Easy dinner meals?!?

Kwest1007 · August 2015

I have been fortunately grateful that my husband does the majority of our cooking. I know how to cook a few good meals but they are more fall/winter meals and are very time consuming. My husband is now currently gone about 14hrs a day, 5 days a week for work. Having a much more flexible work schedule, I wanna try and help him out with some of the meals. Any suggestions or recipes for easy, summer meals (to cook when 9months pregnant)? I also primarily eat a vegetarian diet.. TIA!

countryrhodes90 · August 2015

Something I love to do that's very simple is to heat a little olive oil in a pan and saute some sweet onions sliced very thin, some yellow squash and zucchini either cubed or sliced, until tender. Then add some fresh tomatoes, cubed. Add some Italian herbs, salt and pepper, a little red pepper flakes, and garlic. Cook until tomatoes start to thicken a little. Then I serve this over any kind of cooked pasta with fresh parmesan. It takes about 20 minutes and it's so good! Of course my husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy so this is something I make when it's just me

amk013 · August 2015

Mexican food is usually easy and caters nicely to vegetarian diets. Look on pinterest for some ideas!

prpl11butterfly · August 2015

We do a lot of salads and wraps in the summer. Usually they involve grilled chicken or deli turkey (which is a no-no right now but I eat it anyway) but I am sure even on a primary vegetarian diet you could get creative! They are quick and light in this heat!

Edited for spelling

Kwest1007 · August 2015

prpl11butterfly said:
We do a lot of salads and wraps in the summer. Usually they involve grilled chicken or deli turkey (which is a no-no right now but I eat it anyway) but I am sure even on a primary vegetarian diet you could get creative! They are quick and light in this heat!

Edited for spelling

We've been doing a lot of cucumber sandwiches even tho mayo suppose to be a no-no too! So yummy in the summer tho!

Seed0824 · August 2015

I do breakfast for dinner one night a week all year long so that's vegetarian and easy (e.g. French toast or pancakes). Also, you could do taco salad like lettuce, tomato, any other veggies, beans, avocado, salsa. I also do grilled eggplant sandwiches in the summer with cheese for protein.

puccagirl77 · August 2015

I like a Freshly-made quiche (from the fancy grocery store) and a salad. My husband, 5yo, and I all enjoy this meal.

Another quick and easy option is pizza made form Naan bread. Top with sauce and cheese and everyone can do their own toppings.

lifesabeach85 · August 2015

Veggie stir fry! You can buy frozen vegetables and just add sauce and rice.

Kwest1007 · August 2015

lbeach5885 said:
Veggie stir fry! You can buy frozen vegetables and just add sauce and rice.

Being vegetarians, this is surprisingly a meal I always forget about!

Miz_Liz · August 2015

Crock pot meals are great!

toshajade · August 2015

Spinach and ricotta, with salt and pepper, eggs and cheese, mix it up cook it in a pan in the oven and serve hot or cold as a slice with a side salad. Easy!

toshajade · August 2015

Spinach and ricotta, with salt and pepper, eggs and cheese, mix it up cook it in a pan in the oven and serve hot or cold as a slice with a side salad. Easy!

Kwest1007 · August 2015

Miz_Liz said:
Crock pot meals are great!

I love my crock pot!! However poor hubby works in the hot n humid weather all day so last thing he wants is a hot meal! :-/ I can't wait for fall tho!!

visualcircus · August 2015

On pinterest there are a lot of one pot meals. Meaning, you dump all the ingredients in a pot and after 30 minutes its all done.

I've tried these and thought they were fine:

One Pot Mexican Quinoa

One Pot Pasta

LEGALLYblonde86 · August 2015

Anything in a crock pot

Bickey11 · August 2015

i just grill everything and use paper plates & foil

Grilled veggies, burgers, potatoes.

Olive oil and assorted seasonings go a long way and no messy cleanup after the fact.

Or i make salads. Buy the premade mixes and throw in some chopped veggies.

jadetree1080 · August 2015

Homemade pizzas or calzones. Dough is not hard, but maybe a little time consuming, but if you make a double or even triple batch the time is worth it. You can make one for dinner, then make a calzone or two for the freezer. Works great for vegetarian, and freezes great for a quick home made dinner down the road.

