Help! I need new recipes!

Cafe Society
1

This is embarassing. I’ve been cooking for over 40 years. I’m a pretty good cook, and I like cooking. But I’m running out of ideas. I’ve searched on line recipe sites, and I have a cabinet full of cookbooks.

There are three of us, all adults: me, my husband and our adult daughter. He hates to cook. Can’t tolerate handling unprepared food. In a pinch, he’ll make a sandwich, but that’s about it. My daughter, despite best efforts, is simply not a very good cook. She’ll put together prepared stuff that she can microwave or take out of a can, or a frozen dinner. She’s made some meals, but they are generally too much starch, not enough vegetables, and are mostly pre-prepared things.

So it’s up to me, which I really don’t mind because, as I said, I like to cook.

The biggest problem, though, is all our restrictions. We all agree that liver in any form is one of the more vile foodstuffs on the face of the earth.

My husband absolutely will not eat chicken. No form, no way. What’s weird is that he likes turkey. I don’t honestly see that much difference, but there’s no accounting for tastes. His family spent a lot of time as refugees, and I think he just had entirely too much boiled, steamed, stewed and otherwise mushily prepared old tough chicken in his youth. I respect his preference, because, hey, I’d hate for someone to serve me something I hate, like liver. He also doesn’t like strong-tasting fish. Or casseroles.

My daughter recently had her gallbladder out, and she can’t tolerate anything that’s especially greasy. Meatloaf, for example, she enjoys but will suffer for hours if she eats any. There are certain cuisines she doesn’t like, either, such as Thai. She doesn’t especially care for lamb or veal either, partly on ethical grounds, and she doesn’t like the idea of eating baby animals.

Both my husband and daughter have something of a cholesterol problem. He has had bypass surgery, is on meds for cholesterol and blood pressure. So we have to make at least some effort to limit fatty foods.

Then there’s me. I’m not all that picky, but in addition to liver cannot tolerate peppers. I’m not talking spiciness, here – pepper flakes on pizza, or chili are fine. But not bell peppers of any kind – any of the other beautiful and nutritious red, green and yellow peppers that are used to liven up a lot of dishes – not only taste awful to me but give me horrible heartburn for hours and hours.

My staples are: steak, spaghetti and meatballs (or sometimes sausage), broiled fish and other seafood, and a turkey cutlet dish that I invented that includes stuffing and/or rice, cranberries, etc., or pork chops. Once in a while I make chili, and sometimes we have tacos. Sometimes I make meat loaf anyway, and my daughter has something else. Weekends I often make a roast of some sort. If I make roast pork, I use the leftovers to make a nice stir fry with fresh vegetables.

And so it goes, week after week. What are we having? Steak, pasta, fish, turkey cutlets, chili or tacos. Roast beef or pork, leftovers. I keep looking at recipes and rejecting one after the other. Steak and good fish get expensive, too.

I’m getting bored with my own cooking. Plus for a weekday supper, I don’t have the time or the energy to spend hours cooking.

Help me!

2

Epicurious allows you to search their recipe archive by ingredient/s or style (such as low fat, etc.).
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/find/advanced/

You could also explore vegetarian cooking for something different. One of my favourite sites currently is: http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodtip&dbid=150 although not strictly vegetarian there are some really interesting sounding recipes, and there’s something very appealing about eating for both taste and sound nutrition.

3

You might like my quickie-recipe for tomato gravy.

In a little olive oil, saute a half cup or so of diced onions and a quarter cup of minced celery. (we use some bell pepper, but you can definitely leave it out w/no problem)

When they’re translucent, mop up any remaining olive oil with a paper towel, then add 2 cans of tomato soup. Do not add water. Add a half teaspoon of Cajun seasoning (or more, according to your taste).

Serve over rice. Makes a great side dish.

It’s good over pork, too. Or you can toss in some shrimp for a quick and dirty shrimp creole dish. Or add some browned, thinly sliced round steak for ah…uh, I guess, “steak creole.”

4

I second the suggestion of trying vegetarian as well. There are many healthy, low fat dishes that you can make; if you think that you might miss the meat too much, you can try some Seventh Day Adventist recipes–I think they make greater use of meat-replacers than other vegetarian cuisines. Tofu can be great–it’s all in how you flavor it, though. I had some smoked barbeque tofu once that was really quite tasty. :slight_smile: Sorry that I don’t have any specific links for you, but am sure that any good vegetarian-centric pages would have info on proteins (good sources would be nuts, legumes, dairy). At any rate, you could try that a couple of days a week.

Come to think of it, I’m going to go searching on Google, and will come back and post again a few links for you to vegetarian recipes. There are also more than a few vegetarians in the forums here, I think, and if you ask for some recipes they will more than likely be happy to provide kitchen-tested ones. :slight_smile:

Good luck to you & your family.

5

Why is your meatloaf greasy? It doesn’t have to be. Are you cooking it in a bread loaf pan? Using high-fat ground beef? Try Alton Brown’s method (either leave out the red pepper or get you some Prilosec) which uses fairly lean meats.

