What's for dinner tonight?

[Dackel Clarence]

Do you know this feeling, no idea, what to prepare for dinner?
I've a blockade in my thoughts, everytime I consider what to cook.

Perhaps, this could become an interesting place for sharing ideas, even if they seem simple for you - they could be great for others.

Today we had yesterday's left-overs: Schnippelbohnensuppe :D

A stew made of green or wax beans, potatoes, onions, boloney and sausages

Here's a sample pic of that delicious dish: http://www.kochen4fun.de/assets/images/Bohnensuppe.jpg

[maddoxies]

What is the weather like there right now? Here it is very hot and humid. Difficult to think of eating. I make a lot of salads at this time of year with either a grilled chicken breast or the faux crab added to the salads (raspberry dressing on top with some pine nuts).

Open faced hot chicken sandwiches (with gravy), fries and vegetable??

hmm, starting to get hungry myself (until I step out into the heat and humidity)

[red&black]

Have you seen the commericals for Sargentos salad finishers? It's a bag of stuff like pre-cooked diced chicken, cheese, nuts etc. that you throw on top of lettuce, and voila you've got a salad with protein.

[andy&abby]

This is a great idea. thanks for starting it.
Everyones suggestions sound excellent.

Lets see... tonight we are having Beef and Noodles on a bed of garlic mashed potatos.

[Dackel Clarence]

What is the weather like there right now? Here it is very hot and humid. Difficult to think of eating.

You're right. That stew is an absolutely winter or fall dish. It's 9:26pm now with 52°F outside (yes, in germany we've july, too...)

This afternoon we had just 48°F on my way home!

[maddoxies]

Wow, we are a "cool" 40C here.

Light meals for sure; salads with protien, grilled chicken and german potato salad. In the really hot and humid weather, I make up a raw veggie tray with veggie dip (my calcium :D), cheese, bread and some fruit. Wash it down with ice tea :happy030:

[Neshane]

It's 89* here in Indiana and we are having grilled chicken breast on the grill and a salad for supper. Too hot to eat. Green beans are ready so green beans,onion,red potaoes & bacon sounds good too.

[andy&abby]

I am in total agreement about it being too hot to eat. It is 96* here in Kansas but DH is very much a meat and potato kind of guy. While I love veggies , him, not so much. :crazy:

[Cocoa and Me]

So. Cal. in Orange County reporting in at 91 degrees. But being inside the office and FREEZING since these men like it cold...I could go for some hot cocoa! :lol: At almost every job I have to leave a sweater at my desk. At my last job they bought me my own personal heater b/c I was so cold I'd take breaks to de-frost outside! Yes...I get cold very very easily. Its a curse I tell you.

But grilled chicken on salad sounds wonderful. I could eat salad all day, every day of the year. haha And chicken is my favorite meat so that's perfect. Yum!!

My quick yummy meal is home made "asian style" chicken soup. I get Yudon noodles or flour noodles, chop up some mushrooms, add the chicken (and some boullion) and at the end I crack an egg in there and let it boil. Sounds plain, but with some great seasonings (garlic, onion, season salt, pepper, etc) its so good. Oh, and if I'm in the mood I'll top it off, while I'm eating, with some housin sauce (I guess that's where the asian part comes in hahaha). My bf's style is a little different. He'll let me take the chicken meat off the rotisserie chicken, and then he'll put all the bones and skin the pot to cook the soup. In all honesty, it does taste better but it gets more oil/fat so that's why I don't do it that way. I guess the bones still collect fat, and so does the skin. But those bones sure do release some awesome flavors!!

OK, now I'm hungry... :toetap: haha

[ajers&me]

Ok for starters you really don't want to know what I am having tonight for dinner. Its definitely NOT something I tell my patients to eat (I am just too tired to do anything big nor do I have the food to cook). But anyways here are some simple/easy/fast things that I like to make:

Honey Chicken Salad
Heat pan w/ olive oil, add minced garlic, diced chicken, cook chicken thoroughly, add honey (enough to cover) and let carmelize (~5minutes, the honey will get thin when its heated but let the water evaporate out of it stirring often (it burns easily). Serve over a bed of lettuce w/ your fav salad toppings and dressing (I love it w/ light ranch).

What I call "fake chipotle"
Heat pan w/ olive oil, add minced garlic, diced chicken, southwest seasoning, cook chicken thoroughly, add 1 can black beans (drained), 1 can tomatoes w/ chilis (i have also added one of those small cans of corn drained and a can of chilis as well sometimes), simmer for ~10-15minutes.
Serve over rice cooked in chicken broth (or water)
Top w/ lettuce, sour cream, and cheddar cheese

[red&black]

An ideal hot-summer-day meal in southwest virginia would be cucumbers, grean beans, tomato slices (for some folks), leaf lettuce/green onion/bacon drippings.

