What's For Dinner Wednesday

ball.and.chain · March 2014

Welcome to our new Wednesday thread!

Sooo...what's for dinner? Or if you prefer, lunch.

Feel free to share recipes and recs.

And if you don't know what's for dinner, maybe we can help you decide!

QOTW: What is your favorite snack these days?

healz413 · March 2014

I don't know what's for dinner! Anyone have ideas for what I can do with lots of brocolli (and other ingredients, obviously)?

QOTW: I'm also seeking snack ideas. I gotta keep my pregnant partner eating something every two hours to keep the nausea at bay and we can't afford to do tons of prepackaged snacks all the time. Ideas for snacks that she can eat on the go and that I can make for cheap are appreciated.

My go to for both M and me recently has been apples and almonds. I am also starting a hummus and ryvita kick.

holdingThumbs · March 2014

Lunch today is leftovers - I made this squash and chickpea stew the other day - served with cous cous and a sprinkle of almonds - and it is delish!

https://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/01/squash-and-chickpea-moroccan-stew/

I am madly in love with Smitten Kitchen's blog. My other go-tos are "Spoon Fork Bacon," "Joy the Baker" and "A Cozy Kitchen." I have a rocky relationship with "101 Cookbooks." We are like exes that keep hooking up... I know I should just walk away.

QOTW: I am on a handful of almonds and a chunk of cheddar kick these days. Yum!

GoaliesWife123 · March 2014

I'm making pizza for dinner tonight with homemade dough. It is the easiest recipe on the planet and it makes enough for two pizzas. It freezes perfectly.

https://allshecooks.com/2013/04/17/easy-pizza-dough/

As for snacks, @healz413, has she tried almonds? If prepared the right way, they are incredibly healthy for her and babies.

Take raw almonds- soak in water with a little apple cider vinegar overnight

Rinse the next day and then "sprout" them by putting them in a mason jar (about half full) for two days. Rinse 2-4 times per day.

In 2 days, rinse and bake on 175 (or as low as you can go in the oven) until they are crunchy and dried out (usually takes another full day for me).

I know it sounds like a huge process, but in order to get the FULL nutritional benefit this is the best way to prepare them. Unless you buy "sprouted" almonds from the health food store, you aren't getting the best

I usually eat almonds with cheese as a healthy snack.

As for broccoli--pinterest!

2brides · March 2014

I am going out to dinner. I facilitate a Coming Out Support Group for Women on Wednesday nights and I am supposed to go to dinner with my former co-facilitator. I think we are planing on going to a place nearby that has awesome sliders and onion straws. And beer.

YUM.

Snacks: Chobani Flips, cheese sticks, frosted mini wheats...I am not a big snacker.

SweetPea0307 · March 2014

For lunch I'm eating leftovers from Monday night. It's a Colombian lentil soup with potatoes, carrots, pork shoulder and avocado. Yum!

For dinner, we're having a little end of the course celebration at our Spanish class. My wife K's going to bring arepas de huevos and I'm bringing aji (though K made both with no help from me).

Both lunch and dinner are recipes from this Colombian food blog K recently found. I'll add the link when I find it.

ETA: Got the website: sweetysalado.com

Snacks: Almonds and dried fruit (usually raisins and apricots), grapes and cheddar, celery and peanut butter, bananas, home-made granola bars. Basically I just peeked into my lunch box and listed everything that K put in there today

@holdingThumbs My wife loves Smitten Kitchen and Joy the Baker too!

Can you tell my wife does all the cooking? I am one lucky lady!

redrockmama · March 2014

Today is pretty boring in our house. J did the shopping this week and she's much less of a planner. We are having leftovers

Salad

BBQ chicken

Fried potatoes

Lunch is much more exciting. This delicious salad. We make it all the time and love it, everyone we have made it for loves it too. https://www.melskitchencafe.com/2011/08/mango-and-black-bean-quinoa-salad.html

Snacks: J cut up veggies for me this week with hummus. I've been eating a lot of fiber bars, yay pregnancy. Chips are one of my fav's salt and vinegar yum!