Kwest1007 · August 2015

jadetree1080 said:
Homemade pizzas or calzones. Dough is not hard, but maybe a little time consuming, but if you make a double or even triple batch the time is worth it. You can make one for dinner, then make a calzone or two for the freezer. Works great for vegetarian, and freezes great for a quick home made dinner down the road.

Do you have a recipe for a good homemade dough? If not I'll Pinterest it. And how do you freeze it? Sorry I'm a very basic cook and we never freeze food! I gotta do some research.. This is one nesting task I'm totally overwhelmed by!

mimigrace12 · August 2015

Roast beet salad! Just wrap a beet in tinfoil with a little olive oil on top and bake for about half an hour. Then I usually use spinach, red onions, feta (haven't used since preggo, can sub out for another cheese like mozza) and so on. For the dressing I mix balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and honey! So good

raelynch87 · August 2015

Garlic, olive oil, diced tomatoes(enough for about 1.5 cups per person), basil, lightly toasted pine nuts chopped, and Parmesan. I often make that part earlier in the day and keep in the fridge. I service over pasta in bowls.

laylababe3 · August 2015

3 boneless chicken breasts

1 box frozen spinach

1 box tri-colored rotini

1 jar alfredo sauce

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook the chicken in a sovetop pan with 1-2" water on medium until cooked through. Usually 15-20 min, depending on chicken size. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Cook the noodles. Thaw spinach. Mix everything in a large casserole dish with the alfredo sauce. Sprinkle with cheese and breadcrumbs. Cook in oven on 400 just until cheese is melted and everything is heated through.

You can also pre-make this and freeze it in a foil dish. Take it out of the freezer and bake on 400 for like 45 min or until hot.

This is my go-to dish, it's awesome for a few days of leftovers too!

candicejeff2013 · August 2015

Cooked Pasta:
Tossed in sautéed onions, evoo and a little salt n pepper.

Vinaigrette Tossed Salad:
Chopped garlic, Dijon mustard, white wine vinegar, salt n pepper, squeeze of lemon ....just add lettuce.

*Eggplant Parm*
Just google how to prepare...its decently simple.

Kwest1007 · August 2015

laylababe3 said:
3 boneless chicken breasts
1 box frozen spinach
1 box tri-colored rotini
1 jar alfredo sauce
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook the chicken in a sovetop pan with 1-2" water on medium until cooked through. Usually 15-20 min, depending on chicken size. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Cook the noodles. Thaw spinach. Mix everything in a large casserole dish with the alfredo sauce. Sprinkle with cheese and breadcrumbs. Cook in oven on 400 just until cheese is melted and everything is heated through.

You can also pre-make this and freeze it in a foil dish. Take it out of the freezer and bake on 400 for like 45 min or until hot.

This is my go-to dish, it's awesome for a few days of leftovers too!

Yum! Altho I prefer a vegetarian diet, my husband does love having chicken so I attempt to eat it every now n then! I like how it'll be in small pieces and kinda masked by the other flavors! I could prob do the same w other veggies in place of chix too. Thx for the idea!

usernameneededallaretaken · August 2015

I am super lazy when it comes to making bread-- I am too impatient to wait hours or a night for dough to rise, so here is my go-to for dough!

(~30-35 min start to finish)

--2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (or one 0.25 ounce package)
--1 tsp white sugar
--1 cup warm water
--2 1/2 cups bread flour (I just use all-purpose)
--2 tbsp olive oil
--1 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 450 •F
2. Combine yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy (~10 min)
3. Add flour, salt, and oil. Let rest for 5 min
4. For pizza- roll onto lightly greased pan or cornmeal coated pan, add toppings, bake 15 minutes.

I use this recipe for many things: Roll flat into round pizza crust, cut into rectangles and roll flat for flatbread, cut into strips for breadsticks, or just plop the loaf on a cookie sheet for a small loaf of bread. Great with pastas if you mix some oregano with the olive oil before adding it in (mixing with the oil helps distribute through the dough).

