How to cook a restaurant quality meal at home

This is a collaborative post.

There is no doubt that it is definitely cheaper to cook your own meals at home rather than going out to restaurants. When you add Covid 19, social distancing rules and children into the mix, eating out seems even more daunting. But what if you could cook a restaurant quality meal at home?

How to cook a restaurant quality meal at home

I didn’t realise how much I enjoyed eating out until lockdown started. In actual fact I love eating out and I actually really miss it. We don’t tend to do it very often, maybe only 4 to 5 times a year but we really enjoy it when we do. We tend to pick family friendly restaurants and take the children with us a few times a year. It’s a great way to get the children eating some different foods without the hassle of slaving away in the kitchen. For myself it also doubles as a night off from cooking as that tends to be my job most days. When the children stay with their grandparents we go for a more relaxed quiet setting. We can enjoy chatting to each other without arguing over who will wash up.

To be entirely honest I think if anything I’m just bored of eating the same meals over and over. These restaurant standard recipes have really helped though. Square meal are currently offering a selection of free recipes from some of the top chefs in the UK. The best bit is that most of the recipes only take around 30 minutes to cook! The recipes are all simple, easy to make and sound delicious.

Cooking at home vs Eating out

There is no doubt that under normal circumstances I would definitely choose to eat out. But with the ‘new normal’ with social distancing, hand washing and just general worry about mine and my families health I would pick cooking at home. It might not be the same but it can be just as fun if you make it something special.

Getting the children involved with meal planning and cooking definitely helps them explore new tastes and meals. If you get them to search for meal ideas themselves you may be surprised with what they come back with.

If you’re looking for a meal date idea with your partner why not take it in turns to cook when the children go to bed? While one of you puts the children to bed the other will cook a surprise meal.

What is Square Meal?

Square meal is essentially a search engine for anyone looking to eat out or find a venue for an event. What is really cool about this site is that you can see the hygiene rating of the restaurant you plan to book before you go. I think that especially in the current situation with Covid 19 that cleanliness is more important than ever. We as a family we tend to only go for the top rated hygiene places to eat anyway and that feeling is just amplified right now. When the time does come to book a place to eat I will definitely be using this site to help.

This is a collaborative post.