Inspire me....

zcrat41

I'm hot, I'm 7 months pregnant with an 18 month old DS and a harvesting hubby.

I've been eating for 2 (well, more like 5 to be honest) due to tiredness and stress. It has to stop! So I've planned breakfasts (cereal or eggs) and lunches (sandwiches or salads) but am struggling with dinners.

What can I make that's super easy (like 5 mins easy). I much prefer prepping in the morning when I'm awake and alert because by 5pm I'm really struggling to get to bedtime. Winter I would use my slow cooker a lot but I don't have any nice summer recipes.

What can I have for tea that's not quiche and salad!

Thanks guys!

Butterfly_Brain

Gammon, mash, salad and pickle is a favourite in our house.

I tend not to cook when it is too hot unless it is something that can be done quickly.

Poached Salmon is lovely with a parsley sauce, salad and new potatoes.

Jacket potatoes (done in the microwave and crisped up quickly in the oven) with beans, grated cheese and coleslaw
just with butter and cheese, with bolognaise or chilli sauce or tuna, sweetcorn and grated cheese melted over the top.

Tuna fishcakes, basically tuna added to mashed potato and parsley formed into cakes then dipped in flour, egg and breadcrumbs, then fried or oven baked, try adding sweetcorn, peas or a selection of veg to the mix

Ham and egg salad is another quick and easy meal

Corned beef hash

Plate pies

Quiches

Omelettes

Stuffed pancakes, make up pancakes and fill with whatever you like such as tuna and sweetcorn, chicken and mushroom, ham and egg, chicken curry etc top with sauce of choice and grated cheese and bake in the oven

Fritatta

Buy some puff pastry and bake blind then add slices of mozzarella and tomatoes, you can add halved black olives as well.

My DH's favourite is puff pastry topped with chunks of chicken and mushrooms with mushroom sauce poured over then baked in the oven until bubbling and golden (takes about 15 minutes)

Honey and mustard chicken breasts

Pasta with fresh tomatoes, olives and herbs

Sausages with savoury rice and an omelette

Pitta breads filled scrambled egg and tomatoes

Pitta breads filled with salad and topped with fried mince, onion, mushrooms and garlic.

Blackbeard_of_Perranporth

Fish. Sea bass is light and nice this time of year

Emm-in-a-pickle

This time of year a couple of our staples are baby salad potatoes and runner beans. (no prep for spuds, very little for runners if fresh)
I cook both in electric steamer, so no pan-watching.
Cook extra amount and make a potato salad next day. Cold cooked runners go in as well.
Runners also great mixed with chopped tomatoes, garlic & a bit of olive oil. Nice hot or cold.
Fastest `nice` proteins for me is either bacon, gammon, fish, or German bratwurst (Aldi.)

sunnysurrey_2

I feel your pain, I'm 8 months pregnant with a 3 & 5 yr and currently packing to move house - hot is not the word!
Whole chickens can be done in the slow cooker as can other joints, have with new potatoes, rice or cous cous. Chicken & chorizo stew is a nice one.
Soups in the slow cooker with nice bread & salad. We've been eating a lot of pasta with various sauces, too hot for the oven atm!

thriftwizard

Stir fries - nutrutious, inexpensive, quick & easy! A little bit of thinly-sliced meat or a handful of cashews, a whole lot of "seasonal" vegetables (homegrown are excellent) sauce if you need it, and a pan full of noodles or bulgur wheat & you're done. 15 minutes start to finish.

themarsbargirl

You could also prep in the morning then pop in fridge until dinner time.

beluga

if you have a slow cooker, maybe cook up a batch of pulled pork, then serve with wraps, jacket potatoes, salad, rice, wedges or whatever.

