Five recipes that are delicious - and won't take 7 hours to create.

By JO ABI

This week I’ve challenged myself to cook dinners I’ve never cooked for my family before. It required some thinking but I managed to come up with a pretty delicious series of dinners. Let’s hope my children eat them. I drew inspiration from my childhood (Italian Meatloaf), Big Brother (deep-fried chicken wings), my mum again (rice croquets), my sister (marinated chicken thighs) and my brother (seafood skewers). Okay, one, two, three…YUM!

Monday: Italian Meatloaf

This is my mother’s recipe. It is basically a giant meatball fashioned into Italian Meatloaf. I use chicken mince, traditionally it is made from pork mince however beef mince is also delicious. The real flavour comes from what you add to the mince. Use the freshest ingredients possible. You can eat this for dinner, plain with rice or cooked in spaghetti sauce for pasta. The next day make sandwiches. Delicious.

Click here for the recipe.

Tuesday: Crispy Chicken Wings

This recipe is inspired by 2013 Big Brother housemate Tim who cooked up crispy chicken wings for the housemates, much to their delight. Inspired, I tried to make them myself and they are delicious! Plus, children love eating anything with their fingers.

Click here for the recipe.

Wednesday: Rice Croquets

Whenever we had leftover rice, Mum would always make us Rice Croquets. Sometimes she’d make them as a snack, sometimes we’d eat them for dinner. They are so delicious and definitely deserve a resurgence. Your children will love them and they’ll impress party guests.

This recipe is pretty much identical to Mum’s recipe. It’s from a brilliant website called My Italian Grandmother.

Click here to get the recipe.

Thursday: Marinated Chicken Thighs

It’s really important that you use chicken thighs instead of chicken breast for this recipe or the chicken will be too dry. This is delicious baked in the oven, fried on the stove top or better still, barbequed. Throw in some vegetables for the last fifteen minutes of cook time and serve with a delicious summer salad.

Click here for the recipe.

Friday: Seafood Skewers

These delicious seafood skewers work best with a firm white fish such as barramundi alongside prawns or use salmon fillets. Skip the pepper for kids. They look stunning and taste amazing.

Click here to get the recipe.

This article originally appeared on iVillage.com.au.

For more dishes that are perfect next to a spring or summer salad, check these out:

5 Easy Chicken Breast Recipes

9 Divine French Recipes

5 Best Meatloaf Recipes

What’s for dinner at your house this week?