Ideas please vegetarian/meat eater

[TheseAreTheDays]

Looking for ideas easy for quick weekday/make ahead and freeze dinners for family of four. Three are meat eaters (DH and DD4 and DD2) and I'm vegetarian. I find a lot of the time I do their dinners (bolognese/lasagne/carbonara/cottage pie/stew/homemade chicken goujons etc) and then am too lazy to cook separately for myself so I end up having a sandwich and filling up on junk later. Not good for weight gain! Any ideas for something than can be adapted for us all? I've no objections to preparing meat or fish for them, just I won't taste it to see if it's seasoned ok/not raw etc!

[OrlandaFuriosa]

My cooking is pretty basic but..Well, I tend to make vegetarian lasagnes, or bologneses or chilli, with quorn. If you spice it up few can tell.

Then:

Fajitas with lots of stuff to put in, including cheese, chicken strips or spicy beef, masses of veg, refried beans. You just don't have the meaty stuff.

Pitta stuffed with falafel, lettuce, cucumber, red peppers, dribbled with yoghurt.

Baked potatoes with cheese and beans and crunchy salad, standard,
classic

Mediterranean veg stew including chick peas

Summer buffet, with hummus, taramasalata, imam bayildi, tzatziki, maybe small meatballs or chicken wings, pitta and rice, you just don't eat the taramasalata and meat stuff

Borscht made with veg stock

Lentil and carrot soup

Watercress and potato soup

Lettuce soup

Gazpacho.

If you add garlic bread, cheese, and a decent salad and fruit to these you've got a reasonably balanced meal.

[mohuzivajehi]

At least a quarter of the time (as you are quarter of the family) everyone eats vegetarian - it's good to reduce meat consumption from and environmental pov.

Make a big batch of generic veggie mince-equivalent (sautée grated courgette carrot mushroom and onion and add puy lentils and tin tomato) and freeze in single potions. Then these can be adapted by adding appropriate seasoning etc to more easily make a veggie version of cottage pie, lasagne, bolognese or chilli-non-carne.

Also do more buffet-style serving. Rather than making everything in one pot, manufacturers meals can be made with all the veggie stuff and carb in one pot and the meat component done separately - eg stir fry, various pasta meals. You can then easy have the veg component adding a protein that you like (nuts? Big mushroom? Quorn?) to your portion.

If you aren't anti "fake meat" then look into sausage based recipes. There are loads of options for easy delicious meals with sausages and it is very easy to do a couple of veggie ones as well as the meat ones. Just adapt the recipe to have the sausages cooked separately and added at the end if the normal recipe has them all in one pot with other ingredients.

[mohuzivajehi]

I have no idea why autocorrect turned "many" into "manufacturers"

[pinkyredrose]

Cook vegetarian meals? That way you can all eat it!

[AtleastitsnotMonday]

Chicken and veg or haloumi and veg skewers
Tagines usually freeze well, could make a veggie base then separate your portion and add chicken for the rest.
Not great for freezing but quick to prepare, stuffed peppers and mushrooms. If you stuff with cous cous and whatever cheese and veg you fancy fairly easy.
Jack Monroes carrot, kidney bean and cumin burgers freeze well.

[AlternativeTentacle]

I find a lot of the time I do their dinners (bolognese/lasagne/carbonara/cottage pie/stew/homemade chicken goujons etc)

Stop cooking these and cook veggie versions. Sorted.

[InigoTaran]

This vegetarian pie is delicious and I'm sure meat eaters will love it!

www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/mushroom-and-chestnut-filo-pie/

[InigoTaran]

This is creamy and tasty, you could make some with bacon in for the meat eaters, and have the vegetarian version yourself ( though tbh it doesn't need it). I also add mushrooms, red peppers and asparagus. I'm not vegetarian, but enjoy cooking vegetarian food!

thehappyfoodie.co.uk/recipes/spelt-spaghetti-vine-tomatoes-and-baked-ricotta

[InigoTaran]

You could also buy pizza bases and make different veg and meat toppings to go on them.

[happymama99]

I have this issue in my house. I tend to batch cook and freeze, one week I'll make meat cottage pie, lasagne etc and freeze the leftovers, then make veggie versions the following week and freeze portions. That way I can get the opposite portions out of the freezer and I'm not cooking twice if that makes sense.
The whole family eats veggie probably 3 x per week, my husband has meaty lunches.
For pasta dishes I'll add chicken or bacon at the end.
Once a week we have a freezer meal- chips or waffles, beans or peas, fish fingers, chicken nuggets or veggie burger.
Sausage and mash easy to do 2 versions.
Roast dinner- just have a veggie option done in the oven.

[PumpkinSpiceEverything]

Risotto or pasta

Burritos/tacos (make-your-own... you could have black beans instead of mince)

A big pot of minestrone soup and some crusty bread (mmmm)

[HipsterHunter]

For sure you can just make more vegetarian meals!

Or meals that are based on veggie (e.g. Spanish chickpea stew) and add on a some meat for their portion if they like.

[TheseAreTheDays]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions,I think I've just got stuck in a rut of making the same meals all the time and need to plan in advance when get the shopping in. We do all have a vegetarian meal maybe once a week,DH is a big meat eater and the girls seem to be taking after him so I think they'd all be grumbling if I cut meat out too often! Plenty of delicious looking ideas there though for things I can adapt for us all so I'll get working on it, thanks again.

[lljkk]

Most those things you can make a veg version but just have one small part that has their meat in it. Nice of you to cook food you won't eat.

[puddingpen]

Veggie dishes that we (committed carnivores) like:
Haloumi and pepper skewers with sweet chili sauce and pita bread
Sweet potato and courgette curry fritters, with okra, parathas and/or rice
Kung pao tofu with egg fried rice
Mushroom nut cutlets with mushroom sauce and roast potatoes
Dhal with paratha/naan/rice
Bubble and squeak 'cakes' with poached egg and hollandaise (you could add a slice of ham for meat eaters or chuck some fried lardons into the mixture once you've removed your portion)
Vegetable Lasagne
Goats cheese and walnut quiche
Mushroom and egg fried rice with ginger-sesame oil stir-fried veg
Pasta Arabiata
Spinach and ricotta canneloni with tomato sauce

[Happy50]

A very big tray of oven roasted veggies - Google Jamie Oliver etc
Roast meat or fish separate
Top the veggie dish with spicy nuts or poached egg or a yoghurt ( dairy or coconut) dressing.
An easy one is yoghurt with a little harrissa or chipotle

Another easy one
Cook a pot of pasta
Fry red onion, mushrooms, garlic etc - chicken or fish cooked separate
Mix into pasta
Add pesto - vegan is easily available- if needed
Basil and mashed avocado

A roast chicken cooked at the beginning of the week kept in the fridge is easy to add to veggie stir fries, pastas, curries, omelettes