Food rut

Old standbys for me are tacos (made with ground turkey) which can be burritos/tacos one night and salad the next, bean burritos were a favorite when i was in college-very cheap and easy to keep stuff on hand, spaghetti, baked or roasted chicken can be done with sauces/condiments added afterward and chopped up to use in sandwiches, salads, soup, etc.  I would try to think of meals that do double duty, where the second night they can be prepared differently with the leftovers.  I also used to freeze leftovers, get them out a week or two later when you are tired of cooking.  Chili is good for this.

Also, you have access to the internet, right? Check out foodtv.com or epicurious.com.  They have lots of fun ideas.

I love Costco.  The pot stickers there are SO good!!  Even if you don't get that channel you can go online to foodnetwork.com and get recipes and watch videos.  My favorite show that has easy meals is semi homeaid. 

Costco also has these pork roast that come in a pack of 3 for $11 that are really cheap, easy to cook and good!!

Yes, I defintely agree with Holly on the multi meals and Robie on the pork -- I buy the pork tenderloins, as opposed to the roasts, but maybe that's what she means? You can cook a tenderloin with some roasted potatoes and carrots for a Sunday type dinner, then cut up some of the leftovers the next night, mix with some canned diced green chiles, enchilada sauce and Mont. jack cheese, roll into corn tortillas, then top with additional enchilada sauce and bake some pork enchiladas (sour cream and olives are nice additions). The 3rd night you can make soup with the remaining pork -- just add some chicken broth, oregano, elbow macaroni and spinach or escarole. Top with some parmesan and done. I love soup, and could make a big pot at the start of a week and have it for lunch and dinner every night. Alex would never go for that though. Do you have a Trader Joe's nearby? Probably not, but if so, I can give you some ideas from there. This month's issue of Self magazine had an article where you shop once a week, and prep stuff for multiple meals. All of the recipes and ideas are at self.com, sorry I can't hyperlink from my Mac to TF but here's the address: http://www.self.com/fooddiet/2008/11/eat-healthy-all-week I made the autumn oatmeal for breakfast today and it was YUMMY! Haven't tried any of the other recipes though. I've made lots of recipes from epicurious.com and I also find good recipes at cookinglight.com.

Another thought -- do you like shrimp? I always keep a bag of frozen shrimp in the freezer. Thaw quickly by running some cold water over them, peel the shrimp, then stir fry with some veggies and garlic and serve with rice or angel hair pasta. Trader Joe's has bags of frozen, peeled and cooked shrimp that make things even easier. Costco might too, I don't know?

Do you have a crock pot? Actually don't you have my crock pot recipe book? When I was working I loved to throw some veggies and meat in the crock pot with a can of soup (tomato, cream of chicken etc) in the morning and cook it on low until I got home. Great to come home to a hot meal. I also love Baked Potatoes with chili, cheese, bacon bits, broccoli or plain non-fat yogurt (instead of sour cream) or whatever you like. Also salads are great. They are easy to change up and quick to make. Try a nut, berry, and raspberry vinaigrette one night and a chicken salad with ranch the next. Or my favorite pasta salad is: a bag of curly pasta noodles cooked, can of kidney beans, can of corn, can or garbanzo beans, can of any other bean that looks good (white ,northern etc) and some chopped tomatoes. Put it all in a strainer and rinse with cool water. Top with Kraft Sun Dried Tomato dressing right before you eat. This keeps well in the fridge and is easy to take to work for lunch in a plastic ziploc.

You guys are way out of my class on food things, but my 2-3 favorites that are cook-now-use-later are: 1) the fresh (not frozen) skinless chicken breasts at Costco which I slice up into chicken strips, marinate, grill and then use over several days by just reheating; 2) bacon, which I cook by the pound or two, refrigerate, then use for BLT's; and 3) asparagus and artichokes cooked ahead of time then eaten cold over a period of a few days. The asparagus is particularly good when roasted in the oven with seasoning. 

Wow you guys are all such creative cooks.  Here is my little easy advice--Lean Cusine and Healthy Choice make really good pizzas for one--my favorite is the bar b q chicken. 

I am always in a food rut!! But here are some things we've had lately. Some of these were mentioned by others too...

Trader Joe's chicken tacos (in the freezer section) - (if you have a TJ nearby)
Chili with chicken or ground turkey meat
Rotisserie chicken (like from Costco) and then leftovers used the next day for soup or salad
Roasted veggies (I have a great carrots/parsnips w/ honey and rosemary recipe if you want it)
Pasta is always easy too, whether you make spaghetti or just noodles tossed w/ veggies and olive oil.

I never go to TJ and we have one less than a mile from our house.  I know the food is mostly organic and they have stuff you can't get anywhere else but how are the prices?

keep lots of pasta on hand..i buy pesto & eat the pasta hot or cold..
crock pot: potatoes slow cooked with a can of cream of mushroom and a little before eating add some bacon bits and cheese..freezes well.
triscuits, salami and cheese (protein, dairy, carbs all in one) or triscuit, brie and fruit (apple, grapes) 
all of this stuff should be at costco.
how about toasted bagel with turkey, lett & tom.