I'm a big fan of food that can be pre cooked, as I seem to have more time earlier in the day. Stir fries are great, I like to pre chop all the veg, maybe grill some chicken or similar, then just cook the veg, throw the meat in, add a sauce and some straight to wok noodles and you're done.
Make a curry in the slow cooker, heat some naan bread and there you go. Fajitas are quick, you can pre cook the meat and veg if you like, then heat and assemble later on. You could do a roast one day if you have the energy, then make bubble and squeak with leftovers the next, maybe fried rice the day after (pre cook, then heat up when you want to eat it).
Soup is a good idea, you can make it in advance and serve with rolls, or toasted sanwiches.
Hope some of this helps!

craigywv

Butterfly_Brain wrote: »

Gammon, mash, salad and pickle is a favourite in our house.

I tend not to cook when it is too hot unless it is something that can be done quickly.

Poached Salmon is lovely with a parsley sauce, salad and new potatoes.

Jacket potatoes (done in the microwave and crisped up quickly in the oven) with beans, grated cheese and coleslaw
just with butter and cheese, with bolognaise or chilli sauce or tuna, sweetcorn and grated cheese melted over the top.

Tuna fishcakes, basically tuna added to mashed potato and parsley formed into cakes then dipped in flour, egg and breadcrumbs, then fried or oven baked, try adding sweetcorn, peas or a selection of veg to the mix

Ham and egg salad is another quick and easy meal

Corned beef hash

Plate pies

Quiches

Omelettes

Stuffed pancakes, make up pancakes and fill with whatever you like such as tuna and sweetcorn, chicken and mushroom, ham and egg, chicken curry etc top with sauce of choice and grated cheese and bake in the oven

Fritatta

Buy some puff pastry and bake blind then add slices of mozzarella and tomatoes, you can add halved black olives as well.

My DH's favourite is puff pastry topped with chunks of chicken and mushrooms with mushroom sauce poured over then baked in the oven until bubbling and golden (takes about 15 minutes)

Honey and mustard chicken breasts

Pasta with fresh tomatoes, olives and herbs

Sausages with savoury rice and an omelette

Pitta breads filled scrambled egg and tomatoes

Pitta breads filled with salad and topped with fried mince, onion, mushrooms and garlic.

hi I fancy doing the puff pastry and chicken thing could you give me a rough guide to method and amounts please it sounds lovely thanks.

zcrat41

Thanks guys, some great idea here. I had forgotten about stir fry - DH doesn't think it's a meal so we don't tend to have it but whilst he's away on the combine I should make the most of it!

Some great suggestions with salad potatoes, fish and puff pastry!

My shop this week is going to be a lot more exciting. Thanks again

Butterfly_Brain

craigywv wrote: »

hi I fancy doing the puff pastry and chicken thing could you give me a rough guide to method and amounts please it sounds lovely thanks.

• A sheet of puff pastry, I use Aldi or Morrisons from the chiller cabinet.
• 2 cooked chicken breasts cut into chunks.
• (this recipe is ideal for using left over chicken from a roast)
• A punnet of chestnut mushrooms wiped and quartered.

HM mushroom sauce or you can use a jar or a packet mix

HM mushroom sauce

• 1oz/25g butter
• 1oz/25g cornflour
• 250ml milk
• 2oz/50g dried mushrooms (Or you can use fresh mushrooms, you just need them to render their flavourful juices)
• A splash of white wine is not necessary, but nice if you have it.

Soak the mushrooms in enough boiling water just to cover them
Make up a white sauce as normal and add the finely chopped mushrooms and their juice, then the wine
season with pepper and whisk gently until thickened.

Get a sheet of puff pastry, put it on a baking tray and cut around the edge approx ½ an inch in around all sides.

Using a fork, p.rick it all over in the middle and put into the oven 190c for 10 mins I do not bother with baking beans because it is easy enough to gently push down the centre, doing it this way the pastry base is very light.

After taking the base out of the oven gently push down the pastry and cover the middle with the chicken and mushrooms then pour over enough mushroom sauce to cover everything, being careful not to let it overflow over the top. Any sauce left over can be frozen and used the next time you want to make the tart.

Return to the oven for approx 15 to 18 minutes until golden.

Serve with salad and new potatoes or chips/wedges