Are you looking for quick and easy meals to feed your family?  We all lead very busy lives. All too often the temptation is there to want to pick up a ready meal or a takeaway.  

Having to prepare something fresh and delicious for our families every day can also sometimes seem a bit of a chore. Maybe you find yourself in a bit of a mealtime rut, cooking the same things day in and day out.

Today I am sharing some weeknight dinners that are not only delicious, but quick and easy to make as well. They are also very family friendly and budget friendly.

Some tasty ideas and recipes that are sure to add a bit excitement and interest to your family dinner table, because, lets face it, we all can use a bit of help every now and then!

CHICKEN

Like as not, I often turn to chicken for my choice of protein.  Its much healthier than red meats and is so adaptable to a wide variety of recipes and flavors. Here are some of my favorites.

SIMPLE LEMON & HERB CHICKEN - Chicken thighs flavored with lemon and herbs, baked on a baking sheet with potato wedges and asparagus.  It doesn't get much easier or tastier, and if you line the baking sheet with aluminum foil, clean-up is minimal!  A salad on the side goes wonderfully. The recipe is for two, but can easily be doubled or tripled.

LEMONY CHICKEN AND RICE -This is a smaller batch slow cooker recipe for two, but can easily be doubled to feed more and cooked in a larger crockpot. Tender lemony chicken with lemon, oregano, feta cheese, spinach and cream. What's not to like?  The fact that there is only one pot to clean up afterwards is also a huge bonus!

GROUND BEEF

PORK 

FISH

OTHER OPTIONS

Here I am with another Sunday round up of my Meals of the Week.  On Sundays I like to share with you, my readers, all the things that I have cooked and enjoyed eating over the previous week.  It helps me to recap the things I have eaten and then to plan my meals for the week to come.

As a person who lives on their own I am determined that I am not going to be someone who eats totally out of cans, jars and boxes.  Frozen dinners are not for me!  Not unless they are meals that I have prepared and frozen myself.

I am very much a person who enjoys cooking and I also enjoy eating good food.  I don't know about you, but a steady diet of ready meals and food from cans is very boring. I want fresh and deliciously cooked food, which means I have to cook it myself!  If I don't like what's on the menu I have only me to blame!

I do usually have Sunday dinner with family and every Wednesday night I eat out with my father and his friend.  Sometimes my sister will join us.  On those days I have endeavored to include a tasty recipe that you can make at home which is close to what I have eaten whilst out and about.

My sister was over here the other day, helping me to organize my cupboards.  She is really good at that sort of thing. We determined that I have no need to buy any canned, boxed or jarred goods for quite some time. Nothing too exciting.  Just a few different vegetables, plenty of soups, baked beans etc.  I need to be using those up before I buy more.

Funny story. My mother used to pick up a few tins of salmon every time she went to Walmart. When she passed away the store shelf she had downstairs was filled with tins of salmon, many of which were out of date and needed to be disposed of.   

I have realized over the past week that Sugar-Free Jell-O is my tinned salmon. I think I have about 20 boxes of it that I need to be using.  I love fruit jello and every time I see it, I end up buying a box or two.  I don't have a favorite flavor. I love them all!!  I need to be using these. What is the point in having them if you are not going to eat them!

SUNDAY June 4th - Air Fryer Roast Chicken

I had Sunday dinner with my sister, brother in law and father.  My sister had prepared a Roast Chicken in the air fryer along with an assortment of roasted vegetables.  This was delicious.  If you have a small enough chicken, they cook very well in the air fryer basket.  You can find the link to my recipe for how roast a whole chicken in the air fryer above.  

Also if you are wanting a tasty gravy to serve with your meal, I have a brilliant and easy to make recipe here for Perfect Gravy from Scratch.  It always turns out beautiful.

For dessert we had some chocolate cake with frosting. Again, very yummy.  Especially with some squirty cream on top!

 

I had some ham leftover from making the ham and corn chowder the other day and decided to use some of it to make this delicious Hawaiian Pizza Recipe.  It was part of a leftover ham recipe roundup on Pioneer Woman.

I thought it would be the perfect recipe to use up the small amount of leftover ham that I had in the refrigerator. Tangy BBQ sauce, topped with plenty of cheese, ham, pineapple and red onions. You can't go wrong!

 

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BBQ HAWAIIAN PIZZA

Just a few simple ingredients.  Easy peasy, lemon squeazy.

