Ideas for big one-pot meals I can make at weekend and eat for lunch during week please

MonaLisaLianne

I make a "lasagna casserole" of sorts. I use turkey sweet Italian sausage (bulk), low-carb Penne pasta, skim-milk mozzarella, and I subsitute 1% fat cottage cheese for ricotta. I use fresh plum tomatoes to make my sauce, but have used a jar sauce with good results too. You don't even have to boil the pasta first - just mix it with the sauce & Italian sausage & cottage cheese. Top with a layer of mozarellla and bake. You can add some kidney beans if you want to add more fiber & make it more filling. Put in a lasagna pan, cover with foil & bake at 350 for about 50 minutes. Remove foil to let cheese brown and bake another 5-10 minutes.

socalkay

Spaghetti (I make mine with ground turkey) - great as leftovers. I put leftover noodles covered by sauce in individual containers, one meal apiece. Microwaves well.

When I make tacos, I cook up extra shells and put together tacos from the leftovers (meat and cheese in corn tortilla). These also reheat well in the microwave.

Francl27

daymonalisa wrote: »

I make a "lasagna casserole" of sorts. I use turkey sweet Italian sausage (bulk), low-carb Penne pasta, skim-milk mozzarella, and I subsitute 1% fat cottage cheese for ricotta. I use fresh plum tomatoes to make my sauce, but have used a jar sauce with good results too. You don't even have to boil the pasta first - just mix it with the sauce & Italian sausage & cottage cheese. Top with a layer of mozarellla and bake. You can add some kidney beans if you want to add more fiber & make it more filling. Put in a lasagna pan, cover with foil & bake at 350 for about 50 minutes. Remove foil to let cheese brown and bake another 5-10 minutes.

Yum!!! I'll have to try it!

I like making shepherd's pie, although it's a dish obviously and not a pot. I just brown some ground beef with some onions and a bit of tomato sauce, add frozen veggies, then top with mashed potatoes and some cheese (cheddar or Swiss) then bake until the cheese is melted.

merisaOct3

Lots and lots of variations on Mujadara, a Lebanese/Middle Eastern dish.
Basically, it's rice and lentils, cooked together with salt and any other spice you like.
2 parts water to 1 part dry ingredients (i.e. 4 cups water to 1 cup rice and 1 cup lentils).
Clean the lentils and rinse, add to large sauce pot, dutch oven, or slow cooker. Add rice and water and spices.
Bring to boil and simmer on low until all the water is absorbed and the rice and lentils are soft.
Sautee onions in EVOO with salt and serve the sauteed onions over the rice & lentils.
Top with yogurt or lebneh.

Also, thanks for the jambalaya recipe!

MonaLisaLianne

Francl27 wrote: »

daymonalisa wrote: »

I make a "lasagna casserole" of sorts. I use turkey sweet Italian sausage (bulk), low-carb Penne pasta, skim-milk mozzarella, and I subsitute 1% fat cottage cheese for ricotta. I use fresh plum tomatoes to make my sauce, but have used a jar sauce with good results too. You don't even have to boil the pasta first - just mix it with the sauce & Italian sausage & cottage cheese. Top with a layer of mozarellla and bake. You can add some kidney beans if you want to add more fiber & make it more filling. Put in a lasagna pan, cover with foil & bake at 350 for about 50 minutes. Remove foil to let cheese brown and bake another 5-10 minutes.

Yum!!! I'll have to try it!

I like making shepherd's pie, although it's a dish obviously and not a pot. I just brown some ground beef with some onions and a bit of tomato sauce, add frozen veggies, then top with mashed potatoes and some cheese (cheddar or Swiss) then bake until the cheese is melted.

I didn't give much direction! but, obviously you brown the sausage with some garlic & a little onion, then add the sauce, seasonings, etc. before baking.

SpecialKH

I put 5 smallish chicken breasts in the crock pot along with 1 cup of brown rice, 2 cups of water, a Swanson chicken savory flavor packet and top it with a bag of broccoli slaw and let it cook for several hours on low. The chicken falls apart and I just mix it all together for a chicken/rice/veggie dish.

psmd

Great ideas, thanks!

sugarskullbaby12

if you hve a sweet tooth the best receipe I have found a cake like brownie 92 cal and 1 gm fat per serving it cant b beat ....easy too mix devil food cake mix any brand with a 15 oz can of pumpkin no water just mix well bake at 350 for 20 mins to 25 mins til you think it is done ... in a loaf pan or 9x13 just depends how thick you like it really good

raggiemom

bump

mygnsac

I like to make a "pot of something" on the weekend and I keep it pretty simple. That way when I heat it up during the week I can add different stuff to it so I don't get tired of it. This week it was a pot of blackeyed peas (soak peas overnight, then cook with veggie broth, a large can of crushed tomatoes, chopped up carrots, onions, garlic salt and black pepper. When I reheat during the week I usually add things like chopped asparagus, shredded brussel sprouts, spinach, mushrooms, pepita seeds, raisins, roasted veggies (I usually roast a bunch on the weekend to eat the following week), chopped turkey, roast beef, hot dog (whatever meat I have on hand), grated cheese, and/or whatever else that sounds good.

