I need new dinner resources, please! (whine)

[swimmermom3]

My family has always joked that the question "What's for dinner?" gives me a fit. I know you've all heard this before, about dreading the dinner hour and never knowing what to make, but I feel like I have hit a new low.  Starting about 2pm, I begin to get anxious and the rest of the day goes down from there.

 

There are only three of us at the dinner table and things are much quieter. We often watch Jon Stewart or the Colbert Report while we eat and discuss whatever the hot topic is. My dh is always grateful for a hot meal and says so. My youngest is a really picky eater and usually will just eat the meat.

 

Here's the goal. I'd like to cook a healthy meal that's tasty and doesn't take more than 30 minutes to prepare. I am less of a meat eater than the guys.  If the cooking process is sensually satisfying - you know what I mean, chopped cilantro smells good, then I am a bit more satisfied. I don't want a huge mess to clean up.

 

Publications like BHG's 30-Minute Dinners are helpful, but that's usually the main dish. Choosing the main dish is traumatic enough, but coming up with a side dish other than rice or potatoes and a vegetable that isn't organic mixed greens on a plate is sheer misery.

 

I am an okay cook as in I don't usually destroy thing unless I am too impatient and don't read the directions carefully or at all. I do need those directions because I am not an intuitive or inspired cook and they need to be well-written.  By that I mean that some cookbooks are carefully researched and prepared. Martha Stewart used to give me fits because things weren't clearly written and it was more difficult to get food results.

 

What do you all suggest for resources and routines.  I am cooking for three and need leftovers for lunch. I'd like to use fresh ingredients and the budget is a bit looser with there being fewer of us.

 

For those of you that love cooking, do you have routines for the evening meal preparation that actually make it enjoyable? Music? A glass of wine?

 

If there are threads that take about pantry staples to sustain the type of eating and cooking I am talking about, please link them. Or meal planning. I need all the help I can get.

[KungFuPanda]

Having a plan for the week is helpful . . . no daily panic. Also, if you're going to have salad three days a week, you might as well make it all at once. Rachel Ray has some easy recipes. We like her Comfort Foods cookbook. Chicken and Dumpling soup in 30 minutes is nice. You can pan-sear salmon and make rice pretty quickly. Having a template helps too . . . something like Mexican Monday, Fish Friday, Soup Saturday, etc . . .

[zoobie]

I like cooking and planning. I plan the week usually on Friday night and shop on Saturday. I go through phases where I'm more routine than others. Right now it's Meatless Monday, Taco Tuesday, and a soup night. Sometimes Friday is pizza night and maybe there's a Brinner (breakfast for dinner) or burger night, but I haven't been using those lately. On the theme nights, it's not the same type of taco or pizza or burger every week. I ask the big kids and DH if they have requests before I look for recipes. I keep a Pinterest board for recipes to try and ones for tried and true with my notes. I used to keep them on index cards.

 

This book has some great recipes and advice. You can check out some of her recipes online before buying. I think she does (did?) a subscription service too. Saving Dinner: The Menus, Recipes, and Shopping Lists to Bring Your Family Back to the Table https://www.amazon.com/dp/034551629X/

 

Rachael Ray has some good cookbooks. We usually enjoy the recipes too, and they're fast.

 

We do salads as a side frequently. I keep a bunch of vinegars and oils and limes and lemons on hand and mix dressing fresh in a lidded jar. You can modify the ingredients based on dinner. Last night (Taco Tuesday), I threw in a bit of the taco seasoning with lime juice, red wine vinegar, and avocado oil. Splash, shake, toss! We also do frozen veg as a side as well. I wouldn't discount those for sides. :)

 

There are subscription services, but I have never tried one. I enjoy the planning process though. Woman's Day magazine used to do a monthly menu with seasonal, easy meals. I based mine off that when I was first married and cooking more than college foods. I'll look for a link and add it in a bit. I don't want to lose what I typed. :)

Here you go--this will work better not on mobile device. http://www.womansday.com/_mobile/food-recipes/month-of-menus/

 

If wine helps, pour a glass! Put on music! I can't see how old your child is--can you assign a night to him/her?

[EmseB]

I love emeals. The 30 minute meals really only take 30 minutes to make and the side dishes are planned for you. They have other plans too, we did their clean eating for awhile and it was good too.

[Hypatia.]

DH is the better cook and people enjoy eating what he cooks, neither of those things can be said about me.  By the time he gets home from work, though, most days we need something simple.  I've been enjoying several dishes from this site, many of them don't have involved prep and the kids have enjoyed them also.  

 

http://www.budgetbytes.com/

 

We have a Google spreadsheet where we plan out the meals for the week and that helps a lot.  So does wine while cooking, though DH has to drink my glass for me for another few weeks.

