What meals do you cook for those nights where everyone need to dip in at different times?

[Daffodilly]

Monday is one such evening in our household. I need to feed the little two 5pm ish, then DD goes out and will want something later when she comes home, I grab a plate between bedtime duties and DH gets in last and has what's left.

I'm thinking of a magical one-pot dish that contains all the veg too and can happily simmer for hours...

Tell me your suggestions please.

Chicken or beef stew, with dumplings if you need a treat. With crusty bread.

Chilli served with jacket potatoes

Pies reheat well, together with coleslaw and a mixed salad

Big pan of curry and dhal plus salad

Thursday is half meal day for us- half a meal between school and after school activity and the other half on returning from said activity exhausted and ready for bed. Many variants on soup have ensued. A large pot, easy to warm up, usually one to three veg portions per serving. The most popular is minestrone, or tomato, and a white bean soup is always favoured. Lentil soups, potato and leek, broccoli soup (with a poached egg in -sounds weird but it's really nice) celeriac and bacon, parsnip and ginger, chicken - soup is good, ESP with a bread roll. Stews too- corned beef stew, Irish beef stew, lamb cawl , pumpkin stew, mushroom stew, a cabvage and bean stew, etc.- all have good nutritional value, veg etc.and are filling delicious meals.
we also use cheats on these days- beans on toast, scrambled egg on toast etc. but that doesn't really pass on the nutrition front on a regular basis.

The dc's have school dinner, so soup and bread.
Dh can sort himsrlf out.

Thanks for the ideas. Yes soups could work as two of DCs have already had a main meal for school lunch.

Love ideas of stews at this time of year. Any good recipe links? I'm not good at making stuff up.

ThatBloodyWoman - you've just made up my mind. Tomorrow DCs and I will have left over meat from Sunday roast, not enough for DH too so he can sort himself out something for once. (Last time I left him to fend for himself he got suddenly very appreciate of me and arrange to go out for a lovely meal together one eve so I could have a proper night off cooking. Here's hoping that works again.....)

Sounds like a plan!

Pasta bake or stew for us. Pasta often has mushrooms and/or roast vegetables. Different combinations for the sauce. Sometimes just a cheese sauce, other times I mix mascarpone or cream cheese in to the mix. Sometimes just milk, egg, butter and some cheddar. Whatever is on hand at the time.