Easy Recipes for Meals in Less than 30 Minutes

Do you love to cook? Are you constantly frustrated by the perceived lack of time your busy schedule allows for making a proper dinner when you get home from work at night? Are fast food burgers and pizzas becoming the norm, when all you really want is a home-cooked meal? The good news is that a good, wholesome evening meal need not take hours of painstaking effort to prepare. The recipes featured on this page are all delicious, are deliberately varied to appeal to a wide variety of tastes and eating regimes and can all be prepared from start to finish in less than thirty minutes. Here you will find a whole week's worth of easy dinner ideas to get you started on your new, home-cooked fast food eating regime.

Look on the bright side - the first day of the working week is over! You may be tired but you're hungry and you need to eat something nourishing and substantial before you relax for the evening. So without any further ado, let's get cooking...

½ fresh avocado
1 clove of garlic
Pinch of dried chilli flakes
1 tsp freshly chopped coriander/cilantro (plus extra to garnish)
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and black pepper
4oz frying steak
½ red bell pepper
½ green bell pepper
½ yellow bell pepper
½ medium white onion
2 small closed cup mushrooms
Vegetable oil for frying
2oz Mexicana cheese (or other hard cheese)
2 tbsp soured cream
3 tortilla wraps

This recipe should be started by preparing the guacamole. Although ideally prepared a few hours in advance to let the flavours fully infuse, it is technically ready to eat in minutes.

Peel and stone what needs to be a ripe avocado. Put it in a bowl with the lemon juice (this stops it oxidising and discolouring) and mash with a fork. You could use a pestle and mortar as would be traditional or even a food processor but using a fork gives it a slightly chunky, rustic quality. Peel the garlic clove and grate it in to the bowl. Add the chopped coriander/cilantro and chilli flakes. Season with salt and pepper and stir well. Cover with plastic wrap until required.

Cover a chopping board with a sheet of plastic wrap. Season the steak on both sides before laying on the plastic and covering with a second sheet. Pound it with a meat mallet to tenderise and to about half its previous thickness. Remove the plastic and slice the steak in to quarter inch strips.

Add some oil to a very hot wok and stir fry the steak for a couple of minutes before removing to a plate.

Slice and seed the bell peppers, peel and quarter the onion and slice the mushrooms. Bring the wok back up to heat, add a little more oil and stir fry the veg for a couple of minutes before putting the steak back in to heat through. Remove to a heated serving dish.

The tortilla wraps should be heated one at a time in a dry frying pan for ten seconds each side. Lay them on a heated plate.

Spoon the guacamole in to a small ramekin and the soured cream in to another. Dice the cheese before placing in a third ramekin and plate with the steak and vegetable dish.

1 aubergine/eggplant
1 courgette/zucchini
1 large red onion
1 red bell pepper
4oz (coffee mug full) pasta shells
Olive oil
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 or 4 large basil leaves
6 pitted black olives

Start by getting your oven on to preheat to 200C/400F.

Peel the red onion and quarter it. Wash the other vegetables and pat dry with kitchen paper before chopping in to fairly large, uniform pieces of around 1". Lay all the veg in a large roasting tray and drizzle liberally with olive oil. Season with plenty of salt and pepper and stir gently with a wooden spoon to ensure all the pieces are evenly coated. Put the tray in to the oven for fifteen minutes.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a rolling boil. Add the pasta shells and bring the water back to a moderate simmer. After one minute, stir the pasta shells gently but well. This should stop them sticking together. Simmer for ten to twelve minutes in total before draining well through a colander.

Take the vegetables from the oven and transfer them (juices and oil as well) to a large bowl. Put the pasta shells in the bowl and carefully fold to combine. Transfer to a serving dish.

Roughly chop the basil leaves and half the olives. Scatter over the dish as a final garnish.

