Dinner rut

[Anonymous]

We've been going through a major dinner rut in my house and I'm in need of some suggestions, please! I'm a decent cook but a couple of factors have led to sidelining my best go-to dishes.

1. I have a new commute which gets me home much later - need suggestions for make-ahead/prep-ahead or 30 min meals
2. DH will not eat vegetarian meals and will rarely eat pasta/pizza - if I was cooking just for me, I'd rely almost exclusively on vegetarian, pasta, and pizza dinners
3. DH is supposed to be on a heart healthy diet due to high blood pressure but he's a real "steak and potatoes" kind of guy.
4. We love "big" flavors and spicy food but our two year old does not.

I'd appreciate any recommendations for cookbooks, user friendly web sites, etc. Sites like the Food Network site just overwhelm me - I need a simple but varied plan to follow. Heart healthy recipe suggestions are also welcome. If I have to eat another meal that includes grilled chicken breast, I may just cry.

[Anonymous]

Make your quickie healthy vegetarian meals and plop a grilled chicken breast on there just for him.

There are lots of veggie threads on here. Quick ideas with beans and frozen veggies. If you can include some "bulk" in there like quinoa or barley for the husband, maybe that will satisfy him while still being healthy?

[Anonymous]

OP,
For a "steak and potatoes" guy who is supposed to follow a heart-healthy diet, I'd try things where a bit of meaty flavor goes a long way. For example, marinate a skirt steak or flank steak, grill, and slice into thin strips. Serve with a BIG helping of grilled onions & bell peppers, and brown rice or farro. You don't need an 12oz steak to enjoy the meat, a couple of strips will do it as long as there are sufficient filling sides. Btw, the rice/farro can be prepared in bulk on a weekend and warmed in the microwave; slice the onions and bell peppers over the weekend as well for a super-fast meal.

Another option is a big stir-fry. Slice up a bit of meat (chicken or steak) and a ton of veggies. Again, serve with brown rice that you cooked ahead of time.

Pork shoulder in the crock pot with a can of green chiles. Shred. Serve as taco filling, or over brown rice with chopped cilantro and black beans.

Will your family eat fish? Salmon, tuna, or a firm white fish make good alternatives to chicken for heart-healthy protein (and they cook fast!). One option is to coat strips of a firm white fish such as halibut with panko, and bake until cooked through. Have a couple of different dipping sauces to please different palates - apricot jam for the kids, sweet/spicy mango salsa for the adults. Big helping of broccoli on the side.

[Anonymous]

Thanks both of you! The image of cooking vegetarian and then plopping a grilled chicken breast onto DH's portion made me laugh but it just might work! Also liking the small amounts of meat suggestion. I think we are in such a rut that I can't even think clearly about dinner anymore. Before DD I would experiment with recipes every night. Now I just want to crank out something quickly and get it over with. I need to recapture some of that spirit of joy and experimentation.

[Anonymous]

the slow cooker needs to become your friend. also, i take sunday afternoons and try to prep as much as i can for the coming week. i'll make a soup and stick it in the fridge. maybe make meatballs, and make an extra portion for the freezer, etc.

[Anonymous]

Quesadilla (his can have meat, yours veggie and cheese for the little one) serve with a salad.
Soups and stews with bread ... my kid will devour the bread with some butter and I sit in envy, but I can hide all kinds of veggies in soups There are multiple soup threads.
Sandwich night with fruit or raw veggies (put the fruit and veggies out while you "finish up", they will be gone before you sit)
Chicken Cacciatore in a crock pot.. put yours over pasta if you want, his over rice.... double the veggies and you can skip the meat if you want.
Ropa Vieja in a crock pot... double the veggies in that too.
Steamed peel and eat shrimp is so fast. I eat that with edamame's or a salad.

Only cook 3 nights a week, eat leftovers on Th, have a tradition of ordering in on Friday, you deserve it.

You can cook rice and pasta on the weekend and toss with olive oil and just microwave when you get home.

