Cooking Dinner: frustrated and uninspired!

Hello all.

I LOVE to cook, but lately, dinner's been a REAL chore. I haven't been good planning and stuff, so i feel like I'm constantly catching up.

I would love some ideas and recipes just to shake it up a bit!

THANKS!!!!

 

Well I just now made my menu and grocery list for next week and I can share with you what we are going to have.

The first one I call "Sam's Casserole". Each of my girls have a casserole named after them. Basically you brown ground beef and season with salt, pepper and garlic/herb seasoning, mix it is a casserole dish with drained, uncooked ranch style beans, cooked white rice and shredded cheddar cheese. Then pop it in the oven for 25 mins and it is done. I serve this with hot homemade corn bread muffins.

One night we are having hamburgers and home fries.

Another night will be beef pita sandwhiches. Basically just seasoned beef, onion, garlic and lettuce stuffed into a warm pita pocket sandwhich.

One night a week is always breakfast night. Different breakfast each time - anything from french toast, omelets (which we are having tonight!), pancakes, breakfast tacos, etc.

One night we are having lemon-rosemary chicken, twice-baked potatoes and broccoli.

On weekends my husband usually cooks/grills. He makes some amazing chili! This weekend he is making a boston butt pork roast and we will have grilled corn and probably potato salad with it.

 

I've felt the same way lately. This week I made something different for us (the meat was on sale and I got the potatoes at farmers market)

*Beef Tri Tip (made with 1 c soy sauce, 1 c water, chopped garlic @ 350'/1 hour or so)
Steamed baby carrots
New Potatoes (1 1/2 TBS olive oil, 1/2 tsp rosemary, salt, pepper, garlic. Cut into 4ths
toss it all in ziploc. Roast in pan, uncovered @ 350' for 1 hour or so)

This was the best meal I have had in a long time....I could just eat and eat......

 

Oh, I sooooo feel your frustration! Here's some things I've been trying to incorporate into my meal planning lately.

Soups!- clam chowder, beef stew, chicken noodle, split pea, cream of potato (or broccoli or cauliflower), chili, veggie beef, mushroom barley

Roast chicken, stuffing, sweet potatoes
Grilled BBQ chicken with grilled zucchini and corn/cob
French dips
Sloppy joes and homemade mac and cheese (comfort food!)
Swiss steak in the crockpot
Teriyaki pork on rice
pot of ham and beans
breakfast for dinner- pan of home fried potatoes, fresh-baked bread and over-easy eggs- yum!
Salads- taco, cobb, chef's
Dinner in a pumpkin (cooked rice, browned hamburger, seasonings, and cream of mushroom soup- spooned into the hollowed pumpkin shell and baked. You scoop out the cooked pumpkin with the filling.)
"Veggie pasta"- this is what we call it at our house. Lots of fresh veggies sauteed until soft (I like mushrooms, zucchini, carrots, onions, garlic), then add marinara sauce and 1/4 cup of Parmesan cheese. Let simmer and serve over pasta of your choice.

MT3

 

Yesterday I made a new yummy crock pot dish:

Sweet Autumn Stew

2 lbs. pork (any cut) cubed [you can also just leave whole chops if you don't want stew]
2 Granny Smith apples, cored, pealed and sliced
1 onion diced
2 carrots, sliced
1 cup apple cider
thyme
allspice
sage
salt
pepper

Throw it all in the crockpot for 6-7 hours on low. Serve with egg noodles (or whatever...)

 

Quick ideas:

waffles or our new favorite is baked french toast!!! serve with fruit and or sausage or bacon.

Use frozen meat balls for meat ball sandwiches

beef vegetable soup

chili

grilled sandwiches with oven potatoes

 

this instead of that:

have cut up Italian Sausage with spaghetti sauce with Rigatoni instead of spaghetti

have beef and gravy over mashed potatoes instead of noodles

cut (washed) potatoes in half lenght wise and put on baking sheet and make skore marks put a pat of butter ad sprinkle with season salt or paprika and garlic powder and bake until tendera little dill weed or parsley instead of baked potato

fill a baked potato with chili (canned even) instead of butter and sour cream

have baby pancakes and sausage links instead of regular pancakes and bacon

have an open faced chili burger instead of a regular hamburger

cut up hot dogs, top with chili and then pour over corn bread mix and bake instead of corn dogs or plain chili dogs.

 

This sounds something like a recipe that Handsome makes except it is meatless and has sweet potatoes or yams added. It is also baked.

 

Patty...can you be more specific. I would like to make this and I am always looking for "modifiable" dishes for my carbohydratarian.
He is willing to eat stew if I make the meat chunks big enough to take out.
The sweet potatoes would be a great addition, for vitamins.

 

Sure! Let me have him get me his recipe and I will post it. If I remember correctly, he took it from a vegetarian cook book some time ago. But it is really good.

 

You can surprise your family with this dinner. Set the table with your best dishes. In the center of the table put a large platter covered with aluminum foil or a lid. Once everyone is seated at the table unveil your meal which will be burgers, fries, shakes, etc. from McDonalds.

A long time ago I attended a dinner party given by a man who did not cook. The above is what he served. We all laughed.

 

Here is the recipe. It isn't as close to Amie's recipe as I thought. If the ingredients are too strong, you can adjust to taste.