6

Thanks for the suggestions. Yes, I cook the meatloaf in a loaf pan. Is there another way?

Vegetarian suggestions are good, except of course by the time you eliminate peppers (I won’t eat them), squashes, turnips, parsnips, and similar things nobody else will eat, we get limited. Things we all like are snow peas, asparagus, cauliflower and spinach. I can get away with fresh green beans occasionally, or a little bit of carrots in a stir fry.

I don’t know how to prepare tofu; I like the spicy tofu they sell at Wegman’s, though. Sometimes I buy that and add some snow peas or bok choy, and/or shrimp, but the prepared stuff at Wegman’s is a little pricey. I should learn how to do it myself.

Tomato gravy/sauce is not a problem. I’ve tried to make it from scratch several times, and it’s never as good as the better jarred varieties, so I use that. But pasta once a week is quite enough.

When I was not working outside the home, I didn’t mind making a couple of options for the evening meal: chicken for me & the kids, a burger for dad, that kind of thing. But now I just don’t have the energy.

7

Your husband likes turkey, right?

Here are two things you can make with leftover (already cooked) turkey. You can roast a small turkey, eat that, then use the leftovers for these two things.

Thing one: Turkey enchiladas

My recipe calls for shredded cooked turkey, jack cheese (though most cheeses would work - mozzarella is lower in fat), black beans, salsa, and cubed baked potatoes (not necessary, but fills out the enchiladas). You can add olives or something, but I don’t really like them. Mix all that stuff together with mexican seasonings as you see fit, then roll it in softened corn tortillas. Pour enchilada sauce over the top, sprinkle on some more cheese, and bake until hot.

Thing two: Turkey phyllo dough pie

This recipe comes out of the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook. It’s basically cooked turkey mixed with some mozzarella and thawed/drained frozen spinach, with some egg and seasonings to hold it together. You can also use ricotta or cottage cheese. Layer several pieces of phyllo dough ina pie plate, add filling, bend the phyllo pieces over the filling, and bake until set.

You could even make a turkey tortilla soup (subbing turkey for chicken), and a lot of recipes can be made with ground turkey instead of ground beef. Our meatloaf is delicious as white-people-food goes and has lots of teeny pieces of veggies in it (you can use whatever veggies you like) and is made with ground turkey.

8

Absolutely. When you cook the meat in a loaf pan, you are basically stewing it (braising). It sits and bubbles in it’s own grease and juices and usually comes out kinda dry.

Make your meat mix 1/2 pound very lean beef, 1/4 pound not-so-lean (10-15% fat) and 1/4 either ground lean pork or (my favorite) ground lamb. Mix it with whatever spices and veggies you use, an egg and some bread crumbs in an appropriate ratio, then either free-form it into a rectangle or use a loaf pan to form it, then dump it out onto a shallow roasting pan. Glaze it with a mixture of ketchup, honey and cumin or whatever you prefer. Turn the oven up to about 450. When it’s preheated, slide the loaf in. After about 15-20 minutes, reduce the heat to 325-350 and roast until done (about 155 degrees internal).

9

I’ll have to try the free-form meatloaf and see if that sits better.

The enchiladas are out – salsa has peppers in it. No go.

Soup takes too long to make after work – might be o.k. for a weekend for me and el hubbo, our daughter wouldn’t like it.

The turkey phyllo thing sounds good. I’d have to plan ahead and make the turkey on Sunday or Saturday.

Keep ‘em comin’!

10

You could use a can of stewed tomatoes with Jalapenos instead, or even just a can of stewed chopped tomatoes. Do jalepenos do the same thing as bell peppers?

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Jalapenos would be even worse. I hate the very smell of them. It’s a measure of how fond I am of my husband that I actually cook peppers for him when we do have pasta. With a towel over my face to keep out the smell.

12

Instead of turkey cutlets, you might enjoy this Braised Dark Meat Turkey recipe.

If you’re looking to expand your pasta options, we love this Blue Cheese Spinach Pasta recipe (though we don’t honey-coat the walnuts, just roast them and crumble into the pasta dry).

13

Thanks, but that braised turkey takes 3 hours to cook! Supper at 9:30? I don’t mind a little fussing about, but week nights I need foodage within an hour at most.

14

Pasta doesn’t have to be just tomato sauce!

A favourite pasta recipe of mine is some finely chopped garlic and chili sauted in a little olive oil. Add in enough ricotta cheese to make sense for however many people you’re feeding, and a handful of finely chopped parsley. Add a little milk or water if the mixture is really thick.

Or you can make a nice vegetable sauce by adding chopped onion/garlic/whatever vegies (eggplant/carrot/mushrooms/broccoli & etc) you like to a basic tomato sauce. I’ll add a handful of red lentils to boost the protein content and cook until everything is soft. Serve over wholemeal pasta for a bit of texture contrast.
This is also good with brown rice.

