Help needed with sauces

[madiesmum]

Can anyone offer any suggestions for sauces I can make especially ones for chicken and fish dishes that are simple to make and are also suitable for a toddler, please note I am no jamie oliver so need them to be simple. thanks 

[sunflower68]

Madiesmum - good on you for home-cooking Madie's food.  Personally I believe you're doing so much to enhance her future learning, appetite and outlook on healthy living.  Chop up the veggies you like/enjoy preparing/would like to try/are in season, and fry in a teaspoon of oil, once they are cooked-looking, then all you need to add is a tablespoon of flour and cook it all for 30 seconds more (this will look very lumpy but its fine)  Add either 1/4 pint cold milk (for a white sauce) or 1/2 tin tomatoes (for a tomato sauce) and they both should thicken themselves for a nice sauce.  No seasoning recommended;these are very basic recipes for tots. You can add cooked pasta or rice to these sauces Add some chilli sauce/ salt/ pepper/extra oil or cheese for adults. 

[charliep88]

A simple pan sauce is easy and very good, when your chicken or fish are cooked remove them to a warm platter .add some  canned broth of your choice ,reduce it by cooking for a few minutes then maybe some lemon juice or cream, mustard or capers maybe not all of these but the combo you  like seasoned to your liking. If the toddler isnt eating I would suggest some wine as a substitute for the broth or a combo of both. use the wine you will be drinking and please by no means use cooking wine good luck also some herbs

[Morrisonker]

a favourite meal of mine when i was little was chicken baked in Campbell's condensed cream of mushroom or cream of chicken soup with new potatoes and veg or pasta.  So easy to make.  In fact i think they use it as a serving suggestion on the back of the can!

I think anythjing with a white wine or cream base works well either either dish, you can add herbs to make it a bit more specialised.

[dmsjps]

I agree with Morrisonker: the Campbell soups are an ideal base if you haven't got the time to make your own sauces, but basically any plain white sauce can be enhanced with whatever you fancy for a different taste (and texture if youwish) each time.

I too am glad you're feeding your little one what you eat, it will be so much better for her. I did that with mine and they've never been 'chips & nuggets' kids because if they didn't eat their meal, they didn't get anything else. It's not until they get older anyway, that they decide they don't like vegetables, etc, due to peer pressure from some of their apparently 'burger-loving' mates and wanting to be one of the in-crowd. It's just a fashion, but McDonald's has a lot to answer for! Then again, I guess some vegetables are quite strong tasting and are either 'love it or hate it' tastes: mine would never eat sprouts.

A friend's daughter was literally raised on nuggets, burgers and chips. In fact, until she was about 8, she would eat nothing else and if she left her meal and said she didn't want it, she would get filled up with sweets by the ton. Since then she has gradually progressed onto eating some meat, but only chicken, and only carrots vegetable-wise. That little girl (bless her, because she's lovely) now only has to walk upstairs and she is puffing and panting. I would say that's not normal for a 10-year old, but think what her arteries are like.

[madiesmum]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and encouragement. My daughter refuses to eat anything that is not homemade and luckily loves her veg  so hopefully now her meals will be tastier and varied. Thanks

[magicdice]

a tin of tomatoes, a pepper, a courgette & some mushrooms. poke them all round a pan for a while till it's done. easy as anything, tastes great too either just with pasta or as a sauce for chicken.