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Hey guys! Basically i'm bored at work and was wondering what kind of dinners you all make just for fun. Usually when i search this topic i get so many random ingredients...and they are so hard to find!
do you know any fun, healthy recipes to use for dinner time...with ingredients that are usually already in the pantry?
let me know what you guys think! my sister and i cycle 3 times a week and are always looking for great dinner recipes after our rides!!!
yup yup!
cant wait to hear from you guys!
I'm a vegetable grower, so during the harvest season I'm usually swimming in vegetables but not in time or motivation to do complicated stuff. And so we roast. Here goes:
1. Crank up the oven to 425 or 450 degrees.
2. Peel and/or chop vegetables of choice. Remember, thinner for faster cooking, fatter for longer cooking. And consistent size, or some will burn and some won't cook.
My faves are: beets, eggplant, turnips, onions, green beans, daikon radish, kohlrabi, potatoes, garlic scapes, and probably a bunch I'm forgetting. Eat with the seasons, and you can have a different roasted delight each week!
3. Toss with olive oil, salt & pepper.
4. Lay on a baking sheet - the veg, not yourself - and roast!
This is when you take a shower & put your sweaty rotten kit in the washer.
5. Turn occasionally, till all the veg are roasty toasty browned.
6. While you're roasting, toast some sunflower seeds in a dry pan on the stove, till they're brown & smell good.
7. Plate on a serving dish and splash on some good balsamic vinegar. 8.Sprinkle on the sunflower seeds, more s&p to taste, and chow!
Great over pasta or rice, or all by its lonesome. And it needs some protein, of course...
:)
Not all that healthy, but... I got inspired yesterday and made some bacon wrapped scallops and some sea bass basted in wine/soy/wasabi/honey over rice. Yum. I haven't made this before so I was very happy when it turned out edible. :)
Someone brought this to a recent BBQ, and I loved it so much I asked for the recipe. I think I've made it 4 times since then! Totally easy, totally yummy, and not too difficult for the ingredients, although you do want to make it the night before:
2 TBSP of Dijon mustard
2 TBSP of white vinegar
1 TBSP of sugar
1 egg yolk
1/8 tsp of salt
1/8 tsp of pepper
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 tsp fresh dill (I use more)
½ lb shelled cooked shrimp
Beat together mustard, vinegar, sugar, egg yolk, salt and pepper. Add oil and beat under slightly thickened. Stir in dill and the shrimp. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
I've made batches that are 3 or 4 times the recipe.
Enjoy!
~T~
Shrimpies? Did someone say shrimpies???? :D
When's dinner?
Recipe no.1, just requires you to rehydrate dried sun-dried tomatoes a few hrs. in advance. It's a great recipe to make for a picnic during a bike ride which is what we do at times. It doesn't take long. You can use a powdered veggie soup stock in water instead of chicken broth.
http://www.eatingwell.com
Couscous with Mushrooms and Sun-dried Tomatoes
Makes 8 servings, 3/4 cup each
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped (1 cup)
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not packed in oil), snipped into strips
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
2 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
Dash of hot sauce, or more to taste
1 1/2 cups couscous
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
Salt & freshly ground pepper to taste
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onions and tomatoes and stir until the onions are softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and thyme and stir until the mushrooms give off their liquid and begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add broth and hot sauce and bring to a boil. Stir in couscous. Remove from the heat and cover. Let stand until the liquid has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. With a fork, fluff the couscous and stir in parsley. Season with salt and pepper to taste.
NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 166 calories; 2 g fat (0 g sat, 1 g mono); 2 mg cholesterol; 30 g carbohydrate; 7 g protein; 3 g fiber; 91 mg sodium; 151 mg potassium.
2 Carbohydrate Servings
Gingered Couscous with Chickpeas
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons curry powder, preferably Madras
1 15-ounce or 19-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
1 tomato, diced
1 1/2 teaspoons honey
1 cup water
1/8 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
1 cup whole-wheat couscous
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro or parsley
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds and stir until they begin to pop, about 1 minute. Add ginger and stir until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add curry powder and stir until it is toasted, about 30 seconds longer. Add chickpeas, tomatoes, honey, water, salt and pepper; bring to a boil. Stir in couscous; remove from the heat and cover. Let stand until the liquid has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. With a fork, fluff the couscous and stir in cilantro (or parsley).
NUTRITION INFORMATION: Per serving: 177 calories; 3 g fat (0 g sat, 2 g mono); 0 mg cholesterol; 32 g carbohydrate; 7 g protein; 6 g fiber; 99 mg sodium; 51 mg potassium.
Nutrition bonus: Fiber (24% dv).
2 Carbohydrate Servings
1. For a quick meal based on what we have in fridge, etc., I do find a veggie stir fry actually quite fast. It's no more work than making a salad since I use veggies that don't require eons of cooking time.
Perhaps it's a matter of perspective of what constitutes a "normal pantry". We don't buy fresh shrimp frequently but I do love it and make stuff.
But for other things, we always have in our pantry or fridge:
powdered curry, (green) curry paste, chili paste (takes us ages to finish a tiny bottle), Chinese black bean sauce or garlic chili sauce, fresh ginger root, garlic, lower sodium soy sauce, buckwheat/light wheat linguine noodle Asian style (Italian dried pasta takes much longer to cook and I find heavier), canned clams, canned smoked mussels or oysters (latter makes a great smoke mussel, tomato pasta dish), etc.
2. Or just drain a can of salmon or tuna, add dijon mustard and a bit of pepper. (I only need 1/2 tin of fish for myself.) With some light linguine noodles that take under 10 min. to cook. Noodles after draining can be mixed in or on side with canned fish.
