Can I ask for something?
I am so out of meal ideas!! Completely 100% out.
So tell me what you’ve been making. ANY IDEAS ARE GOOD IDEAS PEOPLE.
In the meantime I will share this meal, in which I combined chips, lettuce, tomatoes, black beans, cilantro, and ranch dressing with sautéed bell peppers and beef and it was a nice little taco salad.
Thank you in advance for any help in the meal planning department.
I’ve seen the lamb tamales on Imperfect forever and finally gave it a go…they were pretty well-received at our house!
Also – miso-glazed fish, caprese and bruschetta, bibimbap. And when I’m totally out of ideas, my kids think breakfast-for-dinner is a real treat..?
I feel you!!I get so much inspiration from you already, it doesn’t seem fair you don’t get it back from us. Here are a few things we have had in heavy rotation;
– Whole chicken on the grill, potatoes, corn, bread if we have it (no oven meal, but could do in instapot, etc)
– https://www.paleorunningmomma.com/loaded-sweet-potato-fries-paleo-whole30/ (but just use shredded cheese not the cashew cheese sauce
– fish tacos (usually grilled halibut/salmon, slaw, guac in corn tortillas) corn on side
– shrimp fried rice with pineapple, any odds and ends veg I can find
– Joe’s special: ground turkey, onions, spinach then add eggs to make a scramble, serve with Parmesan and potatoes on the side (It’s a SF thing so you may have heard of it!- Joes’s of Westlake)
-https://iowagirleats.com/crispy-chicken-bacon-pesto-gnocchi-skillet/ : super versatile I sub in a lot of different proteins and veg but the pesto is key!
Other than that I usually do a stir-fry, simple grilled protein and salad/veggie to use up or tuna melts! We also have been doing a take out night a week and have started Theme Tuesdays where we pick a meal and try to have food that relates (Sandlot- hot dogs, popcorn, fries; Moana- poke bowls; etc which has been fun for me to think of different food ideas!)
This is my go-to….you probably have everything on hand. The scallions can be subbed with red onion. Very tasty, in fact, it gets better after sitting in fridge overnight, so leftovers are excellent.
https://www.skinnytaste.com/crock-pot-santa-fe-chicken-425-pts/
With vegan queso cheese sauce & vegan gravy, it would be easy to put together a ‘poutine’.
Am thinking about making a vegan ‘tortilla’ with sliced potatoes, onions & tofu/chickpea flour ‘eggy’ topping done in the blender. Sounds like it could be a clean out the fridge recipe using bits & pieces. Oven or stovetop.
Recently made some chocolate hummus using black beans(my local costco was out of it) Had to have it & the homemade is likely a lot healthier.
Stay safe!
This simple chickpea dish with a whole wheat pita is one of my favorites when it’s too hot to cook: http://orangette.net/2007/01/brown-bag-it/.
Hummus with veggies and maybe more pita is another hot weather staple. Here’s a black bean variation if you’re getting tired of the classic:
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/13930/black-bean-hummus/.
I love these lettuce wraps:
https://pinchofyum.com/vegan-lettuce-wraps.
This is a fun and different meal I’ve enjoyed: https://www.101cookbooks.com/california-panzanella/.
These eggs are great to have on hand in the fridge for an easy breakfast or snack: https://justbento.com/handbook/johbisai/lazy-easy-tea-eggs.
Indian curries in the Instant Pot don’t heat up the house much.
Zaru soba is so refreshing in hot weather if you have the noodles around.
I like to make peanut sauce with lime juice, soy sauce, nut butter, honey or maple syrup, and chili garlic paste. Dip veggies and roasted tofu sticks into it.
Cold noodle salad is another summer staple. I like mung bean threads, but rice noodles work too. Add protein, veggies cut into matchsticks (especially cucumber and carrot), cilantro, and a sauce of rice vinegar, soy sauce, chili garlic paste, sweetener, and lime juice. Typing this out I’m realizing that it’s similar to my peanut sauce, but the two dishes feel very different.
If your kids have the dexterity, homemade gyoza are a great all-day family project. Make hundreds at a time and freeze for future meals.
