Conjuring meals out of the store cupboard

Josslette

Hi Sonastin,

Have you got a slow cooker? Because you could get up 10-15mins earlier(I know, it's hard:D) and chuck some things in there. Stick it on low all day and have a homecooked meal when you come home? You could make beef stew, curry, mince and vegetables, pea and ham soup etc the all you'd have to do would be cook some rice/pasta/potatoes and maybe some fresh veg.
I love having pouches of rice in the house for a quick side dish(also cuts down on washing up;))

Or maybe you could get in to a routine of prepping the next days raw ingredients when you're making the tea the night before or do it before you go to work. If all your veg and meat is cut up, cooking when you're hungry will be a lot quicker.

I know what you mean about having a proper meal, wouldn't like having beans on toast etc all the time

Stuff I try and keep in the cupboards to help having a quick meal is...
- Microwave rice
- Pasta Sauce (normally make my own but I love Dress Italian sauces, very similar to homemade)
- Tuna (tuna, sweetcorn, pasta, mayo is a great quick meal)
- Stuffed Pasta (I stash some of this in the freezer as it's so quick to cook!)
- Wraps
- Tinned Ratatouille (Great as a base for a quick pasta sauce)
- Pasta
- Pesto

sonastin

I do have a slow cooker and often use it. The problem comes from the days when I've planned something that I should have time to cook when I get in but then find I've been delayed at work so that it would be after 9pm before we're sitting down to eat. Sometimes its adaptable - lasgne can become spag bol and on the plate earlier despite OH bemoaning that he prefers lasagne - but other things I just can't figure out a quick way to use the stuff that's there so I need to resort to plan B and have the stuff I've got out on another day. I had run out of plan B ideas until y'all inspired me again!

merlin1

Might I suggest reading up and maybe considering a pressure cooker? So so quick, and you can cook meat from frozen too.

Need2bthrifty

Hi Sonastin :hello:
I can totally empathise with your dilemma, but I found through trial, error and a bit of luck, a few short cuts.

Always having some cooked or quick cook meat in the fridge – either to use for a packed lunch or to put in a sauce to be served with rice/pasta/etc

Always have a selection of frozen veg.

When I make a batch of basic tomato pasta sauce I put some of it in a couple of ice cube trays to either use all at once or a few cubes at a time.

Tonight for example the plan was grilled sausages, sweet potato wedges and roasted peppers but I was running late, got home ravenous and couldn’t be bothered prepping veg and waiting for this to cook so took the skin off a sainsbobs pork & herb sausage breaking it up, fried it with a couple of spring onions, threw in a few cubes of frozen pasta sauce & smoked paprika, brought to the boil letting it simmer while I cooked some pasta & green beans in the same pan – hey presto 10mins later Spicy Sausage Ragu with pasta & green beans. (As Jamie O in 15min/30min meals says always have the kettle boiled and the pans hot before you start :rotfl: )

I also always have some garlic bread slices in the freezer that can be grilled rather than wait for the oven to heat up – I know they are more expensive but I wouldn’t eat a whole baguette and they cook quicker anyway :j.

ragz_2

Carbonara - I always have cream and eggs in though, so depends on your storecupboard,
Omelette
Stir fry
Frozen fish you can cook frozen, keep in some quick cook rice....

regarding the meat issue, I con DH by adding chopped bacon or chopped chorizo

theoretica

How could I forget those filled pasta things. Tortellini and the like.

Willow92

Cook from frozen meat is always handy like the mince or cooked chicken pieces from Icel@nd.

Funky_Bold_Ribena

Spag bol a snack? Crikey.

I had the same issue tonight - home from work at 5:15.

Chopped onion and got that frying, added a chopped courgette or two.

Whilst that was cooking off, sliced some runner beans and put those in a pan of hot water with some pasta.

Added some tomatoes [home grown] to the onion and courgettes, and once the pasta and beans were done - they go in the onion pan. 2 mins cooking, add some cheese and seasoning and you are done.

I large plate each of pasta with seasonal veg in 20 mins. Onions, beans, courgette and tomatoes all home grown.

ZsaZsa

Favourite super quick pasta meals when we've got lots of clubs/sports etc after school

Pasta with tuna and sweetcorn or frozen peas and a bit of mayo

Pasta with philedelphia and torn ham and fried mushrooms or broccoli and left over chicken.


I also keep bags of frozen veg mixes from sainsburys. Theres one with chopped mixed carrot celery and onion. Makes a quick spag bol with some mince, a garli clove (or garlic paste)tin of toms and dried herbs

Mixed med veg fried and served with cous cous and grilled salmon/chicken

Frozen stir fry veg with leftover meat and noodles (or frozen prawns if you remember to get them out the freezer first thing!)

Obv the frozen veg mixes arent as great as fresh, but much better on the purse and healthier than a takeaway

Ballymackeonan

Hi Sonastin - I had a look at my store cupboard recently. and the tins and jars were mainly good pasta sauces (mainly Sacla or Dress Italian, bought when they're in stock at B & M Bargains, plus some passata), pulses (mainly chick peas and butter beans), fish (tuna and sardines) and things to add in (anchovies, capers etc) plus various types of pasta.

In the fridge there is always some chorizo, and eggs and cheese - always a strong cheddar, and mostly parmesan as well. Plus there are herbs on the kitchen windowsill - at least try to have a basil plant! And I always have onions and garlic.

I've got friends who often invite themselves for a meal at short notice, so that will usually be some sort of pasta based on adding whatever is available to a basic sauce. For instance, the OH loves sardines in tomato sauce added in to the basic, plus fresh herbs.

You can bake salmon steaks from frozen pretty fast. I usually top them with sun-dried tomato pesto as it really complements the flavour.

And if you're really pressed for time, mix butter beans with your favourite pesto and top with parmesan - upmarket baked beans! Or there are always omelettes!