2 beef sausages
3 rashers of back bacon
1 slice of black pudding
1 piece of soda bread
1 potato farl
2 eggs
1 medium tomato
2 medium mushrooms
Vegetable oil for frying
Salt and white pepper

A fried breakfast remains a fairly popular creation in the UK, particularly at weekends or on holidays. While a full English breakfast and a full Scottish breakfast can be pretty substantial, Northern Ireland's equivalent, the Ulster fry, can often put both to shame in this respect.

A fried breakfast of this type may also be served later in the day and referred to as an all day breakfast, particularly where time does not permit its preparation on a weekday morning.

Although the specific ingredients of a fried breakfast are traditionally pretty variable, there are two which specifically give the Ulster fry its own, separate identity. They are soda bread and potato farls. While both of these ingredients are simple to make, in this instance and to keep within the timescale, supermarket bought Scottish soda scones and potato (tattie) scones were used as very similar substitutes.

Two frying pans are used in the preparation of this dish, one large and one small. Begin by adding some oil to the larger pan and putting the sausages on to cook over a low heat. They will require a total of twenty minutes. Any plastic rind on the black pudding should be removed before it is added to the pan after ten minutes to cook for five minutes each side. The halved tomato and whole mushrooms should also be added at this time.

Just before the sausages and black pudding are ready, heat a little oil in the smaller pan. One at a time, break the eggs in to a small bowl or cup and season with salt and white pepper before gently adding them to the pan. Fry on medium for three or four minutes.

The bacon is cooked on a tray under a hot, overhead grill for a couple of minutes each side. The foil on the tray is optional and was used simply to make cleaning the tray easier!

Remove the sausages, black pudding, tomato and mushrooms to a heated plate and cover with foil to keep warm. The bread should be briefly fried on both sides in the vacated pan.

Plate the potato and soda bread with the bacon. Lay an egg on each piece of bread before adding the remaining components of the meal.

1 large chicken breast
1 egg white
1 tsp cornflour/ corn starch
½ tsp sea salt
1 portion dried egg noodles
1 medium onion
2 rings of pineapple
1 clove of garlic
½ tsp dried chilli flakes
Salt and black pepper
Vegetable oil for stir frying

Put the egg white in to a bowl and add the cornflour and salt, stirring to form a smooth paste. Chop the chicken in to bite sized pieces and stir it in. Cover with plastic wrap and put it in the fridge for fifteen to twenty minutes. This technique of velveting keeps the chicken succulent and moist after it has been stir fried.

When you are buying the noodles, be sure to check the instructions and ensure they are quick cook. These noodles needed only four minutes in boiling water to rehydrate. After this time, drain them well and set aside.

When the chicken is removed from the fridge, it is important to drain it as thoroughly as possible. Pour in to a colander or sieve over the sink and stir round a few times to get rid of as much of the gunge as you can.

The chicken should be fried in the first instance in a very hot wok for about a minute, just until all the pieces are evenly sealed. Remove to a plate. Peel and quarter the onion, peel and finely slice the garlic and roughly chop the pineapple. Stir fry for about a minute before readding the chicken with the chilli flakes. Season and stir fry for two more minutes.

Remove the wok from the heat and pour in the noodles. Toss carefully to evenly combine and serve immediately.

2 medium to large baking potatoes
½ Swede turnip/rutabaga
1 parsnip
2 medium carrots
2 pints vegetable stock
Salt and white pepper
Freshly chopped parsley to garnish

This vegetarian/vegan friendly dish is so simple and has so few ingredients, it probably sounds bland to many people. In truth, however, provided it is seasoned properly, it is absolutely delicious.

Pour the vegetable stock in to a small pot or saucepan and put it on to heat while the vegetables are being prepared.

Peel the vegetables and chop them in to large bite sized chunks. Add to a large stew or soup pot and pour in the heated stock. If the stock doesn't completely cover the vegetables, add some boiling water. Bring to a simmer for twenty-five minutes or until the veg are softened. Season, ladle in to serving plates or bowls and garnish with the parsley.

