A RECIPE FOR EACH DAY OF THE WEEK: SEVEN IDEAS FOR QUICK AND EASY DINNERS FOR CHILDREN

With children at home, when we get to dinner we are already half gas (in the best case,) lacking inspiration and with little desire to get into the kitchen.

Whether we are on vacation or with the kids at home, we need quick and easy ideas that solve our dinner with little ingredients and little cooking time. There are a few solutions.

1. Toast with a thousand flavors

A good bread and quality ingredients and we can have a very complete dinner to eat with our hands, which is what hits in summer. The one in the photo is of serrano ham with brie cheese and tomato jam, but the options are endless:

With smoked salmon: The basic version can be with cheese spread and slices of salmon on top and, if our children are not afraid to experiment, cutting small onion and capers and mixing it with lemon is the ideal topping.
With avocado: It is a fashionable ingredient because it is very beneficial for health and is usually well accepted by children (what a pity that the price makes it a luxury item). Spread avocado as if it were butter on bread, any complement is well received above: cheese, scrambled eggs, sausages, natural tomato and tuna ...
With ratatouille: Placing a little ratatouille (you can buy made) and on top of pieces of canned or grilled fish, a poached / grilled / cooked and sliced egg ... we get a very complete dinner in a couple of minutes.
To the letter: Bring all the ingredients to the table and have each one assemble their own recipe: grated tomato (you can add oil and a little garlic) or sliced, a plate with sausages, some fried peppers, some slices of loin in oil , mojama ... So you can vary in flavors and children may be encouraged to try something new.

2. Tortillas with grace

The French omelette is surely the most useful recipe for children's dinners. In this there are no intergenerational problems. Without much more work than the one given by the classic French omelette (which, by the way, becomes a great toast / sandwich smearing the bread with mayonnaise and putting slices of natural tomato on top), we can get colorful recipes and “camouflage” ingredients like The vegetable in this socorrida preparation:

Made of veggies: They are very rich sautéing the vegetable with a little oil in the pan before mixing it with the egg, but if we are in bad weather, there is our friend the microwave, which does the job for us in a moment (if we do not have pots of those to steam, a plate with film on top and a few holes does the same function). Here you have a recipe for zucchini tortillas, one of the most grateful vegetables to make tortillas.
Of fish: The cod tortilla is a real delicacy that even less fishmongers can resist. For difficult cases, it can be served with a homemade tomato sauce bath above which, in addition, gives a touch of great taste.
Stuffed: Why limit ourselves to the ham and cheese squares of a lifetime? Try to sauté a few pieces of apple with butter and add brie cheese for an incredible result or natural tomato with basil for an extra-juicy tortilla.

3. Humus

It is easy, fast, it is made with few ingredients and on top we are eating legumes. The only thing is that you have to have tahini yes or yes because it is what gives the characteristic flavor. At home we prepare it with a canister of half a kilo of canned chickpeas, the juice of a lemon, a tablespoon of tahini, a clove of garlic and a good drizzle of olive oil. I do not put salt because the chickpeas of boat already carry. We put the bowl in the middle and we all dip with different types of bread (pita, scolding, toast), or with vegetables (carrots or celery cut into sticks, endives ...).

It should do a lot because this paste is a real lifesaver. It serves as a healthy snack at any time of the day and can be used to brighten other dishes, for example, smearing the tortilla from our wrap before adding the rest of the ingredients or as an accompaniment to fish and meat.

4. Salads with chicha

Older people can go with a light salad for dinner, but when it is going to be the children's only dish, theirs is to take something else to make it more complete. A very savory salad is the Tabbouleh. The classic recipe includes couscous, cucumber and tomato and scallions, chopped parsley, chopped fresh parsley and peppermint, squeezed lemon and oil.

Of course, on this basis we can play with all kinds of ingredients: tuna, avocado, nuts (not for the best of 5-6 years), boneless olives (and cut along if there are small children), cheese cubes white, raisins, corn, raw spinach, mushrooms ... (the key is that everything is cut very small). We can also play changing the base of the salad and replace the cus cus with quinoa or bulgur, both cereals with very good nutritional properties.

5. Chicken and oatmeal nuggets

Here comes the healthy version (and with more flavor of the typical breaded fillets). And of course, with the appeal that they eat with their fingers and can be soaked in sauce.

You need chicken cut into small cubes, fingers or as we like, but provided they are more or less the same size to have the same cooking time. If we have time, macerating the fillets in milk a few hours will leave them softer and juicy. Then, a mixture is made with oatmeal, garlic powder, parsley, salt, pepper and Parmesan cheese. Batter each piece and place them in the oven tray 20 minutes on each side.

If we make some homemade sauces it is already the world and here are two super easy options: * Yogurt sauce: Beat natural yogurt with garlic, lime or lemon, any herb, salt and pepper to taste. * BBQ sauce: The recipe is here. * Easy Roquefort sauce (or blue cheese): Put 400 grams of cooking cream and 100 grams of cheese in a saucepan, stir until melted and, if desired, add pepper and it is ready.

6. Custom Gazpacho

You cannot make a summer menu proposal without including gazpacho in any of its varieties. It is to start the heat and be present at least in one meal a day. I do not know if it happens in the rest of Spain, but in many Andalusian houses a gazpacho is made quite watery and drinks very cold as if it were juice at any time of the day.

Why not dare to change some of the basic ingredients or add others to get amazing combinations? Here we propose a recipe for cold Borsch, a soup of Ukrainian origin that we adapt for the heats around here. You just have to beat two beets of those that come packaged, three tomatoes, a quarter of an onion and a yogurt or sour cream and add oil, vinegar and salt to have a butt soup of flavor. Here, more cold cream recipes.

7. Mini hamburgers

Another lifesaving format for parents because they love them, they can be made many and freeze and, in addition, they are perfect for "camouflaging" flavors for children with food. Just add to the minced meat fried onion, breadcrumbs, an egg and some spice (such as cloves or cumin), we will get some extra tasty hamburgers. You can also saute all kinds of vegetables cut into small pieces and add them to the dough (spinach with chicken are very good).

Adding cheese is wonderful because it melts while the meat is made and provides extra juiciness. And why limit ourselves to one type of meat? Beef mixtures with pork or chicken work very well. If we have a chopper or a butcher with time, more daring combinations can be made such as adding a little bacon, ham or sausage to the minced meat. Of course, fish or vegetarian burgers are also a great option. Now you just need to put them in your mini loaves and serve them.