Your favourite meat free/fish free family meals please

[janeite]

Inspire me please! No aubergines, okra or mushrooms but the dds will eat most other veggies without complaint. If some of the recipes can be cheese and egg free, even better, as this would make dd1 happy.

Pasta recipes that aren't tomato sauce based or macaroni cheese would be especially helpful. Also anything one pot that can be served with rice or potatoes to make a complete meal.

Many thanks in advance!

Thank you.

Off to play Scattergories now but hope for more lovely ideas on return.

Chickpea tagine.
Easy peasy and very tasty.

Ingredients (serves around 4 people)

1 large onion
2 tins of chickpeas
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon cumin
2 cinnamon sticks
Big handful of sultanas (or chopped, dried apricots if you prefer)

Soften the diced onion in a big pot or pan. Add the tablesp of cumin and the tablesp of cinnamon and stir around a bit. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, cinnamon stick and sultanas, bring to the boil and simmer for about 30 mins. Add water while cooking if it gets dry.

Lentil Dahl?

Sweet Potato pasties?

Spicy bean burgers?
Veggie curries?
Veggie green curry?

For a very quick and cheap meal we have couscous with chopped courgete, red pepers and chickpeas.

Felafel with yoghurt and salad in pita bread or rice

You can make any 'original' meat dish using lentils instead of mince meat i.e.lasagne,pasta bolognese, canelloni, cottage pie...etc

Thanks MrsMattie and tiramissu. Not seen that site before and it looks good.

I make most of the things you've suggested Tiramissu, except canneloni. The problem I find is that using lentils in them all gets a bit samey, I guess.

I make canneloni with ricotta cheese and spinach, I add a bit of nutmeg to the mix and both black and white pepper, otherwise it's too bland.

Sit the filled tubes on a bed of tomato sauce, (I just use a couple of tins of chopped tomatoes and add some garlic, onions,de-skinned peppers and a bay leaf).

Then pour bechamel sauce over the whole lot, except that we add half a ton of parmesan to the sauce otherwise that's too bland as well.

Pasta with pesto and roasted tomatoes - add feta/goats cheese and/or avocado for those who like it.

Spinach soup - fry onion, some leeks and celery if you have it then a bag of spinach with at least half a litre of stock. Simmer for 10 - 15 minutes. When ready to eat blitz it with a hand blender or food processor and serve in bowls with a dollop of fresh greek yoghurt

Roasted butternut risotto - delicious

Do a search for Nigella Lemon Risotto - delicious!

Roasted peppers with cous cous.

Yum to lemon risotto especially. Will google. Or if you know which book it's in, I may have it.

Veggie chilli made with peppers, red onion, celery, beans, courgette, sweetcorn... well anything you like really. In lovely crunchy baked potatoes, topped with grated cheese if liked.

I'm also very fond of vegetable quiche, but if eggs and cheese are out, then that's not much good

Myself, dp and dd2 love veggie chilli. DD1 won't eat it. Neither of the girls will eat quiche but a good suggestion for dp and I - I usually only make it for buffets etc, rather than as a normal dinner.

I think it's in one of the early ones as I had a flatmate who had it and then we moved on and I didn't have it any more and I always have to google it.

An easy pasta sauce I do is to roast off some red peppers then blitz them with garlic, chilli, olive oil and pine nuts or almonds.

Made a red lentil soup the other day. It was very easy and the DC liked it so much I made it again a couple of days later. It had a tin of tomatoes in it though.
Butternut squash risotto is also popular with my DC.

Thanks OhBling.

MaryPoppins - that sounds wonderful - will deffo try it.

Butternut squash risotto certainly sounds like the way forward too.

They like lentil soup a lot so I do that every couple of weeks. I made a lovely one at the weekend with sweet potatoes and coconut milk as well as the lentils, Indian spices and blitzed it until it was nice and smooth and a lovely spicey golden colour. It went down a treat and I'll be doing it again soon.

pasta with roasted butternut squash, sage pesto and pinenuts. slurp.

Yum at your lentil soup recipe janeite. Will try that one this week. Just the kind of warmer you need when it's white with frost outside.

Schnitzel - how do you do the sage pesto please?

Mimizan - yes: it was lovely and warming; even better warmed up in the microwave at work the next day!

If they like lentil soup, how about yellow split pea soup? Made in same way but slightly different taste

Good idea. Think I might have a Rose Elliot recipe somewhere but have never tried it. Thanks.

Just salivated over the idea of pasta with roast squash, sage, pesto and pinenuts. Told DH who said "ooh, yes, with a bit of ham".

Lo at the "bit of ham"! Yes, Kerry - vegetarian: I was being over-specific as otherwise people often suggest fish as a veggie meal.