Meals for evening class and family.... help!

Zed42

Hi there,

Scenario .. family of 3, 2 adults, one DD aged 5 and 11mths

I am enrolled on an evening class for the next 3yrs .... two nights per week, 17:30 till 21:00 .. which means leaving home at 17:00 and getting back at 21:30.

I work Mon/Thurs/Fri's but have time to cook on Tues/Wed ....

I (we) need to cook meals which suit all 3 of us, 2 eating at home, 1 ie me, to take food with me ... there are no facilities to warm anything up and I only have a 15 mins break.

So far, we've been doing the following:

Pasta salad
Cous cous salad
Rice salad
Lamb tagine with cous cous

I haven't managed to find a wide-mouthed flask yet, so currently it's cold, cold, cold ...

But I need some more ideas ... ideally with protein involved and not sandwiches.

And, also not fat laden ... the more diet friendly the better!

We don't mind if we batch cook it and either eat the same Tues/Thurs .. or be able to freeze it and defrost at will.

DH is fully engaged with doing this, he's AOK at cooking, but lacking in imagination on the food front, but if he has a meal plan in front of him .. way to go!

I don't want to end up down the takeaway route (my diet is going badly enough .. my finances couldn't support it)

Please help with any ideas

I have lots of pulses and stuff in the house ... I was thinking of doing something with bulgar wheat as I bought a bag, but no idea what to do with it!!

THIRZAH

I've seen wide necked flasks in Wilkinsons and in Lakeland.

Could you make a big batch of chilli and freeze it in individual portions? I make an enormous pot with a kilo of mince.Then we have chilli with rice, chilli pancakes, chili with tortillas etc.You could just take the plain chilli for your supper if you are on a diet.

Cold spanish omelettes are good for a packed meal too or something like quiche and salad.

Nomoneymummy_2

I work nights (start at 5pm) and often make an evening meal that can be eaten cold as I often have to try and grab it while serving (shop staff)

Have a whole load of these so stand by:

Basic Meatloaf, good with spuds and veggies/cold on butties/with potato salad &green salad etc

Ingredients:
* 1 to 2 lbs. ground beef.
* 1 egg for each pound of ground beef.
* 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce for each pound of ground beef.
* ¼ cup minced onion for each pound of ground beef.
* ¼ cup dry parsley for each pound of ground beef.
* 1 cup of dry bread crumbs.
* Salt and pepper to taste.

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except bread crumbs. Mix well.
3. Gradually add breadcrumbs and knead mixture after each addition.
Stop when the beef and breadcrumb mixture begins to feel firm.
4. Form a loaf and place in pan.
5. Bake for 1 hour per pound until meatloaf is done. Avoid overcooking.

Cheesy potato gratin, I like this cold but Im a cold potato fan!
A simple, comforting dish that is great for a cold evening or weekend meal.
It is particularly good for using up those odd bits of cheese and ham that you may
have in the fridge.

Recipe provided by:
Readers Digest | Amazing meals
Ingredients

* 1kg potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
* 200g lean cooked ham, shredded
* 100g mature Cheddar, grated
* 2 tsp chopped fresh rosemary or thyme or 1 tsp dried
* 450ml chicken or vegetable stock, hot
* 15g butter
* freshly ground black pepper

Preparation method

1. Preheat the oven to 200°C (gas 6). Arrange a layer of the potatoes in a greased,
deep ovenproof dish. Scatter over some of the ham, cheese and herbs and season with pepper.
Continue the layers until you have used up all the ingredients, finishing with a layer of
potatoes.
2. Pour over the hot stock and dot with a little butter. Bake for 1 hour or until the
potatoes are tender and the topping is crisp and golden. Serve hot, straight from the dish.

I have tons of filling soup recipes and chunky chowders but dont want to be repeating as there are tons on here, but feel free to pm me and I'll mail over my whole cooking file, Its all things that are easily pre prepped and quick to put together and taste great (also cheap cheap cheap!!!)

Hope I've helped!

