Easy dinner recipes guaranteed to leave you with leftovers for the next day.

Every child has a never-say-no food item.

That special something that even on a fussy day they will eat up and ask for more. For my son that food is ham. He will eat it on a sandwich, in pasta, with rice or on its own. Suffice to say I now buy ham in bulk and have come up with some pretty creative recipes that will please him, my husband and me – they also happen to be lunch box gold.

So if you've hit term one of the school year with all the energy and enthusiasm of a remote control car running out of batteries, give these recipe a try. You'll need to stock up on ham for these tasty recipes, so hit up the dairy section of your supermarket for your favourite style Don ham.

Mini ham, mushroom and feta quiches.

Ingredients:

• Don Sliced English Ham, diced
• 250g of button mushrooms, sliced
• 4 eggs
• 200g feta, crumbled
• 1/2 cup of grated tasty cheese
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 tablespoon parsley, chopped
• 3 sheets frozen puff pastry, thawed

Method:

1. Sauté the mushrooms in a frying pan on a medium-high heat until softened, add the ham and cook until it starts to crisp. Remove from heat and allow to cool.

2. Whisk the eggs in a bowl, add remaining ingredients including the cooled mushroom and ham mixture. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

3. Chop puff pastry into squares and press into 2 cupcake or muffin pans to form ‘cups’. Pour mixture into cups, bake for 10-15 mins on 180C or until cooked through and brown on top.

4. Serve warm with a side salad for dinner. The next day pop a few cold quiches in your child’s lunch box.

Ham and cheese arancini balls.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups salt-reduced chicken stock
• 1 cup arborio risotto rice
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 brown onion, finely chopped
• 150g Don Sliced English Ham, diced
• 125g mozzarella cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• 1/3 cup plain flour
• 2 eggs, lightly whisked
• 3 cups dried breadcrumbs
• Extra-light olive oil, for shallow-frying

Method:

1. Sauté onion on a medium heat until softened. Add garlic, Don Sliced English Ham and arborio rice. Stir for 2 minutes. Add chicken stock and bring to boil while stirring.

2. Reduce heat to low, simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally to avoid sticking. Remove from heat, cover and allow to stand for 10 minutes until all liquid has been absorbed.

3. Add cheeses and season with salt and pepper. Allow to cool in refrigerator for 3-4 hours. Put flour, egg and breadcrumbs into a separate bowl each.

4. Make small balls of the mixture, dip into flour, then egg, then breadcrumbs. Heat olive oil in fry pan on medium-high heat, fry balls, stirring to brown all sides. Add cold left over arancini to your child’s lunch box the next morning.

Ham and pineapple mini pizzas.

Ingredients:

• Pack of 6 pitta bread
• Don Sliced English Ham
• Jar of pizza sauce
• Can of diced pineapple
• Grated mozzarella cheese

Method:

1. Lay your 6 pitta bread on foil or baking paper. Spread pizza sauce onto pitta bread with the back of a spoon.

2. Sprinkle a little mozzarella over the sauce then tear pieces of Don English Ham and lay on top. Follow with pineapple pieces and top with mozzarella. You can also sprinkle dried oregano if you like (it adds to the yum).

3. Place on oven trays and bake in the oven on 190C for 12-16 minutes or until cheese is melted and browned. Serve warm for dinner. Pop a leftover mini pizza in your child’s lunch box for the next day.

And there you have it. Bon appetit.

What are your no-fail dinner/lunch recipes?

Before you go getting all excited. Here's a little reminder that kids can sometimes be ummm... annoying with food...