room and bored

what's for dinner? it gets boring to plan....
I'm cooking for two adults and three kids, with the usual picky eater/ cooking for himself/ going out with a friend issues. Hate to plan sit down stuff if the sitting will be messed up. Been resorting to burgers and pizza for at least two of five week days.
Answers will vary dependng on what audience you cook for of course! I am not fancy. Tonight I'm doing 'brinner' - omelets, and hash browns, now that I figured out how to make them from leftover baked potatos, and some ham from sunday dinner.
Last week I found that the store has 'turkey chops' , slabs of white meat. I cooked them in a skillet , then made box stuffing, mashed potatos, had leftover gravy, and did a box of fancy birdseye veg. That was pretty satisfying to this bunch.

When I was youngish, my mom and dad seperated and mom went to work. and never asked for help around the house much. Sometimes she would make this dinner that I thought was really weird at the time- scrambled eggs, spaghettios and peas. I somehow knew that she was not feeling very inspired those nights! but now I understand. My girlfriend meanwhile had both parents working, and she started dinners- I was impressed!

how 'bout when you ask the question 'what do you want for dinner' and the response is 'what ever you cook'


aaarrrrgggggg!

So, sometimes around here, we have what I refer to as 'cat's dinner', you know, do like the cat does, find it, kill it, eat it........ fend fer yourself!

or 'lottery dinner' ,....... you're lucky you're gettin' fed......

I'm getting sick of making dinners.......

it's got to be someone else's turn......

Sally, I have the "best" way to deal with cooking. My husband does practically ALL the grocery shopping and cooking. He evens packs my lunch. Holly

I love to cook so I guess I've never gotten tired of making dinner, although there have been times when I just didn't have time.

Sally, have you tried feeding your bunch Bocaburgers? No meat and they're really pretty good, especially with a slab of cheese on them. It at least would be healthier than eating a lot of pizza and regular burgers.

Another picky eater, very fast option is smoked pork chops. They take about five minutes in a frying pan. A dab of spray oil keeps the fat down. Get a can of fried apples and mac and cheese for quick sides. I also serve them with canned turnip greens and yellow rice but picky eaters will probably turn up their noses at those. Add a little bit of dried onion flakes to the yellow rice before cooking and anyone will eat it. LOL

Here's my recipe for fried apples if you want to make your own. Sorry I don't have exact measurements. I've never had a real recipe for these.

Melt a little butter in a frying pan. Core and slice (but don't peel) about four or five apples. Place the apples in the frying pan, add about a teaspoon of lemon juice, either nutmeg or apple pie spice, a pinch of salt and enough sugar to cover the apples. Maybe a half cup? You can taste the apples later to see if they need more sugar.

Now, add in about 3-4 tablespoons of water and cover the frying pan with a tight lid. Cook on low until the apples are tender but not falling apart mush. Check to see if they need sugar or more nutmeg or apple pie spice. They should be sweet and nicely spicy.

Here's another quick and easy one. This is really easy if you have a panini baker or George Foreman grill. Marinade chicken breast tenders in Kikkoman Teriyaki Marinade and Sauce in a ziploc bag for a couple of hours or more. Heat up the grill/panini. Work the tenders onto skewers if you want - metal or wood. Place in the grill and brush with more of the sauce. Grill until done. It usually takes about 10 minutes on mine. I serve with jasmine rice and a nice salad. Grilled pineapple slices are nice with this too and you can do those in the grill.

drivenbonkers- sounds like we're in the same boat. you got me smilin!
HollyAnn- you've got it made!!
hart- now see, you have some good ideas, I just hadn't thought of. I do like boca burgers but haven't talked them into them-yet. Fried appless ! must put that on the shopping list. had them at stepmoms recently and they liked them. now that I have the recipe I can do it. stupid question- Do smoked pork chops taste like ham?
CHicken tenders are an unexploited resource for me too. Maybe I'll get a grill pan. And my son had grilled pineapple at Outback Steakhouse and liked it. Kikkoman going on the shopping list too. Thanks!