Spaghetti or Alfredo are quick fixes:

Spaghetti sauce:

(~25 minutes)

Spaghetti sauce recipe technically uses fresh onions/garlic but for simplicity sake I use onion powder and minced garlic

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
2 tsp crushed garlic
28 ounce can crushed/diced tomatoes
4 tsp dried basil
4 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp white sugar

1. Heat oil. Sauté onions and garlic. Stir in remaining ingredients.
2. Brim to boil, reduce to low heat, simmer 20 minutes

Alfredo:

(~20 minutes)

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 ounces cream cheese
2 cups heavy cream (or half&half)
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp garlic powder
Salt & pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1. In saucepan, melt butter. Add garlic, cook for 1 minute.
2. Add cream cheese. Whisk until melted.
3. Add heavy cream. Season with garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper.
4. Simmer and whisk frequently until sauce thickens (~15 min)
5. Stir in cheese. When melted, remove from heat.

Kwest1007 · August 2015

usernameneededallaretaken said:
I am super lazy when it comes to making bread-- I am too impatient to wait hours or a night for dough to rise, so here is my go-to for dough!

(~30-35 min start to finish)

--2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (or one 0.25 ounce package)
--1 tsp white sugar
--1 cup warm water
--2 1/2 cups bread flour (I just use all-purpose)
--2 tbsp olive oil
--1 tsp salt

1. Preheat oven to 450 •F
2. Combine yeast and sugar in warm water. Let stand until creamy (~10 min)
3. Add flour, salt, and oil. Let rest for 5 min
4. For pizza- roll onto lightly greased pan or cornmeal coated pan, add toppings, bake 15 minutes.

I use this recipe for many things: Roll flat into round pizza crust, cut into rectangles and roll flat for flatbread, cut into strips for breadsticks, or just plop the loaf on a cookie sheet for a small loaf of bread. Great with pastas if you mix some oregano with the olive oil before adding it in (mixing with the oil helps distribute through the dough).

Spaghetti or Alfredo are quick fixes:

Spaghetti sauce:

(~25 minutes)

Spaghetti sauce recipe technically uses fresh onions/garlic but for simplicity sake I use onion powder and minced garlic

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
2 tsp crushed garlic
28 ounce can crushed/diced tomatoes
4 tsp dried basil
4 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp white sugar

1. Heat oil. Sauté onions and garlic. Stir in remaining ingredients.
2. Brim to boil, reduce to low heat, simmer 20 minutes

Alfredo:

(~20 minutes)

1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 ounces cream cheese
2 cups heavy cream (or half&half)
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 tsp garlic powder
Salt & pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
2/3 cup Parmesan cheese

1. In saucepan, melt butter. Add garlic, cook for 1 minute.
2. Add cream cheese. Whisk until melted.
3. Add heavy cream. Season with garlic powder, oregano, salt, and pepper.
4. Simmer and whisk frequently until sauce thickens (~15 min)
5. Stir in cheese. When melted, remove from heat.

Yum! That Alfredo recipe, especially sounds delicious!! Thx!

jadetree1080 · August 2015

Kwest1007 said:

jadetree1080 said:
Homemade pizzas or calzones. Dough is not hard, but maybe a little time consuming, but if you make a double or even triple batch the time is worth it. You can make one for dinner, then make a calzone or two for the freezer. Works great for vegetarian, and freezes great for a quick home made dinner down the road.
Do you have a recipe for a good homemade dough? If not I'll Pinterest it. And how do you freeze it? Sorry I'm a very basic cook and we never freeze food! I gotta do some research.. This is one nesting task I'm totally overwhelmed by!

I don't have a recipie I use every time, I just Google something when I'm ready to go shopping. Or, if I'm not in the mood to commit to yeast and rising and all that, the local pizza place in my town will sell balls of dough for only a few bucks. Roll it out, fill it, and then bake, or freeze. You want to freeze it at the point when you would have baked it, so it is entirely ready for the oven, unlike freezing balls of bread dough. With bread, I have had best results if you freeze it before the second rising, so you remove it from the freezer, and let it thaw and rise before baking. No need to let the calzone defrost before baking. It just takes a little longer to cook.

hottovy · August 2015

Trader Joe's has delish pre-made pizza dough. I usually buy the whole wheat dough. And you can freeze the dough for later.

CarelessDiva89 · August 2015

This was super easy & not to bad. However I added chicken, spinach and Parmasean to ours

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