Help- Family is sick of the same 10 things for supper

[rd200]

Oh gosh, i need help. I have been SO uninspired for meals lately its not even funny. I dont have TONS of time to prepare meals, but I guess i do get a fair amount in. I just dont plan ahead much. I tried it a few times and it never works out. The only meal we eat at home is Supper, so i try and make alot and eat leftovers for lunch. or our usual lunch staple is eggs and toast. We are not much for breakfast so its either a smoothie or banana or something small for breakfast. Im really trying to stick with all natural foods. I still have some processed things hanging around my house but for the most part i am maybe 75% natural- maybe 50% or less organic. I usually use all my raw milk for Kefir, buttermilk, yogurt.

Im struggling to come up with decent meals. I am really bad at trying to just make ONE MAIN DISH and thats it. Like.... we dont have a Main dish, a side dish, bread, dessert, etc. Its usually ONE meal item and then a few apples cut up or grapes or a veggie of some sort. Iknow alot of my problem is my hubby doenst like veggies and my youngest son hates lettuce. Otherwise i would like to have a side salad at meals but he wont touch it and my other son is only 19 months old and looked at me crazy when i gave him some of my salad the other day

I need to get better at meal planning/coming up with ideas of things to make. I have quite a variety of items, just having a hard time puutitng them together. I have a pretty good stockpile of..... Beef, pork, 4 whole chickens, a few fish, vension (from 2 years ago already), lots of Flour (whole wheat and spelt) 20#'s of Quinoa, my canned goods are pretty much out as my garden kinda tanked last year so i have been out of canned/frozen veggies/condiments for a while now. I get alot of veggies and mainly we like apples, bananas, oranges, grapes, peaches, strawberries, blueberries, we eat most veggies (although im not very adventurous, i get the same old Broccoli califlower onions mushrooms zuchini cucs lettuce potatoes yams.

I usually end up throwing a 1# of hamburger 1# pork potatoes carrots corn green beans onions in a casserole dish, throw some Beef stock on it, and in the oven for an hour and VIOLA!!! DINNER!!! But the same casserole is geting boring. I just dont even know where to start with meal planning. the Farm store i usually shop at where i get my Raw milk has hit and miss produce depending on the season, then i go to the grocery store to pick up what i cant/didnt get at the farm store, then i head to the lady who i get my eggs from and get a few dozen for the week.

Im really hoping my garden does better this year. I have Green beans(which the rabbits ate off last night so im re-planting them) onions, tomatoes, squash, cucs, zuchini, lettuce, spinach, and peppers. Anyways, getting of topic here..... Help me!!!!!!!!!! thanks!!!!

 

[rhoda_bruce]

Chicken Fricasse, with lima beans cooked in the gravy, served over rice. Cucumber salad, with tomatoes, if you have extra. And for desert, try squash cake (I love it.....my grandmother's recipe was to die for and my daughter won first prize in a cooking contest.)

My library has a discarded book area where they put the books for sale and I picked up a few cookbooks real cheap. That can give you plenty of ideas.

For the venison........try to make a mulligan stew, but substitute the beef for deer. You can use some of your produce as the vegs in the recipe. I put a large beer in mine. Actually I always cook venison in beer.

 

[Wannabefree]

I think I'd start off by having some green bean stuffed rabbit

Try to toss a new veggie in the mix on occassion, and tell the picky eaters they have to have ONE bite. Some folks just don't like things because others say it tastes nasty, and then they never try it. I always made my kiddos try one bite of anything new, and then they can make an informed decision.

 

[FarmerChick]

what about italian? nice crispy cheese bread. tons of fast options

edited to add ANY type of stir fry is wonderful option also
over rice...yum

 

[SSDreamin]

I agree w/ the stir fry - great this time of year and super quick. What about roast chicken, then use the left overs for chicken and dumplings? Hamburger gravy over noodles? Chicken, beef or pork can all be rubbed (there are tons of different kinds of rub, for a variety of flavors), put in the frig for an hour or so, then baked or grilled. WBF just grilled fish, and said it was yummy.
My family could live on mexican food alone - cheap and easy to make, and very filling. Carne Adovada is a huge favorite here (pork, spices, ckn stk. Cook it down, serve on flour tortilla or chalupa shells. Leftovers get mixed in with beans and rice, for a totally different meal. I just read where somebody mixed up a meatloaf, pressed it in a pie plate, cooked it, spread leftover mashed potatoes over it, topped with cheese, popped it back in the oven to warm potatoes/melt cheese. Sounds like a fun and different meal to me - I was also wondering if I could sneak a veggie into the meatloaf mix (shredded carrots?). What about pasta primavera? That's all I can think of right now

 

[moolie]

For One Dish Meals my family likes:

