Looking for quick, cheap dinner ideas/recipes...

Chicken breast.. pound thin
dip in egg
dredge in seasoned flour.
saute.


chicken (what ever parts you like) put in roasting pan with some small potatoes. Toss with olive oil and seasonings (can change seasonings to suit mood) Push it all out into a single layer and bake.


Ya need to get some fish in there.....

fish
oil
salt and pepper
bake


tuna noodle

 
I'm not a fan of tuna casserole...I do have fish on my menu, and I look for it on sale. Last week, I got rockfish 50 percent off...I think I paid about $3 for a pound, and a pound was more than enough for us, we had leftovers (and I made fish sandwiches out of them).

but you're right, I do need more fish on the menu, I have it on week 4 I think, fish *nuggets* which is just fried fish, with cucumber salad...cukes, mayo, a little vinegar, dill, I don't remember what else...
 
Ack, I forgot the sour cream for the meatballs! Oh well, I'll use it on the reheat....
 
I'm not a fan of tuna casserole...I do have fish on my menu, and I look for it on sale. Last week, I got rockfish 50 percent off...I think I paid about $3 for a pound, and a pound was more than enough for us, we had leftovers (and I made fish sandwiches out of them).

but you're right, I do need more fish on the menu, I have it on week 4 I think, fish *nuggets* which is just fried fish, with cucumber salad...cukes, mayo, a little vinegar, dill, I don't remember what else...

$3/lb is a steal for fish...I almost suspect it,

Tuna Casserole needs dressing up, but it can be OK. Frankly I think having it more than once every month is its biggest problem, i.e once a week is too much damn Tuna Casserole.

Also, it needs SOMETHING CRUNCHY in it. The Girl has advised carrots be added
 
For desert we get the biscuits in a can (4 pack for $2.50) 4 cans of apples ($0.80) Throw the fruit in a skillet with cinnamon and sugar and cook it until you have goo with fruit chunks in it. Take your biscuits and fold them around your fruit and either deep fry or bake them. The kiddies always like them. In my opinion they are better baked with butter brushed on to get them nice and brown. Just dont knead the dough to much or it wont puff up. You can use the biscuits with blue berries in them, but that will bump the cost by about $3.00.
 
For desert we get the biscuits in a can (4 pack for $2.50) 4 cans of apples ($0.80) Throw the fruit in a skillet with cinnamon and sugar and cook it until you have goo with fruit chunks in it. Take your biscuits and fold them around your fruit and either deep fry or bake them. The kiddies always like them. In my opinion they are better baked with butter brushed on to get them nice and brown. Just dont knead the dough to much or it wont puff up. You can use the biscuits with blue berries in them, but that will bump the cost by about $3.00.

Yeah!

This is a great idea, especially when you buy more apples than you can eat raw.

I do about the same thing:

Take 6 apples, core and cut into bite sized pieces (I keep the skin on for the "healthy facade")

Put the apples in a 9"X9" casserole sprayed with oil.

Mix together :1 Tbls Cinnamin 1 cup flour, 2 cup sugar, and 1 cup Crisco, or Margarine, or Butter. Use your hand.

Pour the Mixture over the apples and bake on 400F for 45 minutes.
 
For desert we get the biscuits in a can (4 pack for $2.50) 4 cans of apples ($0.80) Throw the fruit in a skillet with cinnamon and sugar and cook it until you have goo with fruit chunks in it. Take your biscuits and fold them around your fruit and either deep fry or bake them. The kiddies always like them. In my opinion they are better baked with butter brushed on to get them nice and brown. Just dont knead the dough to much or it wont puff up. You can use the biscuits with blue berries in them, but that will bump the cost by about $3.00.

Yeah!

This is a great idea, especially when you buy more apples than you can eat raw.

I do about the same thing:

Take 6 apples, core and cut into bite sized pieces (I keep the skin on for the "healthy facade")

Put the apples in a 9"X9" casserole sprayed with oil.

Mix together :1 Tbls Cinnamin 1 cup flour, 2 cup sugar, and 1 cup Crisco, or Margarine, or Butter. Use your hand.

