Tell Birds Eye about your midweek meal tips - £300 voucher to be won!NOW CLOSED

[AmeliaMumsnet]

How do you get tasty, nutritious food on the table when you’ve been busy all day? After all, when it gets to summer, the last thing most of us fancy is spending more time than we need to tied to the oven. So do you have some clever shortcuts or cheats? Whatever your tips for midweek family meals, Birds Eye want to know.

Here’s what Birds Eye have to say: ‘Tea time can be a stressful time of day and coming up with nutritious and tasty meals the kids will enjoy isn’t easy. But Birds Eye frozen chicken is quick and easy to prepare, and made with 100% chicken breast, barn-reared chicken, and no artificial colours, flavours, or preservatives.’

Are you a whizz at preparing ahead or batch cooking? Do you have a fast, nutritious recipe that’s too good to keep to yourself? Maybe you’re just great at making sure the whole family pulls their weight when preparing dinner? Whatever the secret to your midweek meal success, particularly if you’ve something summery in your repertoire, share it on the thread below!

Every MNer who posts on the thread with their midweek meal tips will be entered into a prize draw, where one lucky winner will be randomly selected to receive a £300 Amazon voucher.

Thanks and good luck,

MNHQ

Standard Insight T&Cs apply

[JugglingFromHereToThere]

Ooh, I might try making a lasagne with those butternut squash sheets rhino - I've seen them at the supermarket.
Do you alternate with ordinary lasagne sheets?
I always think lentils are good in a lasagne too, though maybe brown or puy ones are better than red.

[rhinosuze]

I plan it carefully, but I never make anything that takes longer than an hour during the week. Lasagne with butternut squash sheets is great and also I make carrot and lentil burgers, 5 mins to make and 15 to cook

[MontysMum22]

All I want in the summer are lighter meals, I and my husband would be quite happy with a salad every night but my daughter really doesn't like salad so we try to compromise a bit and get her to agree to a salad if she can have home made scotch eggs with it or a grilled chicken breast and some lovely crusty french bread or put a jacket potato and cheese on the side. Also we eat quite a lot of stir fries we can get quite a lot of nutritious veg in to the meal and if we add chicken, pork etc the vegetables do take on the flavour of the meat and my daughter who is very difficult about eating her vegetables will eat them that way. The real bonus is that it is a very speedy meal to get ready. Also I buy lots of fruit and make fruit salads which we all love especially in the summer.

[mummymummums]

I make a large batch of tomato pasta sauce with tinned tomatoes, dried sage, garlic, tomato purer and a very small amount of sugar.
To one lot I add some fresh basil for pasta sauce.
To another I'll add creamy (Philadelphia style) cheese or throw some grated cheese on top when served.
And I'll chicken breasts in another lot.
And it freezes well.

[HairsprayBabe]

Eggs are my midweek star! Fast, nutritious, cheap and really versatile, spanish omelet, ham egg and chips, boiled egg in noodle a soup, scrambled egg with spicy veggies... the list is endless!

[colleenw]

I find the best way to save money and time is to use frozen fruit and veg. Nobody can tell the difference, it lasts longer.

[Iamthemotherofdragons]

We usually have an omelette once most weeks. I fill them with mushrooms, tomato, ham and cheese and serve with crusty bread and maybe some baked beans.

[KnottedAnchorChief]

Lasagne. That's my secret weapon. Made with all manner of secret hidden veg, cooked in a massive batch then frozen in portions that can be microwaved during the week.

[WegmansCookies]

For us, midweek summer meals are all about salad. Fresh, quick, and healthy. I usually top with eggs or chicken (frozen is great for this!) for protein.

[Falconhoof1]

Stir fry is quick and easy and everyone loves it in my family.

[Ashton123]

I am totally useless at organizing meals . I never batch make anything ! If I have chicken ( southern style or pieces ) I can toast a tortilla bit of salad and mayo and make cheeky little sandwiches . What could be quicker easier or tastier !

