Share your never-fail playdate food tips with Lidl - chance to win vouchers NOW CLOSED

[AnnMumsnet]

We've all been there - trying to find something to cook for your child’s fussy friend during a playdate. Lidl are after your tips and recipes for the kind of food that always goes down a treat when you're having kids over for playdates. Do you play it safe with fish fingers and chips? Or do you have some other less conservative recipes and meal suggestions that are guaranteed to please? Maybe you have a pasta and sauce combo that no child has yet turned their noses up at.

Share your ideas, tips and recipes below and you will be entered into a prize draw where you could win one of five £50 Lidl vouchers.

Thanks and good luck
MNHQ

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Homemade pizza with a variety of toppings that they can choose and put on themselves.

Fail-safe dessert is ice cream with different sauces and sprinkles.

Pleases even the most fussiest of eaters.

sweet pepper stripes, carrot chunks with cheesy joghurt dip; pasta bake with meatballs; savoury muffins with cheese, peas and carrot pieces

I make courgette and sweet corn fritters which are packed with veg but my toddler and his friends all love them. Batter can be made in advance and they're great for all ages from 9 months to 4 years old. They go with whatever is in the freezer like waffles or oven chips but usually we have snacks type fonger food and these are great.

pizza or macaroni cheese

Now my son is getting older I find they like pizza or a nice bowl of pasta in tomato sauce, when they were younger his friends used to have chopped cheese, ham, cucumber with salad cream or a spicy tomato dip.

For lunch, sandwiches with veg sticks on the side are always a winner. Simple but healthy.

Our mini house guests have always loved macaroni cheese, spaghetti bolognese & homemade pizza - it's really nice to make them with the kids as a play date activity - they can pick their own toppings.

Ice-cream sundaes always go down well for pudding: layers of fresh fruit with vanilla ice-cream & drizzled with melted Nutella.

We like to make finger food heaven - fish fingers pizzas sausage rolls. You can be naughty once in a while!

I like to make faces with the food on the plate. It keeps me amused and whilst strictly speaking I shouldn't teach my son to play with his food, I like to see his imagination in re-arranging it into different ideas. Fish Fingers, mash, peas, baked beans, sweet corn - it's amazing what you can make on your plate

Cheese and tomato risotto with ham always goes down a treat, but if it's just lunch I tend to do veg sticks with pizza

homemade pizza is always a winner - DS and his friends love the oportunity of making the bases and choosing their own toppings and then cooking them - there's never any leftovers!

We tend to have finger food bugger indoor/outdoor picnics. I try to liaise with parents beforehand so I can make sure we've got something they like.

buffet not bugger!!

Make your own pizza (or at least choose your own toppings and put them on)

Agree with the little plate of fridge items....cheese and crackers/sandwich, chopped carrot/pepper/cucumber, sliced Apple/strawberries/satsumas, biscuit/handful of crisps/cheddars, hard boiled egg/half pork pie

And if all else fails jam on toast or a bowl of chips! (Sorry pearl clutching mn'rs )

My simple Cornflake nuggets always go down a treat and i'm yet to see a nose turned up. You can also modify these for adults with a bit of spice so you can all enjoy. Here goes with the recipe:

Ingredients
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (about 500g/1lb), cut into bite-sized pieces
125g (4oz) cornflakes
3 tbsp plain flour
2 medium eggs, beaten

Preheat the oven to 200°C, fan 180°C, gas 6. Put the cornflakes in a food processor and whizz until finely ground. Alternatively, tip into a plastic food bag, wrap the bag in a tea towel and crush finely with a rolling pin.
Put the cornflakes in a shallow bowl, the flour in a second and the beaten eggs in a third. Season the flour and eggs generously with salt and pepper. Line a large baking tray with non-stick baking paper.
Working with a handful of chicken pieces at a time, coat first in the seasoned flour, shaking off the excess, then the beaten egg, turning to coat thinly, but thoroughly. Last, dip the chicken in the crushed cornflakes, making sure each piece is completely covered. Space the coated pieces out on the baking tray and repeat until all the chicken is done.
Cook for 20 minutes, turning halfway through, until golden, crisp and cooked through.

