What's for dinner?

Iris - posted on 07/10/2010

I get my families attention with making casseroles.. I have two that thy really like .. One is called a pasta casserole..



pasta casserole..



any kind of pasta except for spagetti.. U can use rotini or anything like that.. U boil the pasta til it is soft..

U fry hamburger in a frying pan and drain the grease, then add cut up veggies( onions,carrots,celery,peppers and mushrooms) or can have it plain.then add a jar of pasta sauce and cook for about ten minutes while stirring... Put hot pasta in a casserole dish, add sauce on top of pasta and mix til all coated in sauce , then shred some cheddar cheese or marble cheese on top and mix the cheese in. Then after all that is mixed in, shred some more cheese on top and put in a preheated oven of 350 til cheese is melted,, it is good with garlic bread or salad..

Bonnie - posted on 07/09/2010

My family and I make a list of foods we love to eat, and then form a grocery list for two weeks. Tonight we are having guests over to share our meal. I am making a slow cooker pot roast, baked potatoes and sweet potatoes, steamed carrots, spinach, and corn bread. Juices from the roast will be thickened for gravy. My sweet husband is bringing home whatever dessert looks good from Costco. We love their Red Devil Food Cake.

I love using my slow cooker, it is especially great during these summer holidays, where the kids keep me on my toes.

Right after cleaning up from breakfast, and other various chores, I start it up. Pick any kind of meat, add veges, or sauce/soup/herbs of any kind, and wullah, something great comes together for dinner later on that night.

I have made bbq chicken, chicken parmesan, chicken and vege pot pie, curry chicken, sweet n sour pork, pot roast, meat with just mrs dash, chili, and some desserts too. We also love fried rice with polish sausage as the meat, breakfast for dinner, potatoes baked with a drizzle of olive oil, and a sprinkling of mrs dash, (these make great leftovers the next morning, with fried eggs.) Meatloaf, and mashed potatoes, with mixed veges. Salad, sandwiches, grilled cheese sandwiches, homemade hamburgers, swedish meatballs, fajitas, taco salad, pizza, sloppy joes, baked potato surprise, chicken and rice casserole. Looking for meat free meal ideas though. We are trying to cut right back on red meat, since it is cheaper, and healthier.

Thanks to the ladies who replied to your post, I have more ideas to pull from for our family meals...It is also amazing what you can put together with leftovers. Happy cooking.

Tasha - posted on 07/08/2010

we seems to be in the same boat lol. I try to make cassaroles at least once a week. Tuna, being my families fav. I also have a REALLY good chicken brocc. that I love because I can do them up the night before and give myself a break and really it only takes left overs to make a cassarole!

Heather - posted on 07/08/2010

when i grocery shop i plan 14 meals for my family of 4. its anything from burritos to a kicked up version of sloppy joes to chicken nuggets.. i love trying new things =) tonight we had "bobby flays throwdown sloppy joes" which are outof this world (IMO) lol and we will have leftovers tomorrow =) (which i dont even count when i grovery shop! ) but my kids really like when i make bowtie noodles in alfredo sauce with chicken sauteed in garlic with frozen peas. =)

Tara - posted on 07/08/2010

Crispy Grilled Chicken

*If you don't have a grill you can broil or bake it*



A very moist and easy way to make crispy chicken on the grill:



In a small bowl put enough mayo to generously coat both sides of chicken. (I use boneless chicken breasts) Add any spices (fresh or dried) you are in the mood for to the mayo. If you are thinking Italian add some garlic, basil, oregano, parmesan cheese, salt & pepper... Mexican- some taco seasoning, or cumin, cilantro, chili powder... or you could do a lemon pepper combo or anything else you desire. Use your imagination and it will be wonderful.



Coat both sides of chicken and cook on grill turning once until done. The result is a great crispy outside with a very moist inside.



Pair with a side and veggie and your done. Last night I paired it with homemade mac & cheese topped with stewed tomatoes and some spinach. Yum! The kids loved it (except for the spinach!)

Krystyna - posted on 07/07/2010

My kids love when I make Fajitas. It actually gets them to eat/try different veggies. I use McCormick Fajita Marinade. Just follow the instructions on the package. In a bunch of individual bowls I will put black beans, shredded lettuce, diced tomatoes, shredded cheese, sliced peppers, onions & avocadoes, sour cream, salsa, whole wheat tortillas, and of course the chicken. They each take a tortilla and really enjoy "assembling" their very own creation and then eating it!

