Easy, Healthy Weeknight Dinner Ideas.....

Updated on June 25, 2010
J.F. asks from Atkinson, NH
14 answers

Hi moms,
Just looking for some super easy, healthy dinner ideas....we do not eat beef (but any recipes that can be substituted with ground turkey would work)....we love chicken, veggies, fresh herbs....love it all and I'm blessed with two toddlers that will eat pretty much anything! I like recipes that use rotiserie chicken, just running out of ideas....of course we do a ton of grilling in the summertime but sometimes don't feel like grilling. Thanks!!!!

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B.L.

answers from Boston on

We eat eggs for dinner at least once a week, but then again we have 8 backyard chickens, and this time of year that means a lot of eggs.

A really quick and easy mean is a box (or 2 depending on how many of you there are) of Annies mac and cheese with a can of salmon thrown in and some garlic powder (or whatever spices you like) and some broccoli (can be frozen) and suddenly mac and cheese becomes a filling, reasonably balanced meal.

My family LOVES salmon cakes --

2 medium potatoes
15 oz. canned salmon (can be fresh, but then you need to cook and flake it)
an egg or two
bread crumbs
spices

boil and mash potatoes (can be done in advance). Mix that with the salmon. Add the egg(s) and enough breadcrumbs so that it's not too sticky and makes patties. Put them on a cookie sheet and cook at about 425-450 for 15 min or so, flip, and cook another 10 minutes. Serve alone or with a sauce (or my kids love them with ketchup).

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S.B.

answers from Minneapolis on

Are you a crockpot user? I often make dinner first thing in the morning and then it is ready at dinner time.

In the last week, I have made in the crock pot:

Chili
Jambalya
Pulled chicken for tacos/enchaladas
Pulled pork sandwiches

Right now, I have a whole skinless chicken in there with a mix of:
chix broth
honey
soy sauce
garlic
olive oil
garlic
worchester sauce

I haven't eaten it yet, but should be good! Smells great :)

For the chili and the like, I too use ground turkey rather than ground beef.

Good luck!

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D.W.

answers from Indianapolis on

Where to start.......

I love ground turkey, too.
We use it mainly for tacos (given) and turkey burgers. I add egg and bread crumbs with Montreal Steak Seasoning, and my kids love it. My husband doesn't mind.

I'm a working mom who doesn't own a crock pot, and I have a complex about serving Mac & Cheese and chicken nuggets.

When thing have been really busy the past few weeks, we make sure to go to Costco and get tons of fresh fruit, so at the very least, we can serve grapes, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries fresh as a side dish.

Lately we've been doing kabobs on the grill with meat, veggies and couscous or salad on the side.

We do a lot of quesadillas with either shredded chicken or black beans and garnish as desired.

One of our current favorites is also a buffalo chicken dip with fresh chicken boiled and shredded served with veggies on the side for dipping (or tortillas).

Jamie Oliver has a great chicken nugget recipe on Oprah.com that's really easy as well as the chicken tender (baked) recipe on the Bisquick box.

2 nights ago, we were so busy that dinner was oatmeal with fresh strawberries/blueberries. Tonight's will be something with watermelon as a side.

The other recommendation is to hit-up your local farmer's market and see what you can find there. We have really good pulled-pork left over from our son's birthday party that we got from a local farmer. We've had sandwiches most of the week, and I'm taking the rest into work for a BBQ tomorrow.

In the winter we do baked potatoes a bunch. Put in the oven for an hour at 475, serve with your favorite toppings.
We also get really good pitas from a local lebanese store and cut them open lengthwise to make circles and do make-your-own pizzas. I usually make veggie for me and the kids.

I also always have broccoli/cucumbers on hand to quickly serve a fresh vegetable that I know my kids will eat.

Hope some of those suggestions help.

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J.P.

answers from Boston on

I am all for easy dinners! The crock pot is my friend. :-) I'm usually able to cook at least one meal for my small family that has enough leftovers for another night.

