Easy supper ideas for 8 small children and three adults

[KristinaM]

Any suggestions? Preferably things I can make in advance ( not a good last minute person with 8 small children screaming in kitchen). And also would prefer oven cooked rather than stove top as we have an Aga

I should add that last time they visited the mums all assured me that their kids didn't eat " kids" food and woudl have what the adults were having. they didn't of course, so I had load left over and i felt bad that their children were hungry

lasagne
sheperds pie
fish pie

roast chicken (do 2)
jacket potatoes

enid - do you think small children will eat jacket pots? Mine will only eat them if i take off the skins and mash them so it looks like...well.....mashed potatoe

lovely bangers and mash and gravy with roasted root veg.
Mustard and onion gravy for adults.

what abour pasta bolognaise, I know its not oven made but its easy, just use spiral pasta shapes, cook them whilst you fry some mince in a wok - we dont add anything cos ds doesnt like "bits", add the sauce to the mince and then add the pasta to the mince and stir, dish up for everyone - its done is half an hour, you can even serve with some ready made shop bought flat bread or garlic bread!

I just made nigella's macaroni cheese and it was yummy. Good for children and adults.

Could do salad to go with - perhaps with some bacon in it?

tuna pasta:

one pan of pasta
couple cans of tuna stirred in
bunch of chopped spring onions stirred in
couple packets cheddar cheese sauce

stick some grated cheddar on top

bung under grill/in oven til cheese browns

always a winner...

kids are aged 2,2,2,4,6,7,8 and 8

and no they are not all mine

ok if you are worried that they may not eat jacket potatoes then I see your problem

Would cooking 3 or 4 different large pizzas be too last minute? Serve with breadsticks & a couple of salads, possibly a mozzarella & tomato or loose leaf & drizzled for grown-ups and a bite-size chunky salad for any fussy toddlers to pick at.

Otherwise I second lasagne and again, serve with above for the 2yo's.

no duchess, I'm fine at making stuff in advance, just cant cope with a lot of faffing at teh last minute while making polite conversation with mums and screaming at looking after my three hooligans

my kids take major advantage of having small guest to blame for things they are not allowed to do . last time they mixed up shampoo and talc potion and spread it over bathroom floor while i was tossing salads

I had 5 adults and 5 kids for supper last week and I did a chicken canneloni in advance. You use cooked chicken, so it's relatively easy- just a white sauce, some sweetcorn and some cheese really. But stuffing the tubes is a PITA, admittedly!

reading this i realise that my proble is not so much food related as lack of general discipline and parenting skills

i SO want to be cool relaxed hostess person wizzing up healthy meals in 2 minutes while sipping a glass of wine. like nigella without teh simpering

what about a stew/casserole and then just blend it down a little for the young children, with lots of fresh uncut bread and butter?

Last weekend I did a meal for 5 adults and four children. I did a very mild chilli (put extra chillis on the table for the grown-ups). We had a salad, tortillas (warm in microwave/oven) sour cream, grated cheese and guacamole. The children loved making their own tortillas and the adults got to eat almost in peace!