Quick fixes

I've been inspired by the Blog This! challenge this week. It's not the kind of thing I normally write about but here goes...

They want to know about quick fix meals – favourites, takeaway, etc. I have to say that I love food, we spend a lot of time thinking about food and enjoying meals out. We have mastered a lot of dishes that are delicious and quick to make. Usually nothing in our repotoire takes longer than half an hour to make. It's a cliche but delicious fresh produce doesn't need a huge amount of preparation. Plus with a couple of kids, the less time spent in the kitchen, the better. We have a few corkers up our sleeve on those nights the cupboard is practically bare and we just can't be bothered.

I would love to take the credit for my favourite quick fix meal, but it's one of Skip's. We usually have all the ingredients in the cupboard and it takes just 15 minutes to make. Best of all it's yuuuuummmmo!

Quick fix pasta

Cook pasta (any type will do, but we usually use penne, fusilli or bow ties as they're easier for the girls to eat).

Fry off some onion and garlic. Add some dried oregano. Add a tin of tomatoes (or some tomato passata). Add a tin of salmon fillets (John West in olive oil work best). Add a swirl of cream and stir. Add the cooked and drain pasta to the sauce, stir. Serve with garlic bread (which we always have in the freezer).

Sometimes we fry off mushrooms with the onion and garlic. Sometimes I throw in some peas or zucchini, depending on what's in the fridge.

This is as easy as any jar of pasta sauce and infinitely better. Best of all the girls will devour it.

Another favourite quick meal is a BBQ chook. There's nothing better if it's a good one. Serve with some vegies or salad. We then use the leftover chicken for sandwiches or a pasta/curry/fried rice the following night - so two quick meals in one.

If all else fails and no-one can be bothered to even open the cupboard, it's sushi - we have a great Japanese restaurant a two-minute walk away. The girls get avocado rolls while Skip and I share a mixed sushi platter and a California roll. Sushi is guilt-free takeaway in my opinion. Healthy, tasty and a great Sunday night dinner! I have to admit I have 'forgotten' to take meat out of the freezer on a few occasions so we can take an emergency dash to the sushi shop, but let's just keep that between us.