What We Ate This Week: Edition 1
Five nights, a family of four and the eternal challenge of getting dinner on the table without losing my mind or resorting to ordering takeout every night. This week was a good one though. Two rotisserie chickens carried me through Monday and most of the week’s lunches, Tuesday was a flavor-packed curry and a big batch of bolognese on Wednesday gave me Thursday’s dinner basically for free.
Here’s everything we ate, how I made it work and a few tips I’ve picked up from years of feeding a family on busy weeknights.
This Week’s Dinners
Monday: Chicken Spaghetti + Freezer Taquitos
Two store-bought rotisserie chickens. That’s how Monday started and honestly, buying a rotisserie chicken (or two) might be the single most underrated weeknight hack there is. The protein is done. No seasoning, no cooking time, no waiting. Just shred and go.
I used one chicken for chicken spaghetti, which is creamy, cheesy and on the table in just under an hour (baking time included). Sauté onions and peppers with seasoning until softened, mixed in the shredded chicken with bechamel sauce and cooked spaghetti, top with cheese and bake until golden. The kids demolished it.
The second chicken became taquito filling. I mixed the shredded chicken with cheese and seasoning, rolled them up tight in small tortillas and froze the whole batch. Easy lunches sorted for the rest of the week. One purchase, two completely different meals, plus I froze the rotisserie chicken bones for stock because soup season is right around the corner.
Tuesday: Easy Weeknight Chicken Curry with Rice and Raita
My easy chicken curry is one of those recipes that tastes like it took way more effort than it actually did, especially when you serve it with a quick cucumber yoghurt raita on the side. The raita takes about 2 minutes (just cucumber, yogurt, a pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon) and it makes the whole plate feel like something from a restaurant.
For the curry itself, I used store-bought ginger, garlic and chilli to cut down on prep time, added my homemade masala spice mix along with a few other spices and let the chicken simmer in stock and tomatoes until tender. A splash of cream at the end to finish and that was dinner done. The house smelled incredible and everyone went quiet at the table, which is how you know it’s good.
Wednesday: Spaghetti Bolognese
Nothing groundbreaking here, just a proper spaghetti bolognese that guarantees empty plates. I used up three punnets of tomatoes that were looking incredibly sad in the fridge, which felt productive and responsible. I always double my bolognese because the leftovers are gold. Half went into the freezer and the rest became Thursday’s dinner, which is either smart meal planning or laziness disguised as strategy. Served with al dente spaghetti and plenty of parmesan. Simple, reliable and always a winner.
Thursday: Crispy Potato Lasagna Bowls
This one came from a comment on my previous dinner video and it might have been the highlight of the week. I air fried cubed potatoes until they were golden and crispy, topped them with the leftover bolognese from Wednesday, a generous pour of store-bought cheese sauce (no shame, it’s a Thursday however my bechamel sauce is a great option if you want home-made), and a drizzle of basil pesto. It’s like a deconstructed lasagna that ticks all the boxes but takes a fraction of the time. The crispy potatoes instead of pasta sheets is something I’ll be doing again and again.
Tips for Stress-Free Weeknight Cooking
These aren’t rules, just things I’ve figured out from years of cooking for a family on busy weeknights:
- Buy the rotisserie chicken. Seriously. No single purchase saves more time on a weeknight. One chicken gives you enough shredded meat for a pasta, a filling for wraps or taquitos, or a quick curry. Two chickens and you’ve got dinner tonight plus lunches for the week. Save the bones in a freezer bag for homemade stock when you’re ready.
- Always double your bolognese. It takes the same amount of effort to make a big pot as a small one and the leftovers freeze brilliantly or turn into a completely different meal the next night. This week it became lasagna bowls. Other weeks it’s been bolognese pies, a quick pasta bake or just spooned over toast for a lazy brunch.
- Use store-bought shortcuts without guilt. Store-bought bechamel sauce, ginger and garlic paste, rotisserie chicken, frozen vegetables. These aren’t cheating, they’re being realistic about the time and energy you have on a Wednesday evening. The goal is a good meal on the table, not a cooking competition.
- Let leftovers inspire the next meal. Some of the best weeknight dinners aren’t planned, they’re improvised from what’s already in the fridge. The lasagna bowls only happened because I had leftover bolognese and someone left a comment suggesting it. Train yourself to look at leftovers as a head start rather than a repeat.
- Prep one or two things on the weekend. Not a full meal prep session, just small things. Cook a batch of rice, shred a rotisserie chicken, make a sauce or a spice mix. Even 15 minutes of prep makes every weeknight dinner noticeably faster.
- Freeze with intention. The taquitos I made on Monday became lunches for the rest of the week. The bolognese in the freezer is a future dinner waiting to happen. Every time you cook, think about whether you can make a little extra and freeze a portion. Future you will be grateful.
Love it but how old are your kids? We are a family of 4 adults and i need to know when you say a family of 4 is it 2 adults and 2 children?
Two adults and two 17-year olds 🙂