Help with meals for a rubbish cook?

[permaquandry]

I am a bad cook and my kids aren't very good eaters (go figure).

My weekly dinner planner goes:
spag Bol (made from scratch which the kids love)
sausage casserole and rice (made from scratch which the kids barely eat)
jacket pots with cheese, ham/chicken and veg, normally peas and carrots (goes down well)
Pizza with salad and either noodles or chips (again goes down quite well)
TV dinner: ff and noodles/veg for one dc and breaded chicken breast pieces (high chick content, 100% breast meat), chips and veg for other dc. (Neither that enamoured and the chips are normally left uneaten).

This is sooo boring and am desperate to cook something else. I am a terrible cook though and food does not interest me. Please can anybody suggest simple, fool-proof meals for fussyish kids? Thx

[DancingInTheMoonlight]

Shepherds pie? Chicken and veg pie? Creamy chicken pasta? Pasta bake? Sweet and sour chicken? Sausage, mash and peas/beans? Roast dinner?

[Dededum]

Can I join, cooking doesn't interest me, the kids whine about what I cook.

They will eat (most of the time) tuna pasta, pesto pasta, macaroni cheese home made chicken nuggets, sausages and mash, pitta bread with humous and salad.

[DancingInTheMoonlight]

My ds favourite is lasagne and garlic bread (peas and carrots or spinach added to the bolognaise mix)

[permaquandry]

All good suggestions moonlight. However, with the exception of roast and pie, the kids don't like the rest. Reading this tho makes me think, they shud blooming well eat the stuff.

[wannabedomesticgoddess]

Naan bread pizzas. Just naans topped with tomato ketchup, and cheese, then you can vary the toppings. We use bacon or chicken (cooked before hand) and sweetcorn.

My mum puts red onion on hers. Mushrooms would be good too.

You just cook any toppings that need it, spread the naans with the ketchup, put the toppings on, sprinkle on some cheese and bung in the oven at 200C until the cheese is melted and going golden.

[deleted203]

Try this:-

Boil pasta (I use macaroni) for 15 mins.
Meanwhile, brown mince and chopped onion til done.
Open tin of condensed tomato soup.

Mix the lot together, put tortilla chips and cheese on top, and cook in oven (gas 4) for 30 mins

[DancingInTheMoonlight]

How old are your kids op? Could you involve them in cooking new foods to try to encourage them to eat it?

[DewDr0p]

Would they eat a mild chilli if they like the bolognese?

Have you tried pesto? My dcs love pasta pesto - I add green veg (peas or broccoli usually - it's also good with sauteed courgettes) and sometimes a few prawns or salmon (you could also add cooked chicken) which makes it quite a balanced meal.

Omelettes and scrambled egg are quick.

Tuna pasta - while pasta is cooking simmer a tin of chopped toms (with herbs and/or garlic if liked), a couple of mins before the pasta is done add a small tin of sweetcorn and tinned tuna. Mix this all together and serve topped with grated cheese. (You can also make a proper tomato sauce for this and and/or add some diced carrot to cook with the pasta if you want to boost the veg content)

If they like roast then how about roasting chicken drumsticks and serving with veg/wedges/roasties? That's fairly low effort.

Toad in the hole? Pasta and meatballs with tomato sauce? Minestrone?

[JiltedJohnsJulie]

We used to eat out a lot and buy ready made but because some food additives gives me some seriously odd side effects, I've had to learn to cook better. The only consolations for me are that I don't get the side effects and I'm a pig so love eating

Mine enjoy toad in the hole with veg and gravy. It's seriously easy, I've only mucked it up once, and the kids love it.

I'm quite tough on the DC though. They've both been allowed to choose 2 foods each that will never be served and everything else has to at least be tried. You can leave your food but there is nothing else coming your way[smle]