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Author Topic: I'm sick to death of my menu
Hank
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I know there are a lot of fabulous cooks among our ranks, so I'm looking for suggestions for dinner ideas.

I make dinner for a family of 5--me (the nanny) the mom and dad, and the toddler twins.

Dad likes meat and potatoes, and mom prefers salad, but both are open to eating the other's preference as long as it's not every night.

The babies eat pretty much what we eat, with some baby food to supplement, if it's too hard to chew. They have a really wide-ranging palate, including tempura, chicken vindaloo, fajita veggies, you name it.

The main requirement is that I really can't plan on doing much prep work right before dinner, since that's when the kids are the most needy, since--duh!--they're hungry. They do take a nap every afternoon, so I have time to do something more involved, but it needs to either be reheat-able, be served cold, or be placed in the oven/crockpot for 2 1/2 hours so that it will be hot from the oven at mealtime. Things that take 1 1/2 hours 3 hours before serving are great. Things that take 15 minutes immediately before serving just never work out.

Hatrack chefs, start your cookbooks!

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Epictetus
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One of my mother's favorite tricks is to put several pieces of chicken in a crockpot with a couple of cans of enchilada sauce and put it on low heat for about four or five hours. By the time that dinner rolls around, the chicken can be pulled apart and served on tortillas. Very tasty with very little effort. Another option would be home made mac & cheese. It takes a little effort, but the actual cooking and prep work can be done in the afternoon and then just pop it in the oven 20 minutes before dinner.

Another one of my favorites is Chicken noodle soup. Throw some frozen veggies,herbs/spices, egg-noodles, and some chicken (pre-cooked or canned) into broth that's near a boil. Then, lower the heat to low and cover for a half an hour.

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katharina
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Chicken cordon bleu

Pound chicken flat, and roll up with a piece of ham and a piece of swiss cheese on the inside. Stick a toothpick through it to keep it rolled up. Place in pan and sprinkle Italian bread crumbs on top. You can make it at any time during the day and keep the pan in the fridge. Stick in the oven about an hour before you want to eat at 350. Ten minutes before it is done, place a slice of swiss chease on top of each chicken roll.

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dkw
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I'm a big fan of crockpot meals that can be prepared earlier in the day. My current favorite source of them is here.
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Hank
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*takes notes*

Those all sound great, and that's a very useful site, dkw!

Epicteus, do you have a recipe for Mac 'n' cheese? Or should I try cooks.com?

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Epictetus
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My mac & cheese recipe is very similar to Alton Brown's, however, there are some things he calls for that I don't care for, so know that you can play around with the recipe a little.

Macaroni and cheese
• 1/2 pound elbow macaroni
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1 tablespoon powdered mustard
• 3 cups Milk
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 12 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Fresh black pepper
Topping:
• 3 tablespoons butter
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Cook the pasta in a large pot.
While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for ten minutes until it begins to thicken and remove the bay leaf.

Stir 3/4 of the cheese into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2-quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.
Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and rest for five minutes before serving.
Remember to save leftovers for fried Macaroni and Cheese.

When you have the noodles mixed in with the sauce, you can conceivably pour it into the casserole dish and store in the fridge until about a half an hour before you want to serve it. However, since it's been in the fridge, you might want to increase the cooking time a little to get it hot.

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Hank
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That sounds delicious. Thanks for writing it out!
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Epictetus
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No problem, though I should perhaps direct praise to Dagonee who started the "Ode to Macaroni and Cheese" thread a couple of years ago and got me interested in cooking my own. My first try was his recipe after all.
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rollainm
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Chili, dude. Extra spicy.
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T:man
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Thats sounds delicious Epictus, must try [Big Grin]

What we ate for Eggs and tortillas tonight.
Eggs, scrambled.
Tortillas, extra buttery.
Chorizo Despaρa, crunchy and hot.
Sliced avocado.

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Sterling
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Minestrone is a bit of work, but it reheats really well. Likewise tom kah gai (thai chicken and mushroom soup) has a very nice mild yet exotic flavor, and I've yet to meet anyone who dislikes it.

The Moosewood Restaurant cookbook makes a very tasty and satisfying black bean and sweet potato burrito, though their recipe (from "Moosewood Restaurant Cooks At Home") lies like a dog about the proportions, so if you look into it be prepared to have a lot of leftovers. ANd the stuffing, which is mashed, would make a very nutritious toddler food.

If you can get good tomatoes, my wife got me hooked on sliced tomatoes and cream cheese on toasted bagels with a dash of black pepper.

We've been doing baby spinach and strawberry salads with toasted pecans or walnuts here as strawberries come into season. A light sweet dressing (like a poppyseed or sweet vinagrette) works well as a compliment.

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Hank
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The black bean and sweet potato burrito sounds especially good. My kids are sweet potato fiends. They love them in any form.
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