Nomoneymummy_2

Ohhh heres the tuna loaf, my DD also loves this in her lunchbox

TUNA LOAF

1 can tuna, drained & mashed
2 eggs or 3 whites
3/4 c. bread crumbs
1 med. onion, grated
1 med. carrot, grated
1 stick butter, melted (try 3/4 stick)
Dash of salt & pepper
Garlic powder

Mix all ingredients in a blender, Grease loaf pan and bake in 350 degrees for 50 to 55 minutes.
Serve with mashed or baked potatoes and vegetables

And tuna recipe no 2
Tuna potato layer

Ingredients

* 500g new or salad potatoes, scrubbed and thinly sliced
* 1 packet savoury white sauce mix
* 300ml semi-skimmed milk
* 2 x 200g tins tuna in brine, drained
* 195g tin sweetcorn, drained and rinsed
* 1 tbsp freshly chopped parsley
* 50g Cheddar cheese, grated

Method

1. Place the new potatoes in a pan of lightly salted boiling water.
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until tender. Drain and allow to cool slightly.
2. Meanwhile make the sauce with the milk according to pack instructions.
Stir in the tuna, sweetcorn and parsley and cook over a medium heat for 3-4 minutes
or until piping hot.
3. Place half the potatoes on the base of a heatproof serving dish.
Pour over the tuna mixture. Place the remaining potatoes on top.
4. Sprinkle over the cheese and place under a pre-heated grill
for 2-3 minutes or until golden brown. Serve with a green salad.

(i use HM white sauce but pinched the recipe from an american website doing the v quick copy and paste!!)

Nordictat2

You can maybe find something like these perhaps?

http://www.warmandtote.com/bagel-bag.html

or this one as it keeps food warm for 8 hrs!
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/THERMOS-ORIGINALS-MULTI-PURPOSE-FOOD-DRINK-FLASK-1-2L_W0QQitemZ310168781292QQcmdZViewItemQQptZUK_Home_Garden_Food_SM?hash=item48378001ec&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

You can also try one of those gel sacks they sell for back pain and pop it in the microwave (at home) and then toss it in the sack with the food and should keep til you are ready to eat.


That way you can take yummy things like soups and stews (with some buttered bread)

Zed42

Oooh thanks for the replies

We have a Wilkinsons locally, but not a Lakeland .. I shall go and investigate Wilkos tomorrow

Good idea on the wheat bag ideas also

Any other thoughts ... are more than welcomed

kunekune

I have a stanley wide-mouthed thermos that I got at Lakeland and it is fantastic. Well worth the money, as it keeps soup hot for at least 6 hours. The small one they make keeps milk cold for at least 8 hours! Cheap flasks, imo, don't work so well and are harder to clean, so be a bit fussy.

Edited at add: no breaks at all apart from the 15 minute one? That's not good, and you should raise it. I take it you have a succession of different teachers, so their need for a break doesn't help. I never teach for more than 50 mins at a stretch so even my 2 hour classes have 10 minutes off in the middle, or if the students want, will finish 20 minutes early. If you persuaded your teacher to do this, you might manage to construct some kind of break. It's really bad for your learning, quite apart from everything else. If they won't budge, I suggest you eat during class if it's possible: you can't be the only one suffering.

Nomoneymummy_2

Hi, heres another recipe,
made this one last night and just ate it on the hoof straight out of the fridge as realised I'd not eaten since breakie and its nearly time for work!! eeeek!
ngredients

* 250 g Pasta penne; (8oz)
* 15 g Butter; (1/2 oz)
* 1 sm Onion; chopped
* 75 g Mushrooms; sliced (3oz)
* 2 Cloves garlic; crushed
* 250 g Cooked gammon; cut into
* ; (8oz)
* 1 tub creme fraiche
* 2 tb Freashly chopped basil
* 50 g Parmesan cheese; grated
* Salt and freshly ground


Preparation

1. Cook the pasta following pack instructions.
2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a saucepan, add the onion, mushrooms and garlic
and cook for 3-4 minutes

3. Stir in the gammon, creme fraiche, basil, half the parmesan and seasoning
and heat through for approximately 4-5 minutes.
4. Add the cooked, drained pasta to the pan and toss to combine.
5. Transfer to a warmed serving dish and sprinkle over the remaining parmesan.
6. Garnish with the basil and serve immediately with fresh crusty bread. .

As i said I ate this cold, had no parmesan so used chedder and swapped mushrooms for sweetcorn as OH is mushroom phobic!!

still tasty cold btw