Help our Family at meal time!

moments_of_sanity

Another go to quick meal in our house is home made quiche. We make about 4 at once and then freeze 3 of them ready to grab out the freezer when we are pushed for time.

themull1

I make and freeze spaghetti sauce, chili, lasagne etc, quick meals when you haven't got a lot of time, pasta bakes - use a jar of sauce and pasta with hot dogs chopped up, curry/sauces, get chicken out of freezer in morning then chop, fry and add sauce of choice, serve with rice or mash, and a tin of peas, beans/scrambled egg on toast with sausages or bacon is nice at tea time. I personally don't like slow cookers - i hate the smell of cooking in the house.

Make cakes - cut up and freeze, defrost in morning for tea time. Quick puddings - banana custard, microwave cake and custard, make a jelly just before leaving in morning.

Buy cheapies in supermarket to freeze - thats what i do anyway.!!

Butterfly_Brain

Because my health can go up and down I always have a freezer full of HM meals that I make when I have good days or if I have leftovers that I can make into something else

At the moment I have:

2 cottage pies
1 beef casserole
1 cowboy stew (sausage and bean stew)
1 lamb tagine
A cauliflower cheese
1 lasagne
2 bolognaise
2 Mince and tatties
2 meatloaf
1sausage plait
1 goulash ( I leave the cream out and add it when I heat it up)
1 chicken korma
8 mackerel fishcakes
1 sliced pork in gravy
1 sliced lamb in gravy all left over from Sunday roasts
1 sliced beef in gravy
1 chilli plus a small l/o portion that I can use to put on top of jacket potatoes

I also have HM roast potatoes
HM yorkshire puds
HM wedges
Lots of frozen veg

Tonight I am making 2 cheese and onion pies and freezing one, it is just as easy to make two as it is to make one.

Hope this gives you a few ideas

Butterfly_Brain

Stuffed pancakes are cheap and you can fill them with anything you like and pancakes freeze well so you can make a batch, get them out in the morning then fill them with something like bolognaise from the freezer, cover with cheese sauce and grated cheese then heat in the oven until bubbling and golden

We all love milk jelly which can be made in minutes
Simply a jelly made to ¾ of the recommended amount on the pkt allow to just start to set then whisk in ½pt milk, cream, or evaporated milk

Mummy+2

Unfortunately I only have a small 2 and 1/2 draw freezer so not load of room. I should have enough room to bulk cook on the days I can (Sunday & Monday) then freeze for the week.

The fridge freezer is on it's way out, had it fixed up a while back but they said it'll need replacing next time it goes. It was a friends husband so trust his judgment, also it's quit old and I've had good use. I'll definitely be getting a bigger one next time!

RAS

If you do not have them already consider getting some cubic or oblong boxes, line with freezer bags, freeze contents, tip out and stack. Means you can get quite a lot more in the space.

Also concentrate on making bulk supplies of the high value items; those that make the most of your time and effort. So if you are doing stuffed pancakes, make and freeze the filling as the pancakes do not take long to cook if you put together the batter in the morning.

Or use the same filling under mash (instant may be ok if you add lots of butter and milk) and grill with a little cheese on top for a quick pie.

Sally_A

I'd meal plan for you, and you alone. Maybe a small portion would suit the older child.


If you work, and the children are at nursery, gauge what they had at lunchtime as they may not need a full meal.


Toasted bread fingers, raw carrots, steamed veg and salad veg, chicken strips, cheese etc should do them.


Ensure you are getting the adult nutrition you need - if you aren't up to peak performance, you won't be giving 100% to the children.

gayle1

second the onepot dinner then u just need rice pasta

sooty&sweep

Hi
Do you have a timer on your oven ?
If so you could set it to come on an hour before you get home with say chicken thighs + jacket pots so nearly ready when you get in. Steam some veg & dinner is done.

Jen

Mummy+2

So here's my meal plan for this week -

S - Chicken and Chips (using up freezer crap!)
S - Chicken, mash & veg (whole chicken in slow cooker)
M - Curry and rice
T - Bubble an Squeak with chicken (Sunday leftovers)
W - Jackets
T - Pasta bake
F - Stuffed pancakes

I'm going -

Do enough mash on Sunday for Tuesdays bubble an squeak, also to freeze for quick teas another time

Do the pasta bake on Sunday when I have time and freeze for Thursday and enough for another day

Bake the jacket on Sunday (when oven is on for pasta bake) and freeze. I normally buy pre cooked/frozen jackets....sure it'd be cheaper to do my own!

Make enough curry Monday so I can freeze enough for another day

This should mean I have quick teas when I need them, I cook when I have time and we eat a reasonably good meal every day.....fingers crossed!

I will be using some of the other ideas as we go along but this menu is based around using up what we have in to make room in the freezer!