If you have something as backup, such as plain pasta, etc. then I'd encourage you to go for it and serve what you like. Good chance the kids might like it too! Many kids have an aversion to tings being mixed up, but if these folks enjoy lasagna, stew etc, they are way past that, your food sounds delicious! My kids enjoy tacos, enchiladas...making their own little pizzas.... there's always burgers. My kids like fish cakes, baked beans...hummus, ... good luck!

I second that "good luck". All of my grandkids like fish, but mostly fried or in the form of fish sticks. None of them like vegetables other than corn, green beans and potatoes. (sigh)

They'd love your lasagna, especially if garlic bread went along with it. Like HB, they all love tacos, burgers, pizza. I often make no-knead pizza dough and everyone just makes their own. Quesadillas are a favorite too and a 6 year old once told me "I LOVE your chicken" when I made Chicken Cordon Bleu. They all like sandwiches too, and breakfast for supper, like pancakes and bacon, or chicken and waffles, made with chicken tenders and cheddar/cornmeal waffles. Some of them will eat glazed carrots, and they'll all eat green beans with ham or bacon cooked in them. Creamed corn, latkes and fresh vegetables turned into salsa have all been consumed by some, but not all.

Annie

Macaroni & cheese w/ smoked sausage slices mixed in and baked was always a favorite with my kids.

Another was 'cheese fries'...pizza dough topped with garlic/ a bit of olive oil and a mixture of cheeses...mozzarella, grated Romano, etc.

Keep it simple and classic. I have pasta bars a lot. I cook pasta, make Alfredo sauce and get marinara sauce, put toppings like olives, pesto, cheese, etc.... And also I agree with the tacos, but instead of beef you can use BBQ chicken.

you can do a quick tomato appetizer: add chopped tomato and fresh cubed mozzarella to a bowl. Season with salt, pepper, oregano and any other dried herb you like.

Or you can skewer a piece of mozzarella, grape tomato, and basil leaf. It's cute and more appealing to kids.

roasted potatoes, they are so good and grow great with meatloaf and chicken. Cut potatoes. Season with S & P, oregano and rosemary. Pop in a 400 degree preheated oven for 45 minutes

Also as a quick appetizer, salsa and guacamole are great.

I used to make easy glazed carrots by mixing a tablespoon of orange marmalade into the hot carrots. Kids love them.

As a child, I did NOT like sweet, and so I would not eat sweet potatoes, and I did not want any vegetables that were sweet (except corn). I would eat fruit, but I found peaches too sweet as a child, although I will eat them now. I also hated cheese as a child, especially gooey melted cheese and would even order pizza without cheese. OTOH, I loved nuts, partly because I could pick up pecans from the yards or orchard we had. I did not like food to be mixed as a child, I would eat squash and corn without salt and without butter, even though they tasted sweet to me. Corn was about the sweetest vegetable I liked. I loved fried fish and fried chicken as a child and still do, and I also loved fried okra and hush puppies, and I liked boiled okra, even though it was slimy. I liked cornbread as long as it was not sweet. I did not like anything with mayonnaise as a child, but I did love salads with Italian dressing.

You really need to ask what the children like, as all children have different tastes, and so generalizations regarding children may not be not valid. My sister's taste was the opposite of mine, which is why I always wanted to cook - to prevent her from making things that I could not eat. She loved mac & cheese, and I would not touch it.

Meatloaf might be a good idea - I make it with ground turkey and use dried mushrooms in it - I loved mushrooms as a child, but perhaps not all children do.

One of my kids' favorite dinners is breakfast for dinner. Another kid friendly meal would be to do a baked potato bar. They celebrate any time I serve garlic bread. French dip sandwiches disappear quickly. Meatballs go over well, whether in soup, subs, on pasta or with sweet and sour sauce.

I find for myself, that a lot of my cooking style with kids has more to do with time available than it does a limited palate. The only limitation I allow in my house for my 4 kids is I watch the spice level which limits some of the traditional New Mexican dishes I can prepare. I would ask their parents if there are any absolute dislikes on veggies and go from there and have some fun. One of my sons requests that I leave his Brussel sprouts raw and so I set some aside for him before cooking the others. One daughter is not fond of an overwhelming cooked tomato flavor so I skip tomato soup and give her less tomato sauce on her pasta. Other than that, they eat a wide range of food.

As far as vegetables, it's funny that most kids do seem to like corn, and most seem to like to choose things from a relish tray (pickles, olives, cucumber slices/spears, baby carrots, spiced apple rings, etc.). I was a kid who LOVED broccoli and spinach, and we were a family who loved kidney stew, so...

I agree that you should ask them what they like.

Yes, we can give you easy ideas as long as you ask them what they like! Are they allergic to anything?