• 1 can of pizza dough (I used Pillsbury's)
• 6 TBS of BBQ sauce (Use your favorite kind)
• 1 cup (130g) grated Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup (60g) grated Cheddar Cheese
• 1 cup diced ham
• 1 cup diced pineapple
• 1/4 medium sized red onion, peeled and sliced thin
• chopped flat leaf parsley to finish (optional)

You could actually use any kind of pizza dough.  What you will need is enough to make one single crust pizza.  I suppose you could also use a ready made Boboli crust, or even a couple of large naan breads.

 

Like I said I used the Bull's Eye sauce. If you wanted to you could make your own BBQ sauce.  It is not all that difficult to do.

To make a simple BBQ sauce you will need:

3/4 cup (150g) soft light brown sugar

3/4 cup (180g) tomato ketchup

1/4 cup (60ml) apple cider vinegar

1/2 TBS Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp dry mustard powder

1 tsp ground paprika

1 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp fine sea salt

1/4 tsp ground black pepper

Mix all of the  ingredients in a small sauce pan. Bring to the boil and then simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Allow to cool before using. Store any leftovers in the refrigerator.

 

The original recipe called for all mozzarella cheese. I chose to add some cheddar. I love the additional flavor that cheddar adds to things like pizza.

I used a medium cheddar.  Not to strong so as not to overpower the flavor of the mozzarella. 

If you wanted to you could add some chopped peppers or even chopped green or black olives.

Fresh pineapple is really nice on this, but tinned pineapple chunks also work very well. Just make sure to drain them really well first.

 

HOW TO MAKE BBQ HAWAIIAN PIZZA

This can be as simple  or as complicated as you wish, depending on the ingredients you choose to use.

Preheat the oven to 425*F/220*C/ gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with some baking parchment.

Open the can of pizza dough and unroll it onto the parchment lined baking tray, spreading it out to a rectangle that is roughly 10 by 15 inches in size.

Spoon the BBQ sauce over the crust. Spread it out thinly with the back of a spoon, leaving a 1/2 inch edge all the way around the crust.

Sprinkle both cheeses evenly over the crust and then top with the chopped ham, pineapple and sliced onion.

Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese has melted nicely and the crust is golden brown. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve.

 

 

This BBQ Hawaiian Pizza made for a really delicious light supper.  I made a tossed salad to serve on the side. 

You can store any leftovers, covered tightly, in the refrigerator, for up to 3 days. To reheat, place onto a microwave safe plate and cook for a minute on high, using 30 second intervals.  Make sure it is heated through before eating.

Enjoy!  This is fabulously tasty!

Got lots of leftover cooked ham?  Here are a few other delicious ideas about how to use it up:

DEVILED HAM SPREAD - This is rich, tangy, a touch sweet with a bit of heat. In short, delicious. Ready to spread on crackers or crisp breads or to fill a sandwich. This is perfect.  I love this and could eat it with a spoon. 

SLOW COOKER HAM & POTATO CHOWDER - This is a hearty soup with beautiful flavors. You get the creaminess from the cream.  Saltiness from the ham. Herbiness from the use of thyme and rosemary, and then lets not forget the garlic and the onion.  Both are not only flavorful but very aromatic as well.

Yield: 4

Author: Marie Rayner

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BBQ Hawaiian Pizza

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min

This BBQ Hawaiian Pizza is a great way to use up leftover ham. Its quick, easy and delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 can of pizza dough (I used Pillsbury's)
• 6 TBS of BBQ sauce (Use your favorite kind)
• 1 cup (130g) grated Mozzarella cheese
• 1/2 cup (60g) grated Cheddar Cheese
• 1 cup diced ham
• 1 cup diced pineapple
• 1/4 medium sized red onion, peeled and sliced thin
• chopped flat leaf parsley to finish (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425*F/220*C/ gas mark 7. Line a baking tray with some baking parchment.
2. Open the can of pizza dough and unroll it onto the parchment lined baking tray, spreading it out to a rectangle that is roughly 10 by 15 inches in size.
3. Spoon the BBQ sauce over the crust. Spread it out thinly with the back of a spoon, leaving a 1/2 inch edge all the way around the crust.
4. Sprinkle both cheeses evenly over the crust and then top with the chopped ham, pineapple and sliced onion.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes until the cheese has melted nicely and the crust is golden brown. Sprinkle with the chopped parsley and serve.

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