Need some help with food. Badly.

[Deleted]

So I graduated yesterday :drink:

and now I'm home with SO. For good. This is great and all, but it also marks the first time in four years that I don't have a meal plan.

I want to type up a worksheet of simple recipe ideas - I need to eat at home more (like every weekday) to save money and cut some junk out of my diet. I also operate well from lists. This seems to be the best solution.

SO eats at work every day, so it is just me.

My current repertoire:
broiled chicken
broiled pork chops
veggie chili
veggie stir fry with rice
whole wheat pasta with veggies
chicken sausages with peppers and onions
grilled cheese and soup

sides:
broccoli, peas, corn, green beans, asparagus, sweet potatoes, brown rice, salad

I usually do some combination of the above. Are there any easy meals you regularly make? I feel like this list is limited and might get old soon.


Also, we have access to grills, and I'd like to start grilling meat. We bought some grilling tools, but are there any pointers you can provide? We've never grilled before. Any favorite marinades (either a couple ingredients or premade)?

Finally, does anyone have any healthy crockpot recipes? I plan to make veggie chili and pulled chicken - but I'm looking for more things to throw in there because it's so easy.

Thank you in advance for all of your help!

[Deleted]

CONGRATS!!!

my list is limited as well. here's an idea
- burgers
- chicken stir fry
- baked ziti
- spaghetti and meat sauce
- Chicken souvlaki on pita w tzaziki
- falafel with Israeli salad and tahini on pita
- chicken parm

I need help too, esp bc I should meal plan ahead instead of eating crap and getting take out all the time.

[marchmom06]

DH likes to grill giant batches of chicken breasts at a time. (Think one of those giant Costco packages, in the tenderloin size). He marinates them ahead of time with onion, garlic, & a ton of spices, then spends time at the barbecue. We freeze it in dinner sized portions, and make a ton of meals with it:

Salad with chicken
Chicken soft tacos
Chicken marsala casserole
Chicken taquitos
Chicken pasta dishes

Basically, you can substitute it in pretty much any chicken recipe & it makes meal prep super easy.

[Roc A Bee]

Tonight we grilled, and it was so good. I marinated chicken breast, mushrooms, red bell pepper, and onion in 1/4 c oil, 1/3 c honey, 1/3 c soy sauce and pepper. Sit in fridge for 2 hours then make kabobs and grill. DH loved them!

Friday I made pulled pork. In crockpot put pork, little apple cider vinegar and garlic salt with just a touch of water. Cook on low all day. Take it out and shred then add as much BBQ sauce as you like. I served them on buns!

[slug*bug]

I love to do shish kabobs on the grill in the summer (either steak or chicken with peppers, onions, mushrooms...yum.)

My best and favorite meal ideas are from the Cooking Light 5 ingredient books: they're healthful, but also so delicious: we've never tried one that wasn't at least good, and many of them are great. You can also find quite a few of the recipes online. www.cookinglight.com/food/quick-healthy/5-ingredient-healthy-recipes-00400000053319/

[Deleted]

great ideas already! thanks ladies!

cosmos - I will definitely have to check to see if trader joe's has some premade sauces, because those have a LOT of ingredients, lol.

and dvohnout, I appreciate all the details. I am that new and need them. I will try your marinade this week!

[steph96]

Check out the recipes on SkinnyTaste. They are simple and delicious. Her pictures sell them. My favorite is the Chicken spaghetti with sauteed tomatoes and garlic.

Last night I made some chicken fajitas and they were simple and delicious. I just sliced up some chicken, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, and onion. Then sprinkle with some sort of spices that you like. We ate them on tortillas last night, a wrap/pita for lunch today, and a salad tonight. It took 10 minutes to make and it was sooooo good.

[mbcdefg]

London Broil is easy, and an inexpensive cut if you want a beef dinner ... sprinkle the meat with salt and pepper and drizzle with Worcestershire sauce, and then stick it under the broiler for maybe 7-10 minutes per side (longer if you want it well-done). The London Broil cut is also good on the grill.

My usual marinade for chicken breasts is Italian dressing.

Stuffed portobello mushroom caps or zucchini boats ... crumble and fry some Italian sausage and mix with cream cheese and whatever else you want (I usually do diced onion and minced garlic, bread crumbs, an egg, the chopped innards of the mushroom/zucchini, grated Parmesean or Cheddar, maybe some diced red pepper, plus seasonings) and bake at 350 degrees for maybe 15 minutes.