KH826 · March 2014

Dinner tonight is going to be a veggie stir fry either over brown rice or quinoa. What goes in the stir fry is up in the air, because it is going to depend on who makes it! My wife wants to run a few "quick" errands together after work, and I made a deal with her that if we are home by 7:15, I will cook, but if it is after that then she has to cook HAHA. She said deal. I might just have to update tomorrow and let you know who ended up cooking and include a PIP

I made my favorite dinner of the moment on Monday night, and I was going to take a picture to post on this thread today, and then I totally forgot! Anyway... the meal was baked salmon, roasted green beans and sauteed cauliflower. It is my favorite thing, and I could eat it every night, but I only make it once every two weeks so that 1) my wife doesn't get sick of it, and 2) I don't eat fish too often... the secret to this meal in my opinion is the green beans. I take fresh green beans and boil them in water for about 5 mins until they are starting to get a little soft. Then spread them out on a cookie sheet and spray them with "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" and then salt and pepper to taste, and then stick them in the oven on 425 degrees until they start to brown. When they come out they are like french fry consistency. I love them!

QOTW: My favorite snack of the moment is mozzarella cheese sticks (like string cheese, but I don't pull them apart that way). I am kind of obsessed. I buy the reduced fat ones, and they are about 60 cals and 2.5g of fat per stick. I usually have 2 per day. I love them!

@Healz413 - Here were some of my favorite 1st Tri snacks when morning sickness and nausea was a daily struggle:

Dry cereal in a baggie (Multigrain cheerios for some reason were my favorite)
Cheez-its
Anything with peanut butter (carrot sticks were good for this)
Hard boiled eggs

Everyone is different, but for me I didn't want anything sweet for a while - I only wanted salty/savory and plain carbs were a standby. I am a huge fruit lover, and pre-pregnancy I used to snack on grapes, a banana, some pinneapple... but in the 1st tri all of that made me gag. I am back on the grape train a little bit now, but I haven't had a banana in months, and pinneapple gives me heartburn, sooo...

Good luck with feeding that pregnant partner! Hopefully she will find what works best for her soon, and what to avoid. It can be tricky. Going to the grocery store was a big adventure for a while, b/c my tastes totally changed, and I would never know what I would want from week-to-week.

ball.and.chain · March 2014

I honestly have no idea WFD. It's my wife's day off, so she usually shops and comes up with something. But she's writing her self-eval for work today and I don't know whether she'll get around to it. I told her if she can't get to the store, I will stop on my way home and pick up a rotisserie chicken and some stuff for salad.

@healz413 -- We love this broccoli slaw. I could eat it forever. I was never a huge raw broccoli fan, but this converted me. Now I want some! https://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/05/broccoli-slaw/

As far as snacks for @Manada, does she have any food aversions? High-protein is great for pregnancy, but I know in first tri a lot of women are mostly just into carbs. I'm trying to get protein in most of my snacks, so see QOTW below...

@holdingThumbs and @SweetPea0307 -- another Smitten fan here (see above)!

QOTW: Blueberries and cottage cheese, cheese sticks (yay @KH826), apples and cheddar or apples and pb, plain Greek yogurt with a spoonful of jam, hard-boiled eggs, nuts (usually almonds or walnuts, sometimes with some dried fruit -- I like dried cherries with al monds, dried apricots with walnuts). And clementines!

healz413 · March 2014

M doesn't like creamy foods in general (mayo, sour dream, Greek yogurt). So far, I don't think food aversions have really kicked in.

Hard boiled eggs are a great idea! I never think of the because I don't like them but M does. I will ask whrther she wants those sometime or whether she only likes them on salads.

firstcomeslove2013 · March 2014

I am attempting pulled pork in the crockpot...as lame as it sounds, I have never made this before. I am excited to see how it turns out as we need some new menu items. We will also have some veggies, maybe a salad. Everyone's dinners sound so amazing!

shelly2314 · March 2014

I have absolutely no idea. We usually do a menu for the week but I did not put anything today. We have an appointment with our OB at 5, so maybe just grab something on our way home???

I do know that M is on her way to pick me up a glorious chocolate shake from a location called "The Shake Pit." It is a family-owned location and makes the MOST PHENOMINAL shakes ever!

QOTW: What is your favorite snack these days? I am currently loving cheez its and/or hummus with sesame pretzel chips!! YUM :x

ATXmommas · March 2014

I made all of our meals for this week on Sunday - no time to cook during the week these days! I made a curry dish with black eyed peas and okra (been eating for lunch), a thai red lentil chili (been eating for dinner), and roasted some broccoli and the rest of the okra for a "bowl" if we run out of the other dishes. Our bowls include a grain (usually brown rice or quinoa), roasted veggies, boiled sweet potato slices, steamed greens (usually kale or collards), a bean, and a sauce (usually store bought unless I have time to whip something up).

AandStilltrying · March 2014

Lunch today was leftovers from Sunday...baked beans, BBQ slow cooked ribs and spinach and fruit salad.

