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Quick Go to Dinners?
DH and I have been eating the same old thing for awhile now and we're ready to try some new things. What are your go-to quick dinners? Here's the list of ours
- Enchiladas or Faijtas
- Loaded nachos with Mont. Inn shreded chicken
- Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches. I buy the buff. chicken tenders from the Kroger Deli which makes this super fast
- Rubens
- Spagetti
- Perogies and Polish Sausage
- Grilled Chicken or Hambergers
- Grilled Cheese and Tomato soup
And thats about it. So yes, we are dieing for some new ideas.
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Re: Quick Go to Dinners?
winter = anything in the crock pot
summer = anything on the grill
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I'll try and post some actual recipes, tonight, once I'm home. In the meantime, check out this blog for some fantastic, healthy, and delicious (IMO) inspiration - https://www.skinnytaste.com/
This is one of DH's and my favorites. We usually use whole wheat pasta because I like that best, and DH skips the lettuce.
Rachael Ray Taco Pasta Toss
We also usually add fat free sour cream. I actually got the recipe from SparkPeople.com.
Lately I've been doing a lot of quesadillas...they cook up in no time.
Also, rotiserrie chickens are easy--I actually use them to make chicken salad with red grapes & walnuts.
Stir fry is a great way to get a lot of veggies into dinner, and it's pretty fast. I usually use chicken tenderloins b/c they chop up easy.
The Fluffy Cat says... "Boxes are the best toys ever invented!"
Chicken Over Rice
Kabobs - marinate in Dale sauce, peppers, tomatos, onion - typically serve with white rice
Meatball Snacker - freeze meatballs and take out what's needed
Lasagna - make ahead and freeze
Beef BBQ - actually cooking in crock pot now. I make the meat ahead of time and separate into dinners for sandwiches.
Twice Baked Potatoes - again made yesterday and froze. Heat in oven for 20 minutes and they are delish!
Also when you do cook you may want to cook more and freeze. I plan on doing this in September/October to stock up the freezer with meals hubs can throw in the oven while I'm tending to a 3 year old a newborn! This will save us some $ and eat a lot healthier than eating out.
What is this loaded nachos you speak of? That has my DH's name all over it!
veg & meat stirfry (super quick if you buy pre-chopped veg from the salad bar) + frozen brown rice from TJ's (just pop a bag in the microwave). I usually make my own sauce (hoisin or plum sauce + soy + sesame oil + rice wine vinegar + a little water and corn starch) but you can buy a bottle sauce from the store as well.
grilled meat + salad (steak, chicken, whatever and salad from a bag
frozen cheese ravioli + chopped grilled chicken + pesto (I also toss in a handful of peas or chopped spinach, the kids don't notice)
pasta alla mommy (named by my daughter - my spin on PW's penne alla Betsy) - you boil up a box of penne (we like Ronzoni Smart Taste, it's not whole wheat but it's got some extra calcium and fiber). While that's boiling saute up a couple cloves of minced garlic and a couple of boneless skinless chicken breasts (that have been cut into smallish chunks) in a splash of olive oil. When they're cooked thoroughly deglaze the pan with a splash of white wine or chicken stock. Add in a 15 oz. can of plain tomato sauce, a small container of cream (pint I believe, the smallest one they sell), a pinch of salt and pepper, and a tsp dried basil (if you've got fresh do more like a TBSP). When the pasta is done, drain it and put it back in the pot. Pour the chicken and sauce over top, sprinkle with some parm. Yum! I often also toss some chopped spinach into this as well.
Breakfast for dinner - scrambled eggs, turkey bacon, wheat toast and fruit.
chicken gyros - marinate some boneless skinless chicken breasts in a bunch of smashed garlic, splash of olive oil, lemon juice & a pinch of oregano, salt and pepper (for 20 minutes or more). grill em up. chop em up. serve on warm flat pita (or the pocket kind if you want) with crumbled feta, lettuce, tomato, tahini, tzaziki, cucumber, etc. Anything you want! We usually have these with some type of oven fries. The Alexia rosemary wedges are great.
I also keep some homemade stuff in the freezer, I make double batches of stuff and save half for busy nights or nights I don't feel like spending much time in the kitchen. I do already cooked turkey meatballs (for pasta or hoagies), marinara sauce, homemade prebaked chicken nuggets, cooked ground turkey/chicken/lean beef for tacos, uncooked marinated chicken breasts, etc. In the winter I keep some frozen soup/chili on hand but not much else that's an actual meal.. I don't like casseroles really.
Good luck!
Hannah
Let me forewarn you that these are definitely not healthy but are fabulous on a Friday/Saturday night. Kroger sells Montgomery Inn shreded chicken or pork in the deli case. We take a cookie tray and put tortialla chips on it. Then we add the chicken and sprinkle the nachos with salsa, queso dip, green onion and a little extra Montgomery Inn BBQ sauce for good measure. Top that off with shreded cheese, throw into the oven to heat/ melt the cheese, dip in sour cream and drool. DH created them when DD and I had just been released from the hospital. Thank goodness people started bringing us dinners! haha
I agree with making big batches and freezing/reheating for quick meals. I do this all the time...especially with soups and pasta sauces. If you want to get into batch freezer cooking, Fix Freeze Feast is a pretty good cookbook.
There are very few recipes that I would make repeatedly but here are some that I've made more than once or would consider making more than once and are quick:
Chicken Lo Mein
Fried Rice
Penne a la Vodka
Quick and Easy Alfredo Sauce
Fish Tacos
Pierogi and Kielbasa Bake
Sausage, Pepper, and Onion Hoagies
French Dip Sandwiches (quick in the sense that if you've already had the crockpot going all day it's easy peasy after that!)
Linguine with Clam Sauce
Island Spice Pork Tenderloin
Pineapple Teriyaki Chicken
Chicken Bruschetta
Hubby would recently add SweetFire Chicken to the above list. He requested that I make it weekly but it's not in my MO to make any recipe that frequently!
Latest Blog Update: Peanut Butter Cookie with Salted Peanut Caramel
Shrimp and asparagus linguine, this is super simple for me because I always have shrimp and asparagus in the freezer but you can do this with chicken and any other veg.
I make the pasta (I use Ancient harvest Linguine)
Peel and rinse the shrimp, saut? them in EVOO with chopped garlicand add the asparagus which I chop into bite sized pieces. Then I season with some form of Cajun spices and toss in the linguine and voila! This meal goes down really well with all of us including the terrible toddler!
I make a big batch of marinara sauce and freeze in meal size portions. This makes having spaghetti, ravioli, or tortellini super easy.
French Dip subs in crock pot
anything in the crock pot really (shredded chicken for tacos, pot roast, chicken and potatoes, pulled pork, soup)
tacos (I make my own "spice packets" so I just brown the meat, throw in the spice, and make some shells)
unstuffed peppers (ground turkey or beef, 2 diced peppers, jar of pasta sauce, and brown rice in a skillet)
Italian stew
Confetti skillet
Breakfast
Jennie
Our super-easy go-tos (most of these can be made with what's in the pantry and freezer):
tacos - beef, beef and refried bean, shredded chicken, or shrimp
breakfast for dinner - eggs, hashbrowns, bacon
spaghetti, either with or without ground beef in the sauce
tuna noodle casserole
pasta bake - turkey italian sausage, pasta, a can of diced tomatoes, parmesan and mozzarella, dried oregano, basil, and garlic
shrimp scampi
turkey salsa meatloaf - this one is SO easy - you can google and find a variation you like