Nataliegetfit

thanks for the ideas.

acpgee

I am a fan of braised chicken recipes, which freeze well for midweek meals. I like to add vegetables that aren't worse for wear if they get overcooked, such as carrots, mushrooms or squash.

Try googling the following dishes:

Chicken Cacciatore
Chicken Tagine
Coq Au Vin
Chicken Curry
Dak Dori Tang (Korean stewed chicken)
Chicken Sukiyaki

Rodderick89

My absolute favourite, 'easy' lunch is a sweet potato with baked beans.

You could pre-bake the sweet potato, however I find it only takes about 6 minutes to cook in the microwave fresh at lunchtime. I use the Heinz baked beans 'snap pots', as they go straight in the microwave too, for 1 minute.

Very quick, easy, potentially no prep and no washing up lunch, low in calories and can be tarted up by adding 30g half fat grated cheese (add 85 calories) or slices of wafer thin ham, etc

socalkay

Crock pot meals from skinnytaste.com

Francl27

Oh this is fantastic too. I'm actually making it again

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2013/03/cheeseburger-casserole.html

marlo665

bump

amf0324

Check out the Sweet Potato and Peanut Stew in Joy of Cooking. I don't add the ginger or the zuchini. You can use low-fat peanut butter... and maybe even PB2 -- but I haven't tried that yet.

Freaking delicious over brown rice.

ninerbuff

If sodium isn't an issue for you, then make some chicken adobo.

1 tablespoon of minced garlic
1 cup of soy sauce
1 cup of vinegar
6 chickens breast (or thighs if you like dark meat better)

Throw all in a pot and cook till chicken is done. Serve with vegetables or rice.


A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition

Go_Mizzou99

Cold an rainy today - Jambalaya Sunday.

This recipe is about 200 calories per cup if you use Aidelle's Andouille Sausage (very tasty and very lean).

I eat it like a stew or serve it over rice or quinoa...be sure to add the rice/quinoa calories in if you use it.

allrecipes.com/recipe/colleens-slow-cooker-jambalaya/

If you leave the rice out of the jambalaya, it freezes and reheats like a champ. Make the rice/quinoa separate and store separate if you want to have it as a leftover.

corinneselene

Here are some of my favorites: I make huge pots and freeze
1. Gwyneth Paltrow Spicy Sweet Potato soup with Chipotle and Coriander
http://jennalouisej.wordpress.com/2013/04/26/spicy-sweet-potato-soup-with-chipotle-coriander/
2. Indian spiced lentil and ground lamb soup
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/indian-spiced-lentils-lamb
3. Keema... I eat this over cauliflower, potato, etc
http://www.worthypause.com/2013/01/keema.html?m=1
4.Anything by Ellie Krieger:
http://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/healthy-appetite-with-ellie-krieger/recipes.html

ljashley1952

One of our favorite recipes is called Chicken and Spaghetti Squash with Creamy Sun-dried Tomato Sauce. It can be adapted easily to use vegan ingredients, but I love the richness that the cream cheese gives it and I use the lower fat variety.

http://littlegrazers.com/chicken-and-spaghetti-squash-with-a-creamy-sun-dried-tomato-sauce/#.VHKeyPnF8po

Sued0nim

Oh I love Keema - must get my curry box of spices down

I have never seen a spaghetti squash on sale here - I'm intrigued

Phrick

I make this recipe a lot, I've adapted it a little from She Wears Many Hats | Chicken & Rice - my main adaptation is to use my crockpot; the original recipe says to boil the chicken in a stockpot for a few hours but I don't typically want to spend that kind of time heating up my kitchen. A serving is around 400 grams if you go for the 8 serving quantity (it really makes a ton), and the 400g serving is about 450 calories. You could add veggies as desired, I bet it would be great with peas & carrots. My current working recipe is below

Chicken and Rice | Makes 6-8 servings

Gather
1 whole chicken or chicken pieces equal to about 4 pounds
½ teaspoon pepper
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon celery salt
1 ½ teaspoon parsley
575g long grain white rice
8 cups water
3 carrots, 5 ribs celery, ½ large sweet onion, all chopped in larger pieces

Prepare

• In a 6-quart crockpot, add the 8 cups of water, 4 pounds chicken (about 1 whole chicken or use pieces), 3 carrots, chopped, 5 stalks chopped celery, 1/2 chopped sweet onion, ½ tsp pepper, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp oregano, ½ tsp celery salt, and 1 teaspoon parsley, cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours.
• Once cooking is complete, remove chicken to cool in order to debone. Strain the veggie chunks out of the broth and save the broth for later!
• When it is cool enough to handle, debone the chicken. Roughly chop any larger pieces.
• Strain out vegetables from broth.
• Using another pot or large saucepan, transfer 6 cups of saved broth, the rice, deboned, chopped chicken, ½ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon parsley into the pot. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
• After 15 minutes, stir in another 1 cup of broth. Cover and simmer 5 minutes.
• Add remaining 1 cup of broth; stir, cover and simmer for 5 more minutes or until rice is done - this should take about 25 minutes total. If your rice needs more time or you run out of broth you can use canned broth or water.
• Salt and pepper to taste.