Crock Pot Applesauce Chicken-
4 frozen chicken breasts or thighs (If thawed, cooked less)
1 ½ c. applesauce
1 Tbs. dried onion flakes or 1 yellow onion chopped finely
1 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
¼ tsp. cinnamon
½ tsp. black pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ tsp. red pepper flakes, optional

Use a 3- or 4-qt. crock pot.
Put frozen chicken into crock pot. Add onion. (If you are using the dried onion, add it to the applesauce.) In a bowl, mix applesauce, vinegar, garlic, and spices together. Pour on top of chicken.
Cover and cook on low 5-7 hours, or high for 3-4 hours.

Spinach Soup-
1-10 oz box frozen chopped spinach
3 cans chicken broth (can use vegetable broth for vegetarians)
5 cloves garlic, finely minced
Pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1 can chick peas
1/3 - ½ cup orzo
½ lemon, juiced

In oil, cook minced garlic, pinch of salt and pepper for 15 seconds (to release flavor). Add chicken stock and spinach. Bring to a boil. Add chick peas. Simmer for 5 minutes. Add orzo. Cook for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Allow to cool. Add lemon juice. Reheat and serve with grated parmesean cheese.
(I don’t bother with the cooling step.)

Easy Cheese-Ravioli Casserole-
Two 9 oz. pkg. refrigerated four-cheese or beef ravioli
One 7 oz. jar oil packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and chopped
1½ cups shredded cheddar cheese (6 oz.)
1½ cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (6 oz.)
½ cup grated parmesan cheese
8 eggs, beaten
2½ cups milk
1-2 Tbs. snipped fresh basil or Italian flat-leaf parsley

1. Grease a 3 qt. (roughly 9x12) rectangular or oval baking dish. Place uncooked ravioli evenly in dish. Sprinkle with tomatoes to taste. Top with cheeses; set aside.
2. Whisk eggs and milk together until combined. Pour over layers in dish. Cover; chill for 2-24 hours.
3. Preheat oven to 350. Bake, uncovered, 40 minutes or until top is golden and center is set. Let stand 10 minutes. Sprinkle with basil just before serving.
Yield: 12 servings

Here are some links as well.
A Year of Slowcooking: http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/
Black Bean Soup: http://www.parents.com/recipe/soups/easy-black-bean-soup/...
Baked Tilapia: http://www.parents.com/recipe/seafood/baked-tilapia/

Enjoy,
J.

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D.B.

answers from Boston on

How about enchiladas? Get some whole wheat burrito wraps, then spread a layer of refried beans in the middle (I use the vegetarian style with no lard). Throw in some shredded rotisserie chicken (or any leftover chicken) or some browned up ground turkey. Then put in any combination of the following: canned beans (well drained), chopped green or red peppers, chopped onion, some frozen peas, frozen corn, and a bit of shredded cheese (cheddar, taco-style, anything). Fold over the two edges to the center, and fasten with a toothpick. If you have a couple of bowls with the ingredients in them all lined up, the kids can even help with the assembly line. Line up the enchiladas on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Top with any plain tomato sauce (you can add spices like cumin and coriander or herbs like cilantro), or bottled enchilada sauce and some more cheese. Bake for about 15 minutes at 350. The frozen veggies will cook in plenty of time so you don't need to defrost them. Any leftover beans can be frozen in plastic bags or freezer containers so they are ready for the next time. Same thing with the ground turkey - cook a bunch, then divide it into meal-sized portions.

What we do is start a pot of plain brown or Spanish rice, then start the enchiladas while the rice is cooking. Everything finishes at the same time. If different people want different things in their enchiladas, we put the toothpicks going in different directions or put two in, just to mark whose is whose!

A similar version of this is to make your own tacos - put all the ingredients in bowls on the table, like a salad bar, and let everyone load up their own taco shells. Use ground meat or chicken shreds, peppers, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes or halved grape tomatoes, shredded cheese, etc.

Or skip the tacos shells and just do a salad bar with all kinds of choices including something for protein - feta cheese, cubed cheddar cheese, chickpeas, beans. Add some whole wheat croutons for crunch (you can make your own of toasted, stale whole wheat bread if you are really ambitious). This is great for a hot humid day - no cooking whatsoever.

