Don't know what to cook tonight? Post your meal ideas!

Hey all!

SWMBO and I love to cook and we cook up all kinds of things with various skill levels and origins, from Indian Saar to Chicken/Andouille Gumbo with homemade roux.

But often times we have a hard time coming up with stuff. We don't like to follow recipes but we used them as inspiration and then do whatever we want.

Today SWMBO is working a bit later than usual and I want to have food ready. The problem is I am just drawing a blank.

I'm creating this thread as a hope that myself and others can post meal ideas to inspire others.




I'll start with the meal we made the last two nights:

Tilapia fish tacos topped with salsa cruda and a side of lime couscous topped with homemade tomatillo salsa verde

New York strip steak with a side of crab and asparagus risotto

froot loops... haha
just kidding!

hell, if it was earlier, just throw in a pot roast into a slow cooker and throw some taters in the oven with some olive oil and rosemary... actually, i want that in my mouth right now... damn it..

I had trouble with this today too. My food supplies are pretty **** atm. I'll be making pork schnitzel with roasted asparagus and homemade parsley spaetzle (sp?)fried up all crunchy-like.

By the way, that fish taco sounds great. I wish I could make that tonight.

SenorPepe said:

I had trouble with this today too. My food supplies are pretty **** atm. I'll be making pork schnitzel with roasted asparagus and homemade parsley spaetzle (sp?)fried up all crunchy-like.

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Sounds awesome

EDIT: We almost never stock our fridge or pantries.... mostly with just stuff we use to cook with (holy crap, so much onion and garlic!) We do it restaurant style: we hit up Raley's or Scolari's (locally owned grocer that sells local meat and produce) pretty much daily so everything we cook is extra fresh. But we mostly do it because we can't decide what we'll want in a couple days. We figure out what we want and get the provisions that day. If there's anything left over we try to think of a dish the next day that will use the most of the leftover ingredients..... it's usually onion and garlic

SenorPepe said:

By the way, that fish taco sounds great. I wish I could make that tonight.

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They really were. I highly recommend them. You can either bread or panko them. Personally I prefer panko.


So I've come to a conclusion that sounds amazing and will give me SWMBO brownie points because it shows I'm listening. We bought mascapone and a variety of berries for making crepes and never did. And she mentioned a couple weeks back that she's been wanting to try to do homemade chicken cor don bleu. So there we go.


I got chicken breast halves that need to be de-boned and skinned, nice thick cut ham from the bone from Raley's, imported swiss, and gorgonzola (stinky cheese FTW!) I'll be serving it over a bed of thyme arborio with a side of broccoli and a bottle of 2009 Rosenblum Cabernet Sauvignon.

Of course I got a sixer of SN Torpedo to drink while cooking :rockin:

Thought I'd try to breathe life back into this thread.

Just finished kneading some sourdough for tonight. Sourdough thincrust pizza with pesto sauce, fresh mozz, turkey sausage, and red onion.

I love my sourdough starter! It's only about a month old but it's making some awesome flavors.

Tonight I am going to make a galette style pot pie, cook all the veggies first in a skillet to get as much moisture out as possible. For the crust I'll basically use my pie crust recipe and throw in some grated sharp cheddar and fresh herbs. No recipe needed, served with a salad.

Cool thread. I try to plan meals at least 3 days ahead, but sometimes I hit a road block.

bottlebomber said:

Tonight I am going to make a galette style pot pie, cook all the veggies first in a skillet to get as much moisture out as possible. For the crust I'll basically use my pie crust recipe and throw in some grated sharp cheddar and fresh herbs. No recipe needed, served with a salad.

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That dinner sounds amazing!

We almost never use recipes. When I made the sourdough I just took a cup of starter, ~1 TBSP each of salt and sugar, a few-second pour of olive oil, and then added bread flour to the mixer until it was the consistency I wanted. Then kneaded by hand on a floured counter for 7 minutes. Now I just need to wait for it to double in size (~20 minutes if downstairs is warm enough.)


FUN FACT: Bread rises and cooks differently depending on the weather outside. It's been muggy all day and we've had 1-2 minute torrential downpours (very uncharacteristic for the area) so we'll have to see how it turns out

bottlebomber said:

Cool thread. I try to plan meals at least 3 days ahead, but sometimes I hit a road block.

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Actually there's a grocery store close enough to our house that sells free-range, grass fed meats and amazing produce. It's 5 minutes away, so we literally shop daily for our dinner. We've tried planning ahead and we've ended up wasting some food because some days we're just not in the mood for what was planned. Now we figure it out earlier in the day, each day.

Just about to make the pasta and the brine for the pork shoulder for tomorrow night's dinner--braised pork and homemade pappardelle. Such a great meal. Will post a pic or two.

By the way, great idea for a thread. Let's keep this one alive! :rockin:

Edit: ...so I remembered after I devoured the dinner, I didn't take any pics. Let's just say that it wouldn't have done any justice!

