Favourite, guaranteed winner family dinners

[Willow4987]

I’m looking for inspiration as I’ve absolutely lost it

What are you most favourite, guaranteed winner family dinners?

I’ve got 2 toddlers, 3 years and 18 months. The oldest basically refuses to eat anything I give him so it’s becoming a real struggle to keep thinking of things to try

Sausage and apple bake.
Spaghetti and meatballs.
Prawn noodles.

What's worked well for us, over time, is serving meals deconstructed in bowls on the table. So my DC can help themselves to what they want. They've been more likely to try new foods when they've got control over what they serve themselves. It's also less stressful than them whinging that they don't like things!

I agree about serving food in the middle - it is more washing up but my kids are more likely to eat something. The rule is no pudding (usually fruit) unless they try a tiny bit of everything. Winners for us are

• carbonara
• spag bol
• cauli & chickpea curry (one only eats the chickpeas, one the cauli)
• smoked mackerel, new pots (with lots of butter) and cucumber/toms
• roast

Airfried salt and pepper Chinese chicken with rice and prawn crackers. So simple and a guaranteed crowd pleaser filled with veg.

Lasagna

Roast with all the trimmings (they literally aren't that bothered by the meat, just the Yorkshires/stuffing/veg!)

Spaghetti and meatballs is another good one here.

Also, home made pizzas. we all have our own and add our bits.

Vietnamese spring rolls, deconstructed.

Pasta with cheese and squshed roasted cherry tomatoes.
Sausage casserole
Chicken and leek pie
Pulled pork with applesauce in mini wraps or bread rolls with shredded lettuce.

Sausages and mash
Spaghetti bolognaise
Roast chicken with vegetables (I usually do yorkshire puddings instead of roast potatoes for a weeknight supper).
As a rule, chicken tray bakes go down surprisingly well. DD might refuse to eat the skin, but otherwise they're popular, in all forms, and I serve them with just "boring" veg like carrots or peas or broccoli and new potatoes for carbs.

Rice dishes like risotto or a cheat fried rice. But annoyingly I stopped making them and now DD has decided she doesn't like rice in any form. Am extremely annoyed as she used to shovel it down and it just proves that her current fussy eating is in her head! I'm working on it.

Today I realised that meals were a bit easier now. My eldest actually ate pasta bake last night 😱 youngest lives on bread, hummus, marmite and apples but it’s definitely getting better as they get older. They’re 3.5 and 6. So just grin and bear and it and deconstruct meals for now I reckon!!

But to answer your question, in our house it’s:
Sausage and mash (youngest will eat the mash, eldest will eat the sausage)

Jacket potatoes - good because you can do a range of toppings. Youngest WONT eat potato for this meal 🙄

Freezer food

Then the other 2 days of the week youngest is fed at nursery and eldest school dinner so they have sandwiches for tea 🤣

Roast there is always something for everyone too.

Fajitas (served in its component parts for self assembly.
Tuna, sweetcorn and sweet potato fishcakes.
Chicken, bacon and broccoli pasta bake
Gammon and pineapple
Paprika chicken skewers
Lemon and garlic chicken in ciabatta rolls with apple slaw
Salmon with sweet chilli sauce
Cauliflower and broccoli cheese with bacon

Cheese and tomato bread pudding recipes.sainsburys.co.uk/recipes/cheese-and-tomato-bread-and-butter-pudding
Fish cakes realfood.tesco.com/recipes/crumbs-fishcakes.html
Burgers www.annabelkarmel.com/recipes/annabels-yummy-beefburgers/
Chicken pie
Mini toad in the holes realfood.tesco.com/recipes/cheats-toad-in-the-hole.html
Naan pizza recipes.sainsburys.co.uk/recipes/naan-bread-pizza
Fried rice www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/chicken-sweetcorn-egg-fried-rice

Sweet and sour pork, katsu pork, Meatballs, macaroni cheese with peas, spag bol, curry and rice, enchiladas, pad thai. Although currently the veg tend to be picked out of most meals sometimes im surprised by what she does or doesn't like though.

Agree with deconstructed. Mine get overfaced with a big plate of something that all looks the same ie pasta bake and prefers when they can pick and choose.
Roast chicken & vegetables
Mexican stuff (chilli/fajitas/quesidilla plus sides)
Ploughman's
All most popular at the moment

Chicken & broccoli pie with mash.
Chicken mushrooms & pea risotto.
Sausage tomato & bean or chickpea casserole.
Toad in the hole.
Sausage tomato & pasta bake with cheese.
Homemade pizza.
Spaghetti carbonara.

Homemade chicken or turkey nuggets, my kids absolutely love them. Bite sized chunks of turkey dipped in beaten egg or yogurt then rolled in panko breadcrumbs, bit of salt and pepper and garlic powder and then shallow fried. Serve with rice and chopped up bit of raw veg like cucumber, carrot, peppers etc A little soy sauce or amino's is nice with it too.

Spag Bol
Shepherds pie
Mild curry (eg korma)
Mild chilli with rice
Sausage pasta
Fish pie
Pie and mash
Roast chicken dinner
Paella

3 kids under 4 and these are always well received.

Thanks everyone! I’ve been doing mainly deconstructed meals for a while (very hit and miss) but lots of ideas I can try

Lasagna (veg or minced beef) using homemade hidden veg sauce
Chicken parmigiana (pizza chicken)
Homemade breaded chicken and homemade oven chips, homemade coleslaw
Penne with chicken, broccoli and mix of half cheese bechamel/ half homemade green pesto,
Butter chicken/ paneer and brown rice
Stir fried noodles with mixed veg and chicken/ tofu
Plain cheese quiche
Baked nachos with homemade bean chili, cheese, salsa, creme fraiche
Homemade beef burgers/ frozen plant burgers, oven chips, coleslaw
Banjan borani (oven baked aubergine slices topped with homemade pizza sauce, then natural or greek yogurt, salt and pepper, olive oil and Tabasco sauce to taste)
Homemade pizza (homemade dough, homemade uncooked pizza sauce, mix of grated cheddar and grated mozzarella, toppings: organic hotdogs, sliced; drained sliced Spanish black olives; chopped broccoli florets marinated in garlic, olive oil, salt and pepper)
Macaroni and cheese
Chicken/ Vegetarian biryani
Breaded/ soda water-battered and fried white fish fillets with homemade oven chips and homemade coleslaw
Mulligatawny soup with brown rice
Tomato soup and pesto star bread
Homemade version of Greggs cheese onion pasties using healthier pastry crust