Hit me with your best meal ideas.

Mandy

Mandy

New member
Ok peeps, I need me some fresh meal ideas for my family. They're sick of chili and spaghetti and pork chops.
I would love a variety - some casseroles, crock pot meals and easy stuff, but they won't eat Hamburger Helper or anything from a box (unless it's mac n cheese) or fish.
So what'cha got?
 
I love to make tacos. I buy coulotte steaks, cut them up into really small cubes, cut up half of a white onion into little tiny cubes also. Season with salt and pepper. Throw them into a hot iron skillet (with a tiny bit of canola oil). I also add chopped up mushrooms for mine. Cook 'em up and serve them in warm white corn tortillas topped off with cilantro & tomatoes. Yummy:thumbup:

I also will cook up that same meat and instead of tacos, make either nachos or burrittos.
 
One of the staples in our house:
ground beef + egg noodles + Parmesan cheese = bowl o' dinner

We also do:
beef + marinara sauce + chips = deliciousness

And lots of times I take the taco meat, throw it on some lettuce, add salsa and cheese and call it good.

Chicken + marinade of italian dressing + grill = yumminess
We also cut it up and put it in a salad (did that last night, SO good).
 
Smoked Sausage
Red potatoes
Bell Pepper
Onion

Chop everything up and put in a pan. Cover with small bottle of Italian Dressing. Bake at 350 for about 45 minutes or until the potatoes are soft.

I make it a little healthier by using FF dressing and turkey sausage and it's just as good.
 
Beef tips
1 packet dry onion soup mix
1 can French Onion soup

put it all in a crockpot and let it go for the day

then I serve it over rice and add a salad
 
Our version of beef stroganoff...

ground beef
egg noodles
1 can cream of mushroom (or chicken) soup
1 can sliced mushrooms
1 small container sour cream

brown the meat
cook the noodles
throw it all together and let it mesh and then stir in the sour cream before you serve it

i usually just add veggie or salad to this too
 
We love taco soup at our house:

1 lb ground beef - browned
1 can corn
1 can black beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can red kidney beans
taco seasoning packet
ranch dressing packet

Throw it all in the crock pot and cook at low for 4-5 hours. Serve with tortilla chips and cheese. It's so yummy!
 
roast in the crockpot + carrots & potatoes
baked potato bar + toppings
nachos (cook meat & drain, dump in casserole dish, add taco ingredients & tortilla chips, top w cheese, bake in oven few mins until cheese melts)
homemade chix salad (chicken + sour cream + mayo + dill) pitas w veggies & dip
BLTs (or BTs in my case)
chix spinach salad (cubed cooked chix + fresh spinach leaves + tomato + cheese crumbles + Italian dressing)
my mom's 'Spanish' rice (hamburger + white rice + tomato sauce)
quesadillas (just chix + tomatoes + cheese in mine)
meatloaf (just hamburger + 1 egg + crackers/oatmeal + ketchup + salt & pepper in my version) & mashed potatoes (add 1/2 stick of cream cheese & some dill for extra goodness)
tuna salad (drained tuna + mayo + relish + celery (opt.) + cooked shell macaroni + salt & pepper, MUST be refrigerated 1-2 hrs ahead of time)

As you can tell, I don't actually use recipes. I just make it. :)

Here is one recipe from a college friend of mine who made the best homemade beef stroganoff I've ever had. She recently sent this to me on Facebook after my status plea for recipes.

LAURA'S FAMOUS STROGANOFF

Top Sirloin (about a pound per 3 or 4 people), cut into strips
Fresh Mushrooms, sliced
Onion (about half a medium), chopped
Garlic, chopped (a couple of cloves)
Beef Broth or Consumme
Sour Cream (about a cup, to taste/creaminess)
Egg Noodles