I made a great pork tenderloin yesterday ... rub the tenderloin with salt, pepper and garlic powder and roast at 375 for about 45 minutes (I would use a meat thermometer if you have one). I roast it in my cast iron skillet to make it easy to make the sauce. Once it's cooked, take it out of the oven, leave the skillet on the stovetop and set the meat aside to rest under a tent of tin foil. Turn on the stovetop and add a little butter and flour to make a roux, scraping up the pork drippings as you go. Add some diced shallots and a little garlic, then deglaze with white wine. Add a little Dijon mustard, then some cream or half-and-half, and salt and pepper. (I do all of this to taste.)

Super-easy crockpot recipe ... beef or pork roast, a can of whole-berry cranberry sauce, and a splash of soy sauce. 4 hours on high/8 hours on low. That's it. Great with mashed potatoes.

Asparagus is great on the grill, as are sweet potatoes (slice into circles). Just toss them with a little olive oil, salt and pepper.

Congratulations on your graduation :Y: ;D

[dexteroni]

These are my favorite grilling marinades:

1. Lime or lemon juice, olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper. Marinate tilapia or mahi mahi for fish tacos, flank steak or chicken for fajitas.

2. Soy sauce, brown sugar, grated ginger, minced garlic. No need for salt because the soy sauce has plenty. Great with flank steak or chicken. I've also used this with salmon and tuna but I broil those instead of grilling.

3. Whatever vinaigrette I've made that week (which usually contains olive oil, either balsamic or white wine vinegar, salt, pepper, dijon mustard, oregano, thyme, and sometimes rosemary). Works with almost anything - beef or chicken kebabs, pork chops, chicken breasts, portobello mushrooms, even tuna steaks.

I'll come back with dinner ideas. Have to gather recipes.

[Deleted]

May 20, 2012 22:31:53 GMT -5 tacom said:

great ideas already! thanks ladies!

cosmos - I will definitely have to check to see if trader joe's has some premade sauces, because those have a LOT of ingredients, lol.

and dvohnout, I appreciate all the details. I am that new and need them. I will try your marinade this week!

oh almost all of my sauces are from TJs or wegmans. I don't have time to cook for real! I'll occasionally make my own red sauce if I'm home on a Sunday but otherwise Newmans Own tastes ok too.

[Deleted]

May 20, 2012 22:34:27 GMT -5 steph96 said:

Check out the recipes on SkinnyTaste. They are simple and delicious. Her pictures sell them. My favorite is the Chicken spaghetti with sauteed tomatoes and garlic.

Last night I made some chicken fajitas and they were simple and delicious. I just sliced up some chicken, red bell peppers, green bell peppers, and onion. Then sprinkle with some sort of spices that you like. We ate them on tortillas last night, a wrap/pita for lunch today, and a salad tonight. It took 10 minutes to make and it was sooooo good.

Skinny Taste is awesome! Everything I've made from there is delicious and most of the recipes are easy to put together.

[Deleted]

Oh and my main made-at-home marinade base is olive oil, garlic, salt, pepper. I'll add different things depending on the dish- adobo, Cajun spice, soy sauce, curry, etc.

[dexteroni]

Still gathering recipes, but to echo what others have said - Skinny Taste and TJ's Indian simmer sauces are both wonderful.

[isabel]

I really try not to rely on staples. We mix it up a lot around here. We do have some favorite family meals that I keep in a binder or in a folder on my computer. You might try thinking of a few things you enjoyed as a kid. Really though, I get a lot of great ideas from Pinterest and usually pick a couple of those to try out each week. We'll also do some sort of staple plus a fish dinner. If you want to find me on Pinterest, let me know. I have a giant food board.

[steph96]

Oh I forgot to say, my favorite spices are Cavendar's Greek Seasoning (http://www.greekseasoning.com/) and Serendipity (http://www.mildbills.com/products/Serendipity-%252d-Seasoned-Salt-%252d-No-MSG-(7-oz.-bottle).html). Sprinkle either one on veggies, chicken, whatever.

