<p>cptofthehouse…
When you went to make the sad face above…it would have worked if you had NO SPACE between the colon and the (. </p>
<p>So, if I put a colon and a D right next to one another, I get this: 
But if I have a space between the colon and the D, I am left with this: : D</p>
<p>Are you still 
?</p>
<p>This is thread is hilarious.:D</p>
<p>SJTH, Yes we do have Costco, but I haven’t been there in years. I will go check it out. Thanks. It is really time consuming, breaking the chicken down into manageable portions and all those ziplocks.</p>
<p>Kelowna, H and I are not vegetarian, but we have totally decreased the amount of meat we eat mainly at the urging of our D who is an environmentaly aware, animal rights, PETA-loving indie kind of gal.
Some good vegetarian recipes are:
[Recipes</a> : Moroccan Stew : Food Network](<a href=“http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/moroccan-stew-recipe/index.html]Recipes”>http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/tyler-florence/moroccan-stew-recipe/index.html)
We also stir fry alot of broccoli with cubed tofu that has been marinating in teriyaki or ginger and soy.
Also make 2 versions of a Greek pie, one with meat and the other we substitue spinach instead of the meat
[Greek</a> Zucchini, Meat & Feta Pie recipe at Kraftfoods.com](<a href=“The Kraft Heinz Company”>The Kraft Heinz Company)
In the summer I use a lot of the fresh vegetables and use no cook recipes such as broccoli salad, zucchini and asparagus crudi, carrot salad.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Sorry 
I learn in many different ways
Yahoo I did it This is my favourite expression :D</p>
<p>I am Costco girl myself. It is on the way to school.</p>
<p>Me too, CPT! </p>
<p>Here’s a simple winter dish:</p>
<p>Chicken breasts
Red bliss potatoes
Carrots
Onion(s)
Olive oil
Onion soup mix</p>
<p>Cut up chicken, potatoes, and carrots into small, comparably-sized pieces. Dice onion. Combine it all in a large ziplock bag with olive oil (about 2 tbs, depending on size of meal, of course). Mix. Add onion soup mix and any other desired seasoning into the bag and mix it well. Dump the bag into a large roasting pan and bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes, stirring occasionally. </p>
<p>It takes some time in the oven, but it’s very easy to prepare and doesn’t take a lot of attention in the kitchen. </p>
<p>Other simple suggestions:
Pasta with oil and garlic
Pita pizzas
Baked potato stuffed however you’d like
Tacos or fajitas
Tostadas (big round chip topped with lettuce, beans, chicken, whatever)
Different stir-fry combinations
Rice and beans
Pasta with marinara sauce and cheese (if you don’t feel like baking, you can stick it in the microwave and it comes out pretty well)
Breakfast foods
Fruit smoothies to go with a smaller dinner or as a snack
Home made mac and cheese</p>
<p>My fave quick/easy meals:</p>
<p>*Pasta with matriciana sauce - very light sauce, good for summer</p>
<p>Brown 1 diced onion in EVOL. Add 200g chopped ham, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 tsp sambel olek or fresh chilli. Simmer and serve over pasta with grated parmesan cheese & side salad.</p>
<p>*Pasta sauce with tuna</p>
<p>Same as above but replace ham with 1 can drained tuna.</p>
<p>*Chilli beef</p>
<p>Brown 200g ground beef and drain. Add 1 clove garlic, 2 tsp sambel olek or fresh chilli, brown in EVOL. Return beef to pan, add 1 tsp fish sauce, 1 tsp soy sauce, 1 tbs oyster sauce and 1/2 cup water. Simmer. Before serving, add 1/4 cup chopped fresh basil. Serve over rice (especially good with brown rice).</p>
<p>*Smoky BBQ chicken</p>
<p>Put 1 chicken fillet in a saucepan, pour 1 can Coke and 3/4 cup ketchup over the top. Simmer until chicken is cooked (about 40 minutes). This recipe makes great BBQ flavoured chicken that can be flaked apart with a fork - nice in salads, sandwiches or wraps.</p>
<p>Hanna - I’ve been printing your posts - keep them coming!</p>
<p>For the true lazy cooks out there who have kids who like spicey food - try the Tasty Bite Indian dishes - we love the chickpeas in curry the best but all are great. They are packaged in foil and you just empty them in a dish and microwave. They make a pot of rice a delicious meal if you have some sort of leftover meat. The ingredients are extremely healthy - minimal salt, tons of tumeric and coriander and high fiber veggies.</p>
<p>For leftover chicken or turkey: curried chicken or turkey salad: Mix chunks of the meat with some mayonaise (as little as possible), curry powder, mango chutney (a tablespoon or so) parsley (chopped or dry flakes.) Goes great on pita bread, challah or rolls. Serve with a vegetable.</p>
<p>OK…since we’re talking about Costco…we go there every week. One of our regular purchases is the big jar of mango salsa. Really good. You can throw some on salmon and microwave. Also great on roasted pork or chicken. Or in tortillas with any kind of fish. Great stuff! Also the rotisserie chickens are awesome, but I understand they’re loaded with salt, so those watching their sodium should be aware of this.