Brown the sirloin strips and add broth. (I add a box. Not sure how many ounces those are.) The broth should cover the strips. Bring to a boil, then cover and reduce to a simmer for about 45 minutes. I usually go waste about half an hour and then chop/slice the onion/mushroom. Saute the onions, garlic and mushrooms in a separate pan. If you're feeling bold, use butter . . . if not, olive oil. You'll want the onions to be pretty much done (transparentish) before you add the mushrooms to the pan . . . I usually throw the garlic in w/ the onions . . . or whenever I remember it. Remove those from heat. Now you need to make the tough decision about whether or not to thicken your broth . . . sometimes I'm in a soupy mood . . . sometimes not so much. If you want to thicken it, put a tablespoonish or two of flour into cold water and whisk well. Then slowly add the mixture to your broth while whisking vigorously . . . don't be girly about this . . . you need to be sure it's well incorporated so that you don't end up w/ weird little floury-doughy floaties. You're going to want to bring the mixture back to a boil after you add the flour and stir it. It should thicken w/in about 5 minutes . . . just be sure to cook it long enough that you can't taste the flour. If it doesn't thicken, you can repeat the whole flour/water thing. Lower the heat a bit and add your onions and mushrooms . . . it should be smelling pretty good by now. Give it a taste and be sure it's delicious. Sometimes I add a tiny bit of salt. Okay, now that you're sure it's good and hot, remove from heat . . . mush the meat/onion/mushrooms to one side of the pan and mix in the sour cream a bit at at time into the broth. I use my whisk. If you add too much at once, it kind of curdles . . . and it still tastes good . . . but it's not so pretty . . . so I basically add a big spoonful, whisk . . . add another spoonful, whisk . . . once it looks good and creamy, you're good to serve it over your cooked noodles.

Oh, and please buy this cookbook. IT IS THE BEST EVER.
http://www.amazon.com/Americas-Kitc...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234898023&sr=8-1

HTH! :)
 
I joined an online meal-planning site before my daughter was born in April... I really like it! You pick 5 meals a week from their menus... and it makes print-out shopping lists! Also, each month there are freezer menus too! It's $7.00 a month... but the stuff is good, not too hard to make, family-friendly stuff. :thumbup:

I *think* there is a free trial... http://www.relishrelish.com/menu-planning.html
 
One of my favorite casseroles:

boneless chicken breast cubed and cooked
frozen broccoli cooked
1 large jar of cheese whiz
Stovetop stuffing serving for about 8 mixed not cooked

mix them all together in a baking dish and heat until bubby. YUMMO!
 
pbumbaca said:
One of my favorite casseroles:

boneless chicken breast cubed and cooked
frozen broccoli cooked
1 large jar of cheese whiz
Stovetop stuffing serving for about 8 mixed not cooked

mix them all together in a baking dish and heat until bubby. YUMMO!
Click to expand...

You had me at Cheese Whiz :p
I totally want to try this one!
 
Pam mentioned Pioneer Woman... she has a recipe for the BEST chicken soup I've had... I've made it twice in a month and am craving it again!

Here's the recipe (sooo good). She uses skin on chicken breast, but I've done it with skinless to make it lower in fat and it tastes just as good!
 
A recipe I accidentally made once, and we really like it...

Mexican Lasagna.

I had the stuff all prepped for burritos... meat cooked, a can of black beans, frozen corn, rice (we use the microwavable frozen brown rice from Trader Joes) package of shredded cheddar cheese, salsa, sour cream. BUT, at the last minute I realized we were almost out of tortillas I think we had 5 or 6. (I keep them in the freezer)

Damn!!

Since there was no way I could do burritos for us and quesadillas for my son... I decided to improvise. I poured a 16 ounce jar of salsa into the seasoned ground meat (I just use chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, salt & pepper), I stirred in the beans, corn, and rice, added enough water so it wasn't too thick.

I cut all the tortillas in half, and lined up the straight sides of the cut tortillas with the edges my 9x13 pan. Sprayed pan with nonstick spray, and then layered 1/3 of the meat mixture in, topped with 1/3 of the cheese, more tortillas, filling, cheese, ending with the remaining meat mixture, a bit of sour cream, and remaining cheese.

Bake it for 15-20 minutes at 425, since everything is already cooked, you are really just trying to make it hot, and melt the cheese.

It's really good, and my hubby and 4 year old looove it!:thumbup:
 
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You could pan fry some chicken with olive oil. Boil some spiral noodles. Then combine the chicken and noodles in a casserole dish with fresh mushrooms, two cans of cream of mushroom soup and a dab of sour cream (about 1/4 cup) and then top it off with some colby jack cheese. Bake it for about 25 minutes in the oven on 350 and serve it with veggies of your choice. My kids LOVE this.
 
