To ask for your 'my head isn't in the game but I still want to feed a family healthy homemade food' recipes?

[Justkoko]

As easy, quick and family friendly as possible. Getting the nutrients in. The less pots the better! Friendly to fussy eaters!
What's your go to on those days you're just burnt out but still want to do a good job for your family?

Nigel Slater "Real Food Fast" was my go-to book for ideas and recipes

Or cube pots, carrots, and additional veg. Quarter onions, crush garlic. Add glut of oil, sea salt, seasoning like paprika. Stir and whack in oven for 30 mins or so along with a couple of chicken breasts, wrapped in foil with a bit of lemon juice, pepper, salt and dash of oil.

It's somewhat 'passé' but a great way to smuggle in veg. I think it's yum as it goes.

Regular things my children like are chicken or tomato risotto, garlic chicken, home made kebabs with salad, steak and jacket potato, chilli con carne or pork stroganoff. Also chicken and lentil curries. I make batches of hidden veg sauce and that goes into all sorts of things - youngest still doesn't like vegetables much (except he does, because he likes the sauce!)

Baked potato with cheese/ tinned salmon/ tinned tuna and a big salad. Healthy, filling and yummy.

Fried rice

Kids love it

Lidl lemon and herb hot smoked salmon fillets (ready cooked so just have to pull them out of the fridge, with oven cooked brocoli, tub of coleslaw, salad, sometimes beetroot (can do boiled new potatoes with a bit of butter)

Tuna rice salad - boil rice or microwave pouch, stir in tinned tuna, bit of mayo, and then whatever veg/salad in the fridge/freezer (peas, sweetcorn, carrot, broccoli, cucumber ect)

vegetable burritos - stir fry any veg (peppers, onions, courgette, mushrooms, sweetcorn) with fajita seasoning. shove in a tortilla wrap with lettuce, avocado, salsa, cheese etc (can add Mexican rice or refried beans)

I second the recommendation for the Taming Twins website, lots of easy tasty family meals.

Macaroni cheese and cook either peas or brocolli in with the pasta water. For fussy DS2 I just give him pasta with grated cheese before making the bechamel and putting the macaroni cheese in the oven.

Buttered bagel, cherry tomatoes, scrambled egg
Or
Homemade pancakes and chopped up fruit
(weekends we have swimming/birthday parties/church so tend to make a nice big breakfast/brunch and then a sandwichy/snacky lunch)

Jacket potato. V v v low effort!!

Have a look at my first meals on instagram, loads of really simple (and cheap) recipes. I’ve just made her balsamic sausage traybake and it was delicious, even fussy toddler ate it! The recipe is literally sweet potato and courgette wedges, sausages and cherry tomatoes with a drizzle of oil and balsamic glaze and in the oven for 45 mins. I added potato wedges too and some mixed herbs. It’ll definitely be one of our regulars now.

another vote for the Roasting Tin series of books — I use the Quick Roasting Tin most but they are all good

https://www.slimmingeats.com/blog/marmite-macaroni-cheese - always a hit in my house and I add in some veg like broccoli or peas that I can boil with the pasta (or keep it separate if you have fussy eaters who don’t like too much veg)

Chicken dippers, waffles & beans. Sometimes mixed veg to make myself feel superior.

If you've got an air fryer:

Chopped chicken thighs
3 parts garlic to 1 part ginger puree
1 tbsp oil
Salt
Mix it all together in a bowl and leave it up to a day or as short as 30 minutes

1 tbsp 5 spice
1 tsp brown sugar
Cornflour
Coat the marinaded chicken in this mix

Cook in an air fryer on 170 for 15 minutes
Serve with noodles and veg

https://www.recipetineats.com/butter-chicken/

You do have to marinate though, but it's really easy, I serve with rice and broccoli.

Tomato Penne with avocado on bbc good food site. Fussy dd wont eat the avocado scattered on top (ds will though) but tbh there is enough veg in there without it.

Tinned mackerel with baked potatoes or noodles and veg is popular too which surprised me!

Also baked salmon with microwave rice and peas/broccoli.

Burritos where they can pick there filling (nearly always tinned black beans, mexican rice and sweetcorn)

Stir fry - chicken, bag of prepared stir fry veg and fresh noodles. Bit of soy sauce or a stir in sauce. Easy fresh and full of veg. Takes about 20 mins all in one pan!

Fish cakes and rice is also another cheat meal I make with some salad on side.

@Chickenkeev we've had it tonight! It's so simple but everyone loves it and it's so tasty.

Once I figured out that the mental load of cooking is too much to do EVERY SINGLE DAY I resorted to cooking once a week - on Sundays.

Now there’s no mental work involved. Put rice or pasta on daily as per what’s in Sistema boxes in the fridge.

Saturday night groceries arrive. Sunday 10-12 is Cookathon. No further head space for cooking.

So today was a SHIT day at work. Exhausted to core. No probs - came home and two Dc Dh and I sat down to a gorgeous Butter Chicken, with rice. Happy bellies. The meal didn’t require any thought - it was done at Sunday cookathon

Did you see my thing about Country Captains Chicken? Spag bol is lovely but it's great to have other things.

Do you have the full recipe for this? I own all the other roasting tin books but not this one.

Anything thaat involves almonds gets my vote #easilywon ;)

Any recommendations for a Sunday cookathon? @Combusting sounds great!

i do like the roasting tin books but the kids aren’t always a fan.

I live alone so mine is a bit different but every time I cook I make 5 portions - 1 to eat, 4 to freeze
Currently in the freezer is cottage pie, chicken and pancetta lasagne, sausage and mash pie, beef stew, chicken pesto pasta bake

I cook almost exclusively off here - you can jump to recipe, alter the quantities and press cook mode so your screen doesn't go black. No weird ingredients and all the recipes work

https://www.dontgobaconmyheart.co.uk