Dinner...that's a good question. I could really go for pizza from this place called Anna's, but Sarah is usually pretty stubborn, so I will end up maybe grilling burgers...depends on the weather.

Food network was here yesterday at a little ice cream shop. It's going to be on paradise foods at end of July they said. Best ice cream...hands down! It's called Sunni Skies. And sadly it is 5-7 min. Away from our house. It becomes a hangout with friends spot as weather gets warmer.

Dinner tomorrow: making Sarah her favorite smothered chicken. It's chicken thighs (boneless) that are lightly floured and browned, removed, sautéed onions, mushrooms, green peppers or peas then combine flour and chicken stalk to form a gravy. Add chicken back in, turn heat down to let it simmer for about an hr. Covered and serve. Sarah loves it with mashed potatoes or rice. I'm not a mushroom or green pepper person so I will make oven baked chicken for me while hers cooks. Cornflake crumbs are great on chicken.

healz413 · March 2014

Ok. I have to admit, this was not my first (or even second) choice for a Wednesday thread, but I'm loving it! (If you couldn't tell by the fact I've already posted several times on it.

Here's a pic of what ended up being for dinner. I forgot to take a picture before I served it.

It's a Broccoli and Cheddar Pasta Bake. I didn't have paprika and I didn't put in the called-for mustard because @Manada hates mustard. Also, I think you could easily put in twice as much broccoli as it calls for if you like broccoli. (Or you can be like me and you can forget to add the broccoli to the last two minutes of the pasta and just stir it raw into the cheese sauce. This actually worked out well for me because I like my broccoli much more on the undercooked side of things). I used a protein pasta that is high in protein and fiber.

It's not the best dish I've ever had, but it's pretty healthy. Would definitely make it again (if M likes it; she worked late tonight and isn't home yet).

Mellebee · March 2014

Tonight is leftovers of this:

https://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/10/miso-sweet-potato-and-broccoli-bowl/

and this:

https://www.bonappetit.com/recipe/creamed-swiss-chard-with-lemony-breadcrumbs

These do not really go together, but that is how it happens with leftovers sometimes. I made the creamed chard last night with Marcella Hazan's Roast Chicken with two lemons. Occasionally I try different roast chicken recipes, but that one is my go-to.

2MamazInSeattle · March 2014

Well, tonight is a big night. I am attempting to make our household standard, Creole Orange Chicken - which after my horrible meat aversion I couldn't even think of eating until now. I don't think we have had it since December! And this is our weekly go-to dinner, J LOVES it and usually it's our Sunday-night-eat-on-the-couch dinner. So, tonight I am giving it a shot and hoping the chicken doesn't taste awful to me!

It's my adapted (better) version of this recipe (clicky link here for mobile). However, if you want to make it, PM me your email and I have a Word file in which I made a step-by-step WIKI complete with photos of each step! And, mine rocks...I've certainly had ample opportunity to perfect it.

Served here on top of lacinto/dinosaur kale with mashed cauliflower:

Also, super simple ingredient list:

Ingredients

Salt & pepper
4-6 small skinless boneless chicken thighs (about 12-16 ounces)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil or cooking spray
1 1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
2-4 tablespoons of Creole or whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1-2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
1 orange’s worth of orange zest

2MamazInSeattle · March 2014

p.s. Love all the snack ideas!

@healz413 & @manada, for me - and this is funny @KH826 - I never eat fruit but during my first tri I ate tons of clementines, had my first banana in like 2 years (and several more after that); berries (improve placental blood flow); grapes and apples. I tried to always mix fruit (all carb) with some protein or fat (to slow metabolizing down, and keep me full longer) - so usually that was nut butter with apples/banana; yogurt with berries; or almonds with grapes or apples.

What I also found for myself was that it did not take much food to stave off the m/s - this was a great discovery! I was eating refined carbs (cereal, crackers) for a while, which was great - but then I found a little wee clementine did the trick with way fewer calories and it was a whole food. I was/am trying to minimize weight gain so while I'm not restricting, I've also been trying to find the balance of what is 'enough' vs. assuming I need more than that.

Now that I'm 'back to normal' I am focusing on the berries for blood flow, and because I love them, with greek yogurt(I know, not a fit for @manada), and a sprinkle of granola for some texture. The egg idea is great too - needing 80-100g of protein - and egg gets you around 10 each. Definitely a good go-to, but hard boiled ones smelled too awful for me in first tri, so I just scrambled them then.