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S.H.

answers from Honolulu on

Stir fry
Asian dishes
tacos
casseroles
crock pot dishes
Salads
Omelettes
Fish

Go to the http://www.foodnetwork.com/ Food Network website.
Or Martha Stewart www.marthastewart.com

They have great easy dishes/recipes

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C.P.

answers from Phoenix on

Turkey Pot Pie

combine any canned or bagged frozen veggies. at least 3. add 1/2 lb of tukey or chicken.(cooked,or canned) Mix in a can of cream of chicken soup, spread into a casserole dish. Mix bisquik into batter and pour on top. Bake in oven at 350 until brown.

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M.J.

answers from Sacramento on

Check out the recipes on Cooking Light's website and in their magazine. I've subscribed for years and have yet to find a bad recipe. Every one has been a hit and they do a series each issues on quick weekday recipes.

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C.M.

answers from Dallas on

It is so hard to come up with things to cook since it is so hot!

Here are my latest creations

Tuna Wrap
Lay strips of provolone cheese down the center of a tomato basil wrap.
Cover with tons of romaine and spinach
Add your tuna (I put chopped dill pickles, chopped sweet onion and chopped bell pepper and a little mayo)
Top the tuna with chopped avocado and a little ranch dressing if you didn't use too much mayo.
Wrap and enjoy (it is super messy, though)

Make a ham wrap using same ingredients

Chalupas
Bake corn tortillas or buy chalupa shells
Make taco meat (you can use turkey for this)
Cover with romaine, spinach, onion, bell pepper, tomatoes, avocado, cheddar cheese and a little salsa.
THere are so many veggies on top you have to eat it with a fork...it's more like a salad but SOOOO delish!

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S.B.

answers from Dallas on

My family enjoys this one quite a bit. The hubby was leery the first time and he now requests it. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Tasty-Lentil-Tacos/Detail.aspx A potato masher works great at mashing it without mashing all the beans.

If you like fish, the sauce on this recipe makes a great tasting fish taco. We grill tilapia (or whatever I find on sale :) ) instead of deep frying like this recipe. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Fish-Tacos/Detail.aspx We top them with the sauce and shredded cabbage. Served with a side salad.

Shrimp Tacos - cook up shrimp in a little olive oil with some chipotle powder and a little lime juice. We eat these plain, but I enjoy mandarin oranges with it (I guess it's the spicy sweet combo). We also eat black beans with this one. This spinach strawberry salad is tasty with it too. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Spring-Strawberry-Spinach-Sa...

I'll be checking to see what other ideas you get. HTH!

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A.D.

answers from Norfolk on

One of my husbands' favorite is my avocado-black bean pitas. You just toast some whole-wheat pita pockets, cut them in half and stuff them full of canned black beans (drained and rinsed first), sliced avocado, then put a little salsa on top. it's delicious, filling and very very healthy. We were vegan for a while and ate these about once a week

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B.C.

answers from Los Angeles on

The previous responders have given you good ideas.

If you want something good and "old fashioned", go to estate sales. Buy the cook books with smudged or dirty pages. The recipes on those pages are the ones the family really liked. Buy the cook books, tear out the smudged pages and throw the cook books away. Just don't do it in front of the family.

I love the crock pot and grilling ideas. I do pork and beans on the grill and use mesquite for smoke. When I smoke ribs I use the meat that falls off the bones, cut it up and mix it in with the pork and beans. Smoky pork and beans cooked on a grill is great.

Good luck and happy grilling.

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B.M.

answers from Boston on

try epicurious.com...lots of great recipes!

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J.K.

answers from Phoenix on

What about beans or chili in the crock pot.
Wash pinto beans and boil them for a couple of minutes. Place them in the crockpot for about 6 hours. You can also add hamburger meat (or turkey), tomatoes, salt, pepper, garlic and bell peppers chopped and onions.

You can also make a taco salad with brown rice, , meat, lettuce, tomato, cheese, olives, avacado, salsa, sour cream or whatever else you want. Sometimes I chop vegetables like carrots and broccoli really small into the lettuce. Serve in a taco shell or with corn chips.

Stir fry with chicken, and any vegetables you like. Serve it with chopped pineapple on top and soy sauce.

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