Evening meal ideas for kids who have dinners at school

[nutcracker]

Dd's both have school dinners at the mo, and Ds has one at nursery on a tues and thurs.

I though am still cooking them all full meals when they come home and as I am trying to cut back on my food budget I think I need to just give them quick things instead.

For some stupid reason though, it makes me feel guilty if I don't cook them something 'proper'.

Anyhow, any ideas would be great as so far all I have is soup, cheese on toast and egg on toast.

eggybread
beans on toast
jacket potato and beans/cheese/tuna/whatever

I will try jacket pots again but last time I did them 2 out of 3 moaned.

Omelette (in various guises)
cheat's pizza (muffin, pasta sause, cheese, other bits)

If they aree getting a proper dinner at school, then whatever they would have for lunch would do.

pasta and pesto
noodles with tuna and peas
um....

Potato wegdes with beans or chilli
Chilli and nachos

Pasta, broccoli and grated cheese
Toasted sandwiches

Oh I know Colditz, but I seem to have a guilt problem over it. No clue why as when I was at school and had dinners, I then had a sandwich for tea every night and I am fine (well ish lol).

toasted sandwiches
eggy bread
hummus, carrots, cucumber, toast (toast is a bit of a theme, i admit )
have a bit of cold mash in the fridge to make into potato cakes/fishcakes (with tin of tuna)
couscous with tomatoey sauce
homemade beefburgers (can stretch out mince with onions, mushrooms, whatever grated veg they'll stomach, bind it with an egg if you like or some ketchup/worcestershire sauce) & buns
tin of rice pudding if you want to give them something warm as well as a sandwich

Toast Hawaii - thin slice of ham, ring of pineapple topped with slice of cheese melted under grill
Omelette, adding left over veg
Scrambled egg on toast
Risotto - again use up any left over veg
Jacket spuds
Pasta

pasta, tomato sauce and maybe bit of cheese.

Sandwiches and fruit.

Salad and something protein in pitta breads.

ds also likes couscous - you can add all sorts of bits

Ahhh toasted sarnies, had forgotten about those.....hmm wonder where my sandwich toaster is.

Jacket potatoes
Soup and sandwiches
Beans on toast
Picky dinner - carrot sticks, dips, cheese cubes, toast fingers, hummous etc (good way of using up bits and pieces lurking in the fridge).
Pasta and pesto
Pasta and grated cheese (my DCs love this but I think it is horrible)
Cheese and potato pie (make a load if mashed potatoes, stir in finely chopped onions and grated cheese, cover with more grated cheese and pop under the grill.
Couscous with grilled veg
Bread and pate
Cheese and crackers
Fondue (make a fondue sauce) and let them dip cubes of bread in it.

I have to admit though, mine always have a 'proper' dinner in the evening, although they ahve had school dinners. They eat school dinner at 12-12.30 and I think it is a long time to go to bedtime with just a snack.

I find it cheaper to feed them another decent meal, than give a smaller snack for tea and then end up with providing loads of other snacks all evening as they are hungry.

I normally end up doing a proper dinner because I keep some aside for myself (and dh if he's around) so it means I'm not cooking twice iyswim.

other option is leftovers from whatever you cook for yourself the night before (if you're cooking yourself a proper meal!)

Cheese and potato pie with baked beans?

Why not just make a 'proper' dinner but a smaller portion? DD has school dinners but is still starving when dinner time comes round! If you are making beef burgers, adding breadcrumbs (fresh not packet) will stretch your mince out by quite a bit too. You can also do lamb burgers, turkey burgers, meat balls - it's basically the same thing each time but with different meats (and you can freeze them too). Try tuna pasta, it's really cheap and my kids love it. It keeps well too for a couple of days in the fridge and is also nice cold as a salad, but heats up fine either on the hob or the microwave.
1 x small tin tuna in oil
4 x fresh toms (skinned, seeded and chopped)
1/2 onion chopped
1 x teaspoon tom puree
clove of garlic (if you one, not essential)
bit of pepper to taste (again, if you want - not essential)
pasta

Put the pasta on to boil. Put the toms in a bowl of boiling water for a minute or 2 so you can slip the skins off (scoring them first with a knife makes it a bit easier)
Fry the onion and garlic in some of the oil from the tuna until soft, add tom puree and cook for 1 minute, add the chopped toms and cook for a few mins, add the tuna and heat through. If a little dry add a bit more tuna oil. Add a bit of pepper if you fancy. Stir through the cooked pasta and serve.
It's so quick and easy to make and is really tasty ( I had it tonight!!!!)

Just thought of something my mum used to do for me. Toasted sandwiches with cheese and beans in. I loved them so much! As a treat (not much of one, but i thought it was!) we'd have a tin of baked beans with sausages and then cheese as well. I think I'm going to have to go out and buy a toasty maker, I'd forgotten about them til now. (It has to be the sort that seals the sides, not a panini type!)

We had those too gingermonkey, delicious

Thanks for all the ideas, have made a list and will try some of them out next week.

Mine have lunches and I usually do a proper dinner to - mainly to make sure they fit in 3 veg/fruit portions which I find much harder with the sandwich option. They are always starving and will always eat it.

I do a fried egg sandwich in my toastie maker. Just crack in a raw egg onto the bread, and hey presto! A lovely fried egg sandwich. Bit messy though.