Brought to you by MAGGI.
I went to a BBQ last weekend and everyone brought a dish to the table. I did a cob dip because it’s what I always do, and a bowl of berries. One friend had brought a potato bake and it was one of the most delicious I’ve ever tried. You know everyone has their own way to make their potato bake. Some add garlic and bacon, others have secrets they just won’t share {I’ll get it out of them eventually}.
This recipe of mine, is super easy and awesome for a mid-week meal. You can totally opt out of adding in the vegetables if you like, but I love all vegetables equally and like to throw them in this dish. Swap out any vegetables you don’t like, add in the ones you do, and add a little cooked bacon if you like. I think that’s the beauty with potato bakes is that you really can’t go wrong. I use the MAGGI Three Cheese Potato Bake recipe base to add in the flavour {it’s just real herbs and spices you’d usually find in your own pantry, but all combined to make it easier and faster}. It’s a smart, fast way to make real homemade food every day, and make sure it’s full of flavour. I don’t know about you, but I have had a habit of buying lots of dried herbs and spices, and then not using them. I like that the MAGGI recipe bases are affordable and add all the flavour, without the waste or thinking of mixing and combining flavours to make it work {cos it’s easy to get wrong, and I have a few times!}.
CHEESY VEGETABLE BAKE
INGREDIENTS
3 potatoes, peeled and sliced thinly
1/4 butternut pumpkin, peeled and sliced thinly
3 small zucchinis {or 1 large}, sliced
1 1/4 cup milk
1 cup grated cheese
1 x MAGGI Three Cheese Flavoured Potato Bake recipe base
METHOD
1. Preheat your oven to 180ºC. Layer all of the vegetables into your baking dish.
2. In a small jug, mix the MAGGI recipe base with the milk, and stir to combine. Pour over the vegetables.
3. Top with cheese, and bake in the oven for 50 minutes, or until vegetables are cooked and tender.
4. Serve topped with fresh rocket, if you like. I like rocket with everything, so this is how I serve it.
And if you don’t eat it all that night, you can save it for lunch the next day or even dinner… for some reason these things taste even better the next day, don’t you think?
I want to make your life easier too, and help with some delicious, tasty and easy recipe ideas. I’ve got MAGGI Recipe Base hamper to giveaway including a $150 Woolworths voucher so you can cook up a storm in your own home. All you have to do is leave a comment below sharing your best tip for making dinnertime easier.Boring bits: Competition open to Australian residents only. One entry per person. Competition closes September 11th at 11:59pm. Winner will be judged by Fat Mum Slim.
The CHEESY VEGETABLE BAKE looks delicious.
Dinner time is such a rush. To help I prep as much as possible before hand. Knowing the menu for the week helps enormously too.
God yes! I love Potato Bake. I usually add in all the veges {broccoli, cauli, mushrooms, baby spinach, kumara, potato, even peas} and make a huge one just so that I can eat it for the next 3 days! Yum yum yum.
Definitely make a couple of batches of well loved meals and freeze them. That helps when you don’t feel like cooking, and don’t want to grab a hefty priced take away!
Definitely to make enough one night to do two nights, then you are only cooking half the time. ?
And everything always tastes better the next day, so it’s a double win. ?
my husband has allocated nights to cook (aka grab takeaway or a bbq) so I have a night or two that I don’t have to to anything
I know this sounds like a no-brainer. But do the pre-prep. Have a big container of pre-cut veges all ready to go. When the kids are screaming and you’re trying to cook dinner, just give them a raw veg to munch on whilst you’re tossing it into your dish. Works a treat and keeps them quiet, albeit for a minute or two.
I do double batch cookups and leave them in the fridge overnight to catch that amazing next day flavour and then freeze. Nothing better than that next day flavour after a long day, especially when all you need to add are fresh vegies!
I use a pressure cooker to massively speed up cooking times, especially with things like risotto that generally take an age. Perfectly cooked veggies / rice / pasta in minutes because undercooked spuds are the WORST.