[ajers&me]

An ideal hot-summer-day meal in southwest virginia would be cucumbers, grean beans, tomato slices (for some folks), leaf lettuce/green onion/bacon drippings.

You had me all the way up until the bacon grease.....guess thats the dietitian in me coming out :flowerysmile:

[red&black]

You had me all the way up until the bacon grease.....guess thats the dietitian in me coming out :flowerysmile:

lol yeah that's an OLD time recipe!! But trust me - there's not even a teaspoon of drippings on any one serving :)

[patty23]

It has been so darn hot here in Pa. lately. I ate out alot and one night while it was cooler I made two big salads and we nibbled on them with cold meats for awhile. I really hate to cook so think goodness its just me and hubby now.

[SuziQ]

We are fighting colds so even though it's 90+ degrees here we are having chicken noodle soup. And based on the size of the pot of soup he made....we'll be eating it for days!! :)

[zoeysmom]

I've been doing a lot of salads and Thai fare this summer. It comes together pretty quickly as a stir fry type thing.

Larb gai - ground chicken salad served with cabbage.
Pork spring rolls with lots of veggies in them
Pad thai
Asian 'top ramen' salad

fruit 'slaw' ... finely chopped cabbage, craisins, diced apple, toasted pecans and any other fruit you desire (sometimes some pineapple). Dressed with Mayo with a bit of sugar or honey, and some fruity vinegar (I have raspberry vinegar) to taste.

BLT wrap

veggie wrap - leaf lettuce, a smear but not an outrageous amount of cream cheese, cucumbers, tomato, avacodo, thinly sliced red onions, pumpkin seeds for some crunch sometimes I throw on a few watercress leaves for some 'zing'.

[pairodachs]

hmmm what do we make for dinner?? RESERVATIONS!!! :bouncy1: LOL just kidding. We do love to go out to eat tho!! :D

I love to cook, I just don't have the time anymore (and have a teeny tiny but cute kitchen at this house) we've been doing 'Dinners Ready' (www.dinnersready.com) for the last year and they've worked out great. The costs seem high but we've actually saved money doing this as nothing goes bad in the fridge anymore because we didn't use it. Also, it's helped my fiance lose 50+ lbs in the last 7 months because the portions are laid out already. It averages to about $6 per serving per meal, which is great for us. I do cook on the weekends when I can do so at my leisure as I actually enjoy 'creating yummy stuff by zen!'

For warm summer evenings, I like to make crabcakes, caesar salad, warm french bread and fresh iced tea.

And for the occasional dessert, we've been making root beer floats with Thomas Kempers Root Beer (made with cane sugar!)

[maddoxies]

For all that fancy talk, dinner tonight was a hot dog and a coke. I am just beat, no energy to cook or eat.

To translate our temperatures for you, double it and add 30 degrees. So our 40 C weather is 80 + 30 = 110 F.

[Jacqueline]

Well, I made a pizza tonight. One of my favorite possessions is my breadmaker. It does all my kneeding for me :Sun2: which allows me to make breads without killing myself. I make the dough in it, takes an hour and a half. I made pepperoni tonight. Laid it on nice and thick. Instead of sauce or paste, I use a can of crushed tomatoes, stirred in a tablespoon of minced garlic and a tablespoon of oregano and cooked it for 20 minutes. Dough, sauce, a covering of pepperoni. Then chopped mushrooms and onions, more sauce, loads of shredded mozzerella cheese, Italian blend seasoning from the McCormick grinder, and into the preheated 400 degree oven for 20 minutes. Perfect.

It was a 14 inch double layered pizza for two, so he has plenty left over for tomorrow. I don't do leftover pizza, but it is one of his favorites.

I love the new stove. It times the preheat, so I know how long for how hot, and don't overheat the kitchen leaving it on too long.

Wednesday, we are having chicken and dumplings. I bought bonesless, skinless chicken breasts on sale at $2.49 a pound. I will slice them up, cook in low sodium broth from the store, and toss in the dumplings for 30 minutes. Lots and lots of lovely dumplings. Now those leftovers I do like, lol. More than the chicken.

The one advantage of higher food prices is that I am cooking again instead of us just 'catching meals' and picking stuff up. We are saving money and eating better.

[SirOliversMom]

My husband is a German/Mennonite from Saskatchewan and he would LOVE LOVE that dish!!

