Family recipes that still work if warmed up 2 hours later?

[minipie]

We have two DC age 5 and 7. We’re in a sort of in between stage where we can’t quite all have dinner together due to DH’s working hours and the fact the DC feel hungry much earlier than we do.

However I’m a bit sick of cooking two meals one at 6pm and one at 8pm.

Ideas please for meals that will taste good for 6pm but just as good warmed up at 8pm? Or with just a little extra cooking at the 8pm stage (eg just cook fresh rice but rest is already done)?

I can think of casseroles and gratins but really looking for ideas for warmer weather.

Thanks!

Lamb tagine (Eat well for less).

Thanks - just have to get my head round slow cooked recipes in summer! In my head they are for winter but maybe that’s too restrictive.

Nicoise salad.
Fritatta and potato salad.
Roast chicken - eat cold later -, coleslaw and rice salad.

We eat a lot of salad.

Burritos. Make a veggie chilli that you can reheat and then its only a couple of minutes to build each one when needed.

Bolognese
Lasagne
Stew
Casserole
Curry
Shepherds pie
Pasta bake

Thanks keep them coming! Frittata and burritos are good ones. I could do fajitas too and add spice to the mix later.

Same for curry - the girls will only eat very mild ones but guess I could ramp up the spice later.

Is pasta bake/lasagne ok warmed later, I’ve always assumed it would get overcooked?

Spanish chicken www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/easy_spanish_chicken_09987
Vegetable and bean crumble www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/veggie_crumble_28446
Stroganoff www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/beef-stroganoff
Goulash
Sausage and bean stew realfood.tesco.com/recipes/sausage-and-bean-stew.html

Oh thanks - I especially like the veggie crumble idea as could use up any “needs eating” veg!

I used to do things like lasagne, pasta bake and shepherds pie, but I made two smaller ones rather than one large one - then dh’s and my dinner just needed putting in the oven.

Bologna seems is a good one too - the sauce reheats easily, and you can either cook two seepage lots of pasta or cook one big one, save the pasta for you and dh (I’d cool it in cold water, and mix through a little bit of olive oil to stop it sticking), and just reheat it either in the Bologna’s sauce or in boiling water.

I’ve thought of another - baked potato skins. Bake the potatoes, halve then, scoop out the flesh and mash with butter, then add cheese and crispy bacon and spoon back into the skins. They need 15 minutes or so in the oven (you could cook them separately for the dc and for you and dh), and are lovely with salad.

Curry or chilli with rice - you can do the same as the Bologna’s - cook all the rice you need, chill the rice for you and dh, then reheat (really well) in boiling water whilst you reheat the curry/chilli - and add more spice.

I freeze pasta in various sauces and microwave from frozen so I honestly wouldn't worry about warming up a pre-cooked pasta meal a couple of hours later.

So that's any pasta in almost any sauce (carbonara probably wouldn't work)
Stew
Chillie
Baked potatoes can sit in the oven on very low for a couple of hours
Soup
Baked things like shepherd's pie - or make two smaller portions as a pp suggested.
Pies - make the filling and instead of topping with pastry, cook the pastry separately on a baking tray in slices - you probably couldn't micro that and the pastry would burn if you reheated it.
And of course the quick and easy teas like beans on toast and omelettes don't really feel like you're cooking twice.

Anything. Almost anything.

I feed people tea between 4.30pm and 8pm on a rota basis.

Admittedly I have an Aga so things sit in the warming oven but an oven on low would do the same trick. As long as it's covers it'll be fine. I find by 10pm it's gone past it's best though.

Those boxes of fresh tortellini and jars of pesto are good for this.
Stews
Spag bol
Macaroni cheese / pasta bake/lasagna

I used to do things like lasagne, pasta bake and shepherds pie, but I made two smaller ones rather than one large one - then dh’s and my dinner just needed putting in the oven.

Of course! why have I not thought of this? 🤦‍♀️

As well as pasta bakes and potato bakes this also opens up all the puff pastry or mash topped pies which I had worried wouldn’t reheat well. Just make two smaller ones! (I may need some new small baking dishes as all mine are “family sized”)

Thank you, I feel an idiot for not thinking of this myself but it’s definitely a game changer.

Baked potato ideas also sound fab.

If you do any sauce/curry/chilli-type thing you can reheat and just cook the pasta/rice/couscous when needed.

I also think baked things as mentioned above, in the right sized dish for the number of people.

Also cold meals like plough and or picnic salads.

Homemade pizza, quiche, pasties can be eaten hot or left to go cold.

Plough and should read 'ploughmans'

@minipie

Thanks keep them coming! Frittata and burritos are good ones. I could do fajitas too and add spice to the mix later.

Same for curry - the girls will only eat very mild ones but guess I could ramp up the spice later.

Is pasta bake/lasagne ok warmed later, I’ve always assumed it would get overcooked?

Anything with spices will taste better later so I'd add them at the off and reheat.

I'd pretty much say most meals can be reheated in the microwave. However I'm not a huge fan of microwaves so would opt for sauce wet meals to reheat.