Food inspiration, or what's for supper?

eliezalot
eliezalot Posts: 620 Member
Given that there are so many good cooks in here, I thought it would be fun to start a food idea/recipe themed thread.
Sometimes you just need some cooking inspiration, or maybe you want to share a new or favorite recipe.

To kick things off, I'm planning on baking some cod for supper tonight. I've got my veggies/side dishes down (collard greens, roasted radishes, and lentils), but I'm at a loss for what to do with the cod. I know I want to bake it, but I'm kind of out of inspiration for flavors and spices. Thoughts? Suggestions?

«134567302

Replies

  • eliezalot
    eliezalot Posts: 620 Member
    I don't often cook from recipes, but had this at a friend's house once, and have made it often since. It is deceptively simple, super flavorful, and the lentils are to die for.

    https://cookieandkate.com/roasted-cauliflower-and-lentil-tacos/
  • gewel321
    gewel321 Posts: 718 Member
    My husband made chili for dinner. Super filling and not too bad calorie wise. Ground beef, bunch of different beans, tomatoes, lots and lots of seasonings cooked in a crock pot all day. Yum on a cold day.
  • bmeadows380
    bmeadows380 Posts: 2,982 Member
    Green Giant boxed vegetables and either canned or pouched tuna or chicken make a great, filling, quick lunch for me. Or frozen veggies period for that matter - lots of vegetables, good source of protein, and low calorie!
  • _inHisGrace
    _inHisGrace Posts: 183 Member
    I make tacos a lot. I use ground beef at 96% lean. I make 1lb at a time so I make it one day, eat it for dinner the next three.

    I'm very much a creature of habit! LOL

    I brown the ground beef with Old El Paso seasoning (you can make your own, I'm lazy), then I add my toppings and wrap it up. Makes 2 tacos.

    Ingredients:
    96/4 lean ground beef (4 oz)
    Old El Paso Low Sodium Packet 15 calories per serving
    Extreme Wellness High Fiber Lean Wraps Ole (2 wraps) 100 calories
    2 Tbsp Light Sour Cream 40 calories
    Hot Chunky Salsa - 2 tbs 10 calories
    Roma Tomato 96g (one good-sized one)23 calories
    Iceberg Lettuce 1C 23 calories
    Finely Shredded Fiesta Blend Reduced-fat cheese .3cup 80 calories

    Total calories 421 and very filling and yummy to me :smile:



  • lauriekallis
    lauriekallis Posts: 4,546 Member
    I'm about to try using some French cut/French style greenbeans in lieu of noodles/rice for saucy stuff. I have a container of sweet potato & bean curry in my freezer waiting for this experiment - but my local store doesn't have the french cut green beans so I'm looking for them (slowly).

    On my "best days" I eat a ton of vegetables and don't feel hungry. I've come to consider potatoes a super vegetable - they always fill me up and they have so much nutrition in them - that I can use under saucy stuff rather than the noodles/rice that I've come to think of as empty calories that add up but don't fill me up.

    I'm hoping this green bean thing will work well - they are a bit furry and I imagine will hold the sauce really well.

    If they do work - they will help turn more days into best days. And will leave a nice chunk of calories on those days that I can reserve for a treat.

    Anyone have other options for under those saucy dishes that are so good in the winter?

  • amart4224
    amart4224 Posts: 345 Member
    Re: saucy dishes - I've recently been looking at ways to make the sauces themselves less caloric. I love a lemon cream sauce over angel hair pasta and even with portion control that's hard to fit in my day. Recently saw a recipe that swaps the heavy cream for plain non-fat greek yogurt, so I'll be trying that out tonight and see if it's comparable.
  • eliezalot
    eliezalot Posts: 620 Member
    @_inHisGrace - tacos are often a quick weeknight dinner for us too. My mom does a lot of canning, and cans her pre-cooked taco meat. For us, it is as easy as opening a jar, heating it up on the stove, and serving. Dinner in less than 10 minutes!

    We ended up using leftovers last night - re-cooked the lentils, roast radishes, and collard greens into a hash, served with some sunny side up eggs and creamy curry hot sauce.

