What do you make for dinners?
 

I am getting sick of grilled chicken! What do you guys have for dinner?

My favorite dinner is pita pizza. I get whole wheat Pita bread (150 calories), some pizza sauce (30 calories for 1/4 cup) and mozzarella cheese (80 calories for 1 oz) and bake it on 350 for 10 minutes...sooo good, and the kid likes it to. Pair it with a salad and a glass of vino and you have yourself a good dinner.
when I'm in a bind I make a sandwich with lots of veggies. When I feel really ambitious I grill some fish and steam some veggies.

I've been making a lot of fish lately. I also tend to alter recipes I'd already been using. Use lite this, fat free that, sub this, exclude that.

I like using corn tortillas (4 inch), heating some fat free refried beans with a little water and taco seasoning and spreading that on the tortilla with pizza sauce or salsa on top of that, then cheese and whatever veggies. Then baking at 425 or so for a few. The kids eat the heck outta them.

I don't know what diet you're on, low carb or low cal, but I often just have a cup of whole wheat rotini pasta with tomato garlic herb sauce and a small salad. I eat a lot of sandwiches. I love low-fat cheese sandwiches with tomatoes from my garden. I use just a little pat of butter, because I can't stand grilling with the I can't beleive it's not butter spray. Steak fajitas are a nice change. I just go real easy on the meat and heavy on the vegis, same with tacos. I got so sick of chicken like three months ago. I am finally starting to come around again. We did a lot of drunk chicken with tequila, lime, and jalapenos.

A fairly wide variety really

- Risottos - usually with things like smoked chicken, roasted pumpkin, sweet potato or tomato, sundried tomato, baby spinach, mushrooms etc etc - leave out the parmesan, butter and cream though!

- Pasta with homemade mince based sauces or plain tomato sauces, or sweet chilli sauce tossed through plain pasta with one raw egg etc

- Shepards pie, cottage pie - all the kinds without pastry bases

- Salads - all varieties with baby leaves, various lettuces, tomatos, cucumbers, capsicums, carrots, sugar snap peas, shaved parmesan or low-fat feta with grilled chicken, beef, kangaroo, pork etc

- Steam or grilled fish with cous cous salads

- Stews or slow-cooked braises with polenta

- Roasts i.e. chicken, pork, beef with roast veggies and gravy

- Homemade burgers with fillets of chicken, pork, roo or beef etc

I lurve dinner :)

but the parm, butter, and cream are what make risotto so dang good!!!

I'm not much help. I'm on the getting-sick-of-grilled-chicken boat myself these days. But that pita pizza someone mentioned sounds awesome. :drool:

Salmon fillets on the grill are amazing!!

I also like to make pizza using whole wheat tortillas. I just bake the tortilla for about 7 minutes and then add the toppings so it is like a thin crust pizza.

yummm!

Check out the recipe section here - they have some pretty good ideas. Also, try web searching healthy entrees - you may find something that intrigues you. That's what I've been resorting to after months of eating the same thing every day.

Canned tuna!! I've always liked it.

All kinds of weird and wonderful salads- including lot's of fruit ones often with chicken but, you can take the chicken out.

I like fish- sushi, smoked salmon, whatever takes my fancy really.

Grilled veggies.

I love stir frys and they can be made healthier. Just look around the net for info.

Baked potato/sweet potato.

Couscous- can be cooked in a million different ways or you can buy the couscous at the supermarket that already has flavoring and stuff in it.

Some lean steak. pork or whatnot.

There are so many things, I could go on all day.

Hope something here helps.

Btw, do you put any marinade on your chicken or do you just leave it plain when you grill it?

I have made a "hobby" out of collecting recipes because I love to cook. I search my recipes dot com for the Cooking Light recipes, I get recipes out of WW magazine or Kraft Food and Family magazine (kraft foods dot com).

I have tons of recipes that I've converted into Weight Watchers recipes, but I also have the nutrition info listed on many of them. Let me know if you want anything specific, and I'll see if I have something.

Here's my favorite though:

from KraftFoods.com

Taco Salad Makeover
Points Value: 7
CORE + 2 points
Servings: 4

Preparation Time: 10 min
Cooking Time: 18 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Course: main meals

Ingredients
4 medium flour tortilla(s), 6-inch
16 oz 95% lean/5% fat raw ground beef
1 Tbsp chili powder
1/2 cup salsa
1 cup canned kidney beans, drained and rinsed
4 cup lettuce
1/2 cup shredded fat-free cheddar cheese
1 cup tomato(es), chopped
8 Tbsp fat-free sour cream

Instructions
PREHEAT oven to 425F. Crumple four large sheets of foil to make four 3-inch balls; place on baking sheet. Place 1 tortilla on top of each ball; spray tortilla with cooking spray. Bake 6 to 8 min. or until tortillas are golden brown. (Tortillas will drape over balls as they bake.)
MEANWHILE, brown meat with chili powder in large nonstick skillet on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally. Add salsa and beans; cook until heated through, stirring occasionally.
PLACE 1 tortilla shell on each of four serving plates. Fill evenly with lettuce, meat mixture, cheese and tomatoes. Top with 2 Tbsp of sour cream.

