Today is the start of a new week for me following our long weekend. The three of us headed to our uncle’s holiday house for a relaxing weekend away which didn’t quite go to plan as Grace was really unsettled both nights which I put down to a combination of teething and being away from her familiar surroundings. However, it was still nice to get away for a few days to somewhere quiet and peaceful.
This week, I’ve decided to have a little break from some of my homely duties and am going to have a week of ‘simple cooking’. As much as I love cooking, I’ve found recently that the time between four and six is always spent preparing meals for either us or Grace. This week, we are going to have either meals that I have recently made extra of and frozen (such as soups, casseroles and pasta sauces) or meals that can be made with little preparation time. I have a whole week’s worth of meals frozen for Grace too.
What are your stand-by meals for times when you really don’t feel like cooking?
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well, given I never 'really feel like cooking' I kinda feel like ALL my meals are stand-by meals!!! If I'm honest, I tend to make a big batch and freeze most of Fern's dinners so I can just whip them out each night and nuke them for 1.5 mins. Things like tuna mornay (she'd eat this one every night if I made it) or salmon rissoles and I also freeze individual portions of little lamb cutlets and sausages. Domestic goddess I am not!!! I have been known to have a bowl of breakfast cereal for my own dinner (gee, wonder why my baby is 'small for dates!). Helllp Amanda, how do I become an amazing and inspired cook -- I've never made a casserole in my life!!! x
ReplyDeleteUsually stand by meals in winter is homemade soup from the freezer. Unfortunately 9 long days ago our fridge completely broke down. I had to throw out $950 worth of food. The insurance company only covers up to $400 worth of frozen food , when I asked why it wasnt the fridge food the answer was "food in the fridge is considered replaceable' their words not mine. Not sure where that leaves frozen food , is it a permanent fixture ?
ReplyDeleteAnyway because of a major mess up on the warranty paper work between David Jones & the warranty company , I just had a phone call from them to say probably Thursday next week they can come (2.5 weeks later) & guess what I cant be here on Thursday , so not sure where that leaves it , as we are going on holidays next Friday.
Sorry Amanda for ranting , I have some raw nerves this week (literally dozens of phone calls & hours on hold) where has old fashioned service gone ?
Karyn x
Hi mate, glad you had a quiet long weekend away... I hope Grace is all settled again now you are home?
ReplyDeleteI always have extra lasagne in the freezer, and a lamb casserole.. nice for those cooler evenings! I am hearing you about the cooking time.. sometimes I feel like I have only just left the kitchen (cooking or cleaning) then I am heading back in there to prepare the next meal! School lunches are a lovely extra you still have to look forward to...
:) Flick
hi sweetie i know what you mean, my stand on meals would have to be pasta in the oven with some chicken and lots of cheese, soup or lasagna that have been frozen anything that take 2mins instead of 5hrs like my mums cooking LOL.hope Grace is feeling much better and have Fun cooking this week XXX
ReplyDeleteSoup is always a good one, especialy in winter. I cooked a made up curried lentil and vegie soup today that I will eat for lunch for the rest of the week.
ReplyDeleteI always find Spag Bol is a quick dinner, or any pasta for that matter.
Hope the rest of your week is lovely!!
casseroles are a fantastic meal to make that are at least 2 or 3 dinners worth...and when in the slow cooker you can get it out of the way earlier in the day...so when dinner time comes up..you only have to dish up.
ReplyDeletePastas are always quick too..I find I enjoying more on weekends..when pete is home during that time and I dont feel tired, stressed or rushed.
I think your plan is a great one..and less chaotic for you. x
I've got a couple of standby recipes that I use when I don't feel like cooking or, and this is more likely, that I don't have much else in the pantry and can't be bothered going to the shops.
ReplyDeletePesto pasta. Super easy & the best brand is Sacla.
Baked potatoes - smash them with your fist, then dress with olive oil, salt and chilli.
Pastina (little pasta) - cook in stock with a bit of olive oil. Whisk an egg and toss in at the last minute (stirring to break it up) if you want a more substantial meal. Really good if you're feeling sick - very much a soothing comfort food for me.
I hope this has given you some ideas. Enjoy x
That is a shame that Grace was unsettled whike you were away! I am gald to hear that you still had a lovely time. I feel that sometimes I am a terrible mum. I always try to cook at least two meals worth at once and then there are days like today when I didn't even give dinner a thought until my husband rang me at work and asked what we were having for dinner and could he get it started! Needless to say I ordered pizza and picked it up on my way home! xx
ReplyDeletemy standbys for toohardtocook nights tend to be the extras I've put in the freezer such as tuna mornay, spaghetti bolognaise or lasagne. otherwise i go for the easy meat and salad option, generally with a nice juicy steak. cooking sausages in the oven is always an easy option for me too because you just chuck them in for an hour and turn them half way through, not too much thought needed there!
ReplyDeleteI feel like that some weeks too and today I hadn't planned dinner for tonight so I went to the shops this afternoon and bought ingredients for a roast. They are easy and really cook themselves so they are one of my easy recipes to fall back on when I have to cook but don't want to really think about what I'm making. Some of my other favourites that don't need to much preparation are Tacos, Fish salad and chips (baked in the oven with a little oil and salt), and spaghetti bolognaise. They are all pretty easy and everyone likes them too. I hope little Grace starts to feel more like herself soon Amanda. xo
ReplyDeleteHey Amanda, sorry to hear the weekend didn't quite go to plan. All our travels with Noah have been really unsettled times too - we've sort of shelved travel a bit because of it. It is nice to get away though, I miss travelling, even just to Perth - I haven't been in ages! As for quick meals - I have a pork stirfry that is really quick and easy, and Noah loves it so it's a bit of a regular. I go through phases of being organised ahead of time - like everyone else it's lasagne, casserole etc. Tonight, I just couldn't be bothered. Mike made us smoked chicken, cranberry and avocado paninis. They were yummy, though!
ReplyDeleteMy stand by meal is usually cheese and tomato on toast. I'm not much of a cook so we usually have something like stirfrys which are super quick to cook or if we are really lucky my parents cook a lot and will usually give us a batch of what they have cooked!
ReplyDeleteIts sad to say that my best ever fast meal is spaghetti meatballs. It takes me 10 minutes and its done.
ReplyDeleteOh goodness, pasta, noodles, soup!!! Anything super quick although I have to say coucous is a lifesafer and probably the quickest to make depending on what you add to it :-)
ReplyDeleteI love to make casseroles or curries in the slow cooker and then I make pies with the left overs, just using puff pastry and my large muffin tray...Easy to heat up and oh so yummy - good for when the girls are hungry after school too:) Hope that Grace is more settled for you Amanda and that you are having a lovely week. Hugs ~ Tina xx
ReplyDeleteI hope you still had a lovely time away Amanda, long weekends are the best! We have on this weekend and I can't wait. I seem to have a lot of easy dinners, living by myself it's hard to be motivated all the time but I have lots of soup in the freezer and I'm good with matriciana and macaroni cheese: )
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