2024 What's for Dinner Tonight?

[Iggy aka IG]

Happy New Year!  I didn't see a new thread, so I started one.

[Iggy aka IG]

Sunday:  Surf and turf, veggies
Monday:  Beef sausage links, green beans
Tuesday:  Air fryer pork chops, leftover mixed veggies, a bit of salmon
Wednesday:  Taco seasoned ground beef, cauliflower skinny tots
Thursday:  Freezer leftovers
This weekend:  Not sure yet

[Artemis Windsong]

I need to make some red meat something as I'm not bouncing back from exercise like I should.

Today:  Left over soup and something with left over turkey.

             Small beef steaks dinner

Friday:  Grocer has 8 pieces of fried chicken for $6 so we'll have that for Saturday also.

Sunday:  left over steaks

Monday:  Nachos

Maybe Nachos several days - LOL.

[chiver78]

thanks for starting the new thread, Iggy. 

when I log off work, I'm going to fry up chicken cutlets. I'll get four cutlets out of the package of BSCB in the fridge.

tonight - chicken Milanese, probably with some roasted red potatoes.
tomorrow - either a big green salad with a chopped chicken cutlet or a portion of "Mess" that I'll explain below. what I pick will depend on how heavy a lunch I have.
Sat/Sun - takeout/leftover takeout

Mess is a dish found at a small family chain of restaurants in the Boston area. Comella's

what's a mess?

it's a mystery recipe, unique to comella's, made fresh every day. it's a combination of pasta, cheese and sauce and it may contain bits of eggplant, lasagna, and shells!

the varieties of Mess differ by the additions to the base pot. my favorite was Brother's Mess, which added chicken cutlet to the base. it started out as a way to use up the previous day's leftover pasta or broken lasagna noodles. everything goes in a mixing bowl with ricotta and red sauce, laid out in a pan and topped with shredded mozz. bake to melt the top layer and you're good to serve. I've taken buckets of it to holiday parties, ordered from a restaurant location. I make it at home, too - it's pretty much how I wipe out the end of holiday red sauce feast leftovers every year. I can take a couple scoops of the casserole and pair with a big green salad to lighten it up. I'll be making a tray of Mess either way tomorrow. whether it's dinner or now is TBD. but I'll be picking from it all weekend, with whatever takeout I find. 

[chiver78]

tonight I decided I was sick of red sauce. so I mixed up the arugula salad that goes on anything Milanese....and topped a frozen chicken patty sandwich with it. lol... dressed salad greens on the side, with the extra Milanese salad.

I've probably got one more meal tomorrow out of that pan of Mess before I just pitch it. I am so sick of red sauce and pasta rn.

[Opti]

Used up some of the loose pork I got for lunch and sauced it in an Asian type style. Used some remaining T Joes Manadarin Chicken Orange sauce with soy sauce and some red wine. Did not need to add any sugar because I used up that orange sauce. Turned out well and I had some mushrooms, onions and some broccoli for veggies.

Want to make stuffing with turkey sausage tonight, but I am low on the bread side of things. May or may not toast some potato bread to shore it up. Should stir fry all the ground pork for use in the next couple days. Need to make easy lunches for this week too.

[wvugurl26]

I've had a rough time convincing myself to cook the last six weeks. I spent $215 Friday ahead of the supposed snow storm to restock. The snow was a big bust.

I've made blueberry muffins, broccoli cheddar soup, buffalo chicken dip and chicken sausage vegetable sheet pan.

[Artemis Windsong]

One grocer has cheap chicken Friday.  8 pieces of chicken for $6 - digital coupon.  We finished the chicken tonight.

[snapdragon]

I made Slow Cooker White Chicken Chili with Quinoa yesterday. Some has already been frozen and I will have leftover for the next few days. 

I plan on getting a stir fry made up sometime this week, along with some pita and hummus to munch on for a few days. I also need to cut up some veggies for snacking.

[chiver78]

I had a package of boneless chicken thighs dated tomorrow, so I went looking for ideas. I'm making this* ramen dish tomorrow with two of the thighs, and made a skillet of arroz con pollo with the other four. I chopped all four cooked thighs after simmering, and stirred it all into the rice. I had a dinner portion tonight and will pick from the leftovers for quick lunches this week.

*https://www.recipetineats.com/chow-mein-ramen-noodles-recipe/

[wvugurl26]

Monday night I made Budget Bytes black bean and beef tacos. There are leftovers for another night or my lunches this week.

Tuesday night Pioneer Woman Mexican street corn skillet. Definitely not low calorie but good for a cold, gross rainy night.

www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/chicken-street-corn-skillet-12629731

[Iggy aka IG]

chiver78 interesting regarding mess recipes.  This is one of the reasons why I like this forum-I learn so much!  I looked them up and see there are many types including sweet, breakfast, and other versions.

snapdragon white chicken chili is one of my favorites.  Your post reminded me to put it on my future suppers list.  Yum.