Olwen - posted on 07/07/2010

One of my fail safe meals is Thai green curry, very easy to make and everyone loves. if you want my recipe just email me and i'll send it to you. My 3 year old loves it. I'm the same as you, i pretty much cook the same things every week but i have a few stashed up my sleeve for when i'm bored of the norm. Mexican is great, i'm make it all myself except the tortilla's not going that far but it's a great menu for kids because they can use their hands.

let me know and i'll give you the recipes

Soleil - posted on 07/07/2010

I have one recipe that is so yummy, delicious and healthy! It was a recipe off of the back of a Hunts tomato sauce, garden vegetable, but I modified it because theirs had too many calories and not enough veggies. Make a whole package of Ziti pasta (1 lb). In a large skillet put in 2 tblspns olive oil, and add presliced frozen zucchini and squash, and frozen diced onions. (medium heat) Meanwhile, heat up a cup of frozen chopped spinach in the microwave with 1/4 cup water for 2 minutes. Drain water and add to zucchini mix. Add garlic if you like. After the veggies are hot and cooked and all the water has cooked off, add veggies to pasta along with a can of the Hunts garden vegetable sauce, one 14 oz can of diced tomatoes (undrained) and stir. Put in a 9x13 sprayed baking dish with some low fat shredded cheese of your choice and bake at 375 for 10 to 15 minutes. So delicious and the kids eat so many vegetables without even noticing!

I also roast whole chickens instead of just the breasts. Put a 4 - 5 lb chicken in the oven at 375 for 90 minutes. I usually put some white wine, garlic, olive oil and rosemary on the skin, and in the cavity of the chicken I squeeze a whole lime, and leave the lime halves in the chicken cavity.

good luck!

Andrea - posted on 07/07/2010

I do the same thing as Judy with the planning.



My problem is I'm average cook i guess. what I know how to make taste good. If I haven't done it before it could get scarey. I made peanut butter cookie one time from scratch thought I fallowed the receipt right but it horrible. Have had this happen mainy time with different things. so I usually stick to what I know which does get a little boring.

Lacye - posted on 07/07/2010

i never have time to plan too far ahead. tonight we are having chicken fried rice and tomorrow we are going to make chicken on a stick with chicken(of course!), mushrooms, potatoes, and pickles! and later this week we are planning on making chili with cornbread!

Judy - posted on 07/07/2010

I sit down at the beginning of the week and plan what we are going to eat for dinner for the week. I know this might sound a little bit anal, but it has made shopping and cooking so much easier. At first I used to make sure we did at least 1 new recipe every week, sitting down with recipe books when I planned our 'menu'. This way we found more and more yummy meals to add to our collection. Having a menu means I only buy what we will need that week, and don't end up vegies going bad in the fridge because they didn't get eaten that week, so it saves $ too.
Tonight we are having ravioli with a sauce I made up and the kids (3.5 and 1.5yrs) love. Mushrooms, red pepper and beans cooked with some sun dried tomato pesto and cream. My kids seem to love most pasta or rice dishes, there are heaps of variations available with these.
Hope you get some inspiration soon!

Laurie - posted on 07/07/2010

Dear Mary,
I'm not very good at afternoon planning for the evening meal. It seems that my creativity is majorly shot. Instead I will get busy about mid-morning after the morning hubub of breakfast, off to work, general house cleaning and pickup is done, and choose about three things I think would be good and make all three at once. I may thaw 1 1/2 pounds of burger and make a large batch of spaghetti sauce with the plan of using part for spaghetti and the rest for pizza casserole, pizza, or stromboli. A few hours before supper I need to thaw out the frozen bread dough for the stromboli, roll it out in a square, spread with spaghetti sauce and some cheese, fold it over the filling and seal the seam, place it seam side down on the cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. A salad, jello or veggie on the side completes the meal. With the spaghetti sauce made, I just need to make the noodles at supper and cook a vegetable. I usually pre butter and garlic my bread in the morning, put it on the cookie sheet and wrap it, so all I have to do later is pop it in the oven. If you decide to do breadsticks with your spaghetti, just make a double batch of dough and save half for pizza crust, using the leftover sauce for pizza rather than stromboli!
Other combinations that are good to make together in the morning is brown 2 pounds of burger and divide into three portions. Make one into shepherd's pie, one into chili and the third, season and prepare for taco salad.
When I make a roast, I know I have three meals ready: Roast with LOTS of mashed potatoes and gravy (I have plans for the leftovers). The next day the roast becomes hot roast beef sandwiches with mashed potatoes and gravy over ALL. The third day the roast becomes stew or soup with muffins, fruit bread or biscuits. If there are still mashed potatoes, (about three cups) just add one egg, 1/2 cup bread crumbs or a piece of crumbled sandwich bread and little salt and pepper. Mix with your hands till well mixed. Form into patties and cook in a bit of grease in a skillet (NOT deep fried). Serve with hotdogs or sloppy joes. My kids love them!
I follow this same progression with roast chicken, progressing to hot chicken sandwiches and then ending with a chicken casserole, salad or pot pie.
I hope this helps!

Melany - posted on 07/07/2010

We're eating at Chick Fil A tonight, but we try to stick with the basics when we do eat - meat, veggie (asparagus, broccoli, green beans, sometimes a salad) and a starch (bread, cous cous - my kids love it, or rice). Another thing I've used in the past when trying to come up with dinners is e-mealz - it's an online site that comes up with meals each week based on your choice of grocery store (saves $ too). There are a variety of those out there as well (some are free), but that ones costs about $5/month at 3 month intervals.

Julie - posted on 07/07/2010

One of my favorites is tilapia with black bean and corn salsa over the top and then bake it. On the side we normally have rice and some kind of veggie. The salsa isn't spicy so even little kids normally like it.