Easy meat based dishes that a squeamish vegetarian can cook for a 5 and almost year old

[MaryStroppins]

Just that really I’m a life long vegetarian that has zero experience of cooking with meat. My lovely husband cooks their meat based meals but he spends a lot of time away with his work and I’m getting a bit reliant on M&S and Waitrose ready meals and worry about their salt content etc. Neither of them is particularly adventurous but I want to start introducing a wider range of tastes and flavours.

They eat,

Chicken
Pork
Fish

No beef or lamb based recipes please!

I’m mostly terrified that I’ll give them some kind of food poisoning

Any help would be really appreciated.

Teriyaki chicken (sliced chicken breast and teriyaki sauce). Pork and apple burger (using minced pork and grated apple). Salmon done in foil in the oven (about 20 minutes max for 2 fillets at 180), dotted with butter or basted with teriyaki or other sweet sauce (try ketchup and apple juice mixed together) - can include veg in foil parcel like broccoli, baby corn, whatever they will eat.

It won't harm them to have meat-free meals while your dh is away - how about spaghetti in a plain tomato sauce with cheese and peas (peas are high protein)? Omelettes? Make chicken-type stuff using quorn chunks? You shouldn't have to ignore your principles because of your dh's career - you wouldn't be forcing vegetarianism on them they would still be omnivorous when meat is available.

Look at Annabel Karmel for recipes, or just Google the ideas and you'll find some recipes. Also try searching BBC Good Food for family recipes.

My DCs (4&6) really like the Quorn chicken pieces.

You could easily encourage them to be more adventurous whilst still being veggie. Do you eat fish? My kids always loved salmon noodles or veggie rice with chicken - dead easy, stick all the ingredients in a pan and stir fry and cook rice/noodles on the side to add in later.

Chicken fajitas/wraps?

I’m veggie and I cook meat and fish for my kids
Easiest thing is skinless and boneless salmon - you just shove it in oven and it’s cooked in 15 mins. I cook this then serve with mash or chips and veg.
Also easy is sausages but these are unhealthy!
Chicken I can just about manage but find the diced stuff easiest to cook with - you can cook loads of different dishes like mild curries and lemon chicken with this
I do get it - I had to ask someone to put the Xmas turkey for my family that my oh was going to cook but for logistical reasons I had to buy in the trolley for me and again at the checkout!

Can you handle touching a chicken breast?

Your two children would only need one chicken great between them, and they're really easy to cook wrapped in foil.

Lay out tin foil, put breast in centre and wrap it up so that it's airtight. In oven for 20 mins on 200deg, or into steamer for 30 mins.

That's the basics, you can then flavour the chicken breast as you like. My children like it just peppered (no salt). Or add lemon juice and slices of lemon. Add a herb rub of your choice. Add pesto. Add curry type flavours or cumin/paprika. There's loads of variation on the basic recipe of a chicken breast wrapped in foil.

Bacon?
Cook veggie stuff and put crispy bacon in it
Ditto chicken pieces in pasta sauce
Your veggie food with sausages or salmon separate?
Fajitas - can buy chicken mini-fillets to thrown in save you messing with it
A veggie friend buys ready cooked chicken for her DC
Tray bakes require little messing with the meat

Can't they just eat the same as you're having? Vegetarian food won't do them any harm!

It's better for them not to have meat. Why give your kids worse food than yourself?

I eat meat, my dc do. I cook them and DH;
Beef stew ( I get the beef already chopped)
Salmon fillets (wrap in foil, bake for 15 mins at 180 ish) - can also do cod or other white fish like this; can also put sliced veg in the parcel.
Fish finger - grilled
Sausages - grilled
Chicken breast - grilled
Sausage casserole
Pasta, tom sauce and meatballs (ikea, but DS is nearly 10 and makes them sometimes since he learnt how at Cubs )
Stir fry, with ham/chicken/prawns
Apparently my spag bol, shepherds pie and chill is pretty good - I wouldn’t know (all recipes adapted from the veggie versions I already cooked).

Doh! Previous thread should start “I don’t eat meat”.

I don't like cooking meat either and I cook chicken without touching it at all. Open packet and shake the chicken fillets onto whatever you're cooking them in. Use a knife and fork to cut them up if it's a stir fry type thing.

I don't like the processed element of it, but that Quorn stuff tastes very like chicken.

DS is largely vegetarian though.

I should have had added that they do have a lot of vegetarian meals with me, however I could live on pasta with different sauces and cheese and I know that’s not a good diet for them (or me). I’m not the biggest fan of Quorn as it makes me feel bloated and uncomfortable so it’s not really something I use in my cooking and I don’t eat fish either.

Salmon in foil with noodles is one of my go to meals for them I hadn’t considered that I might be able to do something similar with chicken breasts so will give that a go.

@Imchilbob Cooking meat isn’t against my ideals, I was raised a vegetarian from birth for my parents religious beliefs. I never really had the opportunity to try meat until I was older and then didn’t see the point. I’m happy for my children to decide what they eat when they’re older.

My DH is an ex athlete so followed a very meat protein based diet and even he has reduced his meat intake by eating whatever I cook and gaining a love for paneer!

I do a tuna pasta bake with a tomato based sauce.
Fry off red onion, peppers, add olives, chopped toms, herbs, can of sweetcorn, can of tuna ,balsamic vinegar and black pepper and cooked pasta. Put into oven proof dish and top with cheese and breadcrumbs and bake.

I would look for long cook recipes like chicken casserole or curry. No worries about meat being undercooked, dice it up, fry it off until the outside is light golden, then add the sauce/spices/whatever the recipe calls for, then simmer for up to an hour. I like my curry cooked until the chicken falls apart so you can see it's well cooked through.

I often just bung stuff in a slow cooker, requires very little interaction. You could try turkey for a change from chicken. Also do some batch cooking.

Can you afford to buy pre-diced chicken?

Fish that requires no preparation and can be eaten cold, such as rollmop herrings and sliced smoked salmon.
I'd assume you're already using tinned tuna.

For a larger meal a boneless pork joint could just be dressed on the outside and bunged in the oven, no having to slice raw meat.

Is beef and lamb totally out of bounds? Lean mince would be perfect for this situation.

Fish cakes with couscous and peas is a nice easy dinner

Chicken curry (buy diced chicken so you can just put it into the frying pan - the pieces will be big but can be chopped easily when cooked)

Sausages

Pulled pork in the slow cooker is dead easy and makes loads so freezable for another time.
A Gammon joint similar.