I have returned from Vegas 5 pounds up.  Food included poke (tuna) nachos, chicken tenders, fried calamari, fish tacos, chicken nachos, pepperoni and mozzarella roll ups, shrimp tempura, the hotel buffet, popcorn, and of course, booze.   I'll pick up a grocery order this evening containing mostly of low glycemic vegetables, salmon, and a cauliflower crust pizza.

This week:
Last night:  Shrimp and veggie stir-fry, NO rice
Tonight:  Chicken pot pie with a bottom pie crust leftover from holiday baking, topped with a parmesan pork rind blend
Thurs:  Spaghetti squash with homemade Alfredo sauce, and the cauliflower tots I didn't get to last week
Fri:  Takeout
Sat:  A birthday party, so IDK?
Sun:  Grilled/lightly fried salmon, veggies

[chiver78]

heh, what? I've never heard of Mess other than from this family restaurant. would you share some of what you found? esp if you try it and it's tasty. 🙃

so that chow mein ramen I linked yesterday. it was tasty. however, proportions as listed are better suited to a single ramen pack/serving and I'd still generally add more veggies on top of it all. but I saved the recipe link as a bookmark for the sauce, and can tweak as I need to in the future. I picked around the skillet tonight for the "stuff" and pitched a bunch of noodles.

[chiver78]

this week has been something else. last night, I threw a bunch of veggies and a little shredded cheese onto a frozen pizza and called it good. tonight, I pulled out the Instant Pot and made risotto. it is now 8pm, and I'm struggling to stay awake.

I've got a portion of risotto and probably two of the arroz con pollo from earlier this week to pick from for leftovers. I have a big shop on the radar for the weekend, I'll recalibrate after that.

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

Holy crap! The house smells so good!

Making this today. 


www.onceuponachef.com/recipes/beef-stew-with-carrots-potatoes.html

I’ll post the food porn when we serve it. 

[Cheesy FL-Vol]

Jan 7, 2024 19:23:26 GMT -5 wvugurl26 said:

I've had a rough time convincing myself to cook the last six weeks. I spent $215 Friday ahead of the supposed snow storm to restock. The snow was a big bust.

I've made blueberry muffins, broccoli cheddar soup, buffalo chicken dip and chicken sausage vegetable sheet pan.

The snow may have been a bust, but it sounds like your kitchen wasn’t! 

[chiver78]

I did a big shop this weekend, between Walmart and the regular grocery store. I have a family pack of BSCB for myself for the week, that I'll use up over the week in different ways, so I don't get too bored with it.

in putting things away, I found a lemon and a parsley bunch that were still good for how long they had been there. so tonight will be chicken piccata over pappardelle.

tomorrow night will likely be a chicken 'cheesesteak' sub as I picked up a delicious full XL sub roll yesterday.

after that, idk. will update as I go.

[snapdragon]

I am doing a beef pattie and some mashed potatoes or garlic creamy shells I believe for lunch. Not sure about dinner but probably stir fry.

[daisylu]

Working on cleaning our cabinets, so tonight will be Bear Creek broccoli and cheddar soup doctored up with some broccoli and cheese from the fridge. 

[Opti]

Ground pork because the package fell out of the freezer earlier today. I will use up the mushrooms and radishes with it for dinner. Other than that IDK, just finished the discount package of pastrami hash for brunch to which I added potatoes, onions and collard greens.

[Iggy aka IG]

Jan 10, 2024 19:56:25 GMT -5 chiver78 said:

heh, what? I've never heard of Mess other than from this family restaurant. would you share some of what you found? esp if you try it and it's tasty. 🙃

so that chow mein ramen I linked yesterday. it was tasty. however, proportions as listed are better suited to a single ramen pack/serving and I'd still generally add more veggies on top of it all. but I saved the recipe link as a bookmark for the sauce, and can tweak as I need to in the future. I picked around the skillet tonight for the "stuff" and pitched a bunch of noodles.

Probably not the same premise as the family restaurant's, a quick search comes up with Eton Mess (strawberries and port, yum!) and a Breakfast Mess.  Though, I'm sure the latter is reflective of more of a kitchen sink type "mess" considering the hodgepodge of ingredients.

[Iggy aka IG]

Time to hyperfocus on the bits and bobs in the fridge, freezer and pantry, especially veggies for nutrition purposes.

I used two restaurant packets of butter to fry Saturday's scrambled eggs.  Sunday's smoothies used several small bags of berries frozen during season.

