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FLATU8ER

FLATU8ER

Joined
Jul 26, 2008
Threads
92
Messages
1,391
Location
hanford, ca
I have been stumped as of late. I've been in the usual rotation of pork, beef, chicken, fish on the grill and other methods. Trying to figure out dinner for a family of 4, as I have been home for 2 mos fighting work comp. I finally gave in and had my youngest with me at the local market as we wandered the aisles looking for inspiration. (I was looking at beers) Before we left I surfed through past threads in frustration looking for something that would work with all family members. I hit a big zero, and the son said, "Hey what about calzones?" I was surprised and stunned from his brilliant idea, and we loaded up on Pillsbury ready made pizza dough, and other stuff.
So I thought I would start a thread for those of us that are stumped, looking for something quick, but unique. We all need to break out of the rut, and it is something tough to do. Especially with different tastes and picky a$$ eaters. A big blast of newness if you are cooking for 1 or 2, or 4 to 5.
Well Calzones are starting this off. Considering that we all like pizza flavored stuff, it involves the younger/picky ones who can customize their own serving, and should not take too many steps, and I don't get blamed for the fudged ups.
What do my MUD friends have?
-Jim
 
Pizza, tacos, and quesadillas are the go-to meals at my house, and we usually have ingredients to make all. All can be made relatively healthy and gluten-free if needed.
 
Well, it turned out OK, as the kids liked being involved. Mine was last, and I kinda roached my calzone. Maybe it needed a different type of dough. Oh well lesson learned, press on.
-Jim
 
Jim...make your dough. Its silly easy and you'll quit buying store bought dough; especially anything that comes out of a can. OTOH Trader Joe's and Whole Foods has decent pizza dough, for ~$1.50 that will make a couple pizzas...bagged in the refrigerated areas...take it home and let it rise.
 
Ha, I was wondering when THE Spressomon would kick in. Great idea, I like it, but the nearest Trader Joe's is an hour north, and I haven't seen a Whole Foods, maybe they are in Fresno?
Thanks, Jim

We did tacos a few days ago, then the calzones, and tonight I am busting down a chicken into parts to grill. I will do a regular seasoned version, some with BBQ sauce, and for me some Basque marinated pieces. Serve with a big salad. Spressomon, you should have great access to the veggies living close to the Salad Bowl of Calif.
 
Pizza-dillas. Hit your pan griddle with a dash of oil, lightly sprinkle some garlic salt, lay down a big tortilla and go to town building with whatever you like on a pizza. They're a big hit with my boy and his friends.
Butt
 
Sausage Marsala and pasta.

Cut up some chicken-apple sausage and brown in a cast-iron skillet. Strong flavored sausages (Italian, andouille) tend to over dominate the Marsala sauce so I've settled on chicken-apple.

Set the browned sausage aside and sweat some finely chopped onion with finely chopped mushrooms and garlic. The mushrooms gotta go in there for flavor - the chop you put on them is a matter of preference. I would happily go with bigger chunks, but if my son can identify anything in there as a mushroom he won't eat it ;).

Pour a bottle of Marsala wine and maybe a cup or cup and a half of cream into the skillet with the onions and mushrooms. Start a pot of fettuccine going while you let the Marsala reduce. Half way through reduction I reintroduce the sausage. I remove the noodles from the pot of water before they're done and mix well into the skillet to finish in the sauce.

Serve and enjoy!
Butt
 
Good old comfort food; tuna casserole. All the ingredients are shelf stable so it makes a great last minute meal. In the old days we used cream of mushroom soup, now I make béchamel sauce. It's one of those cooking skills that is easy to learn and makes a huge difference in how your dish comes out. You can find a recipe on line or in any cook book, once you start making this you will never use canned soup again.
 
FLATU8ER said:
Ha, I was wondering when THE Spressomon would kick in. Great idea, I like it, but the nearest Trader Joe's is an hour north, and I haven't seen a Whole Foods, maybe they are in Fresno?
Thanks, Jim

We did tacos a few days ago, then the calzones, and tonight I am busting down a chicken into parts to grill. I will do a regular seasoned version, some with BBQ sauce, and for me some Basque marinated pieces. Serve with a big salad. Spressomon, you should have great access to the veggies living close to the Salad Bowl of Calif.
Click to expand...
Try Winco Foods they sell pizza dough and it aint half bad.
 
Well Rusty, I had too much Tuna Casserole as a kid, and now I can not stand even the smell.
I will look at WinCo the next time I'm there, thanks.
 
FLATU8ER said:
Well Rusty, I had too much Tuna Casserole as a kid, and now I can not stand even the smell.
I will look at WinCo the next time I'm there, thanks.
Click to expand...
I alter the recipe a lot to not include tuna many times. It's an easy thing to do with a ton of options if you just think of it as noodles, protein, cheese, sauce and veggies. Let the kids add what they want to noodles and the sauce in their own small casserole dishes or foil trays. Heat through and serve. Don't forget the French onions and Panko.

Frittatas are another easily customizable meal. Add veggies or meat or cheese or everything.

I like the wraps idea. Each kid picks the ingredients and rolls it up. Cooked rice, sandwich stuff, beans, meat or fish, etc. You can also sub crescent rolls for tortillas and just fold them over then bake them till done.

Mac and cheese is easily customized and freaking delicious. I have a craving for some with a hot dog in it for some reason right now. Crap, writing that just made it worse. Wonder where I can find that near work (since I'll be here for a while).


...via IH8MUD app
 
It's also really easy, but usually salty, to buy a few different jars of sauces for when you have something like a cooked chicken looking for a meal. Cook a chicken or pork then pull the meat off the bones into chunks. Let each person decide what kind of sauce they want and heat each serving up in a skillet with that sauce, then serve with whatever else you want. I always cook way more chicken or pork so I can have easy meals for a few days.

Then there's nachos. It's amazing what people will eat when they can do it with their fingers.


...via IH8MUD app
 
Google "no boil lasagna" stupid easy; just layer up sauce uncooked lasagna, ricotta and cheese then bake.
 
Don't forget how versatile rice is.

Soak some raisins in orange juice (or rum), julienne or dice some carrots and add them all to the pot with the rice. Maybe some frozen peas. Add a bit of lemon zest and a thyme sprig (just remove them before eating) on top and cook. Use chicken stock instead of water if you want.
 
I agree, rice and pasta are great for trying to find something to start with. Sometimes rotini or rigatoni pasta with home cooked pinto beans for sauce are a nice change.

Fajitas are also easy, some grocers even take the headache out of the prep. Sliced beef for marinade and a mix of stuff make it complete...
101_1593.jpg
 
Wifey came up with chili taters for dinner tonight. Baked taters with Turkey chili con carne and some fixins. Good stuff and super easy.
 
Still bouncing around, cooking a lot of Mexican based dishes. But making the kids come up with ideas, and serving with a big salad.
Rusty, I've heard of filling potato skins with chili. Sounds good but never got around to it.
 
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