    Burgers tonight, but since we are out of buns (and our oven is broken so I can't bake any), they'll be patty melts on toasted sprouted wheat bread with caramelized onions and gruyere. I need to figure out some veggies for the side though. Roasted beets or creamed corn I think.
  • eliezalot
    eliezalot Posts: 620 Member
    amart4224 wrote: »
    Re: saucy dishes - I've recently been looking at ways to make the sauces themselves less caloric. I love a lemon cream sauce over angel hair pasta and even with portion control that's hard to fit in my day. Recently saw a recipe that swaps the heavy cream for plain non-fat greek yogurt, so I'll be trying that out tonight and see if it's comparable.
    @amart4224
    Oooh report back how that turns out! I love swapping greek yogurt in place of sour cream and mayo, and would be definitely interested to hear how it works for sauces!
  • amart4224
    amart4224 Posts: 345 Member
    @eliezalot it was just okay. It might be better in a different sauce - I think the combination of the lemon juice with the sour flavor from the yogurt was just too much. Perfectly edible but in the future I will probably save up some calories and use cream.
  • _inHisGrace
    _inHisGrace Posts: 183 Member
    I made these today and they are to die for if you like dark chocolate. They are super rich and 24 calories each!

    Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mocha Truffles
    https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2015/12/21/dark-chocolate-peppermint-mocha-truffles/
  • rieraclaelin
    rieraclaelin Posts: 115 Member
    I made these today and they are to die for if you like dark chocolate. They are super rich and 24 calories each!

    Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mocha Truffles
    https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2015/12/21/dark-chocolate-peppermint-mocha-truffles/

    Those sound so good! I'm wondering how I can make them sugar free... I suppose I could buy the sugar free maple syrup, but, I'm not really a fan of it. (Not really a fan of maple syrup in general). Replacing it with honey is also sugar, hmm.

    Though, it doesn't really call for a whole lot, so, I can't imagine each individual ball would have enough sugar to really mess me up.

    Thanks for posting this, I have everything already at home to try this out!
  • lauriekallis
    lauriekallis Posts: 4,546 Member
    I made these today and they are to die for if you like dark chocolate. They are super rich and 24 calories each!

    Dark Chocolate Peppermint Mocha Truffles
    https://amyshealthybaking.com/blog/2015/12/21/dark-chocolate-peppermint-mocha-truffles/

    Wow - I'm going to try these very soon! Thank you for posting.
  • eliezalot
    eliezalot Posts: 620 Member
    Made a new supper recipe tonight: https://www.feastingathome.com/orecchiette-pasta-with-broccoli-sauce/

    It was fabulous. I cut down the oil in the recipe, but did add a drizzle of truffle oil on top, with some fresh grated parmesan, and a flaked mushroom salt. I think I'll bulk it up with some additional veggies next time - sauteed mushrooms maybe? Or have it on the side of some chicken or other protein.
  • eliezalot
    eliezalot Posts: 620 Member
    Tonight's experimental supper: Borscht! Never had it, never made it. We have lots of beets we need to use up, so here we go!
  • emmyjaykay
    emmyjaykay Posts: 83 Member
    @eliezalot My partner made a bunch of borscht a few months ago and I feel like we only just finished it! We're definitely fans but we like beets sooo. Report back with what you think of it!
  • eliezalot
    eliezalot Posts: 620 Member
    @emmyjaykay
    We also made SOOO much. Soup always tends to get away from me, and this was no exception. Good thing we both loved it! Warm and filling, but not too heavy. We'll eat leftovers today and tomorrow, and then freeze the rest of it I think.
  • emmyjaykay
    emmyjaykay Posts: 83 Member
    @eliezalot Soup is totally one of those things, haha. In the brain it's like "this is a perfectly reasonable amount of beets." That's when an Arrested Development-esque narrator comes in with "It was, in fact, not a perfectly reasonable amount of beets."
  • eliezalot
    eliezalot Posts: 620 Member
    @emmyjaykay
    :lol::lol::lol: The 2 quarts in the fridge and 4 quarts in the freezer support this...
  • conniewilkins56
    conniewilkins56 Posts: 3,391 Member
    Tonight we are having oven BBQ chicken tenders,roasted potatoes and Zuchinni with mixed vegetables on the side!....I am always starving by dinner time!
  • eliezalot
    eliezalot Posts: 620 Member
    Last night we used some surprise freezer meat. (Every time we use the smoker, we cook way more than we need and freeze. Then when the day comes that you are too tired to really cook, you open up the freezer, and there's surprise brisket/ribs/pulled pork all ready to go.)

    Last night was smoked pulled pork quesadillas,with aged cheddar, avocado, and homemade hot sauce. We had it on the table in less than 10 minutes. Heaven.