My DH and I eat as much organic food as we can. We wanted to eat pasta pre-longer ride days, so recently I have been doing the following and its fast and easy.
1. Boil whole wheat angel hair pasta (organic if you want)
2. While that is cooking, break out the frying pan, spray organic Pam on it and add a couple of tablespoons of either olive oil or Smart Balance oil.
3. Cut boneless chicken breasts into small chunks and toss into frying pan. I add just a bit of honey to the chicken to sweeten it.
4. Add veggies - I use fresh zucchini and/or yellow squash, but you can add any veggies - carrots, onions, etc. When the chicken pieces are brown I add the veggies and cover with lid. The veggies steam with the chicken.
5. I then mix with the pasta and serve.
6. NOTE: My DH cannot have any spices so I cook very plain. But if you can tolerate spices, I would suggest adding Mrs. Dash seasoning or garlic to the stir fry. I usually add about a half cup of organic spaghetti sauce to mine.
It makes plenty depending on how many veggies you add. We usually eat one serving at night and pack the rest for lunch next day.
OK, I don't if I would call this a "great" :o recipe, but it's a simple idea, and a huge hit at my house. It kinda fits the bill of not having to buy an extra exoctic spices as you posted...
Do any of you gals still own or use a slow cooker, or croc pot? I really like my ancient slow cooker that's a metal type oblong pan on a basin with more heat settings (1 = low, 5= high).
Do a nice sized beef roast, or round steak in it with a few veggies. Or as my DS asks, "mommy, will you make me some pig?"... a leaner pork roast.
You can throw it all together the night before, or morning quickly before leaving the house. Let it cook all day until the meat is falling apart tender and flavored full of broth. Pick up a bag of romaine salad, and my DH likes a certain type of store deli roll, and viola. You have hot dinner for all shifts if your kids are in activities after school, or you would like to ride and eat later;).
For the beef meat, sometimes I will roll in it flour, salt, pepper, then put it in the pot about half filled with water. Add beef bullion granuales per amount of water (directions on jar). One medium sized onion sliced. A small bag of baby pre-peeled carrots. A few potatoes peeled and cubed. You can omit the flour rolling if you like.
For pork, seems like I just add a bay leaf, salt, and pepper. Maybe chicken granuales for broth (again, follow jar directions for amount).
With the 1-5 heat settings, I usually turn in on high 5 while everyone is getting ready in the morning, and then to 3 medium before leaving the house. End of day turn to low 1 until the last person has eaten.
Leftover meat makes a great sandwich as my DH says, or you can freeze it for a soup or casserole for pre-cooked meat.
It's so easy and the meat flavor and tenderness is fantastic. Hope that helped some! :)
Miranda
Thanks for the reminder - I keep forgetting about my trusty old crockpot! We do not eat beef, but that sounds like it will work well with chicken so I will load up the old crockpot tonight! I do not have a lot of time during the week either, so that will make us several meals - yay!
My kitchen is being renovated for the next few months (total and complete renovation involving knocking out of walls and such).
I've been at a bit of a loss about eating without a kichen, as I love to cook and don't have much experience with convenience foods and don't have a freezer anyways. I have a microwave and a dorm fridge, so my options are a bit limited.
So today I bought a slow cooker (I already have a rice cooker) and a panini press! I'm pretty sure I'll be okay for the duration of the renovation!
I have a fuzzy logic rice cooker and LOVE it! It steams veggies, makes soup, makes pilaf, and makes (mostly veggie) risotto (butternut squash & leek is the most recent variety!). Best appliance in my kitchen!
CA
Does it do dishes? I WANT IT! :DQuote:
Originally Posted by CA_in_NC
One of our favorite meals is so easy. We grill year round.
I'll put chicken breasts in a plastic bag to marinate in a combo of:
Ginger, soy sauce, sesame oil, water a bit of sweet chili sauce and bit of lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. (Easiest to place all this in the blender and then pour into the bag, then add the chicken).
If you have some extra time, dice the chickent and put onto skewers.
Heat the grill.
Rinse and cut Baby Bok Choy in half lengthwise.
Sprinkle with soy sauce.
Cook the chicken.
When you turn it, place the bok choy directly on the grill.
Cook until the bok choy has a touch of dark / black on the grill lines.
Serve with brown rice or couscous if you like.
Mmmm MMmmm and EASY!
I got this recipe from one of my best friends who is a vegetarian. The first time she told me about it, I thought it sounded disgusting! She was so excited to make it for me, though, that I thought I would politely choke it down. Turns out I LOVED it! Now it's a family staple and one of my favorite comfort foods. It's super fast and easy to throw together:
4 cups Special K
2 cups lowfat cottage cheese
4 eggs
1/2 stick butter or margarine (melted)
2 tsp chicken bullion flavoring
1/2 c chopped pecans or walnuts
1 cup chopped onion.
Mix altogether. Spread into a 8 by 11 pan and cook at 350 for 1 hour. Serve with slices of canned cranberry on top. (trust me, it's yummy!!)
This recipe is also fun because you can change it up if you want and add whatever makes you happy, garlic, parmesan cheese, herbs etc. whatever you have on hand.
Enjoy!
I just rediscovered a recipe I haven't made since college and my family loved it!
It's so easy, it's almost embarrassing to share (hence the name....even a bachelor could make it). Kind of like the Special K Loaf, the ingredients sound strange together, but they are super yummy.
1 medium bottle French Salad Dressing (not the creamy kind)
1 can whole cranberries
1 pouch onion soup mix
Place 4 small chicken breasts in a 9 x 13 pan, mix together sauce ingredients and pour over chicken. Bake at 400 degrees for 1 hour. I like to serve this over wild rice. Hope you like it!