A round up the easiest, quickest, weekday meals and menus

[Anonymous]

Have a system.

Meatless Monday (could be vegetarian chii or burgers or a soup or salad with crusty bread

Taco Tuesday (which "old have been tacos, or anything else similar)

Wednesday was usually some sort of seafood, shrimp scallopini being a kid favorite (frozen, deveined shrimp, usually on sale at Giant for $5.99), or baked salmon

Thursday, some kind of pasta dish, could be spaghetti with meat sauce, baked ziti, or any of a million other things.

Friday was always pizza (buy pre-made dough - you are just rolling it out, baking, then everyone does their own toppings).

Makes planning a tad easier....

[Anonymous]

When my kids were little I had a ‘theme’ for each weeknight, and then a few reliable meals for each theme. Mondays were fish — fish tacos, salmon with rice and a green veggie, fish sticks/frozen fish, and fish cakes. All but the last are fast and easy.
Tuesday was pasta— either spaghetti with jar sauce or linguine with shrimp, garlic, and lemon; sometimes macaroni and cheese that I’d made in advance with roasted sweet potatoes or squash.
Wednesday was chicken ii grilled chicken that I would marinate with a bottled marinade hike I prepped the grill, along with rice and a veggie; or roasted chicken breasts and legs that I would put a simple spice rub on, with baked potatoes and veggie. Those you can just throw in the oven as soon as you get home. Another chicken dish was to use a bottled Indian sauce (Wegmans makes some good ones) with onions, potatoes, red bell pepper, and diced chicken breast. Also I made a Thai red curry that took very little time.
Thursday was breakfast for dinner: eggs and bacon with toast one week, pancakes or waffles with lots of fruit one week, omelets and home fries one week. Friday was always pizza, either takeout or homemade.

https://www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/thai-red-curry-chicken.html
https://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/sweet-spicy-glazed-salmon
https://www.marthastewart.com/318770/dry-spice-rub

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all. I really struggle with vegetables. Like, do you cook vegetables every night? Frozen peas? What do you serve beyond frozen green beans and roasted broccoli?

I have an air fryer that I use to roast frozen veggies. Pre heat air fryer to 360- 375degrees. Dump frozen veg (usually cauliflower, broccoli, or green beans) into large bowl. Add olive oil and seasoning to veg (S&P, herb blend, curry powder, etc). Quick stir to coat veg. Add to air fryer for 10- 12 minutes, keep an eye out for charring (esp. broc). Easy peasy, make extra for lunch leftovers for next day.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all. I really struggle with vegetables. Like, do you cook vegetables every night? Frozen peas? What do you serve beyond frozen green beans and roasted broccoli?

I cook a lot of things with vegetables in, but always add a vegetable and a fruit on the side.

I did a lot of raw veggies when my kids were little. So, cut up cucumbers or peppers, or just wash baby tomatoes or put out baby carrots (steam them for the littlest one, since they're a choking hazard). Slice an avocado.

Raw fruit, or apple sauce, or canned fruit in juice, or frozen fruit.

Other things:

Frozen peas

Frozen corn

Bagged salad

Roasted veggies with olive oil and salt (brussels, broccoli, cauliflower)

Bake a sweet potato in the microwave

I didn't insist my kids eat it. It was more important to me that they saw me eating veggies, and that they came to assume that all meals have veggies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all. I really struggle with vegetables. Like, do you cook vegetables every night? Frozen peas? What do you serve beyond frozen green beans and roasted broccoli?

Lol, yes. That’s like asking if I brush my teeth every day! We roast vegetables a lot. Roasted carrot sticks taste like sweet potato fries. Grilled zucchini the other night. Sometimes we eat our vegetables raw - just cut up carrots, red peppers, cauliflower, string beans, etc. Sometimes we stir fry them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all. I really struggle with vegetables. Like, do you cook vegetables every night? Frozen peas? What do you serve beyond frozen green beans and roasted broccoli?

I always have a bag of shredded carrots and a bag of shredded cabbage in my fridge. You can add it to salads, stir fry, soup etc and it adds color, texture and flavor. And it’s cheap and lasts a long time in the fridge. Same with broccoli. I buy the big bag from wegmans and I just cook what I need and it doesn’t go bad. It saves so much time because it’s already cut and clean.

There was a recipe on TikTok for roasted green beans that is so easy and really good and cheap since you use frozen green beans. You can also prepare frozen cauliflower the same way and it’s really good.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTRDWS9RJ/?k=1

[Anonymous]

Yes to the weekly system. I always did meatless Monday, then chicken dish Tuesday, then pasta Wednesday, then pork or beef on Thursday, and then fish on Friday. Saturday was going out or take out, and Sunday we invariably had leftovers or ate at my parents' house.

Often there was enough food left from one meal to be the beginnings of the next night's meal (and I raised 4 kids). For instance, I might make a rice & beans sort of meatless dish on Monday, and then that could stretch into a side for Tuesday, and so on.

[Anonymous]

Veggie fried rice is a good way to incorporate veggies. I add carrots, red pepper, broccoli, peas and whatever else is in the fridge. Mushrooms and bamboo shoots go well in it too.