I usually cut all the ingredients a day ahead of making the dish, that leaves me to just do the cooking that day and no cutting required.
Yum! That looks delicious.
My tip that keeps me sane is meal planning and prep on a weekend. The family are given options for recipes and we love to cook together and try to make it fun!
Meal plan! That way we all dont get bored of eating the same things over and over, we can see what we need or dont need. We dont over do it or always stick to it ? but we allow for cheat nights (take away)
When we go shopping, I let the kids go crazy with recipe bases… They both pick 5 each and we work those into our meal plan over the fortnight. They are more inclined to try new things because it’s “their recipe” 🙂
making double batches of meals always helps for last minute dinners. Slow cooker dinners cuts out a lot of the hard work at the busiest time of the day
Prepare, prepare, prepare (when I can with a 4 year old) or make up double of certain meals and free half, then I know I have a quick easy meal ready to go for those not so prepared times ??
My best tip is to know what you are cooking and have all of the ingredients ready. Wine also helps.
I also use maggi potato bake bases (usually 2 and i normally use a mixture of flavours). Mine is alot naughtier and a bit quicker (potato, maggi potato bake mix x 2, cream, milk) but will have to try yours one day, i have never thought of adding zucchini. dinner tip- Slowcooker is my best friend 🙂
That looks really yummy! My tip would be to meal plan each weetk. Do the easier/quick meals on nights your children have sport. I also make extra each meal so my partner takes another serving for lunch the next day at work 🙂 no excess money being spent on the ‘fat truck’ (lol this is what they call it :/ a truck that comes around with takeaway and treats).
Best tip ? Get hubby to cook ? Ok – My best tip for this time of the year – slow cooker – if mornings are crazy get it all ready the night before after peeps are in bed – chuck it all in a container ready to pop in the slow cooker the next morning – head out to work or if you’re during the day you get the bonus of the delicious aromas – fast forward to dinner time bam your done ?
Best tip: i get my 4 year old son involved! the first thing he asks when i pick him up from day care is ‘what are WE making for dinner’, he absolutely loves helping and i think this is a major reason i have never had a problem with him eating whatever is served to him! Liz Anderson SA
Yum that looks delicious! My best tip is to pre-prepare anything you can to avoid that witching hour dinner rush. If you are not home during the day you can have veggies and meat precut the night before and mewt defrosted and ready to go
I prepare uncooked meal packs in freezer
For example chop stirfry veggies and package ready to go
The meat in a separate pack
Take out in morning before work
Cook meat add prepared veggies
Some oyster, soy sauces, palm sugar, garlic and chilli squeeze of lime
Dinner in 15 minutes
I like to buy from the butcher a cut of meat that will give me a number of meals. E.g. a leg of lamb or a side of beef that can be slow cooked to have with roast vegetables. The next night slices of it can be used to make home made pizza, souvalakis or it can be used in a focaccia with spinach and cheese for lunch.
Yum! Definitely organise as much as you can while the kids are at school so you don’t have to constantly be distracted (“mmmmuuuuuummmmmm”!!) Meal planning also helps in our family so we can all get our annoyances and whinges out of the way at the start of the week!
My slow cooker is my best friend, especially in winter, soups or slow cooked meat, makes for an easy dinner!!
If you can, preprepare ingredients through the day. Do all your chopping through the day if you can, and that way hopefully when dinner rolls around you can just combine things. Things like veggie bakes, I’ll just layer up and cover and put in the fridge until dinner needs cooking. I also like to cook a double batch of meals, so then next night we can just reheat or repurpose leftovers. ?
Start prep earlier in the day before things get hectic. Get the kids to help if they are old enough. Make enough for at least a second meal (whether you cook it or not at the time) so you’ve either got tomorrow’s dinner or a spare for those stupidly crazy busy days.
Relax and enjoy the process? Preparation is key!
