Home made ready meals

jammy_dodger

make big batches of curry and freeze

mince and dumplings in portions to reheat wghn you get home

large lasagne cut into portions when cold and freeze take out in the morning before work to heat up when you come home


goulash again make a big batch and freeze you an serve thhis with rice pasta or h/m wedges

sausage casserole again cheap and tasty can hac]ve it by itself or serve with jacket potatoe or yorkshire puddings

look on slow cooker forum for other ideas even if you dont have a slow cooker most of the recipes will adapt to cooking in oven

hth

3tabbycats

Hi
How about enchilada or fajita fillings. We've just done that for tonights dinner with extra for the fridge for tomorrow night and a portion for the freezer for an easy tea next week.
Like mummy2boys said, a slow cooker is fab for no hassle teas when time is a bit short.

ChocClare

If you`ve got some chicken which hasn`t previously been frozen, then you can do all sorts of things by cooking what the once-a-month-cooking people call dump chicken. Loads of recipes available, eg here

I think you`re right, it`s the chopping and peeling - and THINKING - which takes the time. Tonight we had what I called beef stroganoff, though it wasn`t strictly that. I bought some of Asda`s SUPER CHEAP rump steak (£4 per kilo, can`t say fairer than that), bashed it to bits with a meat mallet so it was tender, cut it into strips, fried off, then fried off an onion in the same pan, put the meat back in, sprinkled over some salt and paprika, a slosh of whisky (didn`t have any brandy), then some frozen cream (I freeze leftover cream as icecubes) - there wasn`t much, so I added a small tub of Jockey (French plain fromage frais because I didn`t have any sour cream or creme fraiche), stirred in a teaspoonful of horseradish sauce and served it with crispy roasted potatoes and carrots. My family LOVED it - even super-fussy DS.

My point is that if you'd already bashed the meat and cut it up, and cut up an onion in a separate tupperware box; then peeled and cut up your potatoes (or even had rice or pasta if you want to be quicker) and prepared your carrots, this whole thing would only have taken about 15 minutes max from start to finish.

Not for this dish particularly, but it might even be worth boiling and mashing some potatoes to be reheated in the microwave with a knob of butter and a slosh of milk; or pre-cooking some rice or pasta so that you just have to pour a kettle full of boiling water over it.

Not *ahem* that this is something I do all the time because I'm to idle to cook or anything...:rotfl:

Rachel85

Thanks everyone - there's some really good ideas here! We seem to be on a weekly meal rotation which I know DH hates (he likes variety) so it'd be great to have some new things.

I don't have a slow cooker, but would definitely consider investing in one given the number of recipes on here. Particularly in the winter it'd be nice to come home to a hot meal. The only thing that worries me is that I'd not have time to prepare anything in the morning and would it be okay if it was on for nearly 12 hours? I don't want to come home and find my house is a pile of ash!

I love the frozen mash idea - its not that its hard to do it just takes time peeling, chopping and then washing up every utensil in the house. But I do love mash and it opens up options like pork chop, sausages etc which we don't tend to have during the week.

I'm planning to spend Monday night shopping and then Tuesday cooking so that I have lots of meals in the freezer ready for the nights when I just want to get into my pjs when I get in and slob about! If it all goes well I think I'll dedicate one Sunday a month to stocking the freezer.

tandraig

stew and casseroles hun can be frozen. also batches of mash! but if you fancy something freshly cooked - a wok is invaluable. a few fresh veg and some cooked chicken or prawns (defrosted) with onion garlic and ginger stir fried and then a dousing of soy sauce is delicious. I find preparing and chopping up veg is theraputic! fish is also very quick to cook, a fillet or frozen fillet of fish can be wrapped in foil and cooked in oven for 20 - 25 mins a bit of salad and you have a meal. also - cook double what you need - you can freeze the rest and viola theres a meal in the freezer!

exlibris

Fish pie - just like shepherds pie but with fish! If you can add pieces of smoked fish and perhaps seafood cocktail stuff it makes it more interesting. Oh! use white/parsley sauce to moisten the fish in the dish too.

Just thought!Though there are only 2 of us I buy double packs of chicken legs, thighs etc and cook them all at once then freeze in meal sizes. Saves time and cooking heat. Just remember to get them out of the freezer in the morning so they are defrosted for when you need them. They can be heated in the Micro so they don't take too long.

HTH

alittlebitofmagic

I'd be tempted to do a mass batch of sauce with tinned toms, peppers, courgettes, onions etc and wizz it up.

Then use for basic starter sauce for:
Sheherds Pie(some with mash, some sliced potato?)
Lasagne
Chili Con Carne
Spagetti Bol
Balti

Then burgers, meat balls, kebabs on sticks etc

Wack Shepherds pies into oven dishes/foil trays and rest into bags
Remaining mash into portion sized bags

Make pizza bases only

Then open freeze(ie on a cookie tray) lots of bits like onions, garlic, peppers, mushrooms, cheese grated etc and pop into small bags once frozen, so they are free flow.

Therefore you can do your pizza etc, but also have handy for when you want to do things like stir frys quickly?

Then I'd cook a whole chicken
Chop lots of carrots, more onions, leek etc
Use stock for soup with the veggies
Cut rest of chicken into portions(to defrost and reheat) with mash etc
Blanch(5 mins) rest of the vegetables for going with mash/chicken etc for when fridge is bare

HTH

alittlebitofmagic

Oh and definately do curry as the others suggest, so easy to wack rice on

Ballymackeonan

When I'm cooking, I always do extra portions for freezing. My winter warmers include store-cupboard cassoulet (baked beans and sausages with pretensions..) Gently fry onions, add tomatoes, herbs, a slosh of wine, garlic and seasoning, then a couple of tins of borlotti or other small bean, some good sausages which have been pre-cooked and chopped (Youlouse if you can get them) and poultry leftovers if you have them. I always make this up with leftover goose after Christmas.

Serve with your mash or you could bake potatoes in the microwave.

Remember to schedule some time after Christmas to use up the turkey leftovers - turkey curry is a classic!

lbt_2

Hiya

I completely agree with all the ideas here, just a couple of things to add:

If you make a batch of soup, you could use a breadmaker to have some lovely warm bread ready for the when you get home. You put the ingredients in before work (weigh the flour the night before if you want) and put on the timer and when you come home the house will smell of lovely warm bread. If you cooked the soup in the slow cooker, they would both be ready to eat immediately or if you cooked a batch of soup on the hob, you could freeze in individual portions and microwave.

Don't be put off by having to have everything ready in the slow cooker in the morning. You can get it all ready the night before (in the crock pot) and put it in the fridge, then in the morning just take it out and put in the slow cooker. I normally leave it to stand for a few minutes before putting in the slow cooker so that the pot can adjust to the change in temperature. I wouldn't worry about leaving it on all day - I have never had a problem, but if you are not sure you could try it out at the weekend when you are home so that you don't worry.

There is a thread on here about what can be frozen (http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=571339&highlight=building+blocks+for+the+freezer). It is a long thread but addictive reading (thanks thriftlady) and you can get some great ideas.

Since I have been an MSE'er I have picked up so many tips and tricks, and I hope others have learnt from me too.

My favourite thing about a slow cooker is that you can be the worst cook in the world and produce something lovely! I often make beef casserole, and when I put the thickened gravy in (cooked onions with flour added, then beef stock) it is usually pretty lumpy but after a little while of cooking .... they are gone!!!!! :j:j