No, smoked pork chops don't taste like ham. They don't taste like regular pork chops either. Try them, you'll like them. Do you have a SuperWalMart? They carry packs of four to six Smithfield smoked pork chops for $4 something.

I've been known to just feed mine things like Boccaburgers and not tell him any different. He didn't notice. LOL Or you could get ground turkey and make burgers out of those. It's not terribly different from hamburger.

Another good option is eggplant parmigiana. Sorry, I'm too lazy to look up the spelling. If you dip the eggplant in beaten egg yolks and dip them in whole wheat flour instead of white flour and brown in peanut oil, you can hardly tell it's not veal parmigiana.

Make sure you get the raw chicken tenders, not those processed breaded cooked chicken like faux food things. LOL I buy them frozen in largish bags but you can find them in the fresh chicken section too.

I like to make stir fry too. It's so easy and the Kikkoman or House of Tsang stir fry sauces are pretty good if you don't want to make your own. The trick is to make sure to cook the meat and then add in the vegetables so you don't cook the vegetables to mush. Add the sauce about a minute before the vegetables are done. They will cook really fast once the sauce is added.

Hi Sally- Sometime after about 15 or 20 years I got kinda tired of cooking, too. What's up with that?

I like Hart's suggestion about stir fry because you can vary the amount or type of ingredients at the last minute (add some extra meat or take out yucky veggies). I often cut up raw, boneless chicken and throw it in an oriental marinade ahead of time (can sit in fridge for a day or two or put in freezer). Purchased oriental sauces are good but are easy to make.

Oriental marinade-
Mix 1-3 TBS. oil (I use peanut for stir fry but any cooking oil will work),1-3 TBS. soy sauce, 1/2 to 1 tsp. powdered ginger and a bit of brown sugar. This is the basic recipe. I don't measure anymore, just throw stuff together. Additions to basic recipe: rice wine, orange juice, lemon or lime juice, cayenne or other red pepper, garlic (omit ginger), peanut sauce, black bean sauce, five spice powder or star anise (just a tad of these last options).

You can use almost any type of meat and veggies. I don't have a wok but use a large cast iron skillet (that my grandma gave me). The secret to good stir fry is knowing the cooking times of your vegetables. I cook the meat then remove from skillet. Add veggies with longest cooking time first. Keep adding your veggies until your down to stuff like bean sprouts. Add cooked meat and sauce and voila!.... you've got stir fry! Serve with steamed rice.

The list of possible stir fry ingredients is long: chicken, pork and beef, onions, scallions, shallots, sweet and hot peppers of all kinds, peas and snowpeas, green beans, all kinds of mushrooms, broccoli (a little tricky, needs some moisture), bok choy, carrots (julienned or sliced thin), additions include- cashews, peanuts, water chestnuts, baby corn and sesame seeds. Someone stop me!

I think I've seen smoked pork chops around here.
OK, you guys are getting me interested in the stir fry!
Everybody probably has tried these already, but I have been happy with those bags of quick frozen chicken breast portions. I think it stays more moist. Handy to have in freezer. I really avoid home-freezing chicken parts because of the loss of moisture when you cook them. At least, that's what I've heard.
Except I try to use bone -in thighs and breast for cacciatore. Book said to brown them with skin on really well, and then take from pan and take skin off, and drain some fat. Tomato product, some onion and mushroom, basil, bay leaf, not a highly spiced dish here. Still, with kids, seems like there's always the no-sauce -anywhere rebel............well, he eats a pile of pasta and cheese.

If you throw chicken in a plastic bag with marinade it will keep nicely in the freezer for several weeks. No moisture loss that I have noticed.

OK, great- I can plan ahead then, instead of passing up those packages of fresh

Do you ever grill outside during the winter? I have grilled a bunch of chicken breasts marinated in honey-mustard dressing and used them for sandwiches and salads. After you grill them they will keep in the fridge several days.

