What are your easy, go-to, quick family recipes you use regularly?

[Goldenbrowntexturelikesun]

I’ve fallen into a bit of a dull routine with our meals, tbh I don’t enjoy cooking but try to cook from scratch as much as possible.

I’m finding I am doing the same boring meals for speed and because I don’t need to give it much thought, meals such as baked chicken, turkey steaks or sausages, steamed veg and mash. DH will eat anything but my 18 and 15 year old find these foods plain and boring.

If I do fajitas, lasagna or enchiladas etc they enjoy them more but on days that I work I just want something quick and easy.

Any suggestions for quick, tasty but simple recipes for week day family dinners?

This leek and tomato pasta is really tasty, much better than it sounds and leeks are in season now, it's from The Guardian originally

Leek, rosemary, parsley tomato pasta

Serves 3 - 4

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
Small handful each rosemary sprigs and parsley
3 leeks
1 tin chopped tomatoes
90g pasta (I use fusilli) per person
Cheese of your choice

Method

Wash the leeks thoroughly under running water to wash out any grit or mud

Remove the leaves from the rosemary and parsley and finely chop

Chop the leeks - cut them in quarters lengthwise, then slice finely

Heat a tablespoon of olive oil in medium saucepan and add the parsley and rosemary

Stir for a minute, then add the leeks. Cover and cook gently for 10minutes

Add the can of chopped tomatoes, some salt and black pepper, stir, then cover again and simmer for half an hour

Meanwhile cook the pasta

Stir the leek mixture into the cooked fusilli and serve topped with cheese - grated cheddar, crumbled feta, goats cheese or blue cheese are all good

Place marking for ideas.

Quesadillas - so easy! Tinned black beans, cheese, chipotle paste, quick spread and fry with an avo and tomato salad.

Prawn and veg noodles

Omelettes

Pan fry halloumi and make a salad w precooked Puy lentils, lettuce, grated carrot, other veg, seeds balsamic etc

I would second things like chilli and bolognese. I do pesto pasta with broccoli boiled in with the pasta for the last 7 minutes, then add the pesto, chopped ham, halved cherry tomatoes, slurp of cream or creme fraiche if you have a some, really quick and low effort.

I like Rukmini Iyer's Roasting Tin books, I've got The Green Roasting Tin.

I'd give each of them a night to cook and plan it.
Mine have the login for my food shop, they add what they want and I order it. They then cook on their nights

Stir fry with shop bought sauces - loads of veg and quick!

Honestly, I think this is your moment to get your kids involved in the feeding the family thing.

The suggestion of getting a meal kit box and having the kids choose and cook one of the meals is a really good one.

Pork lion marinated in Pepper steak, salad and garlic bread.

Risotto! You can literally chuck anything in them. All you need is risotto rice, stock cubes and whatever you want to throw in it. My fave is pesto and goats cheese. We had it tonight and I threw in some chopped Tom's and spring onions 😋😋

We always do a baked gnocchi. It's really easy. We fry off an onion and some garlic and some chorizo. Add a chopped aubergine. Fry that off for a bit. Add some dried herbs like oregano. Add some passata and a bit of water and cook a bit. Then take off the heat. Add the gnocchi. Tear up a ball of mozzarella on top and put in the oven on high for 20 or so minutes until cheese is golden.

We also do a Chinese belly pork.

An anchovy pasta.

Sometimes do sausage and sweet potatoes tray bake.

Dahl.

A really quick and easy dinner I do is cook off chopped chorizo in a pan, then when that’s done crack a couple of eggs (it’s just me and DP) into the same pan, and bung a pouch of Mexican style rice in the microwave. Put the chorizo and fried egg on top of the rice. Delicious. We sometimes have a sliced avocado or grilled halloumi with it too.

Tonight we had pan-fried gnocchi in a sauce made with Philadelphia, chopped cherry tomatoes, a bit of pesto, and a load of spinach stirred through at the end.

Another favourite is a creamy leek and Parma ham pasta. Cook your Parma ham in a hot pan until it’s crispy, and while you’re doing that chop up two leeks and a few garlic cloves. Take the ham out and set aside, cook the leeks and garlic in the same pan. Stick some pasta on to boil. Add your ham back in, and stir through a carton of single cream - I use a dairy free one - and bung in a load of grated Parmesan and black pepper. Drain the pasta and add it to the pot. Serve with garlic bread for extra carbs.

And me!

I batch cook chilli, bolognese, various curries, borscht, things like that.

I would usually batch cook on a Sunday, then midweek, then something like burgers on a Friday or Saturday. Variations of that pattern. I cooked tonight. It was chilli in the pressure cooker, home at five thirty, and dinner at seven, so it's not that quick, but it will do for tomorrow, then the rest in the freezer. So two or three nights I then don't have to cook.

The Cardiff mum on Instagram has some really good ideas

This is great. I either prep and marinate the chicken the night or morning before (but have just done it an hour before and it was fine). I often slice a couple of peppers and add them to bake with the chicken for extra veg. I make a big pot of the spice mix so that it lays me a few goes.

https://www.themediterraneandish.com/chicken-shawarma-recipe/

Dead easy, dead tasty, nice change from the usual baked chicken.
https://www.nigella.com/recipes/chicken-and-pea-traybake

This! Add a bit of butter to the couscous and it tastes even better, we do 2 packets of the dried couscous with roasted vegetables and it does plenty for me, DH and 4 year old DS. Healthy, very quick and pretty tasty!

www.nhs.uk/healthier-families/recipes/couscous-with-chicken-and-peas/#:~:text=For%20a%20time%2Dsaving%20hack,%2C%20and%20you're%20done!

I’d also challenge the teens to plan a meal each once a fortnight or once a week. Maybe they can have a cook off, and see who makes the best meal of the month.

We got in a rut and got a free Hello Fresh box to liven things up. It did help!

Ratatouille & jacket potato w cheese
Veggie sausages w ratatouille
Lentil lasagne
Salmon new potatoes greens
Fish pie
Spag bol
Chicken wraps (turkish)
Chicken gougions, mash peas
Fish n chips
Salad nicoise with tuna steak
Aubergine Curry
Thai curry

Egg, beans. Veggie sausage,
Avocado w prawn cocktail

She's amazing