simple family meals, not too much pasta or rice

[NotADomesticCat]

What are you all feeding families atm?

I think I am what might have been referred to in the past as a "good plain cook" I cook every day, but nothing especially fancy.

Family of 5 - 2 adults, 2 teens, 1 9 year old.

I'm still working outside the home (healthcare, various long shifts). DH genuinely working from home (checking in computer code, booking time).

So not really in the "lovely opportunity to try new recipies" camp.

Ideas for quick and easy family meals atm?

Youngest point blank won't eat pasta or rice, never has - we're working on this but without success. He's not under weight and eats a good breakfast plus sandwiches and fruit for lunch every day so we don't cater specially for him and do still serve him the same as everyone else, but I don't serve either rice or pasta more than once per week because of this.

Last week we ate:

Monday - Sausages, boiled potatoes, carrots, peas gravey
Tuesday - chicken satay (homemade with peanut butter) with rice
Wednesday - jacket potatoes with tuna and sweetcorn (youngest only ate the potato)
Thursday - home made pizza
Friday - spaghetti Bolognese
Saturday - homemade quiche cooked by DD (youngest loves this)
Sunday - slow roast pork with roasted vegetables

Anyone got a weeks meals that might be eaten by a similar family?

Our week is -

Homemade burgers and chips

Chicken breasts in spices (tandoori, salt, pepper, chicken powder stuff from aldi) grilled, cubed potatoes roasted with veg

Chilli with nachos and cheese (kids dont like it with rice)

Chicken legs marinated in nando's sauce with corn on the cob, salad and crusty bread

Homemade minestrone soup

Sausages roasted on top of veg (potatoes, onions, carrots, peppers and tomatoes usually)

Potato and leek bake (in a cheesy sauce, with chopped bacon if you like)

Mushroom and lentil bolognese

Stuffed peppers (with bolognese, or chilli, or chorizo and potato)

Home made pasties (curried potato and veg, or chorizo and sweet potato)

Sweet potato and chorizo enchiladas

Hugh's soy and ginger beef (we have with rice but he serves with noodles)

Salmon and mash.
Roast gammon, new potatoes, cauliflower cheese and vegetables.

My DC1 doesn't enjoy pasta or rice they much. I often just serve his without the carb and replace his with just a plain slice of wholemeal bread

This week we have had:

Sun - Curry made with roasted spiced cauliflower, lentils and a bit of chicken (less than normal so bulked up with veg and naan)

Monday - salmon with rice and veg - if you can get carribean every day seasoning it makes the rice lovely.

Tuesday - roast chicken and mash and veg & gravy

Wednesday - ramen noodles with the leftover chicken and baby corn, mange tout

Thrs (today) - sausages, potato waffles and broccoli (bit random!)

Friday - I've got a gamon for the slow cooker, will have crusty bread and salad

Sat - I'll make a risotto with the gamon

We also do super easy "pizzas" a lot which are just those nice big pittas you can get, tomato puree, mozerella, chorizo in oven then serve with salad

It can be a bit of a chore thinking of so many meals every week and all the more so now since we can't break it up with the odd takeaway.

We're 2 adults and a teen and over the past week we've had:

chicken, potato and chorizo tray bake
chilli with nachos, cheese and sour cream
fillet steak stroganoff with rice
Italian marninaded chicken (flattened breast in oil, lemon, rosemary and lemon) cooked on the BBQ and served with slow cooked potato wedges with garlic and herb, BBQ'd courgette and red pepper
BBC Good Food Ultimate home made pizzas
BBC Good Food healthy egg and chips served with baked beans

Over the coming days we're having:

Crispy duck pancakes, singapore noodles, chips curry (all Aldi!)
roast chicken, marrowfat peas, roast potatoes, carrots & parsnip, sage and onion stuffing and gravy
Chicken and broccoli gratin (using left over chicken) with roast veg
Fillet steak cooked on BBQ with potato gratin, oven chips (for dd) pepper sauce and carrots
Homemade meatballs in cherry tomato and white wine sauce served with spaghetti, garlic bread and olives
Cottage pie served with peas
creamy tomato chicken pasta
high tea - grilled bacon, sausages, pudding, hash browns, beans, fried eggs and toast
chicken noodle soup
beef bourguignon (have some in the freezer) served with mash and greens
mustard & honey roast ham served with cheese stuffed potatoes and kale
home made pizzas
I am thinking of making proper home made chips one evening too
Nigel slater's Sausage and Mash supper - red wine onion gravy
goats cheese and caramelised onion chutney omelette
spanish omelette
thai red chicken curry with garlic and coriander naan & poppadoms

I forgot to add:

A spanish style chickpea, tomato, chorizo stew with crusty bread

Instead of sausage and mash why not do toad in the hole? It’s a firm favourite here. The kids love a good roast too.

In terms of your shopping restrictions, do you have a cooler/cool bag and any freezer blocks? Or even a fridge bag and buy a bag of ice? I wouldn’t buy raw frozen meat unless a reasonably cold option of those (decent cool bag at least with some form of ice - but a bag or bring blocks) but otherwise you can at least get any fridge items and probably some frozen stuff. And the fuller the bag/box, the colder things will stay.

It really might be worth your while getting a decent cool bag/cool box if you can. And freeze the blocks from the morning before shopping day as the freezer empties out, they don’t need to stay frozen in between.

BiddyPop I have freezer bags. I've been using them for things like ham and cheese (sandwich fillings) and bacon but not substantial cuts of raw meat or fish. I actually have some frozen plain white fish in the freezer from ages ago which I need to use - everyone will eat it but nobody will be especially enthusiastic, unless I put it in specific pasta bake recipe with coconut milk and sweetcorn in which case fewer people will eat it but those who do will be enthusiastic... Ah the joys

I should put ice blocks in the bag you're right, we have some unfrozen ones somewhere which I should dig out and freeze.

I'm considering a reckless extra journey just to shop and bring the shopping straight home rather than combinating it with driving to work, as I'm off today and finishing too late to shop after my shift tomorrow (no 24 hour supermarket here).

Combining not combinating

Sorry if already been said :

Chicken ceaser salad (chicken breasts, lettuce, ceaser salad sauce, bacon in you're feeling fancy, croutons)
Chicken wrapped in bacon
Chicken and mushroom rissotto
Diet coke chicken

www.nigella.com/recipes/mexican-lasagne?offset=24

We had this last night and kids liked it.
It is easy to assemble and uses tortillas.
I think I'll add it into weekday meals when normal life returns.

At worst, in keeping things cold, it's about having them cold in the first place and then insulating to keep them cold.

So get things from the back of the fridge (usually longest dates as well as well chilled!!).

Use whatever fridge/freezer bags you have.

Use whatever ice blocks you have frozen, or buy a bag of ice as part of the shopping, or buy some frozen veg that you are happy to use for tonight's dinner if it thaws (would DC like an ice-cream sundae as soon as you get in if that thawed a little?! ) ...

And once you have everything in the car, put ALL the cold things together in 1 place. Using chill bags/cooler where you can, but other things like cheese, butter, milk etc around those in whatever regular bags you have, packed nice and tightly together. And then cover that part of the shopping with a couple of bath towels or a blanket/rug to insulate them, tuck it in close around everything, to keep all the cold air in together with those things. If you have enough insulating materials (another towel, for example) to put underneath before you put things there, that can help too. The more cold stuff you have, and the less space around it for warmer air to stay or gaps for warmer air to seep in, the longer the cold stuff will stay cold.

Sorry if that seems like explaining how to suck eggs, but sometimes understanding the "why" makes a difference to seeing how you could make it work in your own circumstances.