Weekend fun meal ideas

[SandandFog]

Trying to cut back a bit on the spending. We usually go out for tea on a Friday or Saturday night but I want to reduce this to once a month. We are a family of 4, 2 primary age kids.

I feel like we are a bit stuck in a rut with meals and would like to find some ideas for weekend meals that feel a bit more fun than the usual weekday fare of bolognaise, soup, veggie burgers etc.

So far I've come up with tacos! Anyone have any ideas for weekend meals that will replace going out?

Thank you!

Make your own pizza. We do this every now and again on the weekend all all join in (2 adults and to children 8 and 2)
Buy the pre made Pizza bases and each person decorates their own pizza with toppings.

Fish and chips out of the paper!

This is a great idea for a thread - unfortunately, I was going to say tacos!

Even cheaper than buying the bases is the Sainsbury’s recipe which is pretty fool proof. Just need flour and instant yeast and it makes a good amount.

What about trying some themed nights and the food that goes along with it. Chinese and Indian are pretty easy to recreate at home. During lockdown we also did Mexican, Jamaican, French and Italian.

Same as above, make your own pizzas are always fun and tasty.
I also love making, and eating, quesadillas.
We also make a lamb kebab in the slow cooker, tastes like a doner kebab and is really good.

Ours is a list of stuff you’d find on a pub classics menu

Steak pie
Lasagne
Fajitas / tacos / burritos / enchiladas
Freezer fish and chips
Hunters chicken
Salsa chicken

Stuff like that

sadly I was going to say burgers!

I'm a big afternoon tea fan. i have bought some lovely teacups and saucers and a three tiered cake stand and I often make an afternoon tea with cucumber sandwiches, salmon sandwiches, homemade cakes etc. It's really fun. I would say we do maybe every second week or so.

@Startuplife

Even cheaper than buying the bases is the Sainsbury’s recipe which is pretty fool proof. Just need flour and instant yeast and it makes a good amount.

What about trying some themed nights and the food that goes along with it. Chinese and Indian are pretty easy to recreate at home. During lockdown we also did Mexican, Jamaican, French and Italian.

Oh yes! great idea!

The tortilla boats are a favourite here as they're easier to eat for the kids 🌮

We also do "Italian night" where we have breadsticks and garlic dip, olives and mozzarella pearls before our pasta tea with garlic bread - makes it feel more like a night out.

We've also done similar with "Greek night" with humous and pittas, haloumi and olives and feta before moussaka and greens.

Or a big grazing tea if they will eat salami, cheese, etc. The only problem with this is I always get carried away with the buying so never sure if it's cheaper! 🙈

Try tartiflette it is simple to make but I'd so delicious and I always think it feels like a real treat.

How about loaded fries/nachos? Could be with pulled pork or chilli mince or pulled chicken, really whatever you fancy. Nice picky side if not a full meal.

I like making random new stuff that I maybe havent had before or a recipe of something I enjoy when out. So something chinese/japanese/Korean I often opt for or tex mex/American that is slightly different

Yes the kofta style kebabs from the supermarket are good with some potato wedges, fried onions, yoghurt & mint dip, a bit of salad and wraps.
In fact my kids just love anything when they can serve themselves from bowls on the table and it feel like a feast!

We're having tacos tonight. Another favourite is tapas or baked Camembert, crusty bread, chorizo in red wine & honey, satay skewers, bits like that.

We have home made pizza, fajitas/ nachos and burgers as home made favourites.
Also DS likes chicken korma and naan bread while we have hm curry.
Lamb koftas, pittas, dips and salad is a summery one.

Bao buns are fun to eat. A bit like tacos but nicer imo. I use Marion's Kitchen for the bun recipe www.marionskitchen.com/how-to-make-bao-buns/
I don't faff about with the rolling out at the end. I just divide the dough by 14 and then with oily hands just squish them out into a ovally circular shape and fold in half. For the filling I use a pack of 6 thick pork shoulder steaks cooked slowly in a jar of hoisin sauce, a few hours on low and covered in foil, then shred. To stuff some sliced cucumber, sliced fresh or sushi ginger, some sliced fresh chilli if you want, a salad made from grated carrot chopped peanuts and zest and juice of a lime and some dried coriander leaf and a squeeze of Siracha mayo or just mayo if you don't want it too spicy.

Wow, such great ideas so quickly!

@SnowWhiteLobelia

sadly I was going to say burgers!

I'm a big afternoon tea fan. i have bought some lovely teacups and saucers and a three tiered cake stand and I often make an afternoon tea with cucumber sandwiches, salmon sandwiches, homemade cakes etc. It's really fun. I would say we do maybe every second week or so.

Definitely nothing wrong with burgers! I'm going to add proper beef burgers to the list with all the extras!

@Hopeful16

Yes the kofta style kebabs from the supermarket are good with some potato wedges, fried onions, yoghurt & mint dip, a bit of salad and wraps. In fact my kids just love anything when they can serve themselves from bowls on the table and it feel like a feast!

You are so right actually, my kids love serving themselves and lots of bowls to pick and choose from!

My kids like marmite pasta, very cheap, quite tasty and fun in so far as it is marmite.

www.nigella.com/recipes/spaghetti-with-marmite

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/marmite-pancetta-spaghetti

Fun things we did over lockdown often involved me having picked up some unusual ingredients, often reduced, often stored in the freezer, and then making a recipe with them.

for example

• escalope alla milanese, which involved reduced price meat, in thin slices, which my 8 year old had great fun helping me dunk in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and fry

• crab linguine with local crab from the seaside, not super cheap but a lot cheaper than going out for tea

• making Welsh cakes (very cheap, mind you we have a bakestone)

• various recipes indeed for home made pizza and bread - flat bread went down well

home made sausage rolls - they sort of helped

chilli con carne (with chocolate)

poppadoms and bhajis

Easter nest chocolate cake

marzipan fruits (these went on the home made Xmas cake, dd got stuck into making both the cake and the fruits)

Thai green curry with Thai crackers

We do fondue Fridays! Popular in the house and goes well with a glass of white at the end of the week. Also hand rolled sushi nights. It doesn’t have to be fancy or expensive (but it could be).

Nachos covered in cheese, jalapeños, guac, salsa and sour cream.

Fajitas, enchiladas, individual Pizzas that everyone puts own toppings on. If you have a tapinyaki grill you could put it in middle of table and fry own veg/marinated chicken on with dips and salad to accompany.

One of our favourites is breakfast for dinner - a full English (or just the veggie bits).

Home made Harvesters meal. Grilled meats, corn on the cob, chips, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms. Followed by a build it yourself ice cream dessert- ice cream, marshmallows, chocolate buttons, squirty cream, chocolate brownies, smarties.

My primary age kids love it when we get the little bbq out and they cook sausages for dinner themselves - usually followed by roasted marshmallows. Such a fun evening!