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Dinner inspiration?
I am a dinner loser this week. I'm so uninspired that my grocery list for this week actually consists solely of frozen family-size entrees and fresh salad ingredients. Lame-o. Especially since I normally cook as much in the whole foods vein as possible. I can't remember when the last time was that we had processed foods in the house. But I'm burned out. Also lame, given that I normally love to cook.
Our meal plan is pretty much set at cr@p for this week, but does anyone have any particularly fresh, flavorful favorites to suggest for next week? My family and I thank you. 
This discussion has been closed.
Re: Dinner inspiration?
Let's see, at our house these are always a hit:
Roast Chicken and Vegetables
From Bride & Groom First and Forever Cookbook
3 carrots, cut into thirds
6 small red new potatoes, quartered if large
1 medium yellow onion, cut into 6 wedges
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Kosher salt & freshly ground pepper
1 chicken (3 to 4 pounds)
1 lemon, quartered
2 rosemary sprigs
4 cloves garlic, peeled & smashed
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
Put the carrots, potatoes, and onion in a 9x13 inch glass baking dish. Toss the vegetables with 1 tablespoon of the melted butter. Season with salt and pepper. Spread the vegetables to the edges of the dish, making room for the chicken.
Remove the neck & giblets from the cavity of the chicken and discard. Rinse the bird under cold water and pat dry. Put the chicken, breast side up, in the center of the dish. Brush the chicken with the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Season the cavity and skin generously with salt and pepper to taste. Put the lemon quarters and rosemary sprigs inside the cavity. Put the garlic cloves under the chicken.
Roast for 45 minutes. Remove the dish from the oven. Using tongs, tilt chicken to pour juices on to the vegetables. Baste the chicken with the pan juices. If the bird is browning too quickly, cover with foil. Continue roasting until the chicken is deep golden brown and the juices run clear, or until instant-read thermometer inserted into the thigh reads 170-175 degrees, 25 to 35 minutes.
Our favorite way to serve is to carve all the meat into bite-sized pieces and put back into pan with vegetables and juices.
Veggie Enchiladas
Adapted from AllRecipes.com
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup sliced green onions
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained and squeezed dry
4 mushrooms sliced
? can artichoke hearts, chopped
1 cup ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Salt
Pepper
10 (6 inch) corn tortillas
1 (19 ounce) can green enchilada sauce
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, and mushrooms; cook for a few minutes until fragrant, but not brown. Stir in spinach and artichokes, and cook for about 5 more minutes. Remove from the heat, and mix in ricotta cheese, sour cream, salt, pepper, and 1 cup of Monterey Jack cheese.
Spoon about 1/4 cup of the spinach mixture onto the center of each tortilla. Roll up, and place seam side down in a 9x13 inch baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce over the top, and sprinkle with the remaining cup of Monterey Jack.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until sauce is bubbling and cheese is lightly browned at the edges.
Beef & Quinoa Meatballs
From www.wholefoodsmarket.com
Nonstick cooking spray
1 pound (95-percent) lean ground beef
3/4 cup cooked quinoa
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1/4 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup grated zucchini
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1 egg
Preheat oven to 500?F. Line a large baking sheet with foil then grease with cooking spray; set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together beef, quinoa, onions, carrots, zucchini, ketchup, garlic, soy sauce, pepper, salt, oregano, thyme and egg until well combined. Shape beef mixture into 16 balls and transfer to prepared baking sheet. Roast until cooked through and golden brown, 12 to 15 minutes. Serve hot.
(Note: To cook quinoa, bring 1 cup water to a boil in a small pot. Pour in ? cup quinoa, cover and simmer until water is absorbed, 10 to 12 minutes. Set aside off of the heat for 10 minutes then fluff with a fork. Makes about 1 1/2 cups.)
Have you seen this blog? I think it was posted on the H&F board last week.
https://www.skinnytaste.com/
The recipes look easy and yummy.
I went ahead and put them into our menu for the week and I can't wait to try some of them.
Our Family Blog
Lately I have made lentil burritos about once a week, and they get rave reviews at our house. Even Alex eats them.
https://mikeandmcgee.blogspot.com/2010/08/lentil-burritos.html
I am making this tonight:
https://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1120312&adsqs=raid:1668794 but I am adding boiled chicken to it and serving it with a salad.
Meredith, 6-1-06 and Alex, 11-5-09
Rarely Updated Blog
I love, love, love, smittenkitchen.com
and these chicken meatballs are always a hit:
https://smittenkitchen.com/2009/10/baked-chicken-meatballs/
I make a lot of casseroles - this is always popular at my house (from Cooking Light)
Chicken Tamale Casserole
Yield: 8 servings
Ingredients
Preparation
1. Preheat oven to 400?.
2. Combine 1/4 cup cheese and next 7 ingredients (through chiles) in a large bowl, stirring just until moist. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9?inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
3. Bake at 400? for 15 minutes or until set. Pierce entire surface liberally with a fork; pour enchilada sauce over top. Top with chicken; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup cheese. Bake at 400? for 15 minutes or until cheese melts. Remove from oven; let stand 5 minutes. Cut into 8 pieces; top each serving with 1 tablespoon sour cream.
Nutritional Information
Calories:354 (36% from fat)Fat:14.1g (sat 7.1g,mono 3.3g,poly 1.2g) Protein:18.9gCarbohydrate:36.3gFiber:2.5gCholesterol:58mgIron:1.7mgSodium:620mgCalcium:179mgProbably not what you're looking for, but I made these last night and they were sooo good!
https://www.campbellskitchen.com/RecipeDetail.aspx?recipeId=50780&ref=/SearchRecipesResult.aspx%3fSearchType%3d1%26q%3dchicken%2benchilladas
Some dinners we're having this week:
This is super yummy and easy:
Chicken, Orzo and Dill
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse salt
1/4 teaspoon ground pepper
1 pound chicken tenderloins, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound orzo
2 cups crumbled feta (4 ounces)
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh dill
2 teaspoons finely grated lemon zest, plus 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 cup grated Parmesan
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a saucepan, bring broth, 3/4 cup water, butter, salt, and pepper to a boil. In a 3-quart baking dish, combine chicken, orzo, feta, dill, lemon zest and juice. Pour broth mixture over orzo and stir once to incorporate. Bake until orzo is tender and cooking liquid is creamy, 40 minutes. Sprinkle Parmesan on top and let stand 5 minutes before serving.
KA's chicken tacos, BBQ Jalapeno Chicken, Spaghetti. I never plan more than 4 meals a week since DH can work up until 730ish some nights & then his parents usually call and take us out at least once.
Y'all are so awesome. Thank you! I'm putting every one of those onto my meal planning calendar. I'll bet after our Week o' Cr@p, I'll be more than ready to start cooking again.
And I'm going to bookmark those blogs too.
Thanks again!