Family dinner ideas

[buma]

I am sick to death of eating the same dinners.

Could you give me some healthy (ish) family meals please?

Thank you!

At risk of listing all the stuff you already eat but:

Traybakes:
mediterranean roast veg (aubergine, courgettes, mixed peppers, red onions, baby tomatoes, olives) tossed in garlic and herbs with a bit of olive oil, served with herb and lemon couscous and peas
chicken thighs with rosemary, garlic, red onion quarters, baby potatoes and butternut squash
roast salmon or hake/cod/haddock with fennel, spring onions, ginger, lemongrass served with noodles and pak choi or broccoli tossed in sesame and chilli
chicken thighs or breast, skinned and boned, in chunks, marinated with chunks of white or red onion, carrot or butternut chunks, peppers in a mix of yoghurt, curry spices of your choice, mango chutney, served with rice or naan

This week’s dinners

Chicken, Boursin, sundried tomato and spinach orzo one pot
Gammon, egg, chips and beans (peas for the weirdos)
Homemade Juicy Lucy Burgers and salad
Chicken and chorizo rice
Homemade doner kebabs with pitta and salad

This week we have had
Chicken curry and naan
Jacket potatoes with tuna and salad
Quorn pasta bake
Bolognaise

Kebabs (bought or homemade) cooked under the grill. Serve with dip made from yogurt, cucumber, coriander, lime/lemon juice and olive oil. Green mixed salad with grated carrot and diced tomato. Chilli sauce if needed.

Chicken baked on a bed of onions covered in bacon. Pour over creamy garlic mushroom sauce and finish with cheese in the oven. Serve with rice and peas/veg.

Veg and bacon soup (I use up what's in the fridge) with dippy bread.

Caesar salad. Sauce is mayo, parmesan, wostershiresauce (half tsp) mustard (half tsp) vinegar and garlic. Leaves, Cooked chicken, cherry tomato, crispy bacon and toasted bread with garlic and olive oil as a cruton.

Oh I need a thread like this I'm so stuck in a rut. My meal plan so far:

Tonight - fishfinger ciabattas with mushy peas and tartare sauce

Sat - out

Sun - pulled pork, jacket pots, coleslaw

Mon - Spanish omelette, new pots, green beans

Tue - pepper and pine nut pasta

Wed - ch korma wraps, rice, lettuce etc

Thu - sweet and sour turkey, noodles

That's it so far

This week we have had:

sausage and champ (mash with added parsley, chopped spring onions and grain mustard) with roasted carrots and purple sprouting broccoli

steak with oven matchstick chips, peas and asparagus (DH birthday choice)

salad nicoise - tuna, green beans, eggs, lettuce, olives, tomatoes, cannelini beans, maybe baby potatoes or bread.

cod baked with lemon balm, spring onions and ginger, with broccoli and sliced roasted potatoes

something like shakshuka but a bit different - DH made it

Roast butternut squash with miso and sesame seeds, roasted kale and rice

Tomorrow we are having spag bol as adult DS is coming over and it's his favourite

That’s a really nice menu!

This week’s dinners (from scratch)

pizzas and salad

thai green chicken curry with green beans, rice and Thai crackers

thai cod and salmon fishcakes, potato wedges, corn and roasted tomatoes

paella with chicken, chorizo and prawns

bacon, Parmesan and peas risotto (DS is cooking this)

burgers and fries

chicken korma, sides (purchased, not made) and naan bread

Dinners here this week are:

• fish fingers, chips and veg
• jacket potatoes with fillings and salad
• roast chicken
• spaghetti bolognese
• chicken fried rice
• sausage casserole
• Beans on toast

Nothing very exciting for inspiration I'm afraid

All the usuals, we eat a lot of pasta.

This week

Spicy pork pho
Lasagne
Sausage orzo
Chorizo and bean stew
Chicken and chips
Fake Nando's
Spinach and ricotta tortellini (shop bought)

It's draining, I am so over thinking about food.

last few days. -
salmon and Mediterranean tray bake.
spag carbonara
jambalaya
jacket potatoes with chilli
roast chicken
chicken pie with new potatoes and steamed veg
stir fry veg with noodles
bobotie and yellow rice
lasagne
caesar salad and crusty bread

Feel a bit stuck here as well, trying to eat less meat and less UPF but I live with three carnivores.

This week we've had:

Fajitas
Orzo pasta carbonara
Kedgeree with smoked mackerel
Supermarket pizza
Pasta with broccoli, lemon and chilli - better than it sounds (www.mob.co.uk/recipes/brocolli-chilli-and-lemon-pasta)

All made from scratch apart from the pizza. Good thread, I need some inspiration

Lidl have Sol Y Mar this week so I have been eating tapas. Some bought frozen, some I have made fresh. For a family I would pad it out with other 'picky' bits.

What sort of meals are you fed up of? How old are your children?

