Is being a grown up just preparing endless dinners nobody eats? Because sometimes it sure feels like it. Ditch the dinner time blues with these quick and easy family dinner ideas that our community members swear by!
We asked our community’s mums and dads to share their family’s favourite dinners and this is the ones we loved the most. Easy as one, two… dinners on the table! We promise these easy family dinner ideas are quick, delicious and sure to satisfy every member of the crew from big to small. Let’s cook!
You’ll find below quick and easy family dinner ideas we love:
Apricot chicken recipe
Pizza pin wheels recipe
Beef silverside recipe
Pea’n’ham soup recipe
Quick & easy stroganoff (beef / chicken) recipe
Curried lamb chops recipe
Meatball casserole recipe
Lamb shanks recipe
Good old pumpkin soup recipe
Staceys famous beef stew recipe
Easy Family Slow Cooker Apricot Chicken
Ingredients: Whatever cut of chicken you like (breasts, drumsticks, thighs, assorted pieces). Tin of apricot nectar Packet of French onion soup Onion (diced) Optional: dried apricots
Method: Pat dry chicken and place in a slow cooker, mix together a tin of apricot nectar, a packet of French onion soup and a diced onion, pour over the chicken and cook on low for four hours. You can add chopped up dried apricots for greater flavour. I serve with rice and greens 🙂
Easy Pinwheel Pizzas
A good recipe for children to help with. Once the ingredients are chopped, children can help put them on the pastry and roll it up. Great for morning tea or a quick easy dinner.
Ingredients: 1 sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed Grated tasty cheese Topping of your choice eg ham, capsicum, tomato, mushrooms, avocado, olives, pineapple Optional: Pizza sauce
Method:
Finely dice all toppings. If using, spread pizza sauce on pastry. Sprinkle toppings over pastry, leaving a 5cm row empty at one end. Sprinkle the cheese on top. Start rolling from the end with toppings. Slice into 2cm slices and place on a lined baking tray. Bake at 200oC for 8-10min, until golden.
Variations:
Vegemite and cheese. Spread vegemite on pastry and sprinkle with cheese, proceed as above.
Fruit. Use seasonal fruit eg strawberries or bananas. Cut up finely and place on pastry. Optional: sprinkle with a small amount of brown sugar.
Jam: Use any flavour jam to spread on pastry, proceed as above.
This easy family dinner is perfect for hot summer nights and freezes well for lunchboxes or snacks.
Easy Beef Silverside
Ingredients: Beef silverside 2 small onions diced 1 medium carrot chopped 3 bay leaves 2L beef stock 1/4 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup of brown malt vinegar
Method: Place all ingredients in slow cooker with extra water to cover silverside if needed… cook on low for 6-8 hours and it comes out so tender you could eat it with a spoon. If you’d like to do this recipe in the slow cooker you can see a version here.
Family Pea & Ham Soup
Ingredients: 1kg ham hock or bacon bones 1 packet green split peas 1 onion chopped 1-2 carrots chopped Pepper to taste
Method: Throw it all in and cover with water first thing in the morn. Cook on high for lunch or low for dinner! Remove bones before serving. Add some crisped bacon and croutons to get the kids more excited and for a little crunch.
Quick & Easy Stroganoff (can be made with beef or chicken)
Ingredients: Whatever chicken cut you like, thighs are great for flavour, or cheap beef cut such as chuck or blade steak. Tin condensed mushroom soup Small tub sour cream Mushrooms optional
Method: Throw all into the slow cooker and cook on low for 4-6 hrs. Yum! Used to do when my girls had morning sleep. Serve with rice of pasta.
Slow Cooker Curried Lamb Chops
I made this last night and it was a hit! If you like curry I’d definitely add more curry powder but this way the kids can eat it.
Ingredients: 750g lamb leg chops (I used forequarter) 2 onions 1 tablespoon curry powder 1 chicken stock cube Salt and pepper to taste 470g can of mushroom soup 1 cup of water
Method: Throw in everything except chops stir, then put in the chops cover and cook on low 8hrs high 4hrs. Remove bones and mix broth and meat through rice.
Easy Family Dinner Meatball Casserole
Ingredients: Meatballs: Lean mince Garlic Breadcrumbs Mozzarella Casserole: Carrot Onion Celery 1 can of crushed tomatoes Garlic Stock
Method: Make meatballs with lean mince, garlic, bread crumbs, squish a small cube of mozzarella into each ball and re-roll to tidy up. Dice carrot onion and celery add to slow cooker with a can of crushed tomatoes, garlic and a splash of stock. Sit meatballs on top of veg in the slow cooker and turn on low…yum!!!
Slow Cooker Lamb Shanks
Ingredients As many shanks as adults, (depends how much kids eat but my 3 share a shank) 2 brown onions unpeeled, roughly chopped Bulb garlic unpeeled, roughly chopped 1 1/2 cup chicken stock 1 1/2 cup water 2 stalks fresh rosemary 10g butter 2 tsp plain flour
Method: Combine all – cover tightly. Cook 6 hrs at 160, 140 fan-forced, turning meat after 3. Sieve out onion garlic and rosemary at the end and combine leftover juice with gravox to thicken. Serve with mash & green vegetables.
Method: Add a good sized pumpkin -chopped + a sweet potato – peeled/chopped & 1lt chicken or veg stock into slow cooker on low for 4-6 hours. Once cooked & tender – purée & return to slow cooker. Add some nutmeg & pepper. Stir some cream through just before serving.
Staceys Famous Beef Stew
Ingredients: Silverbeats Onion Mushroom Beef Strips Paprika Tomato Paste 1 Can of tomatoes 1 Can of water Fresh vegetables of choice
Method: Cut up silver beats, onion, mushrooms and beef strips put them in the pot brown the lot off. Add a decent sprinkle of paprika some tomato paste cook it off while I open a can of tomatoes put that in and a can of water simmer for a few hours and about half-hour before serving cut whatever fresh vegetables I have on hand through it! Serve with mash and I always have a very happy husband and kids.
Need more easy family dinner ideas? More fantastic dinner recipes can be found here.
