I hate meal planning!

[tonyswife]

Originally posted by Jenn Lynn
How do you buy fresh fruit and veggies for meals a month ahead of time?

I buy veggies, fruit, milk and bread weekly. The rest of the stuff I get monthly.

I totally cheat. I buy the fruit and veggies already cut up. It's more expensive, but worth it because we eat them. My DD loves melon and my grocery store sells pre-cut bowls of canteloupe, watermelon, honeydoo with grapes and pineapple. It's great.

 

[Aimeedyan]

I honestly like it right now, but I'm on a 'foodie' kick complete with watching food network often =)

I have a file on my laptop (that is somehow connected to my body at all times) labeled RECIPES - anytime I run across a good one, or hear a good one, or watch a good one, I copy and paste it or type it into a word document and save it in there. I also have a couple of cookbooks that I have gotten off vairous message boards. So, when I do my grocery list, I just get them off of there, as I'm much too lazy to thumb through books. I type up my grocery list as well, and work on it a few days - menu is at the top, I copy and paste all the recipes, then list hte items I need. Then, I just print out the page with the list on it. When I cook, I just put the laptop on the counter with my grocery list for that week pulled up.

I always have frozen fish (usually salmon, but whitefish is what I have right now), ground beef, chicken, and pork tenderloin slices - so I go from that.

HONEY DIJON SALMON

salmon or any other fish fillets
dijon mustard
honey
crushed Ritz crackers
chopped pecans
PAM

Preheat oven to 400. Squeeze some honey and dijon mustard in a paper plate or something similar, mix around. Put the Ritz crackers and pecans in another plate. Coat the fillets in the mustard mix, then press into the cracker mix to fully cover it - place in baking dish already sprayed with PAM. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes. I made this last night (super easy) and served Rice a Roni with it =)


may have gotten this from someone on here!

Smoked Gouda and Spinach Stuffed Chicken

in one bowl mix:
1 pkg cream cheese
1/2 can spinach drained
1/2 tsp. Nutmeg
1 cup shredded gouda cheese

take 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts and cut a slit in the middle of each of them. (I found it was easier to just slice them almost in half, but leave them connected still, and stuff it that way)

fill the hole with the stuff in the bowl.

top with butter and salt and pepper.

bake in oven at 425 for 35-45 minutes.


again, I think it was another one someone posted here!

WINE CHICKEN
4 skinless boneless chicken breasts (or more)
1 large onion, chopped into chunks
1 package of mushrooms, sliced
1 package of SHREDDED parmesan cheese
any bottle of white or blush wine

Put onions and mushrooms in a large skillet and lay the chicken on top pour wine into the skillet until it reaches about half way up the chicken (but not covering it) bring just to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer, cook for about 10 minutes, then flip the chicken over and cook for 10 more. Flip the chicken over again and pile the onions and mushrooms on top of the chicken, then place a heap of parmesan cheese (I like a lot) on top of each piece of chicken with the mush and onions on top, cover and cook for about 5 more minutes or until the cheese has melted. serve with wild rice and veggies.

* when I made it, I used a Merlot (turned everything purple, LOL) and didn't use onions because I don't like them. I served it with Rice Pilaf and asparagus, that I just brushed with olive oil and sprinkled leftover shredded parmesan on top


Dinner tonight!:

Turkey Devonshire

4 English Muffins
½ pound of sliced turkey lunch meat
8 strips of bacon
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

Heat oven to 350.
Cook the bacon as you usually would, and remove excess grease.
Slice open English muffins and place the 8 halves face up on a cookie sheet. Place the turkey on each of the English muffins.
Split the bacon into 3 sections per slice and place on top of the turkey. Sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese.
Bake in the oven for 10 minutes, or until cheese is melted.

I'm serving it with soup =)


Old standbys: meatloaf (I just mix ground beef, breadcrumbs, Heinz 57, and an egg. Bake at 350 for 45 min to an hour. I serve with mashed potatos and blackeyed peas), BBQ chicken on the grill, shredded BBQ chicken sandwiches (boil chicken breasts until done - place in crockpot with loads of BBQ sauce, stir occasionally until shredded and hot - serve on buns), eggs and bacon and pancakes, tacos and burritos, fajitas, grilled pork loin, tuna casserole (layer cooked egg noodles, canned tuna, cream of mushroom soup over and over again in casserole dish - top with french fried onions. bake at 350 for about 30 minutes, or until heated through), etc.

Hope that helps some!

 

[Jenn Lynn]

Thanks Tonyswife and Aimeedyan.

I am working on getting all of my recipe cards on my computer along with a basic, one glance, recipe list.

 

[denisenh]

I have spells that I do well with planning, shopping and cooking. Right now we are on a chinese food, pizza, mcdonalds rotation.

There are websites that help with meal planning, including making a shopping list. Here's one (this one I haven't used before) I can't find the one that I usually use.
http://www.mealsforyou.com/

 

[swilphil]

I was just thinking the same thing. I do like having all my recipes saved on the computer in a Recipes folder. I find that I eat much more healthily if I plan my meals. Here's a chicken recipe I like from allrecipes.com:

Classy Chicken
(Very low in fat and calories, and it only takes 1/2 hour from start to finish, but you do a lot of moving in that time.)

1 cup all-purpose flour

4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, salt and pepper to taste

2 tablespoons butter or margarine

1/2 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup fat-free chicken broth

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 zucchini cut in half lengthwise, then sliced diagonally

5 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped

1 clove garlic

1 teaspoon dill weed

1/3 cup fat-free sour cream

Directions
1. Place the flour into a shallow dish. Season chicken with salt and pepper, and then dredge in flour. Shake off excess. Heat the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown the chicken breasts on each side, about 3 minutes per side.

2. Pour the chicken broth and white wine into the skillet, and scrape any chicken residue from the pan for flavor. Stir in the mustard. Cover, and cook for a few minutes until chicken is 'springy', but not cooked through. Add the zucchini and sun-dried tomatoes, then season with garlic and dill weed. Cover, and cook until the zucchini is tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 5 to 10 minutes.

3. Remove the chicken to a platter, and remove the pan from the heat. Stir sour cream into the pan liquid. If most of the liquid has evaporated, stir in a bit more wine or broth first. Season with salt to taste, and serve chicken with sauce poured over it.

* I've never made it with the sun-dried tomatoes, and it tastes fine.

Aimee--I've saved the Wine Chicken and am looking forward to it AND the left over wine

Denise--what do you like about that website. I went to it and saw the recipes, but didn't poke around much.

 

[Jenn Lynn]

Thanks for the recipe Sherri!