All these things sound great! Normally I love to dive into a fun new recipe, but sometimes quick and easy fits the bill. Due to some friends having chickens that lay like crazy, we have 24 fantastic eggs to use up.

Dinner tonight was nomlets (translation: omelets! nom!) from perfect orange yoked eggs. Olive oil, onions, garlic, peppers in the pan first, then some chopped up pepperoni, eggs, topped with mozzarella.

Fantastic 5 minute meal. You just can't go wrong.

Tonight was kabobs. Respect the tofu.

I've been hungry for mole recently, but don't have any Mexican markets around so I sort of forgot about it. Thataintchicken posted about tamales, so I've really been thinking Mexican lately!

Tonight, I was thinking about enchiladas, but since I eat low-carb, I don't eat tortillas. Anyway, for an enchilada sauce, I did one that was a cross between a mole and enchilada sauce, added two habaneros for heat, and let that sit for 15 minutes while I prepared the meat. Everyone has these ingredients on hand!

Here's the sauce:

1 tablespoon coconut oil
1 small sliced onion
3 minced garlic cloves
2 habaneros, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
5 tablespoons hot chili powder
4 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 (1 ounce) square unsweetened (baking) chocolate

I sauteed the onions in the oil, and then added the seasonings and habaneros. I deglazed the pan a bit with the chicken broth, then used my immersion blender to liquify it all. I added the rest of the chicken broth and let simmer to thicken. At the very end, I added the chocolate.

In the meantime, I stirfried venison round steak that had been sliced into very thin strips. I added 1/2 of an orange bell pepper, and cooked until barely done. I added the sauce, and stirred well and covered and let simmer 15 minutes.

That was it! Thirty minutes from "I'm getting hungry" to "Yum!" and all with things I happened to have on hand.

This would be great over rice or with tortillas.

Salmon with Tomatoes: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/salmon-with-tomatoes/
(my recipe)...

SWMBO said she wanted to make fish so I'm thinking Tandoori Fish.

2 lbs of any white fish fillets (cut into 2-3-inch pieces)
1 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
4 cloves garlic
1/3 cup vinegar
Salt To Taste
1 tbsp ground coriander seeds
1 tbsp ground cumin seeds
1 tsp red curry powder (less if you're not into hot hot hot)

1/2 cup vegetable oil for cooking

Directions

1) Mix the spices into a paste and let fish marinade for ~3-4 hours in the fridge.
2) Turn broiler on to HIGH and let the oven "preheat" for a bit
3) Broil on foiled baking sheet 8-10 minutes, then flip and broil another 8-10
4) Nom



And I haven't decided on the side-dish yet but Indian Cabbage, Tomato, and Onion Salad sounds awesome.

2 cups shredded cabbage
4 large firm tomatoes, chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 green chile peppers, seeded and minced
salt to taste
white sugar to taste
1 tablespoon roasted peanut powder
1 tablespoon clarified butter
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1) In a large bowl, toss together the cabbage, tomatoes, onion, chiles, salt, sugar and peanut powder until evenly combined.

2) In a small saute pan, heat the clarified butter over medium heat. Add the cumin and stir until toasted. Remove from heat, pour over the salad mixture and gently mix together. Chill until serving, and serve garnished with cilantro.

Oh man tandoori fish sounds so good. Tonight is my Chipotle imitation night. Made an ancho marinade with some green onions, garlic and cumin for grilled chicken breasts, some medium-grain lime-cilantro rice, got some pinto beans cooking with bacon drippings and tasty tortillas from the farmer's market. Some local fresh cheese will be subbing in for whatever the hell cheese Chipotle uses. It's not culinary excellence, but for whatever reason I crave it at least once a month consistently.

I do that lime cilantro rice all the time.

Grilled teriyaki pork steak, each steak about 3/4 - 1'' thick, marinated 12 - 24 hrs in Kikkoman teriyaki sauce & pineapple juice & a few dashes of liquid smoke (mesquite) & a dash of Rooster sauce. Brush steaks with dark sesame oil during the last few minutes on the grill.

For sides I like fried okra (maybe with a little gravy ladeled over it), and peas & carrots with onions, peppered bacon & butter. For an appetizer I'm thinking stuffed mushrooms.

For dessert, maybe strawberry shortcake or a nice rhubarb tart.
I think I'd pair this meal with a nice nut brown ale.
Regards & bon apetite, GF.

Filipino adoboe chicken and lumpia . . .
made it for the guys at the firehouse this shift and they are fighting over who gets the left overs for breakfast LOL

Thanks for keeping this thread going. There are some great ideas!

I knew a group of people so into DIY and experimenting would have some good food recipes.

I made chicken marsala last night. I used to make a long, drawn out affair of it until I found this simple recipe that is great and super quick. IMO it is much better if you split the breasts and pound them thin into medallions. This recipe doesn't do that but it's better. (btw, I've made ch. marsala a lot of different ways, and this one is my family fave).

http://www.cookingforengineers.com/recipe/59/Chicken-Mushroom-Marsala

passedpawn said:

http://www.cookingforengineers.com/recipe/59/Chicken-Mushroom-Marsala

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That's a great website.