LOL! Lars is the perfect opposite to the pattern of "most kids", so a great example for why you should ask them.

Thanks for the ideas! These kids were raised in the south, NC and are used to that type of cooking. But I don't deep fry anything!

pllog- I'm not dumbing down anything.....I just want these kids who have been uprooted from their home to enjoy a meal at our home once a week! Their parents can decide on their dietary staples on their own! Nancy

I'll second the meatballs suggestion. Spaghetti and turkey meatballs w/ tomato sauce & parmesan cheese are a big fave of our grandaughters. I make a marinara w/ finely chopped carrots, celery & onions, seasoned w/ garlic & bay leaf, so it's veggie-rich meal.

I've only made mac & cheese w/ smoky sausage (chicken & apple) for us adults; now I wonder if the grandkids would like it too...?

Corn in the cob with lots of butter? Roasted potatoes, carrots or broccoli.

season, I had to smile. My 5 year old granddaughter calls guacamole "uckymoldy", none of the grandkids will touch it but they all love salsa.

I agree about asking what the kids like. The oldest granddaughter won't eat anything with sauce, doesn't even want sauce on her sandwiches or burgers, she's 13 and never has. No catsup for fries, no mayo or BBQ sauce or ranch dressing, she hates it all. Her brother puts catsup on everything, including green beans and the two smallest like ranch dressing on everything, even pizza. Two granddaughters have the same texture issues I do, anything like pudding or yogurt, even mashed potatoes will trigger a gag reflex that I've pretty much overcome unless I try to eat Jello. None like spicy food but they'll all eat salsa and chips. Even with pasta, 3 like mac and cheese, two like spaghetti, one doesn't like any pasta at all except ramen noodles. So, even in the same family, eating the same food, cooked by the same people, kids vary on what they like.

Oh, and do NOT forget dessert. (grin)

Annie

Haha, Annie.

oh yeah, for dessert you could do something realllly simple, maybe a boxed brownie mix or ice cream.

yes! Kids love CUPCAKES!!! And anything with maraschino cherries. lol!

Yeah, I agree! I hate maraschino cherries but kids, well that's a diffeirent story!

Not worried about desserts, they only get them 1x per week and that's not my night.

Working in Spec Ed for 38 year I am aware that "mixing" food is a developmental stepping stone and many kids reject different foods touching each other until about age 12.

At 11 and 15, they seem to be beyond this phase of eating phobias.

I love all of the suggestions, and will use them! Thank you! Nancy

Nancy, by "not dumbing down", I just meant make good food that you like and they probably will too, within the scope of what they'll accept.

I thought you meant little kids though. At 11 and 15, ask them their limits (like if they hate sauce like Annie's granddaughter), but otherwise, just cook good food!

The little ones in our family seem to like most vegetables including broccoli, cheese enchiladas are also a favorite with Alyssa. They are 3 and 5 years old. If they go to a salad bar, they choose, peas and cheese!

Sue

I also thought you were talking about little kids!

I three thought they were like 5 and 6.

At that age, I'd definitely go for the fish! I find that age even harder to feed, sometimes, though. Vegetarians seem common in that group, and girls watch their weight and some are in sports and are famished all the time.

Good luck!

Annie

I know this is late, but I'll pitch in what my experience is-

Pasta. My kids, and my neices and nephews, love love love pasta. It's a great way to sneak in some veggies, if they don't like the texture of any veggies, puree them and just the flavor will come through! Also, almost every meat goes great with pasta. Making extra fiber or veggetable noodles also does the trick!

Here are some specific dishes the kids on every end of the family have loved (everything homemade, of course ;): Pork with apples, burgers, pizza, chicken marsala, corn chowder, baked potatoes, sweet & sour chicken/beef, etc. The only salad I can get my son to eat is Caesar with no dressing and seasoned chicken (super simple to make).

If the kids have any interest in cooking, let them help! Then they can say they made it and will usually eat it all. (Just don't let em see when you sneak the veggies in lol;).

Hope this helps for the future and anyone reading!

Among my kids favorites were beef stroganoff, taco salad, spaghetti carbonara, chicken & noodles, chicken & dumplings, chicken fried steak and mashed potatoes with anything. They loved leftover mashed potatoes made into potato pancakes. They really liked shredded turkey in turkey gravy served over mash. They did not like fish...only when they got to young adulthood, did they start to eat fish. However, inexplicably, the youngest loved tuna but a fish fry was a no-go.

When we were kids, we were fine with adult foods. We might not have been crazy about Brussels sprouts or liver, but otherwise we were good to go. Fish was a definite treat - not fish sticks, either. Real fish! Ask the parents.

Pasta was always okay, but never a highlight, unless it was lasagna. Kids differ, again ask, especially since these are older kids.

PS I always loathed maraschino cherries. Then, and now.