That sounds like GOOD leftovers- If it's mild, the hubster could be persuaded.....man's territory around here.
Any kind of dressing? Do most salad dressings make accepatable marinade too?
Sounds good to make a summery type menu in winter instead of straight stew/soup/roast.......
If we're not careful, I will have no excuse for not cooking today!!!!!!

I have used Italian, honey-mustard and even Caesar salad dressings.

Another winter grilling thrill: slather a big roasting chicken with your favorite BBQ sauce, Then sear on a charcoal grill w plenty of wood chips (hickory, mesquite). Bring big chick inside and stuff in a turkey roasting bag. Roast in low oven until done (check roasting bag box for times). Serve w baked potatoes or whatever.

Your house will smell like a BBQ restaurant and you can make BBQ chicken sandwiches with the leftovers.

Okay, dressing, this is the easiest recipe I have. Take whatever number of chicken breasts or tenders (you can use the frozen but thaw first) and place them in a single layer in a baking dish, drizzle on enough ranch dressing to cover and a bit more. You'll want that sauce to be able to mix in with the rice. It can be fat free, regular, whatever you prefer.

Bake at 350 until the chicken is done. Don't cover them, the sauce will brown a little bit. With tenders, this only takes about a half hour or so.

Serve over rice.

I'll bet that honey mustard chicken would be good with an apple chutney or just chopping some apples and raisins fine and adding them to the dressing before grilling.

Manfood - here's my mother's recipe for meatloaf. Makes good leftovers too.

Mix about a pound and a half to two pounds of hamburger (no reason why you can't use ground turkey) with two eggs, chopped onions (and peppers and celery if you like but chop everything fairly small), a little salt and pepper and, oh, I guess about a half cup to 3/4 cup of bread crumbs. Mix together well, this works best if you just use your hands. Spray just a dab of oil spray in the bottom of a baking dish and place the meat mixture in the dish, forming it into a nice slab. Cover with one large (15.25 - 16 oz) can of tomato sauce. Bake at 350 until done - usually takes around 45 mins to an hour. Slice and serve.

My guy also likes this with A-1 sauce in place of or in addition to the tomato sauce.

For total comfort, manfood, serve with macaroni and cheese or mashed potatoes and peas. Especially mashed potatoes if they like to mix their peas and potatoes together. LOL

For stuffed peppers or stuffed cabbage, to the mix above leave out the bread crumbs and add cooked rice, halve and remove the seeds from peppers or cook whole cabbage in a microwave to soften outer leaves. Stuff the peppers or wrap balls of the mixture in cabbage leaves, cover with Campbell's tomato soup (don't add water) or tomato sauce and bake at 350. The sweetness of the soup seems to go better with the bitterness of the cabbage or peppers.

Greenkat, leave off the bag and don't worry about prebrowning it. Place the chicken in a pan. Add a little bit of wine or beer to the bottom of the pan. You can cook on the grill or in the oven as long as it's low and slow. The wine or beer will make the chicken very juicy and tender and it will be beautifully browned. I usually either only light one side of the grill and keep the flame fairly low or bake in the oven at around 250 for about three hours. You can raise the oven to 375 for the last 20 minutes or so if you want it a bit more browned, but mine are usually just perfect.

I usually do two chickens at a time so we have lots of leftovers and I use just regular whole chickens, not the expensive roasting hens.

Here is an easy one Boneless skinless chicken breast cut up into small chunks and cooked add a can of any type of cream of something soup (undiluted). I use cream of mushroom or cream of celery then add a cup or so of any frozen vegetable. Like a peas and carrots mix. It’s got everything you need and you can pour it over instant mash potatoes or bread to stretch it. We buy 40 lbs of chicken breasts when they are on sale and my husband de-bones them before we put them in the freezer. Makes it real easy for a quick meal. Holly

I am gettin HUNGRY!! have to copy-paste this stuff and plan next weeks dinners
Hart- you sauce that oven BBQ chicken too? or just in a pan with liquid in bottom?

