Need new ideas for quick evening dinners

[Rudi]

Hey all...

Both my wife and I get home from work at 5pm and then fall into the weekly evening routines. She recently asked me what I'd like for dinner one evening and all we could come up with is the usual quick evening meals like a pasta bolognese, or chicken breasts on rice with mixed vegetables, or a pizza, etc... I thought I'd inquire what other quick dishes you guys can come up with that are quick and easy to put together in an evening routine. There must be some interesting European, Australian or American traditional dishes that you guys can mention that will break the habits I have fallen into and spice up my evening dinners a bit more....

Any comments/ideas welcome. TIA

[PaulB]

Perhaps this:

Stouffers_Meatloaf_E_Jun11.jpg.jpg

[Rudi]

Mashed potato's is a good idea. Haven't had that in a while.
Is meatloaf simply shredded meat that is compacted together?
I know the term, but never really looked into what it is. We don't use that term down here!
PS: When I Google meatloaf it comes out to pages referring to Michael Lee Aday (the singer)

[DaveA]

"spice up my evening dinners a bit more"
Take her out to dinner to a restaurant more often!

Pan fried fish and fried potatoes. (I eat a lot of salmon or halibut)

Over the weekend cook up a pot of Pinto beans and ham, they are also good left overs to be eaten during the week.
Corn bread goes real well with these beans.

[Leif]

Apart from Fish and Chips (Green tag)?

Frankies and mash, lamb chops and rice, poached eggs on potato waffles...
Individual fillets of salmon with a bit of butter and a sprig of something and wrapped in foil will bake in the oven very quickly, and served with new potatoes is luverly.

[HansV]

The following recipe takes less than 30 minutes to prepare.

Ingredients for 2 persons:
200-300 g cod fillets (or other white fish)
1 small onion
1 cucumber
100 g cream cheese
2 tablespoons of oil or butter
pepper and salt
chives, dill or other herbs to taste

Cut the cod into pieces of about 3 by 3 cm.
Remove the onion's skin and dice the onion finely.
Peel the cucumber. Slice it in half lengthwise. Use a small spoon to scrape out the seeds (we won't use those). Cut the two halves into pieces of about 2 cm.
Heat the oil or butter to moderate heat.
Add the onion and cucumber and let simmer for about 4 minutes, stirring from time to time.
Add the fish and let simmer for another 4 minutes, stirring carefully a few times.
Add the cream cheese and mix it through the fish/cucumber, letting it melt.
When the cheese has melted completely, the dish is done.
Add pepper, salt and herbs to taste.

Serve on boiled rice or on tagliatelle pasta, with a green salad.
Wine: Sauvignon Blanc or unwooded Chardonnay.

If you're hungry, you can add mushrooms; add them at the same time as the cucumber.

[Rudi]

Many TX for the interesting additions.

Surprising that the next three posts are to do with fish dishes. Why I say this is because we eat fish soooooo rarely. I have developed a habit of only eating fresh fish from a fish and chips shop *really LOL* instead of frozen fish from a supermarket. Since we rarely visit this type of shop, and its easier to simply buy the pastas and chicken we have gotten into this trend. If anything, this thread has shown me this and it means that I should look into breaking the mould and visiting our local fisheries a bit more...

The recipes certainly sound appetizing and worth investigation.
I might have to go out and buy some white wine for a change too....

[BobH]

Get a Crock-Pot and a cook book for slow cookery. We have had several over the years and probably have 3 that we use regularly. It does wonder for beef stew, pork chops in mushroom sauce, and hundreds of other things. Most recipes are things you can gather the evening before and put together quickly in the morning and return home to find a cooked entree. Rice is a favorite side of ours - Basmati - but of course mashed potatoes and many others are available. We cook some fresh veg, but most of our veg comes from the flash frozen bags in the supermarket.

We supplement slow-cooked entrees by eating out about once a week and having a fun night about once a week that usually involves pizza, burgers, hot dogs, or a charcoal grilled steak, chicken, fish, or roast.

