What's for dinner/tea tonight and do you all really cook everything from scratch every day ??

[BlackCatTryingToFly]

As the title says
TIA

I cook from scratch 70% of the time I would say.. I would like to cook from scratch every day but not possible as I am a childminder and the children do not leave until 5:15, so am planning to batch cook from now on and freeze, then it is as good as fresh.

Anyway... tonight was... chippy! Little one has had a super healthy week, so we had a Friday night takeaway, and bless her, after half a sausage and 5 chips she signed that she was full, and pointed to the pineapple on the side, which I cut for her, and she ate 10 chunks before signing finished again :)

Last night was homemade pizza (dough done in bread maker). Made the tomato sauce using tinned tomatoes & veg, mainly because it is one of the few ways I can get veg into dd1. The rest of that sauce will do for pasta tonight. I might even stick some ricotta in in.

I buy pastes in jars, pesto, Thai curry, tikka, but mostly I just don't like the taste of ready made food. Dd1 is really fussy & doesn't like things like fish fingers, beans, waffles etc. I often make tomato or cheese sauce & freeze it. If we have a ham joint I use the stock to make pea & ham soup & freeze that. I used to make my own meatballs, but actually really like co-op ready made but only buy them when reduced & freeze them.

We are fortunate in that either dh or I are at home with the kids. Cooking with them around is challenging but at least we have time.

I am also taking ideas from this thread!!!! DH said yesterday he was bored with grilled meat and veg. Like the idea of a roasted vegetable tart. Tonight is Indian takeaway though.

I work from home on Thursdays and remembered that I often roast a chicken on Thursdays and we have a bit in sandwiches for lunch and then last night DH and the DCs had cold roast chicken with pots, broccoli baked beans (for an obsessed dc) and honey carrots. Does that count as cooking from scratch? (I got home at 10 and had ready salted crisps and a pack of maltesers plus half a bottle of wine.)

Oh yes- I second liking co-op ready made meatballs. I think they are really pretty good, and I make an Italian meatball soup (like minestrone but with meatballs- gorges) and they hold together, unlike mine which fall apart.

Coconutty - if I had less time, and bit more cash, I would absolutely do that. I don't consider myself more 'worthy' for cooking from scratch - I just work from home so skive off a lot and don't have a lot of cash because I skive off a lot . So if they throw you off I'll come with you in protest

I don't use ready meals or shop-bought pizza or jars etc as they're too expensive & I worry about the levels of salt for DS. I do use ready-rolled pastry though.

I'm struggling to develop a repertoire tbh but meals include:

Casserole most weeks (if pressed for time I use a packet of pre-prepared frozen casserole veg)
Fish baked in foil with potato wedges
Pasta & pesto (I do buy jars)
Risotto (most weeks, it's the best way to get DS to eat veg)
Omelette or frittata
Lentil bolognese

I don't cook every night - whenever possible I make enough for 2 or 3 days, eat again the next day (or the day after) and maybe freeze some as well.

Thanks Coconutty!

DH and I take it in turns to cook and cook from scratch most nights. Maybe once a week we have takeaway or something that just needs moving from the freezer/ supermarket shelf to the oven/ microwave.
Tonight we are having deep south stew, which, from memory, is onion, baby carrots, baby corn, green beans and kidney beans is a tomatoey and cinnamony sauce.

rather than go to the chippy and pay £17 for a meal for 4 I bought Young's crispy fish, made some spicy potato wedges and microwaved some baked beans....

please don't send round the food police....

We have a mixture of meals made from scratch, some with the help of a jar or tin for the sauce, and some ready meals.

We're having this:

allrecipes.co.uk/recipe/1158/chicken-cacciatore-in-the-slow-cooker.aspx

So fresh veg and chicken, but with a jar of pasta sauce. You could do from scratch with tinned tomatoes and add herbs but I'm out of tinned tomatoes.

coquille st Jacque and then beef wellington.
Courtesy of m and s.

I cheat a lot.
Just to save time

I'd say 90% of the time too. I tend to overcook and then freeze left over portion then this can be eaten as a quick meal the week after.

I agree spending on takeaways cannot be justified for what you can buy equiv for £20 for fish and chips isnt value and I'm always disappointed with the quality. Same goes for curry - utter crap the meat is revolting and comes from god knows where - £25 for the disappointment. I have started buying frozen chips too - idea for quick cooking, love sainsbo TTD fish fingers - the best. Much better than expensive stodgy fish and chips.

Last night we had Hugh FW baked chicken curry - lots of whizzing in food processor but ready in 1hr. Tonight I'm doing baked polenta with spinach & feta (some other bits left over), sausages and home made foccacia which is at sponge stage at mo.

Yes, there is a lot of prep, lots of lists but rather cook from scratch.

Sorry to drag up old thread but thanks Aunting for the chicken kebab link, made it last night and was huge success, really lovely.