[dexteroni]

Main dish recipes with links:

Grilled Pizza! Link 1, Link 2. You can use almost any topping you want but there are some good suggestions here. The only trick is that the toppings are only on the grill for a few minutes, so any topping that has to cook has to be pre-cooked. I get around that by using toppings that don't need to be cooked. My all-time favorite topping combo is goat cheese, prosciutto, and very thinly sliced red onion.

Chicken Gyros. This is one of my all-time favorites. There's something about the combination of the grilled meat and the yogurt sauce that is just so good.

Mexican Pot Roast Tacos. After you brown the meat, you could probably do the rest in the crock pot.

Bourbon Chicken. I usually use half the amount of chicken but leave the sauce the same. I like more sauce, plus then you can let it get nice and thick and there's still plenty.

[dexteroni]

Main dish recipes without links:

Pulled Pork

Source: Joy of Cooking

Pulled pork is pork shoulder cooked until it is tender enough to be shredded with a fork. After being pulled apart, it can be mixed with a sauce and served on a bun with cole slaw.

1 boneless Boston butt or pork shoulder (about 4 pounds)
Southern Barbecue Dry Rib (recipe follows)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
½ to 2 cups barbecue sauce

Trim the excess fat from pork. Rub with dry rub. The meat can be cooked at once, or wrapped in 2 layers of aluminum foil and refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Position a rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 F. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or other heavy ovenproof pot large enough to hold the meat over medium heat. Add the meat and brown well on both sides. Cover the pot tightly with a lid or foil, place in the oven, and bake until the meat is tender enough to be shredded with a fork, 3 to 3½ hours. Skim the fat from the pan juices. Shred the meat with a fork and mix with the pan juices. Stir in barbecue sauce.

Southern Barbecue Dry Rub

1 tablespoon packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons sweet or hot paprika
1 tablespoon chili powder
½ tablespoon ground red pepper
½ tablespoon ground cumin
¼ teaspoon ground mace
1 tablespoon salt
1 tablespoon cracked black peppercorns

Combine all ingredients and mix together well.


Caribbean Spiced Chicken Burgers

This was from the Good Things Catered blog that unfortunately no longer exists. We eat these topped with mango salsa and they are fab. My notes are in parentheses.

1 lb. ground chicken
4 Tbsp low sodium soy sauce
4 Tbsp red wine vinegar (balsamic is fine too)
2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
2 tsp fresh thyme (or 1/2 tsp of dried)
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp ground ginger

Directions:
-In small bowl, combine thyme, salt, garlic, onion, paprika, pepper, allspice, ginger and set aside.
-Divide ground chicken into four 1/4 lb rounds. Shape rounds into 1/2 inch thick patties; about 5 inches wide. (I don't know how wide or thick mine were; I just made standard burger patties.)
-In high sided dish or airtight storage bag, combine soy sauce, vinegar, and brown sugar.
-Mix to dissolve sugar into liquids.
-Coat both sides of chicken patties with spice mixture and place into liquid.
-Seal and place in fridge for about 1 hour to marinate. (I only marinated them for 30 min or so, turning once halfway through, and it was plenty of time.)
-Turn grill on medium high.
-Remove chicken patties from marinade, shake to remove excess and place onto grill.
-Cook, flipping once, until cooked through, about 15 minutes.
-Remove from grill and let sit, covered by foil, for 5-10 minutes before serving.

[dexteroni]

Side dish recipes:

Zucchini Sauté

This was originally from "Kraft Food and Family" magazine (don't judge), but I've long since lost the original. I would like to note that no Kraft ingredients have ever been used in my preparation of this recipe.

1 zucchini, sliced
1 yellow squash, sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 Tbsp. chopped fresh basil
1 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

Cook zucchini and squash in hot oil in large skillet on medium heat 3 min., stirring occasionally. Add garlic; cook an additional 3 min. or until vegetables are crisp-tender. Remove from heat; stir in mozzarella cheese and basil. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Green Beans with Garlic, Shallots, and Almonds

This is based on this recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen. But I've altered the preparation and a few of the ingredients to change it from her Thanksgiving-Day version to a more weeknight-friendly (i.e. faster) version, so I'm posting that instead.
1 lb. fresh green beans
2 shallots, peeled, and cut into thin slivers
1 medium clove garlic, chopped
2 T olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
1/4 cup almonds, chopped
1 tsp. lemon zest

Steam the green beans. While beans are cooking, heat oil in skillet and saute shallots and garlic until they start soften and brown lightly, which only takes a few minutes. Add almonds and stir/toss frequently until almonds start to brown, which should only take a couple minutes. Add beans to skillet, season with salt and pepper, toss until everything is mixed. Sprinkle with lemon zest, stir again to mix, and serve. I have left out the lemon zest on occasion and it's good both ways.