I marinate firm tofu in a mix of plum sauce, honey, garlic, five spice powder and a little chili (you can leave the chili out altogether if you like) overnight, then stir fry it with Chinese greens (or any vegetables really) and serve with rice or noodles. This also works for tempeh or seitan.

Frittata is very easy to make and the contents are limited only by your imagination.

If you like vegies such as snow peas and asparagus, saute them quickly (chop the asparagus into pieces) in a little olive oil until they just start to soften. Put them into a bowl and add four (or more) lightly beaten eggs and a little water. Pour back into the pan and cook until the top of the frittata is still a little liquid, then put the pan under a grill (is this a broiler in American?) until the top is browned.
Serve with lots of green salad.

I like a version of frittata made with grated zucchini,onions and garlic and one made with sweet corn and polenta. You could use caramelized onion and add a little goat cheese or feta to the top.

15

Some of my favorite, easily made recipes

Corned Beef and Cabbage with carrots and boiled potatoes. Make it all in one pot: Meat first, then potatoes, and then carrots and finally the cabbage. Slice the corned beef thin and serve with mustard. Eat lots of the veggies and only a couple of slices of meat.

Easy Veal Parmesan. Place breaded veal patties on a baking pan, cover with tomato sauce, mozzarella, garlic and Italian Spice. Bake at 350 till the cheese melts. Serve with healthy veggies.

Beer Batter Fried Tilapia. Nice, mild and inexpensive fish that fries easily. Serve with lots of veggies.

Even not-so-healthy meats can be part of a healthy meal if you only consume a little meat (~6oz) and include healthy vegetables not splattered with butter, IMO.

16

Yes, I do corned beef & cabbage & potatoes & carrots. But that’s on a weekend when there’s the hours available to cook. Later in the week I make corned beef hash with the leftovers.

Veal we have only rarely. The usual cutlets in ordinary supermarkets are expensive; the really good ones in Wegmans are dam pricey, and one of us has a hangup about eating baby animals.

Tilapia we have maybe once a week. It’s a nice mild fish that everyone will eat, although with varying degrees of enthusiasm. I’d rather a nice steelhead trout myself, and sometimes get one piece to cook separately.

We have pasta also about once a week. If I serve it more than that, it feels like, “Hey, didn’t we just have that yesterday?” regardless of how it’s dressed up.

Fritatta sounds yummy, but probably too many eggs for the 2/3 of the family with high cholesterol.

Thanks to everyone, though. I’m really not trying to be difficult, just trying to get some stuff I can use to vary our weekday menus. I bet some other readers without all the annoying restrictions are getting some good suggestions, too!

17

blackhobyah, Please fight my tofu ignorace, if you don’t mind. Can you be a bit more specific about this marinating process? What proportions of those ingredients do you use? Also, please take me from store to plate on handling and preparation. Can you just buy the tofu, plop it in the marinade, and then use it the next day like you would any other thing you’re stir-frying? Or is there some additional preparation needed first? Does it cook quickly, or do you have to allow a little extra time? Do you brown it first, as you would meat, or just mix it in with the vegetables and cook them all together? I have never cooked tofu in my life. If I do cook it and I do it wrong and it comes out nasty, I will never be able to serve it again!

18

Allrecipes is one of my favorite recipe sites. You can search by included or excluded ingredients, by rating, etc. It even gives you nutritional information for recipes.

Something I did the other day to use a bunch of walleye fillets we had in the freezer–saute some onion and a block of frozen/chopped spinach with a little kosher salt and garlic. Place a big fat spoonful on each fillet and roll up. Put a couple cups of cooked rice in a casserole dish. In a separate pan, mix some shredded very sharp cheddar, a cup of white wine, and some butter until the cheese melts and blends in. Line up fish/spinach rolls on the bed of rice and pour the cheese/wine sauce over the top. Bake until done. Yum :smiley:

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PS that was swiped straight from Alton Brown!

20

Another of my favorite (healthy!) recipes, butternut squash soup. Before you nix it on the basis of the squash, I’ve never met a person that didn’t thoroughly love this dish… I’ve got friends that call it pumpkin pie soup because that’s what it tastes like.
Halve and scoop out the seeds from a big butternut squash. Roast for an hour or two until soft. Meanwhile saute an onion in a little butter or olive oil. Add a tbsp or so of kosher salt and some black pepper. Add in the baked squash, a carton of chicken broth, a tablespoon of cinnamon, a good pinch of nutmeg and a small pinch of ground clove. 1/4 cup of brown sugar and a small can of evaporated milk. Blend it all up and serve with some good sourdough bread. I add tortellini or ravioli and top with a tiny bit of sour cream.
You can save time with the roasting by cutting the squash into smaller chunks before roasting, or small cubes and steam it.

This is very easy to do in a crock pot by peeling the squash and tossing it in large chunks with all the rest of the ingredients excepting the dairy and the pasta. Let sit on high all day and blend it up when you get home. Add the milk right before serving. Yum!