Are you hosting a crowd for the biggest football game of the year? Ollie can help! Cross planning a menu off your list. Here are 5 family-friendly dinner ideas that will please parents and kids alike.
Baked Buffalo Cauliflower Bites
Ingredients (serves 12):
- 4 heads of cauliflower, cut into bite-sized florets
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 cups milk (or a milk alternative for a vegan option)
- 2 cups Buffalo sauce
- Blue cheese or ranch dressing for dipping
- Carrot and celery sticks on the side
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 450°F. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, create a batter by mixing the flour, garlic powder, salt, and milk.
- Dip cauliflower florets in the batter, shake off excess, and place on the baking sheets.
- Bake for 20 minutes, flipping halfway through until crisp and golden.
- Toss baked florets in Buffalo sauce and return to the oven for another 10 minutes.
- Serve with blue cheese or ranch dressing and a side of carrot and celery sticks.
Tips for feeding the kids:
- Serve a “mild” version alongside the spicy one, with just a light brush of butter instead of Buffalo sauce.
- Cut the cauliflower into fun shapes using cookie cutters if they’re large enough.
- Include a variety of dipping sauces, like ranch, honey mustard, and BBQ, which tend to be kid-friendly favorites.
Mini Slider Burgers
Ingredients (serves 12):
- 24 mini burger buns
- 4 lbs ground beef or turkey
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Optional: 24 small slices of cheese (such as cheddar or American)
- Lettuce leaves
- 24 small tomato slices
- Sliced pickles
- Ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise
Instructions:
- Preheat the grill or skillet to medium-high heat.
- Form the ground beef or turkey into 24 small patties. Season with salt and pepper.
- Grill the patties for 2-3 minutes on each side (longer for well-done).
- If using cheese, add it to the patties during the last minute of grilling to melt.
- Assemble mini burgers with lettuce, tomato, pickles, and desired sauces on mini buns.
Tips for feeding the kids:
- Offer a DIY slider bar where kids can choose their own toppings, such as ketchup, mustard, mayo, lettuce, tomato, cheese slices, and pickles.
- Make sure to have some plain sliders without any spicy seasonings or sauces.
- Present the sliders on a fun platter or in a creative arrangement to draw their attention.
Savory Cheese and Fig Tartlets
Ingredients (serves 12):
- 48 pre-made mini tart shells
- 8 oz goat cheese or cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup dried figs, chopped
- 4 tbsp honey
- 2 tsp fresh thyme leaves
- Freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Place tart shells on a baking sheet.
- Fill each tart shell with a teaspoon of goat cheese or cream cheese.
- Top with a few pieces of chopped fig and a small drizzle of honey.
- Bake for 8-10 minutes until tart shells are golden and cheese is slightly melted.
- Remove from the oven and sprinkle with fresh thyme leaves and black pepper.
- Serve warm or at room temperature.
Tips for feeding the kids:
- Use mild cream cheese as the base, which has a more universally pleasing taste among children.
- Make some tartlets with just cheese and a drizzle of honey, sans the figs, as the sweetness of honey is often a hit with kids.
- Use cookie cutter shapes to make the tartlets extra fun.
Shrimp Ceviche with Avocado and Mango
Ingredients (serves 12):
- 3 lbs cooked shrimp, peeled and chopped
- 6 ripe avocados, diced
- 3 ripe mangoes, diced
- 2 medium red onions, finely chopped
- A bunch of cilantro, chopped
- Juice of 8 limes
- 2-3 jalapeños, finely chopped (adjust to heat preference)
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Tortilla chips for serving
Instructions:
- In a large bowl, combine the lime juice, jalapeños, and red onions. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
- Add the chopped shrimp to the bowl and let marinate for an additional 10 minutes.
- Just before serving, gently mix in the diced avocados, mangoes, and cilantro.
- Season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve in a large bowl accompanied by tortilla chips for scooping.
Tips for feeding the kids:
- Make a separate kid-friendly ceviche version without onions and jalapeños, as these can be too strong for young palates.
- Serve them in individual cups with tortilla chips sticking out like a sail for a fun presentation.