Here's another BIG hit, my husband requests them ALL THE TIME:

Meat Loaf Muffins
Points Value: 2
Servings: 12

Ingredients
16 oz lean ground turkey
1 box dry stuffing (6 oz)
1 cup water
2 egg whites

Instructions
Preheat oven to 350. Mix ingredients and press into muffin tins sprayed with Pam. Bake for 30-40 minutes.

Thanks guys, that definitely helps. I've made those meat loaf muffins and I loooveee them!

One of my favorites is putting some chicken in a crockpot with BBQ sauce and onions. By the end of the day the chicken is so tender.

bananapancakes - I usually marinade my chicken or at least season it. I'm just eating so much of it lately..I'll bring leftovers for lunch and then have more grilled chicken for dinner.

Ok, I've never been a huge weird healthy fan, but I'm strangely converting.

I love to make Mil Koo (Korean name) Which means Sea weed soup. I know but it's really good.

Get dried sea weed (Asian store has them for like $1.25. use half) soak it and wash it out very well. It expands and make a lot!

I boil water, with lots of granulated garlic, 1 onion, a little bit of salt, I throw the sea weed in there, and the other day I through some tofu in. It was really good! I cook it for about 15 min or so and serve over brown rice.

Sea weed soup- 1 cup 55 cal
Tofu- 110 cal
Brown rice- 85 cal for 1/2 cup

It's really filling and actually really good. It's full of antioxidants that really help you too.

my summer fav is a tossed salad with chicken, salsa, cucumbers, tomato, black olives and a piece of toast.

This is my new fav way of doing chicken. It's also really good with salmon and white fish like talipia. Watch out it's a little spicy!

BLACKENING SPICES
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon white pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Take a little oil and turn the spice rub into a paste. Rub on your meat and let it sit for an hour or so. Then grill.

This is another fav marinade of mine. It's great with chicken, salmon and pork, my veggie friends love it with tofu. I use it all the time to make the best pork shiska-bobs. Cube some pork tenderloin cut up your fav veggies (I like red, yellow and green pepers and onion) Marinade the pork and veggies for about an hour then layer the pork and eggies on skewers grill for about 7-10mins. Oh so yummy!

Spicy asain marinade:
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice wine or sake
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon dried chile flakes or hot chile paste
1 tablespoon virgin olive oil (I usually use 1/2 tbl spoon of seseme oil)

Another fav of mine is:

SAUCE
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/4 cup olive oil (you can cut back on the oilve oil a bit)
1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon sage
1/4 teaspoon savory
1/4 teaspoon thyme
Directions
1. If using bamboo skewers, soak in water for at least 30 minutes before using.
2. Combine all sauce ingredients in a bowl; mix well.
3. Stir in chicken cubes; marinade for at least 2 hours before threading on skewers.
4. Grill on high heat, lid down.
5. Grill for about 4 minutes per side (total 8 minutes) or until the juices run clear.

I like it in a pita with some lettuce, tomato, onion and low fat feta add a tiny bit of tzatziki and it's delish!

I like this for a side dish. It's great with aspargus too. be warned it's spicy.

Hot Szechuan-Style Green Beans
1 lb green beans
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar or Splenda sugar substitute
1/4-1/2 teaspoon hot chili flakes
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
Directions
1. Rinse and drain green beans;trim off and discard stem ends.
2. Cut green beans into 2- to 3-inch lengths.
3. In a small bowl, mix soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, chili flakes, and white pepper.
4. Set a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over high heat.
5. When pan is hot, add green beans and 1/4 cup water.
6. Cover and cook, stirring once, until beans are bright green and slightly crunchy to bite, 3 to 4 minutes.
7. Uncover and cook until any remaining water has evaporated.
8. Add oil, garlic, and ginger to pan stir until green beans and garlic are slightly browned, 1to 2 minutes.
9. Stir soy mixture and add to pan; bring to a boil and stir until most of the liquid has evaporated and the sauce thickens and coats the beans, 2 to 3 minutes.
10. Pour into serving dish.
11. Serve hot or cold.

shantroy - Oh my goodness the blackening spices on chicken or fish sounds soooo yummy. I'm definitely going to have to try that soon!

For tonite...
 

Stuffed tomato!

Large tomatoes
Spinach leaves
Sundried tomatoes diced, red pepper, fresh oregano diced, onion diced, and minced garlic to taste (optional. I like them)
Olive oil
Red wine vinegar
Soy sauce
Favorite cheese (I use feta)

First hollow out the core of the tomato and the seeds and membranes leaving behind the "meat".
Let skillet get hot and the oil just begin to smoke. Briefly sautee spinach leaves, garlic and diced ingredients with a tablespoon of olive oil, a splash of soy sauce, and a splash of red wine vinegar. Once leaves are beginning to wilt and onion is tender (about 3-5 minutes), spoon into hollow tomatoes and top with a sprinkling of cheese. Arrange on a baking sheet and place in oven at 350 for 10-15 minutes, or until the tomatoes get hot and juicy and the cheese melts.

There are some great websites that have recipes showing the nutritional info. I usually use Cookinglight.com or allrecipes.com (although be sure to check the nutrition, esp. on allrecipies, sometimes they can run a bit high!)

I used to hate cooking, but with the help of the Internet, it's so much easier!