We also buy a big bag frozen tortellini there to use as a quick side or a main dish with red sauce. Frozen teriyaki chicken breasts too…great for quick sandwiches.
OK, I can’t live without Trader Joes AND Costco. Great stuff at both stores.</p>
<p>That does it! I’m going to Trader Joe’s today…</p>
<p>I’m also trying to eat less meat.</p>
<p>I usually prefer to make vegetarian food that does its own thing, rather than trying to imitate meat. But veggie crumbles – ground beef substitute made out of soy – are excellent in highly flavored dishes such as chili, sloppy Joes, or spaghetti sauce. Saute some onions and garlic, stir in the crumbles, and then proceed with any recipe for the above. I never use meat in these dishes any more.</p>
<p>If your family mostly eats a cold breakfast or skips it altogether, breakfast-for-dinner is fast and usually a hit. My mother used to make scrambled eggs with onions and potatoes for dinner, and we loved it. Pancakes or French toast with real maple syrup are great too.</p>
<p>There are a lot of recipes out there for savory bread pudding, using grated cheese, scallions, thyme, etc. to flavor the custard instead of sugar and vanilla. If you use whole-grain bread and milk instead of custard, this can be quite healthy.</p>
<p>^ Actually, we’ve recently started liking egg white omelettes. We put one or two whole eggs in with the liquid egg whites in the carton. Cooked in cooking spray instead of butter, the overall fat content isn’t bad at all and it is very high in protein. We like to microwave a few Morning Star soy breakfast sausage links for filler along with spinach or tomatoes and a little cheese (the Cabbott vermont white lite cheese is fantastic). We slather on the salsa and it’s pretty good for dinner.</p>
<p>What I’m looking for now, though, is a good fritatta receipe that isn’t too loaded with cream and cheese. In other words, one that won’t bust the calorie budget.</p>
<p>Always so fun to talk food with other foodies.</p>
<p>One of my favorite quick meals is gourmet pizzas. Ingredients vary but the current favorite is pesto with shrimp:</p>
<p>1 lg. Bobboli bread crust or premade/cooked wheat pizza crust.
Spread ref. pesto sauce on top
layer chopped artichoke hearts, defrosted cooked shrimp, chopped kalamata olives, chopped sundried tomatoes and top with five Italian cheese mix in bag. Bake according to crust directions.</p>
<p>me too, cpt! something with spinach and cream cheese :D</p>
<p>For beef stew I like using a spiced red wine. You could make your own by using cloves and cinnamon sticks and simmering, but I would look up a recipe. I just started using a ready to go holiday spiced wine (I would think that there are many wineries that make it, but I buy the one from Brotherhood Winery because a liquor store that is convenient for me carries it. BTW, Brotherhood has a website and it has some other simple recipes that you might enjoy. I just looked at it and the scallop one looked simple and interesting to me).</p>
<p>I’ve been meaning to post this but kept forgetting. Last Saturday, we all got together and made various egg rolls. It was so much fun and everyone loved them so much that D2 brought home a fresh package of wrappers on Sunday!</p>
<p>We made some with leftover chicken cutlet, mozzarella cheese and tomato sauce; some with sliced leftover flanksteak, provolone cheese and horseradish; some with a more traditional cabbage filing; some with the chicken or steak with leftover roasted papers, and some with broccoli sauteed in garlic/olive oil and rice. It was a great way of using up leftovers and they were truly delicious.</p>
<p>I try to cook most nights. My family is picky. So no fish or pork or seafood of any kind. We eat alot of chicken.
