I love cheese enchiladas. I’ll put meat in to make my H happy but really, cheese and beans, I’m happy. What kind of special cheese are you looking for??
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Maybe just cook what you were cooking before but smaller quantities…or look at it as you only need to cook every other night because you can get a 2nd night meal out of one cook!
I would take the corn off the cob, chop up the pepper and broccoli and do a stir fry with rice!
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The problem is that only my kids and I eat vegetables, my husband does not. So a lot of what I cooked before I made two versions - one for me and the boys, one for my husband (ex: chicken enchilada casserole - one pan included corn, peppers and onions with everything else, one was only chicken, beans and cheese. Or chicken stir fry - one pan was heavy on the vegetables, not much chicken, then some cashews or peanuts, the other was more like cashew chicken because no vegetables, but still used the sauce.) And I’m just not inclined to make two meals for two people (whereas two meals for three people, or four people if both boys were home seemed reasonable) nor can I consume that much vegetable on my own before I’m tired of it. So really, I need to go through my regular repertoire and figure out what will work with just side item vegetables and not incorporated vegetables, and then I need to figure out how to shop for the right amounts. I definitely overpurchased this week. Historically, I’ve been a shop first to buy the things on sale, then meal plan from there kind of person. I think I need to do more advance meal planning before hitting the store. Plus, frankly, I’m just tired of cooking… which is really making the “only need to cook every other night” option very appealing!
I also think I need to start thinking about how to incorporate frozen vegetables. Like if I make a stir fry, I used to use a whole bell pepper, half an onion, a good handful of carrots, a pretty significant amount of broccoli. I can’t eat all that myself. But if i’ve got it frozen and can just pull out a little at a time, then i can still do his no-veggie version and add just the right amount of veggie for me. I just need to figure out how to change up my shopping and processes now.
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Asadero and/or Oaxaca. I substituted Monterey Jack and mozzarella.
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Last night I made chili cause it was a little cooler and it just sounded good. But I summered it up. It was a beef and bean chili but I also topped it with: one ear of corn, cut off raw, fresh sliced jalapeños, a few of my smaller bite sized tomatoes, cheddar cheese, sour cream, cilantro from the garden and then some crushed Doritos - I can’t wait to have it again tonight!
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@abasket that sounds delicious! And that kind of a meal is always better the second night.
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You inspired me to make fish tacos! I have lots of garden tomatoes, hot peppers, and cilantro. We went to a fish fry last night and I’ve got left over fish. I took off the crusty part and saved the rest.
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My cherry tomato bushes are exploding with fruit! We’ve given some away, are a whole bunch ourselves, and now I think I will make this as the weather is finally starting to cool down.
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Still too hot here for chili. I love to make a big pot and eat it for days. I put in a drained can of corn. H & I like it spicy. If GD is visiting, I’ll make it mild, and we’ll add heat to our own bowls. Always have sour cream, shredded cheese, pickled jalapeños, cilantro, avocado, and Fritos for add-ins.
I start with this recipe: https://addapinch.com/weeknight-black-bean-chili-recipe/
I don’t care for cumin, so double the chili powder – plus usually add more heat (Cholula, Valentina, or whatever we have on hand).
Come on cooler weather!
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I made a tomato bisque and it was delicious (with grilled cheese, of course).
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Adding, our daughter told us this week that they have a HUGE bumper crop of butternut and acorn squash they are willing to share! Good! I am looking forward to butternut squash soup!
I think I share this recipe every year!
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Also good with BLT’s this time of year!!! 
@thumper1 do you have a preferred kind of apples for this recipe?
I use Granny Smith apples in my butternut squash soup.
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The soup (recipe linked in the above post I’m replying to) was delicious. I doubled the recipe so have a ton of leftovers!
Had a ton of end of season tomatoes to use up. H made a Tomato Bacon jam that is seriously delicious. Especially amazing in a grilled cheese.
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Looks good! I have made this version and the tomatoes and onions make it sweet and savory in the very best way!
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I’m not such a good cook as all of you. I don’t have the time or really the interest to make things that have lots of steps or lots of ingredients. So my dinners need to be relatively fast and easy. This week I was trying to use up random things that we have in the cabinets and freezer (maybe every three months I go on this binge for a week or two, where I only buy produce and dairy at the store - everything else has to come from the pantry or freezer, it makes for some awesome hits and equally awesome misses sometimes). Anyhoo, two days ago I was looking at some chicken breasts trying to figure out what to do with them and I remembered that at some point I bought this Kevin’s Kung Pao sauce when i saw it on sale Kung Pao Sauce - Kevin's Natural Foods. So I diced up the chicken small, sauteed it then added the sauce, added in some chopped up peanuts and grated some carrots and mixed it all up to make my own chicken lettuce wraps for dinner. We added in some rice and some mango - mostly because the mango really needed to get eaten and the rice was leftover from dinner a few nights earlier and it ended up so good that we’ll probably add this to our rotation.
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If you happen to like tikka masala, Maya Kaimal makes a very good jar sauce. We’ve tried a couple of different sauces from that brand, and they’ve all been good.
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Thank you! Good to know! I often stare at the shelves with the various Asian/South Asian sauces and am overwhelmed. We like all of the things, and there are so many choices. Then I buy one - usually based on either (1) it was on sale or (2) the packaging was pretty (#2 is also how I choose wine, I know, I’m awful. That’s why I let other people choose wine) and forget which it was and whether I liked it or not. It’s maddening.
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