Roasted Vegetables

Ingredients:

1 small butternut squash, peeled and cubed
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed
3 potatoes, cubed
1 red onion, quartered and separated
½ tbsp of dry thyme
1 tbsp of dry rosemary
¼ cup of olive oil
2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste


Directions:

Preheat oven to 475 F.
Mix together the first five ingredients
In another bowl, mix together the last five ingredients
Toss together
Spread evenly in a large glass or roasting pan
Roast/bake for 50-60 minutes, stir every 15 minutes


If you allow it to bake a little longer than called for, it gets a nice caramelized, sweet flavor from the sweet potato. You can also use a yam in place of the sweet potato.

 

Here is a list of some of our Favorite Dinners:
Apple Pork Roast
Baked Ziti
Beef Stew Bourguignon
Buffalo Chicken Wraps
Cheesy Beans and Rice
Chicken & Sausage Cacciatore
Chicken & Sausage with Bowties
Chicken Cheese Steaks
Chicken Fajitas
Chicken Noodle Casserole
Chicken Nugget Casserole
Chicken Quesadillas
Chicken Stew
Chicken/Tuna Braid
Chili
Creamy Chicken & Spinach
Fiery Fettuccine
Hot & Sweet Sausages in Tomato Sauce
Loaded Baked Potato Soup
Manicotti
Meatball Stone Soup
Meatball Subs
Meatloaf
Mexican Manicotti
Orange Pork Chops/Roast
Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage
Penne Sausage Bake
Peppery Turkey Sandwiches
Peppy Pork & Beans
Pesto Pasta
Pizza Joe Sandwiches
Pot Roast
Potato Beef Casserole
Sausage Pepper Hoagies
Slow-Cooked Pork Stew
Spaghetti & Spicy Rice Casserole
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce
Spicy Honey Orange Chicken
Stuffed Shells
Thyme-Baked Chicken with Vegetables
Tomato Soup & Grilled Cheese
Tostado Casserole
Vegetarian Chili
Whole Roasted Chicken in the oven

 

Now that's my kind of cooking!!

Lately our favourites have been tuna salad on crackers or in pitas, corn chowder or breakfast burritos.

 

OK, the bad thing about this kind of thread is now I want the recipe to so many things. So do you mind sharing the following when you have time, or telling me where I could find them if they are on the Internet. Thank you!

 

LOL! I know what you mean. Sure, I'll get them together and post them later today.

 

Do you have a recipe for this meal? It sounds really good.

 

This week some of my menu is from Fix It and Forget It crock pot cookbook.

Autumn Pork Chops (made with apple juice)
Beef Soup with grilled cheese sandwiches
Swiss Steak over rice

Also these recipes have very minimal ingredients.

 

Baked Ziti:
1 roll Italian sausage browned
2 cups spaghetti sauce (your choice)
1 pound ziti, cooked
2 cups ricotta
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup real parmesan cheese, grated (optional)
1/4 tsp salt (or to taste)
Mix ricotta, eggs, 1 & 1/2 cups mozzarella, 1/2 cup parmesan.
Coat bottom of baking dish (use a big one 13x 9) with thin layer of sauce. Mix remaining sauce and sausage together. Layer ziti, cheese mixture, sauce twice. Top with remaining 1/2 cup mozzarella. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.

Buffalo Chicken Wraps:
1 pound cooked chicken breast cubed or sliced mixed with hot sauce and ranch dressing to taste. Serve wrapped in warmed tortillas with shredded lettuce, tomato, and onion

Cheesy Beans and Rice

Chicken & Sausage Cacciatore - I actually used this one (Fix-It and Forget-It Big Cookbook Page 373) but hubby and I discussed using turkey sausages (the only difference in the linked recipe) next time. I left out the mushroom because hubby hates them.

Chicken & Sausage with Bowties

Chicken Cheese Steaks We don't use the tomato sauce on these. We use A1 instead. We also hollow out the bread a bit so the meat and cheese doesn't slip out.

Chicken Nugget Casserole

Meatball Stone Soup I always make my own meatballs for this using my meatloaf recipe: 1 pound hamburger, about 1/4 cup bread crumbs, 1 egg, 1 small onion diced, about 2 Tbsp ketchup, and maybe 2 tsp yellow mustard. Shape into balls and bake at 450 for about 15 mins.

Mexican Manicotti

Penne Sausage Bake

Pizza Joe Sandwiches This is really close to the recipe I use. I use regulary pepperoni and mozzarella cheese in mine.

Spaghetti & Spicy Rice Balls

Chicken Quesadillas - 1 pound cubed or sliced chicken cooked with 1 or 2 sliced onions. Warm one flour tortilla in skillet (we used melted butter brushed on the bottom so it will not stick and it is so much yummier than spray). Add cheese (we use cheddar and jack cheese mixed together) top with some chicken mixture, a bit more cheese and then another flour tortilla. Push down a bit on the top of the tortilla around the edges so the cheese and chicken stays inside. After a few minutes peek under the bottom tortilla to see if it is brown. Once brown, butter the top tortilla and flip over to brown the other side. When done, transfer to plate and cut with pizza cutter or sharp knife. Serve with dived tomatoes, shredded lettuce, sour cream, and any other toppings your family likes.

Pasta with Pumpkin and Sausage This is an all-time favorite with our family. My husband would eat this every week if I would fix it.

 

Thank you, thank you, thank you so much SeekTruth. My family thanks you, too!