Chicken Pot Pie (chicken stew with potatoes and veg in chicken broth thickened with a bit of flour, baked topped with pastry or biscuits)
Pizza (super easy, white or whole wheat dough topped with sauce, whatever toppings you like, some oregano or basil, and shredded cheese)
Pepper Beef (stir fry strips or stew beef slow cooked all day with a can/jar of stewed tomatoes, chopped onions, and a bell pepper chopped in large chunks)
Shepherd's Pie (browned ground beef casserole with veggies and baked beans, baked topped with mashed potato)
Baked Beans on Toast
Zanzibar Chicken (chicken pieces baked in a sauce of onions and garlic, coconut milk, tomato paste, ginger, cumin, and turmeric and served over rice)
Teriyaki Chicken Stir Fry over Rice (chicken cut into strips stir fried with veggies with ginger teriyaki sauce)
Tamale Rice Dish (browned ground beef cooked with salsa, corn, and rice) or Chili
Pot Roast (beef or pork) with roasted potatoes and carrots
Chicken Enchiladas (ground or shredded chicken rolled up in tortillas along with salsa, black beans and corn, served with salsa & sour cream)
Pasta with Meat Sauce (often with extra veggies)

It's easy to add veggies to pasta sauce--cook your veggies (carrots, zucchini, squash etc.) till soft in the tomato sauce and then buzz it in the blender before adding it to browned ground beef or chicken. Over time you can leave the veggies in slightly larger pieces--grated or chopped fine.

Other meals we like:

BBQ'd meat (chicken, steak, pork chops) with baked potatoes and a veg or two
Hamburgers (or chicken burgers) on buns with cheese, lettuce or sliced cukes, tomatoes, pickles and condiments
Tacos (ground beef or chicken cooked up with a chopped onion, seasonings, and some salsa then served in either soft tortillas or hard taco shells along with chopped tomatoes, shredded lettuce or chopped cukes, grated cheese, salsa & sour cream)
Chicken or Beef Souvlaki (chunks of meat marinated in lemon juice, olive oil and oregano, cooked on a skewer (or not) with chunks of onion and bell pepper, served with rice and lemon potatoes and Greek Salad)

If you'd like a recipe for any of the above, just let me know--or most of them are in my journal or my "is it really that hard?" journal.

 

[DianeS]

One dish meals we like include:

Pot roast - piece of beef/venison/pork, slow cooked with onion soup, potatoes, and celery.
Pot chicken - whole chicken, slow cooked with rice and carrots.
Sort-of beef stroganoff - bite sized piece of beef/venison, green beans cooked soft in beef gravy, served over egg noodles. (Mushrooms would be good in this too.)
Spicy tomato pot roast - piece of beef/venison/pork, browned in a skillet then slow cooked with several cans of Italian spiced tomatoes. Add tobasco sauce if you want more kick.
Tuna Noodle Casserolle - mac and cheese according to your own recipe, add 2 cups cooked peas and two cans of tuna. If that dries it out too much, add more cheese sauce or cream of mushroom soup. (Can be a Chicken Noodle Casserolle if you use chunked chicken instead of tuna).

Tacos are great, if your family will put tomatoes, onions, and lettuce in them. You could make enchiladas with those already included if you wanted. Same thing with burritos and fajitas - easy to get the tomatoes, onions, and peppers in all of those.
Pizza is great, if your family will eat the veggie toppings like olives, onions, green peppers.

Omelettes are easy to put veggies in. Mushrooms, spinach, brocolli, whatever. Or scramble eggs with veggies, and serve with potatoes (maybe wrapped in a tortilla). You could add just about any type of meat with that if eggs aren't filling enough. Cut the meat fajita-style.

Pasta salad can be a multi-veggie meal too. Lots of spiral pasta, with sliced cucumbers/diced zucchini/olives/cooked spinach/diced tomatoes/artichoke hearts/green peppers, and some chicken chunks - then cover the whole thing in salad dressing. Italian works best in my opinion, but a Vinaigrette-type would be good too.

Hope those ideas help!

 

[elijahboy]

try perlow....its southern food for the carolinas.....

some chicken
some rice
some bellpeppers
some onions
some sausage...but not breakfast..we use Rogerwood

get a big pot
fill it with water

put in bellpepper onions sausage bring to boil..throw in your chicken bones skin and eryting

let that boil for about 30 mintues...roaring boil

then let simmer till the chicken falls off the bone

taste the water in the pot for enough salt and pepper...add seasoning if need now

estimate the amount of water and add your rice according to the amount of water you think is in the pot...and cook according to the rice



THE BEST DINNER IN MY HOUSE IS CRAB LEGS AND SHRIMP.....thats only done once a month because its cost about 60.00

but when low on funds then it has to be grits and fried whiting or tilapia

 

[dma1974]

Beans and Rice is a really easy one-dish meal. Kidney beans, cut sausage, onions, spices, brought to a boil for 30 min then simmered until the beans are tender and the juice isn't watery, served over rice. Usually takes a few hours to cook but doesn't need any attention. You can sneak all sorts of verggies into this.

Crock pot pulled pork is good too and that doesn't need any attention.

-Perlow sounds a bit like Jambalaya and lots of veggies can be snuck into that one as well.

Spaghetti is another favorite around here.

 

[elijahboy]

oh i almost forgot.......

red rice and sausage

use this recipe but start the pan out with bacon. when the bacon is crispy then crumble it up and save it for later. it does not mention that but you have to cook it with bacon.


http://red.food.com/recipe/red-rice-sausage-373327