Fed up of being creative: what are your blandest recipes

[Whattodonut]

I'm really getting fed up of being creative. I make nice interesting food that tastes great and gets eaten with no comment. Clean plates but only feedback is when its bad.

So I'd like to do is just do an experiment on the family of a few weeks of really bland ( no herbs, no spices) meals and see if there is any reaction.

Trouble is DD is now vegetarian so needs to include some kind of veggie protein.

All ideas welcome! I will be repeating lots of them as part of the boring experiment. Extra points if they are incredibly low effort to make.

They like veg. So lots of veg is good. But just very bland.

My MIL is a very traditional cook, somewhat baffled by vegetarianism, and doesn't do sauces (at all - no gravy, no ketchup, no mayo or salad dressing, no butter on veg). I'm sure she could draw you up the perfect menu, but the best (from the point of view of your requirements) offering so far has been Quorn roast. Baked and served plain, with boiled potatoes, boiled carrots, boiled green beans. It's like eating sorbo rubber, only blander.

www.tesco.com/groceries/en-GB/products/251438956

Beans and cheese on toast

Put some chicken (or tofu) pieces in a frying pan with a can of peaches, including the juice. Heat slowly until cooked through. Serve with plain boiled white rice.

Empty a couple of cans of cheap chopped tomatoes into a casserole dish. Add some sliced cabbage and some sausages (or veggie sausages). On no account should you fry the sausages first. Cook in the oven for 45 minutes at 200 degrees. Serve with boiled white potatoes.

Boil some chicken breasts in a pan of water for 20 minutes. Remove with tongs and set aside. Boil some peas in the chicken water. In another pan make a roux with butter and flour. Add some of the chicken/pea water to the roux and allow to thicken into a white sauce. Slice the chicken and add to the sauce. Drain the peas, but keep the water to add to the white sauce in case it needs to be thinned out a bit. Serve on dry white toast. (Not sure how to make this veggie - sorry.)

Fry 500g of beef (or quorn) mince until brown. Add diced carrots, peas, and 500 ml of Bisto. Serve with boiled white potatoes.

Roast some skinless, boneless chicken thighs in the oven for 45 minutes at 200 degrees. Serve with boiled white potatoes, overcooked broccoli and mushy Brussels sprouts. (I think tofu or quorn might work as a veggie alternative but I’ve never tried cooking it in the oven.)

I have a family member who prefers bland food. My preference is to put garlic or onions or chillies in everything, but occasionally I get overruled.

Overcooked pork chops, cauliflower boiled till it is soft and saturated, and the piece de resistance......canned potatoes....without seasoning 😖

Tomato Potarto

Parboil potatoes (big ones), and brown some onions, arrange them in an oven dish mixed with strong grated cheddar and a ton of tomatoes, bake in a hottish oven till caramelising.

Student pasta bake

Cook some shapes pasta a bit short of el dente, mix with cheap mozzarella, cheddar , and chopped tomatoes and bake in oven till caramelised. Add roast veg and a dusting of Parmesan if you want.

Sandwich bake

Get a going of loaf. Caramelise some onions. Grate some cheese. Cut some tomatoes (either drained plum tomatoes or fresh are fine), Slice and butter the loaf. Mix the cheese, onion and tomatoes as a sandwich filling. Cut the sandwiches into half triangles. Arrange overlapping in an oven dish… yes you guessed- stick in the oven to brown.

There’s a grated cheese n starch n tinned tomatoes n maybe onions theme here.

Or just smash and grated cheese, obvs

Boiled rice with frozen peas and sweetcorn stirred in plus some tinned beans for protein. Can also be done with chopped tomatoes.

Couscous with not a lot added!(no cumin, turmeric, ginger, garlic, salt, ) but you could add chick peas and seeds and sultanas and chopped dried apricots.

One tomato. 5 slices cucumber limp lettuce, bread and butter, boiled egg slices. 3 times a fucking week...just thank the 1970s for that one. And the following.

Stew. Boiled parsnips, carrot, overcooked tomato and add some tinned beans instead of rabbit. Certainly do not add little shallots as they were tasty.

