Kid friendly meals

[lemonworld]

Help! I’m so lacking in teatime inspiration for my kids (6&2) they’re not super fussy but I’m just all out of ideas…
Any recipes or ideas gratefully received.

and yes… I will now go and search this topic…

I’m in the rhythm of feeding mine whatever DH and I had the day before, which they don’t object to, and means I only have to cook once. Stuff that has gone down well recently includes:

Puff pastry tart with mascarpone and asparagus. Badged as pizza.

Coronation chick peas (super easy - Google but it’s basically mayo/ garam masala / turmeric / mango chutney). With flat bread and cucumber

all varieties of meatballs. Lamb ones from the Halal section of Tesco went down v well recently.

Korean pancakes. Again, Google but it was a an easy batter + a bag of stir fry veg. Fried fresh for me and DH, but they reheated well for the kids.

My DC love a simple Pasta Bake.
Just boil pasta.
Poor some passata into a measuring jug add a bit of olive oil, some cream and tomato puree. Finish with Italian herb mix or whatever takes your fancy.

Place pasta in oven dish, Poor over the passata and mix well. Sprinkle with cheese and bake 180°C for 15-20 minutes, until cheese is melted. Enjoy.

You can spice it up with 1/2 cherry tomatoes, some pepper or even cut up sausage or chicken... best to fry first to ensure it's cooked!

If your kids are not fussy, I'd encourage you to simply provide them with pretty much whatever you eat - ifyou can embed varied diet early, you will be grateful later kicks herself as did not manage this with DD and we are still paying the price

Things that go down here with not-fussy DS include:
Fish cakes
Fish generally actually and he LOVED fish pie as a toddler (I hate it - so bought him ready meals)
Stir fries with rice
basically almost any sort of pasta and sauce. Also, at that age, the filled pastas served simply with some pesto are usually popular (that's just a "snack" for DS these days! )
Risotto
Paella
Mild curries - creamy ones (thai or Indian) more popular but he'll does like a rogan or similar.
Burgers - usually mince but we do chicken and sometimes aubergine and mushroom stacks
Steak with potatoes/chips and salad or veg (often do it as a sandwich with mushrooms and onions)
Fajitas
Tacos
Roast chicken or baked chicken pieces - I do these in a number of ways from roasted thighs to stuffed breasts wrapped in parma ham.

Mine are not that keen on stews and casseroles weirdly - is tha tbecuase it's all mixed up together?

Oh, and normalise vegetables in things like pasta sauces or risottos, or on pizza etc. Gives you so much more optionality as they get older and gets them in the habit of eating them. And it's a lot easier to justify a pizza for an easy frriday night supper if it's loaded up with roasted veg and just topped with some pepperoni or whatever.

Egg fried rice - great as you can chuck in leftover roast chicken/pork/beef etc , different types of frozen veg, scrambled egg. I usually use a small amount of a mild curry paste to add flavour to it, or some soy sauce and a bit of hoi sin/teriyaki/oyster sauce - depends what’s in the fridge!
Butter chicken - I use the Recipe Tin Eats one which is really easy. You just have to marinade some chicken overnight, then the next evening it takes about 15 mins to put together. And kids always love it because it’s tasty, smooth and not spicy.
Sausage pasta - there are loads of recipes online using different types of sausages, so find one that uses one your kids will like.
chicken traybake. Really easy, one pan meal. Just put chicken thighs, chorizo sausage, onions and some new potatoes in a roasting tray with some olive oil and seasoning, and roast in the oven for about an hour.
And the usual chilli, bolognese etc…

Our regulars include:
Bolognese
Chilli con carne
Fish pie
Frittata
Fajitas
Enchiladas
Stew/ casserole
A baked orzo with fish recipe
Meatballs
Lasagne
Steak/ other meat with wedges/ boiled potatoes and cooked veg
Macaroni cheese
Build your own wrap
Pizza
Poke bowl
Chorizo and pearl barley risotto
Hot smoked salmon with salad and potatoes