What dinners that you cook that your kid(s) love?

[daisyn]

I want to get better at cooking dinners for me and my son.  Stuff he'll eat.  He's extremely picky and not open to new things.  He'll also like something for a while and then refuse to eat it (this happened with grilled cheese).  Eating with him has been an ongoing issue.  (He has high functioning  autism so that's where the pickiness comes from).  He usually eats spaghetti and meatballs, pizza, stuff like that.  He will occasionally eat a vegetable like broccoli,  green beans or corn.  It's frustrating because every time I try something new I never know if he's going to eat it.  I made tacos once, he ate one.  The next time he didn't like them.  He eats my mom's meatloaf, but he won't eat mine.

so long story short, what are dinners that don't come out of a box that are relatively healthy that I can make after work on a week night that you think he might like?  He's 10 in case that matters

[stretchad]

That's tough. That's kind of out DS is though...he will eat something a few times, then all of a sudden turn his nose up at it. Since I never know what he's going to like or not, i tend to stick to making things that I like to eat for dinner, that I think he might eat for dinner, but have a backup option if he doesn't eat (things like PBJ, or snack-type items).

We do breakfast for dinner a lot, as DS reliably eats sausage patties
Veggie/Chicken Lo-Mein
Meatballs of almost any kind; Spaghetti & meatballs, turkey meatballs with butter noodles, chicken teriyaki meatballs
Baked Chicken Tenders
One Pot Ground Beef Stroganoff
Cheeseburger Mac and Cheese
Chicken & orzo

[6fsn]

This is crockpot, but it's a favorite

Pork loin
1 cup apple juice/cider/water
1 sliced medium onion
1 bag cherry flavored craisins
salt, pepper, thyme, over loin
1-2 tablespoons quick cook tapioca (not necessary, but it thickens the sauce)

I serve over egg noodles, but you could do rice or mashed potatoes. The kids don't care for the sauce, but that's easy to leave off. It's one meal there is NEVER a fuss and often seconds all around.

[IrishBelle]

Sheppard's pie
Fettucine alfredo (sometimes DD will eat the chicken, sometimes she won't)
Mashed potatoes are always a hit
Caesar salad
Burritos - I know you said tacos were not a hit but I know my kids prefer tortillas to taco shells - toppings include meat, lettuce, tomatoes, beans, rice, corn, salsa and guacamole. These work well for us because the kids can add what they like.
Breakfast for dinner it always a hit

[shamrockshake]

My kids love rice and beans. I just keep brown rice in the fridge and heat it up, throw black beans out of a can right on top. Some like cheese, one likes salsa, they can doctor it up however they want.

We also eat breakfast for dinner a lot- pancakes, eggs of all sorts- they really like quiche if I refer to it as egg pie.
Chicken legs
Burgers

[justjen]

Pasta. That's really it

[undecidedowl]

DS1 is 4 yo and pretty hit or miss depending on his mood. I just cook stuff the rest of us like and brace myself for the inevitable "I don't liiiike this" for everything, even previous favorites.

Things that usually go over well:
Sweet and sour chicken
Pizza
Meatloaf with glaze
Chicken pot pie
Breakfast for dinner, all kinds
Salad with lots of toppings
Quesadillas with chicken and beans
Loaded baked potato soup

[hermione]

Do Strawberry Eggos count? No? Ok, I've got nothing...

[cricketwife]

super easy, especially if you use frozen peppers and onions.

www.thewholesomedish.com/one-pot-wonder-stuffed-pepper-skillet/

My kid is a pretty good eater, so I don't know if he's the best measure, but he absolutely devours this.

[faith194]

DS isn't super picky, but he will say he doesn't like something even if it is an all time favorite.

He loves twirl.twirl-chicken fettuccini and alfredo with broccoli

Spaghetti and meat sauce and sausage

Scrambled eggs with toast

meatloaf with mashed potatoes and mixes veg

[redpenmama]

I have no idea why my kids love this, but we eat it a lot because it's super easy.

Taco Soup:
Lean ground beef or ground turkey (ETA: Forgot to add the taco seasoning)
Can of black beans
Can of Rotel
Bag of frozen corn
2 cups of water

Top with cheese and call it a meal

[djc315]

Baked tacos are my 3 y/os favorite food, ever. They have cheese in the bottom of the hard shell and then on top of the meat, so they stay together and are easy to eat.

Beef soup is another one he loves that is an easy recipe and easy to get veggies into him - brown 1 lb ground beef, drain, add beef stock, mixed veggies & some sort of noodle or rice.

We also do a burrito bowl night often - shredded salsa chicken from the crockpot, rice, black beans, corn, salsa, avocado, cheese, sour cream, etc. He chooses what goes in his.

[charlotteandwilbur]

My kids both love fried rice- I like that it's an easy way to get veggies and protein in.

They also love BBQ chicken pizza, chicken tenders with dipping sauce, quesadillas with a variety of fillings, and breakfast for dinner - eggs, biscuits, waffles

[daisyn]

Feb 13, 2016 18:44:43 GMT -5 socratic said:

Homemade "ramen"
Chicken drumsticks with BBQ sauce
Sausages and mashed potatoes
Rice and peas (with chorizo)

I asked my son if he'd eat the drumsticks with BBQ... He said
will you make it right now???  Lol
great suggestion!!

[darnkatz]

Cheesy pizza soup (this is pretty adaptable - you could leave out the mushrooms, I added in bell pepper last time, etc)
Buttermilk roast chicken (very easy - you can throw it in the marinade the night before and then you just pop it in the oven) with whatever veggie and carb floats your boat 
Chicken and dumplings (you can make this easier by using boxed broth and a rotisserie chicken as well as mixing up the dumplings the night before)
Crockpot chicken and sausage stew (I use chicken sausage in this because I feel like it is too greasy otherwise) with bread on the side
Creamy pesto pasta with chicken and broccoli (also delicious with peas or green beans or sliced sausage in place of the chicken)
Chicken parmesan baked pasta (served with a salad or a roasted veg or whatever really)

[kaycee]

The meal that my kid will eat 100% of the time is burrito bowls. We make cilantro lime rice, chicken, and beans. Then we put out tomatoes, onions, cheese, avocado, and bell peppers. It is her favorite meal ever and she can control how much of each thing she eats.

[aspentosh]

Chicken with cheese melted on top
Chili
Chicken with veggie stirfry
Mac and cheese
Chicken pot pie

[MadamePresident]

Chicken thighs. Nods loves them and consistently eats them.

[anaps28]

Turkey tacos are always a hit

[lala]

Cheaters Korean beef bowl (damn delicious recipe), and tofu/veggie stir fry, spaghetti carbonara, pesto with pasta, cheeseburger salad (pioneer woman), her meat loaf, too. Italian wedding soup, breakfast for dinner, homemade mac & cheese, ravioli, pan fried tilapia, pizza, chicken legs, pretty much anything shrimp, guacamole.

Now these are things most of them generally love. But IME, from about 18 months to age 4.5/5 everything is hit or miss at dinner even if it's their favorite thing ever. After that they get more reliable again. So mostly I cook what I want for dinner and let them decide whether to eat.

[bcarp30]

I started thinking about this and really she doesn't love what we cook for dinner but she always has to try it. She is more prone to trying things that she cooks with me or can assemble on her own.

Tacos
Any noodles
Salad
Enchiladas
Pizza
Potatoes
Soup
Veggies