Please share your kid's favorite dinner recipes

[Anonymous]

I am in a rut about what to serve my 5 and 3 year old for dinner. They enjoy a great variety of things for b-fast and lunch, but dinner is starting to look like mac n cheese, noodles, pasta and chix nuggets. I would love to get some new recipes to try out on them. Any suggestions (esp recipes) would be much appreciated!

[Anonymous]

Mine like cheese tortellini with pesto, although you probably already do something similar.

Roast chicken is always a hit.

My older one likes making tacos. I put all the different toppings on the table in little bowls, and he appreciates making and eating his own creation.

Whole wheat pita pizzas work well, too, although neither of mine like many toppings other than just cheese. Yours might enjoy "building" pizzas though.

We eat falafel a lot. I usually just buy it pre-made, but there's a good recipe listed in Parenting Magazine this month that I might try. (It doesn't seem to be online. If you want it, I can post it).

And in the summer when tomatoes are in season, I make grilled herb and tomato sandwiches. Whole grain bread, a slice of munster cheese, a thin slice of tomato, and whatever herbs sound good to me. I usually use fresh cilantro, but sometimes thyme, salt, and pepper. Or oregano. Brush the bread with olive oil instead of butter if you want. I cut the crusts off for my kids, but they dig into them just as much as regular grilled cheese.

[Anonymous]

I am a big fan of the Deceptively Delicious cookbook (sneaking veggies into dishes for added nutrients.) Our favorite dinners from there are the Turkey Chilli and Turkey sloppy Joes. I think you can find these recipes on the net. I can't post it since I think it's a copywrite violation, but I have found them in searches. I own the book and I think it's worth buying. I have made several breakfast and dessert recipes from it too that we enjoyed. You can find it at TJ Max/Marshalls sometimes and a friend of mine even found it at a dollar store.

[Anonymous]

I am completing a year of recipe try outs for my kids ages 12 thru 3. Here are some of the recipes that I found online which are deemed keepers by the majority:

http://caloriecount.about.com/silver-palate-new-basics-vegetable-recipe-r145478
http://southernfood.about.com/od/crockpotturkeyrecipes/r/bl48c9.htm
http://www.fabulousfoods.com/recipes/article/131/19744
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/marinara-sauce-recipe/index.html
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/12/crockpot-chicken-makhani-indian-butter.html
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/turkey_chili/
made with ground turkey
http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/quick_beef_stir-fry_with_bell_peppers/
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Red-Lentil-Soup-106995
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Spinach-and-Cheese-Strata-107754
http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/browse-all-recipes/shrimp-and-corn-chowder-with-fennel-recipe-00000000028079/index.html

They also loved the miso salmon that someone posted here, and pulled pork made from pork shoulder and the mccormick spice packets for the slow cooker (i know I could probably figure out what to put in, but its so easy this way). They eat sandwiches or tacos with that.
They like the pot roast from trader joes which I cook one half at a time (its big) in the crockpot. Its already marinated so I just brown it and then put in the crockpot.

Also, I make veggie fried rice with tofu, tofu stir frys, alot of beans and rice in different variations (plain, tacos, burritos etc).
I have one vegetarian, one toddler who is a great eater but does not like meat, 2 tweens who crave meat and one with a very adventurous palate.These recipes are meat-heavy because I am veg and so searching for meat recipes for the ones who want it has been my focus. I cook a lot of vegetables using Madhur jaffrey Indian recipes, and have a thai cookbook that is really good for the non-thai cook and I make a lot of vegetarian options out of that.
Those are hits with the youngest and the oldest. The middle kids are the pickiest.
Good luck!

[Anonymous]

I make tacos with pureed green pepper, carrots and zucchini. Kids love it and it really tastes great.

[Anonymous]

I am not sure I understand the question? DO you feed them a separate meal from your own? If you all eat together, they will be exposed to many more foods, than the ones you mentioned. They can choose to eat it or not. Will help alot! Or if you have to feed them separate for scheduling reasons, prepare a dinner for the whole family, and just feed them earlier.