[Tammyla]

I'm feeling the blas here with dinners too.  Some one on the board...years ago suggested Twelve Months of Monastery Soups.  My library had it, so I thought why not.  I ended up getting my own copy.  It's arranged seasonally and the soups are super easy to make.  I love them with fresh bread and maybe a simple side salad.

 

 

[Ausmumof3]

I have a stack of cooking magazines from our double income days. I am currently grabbing one that lines up with the month we're in (so the food is seasonal). Pick out a couple of recipes to add to my menu plan, or just try to make something in there from ingredients we have on hand substituting where necessary. Some have been average, some have been awesome.

 

You could borrow magazines from the library or recipe books.

 

I also got inspired by the French kids lunch menus blog. The strategy is apparently, 1st the salad course, then meat and carbs, then cheese, then fruit. Breaking the meal up like that instead of heaping it all on a plate makes it seem more interesting.

[Tanaqui]

How do you feel about doing more one-pot meals? That'll help you stop panicking about "side dishes". Though if you're really hurting for that, there are three side dish options that are fast and easy all the time:

 

1. Vegetable steamed with butter and maybe a squeeze of lemon juice.

 

This works well with green beans, carrots, beets, broccoli, peas, cauliflower, brussels sprouts. If you want more variety, try making a cheese sauce to go with it.

 

2. Vegetable roasted in a 450 oven with garlic and salt and maybe pepper or a squeeze of lemon.

 

This works well with carrots, beets, cauliflower, broccoli, brussels sprouts, potatoes, kohlrabi, turnips, eggplant, okra, winter squash, sweet potatoes, summer squash, peppers

 

3. Vegetable sauteed in a little butter or oil with some onion and a little sugar OR honey OR maple syrup.

 

This works well for string beans, carrots, beets, sweet potatoes, peppers, turnips. You can vary it by adding some cinnamon OR chili powder OR smoked paprika OR cardamom.

 

I can give precise directions for all of those if you need them, but that'll take a little more time than I have right now. It might be easier to just google "easy steamed/roasted/sauteed $VEGETABLE" for the cooking times for each.

 

Then all you need to do is pick your veggie and your cooking method and you are done. No hassle.

[mamaraby]

Check out cookbooks from the library. Maybe two or three at a time and cook your way through it. There's a main dish section and a side dish/salad/soup section. Pick a main and two sides. Add some bread or a potato or a starch if that isn't already covered in the three recipes you choose. Or, pick a main dish and throw one of those frozen veggie steamer bags into the microwave. About the time the book is due back, you'll probably have cooked most everything that appeals to you. Move on to a new one. Leave one day a week for leftovers if you aren't eating them for lunch and call it a buffet.

 

Another option is to make bowl based meals. Start with a starch (rice, quinoa, millet, potatoes, steel cut oats, polenta, etc). Add a protein (beans, tofu, tempeh, seitan, chicken, beef, pork, fish) and three or four veggies (raw, cooked, shredded, pickles, etc). Now pick a theme (Italian, Indian, Korean, Asian, Japanese, Chinese, Tex-Mex, etc) and use that to inspire your sauce (marinara sauce, salsa, peanut sauce, BBQ sauce, etc). Add a few garnishes (chopped nuts, cilantro, parsley, bacon bits, shredded cheddar, avocado, sunflower seeds, etc).

 

There are probably 10,000 combinations to the bowl idea. If you have more time than money, pre-prep some of the bigger pieces at the front of the week. If your budget is a bit bigger - buy whole grains pre-cooked in the freezer section of your grocery store. You can even buy pre-prepped veggies in the produce department or on the salad bar in a pinch.

 

A couple of times a month, tell everyone that the cook has the day off and let them fend for themselves. :0)

[Karen in CO]

My newest dinner resoure is dd14. She started cooking dinner last month. She loves it. Last night was a roasted veggie caserole. Tonight is tilapia with potatoes and other veggies cooked in foil packets. She's also declared Thursdays as rice paper roll night. She chops and prepares lots things to stuff in them then we make then at the table while we chat. Maybe it's time to delegate? :)

[mom2samlibby]

Check out http://www.nomoretogo.com. I've been using their meal plan this year. The meals are very good, very easy, and quick to prepare.

[Ottakee]

Check out www.menus4moms.com   I used it several years ago and liked it and my kids ate almost everything on the menus.....even things I didnt' think they would like are still hits years later.

[KungFuPanda]

Grrreeeeeaaaat. Now I want that soup cookbook. You people cost me more money . . .

[Storygirl]

When I got in a rut awhile back, I decided to make a master list of meals that I already make that my family enjoys. There were more things on the list than I expected. Next to each entrée, I listed how often we would be happy to eat it -- some once a month, some every six or eight weeks. Then I bought a little $2 calendar and wrote out my meal plan. If we had tacos the first week, I would count six weeks down and write tacos in for that week. When I planned for parmesan chicken, I would count down eight weeks and write it in again on that week. In very short time I was able to plan out three months of meals at a time.

