Seriously stuck in a rut! Dinner ideas?

Whenever I'm feeling up to trying new things, I go to Skinnytaste.com

I've tried the salmon burger recipe, and the cajun chicken pasta recipe, and a few others. Give it a try!

It may be called skinnytaste but that doesn't mean that the recipes aren't filling. Believe me!
The ones I've tried are ridiculously tasty, and I've tweaked the recipes around a bit to better suit my needs.

EmmaRichards91 wrote: »

Hey!

So, I'm very much stuck in a dinner rut. I have the SAME thing nearly every night - chicken, baked potatoes and beans.

First, you really only eat chicken? Not fish, shellfish, turkey, cornish hen, pork, lamb, beef, venison, etc.? If so, vary the type of chicken: skinless and not, thigh and leg as well as breast, cook bone-in breasts, etc. Try various stir fries with lots of veggies and just use potatoes (or the other starchier vegetables suggested below) instead of the rice.

How about tofu or lentils as a main dish on occasion?

Second, how about roasted red potatoes or sweet potatoes or corn or root veggies (sunchokes or carrots or parsnips or turnips or winter squash) instead of the potatoes? Peas?

Third, by beans, do you mean green beans? Anyway, how about other veggies, like zucchini or asparagus or greens or cabbage or brussels sprouts or broccoli and cauliflower, whatever you like?

Also, check out Moroccan chicken tagine recipes with green olives and lemon--I've played around with quick versions of those and they are delicious. You'd be subbing the potatoes for the rice if you don't want rice, of course, but it should still taste good.

Pinterest has great ideas as well

Ground Turkey. Celery. Onions. Can of Black Beans (drained). Can of Corn (drained). Season with chili powder. Mix all together, pack into meatloaf pan. Bake about 20-25 minutes on 350.

I work at a deli and sandwich shop and my coworker and I invented this sandwich yesterday: get a wrap of any kind (I used tumaros low carb garden veggie), mix equal parts of honey mustard and balsamic vinegar and spread it on the wrap, then crumple some sharp provolone cheese, then pile on every veggie you can find we used spinach, lettuce, tomato, cucumber, and about 1 tablespoon of our in store fresh roasted red peppers. Calories will vary based on amounts and brands used

EmmaRichards91 wrote: »

Hey! Yeah I only eat chicken, don't like other meats really except I LOVE Turkey just never cook one except at christmas!

Eating more turkey has been one of my new things lately. If you get turkey parts instead of the whole turkey it's easy like chicken and not a huge production. I roast turkey breast (with bones) or slow cook any turkey parts--comes out tender and delicious. The difficult thing about turkey is that the breast tends to cook faster than everything else so doing it in parts makes it easy.

As for those other veggies, i love them but they aren't filling enough to have as my starch.

With dinner I usually eat a starch too, but changing up the veggies with them gives more appearance of variety, if you know what I mean.

Have you any favourite way to eat lentils or tofu? I used to make lentil sloppy joes which were pure heaven.

I should play around with lentils more--I mostly just make them plain on the side or add some garlic and veggies or do a soup. Try 101cookbooks.com for some fun lentil and tofu recipes, though. I'm super boring with tofu--always do it in a stir fry--but there was a recent tofu thread here with some delicious-sounding recipes. Also, if you can get Japanese 7 spice it goes great with tofu and veggies, IMO.

The battle starts at the grocery store and slowly stocking your pantry and fridge with alternatives. Instead of potatoes, have brown rice, bulgur, barley, and the like. You can cook any of them ahead and freeze meal-sized portions for later microwaving.

You can start slowly to introduce things into rotation. This week, buy a bag of brown rice. Some night when you have the oven on to bake your potato, follow Alton Brown's recipe for the lazy, fool-proof way to make brown rice. When the rice cools, divide it into meal-sized portions and freeze. Then you know that for at least that many nights instead of having a potato, you'll have rice.

Buy a chicken and roast it. I have put an easy recipe here: http://www.justapinch.com/recipes/main-course/chicken/moist-roast-chicken-butterflied.html After you enjoy a meal of chicken, cool the rest and separate the meat from the bones and skin. Divide the meat into meal-sized portions and freeze for later meals. Throw the skin and bones in a bag and freeze for making stock at some point.

Now you have brown rice and chicken in the freezer. Thaw a container of each. Saute mushrooms, bell pepper, etc., with some herbs and spices. Throw in the rice and chicken and heat through. Voila! Supper.

On another night, after you've made chicken stock from the bones and skin you've been saving, Throw a frozen contain of stock, a container of frozen rice, and a container of frozen chicken in a pot with some onions and other veggies. Voila. Chicken stew for supper.

Slowly, steadily, incorporate new things and pretty soon you'll have lots of variety for your meals.