Last night:  Portobello mushroom pizzas stuffed with baby spinach, homemade pizza sauce, mozzarella and pepperoni served on top of sauteed asparagus and yellow squash.  This used a container of mozzarella cheese shredded last week.  The pizza sauce used a can of tomato sauce, and I froze half for future use.

Tonight:  Currently in the Crock Pot is white chicken chili containing 2 cans of chicken, 2 different types of beans, 2 cans diced chilis, and a box of low sodium chicken broth.

Wed:   Zucchini enchiladas which will finish the remaining yellow squash, zucchini, avocado and tomato.  Cauliflower rice on the side will utilize a frozen bag of cauliflower.  I'll make cornbread for the side.

Thurs:  Spaghetti squash Alfredo served with the skinny tots I still haven't gotten to.  The latter will use another bag of cauliflower.

Fri:  Takeout

Sat:  Sleepover with the neighbor kiddos if I'm feeling better.  If so, I'll make spaghetti and meatballs using ingredients on hand, and perhaps teach them how to make air fryer bread...?

Sun:  Slow cooker ham hock (from the freezer) and beans, leftover cornbread.

Have a tasty week, everyone.

[wvugurl26]

Instant pot lasagna tonight. We have rolls to dip in the sauce.

I made 2 pans of from scratch dinner rolls and a batch of mini cheesecakes before my belated family Christmas was canceled due to illness. I did give away some of the cheesecakes and 1 tray of rolls to DH's family.

[chiver78]

two weeks from today, I'll be on a cruise. and this time, my mom won't be hanging out at my house with my dogs. so, I'm trying to do my best to pantry shop while I cook what fresh stuff I have, while not buying more than I have to before I leave for a week. luckily, whatever proteins are kicking around can be cooked off for the dogs, that's hugely helpful. 

anyway, last night I wasn't super hungry. I boiled off a small bowl of spinach ravioli and tossed it with a cup of extra piccata sauce. tonight, I'm going to boil off some pappardelle for a full portion of chicken piccata. there's 3 and a half BSCB left from the family pack, and I may end up throwing some of it in the IP to shred for the pups. I'm already really sick of chicken breast lol... 

[soupandstew]

Tonight is a roasted Cornish hen and some nuked fresh broccoli with butter and herbs.  

[Sunnyday]

I've gone back to meal planning and batch cooking to control my food expenses.

So I was just scrolling this thread for dinner ideas, but I thought that I'll share something I learned on YouTube to make sure that you eat your vegetables and fruit before they spoil.

Instead of storing your produce in the produce drawer, store your condiments there.  If you need ketchup, you will go looking for that ketchup in the produce drawer.  And place your produce on the shelves to always have them out and visible so that you remember to eat them.

Might be helpful for someone out there.    It's made a difference for me. 

I also learned on Youtube how to prep/parboil/freeze potatoes for later use.  I often bought a bag of potatoes, but I never got through them all before they started rooting and turning green. 

[daisylu]

Jan 17, 2024 22:28:00 GMT -5 Sunnyday said:

I've gone back to meal planning and batch cooking to control my food expenses.

So I was just scrolling this thread for dinner ideas, but I thought that I'll share something I learned on YouTube to make sure that you eat your vegetables and fruit before they spoil.

Instead of storing your produce in the produce drawer, store your condiments there.  If you need ketchup, you will go looking for that ketchup in the produce drawer.  And place your produce on the shelves to always have them out and visible so that you remember to eat them.

Might be helpful for someone out there.    It's made a difference for me. 

I also learned on Youtube how to prep/parboil/freeze potatoes for later use.  I often bought a bag of potatoes, but I never got through them all before they started rooting and turning green. 

I started doing something similar last year. My produce drawers are filled with cheeses, yogurts, and some smaller things.

[chiver78]

I reevaluated the fridge today, when I had a couple minutes between calls. there's a lot more than I thought I had. oops. 🤷‍♀️

tonight, I shredded a partial BSCB that was in the container with the rest of the family pack I opened on Sun or Mon. I seasoned with a homemade taco spice blend and used up the ends of a red onion, bell pepper, brick of pepper jack cheese, and half a tomato. this is a kitchen clean out win! lol...

there's still one portion of chicken piccata, and a lot more sauce than I need for one meal. I think this weekend will have one more spinach ravioli with piccata sauce, and I think maybe I'll make mashed potatoes for that last portion of chicken. I can use leftover mashed with any sort of protein later.

I'm thoroughly sick of chicken breast, and the rest of the container holding the family pack is going to get cooked/shredded for the pups. I'll pick up pork chops or a fish filet this weekend just for something different.

[snapdragon]

Lunch is a bag of chicken teriyaki from Costco.

Tonight is frozen Enchiladas and there will be leftovers for lunch tomorrow. 

[Opti]

Thinking of making salmon cakes but not sure if that is easy enough on my digestion. Not sure what I would have with them either.