Anyhow, it's awesome you're preparing and getting organized! For me, I just did what I needed to do in first tri and seemed to emerge unscathed!

ball.and.chain · March 2014

2MamazInSeattle said:

It's my adapted (better) version of this recipe (clicky link here for mobile). However, if you want to make it, PM me your email and I have a Word file in which I made a step-by-step WIKI complete with photos of each step! And, mine rocks...I've certainly had ample opportunity to perfect it.

Recipe please! You know my email.

firstcomeslove2013 · March 2014

2MamazInSeattle said:

Well, tonight is a big night. I am attempting to make our household standard, Creole Orange Chicken - which after my horrible meat aversion I couldn't even think of eating until now. I don't think we have had it since December! And this is our weekly go-to dinner, J LOVES it and usually it's our Sunday-night-eat-on-the-couch dinner. So, tonight I am giving it a shot and hoping the chicken doesn't taste awful to me!

It's my adapted (better) version of this recipe (clicky link here for mobile). However, if you want to make it, PM me your email and I have a Word file in which I made a step-by-step WIKI complete with photos of each step! And, mine rocks...I've certainly had ample opportunity to perfect it.

Served here on top of lacinto/dinosaur kale with mashed cauliflower:

Also, super simple ingredient list:

Ingredients

Salt & pepper
4-6 small skinless boneless chicken thighs (about 12-16 ounces)
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil or cooking spray
1 1/2 cup orange juice
3/4 cup canned low-salt chicken broth
2-4 tablespoons of Creole or whole-grain Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
1-2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce
1 orange’s worth of orange zest

@2mamazinseattle I will second your recommendation of this meal! I was sent this recipe (along with some of its ingrediants) and it is one of my favorites!!!

clairmeij · March 2014

Tonight I made a chick pea and spinach soup. Baby A tried chick peas for the first time and loved them! They are a great food for pincer grip aficionados :-)

Jazibel · March 2014

Tonight we had Potato Leek Soup and ham. We were supposed to have this last night but I ran out of time and we ate Chinese food instead.

I love my vitamix for creamy soups - so fun. It's a pretty traditional recipe, but I added a lot of spices because I used homemade chicken stock and I feel it overpowered the leek taste. It turned out pretty good - and I have soup for days now.

QOTD: I love honey nut cheerios right now. Not sure why (I don't eat a lot of cereal when not pregnant). I also love cheese, clementines, yogurt, strawberries and chocolate (the later isn't really a snack - but it should be ;-)

@manada & @healz - I ate a lot of grapes in the first trimester, especially when driving the slight sourness of green grapes worked wonders against m/s. I also liked apples and peanut butter, cubes of cheese, eggs, applesauce (and a bunch of less healthy stuff like toast with butter, crackers and anything plain and starchy). I hope you feel better toward the end of the first trimester.

I loved reading all the recipes here. Very inspiring!! I have the rest of the week to plan, and I've gained more than a few ideas.

Anyone ever made veggies burgers?

ATXmommas · March 2014

@jazibel - as one of the vegetarians (vegan when not pregnant even) on this board, I've made veggie burgers - bean burgers, beet burgers, lentil burgers... Anything in particular you are looking for?

redrockmama · March 2014

Jazibel We have also made a wide variety of veggie and bean burgers. There is a black bean burger recipe I really like and a veggie one. I'd be happy to send them to you if you want em.

Jazibel · March 2014

@ATXmommas‌ and @redrockmama‌ - thank you!! I think lentil and black bean would be great. But truly any and all. I'm trying to work in more protein and veggie options for Kaden (and us) he's refusing leafy veggies right now. I love veggie burgers but have never made them.

If you have a favorite recipe or two I'd love to have them. :-)

ATXmommas · March 2014

Jazibel said:
@ATXmommas‌ and @redrockmama‌ - thank you!! I think lentil and black bean would be great. But truly any and all. I'm trying to work in more protein and veggie options for Kaden (and us) he's refusing leafy veggies right now. I love veggie burgers but have never made them.

If you have a favorite recipe or two I'd love to have them. :-)

I'll pull some stuff together this weekend for you.

healz413 · March 2014

ATXmommas said:

@ATXmommas‌ and @redrockmama‌ - thank you!! I think lentil and black bean would be great. But truly any and all. I'm trying to work in more protein and veggie options for Kaden (and us) he's refusing leafy veggies right now. I love veggie burgers but have never made them. If you have a favorite recipe or two I'd love to have them. :-)
I'll pull some stuff together this weekend for you.

If it's convenient to share, I'd love to either be included on the PM or have it posted here for us all to see.

ATXmommas · March 2014

@healz413‌ - will do!

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