Need new weeknight recipes!

Our usuals during the week are generally some kind of pasta (spaghetti-ish), chicken cutlets, pork chops, chili, etc. But they're not at all FUN--very basic, all-american, June-Cleaverish type. We really like all kinds of cuisines, I've just never been sure how to make any of it myself!

I'd also like for DS, who's 2 1/2, to be able to eat more of what we eat. He's the pickiest, but I kind of expect that from a toddler. If recipes are too spicy, I'll generally make him something else.

ch ch ch chia · November 2011

If you like Thai food, various different types of curry are *super* easy to make at home.

Buy a jar of curry paste, like this:

Saute some cut up chicken breast, put in a can of light coconut milk, and plunk in a couple tablespoons of the paste (to taste), various vegetables (carrots, potato, eggplant, etc.), simmer. Serve over rice.

ch ch ch chia · November 2011

We also like "taco night" -

saute cut up chicken breasts with a little chipotle powder, salt, pepper, cilantro (I usually use dried) and a few dashes of the chipotle Tabasco sauce

Serve on corn tortillas that have been warmed on a skillet, topped with chopped onions and chopped red/orange/yellow peppers. If I don't have peppers, I sometimes top with a quick cabbage onion slaw - I put chopped cabbage with chopped onions in white vinegar with a pinch of sugar. Sometimes, we also top with some avocado or guacamole (the 100 calorie packs are great for this).

MrsPhilDunphy · November 2011

We do a similar curry as ch ch chia but with green curry paste, chicken, bamboo shoots and other veggies. If it's a little too spicy for C, I'll either rinse his portion in water really quickly or add plain yogurt to take the heat off.

Here are a handful of other quick meals we like.

ch ch ch chia · November 2011

Another "regular" in our house - baked, bone-in chicken breasts. This is not really "out of the box" - but it's a good re-use kind of meal. When on sale, I can get a big package of chicken breasts (with 6 or 7) for like $5. The first night, I bake the chicken, and cut the breast off the bone before serving.

First night, I usually serve with rice and veggies. I save the bones. The second night, I cut a couple more breasts off the bone, slice them, and either serve as a salad topping or as part of a stir fry, or inside of a tortilla shell. In the meantime (also on the second night) I put the bones in a pot of water with some veggies and make a chicken stock - strain it, and put it in the fridge. At this point, I still have one or two chicken breasts left.

On the third night, I take the chicken stock out of the fridge, heat it up, add some chopped veggies, chopped chicken breast, and noodles for chicken noodle soup.

kastle · November 2011

If you like Indian, this is Sprout's favorite meal:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/02/chana-masala/

I generally leave out the cayenne & hot pepper for him & I mix a little plain yogurt in his too. But he can put away a good cup of this stuff in addition to rice & cauliflower (I generally make frozen cauliflower as a side).

I like serving it with chopped onions, chopped hot peppers, tamarind chutney, cilantro & plain yogurt. I only put the yogurt in sprout's portion.

ETA: You can make this on the stovetop in the time it takes the rice to cook, but it's even better in the crockpot cooked on low all day

stargirl0508 · November 2011

I think Real Simple and Everyday Food are two great sources for weeknight meal ideas. Their websites have tons of recipes.

jenn248 · November 2011

The website for Women's Day has a lot of easy recipes. They also do a montly recipe planner.

Here are a couple of new recipes we tried this week that were both pretty easy (we had chard that we needed to use, but you could easily substitute spinach):

https://www.facebook.com/#!/notes/washingtons-green-grocer/sweet-potato-black-bean-and-chard-chili/10150131778519566

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/minestrone-soup-2/detail.aspx

One of our easy, go-to meals is zucchini parmesan. You take a 13x9 baking dish, place a layer of sliced zucchini in the bottom, then a layer of chopped onion, then a layer of sauce, then a layer of sliced provolone. Repeat and top the provolone with a thin layer of Italian bread crumbs. Bake at 350 for 35-45 min.

Quiche is another one that's fairly easy to prepare (it just needs to bake for a little while). I usually use this recipe and adapt it to whatever type of veggies we have on hand (broccoli, spinach, etc): http://allrecipes.com/recipe/asparagus-swiss-quiche/detail.aspx

We've also been experimenting a lot with making our own pizzas. We cheat with store-bought dough, and then add things like spinach, goat cheese, and mushroom, or eggplant, tomatoes, and feta (I think we tossed the eggplant with olive oil and red pepper flakes first). We usually have a lot of spinach on hand, so this is another pizza we often make: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/black-bean-spinach-pizza/detail.aspx