Sometimes when we are running late, the little ones eat early and then have ice cream with us when we eat.

Also, have fruit in the evening while you are sitting around (grapes, strawberries, etc.)

[Anonymous]

I have wraps on Wed
crockpot on Thursday
and Mon and Tuesday are usually something I made over the weekend and have extra for leftovers

This is my menus this week
weight watcher's chicken quesadillas on Monday - made extra on Saturday
Tuesday - weight watcher's chicken sausage mushroom pasta (from freezer made two weekends ago)
Wed - chicken wraps with lots of veggies
Thursday - round steak in the crockpot with low fat cream of mushroom soup, low sodium beef broth, some hot sauce with potatoes and carrots
Friday - usually turkey meatball sub sandwiches

Can you tell I'm on weight watchers? Trying to lose weight to avoid having to go on high blood pressure meds. My dr is recommending a calcium channel blocker if I can't get my BP down by losing some weight. I have lost 9 pounds so far.

My kids don't eat any of this stuff. My dh makes them something different.

[Anonymous]

Kabobs with couscous

[Anonymous]

Burritos are a huge hit in our house.

On the weekend cook up:

black beans with sautéed onions and some tomato paste and cumin.

A batch of ground beef or turkey with taco spices.

Serve with whole wheat tortillas, lettuce/tomato, shredded cheese, guacamole, salsa, sour cream or plain yogurt.

You choose beans for your veg meal, he chooses beef for his burrito. You can easily serve your 2 year old components of beans, meat, shredded cheese, chopped tomatoes all separate on a plate.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:We've been going through a major dinner rut in my house and I'm in need of some suggestions, please! I'm a decent cook but a couple of factors have led to sidelining my best go-to dishes.

1. I have a new commute which gets me home much later - need suggestions for make-ahead/prep-ahead or 30 min meals
2. DH will not eat vegetarian meals and will rarely eat pasta/pizza - if I was cooking just for me, I'd rely almost exclusively on vegetarian, pasta, and pizza dinners
3. DH is supposed to be on a heart healthy diet due to high blood pressure but he's a real "steak and potatoes" kind of guy.
4. We love "big" flavors and spicy food but our two year old does not.

I'd appreciate any recommendations for cookbooks, user friendly web sites, etc. Sites like the Food Network site just overwhelm me - I need a simple but varied plan to follow. Heart healthy recipe suggestions are also welcome. If I have to eat another meal that includes grilled chicken breast, I may just cry.

If your husband is so picky have HIM cook. What's with you women? You have a long commute. That's pathetic you'll come home and cook for him. Does he ever cook for you?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:We've been going through a major dinner rut in my house and I'm in need of some suggestions, please! I'm a decent cook but a couple of factors have led to sidelining my best go-to dishes.

1. I have a new commute which gets me home much later - need suggestions for make-ahead/prep-ahead or 30 min meals
2. DH will not eat vegetarian meals and will rarely eat pasta/pizza - if I was cooking just for me, I'd rely almost exclusively on vegetarian, pasta, and pizza dinners
3. DH is supposed to be on a heart healthy diet due to high blood pressure but he's a real "steak and potatoes" kind of guy.
4. We love "big" flavors and spicy food but our two year old does not.

I'd appreciate any recommendations for cookbooks, user friendly web sites, etc. Sites like the Food Network site just overwhelm me - I need a simple but varied plan to follow. Heart healthy recipe suggestions are also welcome. If I have to eat another meal that includes grilled chicken breast, I may just cry.

If your husband is so picky have HIM cook. What's with you women? You have a long commute. That's pathetic you'll come home and cook for him. Does he ever cook for you?

Maybe the husband also has a long commute and gets home after her. Maybe they have worked out a distribution of work such that he does all the cleaning and all the laundry, and she does all the cooking. Maybe she simply doesn't mind. Maybe he spends the time that she is cooking paying bills and reading to the children. You do not know how their marriage works.