One dish meals for picky eaters

[pumpkin]

I've got a newborn that wants to be held 24/7 so I need more easy dinners that can be prepped whenever she happens to want to cooperate with the rare brief nap or hanging out in the sling (Still practicing with the sling)

My DH is an extremely picky eater. He has been working to expand his palette and I really appreciate how much he has pushed himself on this issue even though it means it is hard to come up with dinners I can throw together at some random point in the day and still end up with a yummy dinner.

He absolutely will not eat soups or stews.
He has issues with multiple textures in the same dish.
He previously would only eat completely separate things and only if they were dry. So dry chicken. Noodles with no sauce. Plain canned vegetables. He is working past this, but it presents challenges.

Easy one dish meals he will eat:
chicken and rice: white rice, chicken breast, condensed soups, evaporated milk
he would eat that every day which is quite impressive since it is wet

pasta bake: noodles, ground beef, tomatoes, tomato paste, black olives, cheese
he will eat a small serving of this for one meal, he picks out the olives and will not eat any leftovers because he does not want it twice in a week

I'm stumped for recipes since he will not touch soups or stews.

[BetsyS]

This is a hard one.

One of my easiest meals is all separate, which he might like. Hamburger steak, mashed potatoes, and a veggie. I make mashed potatoes in big batches, then freeze in ice cream scoops. If you freeze on a cookie sheet until they are hard, you can store in a ziploc bag. Just reheat whatever you need that night. Hamburger steaks are hamburger patties, served bun-less. I think it's called salisbury steak in other parts of the country? Not sure. Sometimes, I make gravy or smother it in tomatoes, but if I'm really rushed, it's just plain. Then, steam or roast a veggie alongside. I freeze hamburger patties in 1/4 pound sections. With the frozen potatoes and the patties, I can make this meal in like 15 minutes.

My brother is semi-picky (not as bad as your dh, but not just anything goes). This is one of his long time favorites. Pasta salad. It's simple--a box of spirals, a can of black olives, a jar of marinated artichoke hearts (marinade and all), and a bottle of Good Seasons Italian dressing (only that dressing will do ). To make it a meal, you can add cubes of chicken or tofu. Even my brother likes the tofu. You marinade the tofu in the dressing plus artichoke marinade overnight. It has the texture of cheese, with the taste of the dressing. It's really, really, surprisingly good.

You could grill chicken at the beginning of the week. Then, use the chicken for several days. A green salad topped with chicken, cheese, beans, corn, whatever. Chicken sandwiches (on a bun, like a burger, or in chicken salad, with mayo--whatever he likes). Just plain chicken, with those mashed potatoes.