What are your fav family meals nd desserts

[smithy100]

Hi, I've got 3 children and I like to try and eat as a family as much as possible we always have dinner together over the weekends and I'm trying to think of some good meals and desserts. Dc are 2, 6 and 8.

Cajun chicken pasta always goes down well here. Just Cajun seasoning sprinkled on some cut up chicken breasts, peppers, mushrooms, onion and single cream to make a sauce and mixed with pasta.

I batch cook some meals for the freezer so I don't have to spend too much time cooking:

Cottage pie base (with veg in it so just need to add the mash)
chicken pie base (just add puff pastry and roast pots)
Bolognese (just add pasta)
BBC beef mince (from Nigella kitchen, may not the most healthy of meals but we all think it is yummy and serve with bread rolls, grated cheese and corn on cob)
Mild veggie curry (I use one from the river cottage baby and toddler book and me and DH sprinkle chilli flakes on ours)
Mild beef chilli.

Other quick meals that I cook from scratch each time are:
Tuna pasta
lentils and pasta
risotto (Dd1 not too fond of this but i am hopefully!)
Meat balls and pasta
chickpea and chorizo stew with spinach rice (Dd1 loves this)
Delia's chicken basque (sort of oven cooked rice and chicken dish)
I've made jack monroe's fish tagine twice recently and everyone has loved it both times so I think I will be making that a lot (as I struggle to find enough fish dishes! )

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10416/creamy-pesto-chicken-with-roasted-tomatoes

www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/10416/creamy-pesto-chicken-with-roasted-tomatoes

oops. .. posted too soon. I meant to say that this usually goes down well in our house too. Depending on the weather and the amount for time I have I either serve it with salad and bread or roast pots and green beans.

These are what we had last week and is coming up this week:
T: spag bol
W: fish + chips
T: spuds
F: pesto pasta
S: sweet and sour pork and rice
S: chilli and rice
M: roast
T: fajitas
W: curry & rice
T: cottage pie
F: pizza

18m old and 7yo and childminder to 3yo

Lasagne
Shepherds pie
Spaghetti bolognaise
Roast chicken
Curry with leftover roast chicken

We only have fruit or yoghurt for pudding
Occasionally ice cream

What's nigella beef. Google has let me down

Roast chicken, roast potatoes and veg once a week
Spag bol
Meatballs made with turkey mince served with tagliatelle
Shepherds pie
Macaroni cheese
Pasta with choice of sauce and/or cheese - lazy option

Desserts I don't usually bother with, sometimes some ice cream. Or if I do make a dessert it might be chocolate tart (with ready made tart case), lemon tart, apple crumble/pie

Favourite meals as a whole family are:

Fish Pie - the most favourite - with mixed fish/prawns and boiled egg layered before mash is spread over the top
Spaghetti bolognaise
sausage and mash with onion gravy and an assortment of veg (DS won't eat the veg but eats the rest)
Home made Pizza - or, we use Lidl margherita pizza as a base these days - with a variety of toppings chosen by the children/adults
Roast dinner
Chicken Casserole
Sausage Casserole
Macaroni and Cauliflower cheese
Fish and chips (home made or from take away)

Puddings:
Cheesecake
Fruit and custard
Trifle
Apple pie and custard
Jelly and ice cream
Slice of cake if we have any made/bought
Yoghurt and fruit/fruit coulis

We do most of the above and also for variety:

Chicken liver pasta - chicken livers, onions and red peppers cooked in butter with parsley and little bit of white wine vinegar stirred into pasta

Prawn and pea risotto (with mint and parsley in summer if any fresh - from an ancient Jamie Oliver recipe)

My absolute favourite is DH's sausage lasagne

Puddings usually fruit and yoghurt based eg sort of lemony Eton mess with Greek yoghurt, lemon curd and bought meringues (with lemon rind if any spare and feeling fancy).

We all still love the 70s classic of brown sugar sprinkled on Greek yoghurt and left in the fridge under cling film (although I think my mum would put extra cream in as well). Served with any fruit really - or on its own.

High voltage - can you give more instructions and quantities for the chicken liver pasta I would love to give that a go?

Munchkin - auto correct let me down and I was meant to write bbq beef mince from Nigella kitchen. I will photograph the recipe and attach later on today so you can see it.

Tried to post once before but not showing on app so here goes.

Ok so problem is it's basically me improvising so hope you like it. And this will explain why the instructions might differ from last night's.

Start pasta cooking if it'll take around 15 mins.

Gently fry one onion in big knob of butter and splash of olive oil (I sometimes add garlic too but keeping it simple for 7 mth DTs). Until translucent so 5-10 mins.

Add 1 chopped red pepper and 400g chopped chicken livers but only chopped to approximate size of pasta shape I'm adding them to eg large fusilli. Mushrooms and bacon also work.

Fry for 5-10 mins until liver browned, might be slightly pink at this stage inside which, as it's for kids I try to minimise.

Add one or two splashes of whatever tasty vinegar you have to hand (wine vinegar or good balsamic work fine) until you can see it's forming a sort of small amount of brown sticky sauce around the livers.

Add drained pasta to pan, season well (I lift out baby's portion beforehand) and add another knob of butter and a bit of cooking water as you coat the pasta.

This serves 4 (3+ two 1/2s) if served with a green side such as tenderstem broccoli.

I'm a big wholewheat pasta fan but this definitely tastes best with good white pasta or was actually good with Bob the Builder corn and rice pasta the other day too!