Your go to recipes when you have another family and kids visiting?

[Enchanted82]

I love cooking but get myself into such a panic in terms of what to cook when friends come over with kids- something we can all enjoy!
kids are 7 and 9

what are your go to recipes?

DIY pizzas, simple pasta dishes served with a fancy salad for the grown ups, curry dishes with rice etc.

I do macaroni cheese, as I can prepare it in advance and then stick it in the oven when needed. Or we make soup and serve it with a cheese board, cold meats, bread, crackers, salads and fruit. That way there's something everyone will eat even if some of the kids are fussy.

Mild chicken fajitas with veg (basically slices of pepper) done separately, with sides of refried beans, corn on the cob, guacamole, sour cream and salsa.

Well I can tell you what my grandchildren have when they come here. Aged 3/5/7 I have them 3 nights a week after school / nursery so on the whole it’s every day cooking but their favourite “oh brilliant “ meals are

shepherds pie and peas / carrots/ possibly trees (broccoli)

toad in the hole again with normal veg

pasta - tuna pasta bake is a favourite put they like bolognaise pasta bake (basically a bolognaise sauce stirred through pasta shells with cheese on the top I can make this before they arrive and then bake for dinner )

wraps - strips of chicken with whatever herbs etc I have or they love me to bread crumb strips and fry (not healthy I know but now and then ok) they have this with salad and make their own wraps . I think this could go down as their all time favourite mid week meal

good old roast chicken but with sweet potatoes wedges corn on the cob

funny enough I was shocked last night I cut marrow into rings and stuffed with sausage meat and topped with bread crumbs served with roast potatoes and veg and they absolutely loved it all 3 had seconds !

I do a big 'feed yourself' feast, either curry or chilli or Bolognese with all the sides and let everyone help themselves.

So Curry would be a mild tikka/korma style, with massive naans, popadoms and dips and a kachumber salad

chilli would be a big pot of that, white rice, nachos, guac and sour cream and a pot of grated cheese with some flatbreads

Bolognese with pizza style cheesy garlic breads and a rocket and tomato balsamic salad

Roast chicken with potato, carrots, peas and beans.

Everyone can find something to eat in that.

One of my DCs wouldn't. Annoyingly.

We always did as above, meals with lots of components to pick and choose from, pasta and separate sauce, cheese, salad, garlic bread, jar of pesto available. Fajitas with all the fillings. Choose your own toppings pizzas.

A roast
Lasagne
chicken Katsu with sauce on the side
cold meats, salads, crusty bread
chicken and bacon pie
sausage casserole, mash and veg
in the summer bbq

but I usually check with parents first

spag bol
shepherds pie
steak bake / pie for the kids and salmon wellington for adults with new potatoes & green veg
pizza
lasagne, garlic bread and salad / veg crudites
my nephews love salmon!

I’m going to get killed for saying this. Chicken nuggets and chips or fish fingers and chips. Some carrot sticks on the side for nutrients.

Homemade bolognese

Salad, flatbreads, halloumi and chicken skewers, tzatziki and fries.

A sort of mild chicken chilli with spicy sauce for the adults and served with tortillas and rice and soured cream

Wraps and bits - it would probably be offensive to Mexican cuisine to call it fajitas, but that’s the general direction

pick and mix “indoor bbq” chicken, sausages, halloumi, salads etc

I tend to do fajitas too. I'll do the chicken separate from the veg and also do some halloumi if there's any vegetarians. Then grated cheese/salsa/guacamole/sour cream/wraps all as separate sides and some hot sauce if pooele want to add a kick. Allows for loads of different combinations and preferences. I don't know any vegans but would probably add in some vegan refried beans if I did.

Curry
Pie
Lasagne
Meatballs
Pulled pork
Roast chicken thighs
Sausage and mash
Mince
Stew

Bread (usually the part bake stuff), cheeseboard, hummus, chopped veg. Followed with flapjack and fruit.

If I haven't put too much effort in then I'm not too upset when nobody eats it.

Chicken parmigiana with garlic bread and salad with good seasons salad dressing with an addition of 2 or 3 bulbs of garlic crushed into the salad cruet

My easiest option would be pulled pork in the slow cooker with homemade slaw, apple sauce and stuffing. I cover the pork joint with a mixture of spices, herbs, ketchup, treacle and brown sugar. I serve it with the enormous white rolls from Morrisons - always more than you think!

Roasted tomato soup with either a big sheet pan quiche or cheese scones is normally a winner.

If I'm doing a more buffet-style thing I'd usually include pasta with pesto, crushed garlic potatoes, and meats and cheeses with baguette - there's usually something there that everyone will eat. Oh and cucumber and baby tomatoes!!

A mild Thai green chicken curry also usually goes down well - I'd serve it with sliced chillis, limes and coriander on the side so people can tart it up if they want.

I’m sure it is delicious….but I find soup a really weird one to serve. Kids would get it everywhere and I don’t think I’ve ever been to anyone’s and been served soup, nor would I serve it. Maybe at a fancy dinner party as a starter (I also haven’t been to one of those so maybe I’m wildly off there too)!

Well, mostly the adults eat the soup, so the meal is really a light lunch of soup and nice bread and butter, and all the extra things are for soup-sceptical kids. In colder weather, it's a nice way to offer something hot (i.e. instead of just salads) while really just giving the kids cheese and crackers as that's what they are likely to eat. But we quite often have some cheese alongside our soup lunches at home anyway.

Some of the kids do also eat the soup though (and mine both would if it was lentil, one would if it was tomato), and they don't normally get it everywhere. They get soup at nursery and school though so I guess they've had plenty of practice.

Here in lies the issue…you clearly have nice tidy kids. My son is like a whirlwind and a giant crumb monster. Unsupervised I think he would get soup on the ceiling. Tbh I think he gets that from me.

The description of your lunches has really made me fancy some butternut squash soup with a swirl of cream and some pumpkin seeds on top.

@BarnacleBeasley's approach is exactly mine too! I often find that soup is one of the things that people don't expect many kids to like, but then when you actually put a bowl of it in front of them with some nice bread and cheese, they demolish it. Admittedly sometimes messily, @PloddingAlong21 😂

I used to make a great butternut squash soup with orange and ginger that you might like to try for your craving? I think it was from the New Covent Garden Soup book. Basically used fresh orange juice as some of the liquid and grated ginger. I used to use some chicken stock to add a bit of a savoury note, otherwise I find squash soup can get too sweet.

We have a few things which require very little prep so we can spend more time with the guests iykwim.

For example:

Rotisserie chicken (our local supermarket has them in already done and warm), crusty bread, coleslaw, salad. I’m veggie so have halloumi.

Bean stew, sausages on the side, green veg and crusty bread or mash.