Easy dinner ideas for a new cooker?

runningwild00
runningwild00 Posts: 109
in Food and Nutrition
I am not a great cooker and am trying to start and learn to be better. The big problem is, I don't have time!! I am obviously trying hard to make time, but when I get home from work at 7:30pm and like to eat before 8:30 it's tough. Does anyone have any quick dinner recipes they would suggest?
Things I can cook are:
stir fries, chicken dishes (with hot sauce, peanut sauce, vary the sauces, etc).
Pizza (not from a box).
tacos
enchiladas
chicken parm (without frying)

Oh, another problem is the BF does not like veggies. And I usually load everything up with veggies....so any suggestions with veggies on the side would be great too :)

Replies

  • Textmessage
    Textmessage Posts: 387 Member
    I'd say invest in a crockpot to let things cook while you're busy all day. You can search all kinds of recipes online. As for your boyfriend and vegetables, let him make his own dishes. :)
  • EmmieBaby
    EmmieBaby Posts: 1,235 Member
    One quick meal I like is no rice risotto

    http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/no-rice-risotto

    and Southern Collard Greens (BF might hate it since it's vegetarian...but it is delicious!)

    http://divascancook.com/2012/12/vegetarian-southern-collard-greens-recipe-healthy.html

    OH! and a snack that is amazing and healthy. baked Chickpeas

    http://www.doctoroz.com/videos/italian-chickpea-popcorn

    you can pretty much customize it to whatever you like (sweet, salty, spicy)

    enjoy =)
  • marsellient
    marsellient Posts: 591 Member
    Why not just roast or grill some meat or fish, and steam veggies and/or make a salad? A grain could be prepared the night before and reheated (rice, quinoa, etc.) Quick, easy, healthy and versatile!
  • melaniecheeks
    melaniecheeks Posts: 6,349 Member
    Where abouts are you?

    I recently got Jamie Oliver's meals in 15 minutes cook book and it is absolutely wonderful. Tasty, quick, healthy meal ideas.
  • lamby284
    lamby284 Posts: 167 Member
    1/2 cup uncooked Minute brown rice + 1/2 bag frozen veggies + 1tbsp butter = instant healthy and very lazy dinner
  • magdalen13
    magdalen13 Posts: 62 Member
    I feel ya -- I hate cooking. Luckily my husband does not feel the same, so he cooks us a nice healthy dinner at night :) We usually are limited to about a half-hour to cook, too.

    Just starting to make menu plans, but our first two weeks include chicken stir fry, turkey burgers, portabella mushroom burgers, shrimp tacos using egg roll skins as shells (baked in oven), a crockpot veggie soup, another stir fry, grilled chicken, chopped chicken tacos. We usually do all-in-one dishes that include veggies, but also eat salad, steamed or grilled veggies on the side (those little frozen bags you can pop in the microwave and get steamed veggies are perfect when you're cooking fast)...

    Quite honestly I wouldn't feel bound to cook two meals just cause the bf doesn't like veggies.. he's an adult. (OK, I wouldn't do that for a kid, either ;)
  • Flowers4Julia
    Flowers4Julia Posts: 521 Member
    Definitely a crock pot! I got mine fairly inexpensive at a Walmart, under $20, but I've seen them in thrift stores too.

    Right now I have a whole chicken cooking on low from this morning around 9am and it'll be done by dinnertime. There are also programmable ones that can go from cooking to "warm" if you don't know you exact schedule that day. You could then do veggies quickly for you when you get home. And, forget about the bf's tastes, he'll catch on to that train when he's ready.

    Best of Luck!
  • megziejo
    megziejo Posts: 47 Member
    Soups are easy, chicken tortilla ( 1 lb chicken breast poached and diced, 2 cans broth, 1 can diced mexican tomatoes, 1 can black beans, 1 can corn, 1 can green chile's, extra garlic and chili pepper, fresh lime juice to taste) or taco soup, then serve with a salad on the side. A simple spaghetti sauce (1/2 lb lean ground turkey, garlic powder, italian seasoning, 1 can italian diced tomatoes, 1 can tomato sauce) served over spaghetti squash for you (cut in half and cook in the microwave for 20 minutes or so till soft, or cook in the oven on the weekend and reheat it in the night you want to eat it) and over noodles for him with a side salad or seamed broccoli. Make ahead lean taco meat and freeze in small batches, thaw and put inside corn tortillas with pico de gallo and lots of cabbage.

    I make ahead cauliflower Mac n cheese (google it, lots of recipes out there!) and reheat the night I'm going to serve.

