What to cook?

[Happinow]

Hi all. I have family coming in the next few weeks and I am at a loss as to what to prepare for our evening meals. I don't want anything too time consuming as I don't really want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but I want some easy, tastey meals. We always have hot dogs on the grill on the evening of their arrival as we are all pretty tired and want something quick. Any ideas? Thanks for your input!

[Villager Joyce]

Anything in a crock pot

[tomwed]

How long are they staying?
How many people?
Are there any restrictions? no fish, no dairy, no pork
What end of town do you live in?

[ConnieNonnie]

Papa Johns & Flippers deliver and you can make a big salad.
Chengs delivers Chinese.
Applebee's, Carrabas, Chilis all have curbside to go!
I always cook a big pot of sauce, meatballs & sausage
Before company arrives and put up pasta when they arrive.
Bon appetite!

[Carl in Tampa]

Spaghetti and a tossed salad. Pre-packaged garlic toast. Quick, easy, filling. Also, paper plates, plastic utensils, and plastic cups.

[jimmemac]

Hi all. I have family coming in the next few weeks and I am at a loss as to what to prepare for our evening meals. I don't want anything too time consuming as I don't really want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen, but I want some easy, tastey meals. We always have hot dogs on the grill on the evening of their arrival as we are all pretty tired and want something quick. Any ideas? Thanks for your input!

Who would know what they might like better than yourself????

[Happinow]

How long are they staying?
How many people?
Are there any restrictions? no fish, no dairy, no pork
What end of town do you live in?

Mom and sister, no restrictions, and South of 466A.

[Happinow]

Who would know what they might like better than yourself????

I do know what they like, but it's nice to see what others prepare. New recipes and ideas are always welcome! So far I'm making lasagna ahead of time. Crockpot recipes are a good idea as well.

[tomwed]

Mom and sister, no restrictions, and South of 466A.
rotate the starches ----rice, pasta, potatoes

shop at Fresh Market [let them pick out cheeses, cold cuts, bread, desserts, light and dark beer, red and white wine]

basmati rice with fresh parsley and butter, cooked rotisserie chicken, salad [when you get home wash the rice and cook it while someone cuts up the cooked chicken]
If you want to fuss a little take the bones and put them in a crock pot with a qt or so of water, 1/2 onion with the skin on, stalk of celery, those little carrots, bay leaf, garlic with the skin on
--since the meat is already cooked you don't need to worry about under cooking, strain everything and toss out the solids, put the broth in the fridge and skim off the fat later,,,save this for the tortellini soup later on in the week]

linguine with fresh basil and garlic [microwave the garlic in the skins for 30 sec], broiled or sauteed shrimp with lemon and olive oil, asparagus with crumbled blue cheese

sweet potatoes [cut into chunks, leave the skin on and put in crock pot on low for about 3 hours], broiled or baked ham steak with a little maple syrup and mustard spread on top, Deli baked beans--hot or cold

brown rice, broiled salmon [ask for 6 oz servings] with hoisin sauce spread on top, broccoli

meat tortellini, carrots [get the little ones], mushrooms, scallions [put bottoms in the broth and the tops sprinkled on right before serving] in chicken broth [not college in or bouillon] but store bought

Crock Pot Beef stew, garlic, little red potatoes, onions, portabella mushrooms [tell the butcher you are making beef stew so he cuts it] Just add everything to a little beef broth and red wine or balsamic vinegar [don't bother flouring and browning] in a crock pot and season [this is where you can get rid of the extra raw veggies and herbs from earlier in the week, even the chicken broth---and the cooked ones and herbs can go in the last 10 minutes]

If you need a recipe for each i will pm you if you ask but it's pretty much heat and serve with very little prep or reading a recipe. Just stay close to the fish and shrimp while it cooks,,it can overcook very quickly.

[jblum315]

Just be glad you don't have to cater to the persnickety tastes of little kids!

[graciegirl]

Rent another golf cart and drive them to restaurants here in The Villages. Most people love to ride in golf carts and it's fun to dine out.

[lanabanana73]

I learned this year that you can bake sweet potatoes in the crock pot! Just wash and pierce them first thing in the morning, put them in the crockpot on low all day and they'll be perfect by dinnertime.

There's a blog called 365 Days of Slow Cooking that I like very much. Always have some good recipes.

365 Days of Slow Cooking (http://www.365daysofcrockpot.com)

Good luck and have fun!

[Happinow]

rotate the starches ----rice, pasta, potatoes

shop at Fresh Market [let them pick out cheeses, cold cuts, bread, desserts, light and dark beer, red and white wine]

basmati rice with fresh parsley and butter, cooked rotisserie chicken, salad [when you get home wash the rice and cook it while someone cuts up the cooked chicken]

linguine with fresh basil and garlic [microwave the garlic in the skins for 30 sec], broiled shrimp with lemon and olive oil, asparagus with crumbled blue cheese

sweet potatoes [cut in tochunks and put in crock pot on low for about 3 hours], broiled ham steak with a little maple syrup and mustard, Deli baked beans--hot or cold

brown rice, broiled salmon [ask for 6 oz servings] with hoisin sauce, broccoli

meat tortellini, carrots, mushrooms, scallions in chicken broth

Crock Pot Beef stew, garlic, little red potatoes, onions, portabella mushrooms [tell the butcher you are making beef stew so he cuts it] Just add everything to a little beef broth[don't bother flouring and browning] in a crock pot and season

if you need a recipe for each i will pm you

You must be a great cook! All suggestions sound flavorful and something my family would like. Thank you.

[Happinow]

Thank you all for your suggestions. You have me some good ideas!