I like to make dinner easier by making anything I can, WELL BEFORE dinner time. Salad I’ll make while I make lunches and I’ll cut vegetable wedges early and put in the fridge – it’s those little things (getting it all out, peeling, washing, cutting, arranging) that take up just as much time as actual cooking!
My top tip is to menu plan. Having it planned out and stuck to the fridge takes the worry out of it on busy weeknights. I love the Maggi recipes bases too as they make cooking easy and tastier!
I stick to my PREPARE method.
Plan a kickass meal plan
Rearrange the fridge for conveinience (pre cut, labelled containers, snack bags)
Each Sunday is meal prep day
Previous night setting the table (we have a stool bench for breakfast)
Always freeze extras or leftovers when possible
Reheat the oven as soon as your home
Enjoy stress less dinners and more me time!
The Cheesy Vegetable Bake looks fantastic! We’ll be including this recipe in our meal prep this week 🙂 We also love Maggi noodle fritters with leftover vegetables, a little bit of chilli, parsley and some refreshing yoghurt dip. Great for lunch boxes too & kid friendly in the kitchen for the Rugrats to help too ??
I make an awesome vegie bake very easy and kids love it part boil broccoli couliflour carrot pumpkin and brussel sprouts . In a separate pan melt light cream cheese light cream and a handfull of grated cheeder add some mixed herbs once combined pour over veggies bake for 15 mins . Never any complaints here and never any left overs https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ee9f847eaf0a1b37d5b59e368c28ab791e04cb4b5ff30de1b9136e4f6e3120ac.jpg
Loving this recipe idea. Always on the look ut for great meal accompaniments.
My slow cooker is a great time saver. Need to be a little organised but if you put it on in the morning then you can forget about during your busy day and then tea/dinner is ready at the time you most need help to make the process easier. I even cook my roast in it without any need for oil or having to clean out the oven afterwards.
Oh yes! The slow cooker is my friend. Also Premaking meals and freezing them. I also plan out all my meals for the month on a glass board that hangs in my kitchen. That way if anything changes I can just rub it out but it means no food wastage and an easy shopping list every week ?
Aaaagghhh, YUM! I love cheesy…….ANYTHING! We are busy everyday and my sanity saver is the weekend cook and freeze. I love knowing that after the after school activities we are sorted. I even cook extra for my Mum and stock up her freezer too. So satisfying and so organised ? Veggie bake tonight!
My tip would be to shop for all your home dinners in advance.. Say for the week ahead
Stick to the recipe plan you have for the night so things are set to go.. Whether it’s defrosting meat etc.
I find if I haven’t pre planned then we eat take out.. Or fast easy meals that may not be the best when it comes to healthy and nutritious
My best tip…get the kids and hubby involved. The kitchen is the heart of my home it’s where we share stories while sharing food. I love it when we are all involved in some area of the meal prep… it might be chopping up vegetables, peeling, stirring the risotto or helping with the BBQ. All of this leads to time together, great food we all love and passing on skills that will help the kids when they go into the big wide world!
I always try to prepare dinner a night in advance – I often use the slow cooker, so I prep the meal the previous night, whack it in the cooker in the morning and it’s ready when we get home. Then, that night, I prep tomorrow’s dinner. It makes it so much easier, especially when something unexpected pops up and we get home later than anticipated – that way, we don’t have to go any buy takeaway!
YUM.. And so easy. x
Prepare the whole meal or have as much prepped to cook while the kids are at school, asleep, eating, watching TV. Whenever they are quiet, do what you can as there is nothing harder and more stressful than the afternoon rush with kids. Between wanting to be fed, homework, refereeing the arguments, baths and any other typical mum stuff dinner preparation is all but impossible.
