Feeling uninspired - what to cook for weekly get together?

[Naoko]

Once a week a few friends (between 3 and 5, so total of 5-7 with me and DP) get together at my house to play games and watch DVDs. We usually eat together and because most of them can't cook to save their lives I tend to make the food, with them bringing/paying for ingredients I specify. I'm feeling absolutely uninspired this week, as a result of a long, difficult few days, and can't decide what to cook. It's normally simple, cheapish stuff (quite a few of us are broke students, I made spaghetti bolognese last week) and further complicated by the fact it can't be spicy, and it can't contain pork or fish. I'm drawing a total blank. Any ideas would be very gratefully received!

I always do sausage casserole in situations like this! Nigel Slaters is yum.

here

It's nice with jacket potatoes, or just chunks of bread to dip in.

Hm, could work if I can lay my hands on some decent beef sausages (harder than it sounds round here, no idea why half my local supermarkets don't seem to do them) and leave out the salami...thanks! More ideas welcome, seeing as this is a recurring event :o

A huge dish of really good macaroni cheese and a spinach and red onion salad with a lemony dressing.

A couple of baked camemberts, some roasted garlic, good bread, celery, radishes etc and some tiny roasted new potatoes.

Jacket potatoes with a selection of toppings.

Big dish of baked risotto and a rocket salad.

Not being allowed to be spicy restricts the ideas I can offer, as nearly everything we eat is spicy!

i often do a dish that goes in the oven, with either chicken (thighs or drumsticks), pork ribs (but you don't want pork) or even sausages (have you tried beef or venison ones?).

i do a 50/50 mix of hoi sin sauce and honey (usually about 3 tablespoons of each), a splash of water so it's not too thick - enough sauce to cover the meat. bung it all in the oven for about 40/45 minutes, give it a shake/turn half way through. potatoes or home-made wedge chips can be baked at the same time too. bake at 200 deg C.

comes out a treat and requires close-to-zero attention.

kids love it too.

Roast chicken with couscous, aubergine and goat's cheese salad and fresh bread.

YY to risotto

Quiche salad and new pots

Shepherd's pie

Chicken and mushroom pie

Any pie

chicken cacciatore (using thighs not breasts) - BBC good food website
Italian sauage polettina & macaroni (john Terrode) also BBC goodfood website

Great ideas there people, thank you! :) The fact that it can't be spicy does make it hard, one of the people who often turns up is very fussy and hates spicy food. Have some stuff to work with now, thanks a lot!