I love chicken pie. 
But I can't always be bothered with pastry.
This is the solution.
Top with mashed potato. 
Everyone loves chicken pie. 
So you can't go wrong with this one.
Thick, rich and filling. 
​Winter warmers 101!
You're welcome.

​Traditional pancakes have been usurped by pre-packaged varieties (shaker mixes) but they're really not that hard to make from scratch and much cheaper, especially when you have teenage boys that can put away a huge stack of them. I usually double (or triple) this recipe when the boys are home. They roll them up and hoover them in with very little chewing action in between. They return again and again with their empty plates for another stack.
My pancake mix turns out beautifully-rounded and fluffy-textured pancakes. I have also created some very easy but decadent variations and sauces to have with them.

Lasagne is the perfect dish for feeding teenage boys! The boys would have massive slices and there were always leftovers (or enough for the regular drop-ins!)
This is a traditional lasagne recipe that is made completely from scratch. It really is to die for. There are a lot of cheat versions of Lasagne, but this beast is the real deal! It's worth the time and effort that it takes to make it. It's hearty and filling and delicious!
You can save time by making big pots of Bolognese Sauce and freezing it to use in other recipes. (You'll need to freeze around 8-10 cups for the lasagne).
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Rice dishes are a necessity when feeding teenage boys. There is always a rice dish on our table as a side (along with a pasta dish, a potato dish, a meat dish and a salad or veggie dish!) 
It's all about making a mountain of food with a few basic ingredients and this dish is a great filler!
Serve it with whatever you like or just have a big bowl on it's own - great for that after school fridge scavenge by your starving teens! Add chicken or sausages for a fuller meal option (see variations) and serve with a side salad.

This is a really basic mix great for when the pantry is getting bare (but there are still plenty of taco shells. There has to be, with my lot! The boys can eat a box of taco shells each. And beyond. This is a cheap and easy filling, loaded with extra carbs to fill those hollow teen bellies. Rice and beans, onion, capsicum and tomatoes, a few spices and we've got a meal. 
Fresh salads used to come from the garden a lot of the time, lettuce, carrot and cucumbers. Taco night is still one of my favourite dinner nights when the  boys come to visit, a massive smorgasbord of food like the old days. 

Sausage rolls are a huge hit in our household and are always made in large batches. 
Sausage rolls make great weekend finger food (Saturday nights were often movie nights at our place and a batch of these with a bowl of tomato sauce and some potato wedges would make them all happy!) I've made them many a time for kids birthday parties too and it takes no time at all to whip up a batch. Easy as, and the kids can help as they get older.
Mine will take sausage rolls cold in lunchboxes if there are any ever left over, or sometimes I will make a batch just for school lunches.

​Fritter night often means that Mother Hubbard’s cupboard really is quite bare but don’t despair, because our family love them. If you have flour, eggs, milk and cheese, then you’ve got the basis of a throw together meal. Just add whatever you like to them, leftover chopped cooked meat and vegies, or corn kernels or some sautéed bacon, onion and capsicum.
This is one of those recipes that I can’t get out of the pan quick enough - as soon as a stack of fritters is placed on the cooling rack, the plates are loaded and then they’re gone and the ravenous beasts hover around waiting for the next batch to be finished. 

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I have always given baking as Christmas gifts to family and friends - handmade with love. 
I will often bake mini Christmas cakes, gingerbread, choc-chip cookies and make apricot balls, truffles and caramel popcorn - all in large batches. Then I will divide them up and present them in gift hampers. The Christmas hampers have always been well-received and my gingerbread is loved far and wide, especially my gluten-free variation! 

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​Homemade hummus with roasted garlic is one of my favourite things in the world. It was also one of the only things I got to have to myself when the kids were little as they didn't like it much (that's not the case now though - they love the stuff!) 
I roast whole heads of garlic and freeze in clip seal bags to use as required. 
I also make batches of caramelised onions to use in quiches, burgers and on pizzas and will top my hummus with these if available to add extra flavour. Caramelised onions can also be frozen.

Fried rice.
I make this in mega quantities and they eat it in mega quantities. It's actually a great recipe for filling up the hungry hoardes.
I often cook batches of rice and freeze them in clip seal bags so I can use them in fried rice for an easy meal. 
I usually make fried rice the night after a roast dinner and use the leftover roast meat (whatever didn't go on the lunches) in the fried rice. Never a skerrick of waste at our place. Leftover roast pork or chicken work really well in fried rice.
Fried rice is really good served with Spring Rolls!