Need dinner in a hurry? Try out one of these great recipes for quick and easy meals your kids will love. Save yourself dinner-time battles with sure-fire winners pizza, pasta and lasagne.
Chicken pizza
Serves 4
There’s no doubt about it: kids love pizza. Save yourself the hassle of dinner table arguments and treat them to pizza this weekend — you can be sure they’ll snaffle up every last morsel of this great meal. Save yourself the cost of takeaway pizzas and load these bases up with fresh veggies and chicken for a healthy alternative. Serve with a green salad.
Ingredients:
- 1 frozen pizza base, thawed
- 2 tablespoons tomato pizza sauce
- 2 tablespoons BBQ sauce
- Roast chicken, skin removed and sliced
- 1 onion, diced
- 1/2 avocado, sliced
- 1/2 cup mushrooms, sliced
- 1/2 red capsicum, diced
- 1/2 cup brie cheese, sliced
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
- Olive oil
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 220 degrees C.
- Cover the pizza base in tomato sauce, then BBQ sauce.
- Layer the base with chicken, onion, avocado, mushrooms and capsicum.
- Top with the two cheeses and drizzle with a little olive oil.
- Cook for 10–15 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and the edge of the pizza base is crispy.
Carbonara pasta
Serves 4
Pasta is always an easy dish to make and kids love a creamy Carbonara sauce. Serve with a big green salad and plenty of veggies.
Ingredients:
- 300 grams penne pasta
- 1/2 cup cream
- 4 egg yolks
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
- Olive oil
- 8 rashers of bacon, diced
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Directions:
- Fill a pot with boiling water and cook the pasta according to the instructions on the packet.
- While the pasta is on the boil, mix the cream, egg yolks and 1/4 cup of the parmesan in a large bowl.
- Heat the oil in a pan and fry the bacon until brown. Add to the cream mixture.
- When the pasta is al dente, remove from the heat and pour the drained pasta plus a few spoonfuls of the cooking water into the cream sauce. Stir together quickly so the heat cooks the egg yolks a little.
- Season with salt and pepper and serve.
Lasagne
Serves 4
Lasagne is a family favourite that can be cooked in large batches and frozen for dinners later in the week. Kids love the cheesy taste and will be begging for seconds!
Ingredients:
For the bolognese:
- Olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 500 grams minced beef
- 400 gram can of tomatoes, chopped
- 1 teaspoon oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- Salt and pepper, to taste
For the Béchamel sauce:
- 60 grams butter
- 1/3 cup plain flour, sifted
- 4 cups milk
- 75 grams parmesan cheese, grated
For the remaining lasagne:
- 250 grams pre-cooked lasagne sheets
- 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, grated
- 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, grated
Directions:
- Preheat the oven to 180 degrees C. Grease an oven-proof dish.
- Heat the oil in a pan and fry the onion and garlic on a low heat until soft. Increase the heat and add the minced beef until it changes colour.
- Add the tomatoes, oregano and nutmeg. Turn down the heat, cover and let simmer for 30 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste.
- To make the sauce, melt the butter in a pan over medium-high heat, then add the flour. Stir for two minutes, then remove and set aside.
- Whisking the sauce, gradually add the milk until smooth. Return the pan to the heat for 10 minutes, stirring constantly. When the sauce is thick, remove from the heat. Stir in the parmesan.
- Now that you have your Bolognese and your sauce ready, you can start layering up the lasagne. Line your greased dish with lasagne sheets, then add a layer of Bolognese, then a layer of Béchamel sauce. Keep layering until all ingredients are used up. Top with parmesan cheese.
- Bake the lasagne in your preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
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