Aoife Hearne: What can I dish up when I'm too tired to cook? 

View Looking Out From Inside Of Refrigerator As Woman Opens Door And Unpacks Shopping Bag Of Food

I’m finding it difficult to come up with a healthy meal plan for my young family aged four to 10. I work full-time and often feel too tired to cook when I get home. Could you suggest a few recipes to keep everyone happy?

Feeding families is not easy — the key to success is to be realistic with our cooking goals. Many people (myself included) do not want or have the time to cook every evening. I would encourage you to look at how to use weekends (or days you’re not at work) to organise food for the week ahead. This starts with making a week-long meal plan, checking your cupboards to see what ingredients you need and making a shopping list.

Here are a few strategies I find helpful:

• Intentional leftovers: If I cook a roast chicken on Sunday, I will ensure I get one big enough so there is enough leftover meat for a curry or pasta dish. When I’m really on top of things, I prepare that other meal on Sunday.
• Mid-week vegetables: Think about what will make it easier to get vegetables onto the dinner plate in the evening. I tend to lean on vegetables that do not require a lot of effort for mid-week meals. Green beans, broccoli, peppers, and pre-chopped or frozen vegetables make getting the food onto their plate easier.
• Low prep/no prep foods: I’m a big fan of foods that make cooking easier on a busy evening. I tend to have foods such as microwavable rice, baby potatoes, frozen or canned fish, eggs and easy vegetables (as above) in the press, fridge or freezer as a backup. That way, throwing a meal together is a little easier when you’re in a pinch.
• No Cook Days: Who doesn’t love a day you don’t have to pull out the pots and pans? I aim to cook an extra portion or two with all dinners so we have enough to reheat family meals by Thursday. This works especially well with casseroles, curries, and pasta dishes.

Chicken Pesto Pasta

recipe by:Aoife Hearne

A good, solid part of any family meal plan.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 25 mins

Total Time

 35 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Italian

Ingredients

• 220g wholewheat pasta

• Chorizo 130g

• 3 peppers

• Leftover roast chicken

• 2 tbsp rapeseed oil

• 2 tbsp light cream cheese

• 2-3 tbsp sun-dried tomato pesto

• 1 can chopped tomatoes

• sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Method

1. Cook pasta according to instructions. Meanwhile, cut the peppers in half and remove the seeds and cores. Thinly slice the peppers and set aside until needed. Heat a wok or large frying pan. Add the oil and swirl around the edges. Add in the chorizo and cook for 2 - 3 minutes. Add in the peppers and cook for 2 - 3 minutes.

2. Reduce the heat and stir in the cream cheese and pesto. Tip in the chicken and stir. Add in the canned tomatoes and simmer gently for another 6-8 minutes or until the chicken is hot and the peppers are tender.

3. Drain the pasta and combine it with the chicken and vegetable mixture.

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