What can we replace Jacket Potato Night with??

[FusionChefGeoff]

I love JPN but kids have started moaning! Bonus features were:

no prep, just shove in in between calls
DH with no confidence in kitchen can do it too
10 mins to finish off & serve
we could all have our own version / fave toppings
healthy
cheap
can all take and eat whenever it suits
No thought needed!
always got cheese / tuna / beans and potatoes last for ages so basically a store cupboard meal

What can I start doing on our very busy Wednesdays instead??

Omelette is obvious but the bastards don’t like them.

Sausages (we have Heck chicken ones), oven chips, beans.

Personally I’d just keep JPN but alternate with Sweet Potato Night. You can also shake up the toppings a bit to make it feel fresh.

How long does DP have on Weds nights to cook?

Ahh in a similar situation we make a double portion of bolognese and have spaghetti bolognese night one and on night two the leftover bolognese sauce has a tin of chilli beans added to it and we do microwave rice or jacket potatoes with chilli con carne and tons of cheese on top.

Other quick wins for the culinary challenged are the fresh pasta and fresh sauce deals in most supermarkets or bacon sandwiches or burgers done in the airfryer.

Or if you wanted to be really devious you could do 'loaded wedges night' which is exactly the same as JPN but you've cut the potatoes into wedges first

Mine also complained about jacket pot night. I started doing mine with a bit of bacon and they are happy with that and it is still nice and quick 😀.

Toastie night? You can basically sneak in JPN this way as you can do

Cheese and tuna

Cheese and beans

Cheese and tomato

Etc etc! Get nice bread and it'll be great

Fish finger wrap with a bit of salad is a winner for me!
Also all the toppings you mentioned for JP could be put in a wrap and then in the sandwich toaster or pan fry.
Thanks for starting the thread, loving all the ideas!

Haha I have posted exactly the same thing! 😁

If it's only once a week, I'd just go for "easy beige dinner night" with sausages/fishcakes or chicken kyiv etc served with buttered baby pots/oven chips/mash or potato waffles and peas/baked beans or broccoli etc. Quick, easy and fine once a week.

Good shout - I love an omelette and loads of options for things to add.

Super quick dinners here also include (frozen) pizza with salad, fresh pasta with a jar of sauce (fresh pasta can be frozen and also often has a couple of months before the use by), or nachos (chuck a bunch of tortilla chips in the oven covered in cheese and jalapeños till it melts, serve with pots of salsa, guacamole and sour cream.

As the evenings are getting warmer now, perhaps leave the jackets off and have a 'potatoes in their shirts' night?

Shop bought tortellini is your friend here!
It's fine on its own, but you could also throw some cut up carrots or broccoli in the water too. Drain, add a bit of butter and grated parmesan or other cheese, and Bob's yer uncle. Even quicker than jacket potatoes...

Homemade pesto (lasts ages in the fridge), then you can rustle up a tomato salad in the time it takes to cook your linguine

Fresh ravioli either with a jarred sauce or just butter and Parmesan - again you just need to make a salad or steam some veg to have with it. (Or peas if you want to go super low effort)

Fish finger sandwiches - obviously

As others have said, baked sweet potatoes

Sausages and mash

Sausage butty night......serve it with salad to health it up a bit.

Or an in pitta bread night......chicken, ham, cheese, some halloumi if you're feeling fancy etc and a bag of salad.

.

We do taco night once a week - tasty and fun to make. We make a protein like chicken, pork etc with seasonings then have piles of shredded lettuce, grated carrot, grated cheese, homemade guacamole, sour cream etc so everyone can put their own together.

Ha! Mine have also started complaining about jacket potato night. I still had my jacket potato yesterday, ds beans on toast and dd fish finger butty. Not the healthiest of meals but Wednesdays never are in this house.

Alternate With pizza and salad, snacky bits (cheese, biscuits, Houmous, cold meats, olives, grapes, etc.), something and chips.

i think I would get fed up with jackets every week.

Toasted sandwich night?

Or pizza bases plus tomato sauce and whatever toppings and grated cheese as they like.

Baguette
Cheese
Pate
Soup

Or an omelette night, pretend you're in an AI

If they're older than 9 get them cooking.

Chuck something in a slow cooker on the morning and then it’s ready when you get in? You could still have JP with it depending on what it is!

Other super quick options here … fresh lagliatelle with pesto and chicken, cacio e pepe cooked with fresh pasta so again quick to cook, pasta bake, marry me butterbeans, halloumi bake, gyros made with a rotisserie chicken or leftover chicken, salad, oven wedges made from jacket potatoes, chicken tzatziki…

Edited to say I do appreciate your pain though, Wednesday is usually JPN here too and I’d be very put out if there was a mutiny!

French stick, cheeses, meats, bag of salad, pickle. Sling on the table in all its own packaging and people can serve themselves