Yes, you can use sauce. I prefer a dry rub but I've done it with sauce too.

HollyAnn- an easier way to make what I call fricassee-yummy
you could make a years supply of broth with all those bones, and maybe do

Thanks for all the inspiration! you are renewing my faith in my ability to provide sustenance

Hart's mention of manfood just reminded me of something. My guys just love my quick version of red beans and rice. (My son's friends seem to love it, too.) Don't know if your men are into spicy food.

I use hot turkey sausage (Shady Brook Farms? whatever brand they carry at Giant). Fry up sausage. Cool. Slice. Put back in skillet with diced onion and sweet peppers and minced garlic. Saute lightly. Add canned beans (red or kidney) and canned tomatoes (diced or pureed) then season according to taste. In our house this means a lot of Tabasco or cayenne pepper. Simmer 20 min. Serve over rice.

I usually make this up ahead of time (except for the rice). You could stretch it by adding leftover cooked chicken or ham, too.

My son was very picky as a small child. He did grow out of it, mostly. But when he was about five I think we had burgers and pizza every week.

At one time I did most of the shopping and cooking but over the years Ric started to do more and more of it. Now I don’t do hardly any of it. But Thanksgiving is one I do all by myself. Ric does make a broth when he is de-boning. He boils up the bones and skin, then strains it and freezes it. Then he makes chicken noodle soup with big fat egg noodles,big chunks of vegetables and adds extra meat.

HollyAnn- You are lucky to have a husband that cooks (and shops!). When I got married I thought all men could grill meat, you know, some kind of male instinct. Boy, was I wrong! I couldn't cut the shoe leather that my DH BBQed.

In his defense, I gotta say that my dear hubby is a wiz at fixing almost anything mechanical, electrical or electronic. And I can't do that.

Mexican Pizza
Get any type of pre made pizza crust (I use the Boboli)?SP Spread on a layer of refried beans. Next a layer of sour cream then a layer of spaghetti sauce / taco sauce( mix cheap meatless spaghetti sauce with bottled taco sauce ½ and ½) Add a layer of taco meat. (hamburger with a powdered taco mix,follow directions on taco spice packet,after you cook this mix add salsa to the mix and drain well). Top with a Mexican blend shredded cheese. Top with black olives. Bake in oven about 20 minutes
My daughter replaces the taco meat mix with a shreaded chicken mix. If you have precooked the meat it only takes about 1/2 hr.

When we first started to date he would invite me over for lunch and make me salmon balls dipped in a cheese sauce. The way to a girls heart and her body. LOL ;}

My guy is very basic in cooking- burgers, few other grill things, pancakes....I'm hard pressed to think of anything else he's made in 18 yrs. glad he knows beggars can't be choosers. Not a fixing wiz like my dad, but will give a good attempt at lots of the usual household things. My BIL will not touch anything to fix but is great with seafood on the grill.

I tried Zatarain's new orleans style salmon cake mix. It smelled pretty spicy so I only used half the box to a can of pink salmon. They were GREAT, almost thought they were crab cakes!!!

We love the Zatarain's products. I have a recipe somewhere that is pretty good. You make fake crab cakes from shredded zucchini, and old bay. They are pretty good and a great way to get rid of all that zucchini.