Pour the Mixture over the apples and bake on 400F for 45 minutes.

Yup. Its a good way to satisfy the sweet tooth, with out to many bad things . I have yet to find a kid who wont eat it.
 
For desert we get the biscuits in a can (4 pack for $2.50) 4 cans of apples ($0.80) Throw the fruit in a skillet with cinnamon and sugar and cook it until you have goo with fruit chunks in it. Take your biscuits and fold them around your fruit and either deep fry or bake them. The kiddies always like them. In my opinion they are better baked with butter brushed on to get them nice and brown. Just dont knead the dough to much or it wont puff up. You can use the biscuits with blue berries in them, but that will bump the cost by about $3.00.

Yeah!

This is a great idea, especially when you buy more apples than you can eat raw.

I do about the same thing:

Take 6 apples, core and cut into bite sized pieces (I keep the skin on for the "healthy facade")

Put the apples in a 9"X9" casserole sprayed with oil.

Mix together :1 Tbls Cinnamin 1 cup flour, 2 cup sugar, and 1 cup Crisco, or Margarine, or Butter. Use your hand.

Pour the Mixture over the apples and bake on 400F for 45 minutes.

Yup. Its a good way to satisfy the sweet tooth, with out to many bad things . I have yet to find a kid who wont eat it.

It makes the House smell good too, AND if they smell it, you'll have a better chance of them finishing off the Tuna Casserole.:razz:
 
I'm not a fan of tuna casserole...I do have fish on my menu, and I look for it on sale. Last week, I got rockfish 50 percent off...I think I paid about $3 for a pound, and a pound was more than enough for us, we had leftovers (and I made fish sandwiches out of them).

but you're right, I do need more fish on the menu, I have it on week 4 I think, fish *nuggets* which is just fried fish, with cucumber salad...cukes, mayo, a little vinegar, dill, I don't remember what else...

$3/lb is a steal for fish...I almost suspect it,

Tuna Casserole needs dressing up, but it can be OK. Frankly I think having it more than once every month is its biggest problem, i.e once a week is too much damn Tuna Casserole.

Also, it needs SOMETHING CRUNCHY in it. The Girl has advised carrots be added

The butcher made me a deal...there was a special and it had actually ended, but he went ahead and gave it to me anyway!
 
I got a great recipe from Clara (the ancient depression cook lady on youtube, she's great) for baked apples and made them and the kids LOVED them.

Wash and core apples
Fill the cavity with apple/cinnamon mix
Put a pat of butter on top

She baked them but we put them in the microwave...and they were INCREDIBLE. They were like caramel apples, we gobbled them and made more.
 
Another thing you can do is instead of spending each night cooking (even if it is a quick cooking meal), spend a Sunday afternoon cooking a few different things that can then be used throughout the week. Even if it's just roasting a couple of chickens . . one for Sunday night to serve with mashed spuds and corn and the rest to make chicken tacos, quick chicken salad, chicken over rice, etc. Same with a roast (beef or pork).

This is something you can make on a weekend afternoon and have during the week. I saw this recipe somewhere this week and just made it this morning . . . it's really, really good and quite easy.


Black Bean and Pumpkin Soup

3 cans (43.5 oz each) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can (14.5 oz) diced tomatoes
1 can (16 oz) pumpkin puree
1/2 cup chopped red onion or shallot
2 garlic cloves, minced
4 tblspns. olive or canola oil
4 cups vegetable broth (*my note: I couldn't find this so I used store bought chicken stock; next time I make this soup I'm using homemade chicken stock)
1 tspn. kosher salt
1/2 tspn. ground pepper
3 tblspns. ground cumin
1 tspn. cinnamon
1 tspn. allspice
3 tblspns. balsamic vinegar (I didn't add this cause I don't like it much)

Place oil, shallot (or onion), garlic, cumin, salt, pepper, cinnamon and allspice into a large pot and cook on low-med heat until the shallot (or onion) and garlic begin to brown. Using a food processor puree the beans and tomatoes with half of the vegetable broth. Add the pureed beans, tomatoes, pumpkin and the rest of the broth to the pot. Simmer the mixture uncovered until thick, about 40-45 minutes. Before serving stir in the balsamic vinegar.