 

I write in pencil and change things around as necessary as each week actually approaches, but I never have to come up with an idea at the last minute. Sometimes I leave an empty space for trying a new recipe. If we like it, I add it to the rotation. Sometimes things get bumped off the schedule because we end up getting pizza or eating out instead. I find that this system allows me to be have a plan but be flexible as well.

 

I don't have suggestions for interesting vegetables or side dishes. I tend to have either salad or frozen veggies to go with our entrees. It would be nice to have greater side-dish variety, but no one here complains, and it's all I can do to cook one component of each meal from scratch (I'm walking in the door around six thirty about four days a week, so I have to plan and cook ahead to get dinner on the table at all -- my crockpot gets a lot of use.)

[Kareni]

,,, there are three side dish options that are fast and easy all the time:

 

1. Vegetable steamed with butter and maybe a squeeze of lemon juice.

 

,,,

2. Vegetable roasted in a 450 oven with garlic and salt and maybe pepper or a squeeze of lemon.

 

,,,

3. Vegetable sauteed in a little butter or oil with some onion and a little sugar OR honey OR maple syrup.

 

,,,

 

What great guidelines.  I thank you!

 

Regards,

Kareni

[J-rap]

If you like using a slow-cooker, I've really liked recipes on this site:

 

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/

 

 

[swimmermom3]

I love this board!  It seems like there is next to nothing you all can't help with, and if you happen not to have an answer, there is always the moral support. And to think my foolish children use to mock me when I would say, "I think I'll ask the board." :D

 

Having a plan for the week is helpful . . . no daily panic. Also, if you're going to have salad three days a week, you might as well make it all at once. Rachel Ray has some easy recipes. We like her Comfort Foods cookbook. Chicken and Dumpling soup in 30 minutes is nice. You can pan-sear salmon and make rice pretty quickly. Having a template helps too . . . something like Mexican Monday, Fish Friday, Soup Saturday, etc . . .

 

I have been doing this dinner thing for 25 years, sometimes more successfully than others. I used to plan for the week, sometimes two weeks at a time, but I think with the older kids gone, I've gotten a bit lazy and probably decide and shop on a daily basis. That is expensive, time-consuming, and nerve-wracking.

 

I'll have to check out Rachel Ray's book. How do you pan-sear salmon? We are in a good location for it and everyone likes it.

 

 

[unsinkable]

You could try the Side Dish Planner at Mel's Kitchen Cafe. It gives suggestions for sides to go with mains.

 

http://www.melskitchencafe.com/menus-2/

[KungFuPanda]

I love this board! It seems like there is next to nothing you all can't help with, and if you happen not to have an answer, there is always the moral support. And to think my foolish children use to mock me when I would say, "I think I'll ask the board." :D

 

 

I have been doing this dinner thing for 25 years, sometimes more successfully than others. I used to plan for the week, sometimes two weeks at a time, but I think with the older kids gone, I've gotten a bit lazy and probably decide and shop on a daily basis. That is expensive, time-consuming, and nerve-wracking.

 

I'll have to check out Rachel Ray's book. How do you pan-sear salmon? We are in a good location for it and everyone likes it.

It's really easy because salmon cooks so quickly. Season both sides of the fish. Get your pan hot with a little oil, and put the salmon in. When the crust is nice and golden, flip it. Generally, it cooks through in the time it takes to make it look nice on the outside. Just peek into the center of one fillet to make sure. If it needs more time, I usually cover the pan and remove from the burner. It usually takes 3-4 minutes per side.

 

I like to have salad ready and on the table and rice holding in the rice cooker when I start this. If you have a rice cooker, use it for sides a few days a week. You can prept it up earlier in the day and set it to be ready by dinner time. If you don't have one, GET one.

 

One of the Rachel Ray books is a Cook-once-eat-twice deal. A few of those recipes could be useful. I use the Comfort Foods book the most though. I just gravitate towards simpler foods when I'm rushed. My family likes this recipe and it's a one-pot meal: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/chicken-and-dumplings-recipe.html

 

Sadly, they never let me add the peas.

[Miss Tick]

Kung Fu Panda and I have a similar approach.

 

In addition, this year, I am trying to occasionally cook extra for my freezer. The recipes have to have enough vegetables that I can just thaw it and heat it for dinner. I do this occasionally, but it is a nice break.

[Alice]

DH is the better cook and people enjoy eating what he cooks, neither of those things can be said about me.  By the time he gets home from work, though, most days we need something simple.  I've been enjoying several dishes from this site, many of them don't have involved prep and the kids have enjoyed them also.  

 

http://www.budgetbytes.com/

 

We have a Google spreadsheet where we plan out the meals for the week and that helps a lot.  So does wine while cooking, though DH has to drink my glass for me for another few weeks.

