I need some "Normal" dinner ideas!?!


Question: I am making my menu for the week i need some normal dinner ideas! things like spaghetti and things so please help me out keep in mind im not like a gourmet chef!!! Thanks


Answers: I am making my menu for the week i need some normal dinner ideas! things like spaghetti and things so please help me out keep in mind im not like a gourmet chef!!! Thanks

hot dogs
hamburgers
pasta
chicken nuggets
chicken fried steaks
pizza
lasagna
fajitas
tacos
enchaladas
sandwhiches
chinese take out
macaroni and cheese with maybe a few spices and hamburger helper
tuna casserole, any other casserole

you can also try looking somehting up at footnetwork.com and go to the rachel ray section
her stuff is the easiest and fastest to prepare

Y dont you try some simple Indian dishes for a change ..hmm not all the 'normal' for you...u cd try this curry
whole chicken (3 lbs.)
2 med. yellow onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
2" piece of ginger, minced
1 tsp. cumin seeds
1 tsp. turmeric
3" stick cinnamon
2 c. chicken stock
2 tbsp. curry powder
1 tsp. garam masala
(All the above ingredients can be found at an Indian store in your city..)

Cut the chicken into pieces and brown in oil. Remove and add chopped onion. Saute until tender. Add garlic and ginger, make sure there is enough oil so that nothing sticks. Add cumin seeds. Add the turmeric and curry powder and stir constantly to prevent any sticking. Stir the "paste" until the curry powder becomes fragrant; this usually takes 1 to 2 minutes (be careful not to burn the curry powder). Now add the garam masala. Add the chicken broth, cinnamon stick and chicken. Cover and simmer until chicken is cooked (approximately 45 minutes). Serve with white rice.

Spaghetti, salad, garlic bread

Meat loaf, baked potatoes, green beans

Macaroni and cheese, salad, bread

Baked chicken (marinate it in Italian dressing first), mashed potatoes, peas

Chicken a la King, salad

Sun Dried Tomato Alfredo over fettuccine (buy the Classico pre-made sauce), salad, garlic bread

Baked Barbecue Pork Chops, stuffing, corn

If you need to know how to fix any of the above, just email me.

Bon Appetite!

Some of my favorite "easy" meals (that are not out of a can/frozen):

French dip sandwiches (roast beef, sourdough, au jus)

Chicken Cesar salad (grilled chicken and salad w/Cesar dressing)

Chicken and Rice (steamed rice, grilled chicken, veggies)

Tacos (ground meat, usually turkey, with seasoning, then avocados, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese)

Home made pizza (use Rhode's bread dough for the crust, a little sauce, whatever on top).

Breakfast for dinner (pancakes, eggs, bacon, ham, etc)


Most of these are the "main" part. Usually veggies, fruit or garden salad as a side. Sometimes potato or whatever.

If you are in a college dorm without kitchen you can do this in microwave too-

15 minute cheesy tuna dinner

INGREDIENTS
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 1/2 cups milk
2 (6 ounce) cans tuna, drained, flaked
1 cup frozen green peas, thawed
2 cups Minute? White Rice, uncooked
1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese


DIRECTIONS
Mix soup and milk in medium saucepan. Bring to boil on medium heat, stirring frequently.
Add tuna and peas; mix well. Return to boil.
Stir in rice and cheese; cover. Reduce heat to low; cook 5 minutes. Stir until cheese is melted. Garnish with canned French fried onions or crushed potato chips just before serving, if desired.

CHICKEN FRIED STEAKS

5 tbsp. all-purpose flour, divided
1/4 c. cornmeal
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
4 beef cube steaks (about 1 pound)
1 egg white
1 tsp. water
2 tbsp. vegetable oil, divided

GRAVY:

1 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. all-purpose flour
1-1/2 c. milk
1 tsp. beef bouillon granules
1/2 tsp. dried marjoram
1/4 tsp. dried thyme
1/8 tsp. pepper

Combine 3 tablespoons flour, cornmeal, salt and pepper; set aside. Coat steaks with remaining flour. Beat egg white and water; dip steaks, then dredge in cornmeal mixture. In a skillet, cook two steaks in 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until crisp, lightly browned and cooked as desired. Remove steaks and keep warm. Repeat with the remaining oil and steaks. Meanwhile, for gravy, melt butter in a saucepan; stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Reduce heat to medium-low. Add bouillon, marjoram, thyme and pepper; simmer, uncovered, for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve over steaks. Makes 4 servings.

HUNGARIAN GOULASH

2-1/2 lb. beef, cut into chunks
1/2 garlic clove, crushed
1/2 c. onions, chopped
2 Tbsp. butter
2 C. water
1 C. catsup
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 Tbsp. paprika
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. vinegar
1 tbsp. flour
8 oz. noodles

In a large pan, brown beef with onion and garlic in large skillet with butter. Add water, catsup, and seasonings, cover and cook at low heat until the meat is tender, about 2 hours. Mix flour with 1/4 c. of water and add to hot mixture, stirring constantly, and cook until thick. In the meantime, cook noodles in boiling salted water. Drain, mix with part of the sauce from the meat, and serve with the meat over them.

STUFFED PEPPERS

4 lg. green peppers or 4 lg. tomatoes
1/2 to 3/4 lb. hamburger
1 onion, chopped
Salt and Pepper
Parsley (dried) to taste
1-1/2 c. cooked white rice (any kind)
1 small can tomato sauce

Cut tops "caps" off of the peppers and put aside. Core peppers and remove seeds. Remove as many of the membranes as you are able. (They will make the peppers bitter.) Boil water in a large pot and add peppers and "caps." Meanwhile, saute the onion in a skillet and then add hamburger, salt, pepper and parsley. Mix with cooked white rice. Remove peppers from water, and stuff with mixture. Do not top with caps yet. Pour tomato sauce over peppers. Add "cap" and place in a shallow baking dish. Add a little water to the dish to keep from sticking. Bake at 350 F. until peppers are soft. Check often to see if pan needs more water.