Broccoli Gratin

I don't know where this semi-recipe came from, and I don't even know if it's technically a gratin since there's no cream sauce. But it's really good, and fast, and it works equally well with asparagus or cauliflower or zucchini.

Steam some broccoli. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper; toss. Sprinkle grated parmesan and bread crumbs over the top, place under broiler until the top gets toasty.

[mccallister84]

What really worked for me when I first started cooking was committing to trying one new recipe a week - usually on Sundays. If we both like it it goes on the "house menu." I still do this pretty much every Sunday so it's made our "house menu" quite large. Plenty of websites have a recipe of the day and I also use the all recipes dinner spinner app a lot. The nice thing about doing it on Sundays is that I have a little more time to figure things out and so if it takes longer than I thought it would, no biggie.

[countthestars]

So many great ideas in here!

We love to grill our steak tips using a marinade of soy sauce & worcestershire sauce (equal parts) with a little bit of olive oil, BBQ sauce, garlic, salt and pepper.

I love pasta salad as a side or main meal - pasta with a Zesty Italian dressing, carrots, pepper, chunks of sharp cheddar cheese and pepperoni. So easy and good.

These honey mustard chicken tenders are yummy and easy: www.lifesambrosia.com/2010/03/honey-mustard-chicken-tenders-recipe.html

Tyler Florence's corn chowder is great. We like it with or without chicken: www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/corn-chowder-recipe/index.html

[Brie]

Are you on Pinterest? I find that Pinterest is my BFF when it comes to menu planning. I have a Meals board and contribute to a Crockpot board as well. When I go through to make my weekly menu, I can add new recipes I've pinned, but also go back and recall the ones I've tried before and liked to add those. If we make it and don't like it, I delete the pin.

[Deleted]

omg dex, you went to work here! haha thanks everyone.

I also like the idea of trying one new recipe a week - I think that will help me from feeling overwhelmed.

Brie - I am on pinterest but I haven't really found it to be very user friendly. I've seen great looking food, but the recipes aren't linked to the photo. I haven't really used it since I opened my account.

[gt7301b]

I usually make soup or a crockpot meal once a week. Some of the things I like are:

-Black bean soup "]http://www.vintagevictuals.com/?s=black+bean+soup]
-Pulled pork
-Chicken enchilada soup (thanks Brie) sotastysoyummy.blogspot.com/2011/08/crockpot-chicken-enchilada-soup.html

I usually keep salmon, crab cakes, and turkey burgers in the freezer, all of which I just heat up for dinner. I serve with a salad and another side. (baked sweet potato fries, asparagus, garlic broccoli)

One or two nights a week I will try something new that is outside of our normal rotation. I get ideas from blogs and Pinterest.

[livinitup]

Most nights, I make a really big salad and then do a go-with like chicken or shrimp or sliced beef. So my ideas tend to run to Mexican salad, Casaer salad, mixxed green salad, that sort of thing. I'll even tossed pasta into a salad with some ripe tomatoes and fres mozzerella and call it a Italian salad. If I grill something, I always make enough for 2 nights of eating. The best tip for grilling is to buy a good meat thermometer. Get one with a digital clock, that you can leave-in while cooking that also has an alarm. The best chicken I can make is with a meat thermometer set to 160 (resting temp rises to 165) - it comes out juicy evey time with no guess work or over cooking/drying.

For salmon on the grill, I love this recipe:
www.marthastewart.com/312500/grilled-salmon-steaks-with-mustard-sauce

Definately make the grilled asparagus and bread, too. It's great served hot or cold the next day over salad.

[dexteroni]

May 21, 2012 9:49:01 GMT -5 tacom said:

omg dex, you went to work here!

lol not really, they're all in my recipe directory in Google docs. Hopefully something will be of help!