Probably grilling a pork loin with some applewood rub and some steamed zucchini and summer squash. I can probably get the going during the mash...

C'mon guy, pictures... Or you didn't eat it

bottlebomber said:

C'mon guy, pictures... Or you didn't eat it

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HA I'll get better about that.

I do have several photos on my phone of other things so we can fill up this make-shift "database." I'll post those in a little bit.

I love me some homemade beef stew, and it only requires dirtying one pot...

Tonight was pizza - margarita and assorted vegetable and cheese pizzas. I like the egg on mine. I made 6 - 12" pizzas and my 3 boys 10 and under ate 4 of them in about 10 minutes. Not looking forward to teenagers.

Get a bottle of Billies Chillies or Ghost Face Killah (if your like me and love ridiculously hot stuff) and use it as your water to make pizza dough for a blackened chicken alfredo pizza. Its phenomenal.

Or what I tried at our brewclub beer dinner and found so amazing I have since made it myself.... google "Blue Onion Soup". Find any recipe you particularly like and use Golden Monkey from Victory brewing as the called for beer in the recipe. All I can say is wow to either of these and that they have become a monthly routine in my home cooking.

I am currently driving taking pulls off a bottle of sriracha. Freakin starving.

Chicken Marsala again tonight.

I can make this with 4 ingredients only, and it's awesome. (plus oil / salt / pepper). It feels great to perfect a recipe. My family (3 kids / wife) are chowing down right now.

Did some cajun-spiced shrimp over vegetarian dirty rice. Spicy and full of noms!

It's going to rain tonight, so I think I will make this Maple Curry Chicken, with a side of couscous.
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/maple-curry-chicken/detail.aspx
It's phenomenal.

Last night we had brinner (breakfast at dinner) and made Emeril Legasse's sourdough blueberry pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs.

Also worth noting, homemade pancakes (at least the sourdough ones we make) keep very well in the freezer in a freezer ziplock bag. Just be sure to let them completely cool before throwing them in. When you're ready to eat them just throw them in the oven at 300*F until they're soft and fluffy again.

Reno_eNVy said:

Last night we had brinner (breakfast at dinner) and made Emeril Legasse's sourdough blueberry pancakes, bacon, and scrambled eggs.

Also worth noting, homemade pancakes (at least the sourdough ones we make) keep very well in the freezer in a freezer ziplock bag. Just be sure to let them completely cool before throwing them in. When you're ready to eat them just throw them in the oven at 300*F until they're soft and fluffy again.

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I always make a lot more than needed, then freeze. However, I find that if I freeze them while hot (in large baggies), then microwave them when needed, they come out perfect again. Actually, my kids microwave them, which is the kind of cooking I trust my boys with (girl is different).

Pasta Bolognaise/Bolognese



Very easy. Total cooking time is 30-60 minutes. Canned tomatoes can have a tinny taste so they will require longer cooking time than fresh tomatoes. I like switching this up with beef, veal, pork, and/or lamb combinations. You can even use a good quality ground sausage or turkey if that's your thing. Some crispy smokey bacon or pancetta on the finish could be a real surprise with a turkey version. You could also add beans+chiles, and transform this into a sort of chili served with rice instead of pasta.

There aren't many things better in this world than a good bolognese.

I put together some shrimp skewers and veggie kabobs last night (onions, mushrooms, and zuchinni), all brushed lightly with olive oil and fresh garlic. They can be tossed on the grill and cooked in no time. Serving a spinach, tomato, and feta side salad dressed with a red wine vinagrette made with fresh herbs from the garden. Yum!

Pumbaa said:

Filipino adoboe chicken and lumpia . . .
made it for the guys at the firehouse this shift and they are fighting over who gets the left overs for breakfast LOL

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You are the first american I have ever seen refer to them as Lumpia.

I have some respect for you now.

Not much, mind you, but some.

In the process of making polenta for dinner.

Cajun seasoned shrimp over bell pepper, onion, and garlic polenta cakes with a side of cajun ratatouille.

OM NOM!

my wife asked me to use up the large bag of locally grown arugula. So I did an arugula, goat cheese, raspberry salad with a raspberry vinaigrette. I then sauteed some chicken thighs which I chopped and tossed with spaghetti with an arugula pesto and heavy cream sauce

Sounds excellent, niquejim. We tend to make something out of whatever we have if we don't feel like going to the grocery store.

That's one downside to only buying ingredients 2 or 3 meals ahead of time (at the most) but it makes up for it having amazing super-extra fresh meats, veggies, fruits, etc., every meal.

I haven't decided on dinner yet (fish sounds good.... I know Raley's has been getting in wild caught river salmon daily)

However, I've got dessert all ready to go.

Chocolate Covered Banana Split Bites

Somebody posted images on facebook and it caught my interest. Mine are chocolate dipped and covered in chopped almonds.

Who knew you could get useful info on facebook?