No time to cook :-(

JoJo69

JoJo69

Full Member
Hi people, being a busy working girl, when I get home sometimes I cannot be bothered cooking, I am sure a lot of you know where I am coming from in that respect.
In the past I have had :-

soup & bread
crackers with cheese or pate
sardines on toast

Are there any easy peasy meals like the above that will keep me in check? :wave_cry:
 
I'm not going to be of any use to you hun, but I'd be interested in people's ideas also. Sometimes cooking is such a drag. Omelettes are quite good though, pasta with laughing cow triangle or carbonara style - they're not too time consuming :D xx
 
Thanks ladies, I will try the things you mentioned, I really have to be in the mood for cooking from scratch plus lack of time really really doesnt help either, I dont want to go down the processed food line cause that totally defeats the object :) Does SW have a book with quick and easy meals in that dont take much prepping or time??
 
At the moment I'm addicted to mushrooms on toast. I spray the mushrooms with Frylight & cook in the microwave for a couple of minutes.

Pasta n Sauce?

You can cook low fat sausages in the microwave too. It only takes 2 mins to cook a couple of bangers. They look a bit pale so can be browned under the grill but it's not necessary, they do cook through ok in the microwave.
 
I hate cooking with a passion, but I try to make time once a week to cook a huge batch of something--and there are TONS of inspirational recipes on here in the recipe section. I freeze them in portions, and even freeze portions of rice and mashed potato so that all I have to do is microwave them and cook a few veggies. The Birds Eye steam fresh veggies (although expensive) are a great way of making veggies quickly, especially if you can't be bothered chopping etc after a long day.

One of my favourite quick meals at the moment, and it's usually ready in less than 10 minutes, is pasta with sauteed vegetables and cheesy tomato sauce:

Boil as much pasta as you like (I always make extra, it keeps really well in the fridge)
Chop your favourite veggies (I love mushrooms, onions, asparagus, frozen sweetcorn, frozen green beans, spianch) into smallish chunks, saute in a pan (I saute in about half an inch of water to keep the fat down)
When the veggies are soft, pour in a healthy splash of passata, enough to give them a good coating. Then add 2-4 Laughing Cow cheese triangles (depending how many veggies you have) and whizz them through so they melt.
Toss the pasta through the veggies, sprinkle with black pepper and enjoy.

This is one of my favourite meals, and so quick to put together.

But if I'm looking for really quick comfort food, nothing beats a bowl of Smash, a can of baked beans, and a couple of fish fingers :D
 
Just thought - what about setting aside some time at the weekend or on your days' off & batch cooking???

You can make loads of different things, portion them up & freeze, then all you need to do is lift out a meal in the morning before work or something.

There are absolutly loads of quick & easy recipes in the recipe section - once you start cooking you might enjoy it & suprise yourself :)
 
Sally_Cinnamon said:
I hate cooking with a passion, but I try to make time once a week to cook a huge batch of something--and there are TONS of inspirational recipes on here in the recipe section. I freeze them in portions, and even freeze portions of rice and mashed potato so that all I have to do is microwave them and cook a few veggies. The Birds Eye steam fresh veggies (although expensive) are a great way of making veggies quickly, especially if you can't be bothered chopping etc after a long day.

One of my favourite quick meals at the moment, and it's usually ready in less than 10 minutes, is pasta with sauteed vegetables and cheesy tomato sauce:

Boil as much pasta as you like (I always make extra, it keeps really well in the fridge)
Chop your favourite veggies (I love mushrooms, onions, asparagus, frozen sweetcorn, frozen green beans, spianch) into smallish chunks, saute in a pan (I saute in about half an inch of water to keep the fat down)
When the veggies are soft, pour in a healthy splash of passata, enough to give them a good coating. Then add 2-4 Laughing Cow cheese triangles (depending how many veggies you have) and whizz them through so they melt.
Toss the pasta through the veggies, sprinkle with black pepper and enjoy.

This is one of my favourite meals, and so quick to put together.

But if I'm looking for really quick comfort food, nothing beats a bowl of Smash, a can of baked beans, and a couple of fish fingers :D
Click to expand...

Lol - Great minds think alike, double posted at the same time!! :D
 
How about investing in a slow cooker - you can pick up one quite cheap from Argos, about £10. You just bung stuff in in, and leave it cooking on low all day - when you get in, add bread and serve - stews, casseroles - whole chickens!!! its easy peasy!

Or batch cook, and freeze!!! xxx
 
Thanks ladies, I will most definately be trying out some of your suggestions all of which I love :) And yes I may try do some batch cooking, at the weekend:) Who knows I might like it NOT hahahhaha
 
I used to say I didnt have time to cook....I work from 730am till 600pm monday to friday, and when I get home I have 4 children to feed and look after. BUT this is part of my major lifestyle change, I now love cooking no matter how tired I am although my meals are planned I will always cook something, and possibly enough for one in the freezer as well. Give it a go I can assure you it will help you stay on track, stop you getting bored of the plan...and its a great feeling when something turns out really yummy.
 
JoJo69 said:
Thanks ladies, I will try the things you mentioned, I really have to be in the mood for cooking from scratch plus lack of time really really doesnt help either, I dont want to go down the processed food line cause that totally defeats the object :)
Click to expand...

I used to say that i didn't have the time to cook properly...

But with a bit of planning - it doesn't have to take that much time.

I've got chicken in the fridge defrosting, the steamer is clean and ready as is the baking tray. Spuds are in the fridge, as is the rest of the veggies. whenever i get home tomorrow - the oven goes on, i weigh out the spuds, and prepare the other veg. spuds go once the oven is heated up enough, and the chicken goes in. 10/12 mins later the rest of the veg goes on, and about 12mins after that - i'm eating roasted chicken breasts and steamed veg. I'm also changed and starting to relax for the evening and starting to catch up on the internet.

Tiny bit of planning and i'm fed in 30minutes with healthy and tasty food. i used to get home, get changed, call the takeaway, 30 or so minutes later something turned up that i ate but probably never tasted.

Either that - or i would just put soup/chilli/etc that i had out to defrost in the fridge since the night before into a pan and reheat - the joys of batch cooking (sometimes with a slow cooker).

.
 
I cook nearly all of our meals from scratch and a lot of the time I can't be bothered when I get in from work but I feel kind of cheated if I don't have a proper dinner. I just can't bring myself to have soup or scrambled egg on toast for dinner, to me they are lunches.

So, if I really really can't be bothered (like last night) I put spuds in the oven, a tin of beans on the hob and open a bag of mixed salad leaves. The cheese is always ready grated in the fridge and there is cottage cheese too.

I put the spuds on the plates and everything else is a "help yourself" for my hubby and daughter.

My other quick fave is carbonara. If I have it I cook bacon, if not I use ham, cook pasta, add fromage frais and parmesan and there you go.

I'm also a slow cooker fan, it's a case of opening packets - meat, baby new spuds, chopped carrots, frozen chopped onion and peppers and a bit of water and a stock cube and nothing to do when you get home except serve it up!
 
im still 'learning' and everyone knows im rubbish cook... maybe not good 4 u in long run however.....

savoury rice with salad ....
jacket spud + beans
sometimes i tend to chop whatever veg i have up add some stock and put it in a dish in oven and eat it lol
tuna salad
egg/spagetti etc on toast (using syn or heb)
just put some quorn sausage in oven and making smash up
 
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