[Anonymous]

Veggies: roasted asparagus, steamed or roasted broccoli, steamed carrots, corn on the cob, corn from a bag, sautéed Brussels sprouts, roasted sweet potatoes and winter squash.
And frozen edamame. That was my veggie menu. Depended on the season, of course.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some of the fastest meals in my rotation:

Baked salmon filets (just EVOO and S&P), with rice, steamed veg and a dijon-sour cream sauce.

I make a vat of spaghetti sauce every now and then and freeze it in quart ziplocs. Melt/heat the frozen sauce while the pasta water boils. Add garlic bread and salad.

Frozen crispy butterfly shrimp with rice, chile sauce and veg.

Fish cakes (make a bunch and freeze in single-meal ziplocs) plus starch and veg

Steak, steak fries and glazed carrots

Chicken thighs roasted in EVOO, throw in some garlic, olives and grape tomatoes 10 minutes before they're done, serve with mashed potatoes and veg

Shrimp in a burst grape tomato sauce over pasta (orzo) with salad

Quesadillas with leftover chicken or beef

Stir fry with teriyaki sauce (equal parts soy sauce and brown sugar plus garlic, ginger and sriracha to taste), beef strips and whatever vegetables are in the house over rice.

Can you give a recipe for the Dijon sour cream sauce?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some of the fastest meals in my rotation:

Baked salmon filets (just EVOO and S&P), with rice, steamed veg and a dijon-sour cream sauce.

I make a vat of spaghetti sauce every now and then and freeze it in quart ziplocs. Melt/heat the frozen sauce while the pasta water boils. Add garlic bread and salad.

Frozen crispy butterfly shrimp with rice, chile sauce and veg.

Fish cakes (make a bunch and freeze in single-meal ziplocs) plus starch and veg

Steak, steak fries and glazed carrots

Chicken thighs roasted in EVOO, throw in some garlic, olives and grape tomatoes 10 minutes before they're done, serve with mashed potatoes and veg

Shrimp in a burst grape tomato sauce over pasta (orzo) with salad

Quesadillas with leftover chicken or beef

Stir fry with teriyaki sauce (equal parts soy sauce and brown sugar plus garlic, ginger and sriracha to taste), beef strips and whatever vegetables are in the house over rice.

Can you give a recipe for the Dijon sour cream sauce?

Mix dijon into sour cream to taste.

Sometimes I add taragon or dill. When I'm feeling fancy.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Thanks all. I really struggle with vegetables. Like, do you cook vegetables every night? Frozen peas? What do you serve beyond frozen green beans and roasted broccoli?

I try to include at least one veggie with dinner each night - even though I’m not much of a fan. There are certain frozen vegetables that IMHO taste as good as fresh - peas, spinach, corn, lima beans, French cut green beans. Put in a bowl, add some water, and cook in the microwave. Others are simple to cut up and put in a steamer basket on the stove - broccoli, cauliflower, yellow/green squash, regular green beans, asparagus. Carrots I almost always make on the stove using a simple Vichy recipe (carrots, water, butter, sugar, salt). Brussel sprouts were a revelation - always hated them until I made them roasted; they taste totally different and infinitely better. A lot of veggies can be roasted, but you might find steaming easier starting out. And most veggies can be enhanced with supplemental ingredients like garlic, shallots, spices, lemon, etc. Sautéed mushrooms can be added to most chicken, pork chop and other meals. Salads are your friend, especially since there are an infinite variety of ways to prepare them. If I’m really tired, sometimes I’ll just slice up some Campari tomatoes with red onion and serve plain or with a basic vinaigrette. Chopped coleslaw mix from the grocery can be combined with a simple homemade dressing - delicious. Lots of options; start out easy and go from there once you feel comfortable with the basics.

[Anonymous]

I’m a PP, but on the veggie question.
We usually have a bowl of salad every night. I resisted bagged salads for a while but have crossed over - they make life so much easier. One DC won’t eat them and gets a bowl of carrots, sugar snaps, and cucumbers instead.

We often do another veggie too. Blanched green beans (bought preprepoed). Roasted brocolli or cauliflower (our fav). Roasted or grilled asparagus. Quick sautéed of zucchini. Sautéed spinach, mushrooms and onions (my kids won’t eat this though). If we’re grilling, sliced summer squash, or eggplant, or beets with a little oil and S&P. Sweet potato fries - either frozen. Or homemade. Homemade kale chips.

Or we just do the salad and a veg-heavy entree - frittatas, ramen bowls, burgers (or Falafel of other pita/San which entree) with chopped lettuce and cherry tomatoes and cucumbers and avocado as toppings. Fish tacos are a hit around here too.

[Anonymous]

I’m not the OP but for those of you doing sheet pan dinners, how long do you bake in the oven? I know this will vary, but for veggies, what veggies and how long?

[Anonymous]

Why can’t your husband be in charge of dinner, at least 2-3 nights a week? Why does the parent who WOH also have responsibility for dinner, while the parent with no commute gets to skate by, or is only expected to heat something already prepped?