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Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Evening meal

112 replies

Kab30 · 16/01/2019 16:49

I need inspiration...it drives me mad having to think about tea everyday ...what to have all the time ...grrrrrrrr....what we all having?? Does it drive you potty too lol xx

OP posts:
YahBasic · 16/01/2019 19:26

I have a growing list of about 40 meals that we rotate on a regular basis. This doesn’t include basics like cottage/shepherds pie, homemade pizzas, burgers, steak and salad etc, or things on toast/jacket potato.

DH pretty much eats everything and cooks at least once a week or something of his choice. I normally meal plan for 5 evening meals per week, assuming that we will either go out once, he will cook or we will end up using leftovers. Its hugely cut down our costs and food waste, and by buying things with a decent shelf life, gives us the flexibility to rotate things depending on what we feel like.

This week has been:
Sweet potato, goats cheese and caramelised onion puff pastry tart with a spinach, apple and caramelised walnut salad.

Vietnamese pork meatballs and stir fry veg

Baked gnocchi with pork meatballs

Miso cod with pak choi

Chicken, chorizo, chickpea and red pepper one pot

Juanbablo · 16/01/2019 19:29

Sausages, jacket potatoes, carrots and baby corn. Not very inspiring I'm afraid!

AuntieDolly · 16/01/2019 19:31

Hello Fresh is my saviour!

SweetPeaPods · 16/01/2019 19:34

I hate planning meals. That’s why I liked hello fresh but really can’t justify cost.
Tonight pizza and salad
Last night chicken stir fry
Tomorrow maybe chicken Kiev or jacket potatoes
Friday curry
Sat roast chicken

Deliqueen · 16/01/2019 19:50

Monday - mushroom stroganoff and spinach rice
Tuesday - fish cakes with broccoli, sweetcorn, carrots.
Today - cauliflower and broccoli cheese with ham.
Thursday- jacket potatoes with tuna and sweetcorn
Friday - sauteed chorizo and potatoes with leftover veg!
Not that inspiring but getting back in to routine with new club times as they have moved up in several classes that they do!

dinodiva · 16/01/2019 19:52

We (DH and I) had Pad Thai from a recipe in the most recent delicious magazine. It was very tasty.
The 3 year old had a banana, a piece of toast and a bowl of cereal post nursery. She never wants a proper meal and she’ll have eaten well there. The baby refused scrambled egg and banana (bloody teething).

I got stuck in a real cooking rut until I started reading lots of cooking magazines on my Readly app - it’s really helped me to cook a wider variety of things. At the moment I’m trying to find more fishy and veggie things to try.

OffToBedhampton · 16/01/2019 20:08

What a great thread! I'm getting so bored of my recipes so will try some that PP have suggested!

Heres a few of our favourite:-

Chicken curry (made in Maggi So Juicy tikka (mild) bag in oven, add some frozen chicken chunks, cubed sweet potato & butternut squash into bag too from Asda frozen section) with Naan or rice. (So Juicy are great for all sorts of different flavours/meals)

Salmon (cooked with knob of butter sealed in foil in oven), mash and broccoli

Cheesy beany mash (jacket potatoes, butter, baked beans and grated cheese that melts)

Sausage casserole (in stock, tinned tomato/mushrooms/sweetcorn), often make this in slowcooker

Pasta bake (add small bits of bacon and sweetcorn / peas as well)

Lamb casserole (lamb cubes/ veg in slow cooker with red lentils and stock)

Hunters chicken (can make your own) & chips & veg

Salmon & broccoli risotto

Chicken fajitas

Mince beef kebabs (fry mince beef, add bit of gravy til reduced (not sloppy), cut up cucumber, tomatoes small ), pitta bread pockets, make up plain natural yoghurt with spoonful of mint sauce - put out in dishes- to make own healthy 'kebabs' .

MrsRedFly · 16/01/2019 20:19

Ask everyone to think of one meal per week (watch you don't get too many pizza/Mac cheese)

That cuts done some of the thinking then once the DC are older get them to help!

WaxOnFeckOff · 16/01/2019 20:27

My idea (which I didn't do) was just to record on a list on a fridge every meal we had that we enjoyed so that when I was struggling for ideas I could just look back at some of the older meals that we hadn't had for a while. Wish I'd made the effort (though I am aware I still could!)

Babysharkdoodoodoodo · 16/01/2019 20:32

I'm only home 3 nights a week until end of Feb, so I just plan for them and ask DH what ingredients he wants for his days, plus a pile of pizzas in freezer for fussy DS to do himself.
Tonight was pork chops, stir fried cabbage with caraway, baked sweet potatoes and onion sauce. 35 mins and done.

