30-minute family meals to take the stress and strain out of cooking

Our Family Cooking Club was recently the subject of a study undertaken by Maynooth University. The main outcomes of their research showed that time pressures and lack of inspiration are two of the major stresses parents face when preparing family meals.

After a long day, we want to be able to walk into the kitchen and prepare a simple, quick family meal that doesn’t require a dozen pots and pans with a major clean-up afterwards.

I have selected three of our most popular family favourite ‘one pan/one tray’ recipes that can be cooked from press to plate in 35 minutes or less.

Pasta al Forno

• Preheat the oven to 180c fan.
• You will need a medium sized, ovenproof dish.
• Start by dicing 1 red pepper and half a courgette and put them into the dish.
• Mix in 100g of sweetcorn and 400g of fresh fusilli pasta – you can pick this up in the chill section of most supermarkets.
• Squeeze in 1 tablespoon of tomato puree and add a pinch of sugar and 1 tablespoon of oregano.
• Add 200g of cooked carved ham, torn into bite-size pieces.
• Pour in 200g of passata, a little at a time until you get the consistency you like.
• Add 1 teaspoon of smoked paprika and give all your ingredients a good mix.
• Dollop 4 heaped tablespoons of mascarpone on top, spreading them out a little.
• Season with salt and pepper and finish with a scattering of fresh mozzarella slices.
• Oven bake on the middle shelf for 30 minutes.

Fajita Tray Bake

• Preheat the oven to 180c fan.
• Start by making a fajita spice paste by adding together 1 teaspoon of ground cumin, a pinch of cayenne pepper, 2 teaspoons of smoked paprika, 2 tablespoons of tomato paste, 2 teaspoons of dried oregano and a pinch of sugar in a small bowl.
• With clean sharp scissors cut 3 chicken breasts into 2cm wide strips.
• Peel and slice 1 red onion into wedges and slice 3 peppers, red, green and yellow.
• Place the chicken and veg into a large roasting tray.
• Drizzle over 2 tablespoons of rapeseed oil, add the spice paste and season with salt and pepper.
• Mix everything together well with your hands (the messy bit!).
• Roast at the top of the oven for 20-25 minutes until the chicken is cooked and the peppers and onions are soft.
• Wrap 8 tortillas in foil and put them in the oven under the traybake for the last 5 minutes to warm through.
• Place the fajita mix and tortillas in the middle of the table along with some crème fraiche and grated cheddar and let everyone tuck in!

Bacon Lardon and Stir-Fried Mixed Veg Chow Mein

• You will need a large wok.
• Crush 1 garlic clove, grate 1 finger of ginger and dice 1 red onion.
• Slice 3 mixed coloured peppers and 1 carrot into matchsticks.
• Slice 100g of each baby sweetcorn and mangetout in half.
• Make a wok sauce by mixing together 2 tablespoons each of dark soy sauce, sweet chilli sauce and honey.
• Soften 4 nests of noodles by covering them with boiling water in a large bowl for about 8 minutes.
• Put your wok over a high heat with a drizzle of sesame oil and fry off 150g of bacon lardons until crispy.
• Add in the garlic, onion and ginger and sizzle for another minute, then add the rest of the veg and stir fry for 5 minutes.
• Drain and add the noodles to the wok.
• Pour over your sauce and mix well, stir frying for another couple of minutes.
• Serve immediately in bowls with a garnish of spring onion and have fun with your chopsticks!