I have easy last minute meals and I also have some tried and true things that I can make early in the day and put in the oven later.
Easy meals- ground beef tacos with packet seasoning. I usually use small flour tortillas and make soft tacos but you can buy the premade shells. Add a can of refried beans. For quick mexican style rice cook white rice with enchilada sause or salsa replacing part of the water. These reheat nicely for those coming in late. If you turn them into a burrito by using larger a larger tortilla you can premake and put them in the oven for those arriving home later. They also are a good to go item.
Another burrito make ahead. Grill a tri tip. I buy the preseasoned at Trader Joe’s, make white rice and pinto beans or black beans. Cut up meat into cubes. Use large tortillas. Add some cut up cheese. This is a great leftover meal if you have leftover tri tip or another kind of roast.
Crock pot mexican style beef. In the crock pot put a beef roast, add an onion, a jalapeno or two, fresh tomatoes, tomatillos if you have some. Add a can of salsa verde. When done shred it up and put in tortillas with avocado and cheese. Can do this with a pork roast also.
My kids favorite quick meal- Buy the ultra thin chicken breasts. Grill the breasts and brush with thick style teriyaki sauce. Serve with rice and a green vegetable.</p>
<p>Had to go drop off my D at her summer job.
The thin chicken breasts can also be basted with BBQ sauce and served with vegetarian beans and a salad.
Pasta-
ground beef and use a jar sauce. I used to make my own but discovered the Silver Palate jar sauce. My kids like it because it is not chunky. It is more expensive but I pick up several jars each time it is on sale. Add a green salad and frozen garlic bread. Fast, easy and doesn’t generate alot of clean up.
Another quick pasta dinner. Start with a sweet onion sauted in olive oil, add some garlic when ready add a can of diced tomatoes. Sometimes I add a splash of balsalmic vinegar. Add some fresh basil at the end. Serve with angel hair pasta which cooks in just minutes. If you have fresh roma tomatoes use those instead of the can.
Easy pasta #3- Sauted an onion and garlic in small amount of olive oil, add a bag or two of prewashed spinach. Add in some feta cheese to your taste preference. Serve on top of pasta. If you have time or have some around sprinkle with toasted pinenuts.
From Trader Joe’s- they make some good indian style jar sauces. I cut up chicken. You can use vegetables, tofu or another type of meat. Cook meat in olive oil and add in the sauce. For example Masala, Korma, Green curry etc. They also have some other types of simmer sauces. These work great over rice.
Another great Trader Joe’s find is the different types of flatbread. I use the naan when I make indian food, the pita or round flat bread when I do middle eastern.
One easy meal my family loves is boneless chicken breasts marinated in lemon and olive oil. I then grill and slice it thin and make sandwiches using grilled peppers, hummus and the flat bread. I warm the bread on the grill it is really good.
Also another fast meal. Grill steak or chicken, Slice thin and serve in tortillas fajita style with a mix of onions and different colored peppers.
(If you haven’t noticed tortillas are a staple around our house)
From Costco- The chicken parmesan that is sold in the meat department is pretty decent. It comes uncooked in one of those plastic trays that go in the oven. So you just heat the oven and stick it in and 45 minutes later Dinner.
Also for those of you who have a Tradr Joe’s. The premade pizza dough is good. You just roll it out, Add there pizza sauce, I use the pre grated mozzarella cheese and add toppings of our choice. Cooks in about 10 minutes. The frozen pizzas from Trader Joe’s from Italy are also pretty good.</p>
<p>Okay, would y’all stop torturing me with all the great stuff you can buy at Trader Joes?!</p>
<p>Missypie- My husband loves Trader Joe’s but not as much as he loves Chick Fila. Which we do not have anywhere near where we live!</p>