Share Ideas for family dinners?

marley123

Hi All,

Apologies if there is possibly a thread on this already but looking for some inspiration for family dinners ( that work out cheap enough on ingrediants )

I have 2 young children under 5 who thank god are NOT fussy eaters, love their fruit & veg..

So in a wk would probably cook some the following.. but am so sick of cooking the same things!

Sticky Chicken,
Carbonara/Pasta Bake/ lasagne - loaded with veggies
Sausage & potato & carrot Mash
Fish Pie
Fajitas
Baked Salmon with veggies & mash
Baked Potatos with beans & cheese
Rib Eye steak with veggies & some sort of carb
Chicken Curry ( loaded with veggies & served with rice..

Am trying Italian breaded pork chops tonight ( basically bread crumbed pork chops with Parmesan )

muckety

We eat quite a few rice dishes, and pulses - such as Dhal with rice which is cheap and very tasty. (You can buy big bags of rice in asia market and it works out much cheaper than supermarket small bags).

Spag bol is a favourite in our house... also casseroles and stews, especially now that it is coming into winter. The advantage of these is that you can make a big quantity and freeze portions. (I think they improve by freezing!). You can cook / eat one batch with, say, mashed potato, then the following week defrost a batch to have with rice, so it doesn't seem like the same meal again.

Another big favourite is Roast chicken - after your roast dinner, if you use a good sized chicken you should have enough meat left for a chicken pie, or make a stock from the carcass and have chicken soup, you can add pasta to make it more substantial.

Meteoric

If I see lamb mince on special I add chopped onion, garlic, whatever herbs I have that go with lamb and form them into small burgers (ping-pong ball or smaller size and fry or grill off then serve with Pitta bread and mixed salad and a natural yoghurt/creme fraiche sauce with mint. Takes all of about 20 mins

Darkginger

I'm doing this 'shepherd's pie in a shell' thing tonight - basically bake a few big spuds, cut in half, scoop out the flesh into a bowl, mix with butter, grated cheese, maybe a few spring onions. Meanwhile cook some mince 'n onions (and possibly thinly sliced, or from a jar, carrots) in a pan, add Bisto Beef gravy granules and a splash of water to make a thick gravy.

Put a spoonful of the meat mix in each hollowed out spud shell, top with the potato mix, sprinkle on a little grated cheese, and bake for another 15 mins. Serve with baked beans or maybe peas and extra gravy.

Also - 2 tortillas - heat a little olive oil in a pan, throw in a ready made tortilla, sprinkle over a handful of grated cheese and some finely chopped veg, like peppers, mushrooms, chillies from a jar, courgettes. Plop a second tortilla on top, and flip the whole thing. Cook for a few mins until the tortilla goes crispy but not burned, then cut into slices and scoff. There's a name for this dish, but I can't for the life of me remember it

coadyd

http://www.mediterrasian.com/delicious_recipes_thai_curry.htm

i cook this for the family and they love it quite easy to cook

tangerinepuppet

Darkginger wrote: »

There's a name for this dish, but I can't for the life of me remember it

Quesadilla!

Darkginger

That's IT! Yeah..really good, anyway

eastbono

This is the red thai chicken curry that I do and its yummy.
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1788/thai-chicken-curry


Takes about 20 mins... I add mange tout and half a red chilli and half a green chilli just to spice it up a bit. Oh and if you cant get Kaffir Lime Leaves... then just the juice from a lime does the job.