Dinner ideas for toddler meals

what about some pasta dishes...that you can put chicken in, or not as the case maybe

macaroni cheese

oakhill potatoes...(a favourite in this household)...and if you cant have flour, then cornflour works just as well.

stews/casseroles

oh i have a cookbook that has homemade chicken nuggets, and home made fish patties (made from tuna), both very yummy...if you want them i will put them up in the recipe section

pasta bakes are great. We have them all the time. Daniel even likes them (he hates most of my cooking haha). We add peas/carrots/corn to them and he likes eating those and the pasta. There's tons of really yummy sauces if you don't want to make your own (I don't). We get dolmio tomato and mozerella which is so good.

Home made fish n chips.

Stuffed veges. She might enjoy helping you make those. Stuffing a potato or capsicum is really easy

I got a really good book from Plunket the other day, it had heaps of recipes in it for toddlers, would you like me to have a nosey and see whats in there?

Try www.taste.com.au for pasta sauce recipes, I use that site all the time for inspiration.

Recipe Ideas

Edited by .Mel

Crunchy Fish Sticks (are better as fish cakes)

3 medium potatoes          
375gms canned tuna in brine, drained and flaked (2 x 185gm tins)
1 egg, lightly beaten          
breadcrumbs (for coating)
Oil for shallow frying     
salt and pepper to taste

1.     Boil potatoes and mash until smooth, Add tuna and egg to potatoes and mix well to combine.
2.     Take 2 tsps and shape into patties and press into breadcrumbs to coat
3.     Heat 1cm oil in a fry pan and heat over a medium heat until hot, cook for 3-4 mins each side or until golden and cooked through.

Makes 24

Chicken Nuggets

500gms chicken mince          
1 egg, lightly beaten     
45gms breadcrumbs (from stale bread)     
60gms cottage cheese, mashed
125gms dried breadcrumbs          
oil for frying
Salt and pepper to taste

1.     Place mince, egg, soft breadcrumbs, cottage cheese in a bowl and mix well to combine.
2.     Take 2 tsps of mixture and shape into balls, then flatten slightly and press gently into dried breadcrumbs to coat.
3.     Heat 1cm oil in pan over medium heat until hot, and cook for 2 mins each side or until cooked through and golden. (Makes 24)

I got a Gina Food cookbook from the library and it is fab. I have made several dishes and they are delicious (naturally Elle has not been willing to even try one single mouthful but I try every day nonetheless).

I do a lot of crockpot meals these days coz they are easy and I can get it on in the morning, and the gremlins seem to love it, I think coz the meat and veg are all really tender so easy to chew. Miss Fussypot Five won't eat it, but sucks to be her coz she goes hungry!

Second or third what everyone else has said about pasta, I either do a pasta bake as a side dish instead of potato (using one of those Watties pasta bake sauces) or I make a one pot meal of it as either chicken and mushroom pasta or tuna pasta bake.

I made a pumpkin, corn and barley succotash the other night, that was a yummo vego dish.

Charlotte enjoys roasts on these cold winter nights.

I got some chicken tenderloin pieces this week and coated them in Coat and Cook then baked them in the oven, tasted like KFC without the grease! YUM!

Mashed potatoes are also a favourite in our house and I jazz them up with bacon, sourcream, spring onions, cheese etc.

Ooh I like the sound of your mashed spuds CuriousG!

Jack quite enjoys a Vegetable Frittata. You can use fresh veges (potato, kumara, carrots, capsicum, courgette, anything really - chopped, grated or sliced, some may need to be cooked a bit first in the microwave) or last nights left overs, out them in the frying pan with a couple (or more, depends on the size of the pan) of beaten eggs and milk, maybe some pepper or spices and cook until the egg is set. I usually put grated cheese on it and put under the grill to melt.

Don't forget fish cakes. Or baked kumara instead of potato for a change.