Quick and easy family meals for holiday

[Bridget4]

Any recommendations for quick and easy family meals for self catering holiday including the first night? Need to work for 3yo and baby. We won't have much room to take stuff with us and we're stopping off on the way to see friends so can't really take pre-prepared meals from home.

Have you got an oven? And how much cooking do you want to do? These are all quick prep and easy to clear up:
Couscous with roasted chicken pieces and salad
Pasta with jar sauce & cheese (perfect for first night just put the cheese in a cool bag)
Sausage mash and beans
Home made burgers

I’d be tempted to keep it simple too, cold meat, nice bread and salads.
Simply cooked fillets of fish with some fresh herbs and lemon, new potatoes and veg. Fresh pasta, simple sauce or buy one good cheese, garlic bread.
Fritata, buy a nice pizza or shop bought falafel in pitas with humous etc.
Actually just find a nice deli and let them do the work for you!

Vacuum pack pizza bases with a jar of pizza sauce and various toppings.

Pasta with pesto

Soup and bread and cheese or cold meat

Scotch eggs and salad

Sausage rolls with oven chips

Selection of samosas, pakora, salad and rice

Most supermarkets sell the Ainsley Harriett packets of flavoured dried couscous which just take 10-15 mins to prepare in boiling water. The sundried tomato one is lovely with some chopped up red pepper and crumbled feta cheese.
A packet of Dolmio tomato sauce, a tin of tuna and a tin of sweetcorn make a simple speedy pasta dish.
Microwave rice with a tin of mixed chilli beans.

DH always makes a tuna pasta tomato dish on holiday for the kids, always goes down well.

dried pasta and a pasta sauce!

Spaghetti carbonara, quesadillas, salmon en papillote.

You can do a pre prepared meal - just freeze. Then take it in a cool bag. It will defrost on the journey and be ready to bake or microwave by the time you get there.

Carbonara with mushroom and spinach, or with a corn on the cob "starter". Lloyd Grossman pasta sauce or pesto. Bought quiche with couscous as above (or bread) and salad. Melted whole camembert with peppers and half baked baguette. Those ready cooked hot smoked salmon portions in sweet chilli sauce if you're ordering a delivery when you're there. Chorizo is a pasta/pizza topping that travels well.

Canned sweetcorn, fresh broccoli and fresh tomatoes are our staple veg when camping.

YY to the defrosting meal for the first night, but don't do anything with big lumps such as meatballs, in case it doesn't fully defrost.

Thanks, some good suggestions. Unfortunately taking frozen stuff won't work as it will be a few days before we arrive as we're stopping off with friends en route. My only concern about some easy cook stuff is that it will be too salty or too difficult to eat for the baby but perhaps I can take some Ella' s pouches or something for him for those meals. This has been really helpful though, thank you!

Ah yes I'd missed the baby. When ours were that little we tended to buy those packs of fresh mixed chopped veg - carrot broccoli cauli usually - and some plain chicken thighs. You can get a spice jar of eg cajun mix if you're eating the same and want it more interesting, or treat yourselves to a dine in for £10 meal after they are in bed.