When you all need dinner at different times...

[CurlsandCurves]

What can I make that different family members can just heat up when they get home?

DS2 is at school, so tends to be ready for dinner around 6. DH and DS1 are currently working together. However the nature of their work means they never know what time they’ll be home, could be 5pm, could be 7-8, depends on how the day, whereabouts in the country they’ve been working, traffic, etc. Further complicated when DS1 will be working with other people (apprenticeship) so he could be home at a totally different time to DH.

So it could be that all of us are home and ready to eat at the same time, or it could be that all of us are home at different times, I never really know.

So (getting to the point finally!) I need ideas of recipes and meals I can maybe make in advance that can be heated up, or like spaghetti Bol it’d just be a case of doing the pasta. And I do have a slow cooker which will help.

Can you guys help me put together a list that I can draw from please?

I often make Honey Sesame Chicken from the SkinnyTaste blog on these evenings. It’s popular with everyone and just needs some rice and a quick vegetable like green beans with it.

Pasta tray bake
Lasagne
Pies: cottage, shepards, chicken
All slow cooker meals
Chile con carne
Cooked meat (left to chill in fridge) salad and potatoes (again cooled in frudge)
Soups /stews/broths
Jacket potatoes

Most of the above are all cooked in one container and that container can be kept in the fridge.

Pretty much anything can be heated up, I've always done that as DH never knows when he's getting in.

Anything that can be taken out in a portion and microwaved.

Curry
Chilli
Shepherds pie
Stew / casserole / tagine (cous cous is pretty instantaneous, mashed potatoes can be microwaved )
Lasagne
Sausages and fried onions, put in baguette, salad

Tagine www.motherandbaby.co.uk/family-life/food/dinner/chicken-tagine-recipe-by-mary-berry This tastes even better if it’s been left in the fridge for a while and reheated. I serve it with couscous, which is ready in the time it takes to have a shower!
Meatballs in tomato sauce
Sausage casserole - I do this one and freeze realfood.tesco.com/recipes/sausage-and-cannellini-bean-casserole.html
Spanish chicken realfood.tesco.com/recipes/spanish-chicken-stew.html

Quiche - fine eaten hot or cold
Puff pastry tart www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/leek-cheese-bacon-tart ditto
Naan pizzas - assemble them all together and put in the oven as needed realfood.tesco.com/recipes/naan-bread-pizzas.html
Fish cakes - make them all together then cook as needed.
Pesto pasta - fine eaten hot or cold

Also, if you got some small oven dishes, you could assemble meals like lasagne and cottage pie in individual portions to keep for a few hours in the fridge until they need to be cooked. I’ve got these and we eat straight from them!

Can't believe I forgot about sausage casseroles and tagines ❤️❤️❤️

I'm a big fan of Spice Pots lentil daal. I also tend to roast whatever veg is needing used in my fridge drawer and chuck it in to vary it. It freezes well too!

www.spicepots.com/blogs/recipes/lentil-daal

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Almost Everything we ever eat or cook can be reheated later.

The only exception I can think of is take-away chips (fries). They are nasty reheated. Porridge too, I suppose. Which foods can't be reheated a few hrs later and taste good enough?