Hi Yall!

I thought it might be a good idea to see what all your SURE THING meals are- a balanced meal that you make regularily, is very tasty, and is low in fat.

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Mine would have to be Grilled chicken with steamed Greens. I freeze my chicken in bulk but I slice into chunks before freezing. While I fry this or grill in the press griller I steam brocolli or chinese greens or any veggie in the microwave. The flavours I alternate on the chicken are curry powder, sweet chilli, teriyaki, cajun blackening, white wine and garlic. It takes literally 10 min! If I'm not in the mood for plain veggies I do lemon juice and olive oil dressing.

I have this supereasy chicken breast recipe that my family LOVES. You sprinkle taco seasoning on both sides, then dump a cup of salsa on top. Throw it in the oven at 350 for 20-25 minutes. I serve it with brown rice, guacamole and salad. Super yummy!

We eat that at least two nights a week, and I take the leftovers for my lunch.

I tried a variation last night - dry Italian dressing mix with spaghetti sauce. I haven't tasted it yet, but my DD's boyfriend ate a BUNCH of it, so it must be alright!

Trying ur recipe tonight! Sounds fab except the brown rice bit.... I am a white rice fanatic. What else would go with it? yomh yomh.

Surefire meals - Pork tenderloin with whole wheat couscous and steamed broccoli - so easy and it takes about 10 min to prep, another 20 to cook. Just rub the pork tenderloin with a spice rub and place in 375 degree oven on a foil-lined pan. Meanwhile, start chicken stock boiling for couscous (i usually add chopped garlic or other seasonings to the couscous). When the stock is boiling, add couscous, remove from heat, and set aside until ready to serve (it'll stay warm up to 20 minutes). Steam broccoli flowerets in microwave or on stove. Slice pork tenderloin and serve. 30 min start to finish.

Pita pizzas are also a "go to" for me - easy and flexible to whatever I have on hand. Just top a pita (I know lots of chicas on here use half a pita, but I like the double-thickness of having both halves as the crust, and I get 140 cal whole wheat pitas) with bottled pizza sauce, some part-skim mozzarella cheese, grilled chicken or deli meat, chopped broccoli, bell pepper, italian seasoning, or other pizza toppings (I like broccoli, thinly sliced red onion, bell pepper, and chicken myself). Sprinkle with italian or pizza seasoning blend and bake at a fairly high heat until the crust is crispy (time varies based on number of toppings), serve with a quickie salad.

Go to snacks - two ry-krisp crackers, spread with a laughing cow wedge, topped with 6 thin slices of cucumber and four wafer-thin slices of turkey deli meat. Total calories is about 110, with some fiber, considerable protein, and great flavor.

1/2 c plain yogurt with 1/2 cup mixed smooshed up berries, a pinch of splenda depending on how tart the fruit is.

This isnt really a whole meal thing but for those nights (like last night) where everything goes wrong, this is my favorite way to do FAST chicken from totally frozen. (I have a bag of flash frozen breasts in my freezer at all times).

Place frozen chicken breasts in a frying pan. Pour ~ 1/2 c of low fat or fat free italian or balsamic vinaigrette dressing. (Newmans light balsamic, kraft free italian both work). Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer ~ 20 minutes depending on how thick the breasts are. If you dont have individual breasts but a package of breasts all frozen together after 5-10 minutes separate, unfold, etc and count on total time being closer to 25 min. I discard the pan sauce, so the chicken really gets very little calories from the dressing.

This is good when like last night my planned dinner fell through and all I had really ready to go was spaghetti and salad and I needed some PROTEIN.

Deli sandwiches are my quick go-to sure fires, I use whole wheat pita, tortilla or english muffins - then add sliced meats (turkey/ham/roast beef) with veggies (lettuce/mixed greens/spinach/tomato/onions) and light dressing (mustard/vinaigrette/lowfat ranch) and sometimes cheese & avocado. Serve with a side of cooked veggies/salad or some yogurt/cottage cheese with fruit and it's a nutritious and balanced meal (around 500 calories).

I have a couple very simple standby meals:
Dinner:
Chicken legs, take skin off and bake at 350 for 30 minutes then flip and bake another 30 minutes. Then add bbq sauce and cook another 5 minutes. Sometimes I will put a sweet potato in the oven at the same time. Others I will take whatever canned, fresh or frozen veggie I have.