[megs193]

I love skinnytaste.com. I get 90% of my recipes from her website.

[Deleted]

May 21, 2012 10:12:15 GMT -5 dexteroni said:

May 21, 2012 9:49:01 GMT -5 tacom said:

omg dex, you went to work here!

lol not really, they're all in my recipe directory in Google docs. Hopefully something will be of help!

well I appreciate it nonetheless!

chicken gyros and grilled pizza sound insanely delicious - I will have to try both for sure!

[h]

Congrats on graduating!

We do a six week meal rotation, and we cook dinner at home five nights a week (the other two nights we have leftovers, order pizza, or go out), so there are roughly 30 meals in our rotation. It generally works out to chicken twice a week, vegetarian once or twice a week, seafood once a week, and beef or pork sporadically

Here’s what our current rotation includes:

Chicken:
Greek salad with chicken, chicken flautas, white pizza with chicken and spinach, Asian chicken salad, chicken parmesan, lemon chicken (crock pot), panko-crusted chicken with orange sauce, grilled chicken with herbs de provence, chicken tortilla soup (crock pot), chicken Caesar salad sandwiches, chipotle chicken enchiladas

Vegetarian:
broccoli and carmelized onion stuffed shells, cheese tortellini with mushroom sage sauce, spinach lasagna roll ups, spinach and mushroom quesadillas, potato basil frittata, eggplant parmesan, honey marinated tofu stir-fried with veggies, soup (usually tomato basil or mushroom or asparagus bisque) and baked potatoes, pasta ziti, veggie calzones

Seafood:
crab cakes, shrimp fried rice, panko crusted tilapia with tomato and avocado relish, fish tacos, butternut squash and crab bisque (store bought), soy-ginger marinated tilapia

Pork/Beef:
pork tenderloin with Chinese five spice marinade, grilled pork chops, grilled beef kabobs, steaks or burgers on the grill

If we are having Mexican, we usually have black beans and rice for sides. If we are having Italian, we generally have Caesar salad or caprese salad. The rest of the time sides include spinach salad, steamed broccoli, snow peas or snap peas, asparagus, corn on the cob, sautéed spinach, garlic roasted potatoes, couscous, rice, mashed potatoes, etc. My kids always get fruit on the side, too, and if DH and I are having salad for our green vegetable, they get something like frozen peas instead.

[charminglife]

May 21, 2012 5:45:31 GMT -5 mccallister84 said:

What really worked for me when I first started cooking was committing to trying one new recipe a week - usually on Sundays. If we both like it it goes on the "house menu." I still do this pretty much every Sunday so it's made our "house menu" quite large. Plenty of websites have a recipe of the day and I also use the all recipes dinner spinner app a lot. The nice thing about doing it on Sundays is that I have a little more time to figure things out and so if it takes longer than I thought it would, no biggie.

I think this is fantastic advice. Once a recipe becomes something of a standard in your house you'll be able to change it up too to make it different (I have a sausage and gorgonzola pasta dish I make and occasionally I'll use chicken sausage and asparagus to shake things up.)

Here are two recipes I've recently added to the rotation:

Creamy Lentils: www.foodess.com/2012/01/creamy-lentils-with-mashed-potatoes/#more-3506

Baked Chicken Meatballs (can throw with pasta, soup, anything) smittenkitchen.com/2009/10/baked-chicken-meatballs/

[ESF]

We have been doing caesar salad more often recently. Usually I make flank steak or a skirt steak with it. I just cook the meat 4-5 minutes a side, let it rest, then slice. While the meat is cooking, I prep the salad.

I also do eggs a lot for dinner --
- spinach salads with sauteed mushrooms and poached egg
- fried egg sandwiches
- omelets and frittatas

I buy pre-made sopes from the Mexican grocery and top those with some combination of whatever of the following is in my house: mashed avocado, fried/poached egg, Trader Joes fat free refried beans (OMG I LOVE these), salsa, cheese, leftover meat, chopped tomatoes, etc.

We also do tacos and BLTs a lot.

Now that it is summer, I'm going to start making more cold soups. Tonight, I am putting the following into a blender: two small peeled cucumbers, two small avocados, a cup of yogurt, a ton of lemon juice, salt, and possibly some ice water. Voila, soup. Watermelon tomato gazpacho is my other favorite summer soup.