TURKEY OR CHICKEN CROQUETTES

5 c. turkey OR chicken-finely chopped
2 Medium onions, chopped
Salt, pepper and nutmeg, to taste
4 tbsp. Butter
6 tbsp. Flour
3 c. Heavy cream
4 Eggs, beaten
Breadcrumbs
1 or 2 cans of chicken gravy

Combine the chopped turkey or chicken with the onion and seasonings. Melt the butter and stir in the flour. Add the cream and cook for 1 minute over a low flame, stirring constantly. Remove from flame and combine the two mixtures. Chill for about 20 minutes. Form small oval-shaped balls. Roll the croquettes in egg and then bread crumbs. Fry until golden. Serve with gravy. Serves 4.

AMERICAN CHOP SUEY

Oil
1 medium-large onion
Garlic powder
1-1/2 lbs. hamburger
Salt and pepper to taste
2 cans tomato soup
1 can water
1 box elbow macaroni

Place the oil in large heavy skillet on medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until tender. Break up the hamburger into smaller pieces and add to pan. Add salt, pepper to taste. Add a generous amount of garlic powder for flavor. Cook, stirring frequently, until meat is no longer pink. Break up the hamburger into fine pieces. (You do not want large chunks of meat in your sauce.) Add 2 cans of tomato soup and 1 can of water. Stir and heat. Make the elbow macaroni according to the directions on the box. Drain. Return to the same pot you used to cook the macaroni. Taste the sauce and adjust seasonings as needed. Add the meat sauce to the pot of macaroni. Stir well. Serve with bread and butter.

Apricot chicken

Serves 4

Degree of difficulty: Low

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

You need:

Ingredients:

500 grams sliced or four single chicken breasts
1 onion
1 tin of apricot nectar
200 grams of dried apricots
100 grams of flaked almonds
1 packet of dry french onion soup
1 tablespoon of olive oil


Steamed rice to serve



Method:

Combine french onion soup and apricot nectar and set aside.

Fry sliced onion in olive oil and add chicken and cook until 90% done.

Add nectar and dried apricots and simmer for about 5 minutes.

Add flaked almonds just prior to serving and serve with steamed rice.

Sprinkle some almonds on the top for effect.

Serving Suggestion: It looks fabulous on a bed of wild rice as well.

One of my favorite and easiest dinners is to make "hobo packs". I don't know if you have kids, but if you do they love helping. You can do everything ahead of time, which makes throwing it together the night you are going to have it really simple.

However many people you are cooking for, you need that many white potatoes and large carrots. You'll also need about half an onion.

Dice the onion.
Chop the potatoes and carrots into similar size pieces, maybe an inch or so squares.
Garlic Salt.
Pepper.
Butter.
Ground Beef.
Aluminum Foil.

First, make burger patties out of the ground beef. Garlic Salt and pepper them on both sides. Cut a square of foil, maybe 8 inches square. Place the patty down in the middle of the foil. Cover the patty with some potatoes, carrots, and diced onion. Garlic salt and pepper again over veggies. Put a few pieces of butter on top. Cover with another square of foil, and fold up all edges together to seal the package. Repeat until you've used all the meat and veggies. If you have extra veggies and no more meat, do a pack of just veggies and butter.

Bake these packs directly on the middle oven rack at 375 degrees for about 45 minutes, or until the burgers are cooked through.

Once you make these a time or two, you won't need this recipe. And, you can use chicken breasts, and different veggies, like broccoli and cauliflower and carrots, or whatever you/your family likes.

Creating a menu can be time consuming, boring and challenging....especially if you have some picky eaters. Keep in mind whether you want basic foods, or if you want something more snazzy and how difficult you want preparation etc. Here are some ideas:

1. Swiss Steak, mashed potatoes, chopped salad
2. Baked chicken breasts over rice, green salad, fruit
3. Pork roast, oven roasted potatos, fresh green beans
4. Tacos, or taco salad, spanish rice, refried beans, flan
5. Baked halibut filets, rice pilaf, peas
6. Waffles, scrambled eggs, crisp bacon, orange slices
7. Polish Sausage sandwiches, chips, fruit
8. Baked ham, scallopped potatos, peas
9. Chuck roast with roasted carrots, potatoes and onions, green salad
10. Tamale pie, sliced tomatos
11. Fish sticks with American Cheese, oven baked fries, baked apples with vanilla frozen yogurt.
12. Chili con carne, corn bread, iceburg lettuce salad with blue cheese dressing.
13. Grilled ribeyes, baked potatos, green salad
14. Meatloaf, macaroni and cheese, sliced tomatos
15. Hot dog casserole
16. Vegetable lasagne
17. Spaghetti with meatballs, garlic bread, salad

- Grilled lamb steack with a Ratatouille (french dish with zucchini, tomatoes, onions, yellow papper, aubergine, fresh herbs like basilikum, thym, parsley,..) (20-30 minutes to prepare)

- Vegetable puree with a sausage or grilled meat (20 minutes)

- Tagliatelle with Smoked Salmon in a safran cream sauce (20 minutes)

- Tomatoes filled with meat and cooked in the oven.

- Fish sticks with salad

- Greek salad with roasted chicken,

etc





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