*I don't have food processor so I pureed the beans and tomatoes in batches in the blender.
 
how old is your daughter?

and some oatmeal on that breakfast menu would be a good addition tool. Not the instant single serve package stuff either.....
 
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I cook either oatmeal or cream of wheat several times a week. I usually do feed them breakfast in the morning, though I don't have it on the menu. I don't have it on the menu because it's always very simple, and one of just a few things (at least during the week). Eggs, oatmeal, cream of wheat. This morning I did make French toast, and sometimes I'll give the boy toast or bread and peanut butter. My girl usually eats eggs, the boy usually has whatever else is available. Tomorrow we're having sausage patties and eggs...they loved the spaghetti tonight, could've knocked me over with a feather! I used a whole jar of really cheap, on sale, "vodka" spaghetti sauce...and I added about a cup of leftover tomato w/basil soup from the other day, and a tiny bit of ground turkey, Italian seasoning, garlic, and a crapload of parmesan cheese. They ate all but about a cup and a half of it, and that's what we're having for lunch tomorrow. I made them eat at the table, they didn't want to, and I had to fight with my boy, who wanted a pb & j sandwich about 20 minutes before dinner. He ate all his salad, all his spaghetti, and went back again adn again and again for more spaghetti. So did my daughter. And they seem to be stoked about beans for dinner tomorrow (they're odd children, what can I say). We all made sugar cookies tonight, I didn't use a recipe and they turned out kinda funky, but they ate multiples of them.
 
Yum sunshine. I make a swiss steak very much like that, only with canned tomatoes and onions instead of the gravy mix and soup....

I've made it with meat that I dredge in flour and fry and then put in a pan with the other ingredients and the cook, and without. It's yummy either way.

And eggplant parmesan...fry egg plant, layer with marinara and cheese...bake...yummy.

My kids always like swiss steak. I just used round steak, pounded in black pepper and flour. Browned it. Poured tomato sauce over and perched wedges of onions on top. Let cook about 30 minutes. I always salt beef after it cooks. My father taught me that to salt beef before cooking it makes it tough.

If you want "pretty" swiss steak... I brown the tenderized meat and lay it in a casserole pan. I layer onions, carrots (julianed or shredded), sweet peppers and cover with tomato sauce. Serve over mashed potatoes.

If you want picky children to eat it, take the veggies and put in food processor until pureed. Pour over meat and cook well (this method actually makes gravy/sauce look brown).
 
If you watch the sales, get London Broil and Turkey breast on sale.
London Broil (also cook backstraps this way using less time on grill) is an absolute favorite: marinate, scored meat up to three days in 1 Tblspn garlic (can use powder or salt if needed), 1/4 cup vinegar, 1Tblspn olive oil, and pepper, then add water until covered. Fire up the grill to HOT.
Cook for six minutes on each side, repeat (for medium well), adjust second cooking time for "doneness". Serve with Au Jus sauce.
Slice meat thin (we use electric knife).
We like garlic bread and salad with it. The children clean this up, rarely have leftovers. If you want more hearty, add baked potatoes. This is great for company, also.

Turkey breast: you can do this in a slow cooker while working or in oven on weekend. I like it because if you are expecting travelers, it does not hurt to keep it cooking until they get there.
I use a dark fruit or wine in the cavity, with about 1/2 cup of OJ and poultry seasoning. I cook it breast down timed according to directions for weight. When it is finished, I add blackberry or grape Kosher wine to drippings for great gravy. Serve with favorite sides potatoes, rice, stuffing, veggies, cranberry ...., salad. Use leftovers!
You can also make your own freezer meals with leftovers on "bulk" meals (spagetti, chili, etc), as long as you don't freeze potatoes, they turn out as good as the store bought. If you want to offer choices, have different meals frozen (I use the sandwich rubbermaid containers for nice portion size), when the freezer starts to fill.
 

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