I’d love to say make freezer bags ahead of time and pop in the slow cooker but I am yet to be that organised. Saved plenty of them but haven’t followed through
For me I find its important to weekly menu plan but to also be flexible as often my daughter will get called into work or be at Uni late so then i have to swap meals around so that night is a meal thats easy to reheat. Menu planning works wonderfully with making a grocery list so that you can be assured you have all the items needed to make all the meals that week. You can buy in bulk and package chicken, meats and fish in meal sized portions before freezing.
For me, the thing I used to struggle with regarding dinner time most was finding meals the whole family would eat without complaint!
To banish the dreaded (and undeserved!) moans, I decided to put the ball back in the kids courts.. they each get to choose 2 dinners for the week – we then not only have an agreed meal plan ahead of time (saving me time and brain strain!), but they actually look forward to dinner time… getting them involved always seems to increase enthusiasm 🙂
Stick to the meal plan and make sure you have all the ingredients. I have pre-cooked frozen rice in ziplock bags for easy nights, just add some meat and veg.
I always want my mealtimes to be easier! Sometimes when even the decision of what to cook is too much I go back to my mum’s method for a while….meat and (at least!)3veg! It’s absolutely foolproof and cheap with my shopping taking much less time. That potato bake will definitely get a run in my house too, all the Maggi recipe bases I’ve tried have been delicious.
I find if I get the kids involved in dinnertime prep it buys me some time, also they live to eat anything they make so it actually helps the meal time arguments disappear too!!
I make a big batch of vegan bolognaise (check David Campbell’s Facebook post for the recipe it’s amazing!!) and with that I make five different meals to last me lunch and dinner each day. spaghetti bolognaise with pasta one night and zucchini noodles the next, pasta bake, tacos with extra salsa and chilli, nachos with homemade tortilla chips made from mountain bread and plain and simple with some steamed broccoli!
Put music you love on while you are preparing food. Don’t worry if your kids and hubby don’t like it.. They soon know to leave you be once that music is on and you’re in your happy kitchen space. I find that I really love my kitchen music time.. The food taste better.. I’ve had some much needed me time. I sing and dance jiggling my lumps and humps. I also clean as I go.. While something is cooking I’ll wash what I can or load the dish washer so once we’ve finished our meal I only then have to clean the tea dishes.. Also if possible.. Make extra for lunch the next day.. My boys are 18 and 19 so I make extra for them to take to work… If I have time I also throw in a batch of cookies or a slice while the oven is going and my kitchen is a mess.. 🙂 Nothing like Mummas home cooked meals and cookies to share at work the next day 😉
Bake in bulk , freeze leftovers or share with family to help them out . My mum always brings massive batch of cookies over .
I always use that potato bake base, I love it. I use normal & sweet potato, will have to try using other veg. My best tip for easier dinner time is to pre prepare where possible. I make bolognaise sauce then throw it in the slow cooker to blip away then cook pasta at dinner time. Make rissoles or breadcrumb schnitzels during the day & refrigerate until dinner time. Anything that can be partially prepared earlier do it to save time later when everyone is tired & hungry
Hi Heidi. Thanks so much for entering. You’re the winner! Congratulations. Please email me at hello@fatmumslim.com.au and I’ll get your prize to you.
Thanks so much, how exciting. Have replied to your email
I make double and freeze our households favourite meals, it means even time consuming meals are easy the second time around. Oh, and I always clean as I go. It makes life much much easier.
Always cook with a glass of wine In hand!
Jokes ? my actual advise is to involve the kids. I have one of my kids peeling or stirring, one helping me slice or dice and the other one setting the table every night we switch.
It makes the work load on me so much lighter and it keeps the kids busy so there not trashing the house while I slave over the stove ?? Its a win win!
As dinnertime is always crazy at my place as a single mum of 4 under 5 I usually make my dinner in the morning and have it it ready to go straight in oven later on. My kids love lasagne or snag pasta bake so it’s pop in oven later in afternoon and bam dinners done.