It is very hot and humid here now but he would love it anyway!

[doximom]

So we had Bacon Cheeseburger Pattys! & Chips! Tomarrow will be a ham slice on the grill with some potatoes, Wend will be Brats & thur will be bacon & eggs! all subject to change!!

[Suzanne R]

I can't believe you guys in Canada are having 100! We're doing 100 and 101 every day for the next week or so and it just doesn't seem right that someone so far north should have such hot temps!!! As far as cooking, I crock pot a LOT so the kitchen doesn't heat up and I don't have to stand over a hot stove and/or oven. I'm LOVING the recipes, though!! (I did break down the other night and made spaghetti sauce which we ate over the "spaghetti" from a spaghetti squash out of our garden.)

[Camilla]

We're at the beach, and I'm tired of grilling...so tonight I'm making apricot chicken (in my iron skillet which I adore....well seasoned and even cooking). Simple and delicious. I serve it over rice with a veg on side (not sure which veg they'll have at the market today that will look good). The dogs were VERY happy with yesterday's BBQ chicken. My dh is a big table feeder (I know, big no-no but he loves to do it and I work it into their diet) and they like the apricot chicken but not as much as plain ole' BBQ. Finickey Camilla! :)

[maddoxies]

I can't believe you guys in Canada are having 100! We're doing 100 and 101 every day for the next week or so and it just doesn't seem right that someone so far north should have such hot temps!!! As far as cooking, I crock pot a LOT so the kitchen doesn't heat up and I don't have to stand over a hot stove and/or oven. I'm LOVING the recipes, though!! (I did break down the other night and made spaghetti sauce which we ate over the "spaghetti" from a spaghetti squash out of our garden.)

When I lived in Montreal -35 C (-40 F) was common in winter and then 35 (+) C (100+F) was common in summer. No wonder the roads are so bad there with those temperature fluctuations.

As my boss in St. Louis says "no wonder you all drink so much" :laughitup:

If I can fit in a trip to the liquor store, Chicken Amoretto sounds good (over rice cooked with a bit of orange juice, (with juice soaked raisins and mandarine orange pieces)

[Dackel Clarence]

Today we had delicious "Nudelauflauf" :laughitup: -> Pasta Bake

Spirelli pasta in a hotdish, eggmilk added, minced meat, topped with cheese and breadcrumbs. Served with a tomato-onion sauce.

Looks exactly like this: Klick (http://www.kornels-welt.de/blog/pictures/nudelauflauf.jpg)

[rjones]

So. Cal. in Orange County reporting in at 91 degrees. But being inside the office and FREEZING since these men like it cold...I could go for some hot cocoa! :lol: At almost every job I have to leave a sweater at my desk. At my last job they bought me my own personal heater b/c I was so cold I'd take breaks to de-frost outside! Yes...I get cold very very easily. Its a curse I tell you.

But grilled chicken on salad sounds wonderful. I could eat salad all day, every day of the year. haha And chicken is my favorite meat so that's perfect. Yum!!



ITA I always have a sweater or jacket with me when I go to work, it's about 96 in Texas and still need a sweater in my office. I like having smoothies for dinner with a chicken salad or soup for lunch. Usually never know what I want to eat for dinner, hate not having a mood of what I feel hungry for. But do eat alot of salads during this time of year :)

[andy&abby]

Boy, oh boy, all of these look really good. I am taking notes for future dinners. I really love reading this post so I am going to start it again. Hope no one minds.

Whats for dinner tonight?

Dh ran to the store to pick up steaks. With that we are having fresh corn on the cob, and red potato salad.

[Lin]

Now that I have seen all of these great food ideas I won't have to worry for the rest of the week!!!lol... except for the dumplings...my dumplings are lethal...lol

I'll have to make some Chicken salad for hubby though because he has been asking for it for 2 weeks now.

[Jacqueline]

Now that I have seen all of these great food ideas I won't have to worry for the rest of the week!!!lol... except for the dumplings...my dumplings are lethal...lol

I'll have to make some Chicken salad for hubby though because he has been asking for it for 2 weeks now.

The navy could have used my mother's dumplings instead of torpedos to sink ships. Actually, anything she cooked could have been considered biological warfare. If you would like a good and SIMPLE dumpling recipe, let me know. I inherited my dad's cooking talents, thank goodness.....and my grandma's best cookbook :flower1:


I made myself an omelet for breakfast yesterday, and made the mistake of suggesting my dh taste it. Then he wanted to know if I would make him one. No, but I shared mine. Very simple. Sprayed my cast iron skillet with pam olive oil. Beat 4 eggs [hey, I don't eat that many that often], poured into the skillet over med heat. Added chopped bella mushrooms. Garlic pepper and Italian blend seasoning.....I get the McCormick grinders....love those things, check them out in your grocery stores..... and sprinkled with feta cheese. Feta is salty, so no extra salt, and don't overload. Cooked over medium heat until about half set. Then I covered with a lid, checking occassionally, until completely set. MMMMMmmmmm. Next time, not offering dh any.

