If not much of a cook ! What would you cook if you wanted to make someone feel cared for but they don’t eat meat

[Recentgradneedingachance]

Hello

I want to treat family who I haven’t seen for over a year. I want them to feel well cared for when the are with for lunch and dinner. So lovelies I not much of a cook 🫣what would you do ?

Vegetarian lasagne would be my favourite

Make a lovely 5 bean chilli, it’s so easy.

fry off celery, carrot, a pepper and onions and then add some spices like chilli powder, cumin, tumeric etc (you can find more specifics online). Add three tins of mixed beans In tomato sauce and you’re sorted.

serve with rice, tortilla chips and even some salsa and guac on the sides to add extra.

Some people like sour cream and coriander with this meal too.

Jacket spud/baked potatoes cheese and beans. The ultimate in veg friendly comfort food! Doesn't matter your skill level just make sure they are baked in the oven till soft and fluffy rather than the microwave variety.

Haha,yes another one for veggie lasagna. I don't eat meat,but don't often make it because of all the faff,of par cooking veg. I don't bother if it's watery veg like courgettes. Get a nice crumb crust on top, crumb and good cheese. Serve with a nice mixed salad,I don't like garlic bread. And what time shall I get round 🤣.

Squash and sage risotto with garlic bread
Creamy garlic and mushroom stroganoff
Lentil and vegetable cottage pie/lasagne
Lentil dal with rice, naans, vegetarian sides

This chickpea curry is quick, easy and delicious. A firm favourite in our house.

www.noracooks.com/chickpea-curry/

Something with lots of cheese.

My go to for veggie friends is curried cauliflower. So easy and so tasty!

Marry me halloumi https://www.latoyah.co.uk/2023/08/marry-me-halloumi-recipe-one-pan-wonder.html?m=1

Vegetable casserole

Vegetable enchiladas

Vegan meatballs and pasta with garlic bread or doughballs

Roasted vegetable orzo

ooh so many options I can think of!

mary Berry - spiced lentil and tomato moussaka from her Cook Now, Eat later book (page 114)
So lovely meateaters go back for seconds.

I love the Bosh vegetarian lasagne (which doesn't have to be vegan), with large slices of aubergine, courgette and red pepper roasted in the oven and then layered up with a tomato sauce.

Lentil soup and fresh crusty bread
Macaroni cheese, peas, roasted tomatoes and chips

Mixed bean and vegetarian sausage casserole, quick, easy and foolproof.
Aubergine parmigiana, delicious, a real treat.
Cauliflower cheese and vegetarian sausages, a winter favourite.
Or home made soup, eg leek and potato or spicy parsnip is so comforting!

Vegetarian sausages are disgusting..I was persuaded to try some, they look, taste and have the actual feel of meat in your mouth. They are also ultra high processed food..

Butternut squash soup with a swirl of cream and deep fried sage leaves (fry 1 onion, add butternut and boil in stock, add pinch of ground corriander blend, fry sage leaves for 1 min)

Red onion tart with balsamic ( blind bake some shop bought pastry in little tart tins - 1 big one- chop red onion into wedges fry slowly in butter trying to keep whole, add good splash balsamic and a derert spoon sugar, finish onion in tart case 5 mins)

Baked camenbert and crusty bread

feta and spinach filo parcel
Jamie Oliver's 30 Minute Meals: Spinach & Feta Filo Pie recipe | HotCooking

I do a lot of homemade soup, carrot add a couple of spoonfuls of marmite. I do like the butternut squash one, but it can be bland, I add a little dried chilli powder or paprika. Broccoli and stilton soup,served with a nice sourdough.

Quiche is my go to meal for an easy vegetarian dish. Buy ready made pastry, fill it with whatever you fancy! My aunt (who is vegetarian) did a lovely mushroom and gruyere one, I like caramelized onion and cheddar cheese. With eggs, obviously. 'Wet' vegetables should be used sparingly - I don't like tomatoes in or on a quiche but lots of people do. Serve with a really good salad or selection of salads.

Or you could ramp it up a bit and do a filo pastry tart. I saw Nadiya Hussein do something that looked fantastic with filo pastry scrunched up with various tasty things put on it and then egg poured over the top - I'm sure it has a proper name but I don't know what it is! Filo pastry is easy to buy and use and looks impressive. You could always do spanakopita if you like spinach and feta, I dont.

Or baked stuffed mushrooms? Large flat mushrooms topped with whatever you fancy and baked. Boursin is good, it's rich and creamy and very tasty. Top with breadcrumbs for a crunchy finish.

Baked fresh beetroot is really good if it is really fresh, and small. I wouldn't bother with old big beetroot. Corn on the cob always goes down well in my house. I've done a vegetable, cashew and noodle stir fry before and that has been popular.

I'm only suggesting easy things.... If you aren't used to cooking, something like a vegetarian curry, chilli or lasagne may be a step too far. I have, however, done a delicious rice and lentil biryani before!

If you're 'not much of a cook', buy something from a deli?

Roast sweet potato soup with lovely crusty bread.
I roast sweet potatoes, onions, maybe carrots and courgettes in the oven with olive oil and mixed herbs, then put it in a big pot with water to cover, blend lightly to take the edge off, maybe a vegetable stock cube, serve with a sprinkling of any fresh herb eg parsley, sage, thyme.

Agree with whoever said vegetarian chili (made with beans, not fake meat). All the sides (sour cream, cheese, guacamole or just avocadoes if you can't be bothered to make that, tortilla chips) make it feel like a special and indulgent meal, and lovely in wintertime.

This Delia Smith recipe. My DH loves it and he is a true carnivore. I serve it with a spinach and apple salad..and then choc mousse for dessert (also Delia)

www.deliaonline.com/recipes/international/european/italian-recipes/roasted-and-sun-dried-tomato-risotto

Pasta, ratatouille and grated cheese.

The ratatouille is basically chopped and fried mediterranean vegetables like aubergine, onions, courgettes, and capsicum peppers, simmered in a tomato marinara sauce. Add black pepper, a little salt, grated carrot, chopped herbs, black olives, mushrooms, a few spicey peppers like sliced jalapenos, red wine - whatever you like of whatever's knocking around.

It's also good with rice and flat-breads (add some ground cumin and coriander to the ratatouille) instead of pasta and cheese, as well as with baked potatoes & spinach or green beans.

For lunches, I genuinely like stuff on toast: baked beans, eggs, cheese & tomato/onion, tinned tomatoes, tinned spaghetti; and soup with toast. Or soup and a sandwich, with a few crisps / a bit of salad.

Well, someone must like them, as thousands are sold weekly!

Remember the recent uproar when a well known brand discontinued their vegetarian sausages in favour of vegan sausages only? They have now reinstated their vegetarian sausages due to consumer pressure.

Personally, I prefer my sausages to be full of pig! 🐷 🐷 🐷 🐷 🐷

https://www.deliciousmagazine.co.uk/recipes/lighter-aubergine-parmigiana/

This is a favourite of mine. Lovely with salad and garlic bread.

Can you not ask them what they’d like to eat? It’s almost impossible to recommend a dish that’s universally to all veggies taste.

I don’t eat meat and I’d say I wouldn’t enjoy most of the suggestions on this thread. I hate lentils, chickpeas, kidney beans etc and I don’t do spice in any shape or form.

Out of the above suggestions, I’d go for something really safe such as jacket potatoes and quiche rather than attempting a recipe that might not be to their taste.