Your standard dinner recipes

Cafe Society
1

I read somewhere that the average family has about four or five favorite dinner menus. Most people are reluctant to make huge changes in this routine. Mine are:
spaghetti
baked chicken thighs (with various seasonings, but usually accompanied by rice or noodles and steamed vegetables or green salad)
salmon or some other filleted fish with rice and corn on the side
chicken or beef stew (w carrots, celery, potatoes, etc.)
some kind of Chinese fried rice thing.

I’m tired of these. What are some of your favorites that I can replace one or more of these with?

2

I got the Better Homes and Gardens Crock Pot Cookbook from the library and have added fruited chicken thighs in red wine sauce (the fruit being dried apricots and pitted dates), sweet and sour ribs, and morrocan stew–among other tasty things. I love the crock pot because dinner is done whenever I get home in the evening so it’s a real time saver and, given the weather of late, it doesn’t heat up the kitchen too much.

Other standards are lite (or turkey) keilbasa stir fried with onions, green and red peppers in an herb and garlic sauce; pene pasta in a quick tomato sauce; broiled salmon (or talapia) with frozen veggies mixed with Near East rice pilaf.

3

Those sound good, Laura! Would you please post the recipe for Moroccan stew? BW

4

My favorite cheap/easy/yummy dinner is spaghetti and meatballs. I know everyone knows how to make meatloaf; just make the mixture into balls and drop the balls into simmering Italian-seasoned tomato sauce and simmer 20 minutes. Serve with a plain salad and supply lots of grated parmesan cheese.

5

Moroccan Lamb and Fruit Stew
Ingredients
• 1 to 2 teaspoons crushed dried red pepper
• 3/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 pounds well trimmed, boneless leg of lamb, cut into 1- to 1-1/2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil or cooking oil
• 2 large onions, chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 14-ounce can beef broth
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons cold water
• 1 cup pitted dates
• 1 cup dried apricots
• Hot cooked couscous or rice
• 1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
• Orange peel curl (optional)

Directions

  1. In a shallow mixing bowl combine crushed red pepper, turmeric, ginger, cinnamon, and salt. Coat meat with seasoning mixture. In a large skillet heat oil over medium-high heat. Brown meat, one-third at a time, in the hot oil. Transfer meat to a 3-1/2- or 4-quart electric slow cooker. Add onions and garlic; stir to combine. Pour beef broth over all.
  2. Cover and cook on low-heat setting for 7 to 9 hours or on high-heat setting for 3-1/2 to 4-1/2 hours or until meat is tender. Skim fat from the surface of the juices in the slow cooker. Stir cornstarch into the cold water; stir into crockery cooker.
  3. Add dates and apricots; stir to combine. If using low-heat setting, turn to high-heat setting. Cover and cook for 30 minutes more or until mixture is slightly thickened and bubbly.
  4. To serve, spoon stew atop hot couscous or rice. Top with almonds. If desired, garnish with orange peel curls. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

This is from the Better Homes and Gardens web site–I hope it’s okay that I posted it here. And you can substitute stew beef for the lamb and it’s just as tasty and tender.

6

I do an enchilada casserole. It’s so much easier than rolling those little fellas. I brush the bottom of a baking dish with enchilada sauce, and then I cut corn tortillas in half and line the bottom of the dish. Then put your stuff in, then another layer of tortillas and more stuff, and finally another layer of tortillas. Top with cheese, tomato slices and wedges of avacado. Top with sour cream. Mmmm…now THAT’S good eatin’.

7

Take a tin of butter beans (you may call them something else in America - big white flattish beans) and mix with chunks of red onions, red peppers, cherry tomatoes and pesto, put in a baking dish with any filet of white fish and stick in the oven for about 20 minutes
Fantastic.

8

Army Food
Brown 1 lb ground beef with a chopped-up onion.
Drain beef; then stir in 2 cans Pork-n-Beans.
Heat 'til warmed.

Season with salt and pepper. Easy and good!
Fried Rice
(I modified this out of Joy of Cooking – if you have that book, I recommend taking a look at their instructions, as my memory’s not so hot.)

  1. Cook some white (or brown) rice and cool it in fridge

  2. Scramble some eggs in a few Tbs oil (I use sesame oil) - then use the spatula to chop the egg into small pieces.

  3. Toss in any combination of chopped-up green onions, water chestnuts, regular chopped-up onion, pea pods, corn, green beans, cooked chicken/pork/shrimp, garlic OR whatever else you have lying around, and sauté with a little more oil.

  4. Stir in the rice, and add some soy or teriyaki sauce and maybe some more oil.

  5. Keep sauteeing until warm. Add some salt to taste. Mmmm. And I know all the oil is bad for you, but it really enhances the flavor.

9

No roll cabbage rolls!

They’re just like cabbage rolls, only I use the whole head of cabbage, line a pan with half the cabbage on the bottom, spoon in the filling, and line the top with the rest of the cabbage. Pour over the sauce and bake. It’s a lot faster than rolling them up.