What do you make for dinner?

[Scarlet_Rose]

I am kind of in a rut with dinners.  I’ve done, soup, potatoes, fish, pasta and squash and am fast becoming bored with them. So I thought I would ask, what are some of the things you like to cook for dinner? Oh, I forgot to add, I’m not much of a red meat person.

[Lion-O's Mamma]

well, last night i made a venison roast with potatoes, carrots, celery, and onions (lion-o enjoyed the veggie trimmings), but since you said not much for red meat….. hmmm….

how about a raspberry chicken salad? i had that a few days ago. marinated a couple of boneless skinless chicken breasts in some raspberry vinagrette dressing, grilled them, sliced and served over mixed salad greens with sliced almonds and fresh raspberries. quite yummy!

or….. umm…. why can’t i think of any food? donuts? or maybe a good healthy slice of chocolate cake?

lol just kidding (mostly….)

here’s another of my favorite chicken recipes http://lifestyle.msn.com/foodandentertaining/recipes/recipe_detailcl.aspx?st=k&q=chicken%20peas%20leeks&rid=3969&pn=0&ps=10

the only thing i do differently is stir in about a cup to a cup and a half of uncooked rice before baking. otherwise you end up with 3-4 cups of extra liquid that just sits in the bottom of the pan, and it’s delicious so it’s a shame to waste it. oh and also, frozen peas that have been defrosted work just as well as fresh.

here’s a yummy pasta recipe i really really like http://lifestyle.msn.com/foodandentertaining/recipes/recipe_detailgh.aspx?st=k&q=peas%20butternut%20squash%20pasta&rid=4132&pn=0&ps=10

hope these help!

[Scarlet_Rose]

Ooo, those sound great! I have to try that raspberry chicken salad, I’ve got some chicken breasts in the freezer down stairs. That is so what I am having tomorrow night! Thank you! I am going to bookmark those other recipes you listed as well.  Thank you!

[Deleted User]

I love sweet potato and chick peas so any meals with those two ingredients in I am a fan of.

I do a nice rocket salad with beetroot, chick peas (of course), a small grating of parmy cheese and a handful of grapes …. I add some shredded chicken which is a bit more filling.

I love my salads at this time of the year (its now summer in Oz) … chicken breasts sliced and bung into a plastic bag of plain flour and paprika … coat and lightly fry in non-stick pan serve with fresh greens … maybe with a few maccadenia nuts on top and half mango (sliced that fancy way!).

Cups of lettuce filled with a mix of rice, tuna, capsicum (peppers in USA/Canada) with a light dressing of low fat mayo with a side of coleslaw … maybe some fish with this would be nice too.

Fish patties … love these with a light salad.  Stuffed potatoes with tuna, corn peas etc.

Hope some of these takes your fancy.

Dawn xx

[Toki+Pumpkin+Elmo]

Sometimes I end up with lots vegetables that’s about to spoil in few days. Most of you probably have this experience due to your buns.

I just grab the veggies and stir fry them with teriyaki sauce or stir-fry sauce (kikkoman) and put it over rice. The trick is to hold off on the sauce until the last minute. Wait till the veggies are cooked and pour the sauce cook for a minute.

It’s light, simple and not much dishes.

[Spacehopper]

Hmmmmmm!!! You can’t beat stir fry!!!

Something that didn’t actually make me gag whilst eating it when having a go on the atkins diet years back was: Bash out a chicken fillet, pop some cheese (cheddar, gruyere anything you fancy, add herbs/mushroom/garlic whatever really tickles your fancy), pop it on the flattened chicken, roll it up into a parcel if you can (don’t worry too much tho, but just to try and keep all that cheesy bit in), then wrap in bacon. Sometimes it did fall apart, but if you wrap the bacon tightly it should stay together. Pop that on a baking tray and cook in a hot oven for about 20 mins (from what i remember – but with our cooker now it’s far too bloomin hot even on low so KEEP CHECKING IT, as anything like mine, burnt offerin’s are not favoured in my household).

Failing that…anything pasta like with LOADS of soy sauce & garlic bread. Hmmm and cauliflow/broccoli cheese. I’m not a huge fan of meat, urgh nowt worse than a mouthful of really nice spag bol and biting into a bit of gristle..puts me off and i can’t eat any more!! So soya protein mince stuff, bolognese is to die for, or juicy chunks of quorn on a pizza. Ah stop…i’ve not had breakfast, and I’m about to endure a morning of training, OH JOY!  I can feel the rumbling growling belly coming on already, i blame this thread entirely.  🙂

[Lagomorpheus]

Here are the sites for my favorite recipes:

http://www.papajohns.com
http://www.pizzahut.com
http://www.dominos.com

[babybunsmum]

i’ve recently gone vegetarian (for all kinds of boring dietary reasons that i’ll not mention ) and have had an interesting time finding entrees for myself.  my fav right now is either rice & beans or rice & chickpeas done up like a pilaf. i sort of wing all of my recipes making it up as i go, but generally i sautee onion & mushroom first, then add the rice & beans / chickpeas / lentils and the water to simmer.  since i’m off of salt i usually spice it up with cumin and tumeric mmm.  served with salad or veggies its yummy.

[Lagomorpheus]

OK, but seriously, one of my favorite meals of late has been pot stickers (either veggie or chicken your choice) and noodles (I do ramen for $0.13)…I like the pot stickers with peanut sauce as well…

Another of my favorites is burritos or chimichangas (with salsa topping) with Goya brand mexican rice (seriously this brand of mexican rice is to die for).

Obviously since these aren’t being made from scratch they’re super easy to make…

[Sarita]

Quiche is easy to make and you can add so many different ingredients – omelettes too.

I always love cheese and crackers too.