M best tip is to cook meals that are all together in one pot. It is less washing up, the veggies are usually grated or cut small so there is no arguing and all the goodness stays in the meal. With our one pot dinners we have pasta sauce and curries mostly and all of them include at least 4 or 5 different veggies. The other thing we have found as the kids grow up and are tweens and teens now it is hard to fill them whereas packing out meals with lots of different veggies means we can get a full meal and sometimes leftovers too.
Meal prep and lists. Know what you are making, and if you can chop all your veges for the week in one go.
My tip is having 5-7 meals planned for the week and taking a shopping list with me for the food shop. It makes dinnetime less stressful when I have a few different options as to what I cook depending on how I feel and how much time I have..
Making dinner time easier… cooking early or get everyone involved whether with coking or setting the table it’s make time go faster also 🙂
Instead of reaching for a frozen pizza, keeping basics — like pre-cooked veggies, frozen veggies, grains, tortillas, and eggs — makes it easy to stay on track with simple and healthy dinners.
Maggi Devilled Sausages mix with snags & veges in the slow cooker means our household can eat dinner before 8pm on a working week night. So nice to come home to!
Our household is very busy of an evening. We have three sons who have sporting commitments, homework and after school jobs. To make dinner time easier I learned to delegate. Mr 12 makes an awesome spaghetti bolognaise while I take Mr 8 to taekwondo. Mr 17 learned how to use the BBQ and loves to cook the steaks along with Mr 8 who makes the salad while I’m at soccer training with Mr 12. Mr 43 makes an awesome butter chicken (with a maggi packet mix ?) among other things so I can sneak off to my exercise class a couple of nights a week. It’s a family affair! Everyone does their bit to get us through the week!
My best tip for easier dinner times is have your herbs and spices on hand, fresh herbs make sauces taste so much better. I have some growing in pots and they make my sauces pop. I also love using my slow cooker as it marinades flavors and definitely makes life easier with a big family like mine. I have five kids and whenever they have friends over there is plenty to go around.
Cooking in bulk is a great time saver too especially for busy weeks ahead.
I meal plan on Saturday before shopping and then Sunday I do as much prep as I can, even if it’s just cooking a heap of pasta. I also have an air sealer so my vegies can get chopped and sealed and then they’re ready
I love Maggi Satay mix, it’s been a favourite of ours for years, and along with your recipe for Fried Rice I can now enjoy my favourite meal. The worst part of cooking meals for my family is actually making the decision about what to have. I absolutely hate trying to decide what we will have and the family is no help when I ask. So, for me the key is having a meal plan because as long as I know what to make I am organised and enjoy cooking meals. Without that plan I am standing in the kitchen every night, cursing and complaining, half an hour before dinner is due, trying to figure out what we’re having. On those nights I inevitably only score a 2/10 ?
Meal planning – I online shop so it’s delivered a night I’m home and can prepare, I make dinner time easier by having most things prepared earlier – meat sliced, veggies cut up! Beef strogonoff is our family’s all time favorite Maggi recipe base – served with rice and green beans and broccoli its a perfect family dinner!
Whilst I’m cooking dinner, I put out on the bench a healthy dip served with vegetables like carrots, celery and cherry tomatoes, roasted sweet potato and pumpkin (you can cook them up in bulk and serve a few a day). The kids will nibble on them before dinner and there’s your vegetable serve without them even realising!
I double the quantities when cooking and freeze the rest for easy meals the following week! It’s great.
If I need an easy meal for the nights the kids have activities, I use my slow cooker..I get it ready while the kids are having brekky & turn it on low and don’t have to worry about it…fast forward to dinner time & ta-dah, already done!
I add a layer of grated cheese to the middle of the vegetables, because it’s CHEESE! Everything tastes better with more cheese.
ANY dinner that cooks in the slow cooker makes dinnertime easier for me (especially with a 5 week old)!
I always make double or triple quantity of meals on the weekend so that I have leftovers which can easily be re-heated on those nights we’re rushing around to various after school activities and appointments.
