Kitchen

[aroc3435]

@QVCkitty1 I always check to  see what the sales are at the supermarket and plan my meals accordingly with the meat or fish on sale helping me to decide since those are the most expensive.

So Harris Teeter has Mahi Mahi filllets on sale so I'll broil those one night and have a tossed salad and twice baked potatoes as sides.

They have hamburger on sale so I'll make a meatloaf one night and for another night I'll make homemade meat sauce to  serve with spaghetti.  Can have salad and garlic bread  as sides with that.

Significant Other and I haven't had pot roast in a while so I'll get a chuck roast and we'll have that.  I cook it with all the typical vegetables so that's another no fuss, one pot deal from which we can get two or three meals.

And we haven't had Peg Bracken's chicken and rice casserole in a long time so I'll make that with green beans and fresh cookedcarrots as sides.  I double the recipe so we will get two dinners and a lunch out of that.

I did a turkey breast  recently and we had it for dinner twice and then made pot pie and turkey tetrazzini and turkey soup.

Hope some of these ideas help.   If you search some of the older recipe threads here by putting in a key phrase like chicken or turkey or chili or whatever you'll probably get some more good ideas.

Best,

aroc3435

Washington, DC

[QVCkitty1]

Thanks to all of you, even if like me you don't have a clue,  I like a lot of your ideas and I will use some of them or variations of them. I'm off to make my list, thanks again ! 😋

[jannabelle1]

@QVCkitty1, you're not the only one - add me to the list. I see a lot of suggestions for salads here, but DH and I can't live on salads - LOL! Hubby likes a little more than salads and I need more calories than that. I try to get a general idea of what I can make, but I don't plan on making something every single day....leftovers work just fine for us. So does our favorite canned soups or Panera brand from the deli,along with grilled (toasted) cheese sandwiches. Sometimes I add peanut butter or deli slices of ham or smoked turkey to grilled cheese. Today I made sloppy joes and some fries in the Air Fryer. Snacks later on were crackers and cheese.

Nothing says you have to plan and fix a meal(s) every day with a recipe-based main course, vegetable, and salad. A jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce with pasta and a simple salad is easy and quick and doesn't need a lot of planning. I've learned to lighten up, and by that I don't mean calorie-wise....it means that it's fine to make some simple meals that don't require a lot of thinking and planning!

[bmorechick]

Oh boy do I hear you!  I'm so tired of the same old crockpot meals or cooking when I get home from work. Yes, it's summer (yay) and we do grill a lot, but we are really currently in a food rut. We eat way too much take out and while it hasn't shown up on the scales, I got a feeling it's gonna show up in my cholesterol count at next doc appointment.  I have managed to keep it below 200 on my own with mainly exercise (running) but in summer this 65 year old body struggles in the high humidity and I have become lazy and  hate running indoors on a treadmill. 

I have countless cookbooks but the new recipes are really time consuming and eating at 7pm is just too late as we get older. And hubs can't cook anything but eggs🤷🏻‍♀️. 

I really need to push the refresh button on getting back to trying easy, light meals but I definitely know what you mean. 

[aroc3435]

@QVCkitty1   A few other  ideas popped into my head overnight.   If you have a good general cookbook such as Joy of Cooking check the index and peruse the sauces and the "know your ingredients" sections.

Some cookbooks have "suggested entire menus for different occasions" that have inspired me with new ideas or combinations.

Sometimes seeing how a spice unfamiliar or seldom used by you might spark a new recipe you can try or brighten up an old one.

I refer to the sauces  section and glean ideas from it to enhance an old dish to give it a new flavor profile.  

A broiled  or baked fish served on a bed of spinach served with a mornay or ravigote sauce is one example.  Some of the sauces that use capers, the aforementioned ravigote being one of them, are excellent on fish, too.

Plain chicken breast dolled up with a bottled Itaian salad dressing or homemade vinaigrette used as a marinade is very  good.

A tiny squirt of anchovy paste or a couple of anchovies thrown in a sauce will melt into a  sauce and add depth without being detected.

A splash of fresh lemon juice and/or zest will brighten up many dishes.  Or a little Worcestershire or soy sauce (I use low sodium) can do the same.

Good hunting on your forthcoming food shopping exccursion.

Best,

aroc3435

Washington, DC

[CrazyKittyLvr2]

It sounds like a lot of us are in the same boat. Not sure if it is age or having cooked for over 50 yrs. It is hard to get excited over food most days.

When I worked I liked making multiple dishes on a Sunday.  I would make a roast, spaghetti sauce and cook some chicken breasts. We had the roast with mashed pot and veg for Sunday night. Spaghetti on Mon.(DH would heat the sauce and cook the spaghetti) so it was done when I got home, leftover roast beef and gravy were hot RF sandwiches Tuesday. Chicken breasts were used for sandwiches or to top salads for lunch. You get the idea.

Now, with DH gone and it is just DD and I, well, our dinner conversations are, "what do you want", "I don't know, nothing sounds good, what do you want".  We get takeout way too much. There is usually enough for our lunches the next day so we do get 4 meals out of what we get.

Sorry I can't be of any more help.

[Susan in California]

Simple macaroni salad:

pasta

bag of baby spinach

toasted pine nuts

feta cheese

(toss with Paul Newman's balsamic/olive oil dressing)

Mix while pasta is still warm, and the spinach wilts

(we like it this way, but it's a personal choice).

[Ladybug724]

I love cooking and coming up with creative ways to use leftovers, so here are some ideas (you don't have to use leftovers)

Get some Naan bread- it's sooooo good! Top it with anything and it becomes a pizza.

I used leftover taco meat and made a taco pizza that my family devoured. I brushed the Naan bread with olive oil and garlic salt then baked it like that for just a couple of minutes. Then I took it out and spread it with taco sauce then topped with taco meat, shredded cheese, scallions, black olive slices, and crushed taco shells or Doritos. Bake it until the cheese melts, take it out and then top with dollops of sour cream and a little more taco sauce.

I did the same thing with leftover chicken, barbecue sauce, onions, cheese. Also pulled pork makes a good topping.

You can make a chicken capprezze pizza too, topped with basil, mozzerella, tomatoes and chicken.

You gotta use the naan bread for this though, it's outstanding!

[MOMMAVik]

Same here. What to make & not have to heat up the house with the oven? Just 2 of us, trying to reign in the calories. We grill burgers, brats, hot dogs, chicken, fish. Usually rotation of sides: coleslaw, potato salad, green salads.
Tacos, fajitas for variety. Build your own subs
I do much better in winter with roast beef, chicken & turkey baked in oven, lasagna. Meatballs or meat sauce & pasta.
This thread is giving me good suggestions! Thanks everyone!

[sabatini]

Hi @QVCkitty1.

Do you actually enjoy cooking?

If you do, it can be fun to sort of take a trip to a few countries with food; try cooking something you never had before.

Instead of just buying a bag of noodles for soup, make your own. It's easy!

Decide to try and find "the best" version of a dish you'd normally serve. Change it up.

I used to go through phases. One phase was learning to make pocket foods; wontons, potstickers, raviolis, empanadas, fried pies, etc. You get the drift!

Have fun!