Really stumped for vegan meals- any suggestions?

[combust22]

Meal ideas- please help- There will be seven of us in my house for a two week period over christmas.

One vegan, one vegetarian, two die hard meat eaters ( one of whom doesn't eat dairy) the others will eat anything.

I am struggling to think of ideas for evening meals that will please everyone.

So far I have planned the following meals;

1. Chicken fajitas and tofu & mushroom, served with tortillas, guacamole, salsa, salad and mexican rice.
   

1. Chicken tikka skewers served with vegetable and chickpea curry, hm chapatis and rice
   

1. Morroccan lamb with chickpea and vegetable tagine, flatbreads and couscous.
   

er- that's it- but I thought about putting everything in the table and everyone can help themselves.

So that's three meals down, 11 to go- including christmas dinner.

I'm stuck.

[Takver]

Curries are always an easy vegan option - e.g. you could do potato & chick pea curry, spinach curry, and then a meat curry for meat eaters (and easy to make in advance & freeze!

Lasagne - make a vegan lasagne with a couple of layers of some nice med. veg in tomato sauce, the lasagne, a white sauce made with soya milk, and also a layer of hummus (this is genuinely really nice!) topping off with the white sauce & some breadcrumbs to give colour. Then of course you need a meat lasagne

Stir fry - nice veg stir fry with noodles, chicken for the meat eaters, tofu for the vegans

Xmas dinner - I've always done an artichoke and mushroom pie as veggy xmas meal which DH & I really like (tho these days not veggy) - it's vegan so long as you make sure you get dairy free puff pastry which is very easy - jus-roll is vegan friendly. Can let you know the recipe if you like, it has a red wine gravy so goes well with the standard mixed veg etc. Alternatively vegan nut roast recipes easy to find, so xmas day perhaps the easiest.

[Artandco]

Baked potatoes with various fillings. Salads. Can just make x2 large salads on table, pile of potatoes and few bowls of chilli/ beans/ cheese/ sour cream etc

Quiche or pies. With various veg.

Mushroom and butternut squash risotto. Garlic bread etc ( can make own with vegan spread)

Burgers. Falafel type or mushroom for vegan, regular for everyone else. With sides

[combust22]

Some great ideas here- thanks,

[ItsAllGoingToBeFine]

This stew is amazing!
www.theppk.com/2012/01/seitan-porcini-beef-stew/

Make your own seitan though, pre-made is rank. If that's too much just use vegan sausage.

[Wellwellwell3holesintheground]

Sausages, mash, peas, onion gravy. Vegan sausage option - dragon foods do a nice one.

Soup and HM bread with toasted seeds and salad. Add cold meats and cheeses.

[Wellwellwell3holesintheground]

Roast would be fine on another day.

Chestnut stuffing makes a lovely vegan option on Christmas day. Boxing day could be bubble and squeak with optional bacon.

Stuffed peppers or stuffed marrow - rice or meat filling.

[RightyTightyLeftyLoosey]

HM nutroast is my top xmas day main....asda do chopped mixed nuts if you dont have a processsor.
Mix plenty of chopped nuts with vegan breadcrumbs and finely chopped mushrooms (chesnut are good for this)....use marmite dissolved in hot water to bind, I add herbs to mine and at xmas I add cranberry sauce as a layer when I assemble it.
For veggie add goats cheese on top when serving

[combust22]

righty- the nut roast sounds delicious. I think the whole family will enjoy this. ( Still have to do a turkey as a side dish)

[RightyTightyLeftyLoosey]

thank you
'tis a firm favourite here and has been for years, even meateaters love it!
And its really easy to make in advance and keep in fridge.

[SweetFelicityArkwright]

This Cranks mushroom Wellington makes a great Christmas dinner centrepiece for vegans and vegetarians. Just glaze with soya milk rather than egg if you have vegan diners. You can buy the pastry ready made, just check it is vegan and make this well in advance and freeze it. When we make it we decrease the ground almonds a bit and up the other ingredients as it is a bit too almonds for us in the quantities the recipe states.

[WandaBenjamin]

Pasta with veg bolongnese/meat bolognese. Or other options eg Puttenesca with/without anchovies.

Home made pizzas with various topping options?

Veg/meat sausages and mash

Soup with crusty bread and meats/cheese/humous on the side

Stir fry veg and noodles with tofu or chicken/prawns added

Falafels in pittas with yogurt and mint sauce etc.

[JamNan]

Have you looked on the Vegan Society's website in the recipes section?
Lots of inspiration there.

