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Kid friendly meals

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
I know we have a good food thread already. Most things posted there aren’t kid (or at least my kids) friendly. Looking to switch things up a bit in the kitchen, our staples are getting old.

Tacos/taco salad
Smothered pork chops
Soups
Breakfast
Pizza
French dip
Roast
Spaghetti
And my kids favorite, free night!

What do you cook for dinner on a regular basis? Looking for some motivation in the kitchen.

Edit: If anyone wants any recipes for anything I posted, let me know and I’ll give The Wife my phone.
 
Last edited:

xbowguy

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
29,632
234
Licking Co. Ohio
Recently used the shredded chicken for sandwiches and turned it unto burrito's. Cheese, lettuce, salsa and sour cream changed it all up completely!
 

Beentown

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,740
154
Sunbury, OH
Enchiladas

Chicken/Brisket bowls (mashed potatoes topped with corn, chicken strips and gravy)

I could keep going but the biggest thing I do is we try new things and they help me cook. Well, they think they are helping. Lol

Also, switching "types of food" throughout the week helps too. Italian, BBQ, Mexican, etc....
 

Jamie

Senior Member
5,690
177
Ohio
grilled chicken salad. we eat it probably once a week. grill a mess of boneless chicken thighs ( I season with my home made "Emeril's Essence" as I like it better than Tony's or other Cajun spice blends), make a nice salad with leaf lettuce, arugula, spinach, grape tomato, shredded carrot, chopped bacon, cukes when in season. sprinkle on some shredded cheddar and diced chicken. ranch or bleu cheese dressing best topping for this. I make sandwiches out of cold leftover chicken thighs sliced thin, piled on a bun with some lacey swiss, mayo, and lettuce. sometimes a couple slices of bacon, at which point it becomes a chicken-bacon club. excellent sammie for hungry painter or squirrel hunter. :smile:
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
Do you or the wife use Pinterest at all? It's a great tool for finding and tracking idea, recipes, DIY stuff. I highly recommend it for situations like this.

We too, eat versions of Mexican and Italian, along with breakfeast for dinner fairly regularly. Homestyle cooking like soups and dutch oven bakes (roasts/whole chickens/etc.) are also a staple in our house. That's why having versions of these "bullet points" are important and Pineterest really helps with that. I often make a protien, then pair it with salads and a cooked veggie or too. Once a week I prepare a veggie tray of raw veggies and that's always on hand, often as a side for dinner since the girls like to pick at it, as do I while I'm cooking.

One go to that we all love is my version of "dirty rice". I use a quality wild rice blend, mix in ground vension that I cook with a mixture of brown butter, carmelized onions, and garlic, then finish with black beans. I typically douse my in hot sauce and have been known to also mix in quinoa to get more fiber in everyone's diets. Another go-to that's as easy to prepare as dirty rice and keeps in the fridge as well is beef and noodles. That's my wife's fav. I use good egg noddles and venison, sometimes canned, sometimes steak slice thinly. Cook venison in butter and garlic, remove from pan, then add beef broth and make a nice gravy. Add venison back in, along with noddle, toss to coat. We pair cottage cheese with a lot of meals and its a must for this meal!

A goal this winter for me was to diversify my cooking, so I've been look at other cuisines and "one pot" dishes as ways to do that. However tonight is whole roasted chicken with fingerling potatoes and a medley of cooked carrots. We'll also have salads (spinach) which are had at about every meal in our house so people get their greens.
 

bowhunter1023

Owner/Operator
Staff member
48,879
274
Appalachia
grilled chicken salad. we eat it probably once a week. grill a mess of boneless chicken thighs ( I season with my home made "Emeril's Essence" as I like it better than Tony's or other Cajun spice blends), make a nice salad with leaf lettuce, arugula, spinach, grape tomato, shredded carrot, chopped bacon, cukes when in season. sprinkle on some shredded cheddar and diced chicken. ranch or bleu cheese dressing best topping for this. I make sandwiches out of cold leftover chicken thighs sliced thin, piled on a bun with some lacey swiss, mayo, and lettuce. sometimes a couple slices of bacon, at which point it becomes a chicken-bacon club. excellent sammie for hungry painter or squirrel hunter. :smile:

