Help me get out of the Menu Planning rut!

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HeatherFeather
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Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2011 6:07 am

Help me get out of the Menu Planning rut!

Post by HeatherFeather » Mon May 27, 2013 9:15 am

I have been in a cooking rut the past few months. I need to get back out of it and make my meals more interesting again.

I have a few obstacles:
:arrow: my budget is very minimal, so meat has to be inexpensive or minimized in any recipe I use. That being said, I'd prefer to eat less meat per meal or have some no meat nights in order to still be able to enjoy quality cuts from time to time.
:arrow: I feed no more than 3 people each night, often 2
:arrow: I cook for very picky eaters
:arrow: Ideally, I'd love to eat low carb more often, and prefer to not have to make a separate meal for myself.

I am trying to make new menus comprised of a combination of recipes I already know work for us, and need to try to freshen up the list of existing recipes to include more choices.

My current most commonly made meals (many of which are NOT low carb at all, but please my BF and/or DD):

1) Meatloaf & Gravy w/mashed veggies & some other steamed veggie
2) Meatloaf Sandwiches the next day for dinner, with salad
3) Roast Chicken w/gravy, roasted or steamed veggies, side salad
4) Chicken Casserole/Pie of some kind using leftover roast chicken
5) Pasta with either a red sauce or Alfredo sauce (adding meatballs, sausage or ground meat to the red, chicken and/or broccoli to the Alfredo)
6) Baked Ziti or other pasta bake, using up any leftover pasta/sauce/meat
7) Chicken Sandwiches w/sweet potato fries (or a Turkey & Swiss Panini)
8) Take out pizza or Chinese food

I make other things, but the list above is what keeps getting repeated most often because it is mostly affordable and most things can be made without needing anything special or digging out a recipe. But it is incredibly BORING.

Meats I can serve that we all agree on:
Ground lean beef
Sausage
Chicken, especially white meat
Turkey
Lamb (although usually this is far too expensive to buy)

Any tried & true favorites that you can recommend that I could start adding to my menus to make them more interesting?

Mary
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Joined: Sat Oct 15, 2011 9:53 am

Re: Help me get out of the Menu Planning rut!

Post by Mary » Mon May 27, 2013 10:02 am

Morning, Heather. I'm brain dead this morning it seems, but I'll get you started.

One dish that seems to fit your current likes is a favorite when I'm in a rut -- a Taco Salad. If the word "salad" brings frowns, call it Taco in a Bowl. For our taco salad, I fix a huge bowl of sliced and semi-chopped Romaine, adding celery, onions, and tomatoes and toss with minimal low fat dressing. That's probably sufficient for your own plate, and you can add other vegetables or cheese to yours. For the others, top the cold salad with hot mix of ground beef and red beans. Brown the beef and drain any fat, then stir in the taco seasonings, 3/4 cup of water, and drained beans. Simmer to thicken a minute or two.We just use a store bought package of taco seasoning and add a drained can of chili beans. Top with a sprinkle of cheddar and serve large corn chips on the side (Doritos or Tostitos or make your own). Very filling and very easy. A great mix of hot and cold, crunchy and chewy.

I'm sure someone has posted a homemade taco seasoning mix, so if you like the flavors you can make up a batch.

Kchurchill5
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Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2011 11:55 am

Re: Help me get out of the Menu Planning rut!

Post by Kchurchill5 » Mon May 27, 2013 11:15 am

I'll chime in; but I'm sure a lot of what you are familiar with.

I love salisbury steak; but, you can make it a bit lighter by adding mushrooms to the meat vs bread; and the gravy out of just broth

Meatballs, but served with a spicy harissa or mustard sauce, vs a heavy pasta and red sauce. And bake them.

Pasta ... I love; but, the rice pastas and gluten free are really pretty good. Use that for you and the reg for bf and dd. And rather than meat; go meatless. If I remember bf is very picky. I love carbonara, inexpensive.
zucchini sauce, a light sauce with cream, tomatoes, and eckridge sausage

I just got 3 chickens yesterday. Big ones for $5 or under. I'm smoking all 3. Watch for sales, which I know you do.All but dinner tonight, and 1 other meal will go in the freezer.

Also, got a great deal on a boston butt. 10.00 for 3+ lbs. It will give me many meals. Cooked and in the freezer.
Pork sandwiches, quesadillas, served as is. With grilled cabbage; over a baked spud, and in hash. Cold wrap sandwiches too.

Mac and cheese; but add some veggies; make 1/2 for b/f and half for you and dd. Add a little ham, broccoli, even cauliflower mixed in.

Beef tips are a favorite; low fat, I add broth, onions, herbs and then just simmer until tender; you can serve with potatoes, onions, biscuits, rice, pasta, or none of the above. Add some stewed tomatoes to make it go further.

And bf doesn't like eggs right? how about u and dd. fritatta or quiche.
Strata is good, but does have eggs
chicken drumsticks are affordable and good
Cube steak is also good, Just needs to be cooked a while.

