Group Discussions

What's for dinner Mom?

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  Tell us what you are having for dinner tonight.
  
  Last night we were bad. We had pineapple pizza and breadsticks from the hut. Tonight we WILL do better....I just don't know what to have yet.

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by mamajama on 11th September 2007
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  I am so happy you started this group! I am always searching for new quick dinner ideas
  
  Last night was my cooking night. On Monday nights I cook for a few days, then again on thursday. Last night I made tuna pasta baked dish thingy (no idea how else to describe it), veggie soup with rice, stir-fried tofu with teriyaki sauce, and some Russian style turkey burgers (they are called kotleta, just burgers but we add mayo and some flour and spices). We'll have a combo of this for a few days in different variations, and then on Thursday I am going to make some burritos.
  
  Weekends we have big breakfasts as a family and go out for pizza or something else for dinner. Oh, and what would we do without Trader Joes!

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by Nataly on 11th September 2007
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  Tonight is pizza here, too, but it's because we're having a dinner playdate. We moms will attempt to eat salad as well. But tomorrow night is chili all the way. I take out the crock pot in the morning, dump in four or five cans of various beans (red, black, white) one chopped red onion and one or two or twelve chopped cloves of garlic, a few handfuls of frozen corn, a can of diced green chilis and a can of toms. These are all cans I keep onhand in the pantry all of the time. For spices I use cumin and chili powder. I put the crockpot on low for the day and then I can't keep the kids or my husband from eating the entire thing. If I feel up to it then I make cornbread but that takes too long!

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by Mandy Nelson - Dandysound on 11th September 2007
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  Aaaaaahhh... I didn't see this group when I logged on! I just posted three recipes over in the Simple Recipes forum on the boards: http://www.workitmom.com/18_1344_0.html
  
  One's for Red Beans and Rice, one's for a use-up-anything Pad Thai, and one's for an Indian peas-and-farmer's cheese curry called Muttar Paneer.
  
  Two of my kids have food sensitivities (one gets hives from wheat, the other is reative to all gluten and all dairy) so we make a lot of gluten-free, casein-free stuff. Most take-out or fast food has wheat or dairy in it, so we can't do that too often (I do keep a stash of GFCF pizza crusts in the freezer, so we can still do pizza every once in a while).
  
  Last night was leftovers -- I grilled up a big lot of steak tips on Saturday, so we finished those up, along with left over herb-roasted potatoes, and tomatoes and cucumbers from our garden.
  
  For tonight, I have some chicken breasts thawing in the fridge, so when I get home I'll smack them with a mallet to make them nice and thin (they get very tender and cook very quickly that way), salt and pepper them, dredge them in flour, and pan-fry them in olive oil with some onion, some white wine, a squeeze of lemon juice, and some garlic. Serve over white rice or pasta. I'll saute some zuchinni, drizzle it with Italian dressing, and that's dinner.
  
  Thank God my kids aren't picky eaters... I don't know what I'd do if they were picky.

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by Lylah M. Alphonse on 11th September 2007
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  Damn, you are lucky - my daughter is a picky on! But I like your chicken idea - do you stir fry the onion first?

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by Nataly on 11th September 2007
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  Yes... it makes it taste a little sweet. I tweaked a recipe for Chicken Piccata to make it faster and easier (and I didn't have any capers... but I like it better without them!)
  
  Chop a medium onion into small dice. Smash two or three cloves of fresh garlic.
  
  Take 4 chicken breasts, lay them in the center of a long piece of plastic wrap, fold one end the plastic wrap over them, and pound them with a mallet or the bottom of a heavy jar until they're about 1/4-inch thick.
  
  Sprinkle them with salt and pepper, then dredge them in all-purpose flour. Set aside, and save the extra flour.
  
  In a large, non-stick pan, heat about 2 tablespoons of olive oil with 2 tablespoons of butter (unless there's a dairy allergy in the house, in which case use all olive oil) until the oil starts to shimmer. Then add the chicken and cook until it's golden on both sides (about 3 minutes per side).
  
  Remove the chicken from the pan, add another tablespoon of olive oil and the chopped onion and garlic. Sautee until the onion starts to get golden, about 5 or 6 minutes.
  
  Sprinkle the cooking onion and garlic with about a tablespoon of the leftover flour, stir to coat, then add 3/4 cup of dry white wine and the juice of one fresh lemon (about 4 Tablespoons lemon juice). Stir, allow the sauce to start bubbling, then put the chicken back in. Cover and simmer for about 5 to 7 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through.
  
  That's it! If you don't have dry white wine, you can use a dry sherry (like an Amontillado) or sweet (red) vermouth or even low-salt chicken broth...

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by Lylah M. Alphonse on 11th September 2007
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  Thank you!!! Going to make this weekend - we have friends coming over and I love meals I can make quickly!

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by Nataly on 11th September 2007
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  Great! I hope you like it (and have fun!)

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by Lylah M. Alphonse on 11th September 2007
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  Last night was a Pizza Night, although I did cook, things came up.
  
  Tonight is probably a MacNCheese night for the kids. I am going to my Supper Club and my husband is on his own.
  
  This is one of those weeks. My husband is going out of town tomorrow, and will be gone for the remainder of this week. So I won't be cooking much!

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by amanda on 11th September 2007
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  Nataly, Mandy, and Lylah,
  
  Wowza!! sounds like you guys really know how to make dinner rock. Tonight we're having spaghetti and steamed asparagus. My dad cans his own tomato sauce, so I get to sponge the benefits of that.
  
  Amanda I hear ya on not having time or energy to cook...I have to admit that the toughest part is deciding what to have...and that responsibility is usually all mine.

  Flag as inappropriate Posted by mamajama on 11th September 2007