[Rudi]

Goodness...if we have those pots here it must be called with a different name. Never heard of a crock-pot before (but then...when do I walk down the kitchen aisle of a large supermarket)? It reminds me of the Sunday lunches from years ago. Mom used to put the casserole of potato's and meat in the oven on low heat...we go to church and when we arrive home the whole house smells WONDERFUL! Out comes the casserole and the meat and potato's literally melt in ones mouth.

Most recipes are things you can gather the evening before and put together quickly in the morning and return home to find a cooked entree.

I may just want to come home early on days when this crock-pot is running...I'd smell the food from work

TX for the addition Bob. The ideas in this thread are exactly what I was after.
all...

[HansV]

Crock-pot is the trademark of a slow cooker - according to Slow cooker, the term is often used as a generic name in the US.

[Rudi]

Thanks Hans.
It would be interesting to see if we have these Crock-Pots ( - I almost typed "crack-pots") here in the RS of A; I should take a stroll down the cooking aisle of a general store in our shopping centers... We currently do the slow cooking process in stoneware pots that we place in the oven, but Bobs method is easier and probably checker on the electricity as a stove can take up a lot of power if it is on the entire day.

[BobH]

crockpot.gif

This is our most recent addition of slow cooker. I recommend it for its size and shape. The circular ones don't accommodate whole chickens or large roasts as well, imo. We went for the manual version but there are more elaborate ones . . .

crockpot2.gif

. . . and even deals with multiples in different sizes and complete with insulated portable bags for taking to pot luck dinners or family holiday meals.

crockpot3.gif

(Note: I have no interest in this particular company or line of products, just informing Rudi.)

[Rudi]

TX Bob.
If anything, my wife will have the final say in branding, colour and size

[PJ_in_FL]

Salads, salads and more salads ... We cook up the chicken or other meats on weekends and store the ingredients. Our salad "bowls" are more like troughs but mostly lettuce, spinach and green stuff.

[Rudi]

My wife is very into salads. She always has a side dish of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers and feta cheese to any hot dish she serves.
So do you eat salads with the meats you cook up on the weekends?

[PJ_in_FL]

The meats, in small quantities, so into the salads, along with a variety of cheeses, with yellow mustard and greek yogurt mixed with garlic and horseradish as the dressing.

I had to get away from the 3 "P"s (pasta, potatoes, pizza) to try to stay under 200 lbs, even with the work-outs, half marathons, mud runs, etc. I LOVE food!

[BobH]

Yes! We rarely have an evening meal without green salad. We vary the ingredients pretty widely.

[Skitterbug]

The meats, in small quantities, so into the salads, along with a variety of cheeses, with yellow mustard and greek yogurt mixed with garlic and horseradish as the dressing.

I had to get away from the 3 "P"s (pasta, potatoes, pizza) to try to stay under 200 lbs, even with the work-outs, half marathons, mud runs, etc. I LOVE food!

Our three "P" meal used to be pizza, popcorn and pepsi! Not any more! Now I like to make stir fry meals using thinly sliced beef, chicken or pork, onion, mushrooms, broccoli, carrot (or whatever). Thicken a little chicken stock or beef stock with a bit of corn starch and add to my fry. Serve with rice! YUM! And yes, a small salad would also be nice to have with the main dish.

[Timelord]

Macaroni and cheese is quick and easy. I make mine with penne instead of macaroni and using a cheese sauce recipe I picked up from my parents. It is a spicy sauce so there is special flavor that you do not usually get. You can also make this a bake so it doesn't drip so much.

I have found that you can substitute chicken for almost any recipe that calls for fish. Except fish pie, never substitute chicken in fish pie.

[Rudi]

That's a nice idea Skitterbug. We haven't had a stir fry in ages and interesting that you serve the actual stir fry on rice. I've always known it to be the portion next to the rice and meat. I really like stir fries too, esp. when done in a thin layer of olive oil and tossed a round in a wok. I should suggest this to my wife and give it a go. TX.