Making dinner is easier if you have planned what you’re having the night before. Check your freezer and put what needs thawing straight in the fridge ready for the next day. Get everything you need including your Maggi recipe base out on the kitchen bench too, you could even pop those items in a pretty basket
Meal planning is a life saver! With 4 kids busy with after school activities being organised is a must. Meal planning ensures we have dinner on the table at an appropriate time and takes away the last minute “what are we going to have for dinner” worries.
My dinner time de-stress tip is to fully set the table before hubby gets home … that way, if things are a little hectic & you’re not quite on track, it actually appears as if you’ve got it all together! (Been doing this for 20 years, don’t think I’ve let the cat out of the bag yet!!)
Meal planning makes dinner time so much easier. I plan and shop for the week so each night I know what we’re having and I have all ingredients ready. Helps with the chaos of afternoons with kids!
I meal plan and if making something that freezes well I make a huge batch and it does about 8 more meals for the freezer. My best tip is to invest in a giant freezer.
Weekly meal planning and shopping make our meal times so much easier.
I start at breakfast time by getting out the ingredients – that always gives my husband a reason to smile – he knows it’s my turn to cook – and then I do little bits throughout the day whenever I’m feeling motivated. When dinnertime arrives, the hardest parts are all done, and the final preparation takes only a few minutes. We both sit down to eat, feeling relaxed and unstressed.
If you have a young baby, baby wearing can make preparing food much easier! Bubs loves to watch what you’re doing and you don’t have to worry about leaving them in the play pen!
Use a slow cooker and recipe bases. It’s a set and forget dinner that takes little time to prep.
My take on potato bake is easy, because I’m lactose intolerant I use zymil cram and two tablespoons of dry French onion soup mix, mix that up and bake for an hour . I am one to meal plan with two kids , easy simple yet delicious meals .
My take on potato bake is easy, because I’m lactose intolerant I use zymil cram and two tablespoons of dry French onion soup mix, mix that up and bake for an hour . I am one to meal plan with two kids , easy simple yet delicious meals .
To make meal times easy, I try and prepare what I can the night before or in the morning and I always have a fast back up meal just in case my kids are tired and don’t want to wait. Having pre made frozen meals is great for this.
At the end of the day don’t be too hard on yourself if everyone is tired and just wants a toasted sandwich. So long as kids are fed it’s good. Doesn’t have to be a 3 course meal
I am always looking for different things to cook so I will be trying this receipe.i usually cook a roast lamb once a week.the left over lamb is made into a lamb creation by kaye lol.1 dice onion and fry 2 add diced tomatoes.3 add chopped lamb.4 1 teaspoon if veginite to mixture sprinkle plain flour over mixture 1 cup of water simmer.serve with crusty bread.
Best tip for making dinnertime easier is making sure hubby and the kids stay outta my way haha I also like to clean up a little as I go so I have bench space when it comes to dishing out.
Being pregnant and struggling with serious morning (All day) sickness, dinner times have been tough. Lately when I cook anything I make sure there’s enough for another meal later and freeze. That way if I’m not well and don’t want dinner hubby has a healthy dinner option ready to go.
My fall back advice.. be prepared. I’ve always got Maggi mixers in the pantry and because we have 3 little people to cook for dinner is quite often cooked at lunch time to avoid the awful witching hour chaos
My best tip to make dinner time easier is that I always do a meal plan for the week so I know exactly what we are having
I love the Maggi mixes, I use the Cauliflower bake very very often, but sometimes, instead of cauli. I will used potato chunks to make a delicious potato bake, full of flavour, cheesy and creamy too.
I usually prepare my ingredients the night before and place them in the fridge, that way I am ready to go the next day.
I use cream instead of milk, and its so delicious! Extra grated cheese between the potato/veg layers helps hold it together at serving time & everybody loves extra cheese!
I always cook a base ingredient in
bulk like a tomato sauce mince that I can use for several meals – lasagne, pasta bakes, tacos, spaghetti .. saves me several hours in prep time