Homemade pot pies. They are so good and so easy. You take 2 pre-made pie crust, unroll one and put it in a pietin. Then mix a can of cream of potato soup, a touch of broth, pepper and whatever ingredients you want. I use cooked cubed chicken in my dh's and frozen veggie mix (I don't even cook the veggies in advance) in mine. Pour it in the pietin, cover with the other crust and bake for 45 minutes. It rocks and my family all love it.
 
digideb said:
We do this too & LOVE it! Or we'll do it in the Crockpot instead of the grill & it's amazing too!
Click to expand...

You just put chicken and italian dressing in a crockpot? Just put it in raw and cook all day? Do you add any water...does it get thick on the chicken...do you drain it? Do tell! I'm probably making it harder than it is. lol Do you add rice or eat it plain...what do you eat with it?
 
rachelv said:
I love to make tacos. I buy coulotte steaks, cut them up into really small cubes, cut up half of a white onion into little tiny cubes also. Season with salt and pepper. Throw them into a hot iron skillet (with a tiny bit of canola oil). I also add chopped up mushrooms for mine. Cook 'em up and serve them in warm white corn tortillas topped off with cilantro & tomatoes. Yummy:thumbup:

I also will cook up that same meat and instead of tacos, make either nachos or burrittos.
Click to expand...

What are coulotte steaks? Is that like minute steaks (flat tenderized steaks)? This sounds very interesting.
 
Sharon Kay said:
You just put chicken and Italian dressing in a crockpot? Just put it in raw and cook all day? Do you add any water...does it get thick on the chicken...do you drain it? Do tell! I'm probably making it harder than it is. lol Do you add rice or eat it plain...what do you eat with it?
Click to expand...


You can make Italian Crockpot Chicken. I'm making that tonight since I work til 10pm. Just throw in a package of skinless chicken breasts, a package of cream cheese, a can of cream of chicken soup and a packet of Italian salad dressing mix. I usually cook it 6-8 hours, which reminds me that I need to get in there and put it on.
Then afterward we serve it over white rice, but it is equally good served over cooked spaghetti or fettuccine.
 
These are all crock pot recipes and they are what's on my menu for the month, I have chicken, beef (turkey), pork and Misc.......I'll seperate them in to posts and BONUS....they are all Weight watcher recipes and contain nutritional information and points!!!!!!! :thumbup:

Beef (I actually use ground turkey for the ground beef):

Beef Stroganoff (9 Points)
1 1/2 lb. beef, trimmed -- * see note
1 c chopped onion
8 oz. sliced mushrooms
1 tbs. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. dried parsley
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dill -- dried
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 clove garlic -- minced
1/2 c all-purpose flour -- * see note
1 can fat-free beef broth -- * see note
3/4 c lowfat sour cream
6 c egg noodles, Barilla -- cooked, * see note

Trim fat from steak. Wrap steak in heavy-duty plastic wrap; freeze 30 minutes. Unwrap steak; cut steak diagonally across grain into 1/8-inch thick slices. Place steak, onion, and next 7 ingredients in a 3-quart electric slow cooker. Combine flour and broth in a bowl; stir with a whisk until blended.

Add broth mixture to cooker; stir well. Cover; cook on low-heat setting for 8 hours or until tender. Turn slow cooker off; remove lid. Let stand 10 minutes. Stir in sour cream. Serve stroganoff over noodles.

Notes: Had 1 1/2 lbs. of extra lean stew beef in cubes and used it just as it was). To make up for the extra beef I increased the broth to use the whole can (was 1 cup), and the flour (was 1/3 cup).
And, because the extra beef gave me additional servings, I increased the noodle amount to give me the right nutritional analysis.

Per serving: 436 Calories; 8g Fat; 38g Protein; 53g Carbohydrate; 133mg Cholesterol; 409mg Sodium
NOTES : 9 WW points


Crockpot Beef Stew (3 Points Per Cup)
3 potatoes, diced
5 carrots, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
2 small onions, chopped
1 head (not clove) garlic, minced
1 large tomato, blanched and chopped
4 Tbs. barley
4 beef bouillon cubes
1 3/4 pounds lean beef
1/2 tsp. rosemary
1/2 tsp. savory
1 t salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 Tbs. flour
2 Tbs. corn starch

Cube and brown the beef. Add flour to beef and stir together. Combine all ingredients except potatoes, corn starch, rosemary, and savory in a crock pot. Cover with water. Cook on high 12-24 hours. 1 hour before serving, add potatoes, rosemary, and savory. Immediately before serving, thicken with corn starch.