[andy&abby]

The navy could have used my mother's dumplings instead of torpedos to sink ships. Actually, anything she cooked could have been considered biological warfare. If you would like a good and SIMPLE dumpling recipe, let me know. I inherited my dad's cooking talents, thank goodness.....and my grandma's best cookbook :flower1:


I made myself an omelet for breakfast yesterday, and made the mistake of suggesting my dh taste it. Then he wanted to know if I would make him one. No, but I shared mine. Very simple. Sprayed my cast iron skillet with pam olive oil. Beat 4 eggs [hey, I don't eat that many that often], poured into the skillet over med heat. Added chopped bella mushrooms. Garlic pepper and Italian blend seasoning.....I get the McCormick grinders....love those things, check them out in your grocery stores..... and sprinkled with feta cheese. Feta is salty, so no extra salt, and don't overload. Cooked over medium heat until about half set. Then I covered with a lid, checking occassionally, until completely set. MMMMMmmmmm. Next time, not offering dh any.


I would love to know how you make dumplings. I have yet to come across a dumpling recipie that I like and Chicken and Dumplings are one of my very favorite things.:please1:

I side with your DH and would have asked you to make me one of your omelets. It sounds so yummy. Adding it to my DBB cookbook notebook.
Thanks for sharing, and I am greedy so feel free to post more!!! :bouncy1::Sun2:

[Jacqueline]

I would love to know how you make dumplings. I have yet to come across a dumpling recipie that I like and Chicken and Dumplings are one of my very favorite things.:please1:

I side with your DH and would have asked you to make me one of your omelets. It sounds so yummy. Adding it to my DBB cookbook notebook.
Thanks for sharing, and I am greedy so feel free to post more!!! :bouncy1::Sun2:

These are called Southern Dumplings

2 cups sifted flour 1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder 1/3 cup shortening [I use Crisco]
1/2 cup milk

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together. Cut in shortening with pastry blender. Add milk, using more if necessary to make a stiff dough. Rollout thin and cut into 1 inch square, 1-1 1/2 inch stirps or dianonds. Sprinkle lightly with flour and drop into boiling chicken stock. Cover closely and boil gently for 30 to 40 minutes.

Soooooo....I have many large squares of muslin, and I use them for all kinds of dough related cooking. I seldom ever sift anything....how much lumpy flour have you bought? I spoon flour into the measuring cup, level off, and dump into the bowl, add salt and baking powder and stir well with a fork. But the Crisco in with the pastry blender. Add the milk, stir, and then flour your board or muslin and using your hands work the dough into a ball. Roll it about an 1/8 to a 1/4, cut into squares or diamonds, if you want to be fancy. Makes sure your stock is boiling. CAREFULLY drop the dumplings into the hot stock, stir, and cover tightly.....and no peeking for 30 minutes. You don't want it to boil over or stick, so you will need to reduce the heat some. After 30 minutes, check the dumplings, and taste. If you think they need to cook, add a few more minutes.

I have to admit that I have never made less than a triple recipe because I LOVE dumplings, and don't make them often. I recommend a HEAVY pot so they do not stick. I would rather have the dumplings than the chicken, so that works well for my dh, who loves chicken, lol. These are great the second day, too....if there are any left, of course.

[mypuplola]

OK, so I thought I would pull this thread back up again. I had a steak salad tonight. Grilled flank steak, carrots, thinly sliced green apples, blue cheese, walnuts, mixed green lettuce, with caesar dressing. A couple of slices of crusty french bread with a load of butter on them. And a nice glass of red wine.

I just got that delicious short rib recipe copied down, so who else has a yummy recipe? By the way, the dumplings in this thread remind me of the ones my mom used to make....

[Dwayne]

Ok... Las Vegas here and 112 F today. I love to grill so fish, chicken, or steak on the grill is great. also love Stuffed shells, tacos, chicken fried steak, quesadillas, tacos, Polish sausage w/ sauerkraut and potatoes, & BLTS yum!

[Jacqueline]

Funny, but it's that time of the year again. I've made a number of yummy but really time consuming meals lately...the short ribs, braised lamb shanks, so moving to some good but less time consuming recipes.

