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Having a family is hard work, and if you’re like me, there are a million and one things you are probably feeling like you’re failing at! I know I never seem to quite feel on top of everything. I think I am, by nature, a planner. Having plans for things really helps me feel like I am more on top of family life. Meal planning for me is one of the best ways to save time and feel like I am getting a least one of the more important things in life right!
I’m going to share today some of my favourite quick easy and tasty family meals to include on your meal plan – a few of these can be batch cooked too meaning you’re saving time another week!
Pies, Pies, Pies
You can’t beat a pie for filling the family up! We have a few ‘go to’ recipes including a cheese and onion pie, Leek, cheese and potato and good old cottage pie. These three are all great for doubling up and making an extra one to store in the freezer for the following week and they have the added benefit of being reasonably quick to make and are recipes that you can get the children involved in too.
My three love getting involved in the kitchen, usually chopping carrots, grating the cheese or mashing the potato. I love the leek, cheese and potato pie and the mustard is a great addition to it.
We serve pies with whatever veg we have in that day, usually root veg and some new potatoes go down well here.
Make the most of your Slow Cooker
Slow cooker curries are a winner here. I’ve shared a couple before but we really enjoy the chickpea and spinach one. This is a great one to double up on and store in the freezer. We tend to serve with rice and naan breads and sometimes we get poppadums too. Curries are always super tasty and this chickpea one usually guarantees empty plates here.
Jacket potatoes are great in the slow cooker – we sometimes have these on nights I know we will be home later. We tend to be quite dull with our fillings (cheese, coleslaw, beans) but I’m going to get the children to have a go at making some other fillings and we can try those too.
If you have any veg that needs using up add it to the slow cooker with some seasoning and stock and you can whizz yourself up a tasty vegetable soup. I do this quite often if I have celery or leeks that need using up. Perfect winter warming food.
Build your Own Dinner
My children love a ‘snacky’ tea, which is basically all manner of bits and pieces for them to choose from and stack high. I like to try and at least have a ‘theme’ to these meals. So for instance Mexican and we might do some fried veg, spicy rice, nachos with cheese, dips etc and have fajitas.
Or we might have quiche, cheese, biscuits and fresh bread and salad (although granted this is more a summer meal!) or at weekend we often have hotdogs (complete of course with ketchup or mustard!) with beans, fries and some other snacky items.
Experiment with flavours
It’s fun to experiment in the kitchen, I like trying new ideas here and there. I like adding different things into mashed potato topping; be it mustard or some herbs. It can give the meal a slightly different twist!
Some of the things I try don’t always make it onto the regular menu rotation here but at least we have tried and sometimes tweaking the herbs and spices is all a recipe needs to meet your own taste preferences. This summer I am going to have a go at batch cooking pasta sauces and experimenting with some salad dishes with dips and dressings – if you have any good recipes to share do let me know!
