What's for dinner?

[ResiduumRevertetur]

I'm in a cooking rut too, but it's not my fault    It's everyone else's fault.  Every dinner has to follow a million rules:

No dairy
No eggs
No nuts
No pasta
No tomato sauce


I've been getting way too much take out because I just can't handle this anymore.  All I want is a nice plate of lasagna.  Sigh.

That's part of my problem, too. My 9 yo daughter has just decided that all she really wants IS lasagna (or any other cheese, pasta, sauce combo).

I really like the idea of vegetarian (ovo-lacto, sorry, not ready to go vegan). I could be perfectly happy to serve green salad and fruit for dinner, with a side of good, dark bread and butter, but then I might have a mutiny on my hands.

edited to add: yes, I've explained to family that I'm not a short-order cook and they eat what I serve. I do try to involve the family, though, but with 7 of us, it's getting tricky.

[WhollyRoaminCatholic]

My 9 yo daughter has just decided that all she really wants IS lasagna

Is your daughter secretly Garfield?

[libby]

Making a weekly menu plan helps all of this stuff.  I promise.  We do it every week. 

I'm a bachelor for a few days while the lovely Mrs. WRC visits some friends out of town.  So last night, I had 3 hot dogs and 2 pints of beer, some leftover cole slaw and 4 powdered sugar donettes.    

If my children would have read the above, their only comment would be "Lucky."

[libby]

ResRev -

Easiest thing in the world:

Chicken with Lime in it's Butt

(really, it goes in the other side, but I didn't name this dish)

Get a chicken.

get a lime.

get 2 beef bullion cubes.

Rinse off a whole chicken, unwrap the beef bullion cubes, wash off the whole, uncut, unpeeled lime.

put the cubes and the whole lime inside the chicken.

 Cover.

Bake.

Three minutes of prep, cheap, and it's really, really good.

Serve with rice or mashed potatoes and a salad.

[HolySoulsinPurgatory]

How about grilling a pair of steaks?  Or some pork medallions?  Make a steamed vegetable and some white rice, and it's a meal ... and your husband will probably want to do the grilling anyway, so it divides up the work.

Marinate the steaks or pork in a mixture of balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, chopped or ground garlic, and a little olive oil.  Leave the pork in for most of the day; the beef you can leave for an hour before cooking.

Get the grill really hot, and slap the meat on it.  The heat will sear the surface, sealing in the juices.  Once each side has been seared, move the meat to a cooler part of the grill, and cover it.  Let it stand until it reaches your preferred level of doneness.  The pork should be fully cooked.


Or you could make a stir-fry with a side of rice.

Or you could make grilled sandwiches, like panini.  Slice some leftover meat or use lunch meat, cheese, and maybe sliced mushrooms or bell peppers to stuff the sandwiches.  Press them by putting a foil-wrapped brick or a heavy pot on top of them as you cook them on a skillet.  For a side dish, fries (you can buy them frozen) or pasta salad, or veg salad.

[WhollyRoaminCatholic]

and your husband will probably want to do the grilling anyway, so it divides up the work.

 

Doing all the prep work, making all the side dishes, setting the table, etc on one side of the equation.
Setting meat on a grill while drinking beer in the yard on the other side of the equation.

Hahahahaha.

Division of labor!

Hahahahahaha.

[Texican]

 

Doing all the prep work, making all the side dishes, setting the table, etc on one side of the equation.
Setting meat on a grill while drinking beer in the yard on the other side of the equation.

Hahahahaha.

Division of labor!

Hahahahahaha.

didn't say it was divided equally...  a fish point for that one!

[Texican]

Making a weekly menu plan helps all of this stuff.  I promise.  We do it every week. 

I'm a bachelor for a few days while the lovely Mrs. WRC visits some friends out of town.  So last night, I had 3 hot dogs and 2 pints of beer, some leftover cole slaw and 4 powdered sugar donettes.   

If my children would have read the above, their only comment would be "Lucky."

Corn chips and spinach-artichoke dip count as vegetables, right? 

For the past 14 months- 3 weeks, and 1 day (not that I'm counting, or anything...), I have  been on the road, usually eating at some kind of restaurant.  Most of my meals at home, when I am home, involve the grill, although every once in a while, I do use my stove (or oven).

I'd kill for a home-cooked meal, that i didn't have to cook, nor clean up, afterward. 

Oh well... off to the snack machines- lunch is running a bit late today.

[libby]

aw, Roy.....

 

[Texican]

aw, Roy.....

 

Thanks, libby...  I'm patient, though.  I know that in two weeks, I should be back home.  At least that's what I'm told.

I just don't know which two weeks they're talking about, 'cause I've been hearing this for a while...for like the past 8 months, or so.


 

[WhollyRoaminCatholic]

My plans changed when I got home.  I found two hamburger buns that are about to spoil, so I used one for dinner tonight.  I took that tilapia filet and breaded it with my usual combination of bread crumbs/wheat germ/spanish paprika/ground mustard/garlic salt, then fried it in 1/4" of canola.  One slice of cheese, a quick mix of tartar sauce, a slice of fading lettuce.  It was my own little WaFish sandwich (like a McFish, but homemade.  Chicken WaNuggets are much the same concept).  Same leftover cole slaw and same 2 pints of beer.  I'm saving the powdered donuts for tomorrow.

[Texican]

More corn chips and spinach dip, along with some double bock to wash it down.

For dessert, some fudge grahams, with another double bock, just for good measure.

[Paloma]

I sliced polenta semi-thin, fried the slices in clarified butter, covered them with powdered sugar and syrup and told my kids they were "corn pancakes."

They liked it but I get a FAIL.

I'm not in the mood to cook (or go to the grocery store) lately.  Le sigh.

My plans changed when I got home.  I found two hamburger buns that are about to spoil, so I used one for dinner tonight.  I took that tilapia filet and breaded it with my usual combination of bread crumbs/wheat germ/spanish paprika/ground mustard/garlic salt, then fried it in 1/4" of canola.  One slice of cheese, a quick mix of tartar sauce, a slice of fading lettuce.  It was my own little WaFish sandwich (like a McFish, but homemade.  Chicken WaNuggets are much the same concept).  Same leftover cole slaw and same 2 pints of beer.  I'm saving the powdered donuts for tomorrow.

WaNuggets.  Walberg, you slay me.

[Texican]

WaNuggets.  Walberg, you slay me.

He is quite comical...

I'm still wondering how you can tell that bread is about to spoil.  Is the mold not quite hairy? 

[WhollyRoaminCatholic]

WaNuggets.  Walberg, you slay me.

 

I'm still wondering how you can tell that bread is about to spoil.  Is the mold not quite hairy? 

Haha.  I should have said "going stale".