Last night I wanted some of the Asian sweet and spicy chicken like Wendy's sells, but didn't want to pay $4 for 7 little pieces. And I knew my dh would not eat something that hot. So I picked up a package of skinless boneless chicken breast at Publix, and a jar of sweet sauce in the Oriental section. Sweet sauce, not duck sauce.

I poured the sauce in a small sauce pan, added about a third of the jar of water, shook well and poured in with the rest of the sauce and put on a low heat. I cut the chicken breast into small nugget. In a baggie, I mixed about 1 1/2 cups of plain bread crumbs, 1 tsp garlic powder, 1/2 tps black pepper, 1 tsp onion powder, and 1/4 tsp salt. Shake well to blend. I put the chicken nuggets in, about half at a time and shook really well to coat.

In my electric skillet at 350 degrees, I put about a inch of veg oil, and cooked the nuggets about 2-3 minutes each side until golden brown. Drain. Since I wanted mine hot, I plated them and put the sauce on them. I added red pepper flakes to mine, and left dh's straight. He wanted mashed potatos with them, so I broke out a containers of Diner's Choice. Sorry, never making them from scratch again. Highly recommend this brand, except for the ones that say mashed. Love the garlic and sour cream flavors.

[Ruthi]

I love this thread!I love orange chicken so I tried making some last night.I got some boneless,skinless chicken cut it into little bites and covered it with tempura mix. While it was frying up I took some orange juice,cornstarch,garlic powder,a little salt and pepper,some Maggi,which is sorta like soy sauce mixed it up and heated it till it got hot. Then I threw the chicken in with the sauce.While that was heating,I took a bag of steamed veggies and rice and threw it into the microwave. It turned out better than I expected,next time gonna try pepper flakes in it.I'm getting hungry reading all these posts,going to be trying some of these recipes again!!:hearts::hearts::Sun2:

[mypuplola]

I'm a pesto kind of person!!! (Italian!!!) Anyway, I get a couple of bunches of fresh basil (preferably home grown though, better flavor). I wash the leaves, then pull them off and stuff them into my food processor. I put in olive oil, couple cubes of butter, cloves of garlic (amount determined by you, I like it really garlicy so I put in at least 8 cloves), Parmesan cheese, and pine nuts if you like them. I blend it all up into a nice thick sauce. Then I microwave it for about 7 minutes. It cooks the basil and the garlic. Now, you could use this base for pretty much anything. Put it in salads, on bread etc. However, just cook up some good pasta (the spirals are good) and put this sauce on them, with plenty of Parmesan cheese. MMMMMmmmm, so good!!! I can smell it now!!!!:funny:

[SuziQ]

So I picked up a package of skinless boneless chicken breast at Publix, and a jar of sweet sauce in the Oriental section. Sweet sauce, not duck sauce.

He wanted mashed potatos with them, so I broke out a containers of Diner's Choice. Sorry, never making them from scratch again. Highly recommend this brand, except for the ones that say mashed. Love the garlic and sour cream flavors.

You're killin me here. We moved out of FL in November. I miss Publix soooo much. Was the sweet sauce the Saucy Susan Sauce? And you aren't kidding about the Diner's Choice potatos. There is NO reason to make them from scratch when you have those available. Try their sweet potatos if you haven't already. Just as smooth as the white potatos. *drools* I wish we could get that brand up here.

[mypuplola]

Publix must be an east coast business. Is it a basic grocery store? Or a specialty store? We have your basic grocery stores here in Calif. Safeway, etc... Then we have some upscale stores, Nob Hill, P&S etc. We also have Trader Joes, which I really like.

[ajers&me]

Publix must be an east coast business. Is it a basic grocery store? Or a specialty store? We have your basic grocery stores here in Calif. Safeway, etc... Then we have some upscale stores, Nob Hill, P&S etc. We also have Trader Joes, which I really like.

Publix is a basic grocery store in FL, Georgia, Alabama, TN, and SC. There are some specialty stores but at least where I am it is the main grocery store.

[graci67]

lol tonight, its papa johns pizza! but I agree with everyone- salads are the way to go! we also make a lot of tortilla wraps.

I take a whole wheat tortilla wrap or pita bread, fill with diced chicken marinated in light italian dressing, baby spinach leaves, cucumbers, bell peppers, and carrots. drizzle with a bit of mustard, and enjoy! its my favorite summer lunch or pair it with some fresh fruit, and you've got yourself a good refreshing dinner.

[Ruthi]

You all are killing me!! My mouth won't stop watering!!:laughitup::Sun2::hearts: