Ideas for meals where the “main” can be veggie or meat

[Maloneyb]

My mum is coming to stay for a couple nights (can’t wait!!) but I’m struggling on what to cook for dinner… she always does the cooking so I want to make sure she isn’t while she’s here.

hubby eats meat.. so need a protein that he will enjoy
and she is a vegetarian- eats eggs, dairy etc.

I just need some ideas of stuff I can make - easy not too much hassle but also tasty, where I can swap out the meat protein for something vegetarian.

Oh to add, popping to Aldi to pick stuff up later so anything Aldi do is fine too!

Fajitas? Do all the veg separately but have chicken available. Rice and salad on side.

I do a beef bourgignon and an amazing mushroom one (I'm the veggie). Then some mash and green veg.

https://www.thevegspace.co.uk/recipe-chestnut-mushroom-bourguignon/

Aubergine parmigiana with some chorizo on the side, Some sort of chickpea curry where you can cook the meat separately and just add it back in for meat eaters, butternut squash with feta mint dressing with some grilled chicken, pasta with chilli garlic and kale then just stir through chorizo or anchovies for the meat eaters. Or if you can be bothered a dumpling noodle soup

When I had a veggie cousin stay and none of the rest of us were, I did a gnocchi bake with spinach and philadelphia as the sauce. It normally has pancetta in it, but I fried that separately and put it in a bowl for those of us that wanted it to stir into our plateful. Would something like that work?

Or a veggie lasagna with a lentil based bolognaise?

Fajitas are easy as well: cook the chicken or steak separately from the veg, put out on the table with wraps, guac, salsa, sour cream, cheese and salad and everyone makes their own.

Great ideas thank you! Keep them coming 😊

Veggie curries with meat on the side. I often do this eg a dal and a cauliflower dish with roasted chicken thighs. The same can go for a stir fry eg singapore noodles with egg and/or tofu as the protein with some meaty bits among the sides.

Fajitas and different bowls of stuff are a great idea. You could do the same with jacket spuds, bowl of cheese, jar of sour cream, veggie chilli, meat chilli if you could be bothered but I'd probably not, bacon bits etc.

Quiche or fritatta might work too.

Cookie and Kate have a good recipe for a veggie chilli - you don't have to have meat just because DH likes it....

This would also work well - can just add cooked prawns at the end https://thedoctorskitchen.com/recipes/cooks-white-bean-prawn-saganaki/

A sausage casserole using veggie sausages? Burger night with portobello mushrooms for your mum?

I do lentil ragu vs bolognese - most of the work is in chopping the onion/carrot/celery, you can even soften all those together then split and do one pot with a tin of green lentils, one with beef mince.

Similar with chilli, black beans/bean combo for the veggie version.

Stir fry, one with chicken, one with tofu pieces, same veg in each.

Toad in the hole (if it turns cold again!)

Swedish meatballs/Quorn Swedish style meatballs with mash, peas, sauce or gravy.

Tuna pasta bake/macaroni cheese

Or I am sure your husband could manage without meat for one meal!

Can your Dh seriously not cope with veggie food for two nights ? Meat eaters can eat veggie food you know !
mine would be getting some filling veggie food and he is a confirmed carnivore.

I do a lovely lentil, spinach and coconut curry where you can add chicken at the end (though it’s better without)!
Also a carrot, barley, tarragon stew (again add chicken at the end).
You could make a very simple cherry tomato, onion, mascarpone and fresh basil sauce. Keep some aside for the veggies, then pan fry chicken breast, cover it with rest of sauce and bake in oven. Serve with pasta. That’s a favourite in our house.

But I would do veggie for everyone on at least one of the nights! It’s not good to eat meat every day anyway.

https://www.slimmingeats.com/blog/baked-bean-cheesy-potato-topped-pie

This is popular in my family - we'rea mix of carnivores and vegetarians. You could always cook a couple of sausages and slice them into his portion.

Surely you could just cook veggie dinners for two evenings? He can always eat meat at other meals if he really needs to. Seems an unnecessary hassle to do both.

I mean, I didn’t say that did I?
but if there’s an easy swap out there’s no harm….

Individual pies
I made a beef bourguignon with veg sausage alongside one with beef the other day
Lasagne
Stew - add the meat after boiling the veg
Bolognese - make the sauce and add meat to half and quorn mince to the other half

Roasted veggies and veggie / meat sausages - or could just do sausage & mash with meat / veggie sausages. Individual pies are good and there are some great ready made ones for an easy dinner. Stir fry with veggies and choice of either chicken or tofu on the side.

A chick pea and vegetable curry with rice, naan, salad etc and DH can cook himself some chicken tikka.

Mezze - falafel, salads, flatbreads and hummus/other dips and again, DH can make himself some sort of marinaded chicken.

Well his gut health, future risk of bowel cancer, the planet nevermind the animals if you care about such things, but no no harm.

Chicken curry/chickpea curry
Beef/quinoa/lentil bolognese
Burgers
Carbonara with bacon/fake bacon
Individual pies from shop, veggie/meat and chips etc
Fry up
Sausages mash and gravy
Fajitas
Lasagne (individual dishes using leftover bolognese)
Bean chilli/beef chilli
Stir fry
Sunday dinner - nut roast or faux meat instead of meat
Pittas/wraps with falafel/chicken and salad

Another post with veggie options your husband will manage fine

Cheese lasagne (Delia smith has a really good recipe)
Macaroni cheese
Jacket potatoes beans and cheese (lunch option?)
Veggie risotto (with cheese in)

• Lentlil shepherd's pie
• lentil ragu with pasta
• beanburger, chips & veg
• vegetable stir fry with edamame
• pineapple and cashew fried rice
• Quorn or Aldi vegetable sausages with mash and beans (Bisto is also veggie if she doesn't mind the meaty taste)
• cauliflower cheese grill with new potatoes and veg
• roasted veg and pulses with fresh bread
• 5 minute dhal
• Vegetable biryani
• Thai veg red/green curry
• Lentil chilli
• Baked potatoes with beans & cheese
• Ricotta & spinach tortellini with pesto & green veg
• Minestrone
• Tons of vegetable soup combinations

• Keep cooked meat/fish in the fridge so you can take the veggie portion out and add cooked protein at the end.

• DD1 is veggie, can you tell? 😊