Cowboy Stew (7 Points)
Makes 6 servings

1 1/4 lbs. beef stew meat
4 potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 4" pcs.
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1 (28 oz.) can Baked beans in BBQ Sauce

Mix beef, potatoes, onion, salt and pepper in 3 1/2 qt. to 4 qt. slow cooker. Spread beans over beef mixture. Cover and cook on LOW 8-10 hrs. or until beef is tender.

Per serving: cal 370, fat 12g, sat fat 5g, chol 65mg, sod 1030mg, carb 46g, fiber 8g, prot 28g
Points: 7
 
Chicken:

Asian Spiced Chicken and Beans (7 Points)
1/2 Cup dry packaged Navy Beans or 1(15 ounces) can Navy Beans, rinsed and drained.
1/2 Cup dry packaged Red Beans or 1(15 ounce) can Red beans, rinsed and drained.
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
3 large carrots, diagonally sliced
2 to 3 teaspoons minced garlic, to taste
2 to 3 teaspoons minced ginger root or 1 to 2 teaspoons ground ginger, to taste
1 (14 1/2 ounces) can reduced-sodium fat-free chicken broth
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 Teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 to 3 Tablespoons reduced sodium soy sauce
4 Cups cooked rice
Sliced green onions and tops, for garnish
Chopped peanuts for garnish

If using dry beans, in a large saucepan, place dry beans and cover with 2 inches water; heat to boiling; let boil, uncovered for 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat, cover and set aside for at least 1 hour and up to 4 hours. Drain soaking water and rinse beans. Place soaked OR canned beans, chicken, carrots, garlic, ginger and 1 1/4 cups of the chicken broth in slow cooker; stir well. Cover and cook on low until beans are tender about 5 1/2 to 6 hours.

Turn slow cooker to high. Combine cornstarch with remaining 1/2 cup broth and stir into mixture in cooker; stir in crushed red pepper. Cover and cook until thickened, about 30 minutes. Stir in soy sauce. Serve over rice; sprinkle with green onions and peanuts.

Creamy Red Potatoes and Chicken
1 1/2 Pounds Red Potatoes -- chunked
8 Ounces Neufchatel Cheese
10 3/4 Ounces Cream of Potato Soup
1 Envelope Ranch-style Dressing Mix
12 Ounces Chicken Breast Without Skin -- cut into strips

Place potatoes in slow cooker. Beat together the cream cheese, soup and salad dressing mix. Stir in chicken strips and spread over potatoes (or just stir all together). Cover and cook on Low 8 hours, or until potatoes are tender. Stir once after 5-6 hours. Stir before serving.
skinned chicken breast halves -- cut in strips


Chicken Noodle Soup (4 Points)
3/4 pound boneless, skinless chicken thighs -- cut into 1" pieces
2 cups sliced celery -- (2 medium stalks)
2 cups chopped carrots
3/4 cup chopped onion -- (1 medium)
14 1/2 ounces ready-to-serve chicken broth -- (1 can)
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram -- crushed
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves -- crushed
1/2 teaspoon salt -- optional
2 bay leaves
10 ounces frozen green peas -- (1 pkg.)
1 cup frozen home-style egg noodles

Spray 10-inch skillet with cooking spray; heat over medium heat. Cook chicken in skillet 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until brown. Mix chicken and remaining ingredients except peas and noodles in 3-1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat setting 6 1/2 to 7 hours or until chicken is no longer pink in center. Stir in peas and noodles; cook about 10 minutes longer or until noodles are tender.

Per Serving: 218 Calories; 6g Fat; 42g Protein; 24g Carbohydrate; 5g Dietary Fiber; 41mg Cholesterol; 601mg Sodium.

We love the old fashioned flavour of the home-style noodles, but if they aren't available use 1 cup of uncooked fine egg noodles or instant rice.
 
