Ideas for meatless dinners?

[Anonymous]

OP, based on what you're trying to do, I'd just go with recipes that require less meat, not no meat altogether.
Soups are an easy one. Even chicken noodle soup can be done with just a couple breasts sliced up small. So are pasta dishes where there's a bit of meat but mostly veggies and pasta. One of the easiest things is pasta w/ garlic oil and a bunch of random veggies (spinach, arugula, zucchini, whatever you want) and small slices of ham.

Otherwise, bean dishes and egg dishes are good. Curried chickpeas, for example, or curried cauliflower... Chilis, quesadillas/burritos, frittatas, Spanish omelettes, etc.

Hearty veggies like eggplants and portobellos do well when they're the star of the show.

Or you can also do a huge batch of cheap meat, like pork shoulder - pull it, and then use it for multiple meals, like pulled pork on buns one day & pork carnitas tacos another day...

Cabbage is also super cheap & filling if you like slaw.

[Anonymous]

Vegan here, vegweb.com has thousands of great recipes (complete with pictures). Yes there are people "concerned" with soy protein (but that's soy protein isolate), and in moderation (ie once a week), you're more than fine. IMO it's far healthier than animal proteins.

Indian food is great (cook up some brown rice, there's a bunch of prepackaged main courses that you can heat up, and grab some fresh naan bread from your grocery store), Veggie pizza (whole wheat dough, sauce of your choice, veggies of your choice - artichokes tend to mimic the "cheese" look) and we eat a lot of soup, although now that we're getting into summer they're probably not the best option

[Anonymous]

I do a lot of frittatas- cook up whatever vegetables you have (ex. Onions, mushrooms, peppers, chard), add a chopped piece of bacon if you don't mind the meat, add a bit of cheese and pour 6 beaten eggs on top, broil until done.

[Anonymous]

Second the frittatas, or just scrambled eggs for even less work - very adaptable. Cheese for protein if needed (though if you're eating meat at lunch or breakfast you don't really need tons of protein later in the day). Maybe some sun-dried tomatoes, herbs, other vegetables - DH does a mean super-veggie scramble.

Sweet potatoes, winter squash, and baked potatoes are all very filling. I like to slice and roast them with fennel (tossing first with olive oil, salt, and five spice powder or a dried herb mix). I often eat this with salad or a bowl of yogurt on the side (protein!). Of course, with the amount of salad we go through in this house, I don't think we're saving any money. Cooked greens like kale, spinach, swiss chard work well too.

Sounds strange but I really like Irish style oatmeal for dinner, the really thick kind, with just a pinch of salt -- no sweetener.

Fish wouldn't save you any money but would be tasty and healthy.

Beans, beans, beans - I make them with rice or sometimes bulgur or wheatberries if I am sick of rice. Chickpeas and lentils are awesome and can be made into patties/burgers.

And cold soups are great in the summer. My favorite is cold zucchini soup - saute an onion, 5 zucchini, and 1 yellow summer squash in butter for five mins, then add chicken broth or water to cover and simmer until tender. Puree and let cool to room temp. Then stir in 1-2 cups of plain, unsweetened, full fat yogurt, and some dill, and chill overnight in fridge. Very refreshing and extremely filling due to the yogurt. A bowl of this, with some bread if you're so inclined, will fill you up for hours. These proportions make about six meal-sized servings and it keeps for a week in the fridge.

[Anonymous]

i love grain and veggie salads in the warm months. just made orzo with zucchini, mint, lemon and feta this week. ate it with a big salad, and it was a great dinner. also makes a fantastic cold leftover lunch.

http://www.chinesegrandma.com/2011/05/orzo-zucchini-lemon-mint-feta/