This is a fun variation on eggs once the weather cools down: https://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/egg_nests/.
A Spanish tortilla is delicious cold, so you can make it in the cooler part of the day and save for later.
This dish sounds disgusting (I HATE overcooked broccoli), but somehow is amazing. I recommend chopped walnuts on top for texture: https://redfox.typepad.com/hungry/2010/01/longcooked-broccoli-over-grain-and-nut-pilaf.html.
Avocado toast is cliche, but always a winner, and there are endless variations. Fancy toasts in general can make a great meal. Fruit and cheese variations for summer!
Sometimes when life is all too much, dessert for dinner can make things feel a bit better. Stewed peaches or berries and vanilla ice cream if you can’t turn on your oven, a fruit crisp or cobbler if you can.
If that’s just too much sugar, breakfast for dinner can also be a nice shakeup. I like eggs scrambled with lots of veggies, an egg in a frame is a real kid pleaser, migas are always amazing, and even just a hearty smoothie can do.
Burritos are great if you have leftovers of… almost anything. They don’t even have to be Mexican leftovers, although I suppose you would call them “wraps.”
Since you’re already making focaccia, that’s easy to turn into sandwiches for the whole family: https://smittenkitchen.com/2018/08/focaccia-sandwiches-for-a-crowd/.
They require the oven again, but both sweet and savory Dutch babies are simple and different.
Hope some of these help!
Hello! I am no meal help, I’ve eaten the same dinner for the last 4 years (some version of vegetables, beans and rice)… however, want to share that your posts are a joy to read. Thank you for sharing and inspiring. Real humans out there doing this life thing. Xo
Ugh the meal planning burnout is real!
Made this again for the first time in a while a few weeks ago and I had forgotten how great it is for using up tons of summer produce: https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/slow-cooked-ratatouille-over-goat-cheese-polenta-51152210
Obsessed with hummus, cucumber, and pickled shredded carrot sandwiches on focaccia bread.
This easy veg meal is on our regular rotation: https://www.thekitchn.com/miracle-meal-easiest-beans-and-greens-22931855
I was getting really sick of salads until a friend suggested using chimichurri as a dressing — game changer.
These tacos are so good and the “meat” freezes well too: https://pinchofyum.com/walnut-chorizo-tacos
At the end of every month’s meal plan (trying to avoid the grocery store as much as possible 😷) I use all the leftover produce I can find (and some veg mixes from the freezer) to make veggie fried rice or a curry with store-bought sauce.
Sometimes just looking at my old meal plans helps me get out of my rut. You’ve got lots of archives here to dive through and rediscover some old favorites. One recipe of yours I’ve made few times is a quinoa quiche with pepperoni! Kind of random but my husband really likes it and he doesn’t even like quinoa.
Hope you’re all staying safe!
I don’t have a lot to contribute, but some of our meals lately have been:
– Fish tacos (wholemeal wraps, crumbed fish fillets, coleslaw and roasted corn)
– Bangers and mash
– Yellow curry (sweet potato, green beans, other vegs, serve with roasted cashews)
– https://thehealthychef.com/blogs/recipes/raw-superfood-salad-with-roasted-almonds-turmeric-dressing
– Chicken in beer (chicken thighs coated with curry powder, sear, add 1 bottle of beer and let simmer until cooked, add corn, capsicum, beans, small tin of coconut cream, serve with rice. – Sorry original recipe is in Dutch so the link won’t help!).
– Pumpkin BLTs with pesto
How about jacket potatoes? You can always bake up a bunch of potatoes, and put out a bunch of toppings, and everyone can add whatever they’d like to their potatoes. Could also replace potatoes with sweet potatoes also.
I do like a twice baked potato stuffed with cheese, chives, and bacon.
And I see someone had mentioned gyoza. But I suppose any kind of something wrapped in dough would be a fun project – it doesn’t need to be wrapped in any specific way, just need to try to keep the filling in the skins. My brother recently made chinese dumplings (jiaozi) with pork and cabbage.
I’ve been reading your blog for years. I’m glad you havent stopped posting, and that you’re also taking the time and effort to educate yourself and the kids about “political and social issues”.