[FosterMomma]

Crock pot chicken

1. Roll one chicken breast per person into the shape of a football.
2. Place one tblsp of butter into the bottom of the crockpot and put the chicken on top.
3. Sprinkle one package of dry Italian salad dressing over the chicken and shut the lid
4. Cook on low for about 4 hours

Take one package of cream cheese and mix it with one can of mushroom soup. After the 4 hours is up, pour the soup/cream cheese over the top. Leave it for at least another two hours. Add a few glugs of sherry at the end and serve it over rice or pasta.

Yum

[tomwed]

You must be a great cook! All suggestions sound flavorful and something my family would like. Thank you.
If you don't need to stick to a budget it's pretty straightforward to make something that tastes great in very little time. It's the little touches at the end that make a difference like crumbled blue cheese, fresh herbs, garlic and lemon. You will pay more at Fresh Market but the butcher and fishmonger will be doing all the prep work.

When my side gets together for a week or two during the year, I do the cooking although I'm not the only one that can cook. They know it's my little gift and they run out for the ingredients. Almost always my sister will show up with a spiral cut ham. I'll turn that into soups and casseroles for the rest of the week. And it brings back memories of the old Holidays days when my mom used to serve an early dinner and dessert and we would sit around talking in the dining room telling stories about the kids and work until it was time to start supper from the leftovers served earlier. I think food was central and the personal. And I hate to say it, but my mom was not the best cook and it didn't really matter.

.

[jnieman]

Thank you all for your suggestions. You have me some good ideas!

Here's one for you. I was getting ready to make one of these recipes on Pinterest. It's for oven fajitas. It would feed a crowd. Looks like you could do it up ahead of time and everyone loves fajitas.

https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=oven%20fajitas&term_meta%5B%5D=oven%7Ctyped&term_meta%5B%5D=fajitas%7Ctyped

You could use the leftovers the following day and make quesadillas.

Enjoy!

[Jima64]

I learned this year that you can bake sweet potatoes in the crock pot! Just wash and pierce them first thing in the morning, put them in the crockpot on low all day and they'll be perfect by dinnertime.

There's a blog called 365 Days of Slow Cooking that I like very much. Always have some good recipes.

365 Days of Slow Cooking (http://www.365daysofcrockpot.com)

Good luck and have fun!

We also put regular potatoes wrapped in foil in the crockpot. Helps with the heat in the kitchen.

[Jima64]

Spaghetti pasta with marinara sauce and fried chicken. I know it sounds wierd but my mother n law on the cape raised a bunch of kids on it.

[CFrance]

If you don't need to stick to a budget it's pretty straightforward to make something that tastes great in very little time. It's the little touches at the end that make a difference like crumbled blue cheese, fresh herbs, garlic and lemon. You will pay more at Fresh Market but the butcher and fishmonger will be doing all the prep work.

When my side gets together for a week or two during the year, I do the cooking although I'm not the only one that can cook. They know it's my little gift and they run out for the ingredients. Almost always my sister will show up with a spiral cut ham. I'll turn that into soups and casseroles for the rest of the week. And it brings back memories of the old Holidays days when my mom used to serve an early dinner and dessert and we would sit around talking in the dining room telling stories about the kids and work until it was time to start supper from the leftovers served earlier. I think food was central and the personal. And I hate to say it, but my mom was not the best cook and it didn't really matter.

.
What a lovely post. It says so many things. I'm just wowed.

[keithwand]

Meat loaf. Flank steak or anything on the grill

[dittofred1]

I have a quick chicken recipe that my husband LOVES! I cut up chicken into bite-sized pieces, saute it in garlic and olive oil for about 5 minutes. Put it into an oven-safe dish and cover it with crushed Ritz crackers. Drizzle melted butter over the top and bake it at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Serve over angel hair with garlic bread. 30 minutes prep and cooking time and you're done! You can play with the recipe and add sliced peppers and onions or whatever you like. It's a fun and easy basic dish.

[OCsun]

YUM! I love this post! Tomweb, I am impressed and you have inspired me to find a cooking class. :)

[CFrance]

I have a quick chicken recipe that my husband LOVES! I cut up chicken into bite-sized pieces, saute it in garlic and olive oil for about 5 minutes. Put it into an oven-safe dish and cover it with crushed Ritz crackers. Drizzle melted butter over the top and bake it at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Serve over angel hair with garlic bread. 30 minutes prep and cooking time and you're done! You can play with the recipe and add sliced peppers and onions or whatever you like. It's a fun and easy basic dish.
Ditto, am I right in assuming boneless, skinless chicken?

[tomwed]

YUM! I love this post! Tomweb, I am impressed and you have inspired me to find a cooking class. :)
I don't thinks it's that complicated.

About 6 months ago I was cooking up a storm and spending a lot of time doing prep, following recipes and the clean-up. Basmati rice was on sale and I followed the directions on the bag. I put butter, salt and pepper on top in a bowl and realized that it tasted better to me than most of the other stuff I was cooking that took a lot of time and ingredients.

I started a thread about "If you could eat only 1 food for the rest of your life". Someone else just said in a previous thread, that they loved BLT's. So do I. And unless the tomato is not ripe or you burn the bacon or toast, it just works for me.

I started thinking about fruit too. I bought a watermelon and realized you could never make something in the kitchen for dessert that has the flavor and consistency of a $4 watermelon that will fill 10 people.

See what happens when some people get old and don't have a job. I think too much.

[rosygail]

Cook 6 chicken breasts on the grill do 3 with barbeque sauce, 3 plain. Eat the Barbeque sauce the first night. Use the plain breasts to make a salad with chicken for another meal!

[OCsun]

See what happens when some people get old and don't have a job. I think too much.

Seems like you are doing a good job of being creative in the kitchen. :mmmm: