Help with Meal Planning

[kwillia]

In our house only one meal option for dinner is fixed - we have a saying "you get what you get or, you get nothing."

But I don't wanna have to eat chicken nuggets and corn every night...

 

[Nickel]

Nickel, isnt there a Rachel Ray cookbook with all the ideas in it?

Yup, she has tons of cookbooks. Thanks for reminding me, if this UPS man ever shows up I want to run out and get one.

 

[Nickel]

Happy, I always make my chili in the crockpot. I usually brown the beef the night before and put it in the fridge. Then the next morning, I dump it, and everything else into the crock pot (I'm a cheater and use the canned tomato sauce and stuff, but if you wanna use your own tomatoes, etc, just prepare it all the night before). I also make chicken parmesan in the crock pot. Just thaw the chicken in advance, dump it in the crock pot with some spaghetti sauce, and when you get home, take the chicken out, sprinkle some mozzarella and parmesan on it, pop it in the oven til the cheese is browned, throw some spaghetti noodles on to boil and voila!

 

[Vixen]

I saw a crock pot shaped like a football this past weekend.


I couldn't survive without my crock pot.

 

[happyappygirl]

In our house only one meal option for dinner is fixed - we have a saying "you get what you get or, you get nothing."

Rottncop says the same thing...he would get SO mad when i' would fix the youngin something different, but i eat rather plainly as well, so often it's ROTTNCOP who is eating the different meal
Now the youngin' just feeds himself if he peeks in and doesn't like what's cooking.
do you let yours go hungry? So they'll eventually eat what they don't like? I'm also not a big proponent of the "clean plate club" i encourage mine to stop when they're full. Drives my man CRAZY

 

[citysherry]

Rottncop says the same thing...he would get SO mad when i' would fix the youngin something different, but i eat rather plainly as well, so often it's ROTTNCOP who is eating the different meal
Now the youngin' just feeds himself if he peeks in and doesn't like what's cooking.
do you let yours go hungry? So they'll eventually eat what they don't like? I'm also not a big proponent of the "clean plate club" i encourage mine to stop when they're full. Drives my man CRAZY

No, they don't go hungry. We've been very fortunate in that both girls love vegetables and meat. We have a rule if there is some new food being introducted at dinner, we ask that they at least try it but if they don't like it, they don't have to eat it. Even for foods that they haven't liked in the past, we ask them to try them again just in case their tastebuds have changed. More often than not, they all of a sudden like that particular food. I too tell my kids to stop eating if they feel full. I also tell them that they don't have to finish any carb that's on their plate like, potatoes, corn, bread, etc. We also involve them in the food preparation as much as possible.

 

[MMDad]

I just buy stuff I like and then see what I have when I go to make dinner..today I made chick veg soup as I was cold (from being out in the rain)when I looked in the fridge and saw chicken breast that needed to be cooked..

That works for us, but I like cooking so it's not a hassle. My wife tells me she knows that it'll be a good dinner when I pull out a couple of cookbooks, read a little, then put them away. I guess I am to food what Stanley Rugg is to inventin.

My MIL gave me a "Wolfgang Puck Panini Maker" for xmas, but I haven't used it for sandwiches yet. It'll cook a chicken breast or pork chop in less than ten minutes, steak in five, and I've even done asparagus and bacon on it. Cleans up in the dishwasher. The wife wants chili tonight, so I guess it's back to the crock.

 

[LexiGirl75]

30 minute meals, Rachel Ray kicks ass!

I was gonna suggest this too. The Food Network is the beast of feasts. Remember when all we had on the tube was Yan can Cook.

 

[LucySnow]

Yan Can Cook!

I remember him!! LOL!

Oh yeah, and also the Frugal Gourmet. He rocked!

 

[MMDad]

I remember him!! LOL!

Oh yeah, and also the Frugal Gourmet. He rocked!

He's a boy toucher!

 

[Vince]

A crockpot is a definite must for a busy family. Some dinner suggestions for the crockpot would be:

BBQ chicken
BBQ boneless pork ribs
Baked chicken - spiced with a little curry, onion powder, garlic powder and salt and pepper.
Beef Roast - the crockpot makes the toughest piece of meat tender, put a dash of your favoirte wine and spices. You can also add potatoes.
Spaghetti Sauce.

Other quick meals:

Sloppy Joes
Taco Lasagne
Stuffed Shells and cheese
Pigs in a Blanket
Shrimp Alfredo

How about posting some of these recipes? Like the Baked chicken - crockpot?
or the Taco Lasagne?

 

[LexiGirl75]

I remember him!! LOL!

Oh yeah, and also the Frugal Gourmet. He rocked!

 

[Chasey_Lane]

I usually just decide what to eat either the night before, or when I get home from work. Baked pork chops are my favorite! I combine soy sauce, garlic, bbq sauce, Old Bay and crushed black pepper in a ceramic baking dish and bake at 325 degrees for about 25-30 minutes. Whip up some taters and vegetables and you're done!

 

[carolinagirl]

How about posting some of these recipes? Like the Baked chicken - crockpot?
or the Taco Lasagne?

Taco Lasagna:

brown 1 lb or more of ground beef with chopped onion then add
chili powder and ground cumin or 1 taco season packet to season
1 can diced tomatoes (optional)
1 cup taco sauce
1 can black beans, drained
1 package of flour tortillas
2-3 cups of shredded Cheddar or shredded pepper jack
scallions, finely chopped
sour cream
salsa

combine seasoned, browned ground beef, black beans, tomatoes, and taco sauce

grease the bottom of the round baking dish (I use a glass pie dish) lay one tortilla down, then spread mixtures on cover with cheese and repeat the layering process to top of dish. Finish with cheese. Bake until cheese is melted. Serve topped with sour cream, scallions and salsa.

 

[carolinagirl]

Baked Chicken

Vince - the baked chicken is real simple.

In the crockpot, just put in your favortie pieces of chicken, sprinkle with curry powder, onion powder and garlic power, seasoning salt and peper and set on low. The curry really gives this a great flavor and goes through the entire meat. Fix chicken rice and add a can of chicken and mushroom condensed soup and mix together. Serve chicken over rice.

 

[snuzzy]

We cook for leftovers
Day 1 - oven stuffer roaster w/potatoes& a veggie
Day 2 - pasta dish, chili,etc (enough for 2 nights)
Day 3 - chicken soup, chicken sandwich(club sandwiches are favorites)
Day 4 - 2nd round of Day 2 meal
Days 5-7 are quick stir fry, pork chops on grill, etc.

other roasts we use are:
pork roast, then Day 3 can be BBQ pork sandwiches or pork stir fry
turkey breast, 2nd round is sandwiches, large salad (like a Cobb salad), etc
Pot roast, briskets, hams...
"Grab night" is a favorite when we have cooked for a couple of days in a row.
We rarely eat out or order pizza.

 

[harleygirl]

We cook for leftovers
Day 1 - oven stuffer roaster w/potatoes& a veggie
Day 2 - pasta dish, chili,etc (enough for 2 nights)
Day 3 - chicken soup, chicken sandwich(club sandwiches are favorites)
Day 4 - 2nd round of Day 2 meal
Days 5-7 are quick stir fry, pork chops on grill, etc.

other roasts we use are:
pork roast, then Day 3 can be BBQ pork sandwiches or pork stir fry
turkey breast, 2nd round is sandwiches, large salad (like a Cobb salad), etc
Pot roast, briskets, hams...
"Grab night" is a favorite when we have cooked for a couple of days in a row.
We rarely eat out or order pizza.

Good idea!!
I made Al Roker's chili tonight from my Today's Kitchen cookbook:
2 pounds chuck steak cut in pieces
1 pound italian sausage (casings removed)
2 large onions
12 cloves garlic diced
1 tbls cumin
1tbls paprika
1 tbls chili powder
(I cheated and bought chili mix from a packet)
1 32 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 16 oz can pinto beans
1 can northern beans
1 can dark red kidney beans
Brown the steak and sausage, drain all but 2 tbls of grease, cook onion and garlic, mix with tomatoes and simmer for 90 minutes. Then add beans, simmer for 30 more minutes. I sure it would work well in a crock pot too!!

 

[happyappygirl]

We cook for leftovers
Day 1 - oven stuffer roaster w/potatoes& a veggie
Day 2 - pasta dish, chili,etc (enough for 2 nights)
Day 3 - chicken soup, chicken sandwich(club sandwiches are favorites)
Day 4 - 2nd round of Day 2 meal
Days 5-7 are quick stir fry, pork chops on grill, etc.

other roasts we use are:
pork roast, then Day 3 can be BBQ pork sandwiches or pork stir fry
turkey breast, 2nd round is sandwiches, large salad (like a Cobb salad), etc
Pot roast, briskets, hams...
"Grab night" is a favorite when we have cooked for a couple of days in a row.
We rarely eat out or order pizza.

OMG I'm DIZZY..HOW do you DO this??? that's what i wanna do...my co-worker cooks TWO days a week (sun/wed), and re-uses leftovers alternating the meals...my family won't eat leftovers, we just fed about 6 lbs of turkey to the chickens from Xmas dinner!!
does that make them almost cannibals?

 

[Nickel]

we just fed about 6 lbs of turkey to the chickens from Xmas dinner

Oh the humanity!

 

[khall1195]

OK..all you working moms (dads)...HOW do you plan your weekly meals and shopping trips?? I need some advice, I'm tired of deciding what to cook on the way home, and buying the same stuff when i go shopping, and never being creative...HELP!!

PS meals intended for working families always on the go are a PLUS!!

OK, so I'm not a working mom, but I'll tell you what we do for our menus. The kids liked hearing about meals dad had at sea, so we went with that idea. We plan on something named after the letter of the day. Something like Meatloaf Monday, Taco Tuesday, Fish Friday, Spaghetti Saturday. Things like that.