When I'm at home all week I usually sit and meal plan on a Thursday night for delivery on Sunday afternoon. I actually panic when I have to do a real shop now and end up walking all over as I can't find anything as opposed to typing it into the search bar.

I don't like spending ages in the kitchen so I like to prep and leave; so things like curries and casseroles are always on my list, or a quick stir fry. When I'm on a long shift or nights, then it's omelettes and salad, or a hearty soup and bread.

gingercat02 · 16/01/2019 20:33

Sausage chips and beans ☺

Kab30 · 16/01/2019 20:56

Blimey ladies your all fab ....I need to come to your houses .....xx I'm not the best of cooks either lol so step by step recipes suit me lol x gosh finger sarnies are the best especially now I've tried them with salad cream ....if you haven't gathered lol I don't know how to answer individual comments yet Ha ha x

OP posts:
Kab30 · 16/01/2019 21:55

Also while I'm here I'm interested what other mums give there 3 year olds to eat daily xxxx

OP posts:
frenchchick9 · 16/01/2019 22:01

Noodle and pak Choi with chilli sauce dish. We do meal planning for the week too. I ask everyone to suggest at least one dish per week. It gets tedious...

frenchchick9 · 16/01/2019 22:02

For 3yos - Annabelle Karmel ‘s baby and toddler cookbook was great. Lived off that when the dc were small.

Madein1995 · 16/01/2019 22:04

Pasta with pesto, cheese and chicken

Pork stir fry with rice (not really a stir fry - more a mix of different veg, spices, herbs , pork and rice)

Soup and bread / toast

Stir fry

Meat and vegetable fried rice (find the Maggi paper things great!)

Chicken wraps and chips (homemade)

Spaghetti Bolognese

Creamy bacon and mushroom tagiatelle

Homemade burger and spicy wedges

Steak and sweet potato chips

Titsywoo · 16/01/2019 22:11

I have a weekly menu now that both the kids will actually eat. Only took 10 years or so to get to this point! I change dishes a bit but the basis tends to be the same:-

Tacos with peppers and rice (sometimes soft tacos, sometimes crunchy)

Beef and ale stew slowed cooked in the oven (sometimes change this to chicken) with mash and veg

Spaghetti Bolognese (make a batch of this which lasts 3 weeks - it's a fab recipe and has veg in it) with mushrooms (sometimes do carbonara instead)

Roast dinner (not always on a Sunday and the meat changes weekly) with pots and veg.

Curry (change the meat and the sauce often) with rice and naan and spinach

Soup (homemade) with cheese toasties (change the soup but try to make sure it is veg heavy - this week was leek, cheese and bacon)

One day with something like ribs, burgers or steaks with salad and chips

jinglewithbellson · 16/01/2019 22:14

My slow cooker(s) are my friends.
We were spending not only a stupid amount of money every week on food shopping due to every one requesting different things and some liking one thing but others not etc etc Hmm

I have 5 adult meals and 1 child's meal four to five nights a week and 3 adult and 1 child three nights sometimes four so pleasing everyone was impossible.

The time spent shopping on a day after work or in a bloody weekend was driving us nuts so we decided we would start January knowing what we would ALL be eating for the week ahead.

We plan and buy for four slow cooker meals a week and three other meals

Not only have we only spent £100 in the last two weeks when we normally spend over £100 every week but everyone's having a much more balanced and varied meal plus I chuck it al in the slow cooker before I go to work and it's ready for when we get in
Two family members eat later due to work pattern,one eats earlier and me and dh somewhere in between so it's perfect.

This week we have
Beef and veg stew with bread and butter

Chilli with rice

Chicken korma with rice and naan

Tuna pasta bake with salad

The non slow cooker meals are a variety of chicken with chips and peas

Battered cod mash and veg.

And generally if it's on shop day so omelettes always popular and so is bagel with bacon and egg.

BestestBrownies · 16/01/2019 22:33

DP & I are on a new year health kick, so we have been making low-calorie healthy meals for the last couple of weeks. I am also coeliac, so everything has to be gluten-free. So far we've done:-

  • baked cauliflower cheese 'burgers' with salad
  • seared tuna steak with beluga lentils and butternut 'noodles'
  • veggie stir-fry with rice noodles and hoisin sauce
  • turkey meatballs with 'courgetti spaghetti' in tomato sauce
  • bacon & cheese frittata with salad
  • chicken curry with rice and poppadoms
  • pan-fried sea bass fillet with veggie risotto
  • soup & roll (carrot & coriander, celeriac, leek & potato, minestrone)
  • corned beef hash with baked beans and salad

Would love to hear any other low-calorie, healthy, gluten-free (and tasty!) meal ideas if anyone wants to share.

