Midweek Meal Inspo; Potato Bowls, Carbonara, Chicken Burgers and more.

This week, we brought back some summertime favorites and tired some new twists on old favorites too. We eat a lot of tacos and chicken burgers, but dived into two new ways to make them! We also had some time this week for both Amelia and Kai to help make dinner, as both of them asked, which is always a fun experience. Taking the time to teach your children to cook delicious food, especially at their age, is such an important task and one I find a lot of joy in doing!

Quick Carbonara

Pasta Carbonara is something that feels quite a bit lighter then other meals, so comes up a lot in the summertime. The way we make this meal is a bit of a cheat, if I am honest, as we take two egg yolks and two full eggs, put it in a jug with a bunch of double cream, add in a handful of parm, and pepper, then set aside. Kai did the bulk of this sauce on his own, as it’s such a simple recipe. We cooked the pasta and fried a bunch of bacon in a pan. When the pasta was done, we drained it and turned the heat off the pot. We then added the pasta back in, poured in the liquid and bacon, and stirred. If you mix the sauce enough, the eggs won’t scramble! We served ours with some garlic bread and salad.

Loaded Potato Bowls

Loaded Potato Bowls kind of is inspired by the KFC Famous Bowl, which they only have in America. We had a bunch of potatoes, so Dann mashed them up with some butter and milk. I made up all the toppings; corn, peas, chicken gravy, tempura chicken bites, crispy onions and bacon were what we went with! Everyone spooned the mash into their bowls and topped them with whatever they wanted. It’s an easy and filling meal that really encourages trying new food if that’s something your children struggle with.

Steak Tacos

Tacos come up a lot in our family! We all just really love Mexican food. There was a fantastic deal on steak at Costco, so we grabbed a pallet and then used it up in a bunch of recipes. Amelia had the day off of school, so she made a marinade out of lime juice, oil, chili powder, garlic, ginger, and cumin. We then placed our steaks in them and let them sit for hours. She also made some homemade guac! Once it was time to eat, I pan fried the steaks and served them with the guac and salsa, along with fries and a salad.

Chicken Burger with Fried Courgette

We normally do chicken burgers by taking a whole chicken breast and pan-frying it, once it’s thinly smashed. This week, we wanted to do something different so instead I took a bunch of minced chicken and added in herbs like thyme, garlic powder, paprika, onion salt, etc. I then pan-fired the patties, and everyone ate it on toasted buns with their own toppings. I went with avocado, tomato and BBQ sauce. I also made up some fried courgettes, which are just courgettes sliced up, dipped in flour, then egg, then bread crumbs and fried in oil. I also made some chicken rice (rice with a chicken stock cube) as well. This burger was very liked by all, which was good!

Beer Battered Fish

Amelia is the master of fried fish, so of course she made some! This is a recipe she can basically do on her own; it’s flour and a can of beer in a bowl, with a bit of herbs (we use parsley). She then pats dry the sea bass, batters it, and fries it in vegetable oil. Once they are golden brown we set them aside. She wanted potato salad with this, which I make myself. It’s just a lighter and more summer feeling side I think! Instead of peas, we went with edamame, and of course had some tartar sauce! This came out so crispy and delicious – she’s so good at making fried fish!

View more of our recipes!