What's for dinner... sigh

[Anonymous]

This is more a vent than anything...

My son is a vegetarian, I'm gluten intolerant, and my husband hates tofu and beans and leftovers and soup. We eat a lot of stir fry, pasta with what my husband calls "veggie glop", Indian, and mac and cheese. I am so tired of making three different variations of dinner each night I can't stand it! I work FT and am trying to figure out freezer meals. Hah! A lot of good ideas on here, but the search for non meat, non bean, non soup, non gluten meals that will freeze well is exhausting.

Thanks for giving me a place to vent .

[Anonymous]

Tell your husband to eat what you serve or make his own food. Tell your son to pick out the meat. Problems solved.

[Anonymous]

Cooking chicken that can be added to dishes is an easy way to feed your DH meat and keep the rest vegetarian. Does your son eat eggs?

[Anonymous]

Tell your husband to get over it.

Have you looked at Gluten Free Goddess? She does a lot of vegetarian stuff. I think she's also dairy-free.

[Anonymous]

Why are you cooking for your husband if you work full time?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Cooking chicken that can be added to dishes is an easy way to feed your DH meat and keep the rest vegetarian. Does your son eat eggs?

This sounds like an easy way to add chicken to one of your meals. You can marinate a chicken breast overnight (or one hour) in a ziplock with the salad dressing of your choice. Then put in a broiler-safe pan lined with foil (for easy cleaning) and cook about 8 minutes on one side, flip, and cook about 7 minutes on the other side.

[Anonymous]

You sound like us! Vegetarian, gluten free DD, celiac DH who eats a lot of meat, two picky little ones, and I eat just about everything. We like to have tacos or enchiladas with a choice of beans, cheese or meat (chicken or beef usually). I also buy pre-made pizza crusts, both gluten and non gluten. We do a homemade version of the "burrito bowl" at Chipotle with rice, beans, cheese, lettuce, guacamole, and meat for the carnivores. Sometimes I roast a chicken and my Veggie DD just eats the mashed or roasted potatoes and vegetables. I make chili with gluten free cornbread. First I make a chili base with beans and then I take some out for DD and add meat for everyone else. We have turkey burgers or hamburgers on the grill with sunshine burgers for DD. Just a few easy ideas...

[Anonymous]

Arroz a la cubana---white or brown rice topped with fried eggs (best if done in olive oil so they are a little crispy on the edge and over medium) and goya spanish style tomato sauce straight out of the can. You can serve sausage or hot dogs (or veggie equivalent) or sliced tomato on the side. Very simple and so delicious. Typical weeknight meal in Spain.

[Anonymous]

quinoa salad w/ cucumber, peppers, and tomato.

cheese grits with mushroom ragout or black eyed peas (for the veggie), piece of chicken or fish (frozen salmon filet, pan-fried) on side for DH

[Anonymous]

The woman who writes A Year of Slow Cooking has at least one family member who eats gluten-free. Here's a listing of her vegetarian recipes:

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2005/12/vegetarian.html

And tell your darling husband that the next time he complains, he gets to plan, shop and cook for the next month.

I'm curious as to how old your vegetarian son is. If he's old enough to be the only vegetarian in the house (i.e., it is his choice, not a family thing) isn't he old enough to cook his own dinner? Maybe make a pot of a vegetarian protein on the weekend that can be served along with the other dishes during the week?

I think I'd also be tempted to make lunch the bigger meal and make dinner a lighter meal. A salad base with different toppings for different people (beans or animal protein).

Not sure if it is gluten free, but the Morningstar Farms veggie crumble (fake ground beef) is pretty good in stroganoff, chili, sloppy joes, etc. That might make everyone happy. I imagine it would also be good in a lasagna or baked ziti made with GF noodles.

Have you tried making frittatas? Or crust-free quiche?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Arroz a la cubana---white or brown rice topped with fried eggs (best if done in olive oil so they are a little crispy on the edge and over medium) and goya spanish style tomato sauce straight out of the can. You can serve sausage or hot dogs (or veggie equivalent) or sliced tomato on the side. Very simple and so delicious. Typical weeknight meal in Spain.

Mmm. I'm the PP who asked if her son ate eggs. I made a variation of this with leftover rice and leftover spaghetti sauce mixed together and heated, then added scrambled eggs and some shredded cheese. I thought it would work well with pieces of chicken or sausage added after the fact, which is why I was going to suggest it to the OP.

[Anonymous]

salads! all the toppings ca be added separately.

chef-eggs, bacon, cheese, tomatoes, avacado
taco-chicken/beef, cheese, sour cream, salsa, beans, tomatoes, cheese, tortilla chips

etc...

[Anonymous]

im the pp...didn't realize you were only interested in freezable ideas. clearly salads aren't a great option.

[Anonymous]

OP Here - Wow! What an amazing set of responses! I was just venting after an exhausting week and a great group of moms helped me out. Thanks so much for the ideas! I feel refreshed and inspired! Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Arroz a la cubana---white or brown rice topped with fried eggs (best if done in olive oil so they are a little crispy on the edge and over medium) and goya spanish style tomato sauce straight out of the can. You can serve sausage or hot dogs (or veggie equivalent) or sliced tomato on the side. Very simple and so delicious. Typical weeknight meal in Spain.

Oh my gosh, I LOVED this meal when I was studying abroad. My madre would also serve this with fried plantains mixed in. It was so so good for something that doesn't sound that good. Thank you for the tip about the goya spanish style tomato sauce. I've had a hard time finding a sweet tomato sauce to complete this dish.