[MelanieCheeks]

My mid-week super-quick-supper is a prawn biriani.

I always have frozen prawns in the freezer, and they defrost under running cold water in about 20 mins. I also keep plenty of packs of flavorued rice, and tins of veg curry. If I have more time, I make my own veg curry sauce.

Heat the rice in a shallow frying pan with some water. Add the prawns, and ensure they are pink and warm. Heat the veg curry in a separate pan. Serve the prawn rice with the veg curry in a well in the middle.

[MacarenaFerreiro]

Batch cooking and leftovers - we always have stuff in th freezer which can be used to throw together a meal in a hurry. Leftover chicken can be used with pasta to make a cheesey/chicken pasta bake, or leftover roast meat used in a special fried rice.

[Kirstyetjohn]

Birds eye fish fingers or potato waffles or anything similar is really quick and easy to make for my 2 year old. When I've had a busy day and I'm too tired to make anything from scratch, these items are great and I know my sometimes fussy eater will always eat them! Add some peas or beans and it's reasonably healthy for him too! Smiles all round!

[donnatella110]

With a full time job and 3 children (4 if you include the OH) I truly believe the key to a non stressful dinner is planning a week in advance, knowing how to use the freezer and slow cooker and always having steam fresh veg.

[EasterRobin]

We usually cook double the needed amount of everything so we can have a bonus meal another day with zero effort.

[Tonkatol]

We tend to do different things in the summer months as opposed to the winter months. Over the winter months, we make use of our slow cooker a great deal, making stews and chilli, both using lots of veg to make sure everyone has a healthy diet. These slow cooked meals also come in useful as lunches for the next day or so for those of us who have access to a microwave during the day.

During the summer months we are more likely to eat salads - my son (aged 19) doesn't feel that this is a particularly filling meal so we bulk salad out a bit with new potatoes, roasted peppers and onions and cooked mushrooms. Also we have more grilled meat and veg/salad as it can still be warm and light when my husband gets in from work and so barbecues the meat/fish.

Our go-to midweek meal has to be fajitas. Often, one of my daughters will prepare the peppers and onions and I will chop the chicken, ready for my husband to come in and cook it all. We probably cook more peppers and onions than we do chicken and so the fajitas are pretty healthy and, with the fresh salsa we usually add to the wraps, the children get a fair amount of veg with their meal.

[ridingsixwhitehorses]

My slow cooker is amazing - my kids are much more likely to let me chop and have five mins to prepare in the morning while they watch tv and eat breakfast than they are after school when hungry and ratty and having not seen me all day so I often do this using it for stews and jacket potatoes.

[clarabella12]

the success is to make sure it's bought in advance and we all know what we're eating each night in the morning.

[natalielara]

My tip is to use your leftovers for your Wednesday/Thurs meals. I'm always exhausted because my daughter has extra-curricular activities and we usually always have some left over bolognase or something in the freezer that we can reheat and have with some fresh pasta or potatoes x

[ggjacks]

plan plan plan, the only thing that works for me working full time! Meal plan, shopping list, some weekend preparation and working meals around that evenings activities. And a couple of freezer bits for emergencies, breaded chicken, wedges and peas usually!

[Beepow]

I always make double a batch size of a dinner - then pop the extra into home made "freezer dinners" so that I have a whole selection of dinners for people to choose from on those nights where everyone is at home for dinner at different times/everyone is having a "I fancy something different" day!

[CherriesInTheSnow]

In the height of summer grilled chicken and fresh salad is a lovely quick meal that's nutritious and both filling and fresh.

Also like to bulk make a few pasta sauces which can be frozen in bags and defrosted whole pasta is cooking - 15 minutes tops!

[bex552]

Always make a full weeks menu and stick to plan!

[CopperPan]

I use our slow cooker a lot for curries, pasta sauces and stews. I do most of the cooking, but I only cook about three nights a week - I always cook enough to have left overs the next day or put some into the freezer for another night.