Quesidillas( super easy and possibilities of fillings are endless)
Taco night
Spaghetti and meatballs
Roasted chicken with veggies and stuffing or starch choice
Baked fish
Eggplant or Chicken parmigana
Stir fry

My kids are pretty picky and/or have food allergies. They like grilled steak, baked tilapia, some veggies, grilled chicken skewers, fried rice, pasta with very basic sauces and will let me put a few veggies in it sometimes, some green salads, and chicken salad if I don't add the sauce/binder/mayo.

I know you said not pizza, but what if it was a make-your-own pizza night? You can either buy boboli mini-crusts (but I personally think they taste like cardboard) or just get some pre-made dough and give each kid a small ball and let them roll out their own dough, add sauce, cheese, veggies, etc.

I'm going out on a limb tomorrow and making pork and kraut in the crockpot. The recipe looks delicious, so we shall see what they think.

I consider DS a very picky eater: and he is a self-proclaimed vegetarian (DH and I are omnivores) so dinners are challenging. Meals he'll eat: 1) fried rice with lots of veggies esp. peas, red bells and carrots all chopped small served with tofu which i cube and fry separately b/c it takes longer. he'd eat the entire box of tofu if I let him. I also sneak in fried egg and soy sauce. 2) quesadillas with mango salsa and sides of seasonal veggies - right now it's tomatoes and cucumbers and bell peppers. He won't eat courgette 3) homemade french fries and baked beans and we've started making our own onion rings and (vegie) corn dogs- lots of fun and they really work!

Sorry I don't have recipes- I am not much of a recipe person - I cook with whole foods as much as possible. I find DS likes simple stuff in which he can see all the ingredients.

Roast broccoli with sesame oil and garlic. Roast butternut squash with bacon and onions. Meatballs. Meatballs with tzaziki. Pork chops with blackberry sauce.

A lot of sauteed or boiled vegetables are great for kids, becuase they are naturally sweet (corn on the cob, carrots, peas, etc.); mine loves broccoli and beans too. No recipe; I would just boil/saute these and some seasoning (salt, pepper, butter). Even salad is good; I was surprized this worked, but maybe try a little olive oil, lemon, salt and pepper for the dressing.

Other favorites are simple recipes like beef bolongese, chicken parm, taco soup, chicken picatta, baked or grilled salmon with butter/lemon/dill/salt/pepper.

I think it's a misconception that kids need bland food; to me, chances kids will eat improve if the the food has some flavor, even if it's just a little butter/salt/pepper/garlic/herbs.

Sorry but my kids hated almost everything I made from The Six O'Clock Scramble! It was very frustrating.

11:08 here. Some of our favorites from six o'clock scramble are: baked risotto with spinach, asian shrimp pilaf, chicken satay, honey sesame spaghetti (we add cooked shrimp), cornmeal crusted fish with black beans, all the salmon recipes, and tilapia with blackbean sauce. We obviously love fish and seafood.

Thanks. I actually have those cookbooks. Any recipes you recommend in particular?

I second the Six o clock scramble recipes. There hasn't been many that my kids didn't like. Things that I thought they would hate, they gobbled up. We subscribe to the online service. There might be some sort of trial membership. Maybe your kids could pick a recipe each week to make as a family from there. The author is local and also writes for PBS kitchen explorers. This might be a great place to start: http://www.pbs.org/parents/kitchenexplorers/

First off I recommend checking out The Six O'Clock Scramble cookbook - lots of great kid friendly ideas! I would take something your kids know and like and tweak it to get them started. For example, you mentioned chicken nuggets. You could instead bread and cook chicken breasts, then once cooked top with a little pasta sauce and some shredded parmesan/mozzarella, pop under the broiler for a few minutes and you've basically got a simple chicken Parmesan which is just a variation off chicken nuggets. You said they like hamburgers, so try meatloaf or tacos which will have some spices and flavors in them beyond a basic hamburger but are still familiar foods to your children. Then once they are eating tacos, for example, switch it up to fish tacos to further move them into a new food item. Good luck!

I would like my kids ( 8 and 6) ago expand their palates. We have agreed as a family to try cooking one new recipe/food each week. Beyond chicken nuggets, pizza, and burgers, what are meals that your kids like? If you have links to great recipes that would be appreciated too!