Menu Ideas needed for traditionalist

Natlou_2

Hi All - I am hoping you guys can give me some inspiration for planning meals, I seem to have about 12 or so 'staple' meals that I rotate, but I am starting to get a little bored of them to say the least. There are 5 of us in the house and trying to please everyone is almost impossible - if you can help me out here you deserve a medal!

To give you some background info, theres:-

1. Me - I like anything but particularly mediterranean style stuff, but I will eat anything - so easy there then!
2. DH - A traditionalist, not keen on pasta, tomato based sauces, jacket spuds, stews, risottos, fish that may have bones in!,
3. DS1 (age 10) - Pretty broad tastes but does not like any kind of potatoe, I
do him an individual serving of pasta whenever we have chips, mash etc.
4. DS2 (age 8) - Reluctant to try anything different, great lover of sausages,
chicken nuggetts etc - you get the drift
5. DD1 (age 1) - Will try almost anything, favourite dish is HM chicken tikka
masala!

We all seem to like chicken, so any different ideas would be great, and side dishes tend to be either carrots or peas which Im bored of

Natlou x

Natlou_2

Just for further info the meals I cook most often are:-

1. Roast chicken with yorks puds, carrotts, peas and stuffing
2. Chicken Tikka Masala (made from Pataks) with rice and Pitta bread (cheaper than Naan)
3. Bacon, sausage, eggs and beans with bread and butter
4. Birds eye cod fillets with chips and peas
5. Salmon or tuna steaks with king prawns on top, new potatoes and salad
6. Chicken pie with chips
7. Lamb chops with peas and chips
8. Steak with mushrooms and peas
9. Gammon, chips and fried egg (not very often)

Crikey that sounds boring - everything is with chips, (although they are oven chips) and peas!

Natlou x

squeaky

Wow that's quite a task you set there.

To be honest I'd be so-o-o tempted to serve porridge for breakfast lunch and tea every single day until they gave in and would rather eat anything than face another bowl of porridge

We do have some threads about encouraging / dealing with, fussy eaters and I'll add them here for you:-

Fussy Eaters:
- easy meat recipes to beef up underweight teen
- Hiding vegetables
- Meal ideas for picky kids
- What can I feed the fussiest eater in the world?

chloebelle

I found a chicken recipe online a few weeks ago and tried it yesterday - it was fantastic!

And painfully easy!

Take a chicken breast, smother it is pesto and then roll it is crushed cornflakes (yes cornflakes - sounds weird but trust me!). Bake for 30 mins or until cooked through and serve with potatoes and veg.

You will have a beautfully crispy crunchy piece of chicken, well flavoured from within, and the chicken is mouth-wateringly tender as the cornflakes hold in the juice.

Even better, you can do this with other sauces aside from pesto - BBQ sauce, sweet chilli or just a little olive oil if you prefer it plain.

I highly reccommend.

Gingernutmeg

Would they eat anything like fajitas, or tacos? They're fairly simple, are chicken or mince based and can be adapted fairly easily to suit 'fussy' tastes (ie bits left out, 'make your own' at the table so you get what you want ...) Or, I noticed that you don't have anything like a shepherd's pie on the list - you could make it but leave one portion of the mince base for your son to eat with pasta, or you could try a fish pie and give him the fish with some rice ...

Or chilli con carne? I know it's got a *bit* of tomato in it but it's not tomato based as such ... Spag bol springs to mind too.

I sympathise with you - fussy eaters can be a pain. Fortunately although my OH is fairly fussy he will try anything once. He used to HATE beans, pulses and lentils but I got a double portion of lentil enchiladas and salsa down him tonight! Victory!

ladymarmalade

could you do some sort of chicken wraps? they are east to make different for people without a lot of effort.

Cook bits of chicken in a pan and season to taste then you can add what you want.
1) You could have roasted veg such as courgettes, peppers, onions etc for a mediterranian. Pesto goes nice with that]
2)For those that don't like that you could have it with salad and mayonaise
3)My brother doesn't like anything so he has them just plain chicken.
4)Play around with them, you could use anything

What about an omelette or fritata? I made a lovely one last night with bacon courgettes, red pepper and spring onion.

Toad in the hole (to please your 8 year old)

homemade burgers

a something on toast day??? Endless possibilites like scrambled egg and mushrooms, smoked salmon, beans, cheese, tomatos

Natlou_2

Thanks Everyone!

Chloebelle - The chicken idea sounds great, just one question though - do you just stick it on a baking tray and put it in the oven or do you need to wrap it in foil?

Lady Marmalade - Chicken wraps are a good idea, we have had them before and they went down ok, but they must have fallen off my recipe list, as I can't remember last time we had them, My 8 yr old just had the seasoned chicken in a wrap while OH, me and 10 yr old just picked what we wanted to put in them (mushrooms and red peppers) although I am the only one who will have soured cream, so i end up buying a pot just for me and chucking the rest!

Frittata is another good idea, I think I have an old sainsburys recipe someone which might have chorizo or something in it to spice it up a bit

So thanks everyone and keep em coming!

Natlou x

Jei70

Instead of serving chips with everything, have you tried couscous? You can add any veg you like to it, my favourites are courgettes or aubergines. On the other hand, sultanas or chopped dried apricots are great with spices such as ground cumin and corriander, served with a curry or tagine.

Another starchy staple I use at least once a week is (cheap) noodles - they 'mop up' stews so well that maybe even your DH would like them!

What about beans? I'm not a great fan, but even I love Mexican beans (canelini beans with cubed pork belly, chorizo, and a dash of smoked paprika) and there are so many options - meaty, beany (!), thick or watery, spicy or bland...

BTW, don't bin leftover sour cream - it's great in a stroganoff (cubed pork or turkey, chopped mushrooms, wine and cream) which I serve with either noodles or rice.

Also, have a look at the meny planning threads, I find so much inspiration there!

JordanT

how the hell do i start a new post/thread?!

vanoonoo

I know one of the kids doesnt like potato, but could you do a shepherds/cottage pie and that child have it with something else? Lasagne is a good one and doesnt need to be too tomatoey - you can even spice it up a bit with paprika.

my husband loves chili done in the slow cooker and we have that with rice - again its not too tomatoeyfied.

vanoonoo

jsut remembered - toad in the hole was a fave of mine but the husband doesnt like sausages *rolls eyes*