Hey ladies, haven't been around much lately (lurking), but with this new thread and all the talk about food, you're drawing me in :)

Sally, I totally agree: what's for dinner? it gets boring to plan It must be this time of year, cold weather and boredom, have been trying some new recipes myself :) I bought a Southern Living magazine last fall - read it long enough to get my juices flowing, and still hadn't tried any of the recipes. Oddly enough, had been craving Chinese food and one of them was a stir fry recipe - Pork with Garlic Sauce - excellent! Tried another one - Roasted Red Pepper Cream Shrimp - on a scale of 1-5, I'd give it a 4. Used shrimp that hadn't been peeled and it was a mess with the creamy sauce - I won't make that mistake again! Another I tried a couple of weeks ago, Stuffed Chicken Breasts, an old recipe I got from the South Beach Diet book and had never tried - stuffed with spinach, garlic and Ricotta cheese. Smelled wonderful cooking, but oddly enough the filling just lacked something - tasted a little bland. I'll definitely try it again because the chicken was delicious - moist, etc. but will need to add something to give the filling a little more flavor. If anyone wants recipes, I can post them.

I MUST be bored - last week we moved ALL the furniture in our living room for a "change"! LOL I'll be checking back looking for more great ideas - thanks :) Debbie

Here is an easy to fix recipe that I make often. It is not very spicy so if you like spicy just Jazz it up a bit.

Cowboy Beans & Rice

1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 cup chopped onions
1 cup long grain white rice, uncooked
3/4 cup water, plus
2 tablespoons water
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (15 ounce) can pinto beans- drained (I used black eye peas)
11 1/2 ounces tomato juice
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chilies (undrained)

Cook meat and onions in skillet, stiring to brown and crumble meat, drain off any grease.
Combine meat mixture, rice, water, chili powder,salt, beans, tomato juice& chili peppers.
Stir well.
Pour in to a 3 quart cassarole dish,.
Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.
Stir and cover and bake again for and additional 30 minutes, or until rice is tender.

Serve with a green salad and home made corn bread

Enjoy, Chris

LOL Debbie! I don't eat seafood so what do I know about shrimp? Made SO some shrimp stir fry a couple of months ago using some frozen shrimp I'd gotten on sale. And he gobbled it down but kept digging around in his food with his fingers.

"This is delicious, but next time make it with the shrimp that are already peeled," he said.

Shrimp need to be peeled?!

I'm so glad somebody besides me does dumb shrimp stunts. LOL

Okay, now that everyone is making stir fry, you need some egg drop soup to go with it, right? It's really easy to make. Here's a Food Network recipe. I use a lot less ginger because a little bit of ginger goes a long way. This won't have the dark yellow color of what you get in restaurants. You can add just a drop or two of yellow food coloring to get that if you want. BTW, it makes a big difference if you use white pepper and not black pepper.

4 cups prepared chicken stock, plus 2 tablespoons
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch
2 eggs, lightly beaten
2 green onions, chopped, including ends
Salt and white pepper, to taste

Bring soup stock, grated ginger and soy sauce to a boil. In a small cup, make a slurry by combining the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons of chicken stock. Stir until dissolved. Slowly pour in the cornstarch mixture while stirring the stock, until thickened. Reduce heat to a simmer. Pour in the eggs slowly while stirring the soup in the same direction. The egg will spread and feather. Turn off the heat and add the green onions. Season with salt and pepper, and serve immediately

bet HollyAnn.s husband is happy to have another use for chicken stock!!

Monday morning I will be looking at this thread, and planning dinners for the week. I wish I could wing it all the time, but I do better if I make a little meal plan and at least try to stay a day or two ahead of it. Does everybody do this?

Oh he made me shrimp stir fry last night and I love egg drop I'll make sure to show him this thread. For the last several years his Christmas presents have all been food related. Over the years he has gotten a knife set, turkey fryer, mixer, waffle iron and new pots. If a husband gave his wife these presents we would all be standing around shaking our heads and saying bad, bad. You just gotta love it. LOL

I roughly plan out my meals once a week before I go grocery shopping. That may change depending on what's on sale at the store although I keep a lot of stuff in the big freezer. At any rate, I make my grocery list based on what I'm planning to cook for the next week.

if my husband loved to cook, I sure would be getting him lots of equipment.
You would think I would have figured out long ago to plan..... Any wonder my son's on ADD med?