TJ is less expensive than Safeway.  They are different in what they sell, and give you great variety, but they are not more expensive.

I'd rather be hungry than cook. 

is THAT why you're so skinny chris?!

Chris knows how to make box brownies and pasta-roni.  But usually when Pam's out of town the kids all complain "daddy, I'm hungry" after not eating all day so he takes them to McDonald's. :-)

Yeah, TJ is usually pretty cheap.  You can't go there and buy everything you need, like the produce section isn't as expansive as a big Safeway, but I've found most things there are cheaper than other grocery stores in the area.  We'll miss having one when we move to Utah.

It's all true.  The kids hate it when Pam's gone.

Pam made some great  chicken enchiladas this week.  I'm sure she'd email you the recipe. 

Easy meal days for me:

1) pasta with sauteed veggies (onion, garlic, zucchini) and parmesan

2) pizza made from - bagels or tortillas, pizza sauce (or canned tomatoes with tomato paste), sprinkle cheese and any topping. throw in the oven for a little bit.

3) any crockpot soup: split pea, lentils & barley (find recipes on allrecipes.com).

4) potatoes - baked, "french fries" cut up and put in oven.

5) baked yams

6) any squash or pumpkin. Just stab it several times and put in a dish, in the microwave 10 minutes. Eat with some butter.

7) oven roasted veggies: cut up any vegetables in thick chunks (carrots, onions, pototoes, beets, use whole mushrooms without cutting up) spray or drizzle olive oil, salt and herbs. MMMmm.

 

yes Emily, my favorite veggies lately are asparagus and squash and zuchini drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with Kosher salt (the big flakey kind) Then I bake it in the oven 400 for about 7-10 min

Melissa-add sweet potatoes to that mix and it would be perfect!

Well Brittany, since I"m in the same boat as you right now...I'll tell you my favorite staples. My roommates can vouch for this that I do eat basically the same meals every day. Anyways, my absolute favorite go to snack is apples with peanut butter :) I always eat at least one cut up apple but generally lean towards 2 a day. (I am a pure Costco bulk shopper so I know you can get all this stuff there). But at Costco they have a Kirkland brand Organic PB that is 100% peanuts and salt which is really good and adds protein to my diet since I'm generally lacking in that area. Another fav, I agree with Melissa on this one, squash and zuccini are my favorite vegetables so I'll buy those and steam them with a little salt or parmesan.
-Spaghetti squash is amazing if you can get it. You cut it in half, take out the seeds, put a Tbs or two of water, cover with plastic wrap and microwave it for about 10 mins. When it comes out, take a fork and run it down the middle to make the squash look like spaghetti noodles. I'll eat half a squash for a meal and put some spaghetti sauce over it.
-The frozen grilled chicken tenders at Costco are fabulous. I put them in a frying pan and cook them and add them to a chicken salad (with either nuts, dried fruit, feta cheese, and vinagrette Or canned black beans and fresh salsa w/out dressing for a good mexican salad)
-Another favorite with the chicken that my roommates love too is grilling the chicken, when it's almost done put in any variety of vegetables (I use the frozen broccoli or frozen normandie veggies from costco) a little water, curry powder, and garlic salt, put the lid on and steam for awhile. The veggies get realy good because they have the flavoring steamed into them and they are all really moist. And it's super healthy cause instead of using oils/butters you can just use water
-Baked potatoes with broccoli and cheese or salsa and cheese (warmed up a little)
-Yogurt with granola mixed in!!!!!
-Progresso soups for when you're really lazy
- allrecipes.com is mine and Laura's favorite, you can type in an ingredient you want to use or you have and search and come up with hundreds of good recipes varying from soups to salads to main courses
-I'm not sure if they have it at your Costco, but 2 other favorite snack/lunch items are dried apricots (I used to be disgusted by them but they are awesome if you are craving sugar) and this Nantucket Blend of nuts and cranberries/raisens. They are really good by the handful or I will sprinkle some lettuce to make it a more substancial salad.

And finally before I end this essay, if you buy the huge blueberries at Costco then freeze them because there is no way any single person could eat those before they go bad, they are even better frozen. They'rel ike little popsicles and another go to snack for when I just want a big bowl of ice cream. They are also good mixed into yogurt or on cereal or oatmeal or salad. Yummy Yummy!!!

Thanks for writing this blog, cause I'm taking all these ideas too and since I don't eat beef either it's perfect

(801) 374-5151

Call that number, order 2 large pizzas, and you should be good for a week.

hahahaha- think she wanted to eat HEALTHY too! do they deliver to north pole?

Melissa: I made the pasta salad with chickpeas and corn and tomatoes.  I remembered eating it at your house and that it was so good, so I tried it.  I couldn't find the Kraft dressing but I found a similar sundried tomato and it was a success!  Thanks everyone for your ideas, I'm so excited to cook now!

By the way, Geoff, thanks for the pizza tip, but I don't think Provo would deliver all the way out here in D.C.  Pizza's always good for a lazy Friday night though.