really easy meals for summer weekdays

[mummypig]

I'm looking for easy but filling meals, especially for the days when my boys have classes after school and I am out of the house for too long to do much cooking. Casseroles were great in the winter as I could leave them in the oven while out but not very appropriate now the weather is warmer. I want something I can stick in the buggy when I go to collect them from school and then whip out when they've done their classes and are grumbling about being hungry when we're still half an hour's bus ride away from home.

Our standard picnic fare is mini scotch eggs or meatballs, tortillas with simple fillings like ham or cheese, plus carrot, cucumber or sweet pepper sticks, fruit juices and then easy fruit like grapes or apples. The boys probably won't get fed up if I make these twice a week every week until the end of September, but I will.

So what cold meals do you prepare for balmy spring/summer days?

Thanking you in advance.

Couscous based salads. We have these about three times a week

Just cook the couscous (well, not really cook but you know what I mean)

add any of the following:
cherry tomatoes
olives
tuna
cooked carrots or raw grated carrots
cooked chicken
chunks of cheese or grated cheese
cucumber
peppers
raisins (but not with tuna)
other raw or cooked veg
chickpeas

and if you want, a salad dressing

omelettes and toast are also quick and easy. or fried eggs, beans and toast

stuff I like doing:

jacket spuds with salad/cheese/tuna/whatever I've got

giant mixed salad with couscous/quinoa and pesto

big tray of roasted veggies with pittas/homous

salmon with new potatoes and broccoli

fajitas

snacky picnic spread - cubes of cheese, salady bits, sticks of veg/homous to dip, bits of fish/chicken, etc

wraps with lots of salad, cheese, ham, chicken, beans etc to fill them with. Your DC can make their own if you just put all the toppings on the table.

Also with jacket potatoes, you can make them in advance then just heat them up while preparing fillings quickly, salad stuff, cottage cheese, tuna, egg mayonaise, beans etc all easy to prepare.

we wrap spuds in foil and chuck them in our firepit with a load of wood etc, sit around drinking until they're cooked and then stuff them with a mix of cheese, basil and spring onions [slaver]

Do you mean to eat on the way home? Or to be ready when you get in?

If the latter then

Gazpacho with lots of chunky veg in it. Serve with tortilla chips.

Huge chicken caesar salad with homemde breadcrumbs (just leave the dressing until you get in)

spanakopitta served with greek yoghurt and a salad.

Mango and chicken skewers serves with flat bread and salad.

that quick cook pasta is also great for last minute suppers, toss it with pesto when cooked, or raw ingreidients like olives, cherry tomatoes, tuna, beans, grated cheese, baby spinach

or a jar of tomato sauce and grated cheese

I always have spag bol in the freezer too, ready for last minute suppers

homemade breadcrumbs, eh? I meant Croutons.

We have pizza every wednesday eve as it's a rush to eat before beavers. I've made the dough already, have tomato sauce in ice cube trays in freezer, will get a few out to defrost before picking DS up from school, then will quickly roll out and assemble twenty minutes before he needs to eat and bake for ten minutes in a really hot oven. Really easy and simple.

Thanks everyone. I didn't expect so many responses so quickly.

I did mean to eat on the way home. But having read your responses I'm happy to use the aforementioned veggie sticks to keep them going until we get back, as long as the meal at home doesn't take too long.

Interesting that many of your ideas are things we've had in the past, but I just got out of the habit of making them. That's most of my meal planning done for the next few weeks then.