Please help me plan because my brain hurts

[janeite]

Have visitors coming for a few days in the holidays and I am trying to meal plan.

We will be - 3-6 adults (will vary) / 4 children from 6 to 15 / half of us are vegetarian.

I need ideas for:

• 2 family dinners
• 2 lunches
• one Sunday lunch type meal

Pasta, pesto, salad etc will probably cover one of the dinners and a big veggie soup will do for one lunch but I can't think for the others! Oh and I would like to avoid cooking meat if at all poss but could cope with sticking a chicken in on Sunday.

Tia.

My staples for this sort of situation are:

Lasagne made in advance and frozen.
One veggie and one meat. I don't eat meat but I can cope with plopping a bit of mince in a pan and stirring it.

Indian food. My DCs won't eat it but they will eat rice with peas and cashew nuts mixed in (gradually working our way towards biryani!) which is a balanced meal and goes well with the rest of it.

what about a couple of veggie curries with poppadoms and rice and naan available. some chutneys too. That way people could mix and match what they eat.

I am an idiot as I should have said that we will be going out for a curry, so probably best to avoid it for the other meals.

Lasagne is a fab idea but I did it last time they came - I forgot to say that too! This is why my brain hurts.

Thank you both - they are both v good ideas.

That's bad planning. You should go out for Sunday roast instead!

Pizza and salad?

We could go out for Sunday lunch as well, guess!

I reckon just go out for the whole time

Now I see where you get your name!

Come on - please give me some more ideas....

Omelette & salad for one lunch?

That is a good idea. Thank you. Or quiche and salad maybe?

Quiche and Salad sounds fine to me.

Roasted vegetables, halloumi and couscous?

Baked potatoes with various fillings?

oven mushroom risotto for adults and children who will eat it
Plain rice with what ever they fancy for those children who wont - eg, peas or tomatos, sweetcorn, flavoured quorn
My favourite - egg and chips
Vegetable cannelloni
veggie sausage, mashed pot, veg, yorkshires and gravy

They would all LOVE egg and chips!

Roasted vege, halloumi and cous cous sounds fab too.

I love sausage and mash but find mash a faff. Sausages, baked spuds and cauliflower cheese might be good though.

janeite - do you have a potato ricer? they make mash bliss

if not, toad in the hole? I'm doing it on Monday.

I haven't - adds to John Lewis list.

I love toad in the hole...

Would it be terrible of me to just do soup, nice bread and a cheeseboard for Sunday lunch and then do afternoon tea?

Sounds lovely. I think brunch and afternoon tea are much underused.

Thank you.

What shall I do for afternoon tea then? I am veggie, so know nothing! Smoked salmon? How much would I need to make enough smoked salmon sandwiches for three adults? And what bread?

Other ideas gratefully accepted too.

We are über carnivores but one of the favourite meals in our house is ratatouille, heavenly with a crusty bread and nice red. Yum.
Also spinach quiche is always a winner, I usually do one smoked salmon, one either spinach or quiche Lorraine. Great with crisp salad and nice wino.
The above mentioned couscous with roasted veg and halloumi is absolutely divine as well.

Smoked salmon is lovely with rye bread, a little sour cream or creme fraiche mixed with black pepper and lemon juice and a sprig or two of dill. A small pack of smoked salmon would be plenty.Open sandwiches, think Ikea but a bit daintier may be good for this.

Obv a cake would be good.

............given its Easter, do you have a rabbit jelly mould?

If not, jelly I think is fun anyway. Great for afternoon tea, esp if you have children there too.

Brilliant. Thank you.

Have never been to Ikea, so not sure what you mean there, sorry.

I love rye bread, so I could have it without the salmon. Is soda bread good with salmon too?

They're coming after Easter - but I agree that jelly is good. I could make a trifle (obv no jelly) too.

This looks rather yum, you could cut them in half to make them a bit more wee/twee

Not sure about soda bread. I personally don't like smoked salmon with sourdough or malted wheat. It goes best I think with rye, pumpernickel or wholemeal bread. Tis also yum with Finn Crisp crackers ( a bit like Ryvita )

I made this trifle recently. It was yum.

Ooh - pretty!

Apart from the smear of chilli sauce, which looks like soembody has bled on lunch.

Any more ideas please anybody?