Pork (I got a great deal on Pork Loin at Sam's, but you could easily substitute any pork product for these!!! :D):

Slow Cooked Sweet & Sour Pork (WW 8 Points)
1 1/2 pounds pork loins, lean, boneless -- cut into cubes
8 ounces canned pineapple chunks in juice – undrained (unsweetened juice)
1 medium red bell pepper -- cut into squares OR green bell pepper
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 cup vinegar
3 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 cups cooked rice

In 3-1/2 to 4 quart slow cooker, combine pork, pineapple, bell pepper, brown sugar, ginger, vinegar and soy sauce. Mix well. Cover; cook on LOW setting for 6 to 8 hours. About 5 minutes before serving, in small bowl, combine 3 tablespoons water and cornstarch; blend well. Stir into pork mixture in slow cooker. Cover; cook on high setting for an additional 5 minutes or until thickened. Serve pork mixture over rice. Makes 4 servings

Prepare rice 25 minutes before serving.

Per Serving: 410 Calories; 8g Fat; 34g Protein; 49g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 77mg Cholesterol; 841mg Sodium.


Pot Roast (6 Points if 1/10th) or (7 Points if 1/8th)
4 large potatoes -- cut into chunks
4 large carrots -- cut into chunks
2 large onions -- cut into chunks
2 cups rutabaga -- cut into chunks
3 pounds boneless Pork loin -- trimmed
1/2 cup boiling water
1 teaspoon beef bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon Liquid gravy browner

Lay potato, carrot, rutabaga and onion in bottom of 5 quart slow cooker. Place roast on top.
Combine remaining 3 ingredients in small bowl. Stir. Pour over top. Cover. Cook on LOW for 10 to 12 hours or on HIGH for 5 to 6 hours. Serves 8 - 10. (I sometimes use 1 package of onion soup mix in place of liquid gravy browner and beef bouillon granules, and use 3/4 cups of boiling water.


Spicy Wine Pot Roast (6 Points)
3 pounds pork loin
1 small onion – chopped
1 package brown gravy mix
1 cup water
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup dry red wine
2 teaspoons Dijon-style mustard
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
Fresh parsley -- for garnish, -- chopped

Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. Place in crockpot. Combine the remaining ingredients, except parsley, and pour over meat. Cover and cook on low 10 hrs. Remove the meat and slice. Thicken sauce with flour mixed in a small amount of water and serve over meat sprinkled with chopped parsley.

Serving size (1/12 recipe) Per serving: 252.6 Calories, 17.8g Fat, 0.3g Fiber Weight Watcher Points: 6
 
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Misc (non meat or "other" meat recipes):

Velveeta Macaroni and Cheese
16*ounces macaroni*(uncooked)
1/2*cup margarine*or butter
1/2*cup all-purpose flour
4*cups milk
14*ounces Velveeta cheese, cut into chunks
salt and pepper
8*slices Velveeta cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook macaroni according to directions and drain.
Melt margarine in a large saucepan.
Add flour and whisk together.
Whisk in milk and cook over medium heat until mixture starts to bubble and thickens.
Stir constantly.
Add chunks of Velveeta and allow to melt.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Pour macaroni into a 13x9 oblong baking dish.
Pour sauce over macaroni.
Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, then put extra slices of cheese on top.
Bake for another 5 minutes until cheese melts.
Allow to cool for a few minutes, then serve.

Wiener Bean Pot (3.5 Points)
20 ounces (2 16 oz cans) great northern beans rinsed and drained
1 3/4 cups (one 15 oz can) Hunts Tomato Sauce
2 tbs. Brown Sugar Twin
l tbs. prepared mustard
l tsp. dried parsley flakes
12 oz Healthy Choice 97% fat free frankfurters diced
1/2 cup chopped onion

In a slow cooker container, combine great northern beans, tomato sauce, brown sugar twin, mustard, and parsley flakes. Add frankfurters and onion. Mix well to combine. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours. Mix well before serving.

Serves 6 (1 cup) Each serving equals: 193 Calories l gm fat, 16 gm pr, 30 gm ca, 978 mg. So
70 mg Cl 7 gm Fi WW: 3.5 points


Crockpot Breakfast (6 Points)
32 oz frozen hash browns
1 lb cooked ham cubed ( lean )
1 onion diced
1 green pepper diced
1 1/2 c shredded cheese ( Regular Cheese )
12 eggs
1 c skim milk
1 t salt
1 t black pepper

Divide potatoes, ham, veggies and cheese so you can create several layers of each in the crock pot. Start with the hash browns, then ham, onions peppers and last cheese. Repeat until you have several layers. Beat eggs, milk salt & pepper pour over layers in the crockpot cover and turn on low. Cook for 10-12 hours overnight.
 
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