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kid-friendly meals

Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 1:55 am
by Moutaineer
OK, I need 3 kid-friendly meals that adults will also enjoy... the visiting tribe are returning for a 3 day visit on Thursday. They are tired, fed up with each other after 5 weeks in close proximity traveling around "having fun," and need a few stress free days without any nightmare dinners.

I've got Lasagne on the list, but I'm having a bit of a culinary dry spot, to be honest. Help!

Re: kid-friendly meals

Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 2:24 am
by scruffy the cat
Roast chicken with roasted potatoes. "Home food".
Marcella Hazan's process is fabulous: https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/101 ... ith-lemons

Risotto with sausage and asparagus. Or whatever people like.

Martha Stewart's Macaroni and cheese
https://food52.com/recipes/14671-martha ... oni-cheese

Javanese roasted salmon (almost a teriyaki-ish flavor but better) with Wilted Spinach
https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food ... ach-107073

Chicken pot pie

Cottage Pie or Shepherd's pie

Shish kebabs of any sort

Re: kid-friendly meals

Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 2:26 am
by heddylamar
My elder neiblings, cousins' kids, and several friends' kidlets, are probably not a normal sample: they all ate/eat a whole wide range of things. The younger neiblings are a challenge! They're picky eaters.

I don't cook for the kids specifically, but make sure I have a few things on the menu (or on hand) that they may like:
Fresh vegetables, some lightly steamed (broccoli, cauliflower, cucumber, grape tomato, snap peas, bell pepper) with a dip (hummus, baba ghanoush, and tzatziki were all more popular than ranch with our crew)
Fresh spring rolls with peanut sauce (even the 3yo loved these??!)
Plain deviled eggs (touch of mustard, relish, and salt -- no mayo in this house)
Hummus or baba ghanoush and vegetables and pita chips
Chunks of pineapple and berries
Cheese ball (something simple) and crackers
And I always have fixings for PBJ, grilled cheese, or scrambled eggs

As for meal-time dishes that multiple kids actually ate:
Pancakes/waffles and scrambled eggs for dinner
Assemble your own tacos with slaw
Frito pie with fixings
Homemade pizza
Homemade veggie burgers
Falafel
Pasta with red sauce
Mashed potatoes with roasted greens
Baked mac and cheese (I normally include greens, and they still eat it?!)

And my MIL fed the nephews a lot of baked fish and steamed broccoli by request when they were in elementary school.

Re: kid-friendly meals

Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 3:59 am
by StraightForward
Pizza, tacos (or burritos), hamburgers.

Maybe a little boring, but they can be made with different toppings to be more kid or adult-friendly. Add a salad for adults and kids who are inclined.

I'll second roast chicken too, with a variety of roasted veggies so people can choose what they like.

We have a niece who pretty much has a white carb and cheese-based diet, so it's easiest to just do something like this, and she can have grilled cheese, or quesadilla or plain pizza.

Re: kid-friendly meals

Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 3:30 pm
by Sue B
Tacos are a great idea because everyone can load them however they wish. Sloppy joes have always been popular at our house too.

Re: kid-friendly meals

Posted: Tue Apr 16, 2019 4:19 pm
by khall
When our DS was still at home, spaghetti lasagna pizza (DS makes a mean homemade deep dish pizza!) burgers (meat not veggie lol!) fried chicken (we do live in the south!) sloppy joes were all favorites. A good baked ham can go a long way to feed a bunch of folks (having ham for Easter this year for a big group) mashed potatoes, mac and cheese salad to round it off.

I tried so hard to get DS to eat healthy and succeeded until he became a typical teenager LOL!!

Re: kid-friendly meals

Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2019 3:35 am
by Moutaineer
Thanks! some great ideas here...

Re: kid-friendly meals

Posted: Wed Apr 17, 2019 5:45 pm
by Tuddy
Taco in a bag!!!!

Re: kid-friendly meals

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2019 5:20 am
by Moutaineer
Spring has come... Firing up the grill, making chicken Kebabs, grilled veggies, corn, baked potatoes, steak, etc... Should be enough variety to keep everyone happy over a couple of days.

Re: kid-friendly meals

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2019 6:05 pm
by Snork
I'll second/third/fourth tacos that everyone can assemble as they see fit. I have had sleepovers where one kid only put in meat, another only cheese and the third just about everything.

Waffles, scrambled eggs and pancakes are good for breakfast.

If all else fails, everyone eats buttered toast. HA

Re: kid-friendly meals

Posted: Thu Apr 18, 2019 7:07 pm
by Hayburner
Tacos is a great idea.

Mac & cheese with hot dogs

Re: kid-friendly meals

Posted: Sat Apr 20, 2019 3:25 am
by Moutaineer
chicken kebabs, baked potatoes and grilled veg last night went down pretty well, lasagna tonight was a big hit, especially followed by strawberries and ice cream.

Tomorrow night is grilled flat iron steak, corn and something green, as yet unidentified. Maybe asparagus So far so good...