Grated carrot, (plain) chopped cabbage, (plain) baked beans and fried mashed potatoes. Add something instead of the cold meat off the joint. served separately on same plate.

Boiled potatoes, runner beans, cold meat. (Erm...tofu, unmarinated?)

Following day slice the remaining boiled potatoes and fry. Serve with runner beans and cold meat again.. or possibly more tofu!

Cous cous is what you need. Don’t trouble it with any seasoning.

cous cous, protein item (salmon, bit of quorn roast or whatever), plain steamed veg.

I also think anything based on tinned tomatoes that haven’t been cooked enough is fairly horrible. How about a nice watery spag Bol/ veggie version? Not too much by way of seasoning, herbs or garlic and definitely no long slow simmer. Healthy but disappointing.

Most supermarket Thai curry pastes will also do the job, especially if you stretch them. Lots of veg, but nothing too interesting, paste, coconut milk.

Spaghetti gratin

cooked spaghetti tossed in butter, cover with grated cheese, under the grill until brown.

You can add tomatoes around the edges so it isn't so much a yellow dinner.

Aslo works with courgetti.

My go to dinner when home alone.

I grew up eating this! Absolutely loved it, I should make it for myself with a crusty loaf!

Also chicken kiev with salad and coleslaw and buttered noodles.

boil as much as possible, start boiling at lunch time to be ready for dinner. Do not add salt, butter, mustard or oil

Boil chicken breasts in water. Serve with plain white rice. Do not add salt or butter. Switch chicken for relevant veggie protein (maybe a can of chickpeas). Boiled asparagus for veg

tin of tomatoes on pasta with random meat/protein on the side. Boiled cabbage for veg

vegetable fricassee, so boil Brussels sprouts, green peppers and cauliflower, then when nicely waterlogged, flash fry with some rice and a scrambled egg for protein (or a few boiled beans)

Mis-read email.

Plain white fish poached with rice or mash and peas.

Lasagne noodles, tinned sauce, sautéed vegetables, rolled up individually, cheese on top, then baked.

If you roll each noodle up by itself you can easily make meat or other versions, too.

Would highly recommend you make the exact same thing for a few nights. When you make something different, appreciation will POUR out. Totally low effort as you don't need to waste head space actually thinking of what to make and you could prep a massive batch ahead.

Beans on toast, cheese on toast. No butter and use basic bread.

Salad with no dressing / mayo.

Stir fry - really boring veg with no seasoning.

Sandwiches with basic bread, no butter just cucmber or tomato or cheap ham.

Plain boiled rice with plain white fish.

Lentils and rice. Just add a bit of garlic, butter and seasoning.

I made some fantastic looking chocolate shortbread, then realised I’d forgotten to put any sugar in the mix. And the cocoa powder was really ancient so they didn’t even taste of chocolate.

There! Bland enough?

I would do spaghetti bolognaise, meat and microwaved veggies, risotto and slightly vary the meals. Just do the same thing over and over.

I'm worried they may like this and you'll be under pressure to eat blandly for life. I'd make baked potatoes every night, frozen peas and sweetcorn and alternate fish fingers/chicken breasts/wedge of cheese/blob of humous.

Pasta bake. Boil short pasta. Mix in tin of mushroom soup. Add sliced mushrooms and sweetcorn. Grate cheese on top. If your DD eats fish, flake in a tin of tuna. So dull it is called the meal of last resort in our house (followed by a lot of the recipes from the green roasting tin book).

The 70s is good for bland food. Quorn mince, fried with a bit of onion. Add gravy made from onion gravy granules and cook for a bit. Serve with mash, overboiled and unseasoned carrots and cabbage.

Cheese pie. Make mashed potato. Put in casserole dish. Poke holes in the mash - one per person eating. Crack egg in hole. Cover lightly with grated mild Cheddar. Bake in oven until eggs are over cooked and rubbery. Serve with baked beans or tinned peas. Say you’ve run out of ketchup.

These are great.

Ill pick 5 of the least effort and repeat for a month.

I am a bit worried they will like it but I guess it will make life easier...