quite so tight now you've got a job again? Forgive yourself the odd jar of supermarket sauce.

purpleivy

ubamother wrote: »

I tend to cook 'building blocks' of meals and keep these in the freezer - so things like home made tomato sauce - good for pasta/chilli dishes, chopped cooked ham, sauteed onions, mashed potato, potato wedges. I always find that if I make whole meals for the freezer I never quite fancy what's in there! This way I can turn various blocks into different meals very quickly depending on what my teeth fancy that day.

Hm, there's used to be a 'building blocks' thread here somewhere....I'm not very good with the search facility though.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=571339&highlight=building+blocks

katylou6180

Thanks all for your ideas...I live with can't cook won't cook and his younger version!! I didn't think of the idea about the spuds (doing them in micro the day before or so and just whacking in oven to crisp) I will be glad when I can face stews and soups again, maybe it's just me always doing the same ol thing...think I may have fallen into the trap they were talking about on the radio today where the average housewife has nine dinners that they keep repeating!! I think im doing this for me and son...but hubby lives on a very limited diet of junk and won't eat fruit or veg..so I guess I must have 18 in my list lol (but I rightly or wrongly am past caring about his diet and just cook him what he will eat and whatever's cheapest at the time, if he wants to eat turkey twizzler type stuff then that's up to him...but I cannot and will not serve that up for my 10yr old) I have thrown out the hint about starting off the dinner.....but it just adds to my pain to write out instructions etc when I have a hundred other things to do in a day!!! Thanks again all x

skintstudentbabe

i also spend £35 per week on groceries but my £35 has to cover food toiletries sanitary stuff cleaning stuff as well as cat food so im constantly trawling through websites looking for cheap quick easy meal ideas i live alone and iv found tht by shopping around and using the economy ranges (basics smartprice and value dep on wich supermarket i use) i can get quite a lot for tht small amount the only thing i dnt skimp on is my cats food cos hes fussy lol anyway iv found the followin meals quite useful and cheap:
pasta with storecupboard sauce (tinned cheapo toms garlic onion and anythin u may hav in ur cupboard...tinned mixed beans tuna etc etc) topped with grated grana padano (cheap version of parmesan )
pork chops with potatoes and steamed veggies
chilli con carne
baked potatoes
chicken with rice and peppers

check out student cook books for more cheap recipes

Never_Enough_Money

Hi

I am always looking for new ideas of what to cook for dinner in the week, I am always in a hurry as by the time I get back from work I have two hungry teenage girls, saying what is for dinner and how long is it going to be? Two recipes I find quick to make and always come out well are Sticky Onion Chicken and Chicken with Lime and Ginger, both are from a Rosemary Conley GU Hip and Thigh Diet Book

Sticky Onion Chicken (Serves 1 so I just adjust to how many I am cooking for)

1 x 175 g skinless chicken breast

For the marinade

2 tsps sweet chilli sauce
2 tsps runny honey
1 x 1cm piece Ginger peeled and chopped, (I cheat and use dried ginger powder, just a small amount)
1/2 small red onion finely chopped
Juice of 1/2 lime

Season chicken breast with salt and pepper, place in bottom of ovenproof dish
Combine marinade ingredients in a mixing bowl, pour over the chicken breast and leave for at least 1 hour.
Cook at 200 C/ 400F/ Gas mark 6 for 25-30 mins.

Chicken with Lime and Ginger (Again serves 1 but I adjust accordingly)
1 x 150 g skinless chicken breast
1 small leek finely chopped
1 small garlic clove crushed
pinch of ground cumin
pinch of ground ginger
1/4 tsp lemongrass paste
40ml chicken stock
zest and juice of 1 lime
50 gm philadelphia extra light cheese
salt and black pepper
1 tsp chopped fresh coriander to garnish

Cut chicken breast in to strips and season with salt and pepper
In non stick pan fry chicken until lightly browned, add leek, garlic, ginger, cumin and lemongrass paste continue to cook for 2 mins
Add Chicken stock and lime zest and juice and bring to a gentle simmer.
Fold in soft cheese and bring back to the boil
Serve immediately, garnish with coriander

Has anyone got any recipes to share? My family are getting bored of the same old ones all the time.

HowlinWolf

spaghetti carbonara

75ml dbl cream
2oz grated parmesan
2 whole eggs plus 1 yolk

mix the ingredients above in a jug with some pepper

fry 1 pack pancetta or some bacon bits in some olive oil, when crisp add two chopped garlic cloves, cook for 2 more minutes.

Drain a pan of cooked spaghetti, return spaghetti to the pan, add the bacon mixture, stir. Then add the cream and egg. Mix quickly for a minute or two until the sauce thickens a bit. The heat from the pasta and the residual heat in the pan will cook the sauce a bit but it's important ti use really fresh eggs.

Serve with garlic bread.

wssla00

I chop up a butter nut squash and boil it
In a casserole dish I sweat an onion and a garlic clove crushed in butter
pour 150g risotto rice into dish and coat
add pint-pint and half of stock
bake in the oven for about half an hour
stir in the boiled mashed butternut squash
add a dollop of butter and stir in too
finish off with some cheese

Gigervamp

Nothing fancy. If I want it quick, I do either scrambled eggs and beans on toast or egg, chips and beans.

Frugalista

There was a previous thread on a similar theme with lots of interesting recipes ....

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?p=25596513&highlight=#post25596513

HTH