Choose our meal plan!!!

BenEadir

Hi all,

I've a family made up of 3 adults and two kids aged 10 and 6. We end up eating the same boring stuff all the time, spag bol, cottage pie (mince cooked with one of those packets), chicken cooked with a jar of sauce etc and not only is it an incredibly lazy way to cook but it's tasteless crap, sets a bad example for our kids and isn't very nutritious.

When eating out we always like trying new things and love Thai food, Indian, Italian, traditional Irish/English stews and pies, soups, seafood, game etc

I'd like to develop a menu of 10-20 family evening dinners which are:-

1. Realatively easy to prepare and cook
2. Are healthy/wholesome
3. Will appeal to both adults and kids (I prefer everyone to eat the same meal and really don't like the idea of kids getting 'special' meals)

My request to members of this forum is to recommend dishes I should include on my family menu and include the recipe.

Regards

Ben

The Hill Billy

Instead of us doing all the hard work for you - why not take a look yourself at the recipes already posted in this forum to see what you would like & also what would suit your culinary capabilities.

There's the Easy Peasy Recipes thread to start with, & also the Cooking Club forum. Both are packed full of recipes for you to choose from.

HB

Cheshire Cat

I would recommend the Chicken Chorizo Bake - to be found in the Cooking Club. Easy and delicious!

John Mason

get yourself over to the cooking club.

we have got some brilliant dishes from there which we would have on a regular basis

red thai soup
chicken rice bake
tunsian stew
pies

loads of things

diddlybit

Rather than planning, (I always find planning tough, there's never any suprises), why not allocate each adult to cook something each night? As you all like to try new things, get each to surprise everyone with something new that they've wanted to try, or to replicate something that they've had in a restaurant.

If one of you older folk is more enthusiastic or talented in the kitchen, you could get each of teh kids to choose soemthing that they want to try, but get them to help out in the preperation. It would get them involved and in a couple of years you might have an extra chef or two to off-load some of the cooking

Can't think of any recipe suggestions, but I always find that local markets are a good source of seasonal produce and inspiration, especially when you're basing meals around foodstuffs that you haven't tried before. A good butcher or fishmonger will always have lots of tips too. If the basic ingredients are good, it doesn't take anything complicated to make them taste amazing, sometimes letting them speak for themselves works better than any recipe with a gadzillion ingredients.

tfak85

I think diddlybits suggestion of getting your children involved is fantastic, I cooked with my parents from a young age and it did me the world of good, I work with grown women who can't cook a thing and the same then goes for their children!

What about something like Spainish omlettes? They can be tailored to suit everyones tastes..

I agree with the tunisian stew in the cooking club, it's a favourite of mine, I poach chicken thighs then pull the meat off the bone before using it in the stew, so juicy.

What about looking into doing some really tasty salads with warm components (chicken etc) and you can have them with warm bread, you could even make the bread from the Quick Bread mixes, they're grand when you add sun dried tomatoes/olives/herbs/onion etc!!

BenEadir

Thanks for the replies everyone, all valid points. Might sit down with the kids and go through the forum to select an initial set of recipes to try.

ElleEm

You could try making a load of quiches and freezing them. They are so versatile, and you can add so much to them.

It is relatively easy to make your own version of sauces (for pasta. chicken, spag bol) etc. and the taste is SO much better than the jars you can buy, (basic recipe-tinned tomatoes with onion, basil, garlic, herbs fried).

I make homemade burgers and freeze them too (fried onions, herbs and garlic added to raw mince, mix in an egg and pat with flour before frying). One week we'll have these on a bun with homemade oven chips, the next we'll have them with mashed potatoe, gravy and veg. You can also use them as meatballs to have with pasta and the above tomatoe sauce.

Stirfrys are a great quick dinner too. You can mix up the veg and meats so it tastes different every time- sometimes having them with rice or noodles. You can also experiment with different spices here too.

Hope this helps.