Also an excellent staple. Good stuff Jamie. We'll likely have "grilled" chicken salad with the leftover chicken from the whole one that just went in the oven. Hardboiled 9 coop fresh eggs earlier too!
 

huntn2

Senior Member
6,090
157
Hudson, OH
We do a lot of onion chicken as my kids love it. We use the thin breast or tenders, egg bath, then roll in a bag of mashed up onion straws and bake. Easy and tasty.
 

xbowguy

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
29,632
234
Licking Co. Ohio
grilled chicken salad. we eat it probably once a week. grill a mess of boneless chicken thighs ( I season with my home made "Emeril's Essence" as I like it better than Tony's or other Cajun spice blends), make a nice salad with leaf lettuce, arugula, spinach, grape tomato, shredded carrot, chopped bacon, cukes when in season. sprinkle on some shredded cheddar and diced chicken. ranch or bleu cheese dressing best topping for this. I make sandwiches out of cold leftover chicken thighs sliced thin, piled on a bun with some lacey swiss, mayo, and lettuce. sometimes a couple slices of bacon, at which point it becomes a chicken-bacon club. excellent sammie for hungry painter or squirrel hunter. :smile:

Thanks for the reminder Jamie. Been meaning to try this for awhile now and keep forgetting about it.
 

Jamie

Senior Member
5,690
177
Ohio
X2 on home made sloppy Joe's, with ground venison or canned squirrel, of course. Manwich does not quite measure up any longer. Life is a little less hectic for us now that we are empty nesters, but staples are staples, and easy, healthy dinners are still desirable for people who are either working or hunting all day (or who have kids they want to eat something decent). Nancy and I have jokingly created a yardstick for measuring meals. we call it the "deliciousness to difficulty ratio." High atop that list is blackened venison loin and mashed potatoes. canned squirrel or venison with chantarelles and jasmine rice is close second. I don't mind working hard in the kitchen, but fast, easy and delicious is always good.

venison burgers or home made brats and fries is a typical Friday night dinner here, too. "fries" is usually oven baked tater-tots or veggie-tots (which are quite good and have some redeeming nutritional value).
 

Beentown

Dignitary Member
Supporting Member
15,740
154
Sunbury, OH
It is also a big hit to make your own tortillas or flatbread. They cxan help and they are cheap and so much better.

Pics are of naan bread (flatbread) and tortillas we did.
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
It is also a big hit to make your own tortillas or flatbread. They cxan help and they are cheap and so much better.

Pics are of naan bread (flatbread) and tortillas we did.

Yes sir! We also make our own pizza dough.

We’ve been on a corn tort kick lately. Making our own chips and everything with them. I forget the brand, but we buy them uncooked, haven’t tried making them from scratch yet.

(Btw, those look pretty damn good for a white man. Nicely done!)
 

giles

Cull buck specialist
Supporting Member
Charles, how about that famous Mac and cheese or yours?!

With the warm weather, tonight is Ricks burgers and dogs. Which is what made me think of that Mac and cheese.
 

Riverdude

The Happy Hunting Grounds Beyond
Supporting Member
10,254
115
Ashtabula, Ohio
I make breakfast burritos. I go to Walmart and buy egg beaters, a bag of sausage bits, cheese and the wraps. Little Riverdude loves them. It only takes about 4 minutes to make using the microwave.. I go with the egg beaters because it's a heck of a lot faster then cracking eggs.
 

Buckmaster

Senior Member
14,362
191
Portage
I make breakfast burritos. I go to Walmart and buy egg beaters, a bag of sausage bits, cheese and the wraps. Little Riverdude loves them. It only takes about 4 minutes to make using the microwave.. I go with the egg beaters because it's a heck of a lot faster then cracking eggs.

That's one of my deer camp staples except I premake the mix.

Scramble Eggs
Pan Browned Sausage
Diced Tater Tots
Cheese

Add: Wrap, sour cream, and hot sauce