Vegetarian family dinners - whats your go-to?

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DH and I are really struggling to get out of a rut at dinner times. 3 under 5's so needs to be family friendly food.

If you want, please post your go-to vegetarian meal with instructions for a dumb-dumb to follow

I'll start:

Fry your choice of veg (onion, leek, garlic, peppers, sun dried tomato, peas, sweetcorn, tiny cubes of carrot etc) until really nice and soft. Add cooked quinoa (I sometimes add a stock cube to the cooking water but feel guilty about salt content!) and a dollop of pesto. Mix well.

Serve with a slice of grilled halloumi on top and a big salad

Super quick zucchini and Haloumi frittata. Blitz 2-3 zucchini and about 180g Haloumi in blender so it is roughly chopped. In large fry pan heat teaspoon oil and fry Haloumi and zucchini until Haloumi is nicely brown and zucchini is cooked.

In separate bowl mix 6 eggs, 3/4 cup milk, salt and pepper to taste.

Pour egg mixture into fry pan over the zucchini and Haloumi.

Cook on moderate hob until egg is almost set on top, spread half cup grated tasty cheese, then pop fry pan under grill until brown on top.

So good!

Some just mentioned gnocchi upthread. Just wanted to share that we never boil gnocchi, we always dry fry it. So pop in a pan with no oil, they get toasted like that. Jiggle about and you are done when they are browning on the outside. Then you can fry up whatever veg you like and dump it all together with a few spoons of red pesto. Bloody lovely. If you feel like some meat throw in some chicken too. (If in a rush just buy pre-cooked chicken).

Hummus making tip. If you soak the dried beans instead of using the canned stuff the difference in taste is quite remarkable.

Great thread, thanks for sharing!!

I did a winter salad this evening. It's basically a selection of different thing arranged in a bowl (think Buddha bowl). It's normally whatever I can find in the fridge so tonight we had red rice, roasted butternut squash, roasted onion, halloumi, hard boiled eggs, some rocket, pumpkin seeds and pomegranate seeds. Would have added avocado but it was too far gone. Disappeared in a flash.

Veggie chilli - sweet potatoes, chick peas, tomatoes, chillis, red onion and peppers with paprika and cocoa powder.

Sliced red onion, mushroom, spinach and feta omelette served with beans.

Thank you, I really needed this thread. Am a lifelong veggie but dh has recently decided he's not eating quorn anymore. Have been getting on fine with lentils and chickpeas but am bored now!

My 'go to' meals are lentil daal, I fry onions/ celery/carrot/garlic/ chilli (chopped up small) then add dried red lentils, dried split peas, tin of toms and the spices and boil it all together. Sometimes at the end I add spinach or sweetcorn. Serve with brown rice and salad or veg.
A channa massala which has the same Base, a couple of tins of chick peas and a couple of tins of toms, I also add a good helping of frozen mixed veg. Add the spices and cook until it goes all thick.
Lentil bolognaise which is garlic/onions/celery/carrots, red lentils, good quality tinned toms, Tom puree, veggie stock, marmite, splash of balsamic, red wine and basil. Serve with wholemeal pasta and grated cheddar.
Cheese soup which is onions/celery/carrots (lots of carrotts) fried,add potatoes,stock and boil, blend and add grated cheese.
Other favourite meals are mash with hard boiled eggs, grated cheese and salad, omlette with tinned new potatoes and salad.

Another tip I use is to chop loads of carrots, onions and celery and cook them overnight in the slow cooker, then portion them up and freeze

Fever I'm not good with chickpeas so I use tinned cannellini, or other white beans, for dips and stews. I get eczema from tomatoes too! That base of carrots, celery, onions and garlic is good for me!

I'm not vegetarian so apologies if this is a little simple but it's my favourite no meat Monday supper.

Eggs and greens.
Steam a mixture of greens (I like asparagus, Spring greens, green beans, long stem brocolli and spinach but also add cavolo Nero, kale, chard, Savoy cabbage, courgettes and baby broad beans). Plunge into cold water to keep the colour. Heat a teaspoon of olive oil and add a couple of finely chopped garlic cloves. Add the greens and toss through.

Fry (I like in a little hot olive oil) or poach an egg. Top a pile of the greens with the egg, sprinkle with a little rock salt and enjoy.

Possible tweaks:
1/ add chili flakes to the olive oil and garlic
2/serve on grilled sourdough (possibly rubbed with a garlic clove) if you want something more substantial (my DH has it like this with two eggs).
3/very good served with some tomato and chili chutney

Exgucci I'm a demi veggie but that isn't simple IMO I just had some sliced baked pumpkin and quinoa on spelt toast with olive oil and tamari sauce That's great for me!

That sounds lovely ppeat! Our other Monday night supper is grilled asparagus with burrata, a tomato salad with basil (and some grilled spelt sourdough for my husband). Is that simpler?!

Do your children enjoy that ExGucciKing?

We don't eat with the DCs but they both like the burrata, grilled asparagus and spelt sourdough. My older isn't keen on raw tomatoes (likes cooked) but the younger likes them. Both love greens with garlic and eggs in all forms.

Jamie Oliver's chilli with sweet potatoes & any tinned beans
Pasta and bean soup with baby pasta
Anna Jones's spaghetti cooked in pan with cavolo nero/kale & cherry tomatoes
Ribollita (white bean and greens soup)
Pasta with chard and chickpeas
Veggie toad in the hole
Veg stew with dumplings (veg suet)
Stir fry with seitan or tofu and green stuff
spanish tortilla with peppers and potatoes

Yes of course , it wasn't meant as a criticism exguccii We're all different, I like good quality simple food that's all!

I find throwing the whole larder at a meal can backfire with the family ! Sorry is a burrata a pancake?

Sorry but shamelessly place marking just literally became veggie and haven't got anything to offer yet!

mummarich Hugh Fearnley Whittingstall's River Cottage Veg Everyday is your friend! It's clear and concise. I use it a lot and I'm an old hand at the cooking game .

Placemarking to come back and steal recipes later! Not a veggie family but would like to eat meat-free some nights though not into quorn or tofu to substitute meat. Some of these sound delicious!

charlie cocoa powder, in chilli!? How much?

Easy meal that's nutritious enough, boil pasta, broccoli, frozen peas, tinned butter beans and spinach in one big pan (add them in that order a few mins apart) Then while they're in the colander draining chuck a tub of Philidelphia type stuff in warm pan to melt, with some olive oil, mix into pasta and veg, grate cheese on top.
It's not ever going to earn me a mitchelin star, but it's quick and doesn't make loads of dishes.

Other stuff - roast squash cubes with pasta, cheese sauce and spinach

Veg bolognaise made with lentils. Leftover is turned into chilli the next day by adding a bit of chilli powder and kidney beans, and served with baked spuds/sweet pots.

Sorry, I was joking ppeat, it probably fell flat though.. I just love green stuff and think if I'm cooking one type, I may as well cook a few others. Had cancer at a young age so that shapes our diet greatly too.

lastqueenofscotland, we've just had your gnocchi bake for tea, and I can report that it was a hit with my 4yr old who wolfed it down. Thank you for the recipe!

ExGucci Blimey someone's who's actually eating for health I do too (to avoid cancer,I have a bad family history) I follow the blood type which is the be all and end all of anti cancer diets. If you're interested. pm me. I'm not selling anything btw !!!

We just had bambooshoots risotto so thank you for that! Very easy and tasty the 2&4 year old ate it and the baby gummed some left over butternut squash. Perfect.