Suggest some main courses

amandaeve

I am all about having all my food groups mixed together for dinner; stir fry, dinner salad, pasta dishes, instant pot and crock-pot dinners. However, now that I have some more time to cook I'd like to make some dinners with a vegetable, grain, and protein separate on the plate (I don't know how else to describe it). Here's the problem, the bf doesn't like fish or vegetarian proteins. I can cook those, but have to mask the flavor. I am trying to minimize eating beef products (for environmental reasons). I have no idea what's left! Can you guys suggest some recipes?

SuzySunshine99

What about chicken or pork, do you both like those?

You can experiment with different seasonings, sauces, and marinades, depending on your tastes.
I have been doing a lot of pork roasts, which yields a lot of good leftovers.
For side dishes, I've been doing risotto and other rice-based dishes, roasted vegetables, quinoa, au gratin potatoes.

acpgee

Spatchcock a chicken by cutting down one side of the backbone with strong scissors. Lay skin side up in a roasting tray and flatten by pushing down on the breast with your palm. This position cuts down roasting time about 30 percent. Peel some potatoes, cut into chunks and parboil for 2-5 minutes. Drain potatoes and shake in the dry pot with some fat (goose fat, butter, olive oil) to roughen up the surface for extra crispy potatoes. Put these in the roasting tin too.

Roast about 35 minutes (depending on size of chicken) at 200F. Use a thermometer to test for internal temperature of 72C or juices should run clear when you prick between the thigh and drumstick if you don't have a meat thermometer. Toss in vegetables coated in olive oil about 20 minutes before chicken will be done. Broccoli, carrots, green beans, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, zucchini all work well. If veggies or potatoes are cooking too quickly take them out and warm them up a minute in the microwave while you carve the roast, once the chicken is done.

If you are a small household have easy chicken salad on day two. Chopped chicken, a sliced avocado, a jar of commercial salsa, a handful of chopped coriander, a squeeze of lime to taste. Have it in a tortilla.

If you still have chicken on day three, make avgolemono soup with a greek salad.
https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/avgolemono_soup/

Remember to save the carcass for making homemade stock. If you don't feel like doing this right away toss the chicken bones in a ziplock bag in the freezer. You can save vegetable peels and trimmings in your bone bag too. Make stock by simmering the bones and veg trimmings with a halved onion (skin and all, which helps colour the stock) for several hours. Strain and freeze until needed.

acpgee

So I made my own dinner recommendtion tonight. Brushed on a half and half honey and mustard glaze for the last 10 minutes. The chicken and potatoes took about 40 minutes and the hispi cabbage took about 30 minutes.

We are a household of 2 and ate the wings, drumsticks and backbone tonight. Tomorrow will make chicken caesar with the leftover thigh meat. It might be hard nowadays to find a ripe avocado needed for my typical Day 2 meal. Day 3 will be avgolemono soup made with the breast meat served with a greek salad. Carcass is in the bone bag in the freezer for Day Infinity.