Similar, Chicken quarters. I can normally find them very cheap so I always keep some in my freezer. Remove skin, sprinkle with seasoning salt, and cook for 30 minutes each side at 350 degrees. Same things with the veggies.

Eggs (or eggbeaters) is another stand by dinner. So many possibilities.

Stand by lunches:
Chicken Salad, I will cook a large chicken breast in the crock pot with some water at the beginning of the week and shred it. Each day I make chicken salad sandwiches with light mircle whip.

OMG these all sound fab. I have to say I do the pita pizza too, and I love the combo of chicken and broccoli! I don't even like brocolli but its good on this!!
Yes all your chicken recipes are fab. I though I would throw a fish one in the mix... We can get fresh fish everywhere here but I know its not the case everywhere- but it still works with frozen

Oven-baked fish and cherry tomatoes. You can use frozen fillets if you want. Basically you place fish on a tray lined with baking paper, mix breadcrumbs with fresh garlic and chopped herbs and a little olive oil, salt and pepper and you sprinkle over the fish till the top is totally covered but not overly. Place whole cherry tomatoes on the tray as is, and bake in a hot oven till lightly browned and the fish is cooked through. About 3 min before its done, make a tiny amount of instant mash to go with or if you have time steam some veg in the micro. I love this and its a winner once a week at least!

Salmon is my quick go to meal. I get a bag of them flash frozen and individually packaged from Costco. If I remember I'll toss one or two in the fridge to thaw out if I don't, i just run warm (not hot you don't want to cook it) water over it until it's thawed out.
Toss it in a foil pouch w/ whatever seasoning you like - some olive oil and balsamic, some lemon slices and juice, teriyaki or mustard anything is good, and toss it in the oven at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes.
If I can't wait that long, I'll put it under the broiler and check it in about 5 minutes. usually takes less than 10 minutes to be done - and I like mine fully cooked which most people don't do.
Serve w/ brown rice and veggies or over a salad. Yum!

Another tip is that I buy brown rice, but instead of instant brown rice, I'll buy like brown basmati rice or brown jasmine rice which takes an hour to cook and then do it in the evening after I've already made and eaten dinner - to have ready for the next day. Because when I come home I want dinner NOW - not in 50 minutes.

I got another one I just remembered- Chicken breast pan fried with stock and a little wine and garlic, simmer till cooked, then sautee cubed egglplant, cherry tomatoes, lemon juice and oregano. Serve chicken cut up over the sauteed veggies and pour wine sauce over top. YUM!!

Since I'm only cooking for myself I make a lot of food in my crockpot (at least a meal per weekend) and freeze them in individual containers. I make things like stew, chilli, curry chicken with rice, chicken soup, etc. Things that I know are homemade and good for me. That way I have something when I get home late from work or if I don't have time to make a lunch. It's so convenient.

I also keep frozen chicken breast, salmon, filet of sole, and tons of different frozen veggies in the freezer for quick meals. Eggs are always in my fridge. I like to have them for dinner sometimes. Of course salad fixings and fresh fruits and vegetables are around the house.

For quick carbs I keep Quinoa which is an excellent whole grain, whole wheat cuscus and whole wheat pasta. I have brown rice but sometimes a half hour is too long to wait!

If I don't have easy things to make at home, I'm tempted to go out for food which is never as healthy and far more expensive. Thanks for the tips everyone. I'm going to add some of those to my kitchen certainly.

Wow these are some GREAT recipes.Can't wait to try a few.

Pita sandwiches. I eat tons of them. Well not all at once, haha, but I eat them several times a week.

I stuff whole wheat pitas with whatever I'm in the mood for. Usually lean meats and veggies. Sometimes salad. I love stuffing tossed salad into a pita. I think I'll have that for lunch tomorrow!

I tried Beezkneez's Mexican Chicken (with salsa) on the weekend and BOY OH BOY it was awesome!!!! It felt really filling and felt almost like a cheat meal!!! you should all try it!!

LLV - we get pathetic pita's here in sydney- the are hard, stale, don't separate without breaking and go mouldy overnight. I make wraps sometimes too- but I tend to go overboard and finish the whole pack with dips!!