In a dinner rut...help me PLEASE

[craftymom]

Oh, I am in such a rut. We are all sick of turkey meatloaf and and turkey chili and chicken in orange juice/soy sauce and mashed potatoes. My 6yo has gone on a pasta strike too--he'll eat leftovers for lunch, but at dinnertime oh no!! He's out of luck tonight!

I need to make spinach lasagna this week--one for me, one for a friend with 2 new babies (and a toddler!).

Tonight--pasta w/marinara and homegrown peas, homemade foccacia
Tues--pasta fagiole (trying another recipe for this) in the crockpot (this is bean soup w/pasta, not another bowl o pasta!), leftover foccacia
Wed--maybe lasagna day, depends on playdate location.
Th--homemade pizza on TJ's dough, salad from garden
Fri--daddy orders dinner in night
Sat--enchiladas?

Does anyone have any basic ideas? We don't eat fish, shellfish, peanuts, or mushrooms; boys won't eat anything vaguely spicy. I like cooking but the boys fight constantly OR play underfoot when I do, so quick or crockpot is good! I also love making soup--ds6 loves lentil soup at school, but won't eat it when I make it!!

[VikingKvinna]

Seems like you could expand your chicken repertoire. We eat a lot of chicken here...chicken dijon, chicken and biscuits/pot pie/dumplings, chicken adobo, chicken and rice bakes, chicken tenders, etc.

Do you eat beef?

Also, how about some curries/stirfrys? You can make those very easily using bottled sauces, throw in some veggies (even frozen if you're really pressed for time) tofu or chicken, and put over brown or white rice.

Black beans with rice, black bean soup, black bean burritos/enchiladas. Or chicken soft tacos or chalupas.

Casseroles like mac and cheese or chili mac or chicken and noodle casserole? Enchilada casserole or tamale pie?

Big salads with lots of toppings? Here are some of the salads we do frequently: cobb, greek, chef's, buffalo chicken, southwestern. Or big pasta/rice salads with the same sorts of "toppings" incorporated, like a southwestern chicken and rice salad with black beans, corn, avocado, cilantro, etc. Or greek pasta salad with feta, tomato, black olives, scallions, oregano and lemon juice vinagrette.

Turkey sloppy joes, turkey picadillo, turkey goulash.

Breakfast for dinner: quiche or frittata, omelets, pancakes, waffles, hash browns, egg bakes or stratas

Pitas or wraps stuffed with grilled veggies, cheeses, avocado, greens.

check out the HUGE crockpot thread, and also the "what's for dinner" threads, in Nutrition and Good Eating. Also the vegetarian/vegan living threads. All of those are a great source of ideas and inspiration for me.

I hope this helps jump start your imagination! Good luck getting out of the rut, I know what it's like.

ETA, let me know if you want any particular soup recipes/ideas, I make a lot of soup and serve it with salad and/or homemade bread.

[saratc]

Craftymom, there's an awesome crock pot cooking thread under Nutrition and Good Eating:

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=237665

[craftymom]

Thank you for the crockpot thread links! I need to peruse them carefully (when? I wonder...). The crockpot is just my favorite because then 2-mile tricycle rides/walks don't mess up dinner....

I should say that those meals we're sick of are not all I make! I am constantly trying new things, and whether I make them up or use a recipe, nothing is ever worth making again. My 2 guys have outgrown their food allergies (so far so good) of ds6 rice (but he is still afraid of rice and won't eat more than 3 bites or so, even though he gets excited that he doesn't feel the least bit sick) and ds3 tomato and potato. I have been cooking for so long without these things that for the life of me I can't figure out what I USED to make.

We do eat beef and pork, but I try not to serve those or poultry every day, much to dh's chagrin. And dh and ds6 won't eat tofu, which takes out another option....grrrrr! And given how much time I spend out at playdates, bball practice, music class, it seems I am always out of time to make dinner, which results in chicken w/orange juice and soy sauce!! It is delicious, but maybe every 10 days or so.

[RachelD]

My husband refuses tofu, too and, really, I don't like it much. But you might try tempeh, though, which we really like as a change from beef-pork-chicken. I think it has a nicer texture, takes on marinade flavors better, and is easy to fry in a pan or bake and incorporate in stir-fry (maybe with noodles if rice is a problem), sandwiches, etc.
Also, is fish maybe an option? Maybe some mild tasting white fish wouldn't be too objectionable with some really light cornmeal-type breading and plenty of tartar sauce? Cooks up even quicker than a chicken breast.