How can I gradually add (simple) meals to our dinner rotation?

[Anonymous]

I plan the meals to be made on Sunday and then thaw and reheat as necessary

[Anonymous]

Honestly, there are some slow cooker recipes that take just a few minutes to throw together.

My 3 year old loves a salad I make with toasted nuts (either pecans or walnuts), cut up apple, and a quick dressing I make with olive oil and apple cider vinegar, honey, salt and pepper. Normally she doesn't like salad but she likes the sweet dressing and the nuts and apples.

Also things like quesadillas are great, as are beans and rice: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/black-beans-and-rice/.

I made a really simple vegetable lasagna recently - doesn't take long to put together - just cook on a weekend day or cook the night before for dinner for the next few nights. The veggie lasagna recipe was posted in this forum recently (I asked for it and got it) if you go back a page or two.

[Anonymous]

America's Test kitchen slow cooker cookbook is awesome, we use it 2-3 times a week.

http://www.amazon.com/Cooker-Revolution-Editors-Americas-Kitchen/dp/1933615699

[Anonymous]

OP - are you trying to cook for the whole family or just making kid meals? If you are trying to stretch a bit for kids meals w/o adding too much to the mix:

eggs - scrambled, hardboiled, omelettes (try mixing veggies in)

canned salmon - I mix up with a raw egg, a little mustard and minced onion (can use dehyrdrated) make patties and saute in pan - super quick (WF and Trader Joes also have salmon patties)

my kids really like tilapia with a panko crust - again dip filet in a little beaten egg, dip in panko crumbs and saute in a little olive oil

sweet potato fries or cut up baked sweet potato

I mix the tortellini with a little light alfredo sauce, cut up Canadian bacon and peas for a quick dinner

boboli pizza crusts - add sauce and shredded mozzarella and let kids add their own toppings

chicken sausages or veggie sausages

[Anonymous]

Do they eat beans? (I'm sorry if you already answered that; I didn't see it.) I try to prep and cook a pot of beans on weekends and use them in different dishes. I freeze some as well. Another weekend prep for me is to roast a big pan of vegetables and then use them in frittatas, burritos, tacos, soups, pasta, etc.

[Anonymous]

Hummus wraps: heat tortilla on pan until warm but still soft. Spread hummus and fresh spinach. Yum. You can add olives or diced tomatoes or whatever.

Tasty side or main veg dish with brown rice: black-eyed peas. Sauté some chopped onion with a bit of cumin or whatever, add canned B-EPs, spinach, a splash of broth or stock or water, black pepper, other veggies if you have some around. Heat and eat.

[Anonymous]

OP, I feel for you. I subscribe to the protein/carb/veg strategy of the earlier poster. DH generally cooks dinner because I am usually not home. Here are our "go to". Warning, some is processed.

1 - any boneless meat on the George Foreman. Used it last night, in fact. DH was going to grill outside, but threw out his back, so dinner fell to me. Barbeque sauce works wonders on any meat, and George's instruction book tells you how long to cook anything. It is remarkably quick.

2. Israeli couscous. Take 1 can chicken broth, boil it. Pour in 1 cup Israeli couscous, simmer until all water is absorbed, about 15 minutes.

3. Any barilla plus pasta. It is protein fortfied. If I am every worried 6 y.o. hasn't had enough protein, she gets barilla plus pasta for dinner.

4. Tacos with ground turkey. Don't buy the kit, just the stand up shells. They go into the oven for a few minutes. Prep time is chopping lettuce and tomatoes while the turkey cooks. Buy shredded cheese.

5. Manwich on Giant's light hamburger rolls. We use the light rolls because of the fiber content.

6. Trader Joes frozen brown rice. Three minutes in the microwave.

7. Frozen edamame in the shells in the cook in bags. We get it at Costco.

8. Frozen chicken wings at Costco. 27 minutes in the oven and they are done.

9. Smoked sausage that is precooked. Just slice it and throw it in a fry pan til browned up.

10. Sunday cooking a turkey, chicken, ham or roast. Then using the meat in various items all week. We'll chop up chicken and mix with bbq sauce for bbq sandwiches, for example.

11. In a pinch, DD gets spaghetti-os. I know she'll eat it and I forage for me and DH.

For the PP - a ham steak is just a big slice of ham so you don't have to buy the whole darn ham.

[Anonymous]

17:22 here again. Here's a link to the world's easiest broiled salmon recipe, which my family loves and devours. It's 5 minutes of prep (if that) and then cook for about 15 minutes or so while you get your vegetable together. Last night I made this with couscous, steamed broccoli and sauteed spinach.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Salmon-Glazed-with-Honey-and-Mustard-350653

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:17:22 here again. Here's a link to the world's easiest broiled salmon recipe, which my family loves and devours. It's 5 minutes of prep (if that) and then cook for about 15 minutes or so while you get your vegetable together. Last night I made this with couscous, steamed broccoli and sauteed spinach.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Salmon-Glazed-with-Honey-and-Mustard-350653

Thank you for sharing this!

[Anonymous]

OP - wow - there are a ton of ideas here. I will have to take some time and write some things down! Thanks for the suggestions. I think I will try to figure out the top things most likely to "take" with my kids and go from there.

We did introduce some chicken sausage this weekend which was a hit with my 3-year-old (SO much easier) and we spent a long time at the table with the 6-year-old trying to get her to take one bite.

Thanks again and if you have other ideas, particularly about to get the 6-year-old to try new foods, keep 'em coming!