Any ideas for a lovely autumn dinner for three of us?

[Toffeeapplecandyfloss]

DH won’t eat anything cream based.

DS not keen on minced beef so lasagne etc out.

Any ideas? Looking through recipe books feeling uninspired.

Stew and dumplings. With a lovely rich gravy.

You could do a non-mince lasagne. There a chicken, squash and pesto lasagne on the BBC Good Food site which I like.

I don’t know why but chicken lasagnes seem wrong to me - just doesn’t appeal at all! I could think about a stew.

Right, so I totally mis-read 'for the three of us' as a3 course meal.

And I am going with it.

Starter- butternut squash and apple soup with crumbled blue cheese on the top and loads of nutmeg.

Main- slow cooked beef and carrot stew with parsley dumplings or mash.

Pudding- apple crumble with ginger or vanilla ice cream.

Hungarian goulash (it does have crème fraiche in it). Waitrose has a super easy recipe (Google it), serve with rice not pasta as it suggests and about five times the paprika (hot and smoked).
Chilli? Nigella's Express has a great recipe, and I love her Chicken curry in a hurry one too.
Jaime Oliver's Hit n Run chicken - again quadruple the paprika (use hot and smoked) and be more generous with the oil and vinegar and garlic too. Serve with rice.
I've just made pumpkin soup - bbc good food recipe, adding some ground cumin, coriander and smoked paprika to it. Very filling and is good for lunch.
Hairy Bikers have an excellent cauliflower curry recipe (sorry can't remember which book. They and Nigella are the only ones who are generous with their serving sizes.

Autumn means squash to me! Butternut squash and sage risotto?

Meera Sodha's pumpkin malai kari - really rich and delicious.

(edited to add that if I had a non-vegetarian DH and a non food fussy Dc who does not eat cooked veg, soup, cheese, potatos or apples then this would be my dream meal). I'm living vicariously through you, @Toffeeapplecandyfloss

Would he eat minced turkey? What about turkey meatballs in tomato sauce with spaghetti? This is a nice recipe: www.cookincanuck.com/italian-turkey-meatballs-in-tomato-sauce-recipe/

I’d love these but DH won’t eat mash - basically if it’s white he won’t eat it! That stew sounds lovely.

Pulled beef brisket with autumn slaw and sweet potato fries
Leek, and sweet potato curry with dumplings
Sausage and chorizo casserole with cheesy mash
Pork and cider pie

Having friends over and we are having watercress soup, slow cooked short rib of beef in a gorgeous rich sauce, roasted winter veg (carrots parsnips) and creamy mash followed by chocolate fondants.

We had a tray bake last night which was sausages, gnocchi, parsnips, apple, red onion, butternut squash with sage and thyme. It felt really autumnal!

Pork steaks sat on a bed of onions and sliced apple, and baked in the oven.

Toad in the hole and seasonal veg.
Apple and BlackBerry crumble with custard.

My favourite autumn meal is chestnut and butternut squash risotto. I don't have a recipe to hand but if you know how to make a standard risotto, just add roasted squash and some pre-cooked chestnuts 10 minutes before the end. It's so delicious! You can add blue cheese at the end if you like it, if not parmasan is fine. If you follow it with an apple crumble it's the perfect autumn menu 👌

I'm doing bean chilli enchiladas this evening and toad in the hole tomorrow - do either of those take your fancy?

That sounds gorgeous. Do you have a recipe? I'm assuming there must be some liquid for the gnocchi to cook?

Boeuf bourguignon, you could serve with Yorkshire puddings and your DH's favourite vegetables.
or
Coq au vin, serve it with garlic bread or buttered tagliatelle.

Fruit tart is always a good option for pudding, perhaps plum or apple & blackberries.

We absolutely love this:

www.jamieoliver.com/recipes/vegetables-recipes/early-autumn-minestrone-minestrone-d-inizio-autunno/

Served with garlic toast for dipping in

Roast squash, sage and mushroom lasagna

Chicken stewed with mushrooms

Coq au Riesling (just like coq au vin but with white instead of red)

Braised pork belly with chestnuts and star anise

Beef stew with porcini mushrooms

What about a sausage pasta? Either sausage and ricotta, or if that’s too creamy for your DG, you could do a tomato based sauce. Or even sausage pesto pasta (simple and delicious). Add whatever veg in you like :)

@AtleastitsnotMonday
do you have a recipe for the tray bake please?

Homemade tomato soup with a cheese toastie! Not Michelin star but delicious!

Vegetable cobbler.
Pumpkin
Butternut squash
Sweetpotato
Tomatoes
Stock

With a cobbler top

I don't have a recipe for the sausage tray bake because I'm a kind of chuck nice things that go together in a pan and home for the best kind of cook. I use fresh gnocchi and blanch it for 2 minutes before it goes in the oven.
Start with the parsnip and squash, slice the parsnips, and cube the butternut squash, put in the tray, with some sprigs of thyme, plenty of salt and pepper. Start these off in the oven, after about 15 mins add sausages, obviously depends a bit on how thick your sausages are, I tend to use chipolata's so they don't take too long too cook, red onion cut in small wedges, the apple (like wise small wedges) and the gnocchi, toss with the squash and parsnips, add about a glass of white wine, cider or apple juice, spray again with oil, season and add sage. Return to the oven for about 30 mins until it's all nicely browned. I don't usually need to add additional fluid because the apple softens and releases juices but you could add a little stock if it's looking like it's drying out. But you don't want it too wet other wise the gnocchi and parsnips don't roast.