One tapas I like is chorizo cooked in red wine, probably not ideal if you have a toddler. Literally put chorizo in a pan, cover with red wine and simmer until you have a sauce rather than liquid.

Some others.

Slice of crusty bread, basil leaf, slice of serrano ham, top with cheese and put a cocktail stick in.

Papas bravas cooked in the oven or airfryer.

Asparagus wrapped in ham.

Add some salad to balance it out.

Amazing!!
Thanks so much for the ideas!

Would you mind sharing the pho recipe?

Love a good meal ideas thread I'm always looking for new ideas!

Not an ad but we get the simply cook boxes which takes alot of the "thinking" out of it, and they are easy to adapt more to your own taste eg one of the meals this week was chorizo pasta but I used sausages instead. We get a box a fortnight and there are 4 meal kits per box so we usually have 2 a week.

Other meals we eat regularly..

Chicken fajitas either with the sachets of seasoning, peppers onion mushrooms etc or with ready made chicken goujons and then salad.

Spaghetti carbonara (sauce is eggs parmesan a splash of cooking water)

Filled tortellini is a weekly staple, quick and easy.

Homemade turkey meatballs and spaghetti.

Tacos, we don't eat beef so use turkey or pork mince

Hope that helps!

It’s so tricky isn’t it

I batch cook bolognese and stews (yes I know it’s summer 🤣) and curries

if I don’t dig out a batch cook meal

salmon, baby potatoes and salad

pork chop roasted veg and baby potatoes (all one one tray with honey/ seasoning 1 hour in oven)

chicken skewers from butcher with noodles or rice

Fajitas

Gammon.stuffing, mash

roast chicken

Very cool idea with cook boxes! I'm looking for some meal planning app for same. Have you tried smth?

I'm going to make this tonight. https://www.recipetineats.com/malfatti-italian-spinach-ricotta-dumplings/ We have some leftover roasted vegetables so I'll add those to the tomato sauce. Looking forward to it!

I made this recently and it was lovely, very well received here. I adapted it a bit as it's not Christmas. I didn't use sage leaves, used a mix of butternut squash and sweet potatoe, and instead of flaxseeds I bound it with beaten egg (there's a comment underneath about doing this which gave me the proportions). I made it into two loaves rather than a wreath, and the second one is in the freezer for another time. https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/jewelled-squash-chestnut-mushroom-wreath We had it with gravy, roast potatoes and various vegetables.

Red Dragon Pie is very good. There are many variants online. The key thing is to use aduki beans for the red colour. You can get them in a tin. https://thinlyspread.co.uk/meat-free-monday-red-dragon-pie/

(We're not vegetarians but don't eat much meat.)

I haven't made these yet but they are on my list to try:

cottage pie with cheesy parsnip mash we aren't vegetarian, but trying to reduce meat consumption, will make with half mince and half lentils

veg rich pasta sauce - probably with either meatballs or chicken

I make a lot of pasta dishes with a sauce that it cream cheese (supernarket's cheapest) melted and thinned with either milk or some of the pasta water. Then add whatever you have in - cooked leeks, mushrooms, peppers, peas, bacon, chicken etc.

We used to have a fabulous local Vegetarian Restaurant and Red Dragon Pie was always one of my favourites

We all like these Chilli Salad Bowls.

I don't know whether it's helpful but when I need some inspiration I trawl the BBC Good Food website. For a month I'd normally have...

4 x pasta recipes (e.g pasta caponata, tuna pasta with courgettes, pasta with prawns, simple spaghetti with garlic, lasagne)

4x curry and rice recipes (e.g. Thai curry, chicken curry, veggie curry...)

4x 'family favourites' (In our house that might be fajitas, steak and chips night, cottage pie, fish pie...)

4x veggie meals (e.g. veggie chilli, halloumi and bean stew, baked potatoes with beans (on a sports night))

4x traybakes (chicken, salmon, sausages with veg...)

4x rice-based recipes (stir fried rice (again, a quick option if DC have sport), paella, risotto)

One night a week we might have a takeaway, pizza or we're out somewhere. Usually I cook enough for there to be leftovers for lunches or a 'fridge night' if we just need a clear out.

That pretty much works for a month. If we like something I'll do it again the following month and we swap in/out different recipes so in the winter we might have a roast once a week; in the summer we might have BBQ/salads etc.

@Gasp0deTheW0nderD0g

Thank you for that red dragon pie recipe. I have added it to my list. 😊

That link doesn't work, @RappersNeedChapstick - is it this one? https://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/chilli_salad_bowls_22404

We had lemon couscous with Mediterranean veg and salmon topped with more lemon slices, cover with foil and bake.
Bean casserole with spicy lamb sausage
(2 cans mixed beans, one can chopped tomatoes, onion, celery, carrots, garlic, paprika, herbs de Provence, stock cube)
Dal, rice and aubergine pickles.
Seabass, roasted potatoes, samphire and carrots with hollandais.
Spaghetti with tomatoes, garlic, chilli, anchovies and capers