The Dinner Ladies cookbook

Fill your fridge and freezer with over 170 of our (previously) most secretly guarded recipes to cook now and eat later. Take the stress out of your day and get excited about dinner again -- with a little help from The Dinner Ladies.

The evening, when time and patience are at their shortest, can be the worst part of the day to throw a meal together. And then there are the unexpected mouths to feed: a friend with a new baby, an elderly family member, a couple of uninvited ravenous teenagers.

Enter the Dinner Ladies, the fearsomely organised duo bringing delicious peace to busy households. They are the mistresses of stocked-up fridges and freezers thanks to a wide-ranging repertoire of nourishing, reliable make-ahead meals.

Family-friendly favourites dominate: there are spiced slow-cooked lamb shanks; warming curries; veggie-focused 'thinner dinners'; and easy desserts that may not make it as far as the table, such as apricot, raspberry and coconut crumble or chocolate mint honey pots.

If you can find half an hour a couple of times a week, you can prepare a few dishes and stick them in the fridge or freezer – then, every time you pull out one of your delicious, homemade dinners you will congratulate yourself on your foresight and wow everyone you know with your efficiency. After all, it takes just as long to make one curry as three, it’s as quick to measure out a tablespoon of spice as a teaspoon, and a few pounds of meat cooks in the same time as one.

Welcome the Dinner Ladies to your kitchen and reclaim your evenings.