Sometimes I just eat handfuls of those cherub tomatoes too.

If you have a Super Target near you check out the Archer Farms prepared foods – lots of nice choices.

I’m not much into cooking so I do alot of the pasta and snack type foods at home once I actually can sit down to eat something.

[Gravehearted]

I sometimes make big pans of stuff that we can eat for several days – like last week I did a big veggie lasagna that we ate all week. I just sauteed up a bag of frozen spinach and added it to the ricotta / parm filling and then in the tomato sauce added lots of sauteed mushrooms and some ground beef – yum! I need to make a batch of my chicken enchiladas, but they take a long time to assemble.

How about some crock pot stuff – with the weather getting cold, it’s a good time for stew, chili and such. 🙂

We also really enjoy these super easy fajitas, that take less than a 1/2 hour to make

3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, sliced
1 red or yellow bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1/4 cup chicken broth
juice of 1 lime
dash of cinnamon

4 boneless chicken breast halves, skinned, cut into strips
Warm flour tortillas with your toppings: chopped tomato, avocado, salsa, lettuce, sour cream

Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and bell pepper and sauté until almost tender, about 10 minutes. Add cumin, paprika, cayenne, garlic powder, oregano and thyme and continue cooking 1 minute. Mix in broth and bring to boil. Add chicken and stir until cooked through, about 5 minutes.

[babybunsmum]

mmm gravehearted those fajitas sound yummy!!!

[Kokaneeandkahlua]

I don’t really cook, mostly because of the time involved and the cleanup….I joke that I don’t know what my stove is “oh you mean the giant dish storage device with a clock on it???” My brother is a red seal chef and so disappointed in me…heheh

I usually make sidekicks, 2 minute microwave rice, salads, sandwhichs, quesadillas (these are easy), grilled cheese, soup from can, prepared veggie meals, microwave dinners….

[Scarlet_Rose]

Lion-O the salad was awesome!!!!

Dawn those sound great!

Lagomorpheus I couldn’t stop laughing!

Everyone else, too numerous to name (and don’t want to forget anyone) I am starting a recipe box right now! They all sound WONDERFUL!

[babybunsmum]

i think i’ll save these ideas too!  thanks for starting the thread

gravehearted… i tried your fajita spices in a stir fry tonight to eat with rice & it was AMAZING!  yuuummy!  thanks!

[xnovalentine]

I make a balsamic chicken that is to die for! Its a big hit in my household!

sautee minced fresh garlic (usually at the store they have minced garlic in a container in the produce section–i use this because i’m too lazy to mince!) and chopped fresh rosemary in olive oil (three swigs around!) over medium high heat – use as much as you want, some people like more or less garlic

Then season chicken breasts w/salt & pepper to taste

After the garlic and rosemary have carmelized go ahead and add the chicken breasts

Add 1/3 c of balsamic vinegir and cook chicken throughouly

After the viniger (haha i cant spell) has reduced, add monzerella to the top of the chicken breasts and melt with the remaining viniger/carmailzed herbs

and YUM

i usually serve them with my awesome mashed potatoes:

Cook RED potates ( i leave the skin on — nutrients people!)

Add a hint of olive oil, pepper to taste, butter, milk, fresh dried chives, garlic salt to taste, and mozerella cheese (as much as you want — i also sometimes do it with shredded colby and monterey jack cheeses you can buy in the bags at the store) and mix her up! I like mine lumpy – so whatever works for you!!!

Then i usually do some cooked baby carrots:

2 cans of whole baby carrots

2 swigs olive oil

pepper, chopped up rosemary, butter, and basil

this is the favorite dinner at my house!!! try it, you wont be sorry!

[Scarlet_Rose]

You’re welcome babybunsmum! Oh my word xnovalentine that does sound like it’s to DIE for! I am so going to have to print all these things out, I am inspired to cook again woohoo! Thank you everyone for your contributions!

[JessL]

I’m on the same diet as Chief lol Close enough, vegetarian Vege lentil cottage pie with a little chilli powder = delicious!

[jellyrose]

I’m a bit late to this one but if you don’t want to eat meat then I love to cover some tofu pieces (strips or cubes) in flour with a little paprika in there and then shallow fry them until crunchy. I love these with salad or stir fry veggies or just on thier own as a snack! It’s so hard to find something different to do that doesn’t involve a ton of bizzare ingredients that you will never find in the local store… I wanted to make rice and seseme balls but haven’t found umaboshi(!?) paste yet! Any ideas?

[Scarlet_Rose]

Hi jellyrose, you’re not too late at all.  I like to saute tofu in sesame oil, add some hoisin and/or black bean sauce and stir fry in some veggies for a non-meat meal.  I add some brown rice if I feel a little hungrier.

Umeboshi sauce is Japanese and I had to look it up to be certain I had the right thing in mind, I went to epicurious.com. Have you tried an asian market?

http://www.epicurious.com/tools/fooddictionary/search?query=umeboshi&submit.x=17&submit.y=10

I really don’t think you will find it in any grocery stores and you could possibly find it at a health food store/market since it seems to be a popular vegetarian sauce.

[babybunsmum]

so would you use the firm tofu for those ideas jellyrose / scarlet_rose?  they sound yummy.  i just made my first tofu stir fry this week & used medium stuff.  it was a little squishy so i’m not sure if i used the right stuff or if its because i stirred it in after i sauteed the onions & mushrooms.

[Scarlet_Rose]

You’ll definately want the extra-firm for stir fry.  Firm even has a little trouble when you toss it around when sauted. I like the White Wave brand (I think it is local here though). It’s also great to cube up and add to soup! Try a veggie boullion base, add some chives or green onion, bok choy, bamboo shoots and even some green peas if it strikes your fancy and chinese soup noodles.

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