If which is highly unlikely there are any left at the end, you can also freeze these until next time. Wrap well and freeze for up to 1 month. Defrost in the fridge overnight then cook as per the recipe if raw or reheat until piping hot throughout if cooked.

Finger food is the way to go...and bite size pieces so there's no fiddling around with cutlery. keep it simple and don't put any sweet things out until they've had some savoury! Pizza always go down well and sausage rolls. And not forgetting ice cream of course!

Emergency toast for the pickiest one - cheese on toast, beans on toast, marmite on toast, jam on toast at a push... at least they get fed something...

Egg on toast is another!

For my 2yo and his friends we usually do:

Snacks:
Crackers, grated cheese, pieces of pear or grapes cut in half
This way, it's a pick n mix snack & kids take which bits they like

Tea:
Homemade mini pizzas using a whole meal bagel or pitta bread for the base, tomato pasta sauce, grated cheese, strips of sweet pepper and cherry tomatoes

And we always have a stash of ritz crackers or whole meal toast on standby as this can be spread with hummus, cream cheese etc

mini pitta breads with a selection of fillings for the children to select and put in the pittas themselves.

Here home made pizza has always gone down very well with all kids who visited here, they get a ball of dough each & bowls with toppings they can choose to top it with themselves. It all gets eaten & Ive had compliments from other DMs as their DCs have tried things on their pizza that they have refused to try before & now discover they actually like.

"High Tea" also goes down well. Its basically a 3 tier serving plate, with mini sandwhiches, fruit, & pastries or mini cupcakes

Make your own pizza! The kids love bashing out the dough and can them choose what they like to go on top!

My 2 are high school age now but when they were younger I used to find that pasta was a firm favourite for all ages and tastes.

If they said that they liked "pasta and a tomatoey sauce" then that's what I would do but with hidden vegetables whizzed up in it so they didn't have chance to say that they don't like peppers/courgettes/carrots etc

I would then put a bowl of grated cheddar cheese on the table so they could help themselves (plus parmesan and grater for the more adventurous ones!)

Another simple one was pasta with cheese sauce and then add peas, sweetcorn and ham if the guest liked them.

However saying that we did have one notorious fussy guest where that last meal failed.

Me (after establishing he liked pasta and cheese sauce): Sam do you like peas?
Sam: Yes
Me: Do you like sweetcorn?
Sam: Yes
Me: Do you like ham?
Sam:Yes
I put aforementioned food in front of Sam
Sam: But I don't like them mixed together

Argh!

I love the Ella's Kitchen scone pizza recipe - really quick & easy, & the kids can get involved in the preparation too which makes it fun, easy for the picky ones! Bases are made from a mixture of 250g ricotta cheese (could be substituted for grated mild cheddar), 500g s/r flour, 1 egg, finely chopped fresh herbs (or dried work just as well) - recipe suggests sun dried tomatoes, but I never bother. Mix well & knead into a dough. Roll onto a floured surface & let the kids pick their shape by providing a range of different shaped cutters! Shape away, then top with tomato puree & let the child pick their own toppings - choosing from anything you like! Cheddar, mozzarella, chopped button mushrooms, chopped ham, chicken , etc. Bake & watch their proud as they sit down to munch up the lunch they created :)

If the kids have a new friend over, I always get them to make their own healthy pizzas. Wholewheat wraps laid out with tomato purée, herbs, grated cheese and selection of veggies and meats to choose from. In the oven for 10 mins, served with a simple salad (iceberg, cherry toms and cucumber) goes down a treat with all the kids I've had over from age 6-13 so far!

Carpet picnic! Buffet type finger foods on a blanket in the lounge! They think it's exciting!