- You could also provide an alternative simple shrimp cocktail with a mild cocktail sauce for dipping.
Mediterranean Mezze Platter
Ingredients (serves 12):
- 2 cups hummus
- 2 cups baba ganoush
- 2 cups tzatziki
- 1 cup mixed olives
- 1 cup stuffed grape leaves (dolmas)
- 1 block feta cheese, cut into cubes
- 2 large pita breads, cut into wedges and/or pita chips
- Fresh vegetables (such as cucumber slices, bell pepper strips, and cherry tomatoes)
Instructions:
- Arrange hummus, baba ganoush, and tzatziki in separate bowls on a large platter.
- Scatter olives, dolmas, and feta cheese around the dips.
- Place pita wedges and/or chips along with fresh-cut vegetables on the platter.
- Serve immediately, allowing guests to help themselves to a variety of flavors.
Tips for feeding the kids:
- Add finger foods like sliced cucumber, cherry tomatoes, and cheese cubes, which are usually popular with children.
- Serve the dips in colorful bowls and include some plain pita or flatbread for kids who might be wary of trying new flavors.
Bonus: Your copy-and-paste grocery list
Let’s make this even easier. If you’re feeding a crowd of 12 and this menu looks good to go, copy this grocery list and paste it into a text or Notes app so you can shop away.
Produce:
- 4 heads cauliflower
- 1 bunch carrots (or package of pre-cut carrot sticks)
- 1 bunch celery (or package of pre-cut celery sticks)
- 1 head of lettuce (enough for 24 mini burgers)
- 6 – 8 medium tomatoes (enough for 24 slices)
- 3 – 4 cucumbers (for mezze platter)
- 3 – 4 bell peppers (for mezze platter)
- 1 pint cherry tomatoes (for mezze platter)
- 6 ripe avocados
- 3 ripe mangoes
- 2 medium red onions
- 1 bunch of cilantro
- 8 limes
- 2-3 jalapeños
- Fresh thyme (for 2 tsp)
Breads and bakery:
- 24 mini burger buns
- 2 large pita breads (or buy pita chips)
- 48 pre-made mini tart shells
Dairy:
- Optional: cheddar or American cheese (enough for 24 small slices of cheese)
- 8 oz goat cheese or cream cheese (for tartlets)
- 1 8 oz. block of feta cheese
- 2 cups milk (or milk alternative)
Canned and jarred:
- 2 cups baba ganoush
- 1 cup mixed olives
- 1 cup stuffed grape leaves (dolmas)
- 1 cup dried figs
- 2 cups Buffalo sauce
- Blue cheese or ranch dressing (for dipping)
- 4 tbsp honey
- Optional: pickles (for mini sliders)
Deli and prepared foods:
- 2 10oz. containers of hummus (2 cups)
- 1 – 2 containers of tzatziki (2 cups)
Snacks:
- Tortilla chips (for serving with ceviche)
- Pita chips (optional, if not using pita bread)
Meat and seafood:
- 4 lbs ground beef or turkey (for mini burgers)
- 3 lbs cooked shrimp, peeled and chopped (for ceviche)
Pantry staples:
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 4 tsp garlic powder
- Salt
- Freshly ground black pepper
- Ketchup
- Mustard
- Mayonnaise
Consider it done with Ollie
You have a million things going on. Planning and organizing the meals for your family should not be one of them. Ollie can help you cross meal planning off your weekly to-do list.
Here’s a little of what you can expect from Ollie:
- Customize your recipes: Swap ingredients, tailor portion sizes, and adjust seasonings. Ollie can instantly update recipes to your specific taste or needs.
- Save hours from researching and planning: Before you can even think of it, Ollie will generate a meal plan based on your family’s preferences complete with a ready-to-go grocery list so you can cross this job off your list.
- Get ideas that will work for you: Ollie knows that you may not want to cook five new meals a week. More often than not, you want to cook something familiar and easy to please. Ollie adjusts its meal plans to your schedule and incorporates your tried-and-true meals into the weekly schedule so you have a plan that you can really use.
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