    We eat lots of stir fry and breakfast for dinner, I can whip up a veggie omelet and have some whole grain waffles on the side, in less than 15 min.
  • chubbygirl253
    chubbygirl253 Posts: 1,309 Member
    Any meat, veggie, and taters are delicious in the crock pot. The other day I put a hormel pork roast in with a cup or so of 97% fat free chicken broth and a half cup finely chopped onion just for flavor and added a whole bag of baby carrots. The roast came out perfectly, the carrots were super tasty, and I splurged and made the broth/fats into gravy and made mashed potatoes. Without the mashed taters and gravy it was very healthy. I make beef pot roast a lot.

    Sometimes I load the crockpot with chicken breast chunks and veggies. Add 1 can of healthy request cream of chicken soup and (dilute with some skim milk and/or chicken broth) and and some biscuit dough for chicken and dumplings. The biscuit dough I use is a store brand and 2 whole biscuits is only 100 calories, I cut each in half so 4 dumplings is plenty with the chicken and veggies. Takes under 10 mins in the morning to prepare.

    1 jar salsa, 1 pkg cream cheese (i use 1/3 less fat neufchatel cheese) and chicken breasts. Tasty. Super fast cuz u can even toss in frozen chicken breasts. Just 3 inexpensive ingredients to put in a crockpot and cook all day

    I save most my calories for dinner so I can afford more than a tiny piece of meat and steamed veggies though. Hope this is what you were looking for.

    Sometimes I just put in a jar of spaghetti sauce and frozen meatballs. Boil pasta or frozen ravioli when I get home. Pick up some hoagie rolls so your hunny can have a meatball sub in his lunch the next day. Better than subway

    Hormel makes several crockpot ready Always Tender™ meats and they are all good. The boneless bbq pork shoulder made enough pulled pork to feed a crowd. I used some leftover to top a baked tater
  • runningwild00
    runningwild00 Posts: 109
    THANKS EVERYONE!! Let me tell you, the first answer I always hear is "crock pot" and I have one.

    ....BUT....

    That darn cat knows how to get the top off and eat whatever is inside. She is a feisty ninja that is capable of just about anything.

    Do you think it is safe to leave one on for like 8 hours? Is it really safe??? I could invest in some sort of clips to try to keep it shut tight
  • runningwild00
    runningwild00 Posts: 109
    I feel ya -- I hate cooking. Luckily my husband does not feel the same, so he cooks us a nice healthy dinner at night :) We usually are limited to about a half-hour to cook, too.

    Just starting to make menu plans, but our first two weeks include chicken stir fry, turkey burgers, portabella mushroom burgers, shrimp tacos using egg roll skins as shells (baked in oven), a crockpot veggie soup, another stir fry, grilled chicken, chopped chicken tacos. We usually do all-in-one dishes that include veggies, but also eat salad, steamed or grilled veggies on the side (those little frozen bags you can pop in the microwave and get steamed veggies are perfect when you're cooking fast)...

    Quite honestly I wouldn't feel bound to cook two meals just cause the bf doesn't like veggies.. he's an adult. (OK, I wouldn't do that for a kid, either ;)

    HAHA. I agree. I try to cook the ones he will tolerate/eat (broccoli, carrots). But I am a veggie fan.

    It's tough because I want him to eat healthy, I want him to want to eat healthy (work in progress). He is definitely an adult and should do this on his own, but up to him, he'd eat pizza 24/7!!
    So i try my best to make something healthy we'd both enjoy, and have my veggies on the side.
  • megziejo
    megziejo Posts: 47 Member
    THANKS EVERYONE!! Let me tell you, the first answer I always hear is "crock pot" and I have one.

    ....BUT....

    That darn cat knows how to get the top off and eat whatever is inside. She is a feisty ninja that is capable of just about anything.

    Do you think it is safe to leave one on for like 8 hours? Is it really safe??? I could invest in some sort of clips to try to keep it shut tight

    Holy smokes! I've heard of reasons for not using a crockpot but that one beats them all. That's one ninja cat!
  • runningwild00
    runningwild00 Posts: 109
    THANKS EVERYONE!! Let me tell you, the first answer I always hear is "crock pot" and I have one.

    ....BUT....

    That darn cat knows how to get the top off and eat whatever is inside. She is a feisty ninja that is capable of just about anything.

    Do you think it is safe to leave one on for like 8 hours? Is it really safe??? I could invest in some sort of clips to try to keep it shut tight

    Holy smokes! I've heard of reasons for not using a crockpot but that one beats them all. That's one ninja cat!


    I know. I am not an excuse maker...but its the truth! I just ordered a crock pot with clips.....my other one was VERY old and this one should stop the ninja

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