6oz tuna loin steak
2 medium tomatoes
3” piece of cucumber
3 large basil leaves
2 cloves of garlic (1 for salsa, 1 for bruschetta)
1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil (plus extra for bruschetta)
3 slices of bread stick
3 lettuce leaves
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sunflower oil for frying

It is a great shame that so many people think of tuna only as that which comes out of cans. The simple reality of canned tuna is that it is significantly overcooked and fresh tuna, cooked simply, is really like eating a different foodstuff. This simple concoction is actually ready to eat in a lot less than thirty minutes' hands on cooking time and allows tuna to be enjoyed at its very best.

Important! When you are buying fresh tuna, ensure that it is a line caught, sustainable variety. Certain types of tuna, such as the bluefin, are desperately endangered and this should be acknowledged and respected.

The first few minutes should be used to prepare your salsa. Half the tomatoes and the cucumber. Use a teaspoon to get rid of the pulp and seeds. Finely dice. Thinly slice the basil leaves and peel and finely chop the garlic. Add everything to a mixing bowl along with the olive oil and season. Stir well, cover with clingfilm and refrigerate to allow at least some time for the flavours to infuse.

Fifteen minutes later, season your tuna with salt and pepper on both sides. Bring some oil up to a high heat in a small frying pan and lay in the tuna. Fry for up to a minute, only until the fish can be seen from the side to have cooked about a quarter of the way up. Turn and repeat, so as the fish should still be showing pink in the middle half.

The bread slices should be put on to toast until golden on both sides as soon as the tuna is in the pan. Peel and lightly crush the second garlic clove and rub it over the top of the hot toast. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Shred the lettuce leaves and lay them on a plate to form a bed for the tuna. Spoon some salsa in to a small ramekin and plate. (You will probably have excess to enjoy later.) Plate the bruschetta and carefully lay the tuna on top of the lettuce.

½ lb minced/ground beef
1 medium white onion (half for sauce, half for salad)
1 green bell pepper
14 oz can chopped tomatoes
1 clove of garlic
Tsp dried chilli flakes
1 medium baking potato
2 10” garlic naan breads
4 fresh lettuce leaves
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

This is a really easy way of spicing up the classic comfort food that is Sloppy Joes, without in any way adding to the cooking time. The naan bread can be plain or of any flavour of your choice, while the chilli flakes are optional. Why not try your own combination of ingredients?

Brown the beef in a dry pot, stirring frequently with a wooden spoon. Cut the bell pepper in half, remove the stalk and seeds and cut in to half inch slices. Peel the onion, half it and thinly slice. Reserve half for your salad. Peel and finely chop the garlic clove.

When the beef is browned, add the bell pepper, half the onion, the garlic and the chilli flakes. Season and stir for a further minute before adding the canned tomatoes. Bring to a simmer for twenty minutes, stirring frequently.

As soon as the tomatoes are in with the beef, peel the potato and slice it as finely as you can. Pat the slices dry in a clean tea towel. A deep fat fryer can be used but you may find it easier to use a deep frying pan to fry the potato slices for an initial five minutes. This allows you to better monitor their progress. Do not overload the pan and use a batch system if necessary. Remove, drain on kitchen paper and allow to cool for five minutes before frying for a second time to crisp them up and turn them golden. This should take three to four minutes. Drain again well on kitchen paper.

Sprinkle the naan bread on both sides with a little cold water before heating under a hot overhead grill for one minute each side. While this is happening, shred the lettuce leaves and mix them with the remaining onion slices.

Plate the naan bread and the salad. Spoon the Sloppy Joe meat mix on to one half of the naan and fold over. Finally, add the potato crisps and use them to scoop up the escaping sauce.

It's Sunday night, 6.30pm, and with any luck you are now about to sample the final dish from your first week of thirty minute dinner recipes. Hopefully, you have enjoyed your meals and have been inspired to continue producing your own, balanced thirty minute meals for dinner - tomorrow night and every night...