Vegetarian meals that can be eaten by the family at different times in the evening

[VickyBHF]

Hello,
Am looking for inspiration for vegetarian evening meals which I can cook during the school day, and can then be eaten by our DC (and ourselves) who all need to eat at different times of the evening due to after school activities, age, etc. For example our toddler needs to eat at 5pm or all hell breaks loose but our older DC aren’t even back from school by then.
I was thinking of a soup / stew that can stay warm in the slow cooker but would love any other ideas. I can’t really do any last min “prep” as I’ll be dealing with the toddler’s bedtime when the older DC need to eat.
We all eat together at the weekends, it’s just Mon-Thurs it’s tricky.
Any ideas?
Thank you

At the moment i’m making a lot of roasted veg- mushroom, courgettes, peppers, aubergine, whatever, chuck in some herbs, then stir into a simple tomato sauce, made with onion and garlic we have lots of fresh tomatoes but tinned are fine, stir cooked pasta into the sauce. keeps well as long as there’s plenty of sauce and portions can be heated up in the microwave. You can mix in puy lentils into the sauce for protein.

Thank you @gerispringer - yes a ratatouille type thing is a good idea.

Nigellas lentil chilli, without the cornbread topping is our go to and is excellent. Quorn spag bogl, pasta bake, risotto.

Chickpea curry
Veg curry
Bean chilli
Veg sausage and bean stew

In addition to the ideas here, it would also be useful to have toddler sized portions of leftovers in the freezer to give you breathing space.
I'd also do trays of roasted root veg which are very forgiving time-wise. Sweet potatoes/ parsnips/ carrots are a good base.

Oh lovely; thanks all for the ideas.

@chipshopElvis what do you do about the rice / spaghetti? Do you cook it during the afternoon and then everyone microwaves their own plate’s worth at the right time?

@BlueCowWonders yes I think you might be right.... maybe I can get toddler sorted separately then deal with older ones some nights depending on what the time table looks like.

Jacket potatoes. Cook them for 5, keep on a low heat till the others are ready or just pop the oven back on for 10 mins to warm back up.

Individual cottage pies. In the day make a big batch and just use the correct size container for the oven cooking bit for each sitting.

Or just make a quick omelette as required one night?

Definitely deal with toddler separately, or save leftovers for him/her to have next day.

Individual cottage pies are a great idea. Just need to microwave some frozen vege to have with them.

You could do a curry or dahl and, instead of rice, people just toast themselves pitta breads to eat alongside. Or use microwave rice.

Spanish omelette made in advance. Then just needs bread and salad alongside.

Jacket potatoes stuffed with cheese and onions, other vege. Warm through to get crispy when ready to eat.

I also roast a huge tray of Mediterranean veg. Pour cold water on a large batch of cous cous, mix it all up so have big bowl of this to go to in fridge. Add feta/goats cheese/fresh tomatoes to it as you serve. Lasts all week and is very tasty. Fresh herbs added in are delicious.

Veg Chili (Jamie O)

The left over rice for veg stir fry (with egg)

Any type of Veg curry

Agree tortilla/fritatta is nice.

Sometimes I do a potato salad (again, a big one) without mayo, just olive oil, salt herbs. During the week I add whatever veg (tomatoes, jarred asparagus/artichoke/cheese etc) makes a lovely meal.

I chuck in a tin of tuna or an egg for DD.

I Cook the spaghetti and mix with the sauce and reheat portions in the microwave. Rice I would cook and pop in the fridge and microwave portions as necessary, you could also serve with tortillas or bajed poratoes instead.

Quiche

Pie filling for individual pasties - then it can just be folded into the pastry and popped in the oven when needed

Veggie “cottage” pie

Chickpea tagine www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/slow_cooker_chickpea_12414
Tuscan bean stew
Hot pot www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/butternut_squash_and_46813

Toddler should maybe be handled separately - leftovers, batchcook and freeze in wee portions for them, whatever it takes to get them fed.

I often do a veg fritatta when we're eating at random times, its just as good cold so later eaters still enjoy it.

Thanks @Ricekrispie22 - tried the tagine and it went down a treat :-)

Thanks also everyone else for the suggestions

@VickyBHF

Thanks *@Ricekrispie22* - tried the tagine and it went down a treat :-)

Love it when a poster reports back!

Brava @VickyBHF