I completely understand the struggle of having a jam-packed schedule but still wanting to provide your family with wholesome homecooked meals. Luckily, I’ve got just the solution for you: Instant Pot chicken recipes!

One of my absolute favorites is the “Instant Pot Lemon Garlic Chicken.” It’s not only incredibly easy to make but also bursting with flavor and nutrition.

See the recipe here: https://sweetandsavorymeals.com/instant-pot-orange-chicken/

Casseroles are great! Used Mark down beg and dice it up. It all tenderises in a slow cooker & tastes great.

You should try youfoodz and my muscle chef, as they are super convenient and easy

Slow cooked stews and casseroles, homemade chicken schnitzel or homemade crumb steak/pork, veggie packed pasta bake, homemade burgers and salad, grilled fish with oven baked sweet potato chips.

We love to use Jamie Oliver’s 15 minute meals for quick weekday dinner ideas 🙂

Some of our quicker meals include
Minute steaks with salad or veg.
Chicken or mince wraps
Tuna bake
Mini pizzas the bases are purchased and we add our favourite fresh toppings
Basa and rice

Nothing beats meat with salad or vegetables. Choose meat that you don’t have to stand over and watch the whole time, that way you can prepare the rest whilst it is cooking. I usually do a combination of vegetables and salad (lettuce, their favourite fruits, peas and corn, chips/potatoes), with a boiled egg too. It usually takes around 20 mins (depending on the chips/potatoes) and is healthy

Tuna pasta is my fave!

Cut up red onions, slice some Spanish olives and boil the pasta.

Pour the tuna oil into a fry pan, fry the onions, add the tuna then the olives then mix through the pasta. Serve with some feta cheese on top. Doesn’t take long to cook and is DELICIOUS!

Salmon and salad is quick and easy.

Wraps with salads and cooked meat of your choice
Stir fry with lots of veggies
Tacos are quick and tasty.
If you are time poor I find it easier to cook up a few different things at once. I will brown a kilo of meat, divide it into portions and add it to different things… fried rice, the above mentioned meals or just leave some aside to decide what to add to later

Check out the website for Jamie Oliver’s 5 Ingredients – Quick & Easy Food.
Also invest in a slow cooking. Dinner can be ready when you get home.

Quiche and vegies is good. Slices like zucchini slice are also good. Sausage pasta bake (choose one loaded with vegies). Fish and vegies. All of these are also pretty quick to make.

If you don’t mind spending a little extra the pre packaged salads from the supermarket are great. Just add some roast chicken or any other meat you like. Otherwise I find my slow cooker is a lifesaver. I have more time in the morning than the afternoon so I’ll often just quickly prep it in the morning and then its ready to go at night. Also I tend to try and make double batches of whatever I’m cooking that I’ll either use the next day with something else ie spag bol meat/sauce leftovers on baked potatos or i’ll freeze it and then reheat it at a later date.

Tacos are a great quick meal as only need to cook mince through and chop salad. Actually most proteins with salad are pretty quick – I’ve found that taste.com have heaps of different salad ideas.

Everything is so expensive these days, so chicken is usually your best friend. If you’re time poor sometimes cutting up a little extra veggies in one go can save you a little time on tomorrows dinner pepping and dishes. I don’t like leftovers so make food daily.
We quite often have chicken drumsticks coated with Paprika and put in the oven, then some mash and veg.
Chicken breast cut into big strips cooked in the oven in foil with a little bit of garlic to make a chicken salad sub. Best served with homemade fresh Dill mayo (fresh Dill chopped or dried Dill stirred through mayo)
Steak, mash and veg.
Pan fried skin on salmon in lemon pepper, salad and beets.
Cheesy chicken and veggie pasta – use some pasta water and veggie stock to make the sauce.
And sometimes a good ole pan fried toastie can be your best friend ????

I know of people that spend their Sundays cooking meals to freeze and eat through the week. A great idea but I never was focussed enough to do

I tend to bulk cook every two or three days. It may not be the same leftovers every night, but I’ll make something that can be used in a couple of different ways. Like the mince and beans from making tacos. I’ll reuse the leftover meat mix and make enchiladas or burritos with rice and beans in them to fill the family up. When I have extras, I stash it in the freezer. It means there’s food there also if anyone gets sick or if I have to travel and leave husband home on his own. At least then I know he’s not eating junk food the whole time. 😉

I also use my slow cooker a lot. It helps I I can get something on that can cook long and slow. Otherwise I find I’m restricted to things that’ll cook up in around 20 minutes after school/work.

To keep things cheaper, we’ve been trying to cut down on meat or stretch what meat we use by bulking out the meals. We add lentils or beans, or add zucchini and frozen spinach for more goodness. Look up recipes like potato and chickpea curry or lentil stew. They’re full of veg and protein, and reheat well.

I agree with what other people have suggested.
I always try and make a bit extra, so I can put it in the freezer and have another time.
If you have some spare time (hard at times I know), you could try cooking up a few meals on a weekend and placing them in the freezer to have during the week so they’re ready to heat up.
I find a slow cooker is great, I set it off in the morning and when I get home at night our meal is ready to serve. I also absolutely swear by my electric steamer, I get home, place veggies in it, set it for say 20 minutes, giving me time to attend to other things (like bringing the washing in) and when I come back 20 minutes later, the veggies are cooked and I didn’t have to stand around waiting for it, making sure nothing boiled over etc.

I think you can get some great bargains if you buy things on markdown and just freeze until ready to use. Salmon is one of my favourites and cooks quickly in a pan. Meat has got so expensive that I tend to use vegetables more and more. They also have the advantages of being quick and healthy. I absolutely love a tray of chopped vegetables. Microwave to cook, sprinkle with olive oil and grill for 10 mins to brown off and it’s like they’ve been roasting in an oven all day!

Roast chicken and veggies. Tacos are always super quick. Spaghetti bolognaise.