In our modern, hectic world, it’s easy to understand why on busy nights so many people get dinner delivered rather than sacrifice the time to cook a meal at home. But with a little bit of prep work and a trip to the grocery store (and these time-saving recipes!), it’s really easy to whip up delicious meals for the whole family in far less time than you think.
Pantry Staples
To some degree or another, all good recipes use a few basic ingredients. Before you take stock of your meat and vegetables, be sure you have these items on hand:
- Black pepper
- Salt
- Chicken or vegetable broth
- Flour
- Herbs and spices
- Red wine vinegar
- Garlic
- Oil
- Mustard
- Hot sauce/chillies/pepper flakes
Now that you’re ready to begin cooking, here are some fabulous recipes that will take less time to prepare than for a pizza to be delivered.
Vegetable and Cheese Frittata
Almost like a breakfast food, but hearty enough to satisfy a big family for supper, this recipe takes just 25 minutes from start to finish.
What you’ll need:
- Mixed vegetables (frozen or fresh)
- 6 eggs
- 1 onion
- Your favourite cheese
Simply mix, stir, and cook!
Fish Tacos
Add a dose of California sunshine to your meal, and your whole family will be singing Beach Boy tunes with this delicious fish taco recipe.
What you’ll need:
- Sour cream
- Lime juice
- 4 green onions
- 1 hot pepper (optional)
- 1 pound (450g) tilapia fillets
- Cilantro (optional)
- Red cabbage
- 8 flour tortillas
In half an hour or less, you’ll be enjoying these tasty soft tacos.
Buttery Chicken
Ten times tastier than anything you’ll find at a fast food restaurant, the secret to this recipe is the butter, of course. It makes four portions of delicious, moist chicken breasts.
What you’ll need:
- Cracker crumbs
- 2 eggs
- 2 chicken breasts
- 1/2 cup of butter
- Garlic salt
Simply mix and then bake. It takes just 15 minutes to prepare this dish, and the oven does the rest!
Thai Prawn and Pineapple Fried Rice
Your family will think you picked this up on the way home, but the secret is that it only takes 25 minutes to make this amazing recipe.
What you’ll need:
- Spring/green onions
- 1 green (bell) pepper
- 140g of pineapple
- Thai green curry paste
- Soy sauce
- 300g cooked basmati or white rice
- 2 eggs
- 1 can of bamboo shoots
- 140g frozen peas
- 250g frozen prawns/shrimp
- 2-3 limes
Delicious!
Dumplings
Few things fill your belly with delicious warmth on a cold day like dumplings. This recipe is solely for the flour dumplings, but it’s really easy to add them to your favourite soup for a hearty meal.
What you’ll need:
- Baking powder
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 tablespoon margarine/butter
- 1/2 cup milk
Feel free to use this as a base and add some herbs like dill or thyme. Just don’t tell Mom that you’ve recreated her signature dish!
Vegetarian Chili
Delicious and hearty enough to satisfy even dedicated carnivores, this simple recipe is incredibly easy to make. Best of all, it ensures that the whole family gets four servings of vegetables.
What you’ll need:
- 400g of vegetables
- 1 can of kidney beans
- 1 can of chopped tomatoes
- 1 sachet of mixed grains (ready to eat)
Before reaching for the phone to order yet another greasy feed, why not take the time to plan a few meals? There are hundreds of amazing recipes available on the internet that allow even amateur cooks to create delicious meals to satisfy the whole family.
Take a look at some of our other recipe ideas including easy winter recipes that aren’t all soup and freezer soup recipes for those who love a hearty bowl. They may not all be time-saving recipe but we promise each one is delicious!
