Foodie help needed

[djmom]

Ok, so my husband is gone all week most weeks...and I need some easy dinners. I don't grill-that is his "thing". But I want to cook a decent dinner for the girls at least two nights during the week...then we can have pizza one night and breakfast another!

We like things with fresh ingredients. I'd love to have a few more recipes I can make in a half hour or 45 minutes...we have lots of spices and stuff, so that is no problem. It is basically inspiration I am looking for and simplicity.

The other night I made "eggs in purgatory" added spinach-the girls LOVED it .

Last night I made a pasta with chicken and broccolini in a lemon-garlic-wine sauce...they liked that a lot.

Any suggestions? MUCH appreciated!

[Xislandgirl]

Here are a couple of my favorites

Taco Stuffed shells
(I used ground chicken or turkey and low fat cream cheese)
http://blogchef.net/taco-stuffed-shells-recipe/

Balsamic Chicken
Braised Balsamic Chicken
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 ½ teaspoon fresh basil (or ½ teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

Season chicken breasts with ground black pepper and salt. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet, add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes; add and brown the onion and chicken breasts.

Pour tomatoes and balsamic vinegar over chicken, and
season with basil, oregano, rosemary and thyme. Simmer until chicken is no longer pink and the juices run clear, about 15 minutes.



This is a great resource. I usually modify the heck out of the recipes but it is a great base for a week's menu
http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/din ... /main.aspx

[PA Girl]

These are two websites I really like -

Check out the pasta section. I make a lot of her dishes and then add meat and/or veggies to the dish -

http://www.italianfoodforever.com/

I make many, many of the dishes on this site -

http://simplyrecipes.com/

I subscribed to RelishRelish for about a year. It is a meal planning site that is pretty good. Most of the recipes are easy and use mostly fresh ingredients -

http://www.relishrelish.com/

[liamsaunt]

The easiest pasta dish in the world: dump a bunch of fresh tomatoes in a food proceesor along with a handful of fresh basil, a glug of olive oil, salt and pepper. Process until chunky-smooth and toss over pasta of your choice (I like bowties). Add some diced fresh mozzarella if you want. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Easy fish dish: take that same pasta sauce (minus the cheese) and put it in a skillet with a handful of roughly chopped olives and some chopped up parsley. Bring to a simmer. Add fish of your choice (I usually choose cod, but any fish will work--even shrimp). Cover the pan and cook on a low simmer until fish just flakes with a fork. While the fish is cooking, toast some crusty bread, rub with garlic and brush with olive oil. If you want to be fancy, rub a tomato over the bread too. Serve the fish in bowls with the sauce and the bread on the side.

[djmom]

Oh my gosh! All great posts! I knew I went to the right place!

THANK YOU!!!!!

[PA Girl]

Along the lines of what Liamsaunt describes, once you get a couple of pasta sauces into your box of tricks, it is so easy to add and expand on them.

Everyone in our house likes pasta and the ingredients are easy to keep in the cupboard.

Right now I am doing a lot of sauted zukes and squashes tossed with olive oil, garlic, and parm cheese. Sometimes I add a bit of cream to the dish. Sometimes I add shrimp. Other times I do a side of sausage.

Beginning last year, we started buying our meat directly from the farm and that completely changed the way I cook and meal plan.