You will find loads of veggie recipes on the BBC Good Food website

I also like H F-W's Veg
and Grains and Legumes by Molly Brown

[combust22]

Thanks jam- it's not vegan meals I am stuck for as such, it's how to prepare a supper that contains elemenst for everything without it being a mish mash of totally different flaveour, and how best to incorporate vegan & meat into the same meal.
If everyone ate just vegan it would be simpler, but the meat eaters wouldm't be happy.

[RiverTam]

we do a Jamie Oliver curry, which is basically spices, onion, tinned toms, coconut milk and your veg of choice (I do cauliflower and peas usually).

Also the HFW North African stew is vegan (it's in his Veg book). This makes a massive amount.

Delia has a roasted and sundried tomato risotto which can be vegan if you leave out the creme fraiche at the end.

You can also do a veggie spag bol using canned puy lentils instead of mince..

[RiverTam]

oh - sorry, didn't read your last post. That's pretty tricky. I don't have a lot of truck with people who can't eat meat-free even for a handful of meals!

[PenguinLost]

How about Toad in the Hole? One version with meat sausages, the other with vegan ones. Linda McCartney ones are vegan friendly. Not the most exciting of meals but easy to do.

Or sausage and bean stew. Again, fairly straightforward as you can make one pot of stew and just add in the sausages at the end.

A tomato based pasta sauce also works well. You can then add chorizo or bacon for the meat eaters.

Or when I've really run out of ideas (combination of staunch meater eater, almost vegan and diary/gluten free folk in this household), pesto pasta (you can get vegan versions) and bung in some chicken for the meat eaters

[ThatBloodyWoman]

No ideas, but can I come, as what you have planned already sounds amazing!

I had some lovely thai style noodles the other day, with tofu.
Extremely gorgeous.

[lottiegarbanzo]

Someone's already mentioned the ppk. They have lots of interesting vegan recipes, including many using seitan and other 'fake meaty' ingredients. You could prepare the rest of the dish, spilt in half and use seitan in one half, meat in the other.

[PenguinLost]

Just thought - you'd need to use soy milk and vegan egg substitute if you did fancy Toad in the Hole - not as straightforward as I initially thought!

[Luxaroma]

Smoked butternut squash chilli...add some chorizo or chicken to the stew for the meat eaters.
Homemade pizza, use marinated artichokes instead of cheese - Waitrose cooks ingredients version is expensive but works so well used like this.
Curries - use Pataks paste, chickpea for the veggies.
Puff pastry tarts, using pre rolled pastry are quick and easy - caramelised onion for the vegan/veggie, bacon goats cheese and pumpkin for the meat eaters. Serve with mash flavoured with olive oil and Rosemary and some broccoli.

I have visitors coming soon, one is veggie, one only eats steak and fries or pasta with butter, one is a picky kid who only eats minced sirloin and the other will eat anything.....they are French - I am bloody dreading it!

[teamnomistake]

I think you sound like an awesome hostess. How much will the guests help out during their stay? Could everyone/each couple take a turn or two at sorting out dinner?

[combust22]

Thanks team- I will be the chief cook I'm afraid. I will have some help but will have to be the one to steer the ship. Vegan doesn't cook, others are teenagers or elderly and OH is a hardened carnivore.

THis thread has given me some great ideas- I really just wanted to avoid the meat as the attraction and a vegan dish as an alternative, instead having lots on the table that work together with a "theme" and everyone helping themselves. I will try a Chinese theme too.

[BotoxednSpanxed]

I also like gillian mckeith's veg burgers, and serve them with tomato sauce. I usually sauté onions and garlic and chilli and then throw in a can of tomatoes and a sachet of coconut milk. The combination of the gillian mckeith burgers and that sauce is tastier than any meat && gravy.

or for a starter, how about colcannon (mash and sauted leeks) inside roasted red peppers.

mushroom strogonoff. whiskey, chilli, garlic, a mushroom soup! coconut cream again! lovely. delish

i always cook vegan when i cook for my family because i can't cook meat. (i can eat it though, so i'm not a vegetarian).

[StreathamHillary]

Red onion Tarte Tatin. Make with ready-made puff pastry - most in the supermarket are vegan, and serve with bangers and mash, or bangers and sweet potato wedges.

Spicy lentil soup, with crusty bread, and frankfurters in it for the carnivores

Is there a convincing vegan risotto?

[combust22]

I like thai food too, but everything seems to have fish sauce or shrimp paste in it.

Lunches are fine, I tend to sandwiches, hm soups, falafel etc. I guess it's just the thought of two weeks of meals that is daunting, I think I will meal plan a bit to make the shopping and cooking easier.