Madein1995 · 16/01/2019 22:33

This week for me has been quite boring though.

Roast dinner

M and s meal deal (wrap, crisps , water)

Chicken, pesto pasta and cheese

Lamb tagine (ww ready meal)

Pork and rice stir fry thing

Chicken fajitas

Treaclepie19 · 16/01/2019 22:51

Tonight was caprese salad as we'd been out for lunch.
Tomorrow is slow cooker spiced butternut squash soup.
Friday is pizza or mcdonalds, treat night!

Iused2BanOptimist · 16/01/2019 23:02

Oh my. I would come and have supper with every one of you. All the food I love. I get so fed up of never eating what I want to eat, I've lost all interest. DH is dairy free, and has been for 12 years after campylobacter from unpasteurised milk at his cousin's dairy farm left with with intolerance.
So none of my past staples, cheese soufflé, macaroni cheese, tuna pasta bake, pasta al fungi (neither daughter will eat mushrooms), pasta pesto - have to get the dairy free variety. I used to make a nice spinach soufflé but it tastes much better with some Parmesan cheese, DH likes the dairy free one when I do it but the rest of us not so much. If I'm feeling keen I'll do individual ones so I can do one for him then add cheese to the mix for the rest of us. We end up eating meat or fish nearly every night when I would like to eat much less meat but my vegetarian preferences often involve eggs and or cheese and he doesn't like eggs either and neither do the DC. Sad
Fish pie? Mum made such a yummy, creamy one with cheese on top of the mash. My dairy free version is perfectly nutritious and DH likes it but I find it very bland and not particularly nice.
To add to my woes DD 2 has lost weight and had a long chat with the nurse at the GP, she needs to put on weight. But I need to lose it! So I rarely make puddings, or bake cakes like I used to and then feel guilty I'm not doing them for DD but DH won't eat them and I shouldn't. I buy her individual sticky toffee puddings for the microwave, or make the odd apple crumble. I've got an unopened pack of Philadelphia which is about a month out of date in the fridge, I was planning to make a cheesecake and then decided to spare myself from temptation. (It's unopened - what's the verdict on usability? Might make that cheesecake for DD at the weekend and tuck in and forget about calories)
And at Christmas DD1 came home having newly converted from meat and two veg to vegan thanks to her new boyfriend. She did cook us a couple of lovely veg curries (his recipe!) and wanted turkey on Christmas day. But I didn't bother doing any ham like I normally would.
To be fair DH does more than his fair share of the cooking and I just eat what I'm given but I wish I could just cook what I want, eat that and lose a little weight.

I'd like to come home from work and have an early, light supper, omelette and salad, eggs florentine, baked potato and homemade coleslaw. But then we'd have to have three different meals. Angry

So one dairy free, one vegan, one high calorie and me who just eats whatever's going or uses up the left overs.

DD had friends over when it was my day off so I made a large lasagne, salad, fruit salad and the best chocolate cake. I was amazed how much they ate, they are all so slim. All the lasagne went, they loved it, and came back for seconds and thirds. They finished the fruit salad for breakfast and I made them all take a slab of chocolate cake with them to school next day so there wasn't much left to tempt me. I really enjoyed cooking for them and them all loving the food. I can't remember the last time I made lasagne as it is quite time consuming and I get as far as making the meat sauce, planning to leave some for DH to have before putting the rest into the lasagne then think sod it, we'll all have spaghetti bolognese, why bother with the cheese sauce and the layers when it's just DD 2 and me that will eat it?

goose1964 · 16/01/2019 23:08

We had Lancashire corned beef hash.

Iused2BanOptimist · 16/01/2019 23:12

Bestest thanks to the new vegan in the family we have been using quorn mince and to my surprise I find I prefer it to meat. Make a tomatoey bolognese sauce with maybe some slivers of carrots or some peppers, but add the quorn to the end of the cooking so it doesn't disintegrate into mush. The sauce tastes much fresher and it feels less heavy. We are pretty much using that rather than meat mince now. I'm a convert! Smile

Marmite27 · 16/01/2019 23:14

Hairy Bikers Spicy One Pot Pork tonight here.

We’ve run out of garlic. It definitely needs garlic.

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