Giant tray bake -
This time of year I’d go for little new potatoes, rough chopped root veg, cherry tomatoes, and chicken thighs. Glug of oil, good sprinkle of salt and some rosemary, shake it all together in a big roasting tin or two and shove it in a hot oven until done. 40 minutes if big pieces less if smaller. Gravy.
More expensive but yummy. Big side of salmon or salmon fillets. Upside down in a roasting pan, bit of salt and olive oil on the skin. Big handfuls of asparagus alongside, in the oven 25-30 minutes (longer if the side is uncut) and serve with rice and Hollandaise sauce.
Readymade pizza dough, roll out to cover 2 rectangular tins. Good one for the children’s tea too - just put a massive pile of different toppings out. Children can shape their own dough then pick their own toppings. For the adults you can do 2-3 big rectangular pizzas - I like to do one with garlic oil, Boursin, courgette strings and mozzarella, one with tomato sauce, mozzarella, ham and artichoke hearts and one with bbq sauce, sweet corn, precooked chicken, red onions. But pick your own favourites obviously. And add a giant bowl of mixed salad.
Fish pie sounds faffy but doesn’t need to be - big pile of fish pie mix and a bag of frozen prawns. Add peas and hard boiled eggs if it needs stretching. White sauce, cheese sauce or parsley sauce just as you wish. And top with a pack or two of frozen mashed potato. Bake.
Sausages good for all ages and if it’s cold turn them into toad in the hole.
Baked potato bar again pleases pickier eaters - tuna, ham, beans, cheese, coleslaw, chilli, whatever, just dig in.
If every family brings a cake and a carton of ice cream, add local fruit and you’ve got mix and match puddings sorted out.
Bacon and egg baguettes work nicely as a production line quick meal rather than a sitting down together one.
Burgers are good too. Can be bbq if weather good and you have the inclination or just ovened and slapped into nice rolls with fried onions and salad and wedges/chips/potato salad depending on the weather.