[Anonymous]

I know my kids are weird, but they love sardines (canned in tomato sauce) and couscous.

Actually, they like anything and couscous. I marinate lamb chops with the bone -in then broil them, and they love to hold onto those like lollipops and then scoop up the cous cous with their fingers. It's a real mess, but I think they like the textures involved. I can sometimes sneak in peas in the couscous.

They also like fried rice, which I make with frozen peas and carrots, chopped ham, scallions, dark soy sauce, eggs, and pepper.

[Anonymous]

my 5 YO is going through a phase of refusing to eat almost anything that isn't white. Ugh. But here are some things that she WILL eat that we also enjoy:

flank steak (DH makes a fabulous marinade)
BBQ anything (ribs, chicken, pork shoulder)
ham steak
cheese omelet
quiche Lorraine
tomato bisque
spinach souffle


chicken parm (http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/easy-chicken-parmesan-63577.aspx?cm_re=1-_-1-_-RecipeAlsoEnjoy) went over OK.

[Anonymous]

My kids like a lot of the ones listed above, as well as chicken pot pie, any kind of stir fry, pizza (we use TJ frozen dough and sneak some spinach on it), risotto, and lots of soups and stews this winter.

[Anonymous]

11:56 Poster: I chuckled at your post because I went through a phase for YEARS where I wouldn't eat ANYTHING white (Of course...for absolutely no good reason). As a busy Mom now, I realize exactly HOW challenging and frustrating it can be when our children come up with silly "restrictions".

[Anonymous]

OP here -- thanks so much for all of these great suggestions. I am going to try many of them. Yes, I do in fact make something different for the kids, because on most nights we all eat together. It is frustrating because I love to cook and I don't necessarily make a lot of spicy, crazy kind of things. We've talked about just serving them what we eat -- DS would be fine with that, but DD is in her white food phase -- hates any spices (sees any green things floating around and flips - even in pizza sauce!") Anyway, they eat green beans and I do sneak in the veggies (pureed carrots in the mac n cheese). They also eat incredibly well for other meals... but given that I work full time, I've gotten myself stuck in a rut for dinner and want to break out of the kid meal cycle. I appreciate all of the posts -- please keep them coming!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a big fan of the Deceptively Delicious cookbook (sneaking veggies into dishes for added nutrients.) Our favorite dinners from there are the Turkey Chilli and Turkey sloppy Joes. I think you can find these recipes on the net. I can't post it since I think it's a copywrite violation, but I have found them in searches. I own the book and I think it's worth buying. I have made several breakfast and dessert recipes from it too that we enjoyed. You can find it at TJ Max/Marshalls sometimes and a friend of mine even found it at a dollar store.

FYI, there is no copyright on recipes. They can copyright the intro language that says "this is just like my grandmama used to make in Sicily" or "serve this with a green salad and crusty bread, yum!" but there is no legal protection for the actual recipes. (ever notice the newspapers publish (or "adapt") recipes from cookbooks all the time without any copyright acknowledgement?).

[Anonymous]

I do lots of things in sauces over rice. Last night was chicken with mushrooms and artichoke hearts in a cream/dijon sauce. Of course my kid didn't eat the mushrooms or artichokes, but she ate the chicken cut up tiny, and a side of steamed broccoli, and I always serve wild rice instead of white, for the extra fiber and nutrients.

Broccoli cheese soup is popular at my house. And it's way more than broccoli and cheese: celery, onion, carrot, cauliflower, etc, all pureed to be indistinguishable.

I think tonight we'll make egg salad. She loves using the egg-slicer, and I make it with peas, so she gets something green.

And the other item in heavy rotation is tacos. Not much veggie there, unfortunately (she won't eat tomatoes or lettuce), but it's pretty quick, and doesn't result in a battle.

[Anonymous]

My kids like to pick things up with sticks or have anything "stick-like" (they are boys after all). I marinate skinless drumsticks in TJ's Soyaku sauce overnight then stick them in the oven at 425 for 50 minutes. I serve with rice that I try to sneak peas into. It's a really quick, easy, cheap, weeknight meal.