Of course shephards pie, pot pies, calzones.

Fried rice

HeatherFeather
Posts: 2558
Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2011 6:07 am

Re: Help me get out of the Menu Planning rut!

Post by HeatherFeather » Mon May 27, 2013 12:55 pm

Thank you both for the suggestions. Good common sense ideas that i think I would enjoy!

DD won't eat salad with meat in it. BF just read this and said he'd be ok with taco salad (yay!). Pot pies and shepherd's pies are good options for us - those are something i do make from time to time and we (all three) enjoy them.

I am the only one who will eat anything spicy, the other two won't go near it.

Pork is not usually an option, as both BF and DD both hate most pork (yet have no probs with sausage or bacon). Mushrooms, seafood, coconut, and onions are way at the top of my BF's most hated list. DD can't get enough.

DD loves, loves, loves beef tips. One of her favorite foods. BF hates them - of course. BF might be willing to go for shredded pork sandwiches, but DD can't even stand the smell of them cooking.

I guess you can see why I am in such a rut - finding something everyone will eat is nearly impossible.

Kchurchill5
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Joined: Fri Oct 07, 2011 11:55 am

Re: Help me get out of the Menu Planning rut!

Post by Kchurchill5 » Mon May 27, 2013 4:25 pm

HF, all I can say is god bless you for being so patient. I never could be. You definitely have your work cut out for you.

Burritos, stuffed shells; and I love pasta sauces like a spinach or a walnut sauce, butternut squash sauce ... but, I know bf wouldn't enjoy that.

Hang in there!!

Mary
Posts: 673
Joined: Sat Oct 15, 2011 9:53 am

Re: Help me get out of the Menu Planning rut!

Post by Mary » Mon May 27, 2013 5:37 pm

Other ideas . . . .

Brush those flour tortillas with melted butter on both sides and sprinkle them with cinnamon sugar. Cut 4-5 at a time into triangles with a pizza cutter or chef's knife. Bake them spread out in a single layer on a cookie sheet at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Remove and cool (they will crisp up as they cool).

Great alone or as a hand's-on dipper with fresh fruit salsa. The texture would be very different, but you could cut up the canned fruit that you have. Drain the fruit and stir together with a touch of the orange marmalade.

Somewhere I also have a recipe for apple enchiladas. As I recall, it calls for pie filling, but you might substitute canned fruit. Perhaps someone else has a recipe?

You can also bake the corn tortillas whole to crisp them and use them as the base for meat or salad tostadas. We like a layer of refried beans topped with meat, onions, lettuce and tomatoes, and cheese.

EDIT to say that this really goes in the thread about using up ingredients. Sorry, Heather.
Last edited by Mary on Tue May 28, 2013 7:45 am, edited 2 times in total.

Dissie
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Re: Help me get out of the Menu Planning rut!

Post by Dissie » Mon May 27, 2013 9:45 pm

Does your family like soup? Mine adores it, so we have soups alot. I use leftovers for most of mine. And it helps that my family will eat it a couple days in a row. So I make a big batch of soup. (Pretty cheap)

What about chicken parmesan? Pretty easy to make, and its so filling. You would only need 1 or 2 chicken breasts for that. Yours, you could just make the chicken without the breading on your piece and skip the pasta and have it along side a salad. But spaghetti if filling and good. Use any cheese to top the chicken, it doesn't have to be parmesan. I sometimes use mozz. Serve a side salad with the chicken parm and you could even use just 1 piece, pound it thin, they get pretty big that way and split it.

Dissie
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Joined: Thu Oct 13, 2011 12:15 pm

Re: Help me get out of the Menu Planning rut!

Post by Dissie » Mon May 27, 2013 9:47 pm

Another idea... Use breakfast sausage instead of hamburger. It's cheaper if you don't buy the main brands, but even then, sometimes you get Jimmy Dean cheaper than a pound of hamburger. Many recipes are wonderful with sausage instead of hamburger. Peps up the taste and I do it all the time!

HeatherFeather
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Joined: Wed Oct 19, 2011 6:07 am

Re: Help me get out of the Menu Planning rut!

Post by HeatherFeather » Tue May 28, 2013 9:39 am

Dissie wrote:Another idea... Use breakfast sausage instead of hamburger. It's cheaper if you don't buy the main brands, but even then, sometimes you get Jimmy Dean cheaper than a pound of hamburger. Many recipes are wonderful with sausage instead of hamburger. Peps up the taste and I do it all the time!
Yes the ground sausage is often a much better deal than the beef - I usually can get away with using it instead of beef (or mixed with it) in pasta dishes and spaghetti sauce. Whenever our favorite brand is on sale, I try to buy a few rolls of the breakfast kind to freeze. A popular breakfast in our home is my biscuits & gravy, which I make on the weekends. :D

I can get a great deal on ground beef at Aldi usually, and also at Whole Foods (surprising I know, but if you go on the right day, they have a sale on their bulk packages of ground beef and it costs the same as the Aldi beef).

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