 

I second the budgetbytes site. I've used several recipes from there and they have all been easy and very good. 

 

I go back and forth between planning and then getting tired of planning or finding that what I planned just won't work that day. One thing I've found that works for me is to have a list of about 3-4 meals a week that I can make. Then when I get that "oh, no, what's for dinner" feeling I can look at the list and remember what we have the ingredients for. This also makes me use what we have instead of thinking of a meal and then going and buying more ingredients. 

 

Because of our swim schedule this year we have three nights a week where we get home at 6. The other night my daughter has ballet until 5:30. We used to eat at 6 and since my kids are still little we don't want to go to late with dinner. So I've gotten good at meals that are 30-40 minutes of prep. In addition to the planned meal list I try and always have the things on hand for a handful of meals that I know I can make quickly and without much thought if the day just completely got away from me. For us that's the following:

 

Frozen ravioli (there is one particular spinach brand from Costco that my kids love) and salad 

Other pasta with either tomato sauce or pesto and salad 

Quesadillas (usually black bean, spinach and cheese) 

Boxed soups from Trader Joe's with either salad, grilled sandwiches or quesadillas 

Eggs (omelets, scrambled, fried) with bacon and fruit and toast

 

I also use my slow cooker much more. Especially this time of year. A bonus there is that it's almost always a one-pot kind of dish so doesn't require much in the way of sides. Favorites are lentil tacos, soups, veggie chili or regular chili, what my husband calls "FAM" (falling apart meat)...some kind of cheaper cut of meat with some kind of liquid or baked potatoes served with all the toppings. 

 

My favorite new quick veggie dish is this one from Cooking Light. It's really fast. I never have Tarragon so I leave that out and it's still very good. http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/pan-charred-green-beans

 

To make it more enjoyable I like to crank up music I like while I cook. 

[swimmermom3]

I love emeals. The 30 minute meals really only take 30 minutes to make and the side dishes are planned for you. They have other plans too, we did their clean eating for awhile and it was good too.

 

The minute I saw your post, I went over to emeals and signed up for the 14 day free trial for the 30 minute dinners.

 

:wub: :wub: :wub: :wub: :wub:

 

I've cooked six meals so far and am really happy with the menus and the results. Dh decided that $5 a month was money well spent.

 

We've had:

 

Skillet Chipotle Chicken with Black Bean Cilantro Rice

Fettucini alfredo with Green Peas, salad, and rolls

Pork Medallions with Cranberry Sauce and sweet potatoes

Honey-Glazed Salmon and Two Pea and Feta Salad

Cuban Rice and Beans with Chicken Sausage and Pineapple Salad

Moroccan-Spiced Chicken, salad, and rice

 

One thing that I appreciate with these menus is that you aren't left with a bunch of odd ingredients at the end of the week. The bunch of cilantro gets used in at least two meals and there won't be any leftover feta cheese in the container when I have made all the recipes.

 

I used the printed grocery list when I went shopping last week, but am going to play with the app that lets me add extra items and then check everything off in the store.

 

This menu has been a gift this week since Sailor Dude had shoulder surgery and his care takes up a significant amount of time.

 

I am still exploring the links you all so generously posted and am amazed at the wealth of really good resources now available.

 

When things slow down a bit, I will post what I have used here that has worked well for us. After 25 years, even good plans can go stale.

[SparklyUnicorn]

There are a lot of meal planning services.  I subscribe to Relish.  There is also e-meals.  With Relish you pick what you want from several choices and it creates a shopping list.  With e-meals you can select a particular plan and they e-mail the menu for the week with shopping list and recipes/instructions.  With that one you can't pick and choose though.  Then there is another one called gatheredtable that I've tried.  I think it's still free to sigh up.  That one they create a list for you based on a bunch of preferences you specify. 

 

I love to cook, but I have the same problem.  I run out of ideas. 

[SparklyUnicorn]

Oops...guess you have updated!

 

 

[J-rap]

I replied earlier, but forgot to mention a service I found out about a couple months ago.  Hello Fresh is a service where you pick the type of meal (veggie or with meat) and family size, and they actually send you the exact ingredients via UPS (packed in ice) for three dinners every week.  It comes with step-by-step instructions, and the food is always fresh, organic, and simple.  You still have to do the work, chopping veggies, slicing and cooking the meat, etc.  I think most meals are supposedly made in 30 minutes or less.  I couldn't believe how good the service, organization, and freshness was, and the meals were always delicious.   It kind of got me interested in cooking again.  I think the cost is about $60/week for two people, but we were easily able to spread it out to four people (and often even had leftovers).  That averaged about $20/meal, which is more than I would spend consistently, but was fun to try for a month.  (I had a Groupon coupon for half off, which is why I got it.  :))

 

http://www.hellofresh.com/