Top 5 go to recipes

I am in such a funk with dinner and need some new recipes. What are your top 5 go to recipes? I find myself going to the same things every week -- THANKS!

Chicken Caesar salad -- grill chicken with salt and pepper and toss it with romaine, croutons and Caesar dressing.

Chicken Scampi -- bite size chicken covered in garlic, red pepper, parsley, olive oil, salt and pepper until it's cooked. Then add more garlic (2 spoon fulls of the pre-diced), the juice of 1 fresh lemon, and about 2 cups of white wine. I let the wine cook out and add about 2T of butter. I serve it over linguine.

French bread pizza -- split french bread, pour sauce over it, sprinkle mozz & top with pepperoni. Put it in the oven (400F) for 10 minutes or so.

Sausage and peppers -- grilled sausage, peppers and onions cooked in a little olive oil with hot sauce added at the end. Served with Italian bread.

Fajitas -- steak, shrimp or chicken (whichever we have handy) grilled with some Mexican spices (McCormick) and peppers and onions grilled with the same spices. Served in tortillas with shredded cheese, sour cream and salsa.

Vodka sauce -- almost a lb of prosciutto or pancetta (usually prosciutto) cut up into cubes. Brown that in a pan, add 1/2 minced onion & 2 cloves of garlic -- cook that until it's tender, add 1 cup of vodka and let the good brown stuff come up. Stir in 1 jar of sauce (28oz) and let that simmer for a few minutes (check your seasonings here -- I usually add salt at this point), stir in heavy cream -- I usually add about a cup, but you can add however much or little you like. I add parsley and serve it over penne.

Re: Top 5 go to recipes

1) My version of an enchilada, so it's basically a one pot meal. Either chicken or portobella mushrooms. Black beans, some type of veg in there, red or green peppers. Easy and delish!

2) Chicken stew provencal, takes a while to cook, but another one pot meal:
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3) Rachel Ray's chicken with balsamic glaze, add this over some jasmine rice and do some burnt broccoli along side. I usually use a plum preserve, but its good with the orange too.
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4) Ina's Lemon Garlic chicken. Really easy to do this with a salad.
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5) Vegan quinoa and sweet potato chilli:
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Top 5 go to recipes

We've been trying to eat more chicken/turkey so I've been experimenting with ground chicken/turkey into burgers, chili, meatloaf(McCormick Meatloaf mix was really good), those Chinese Lettuce Wraps from PF Changs (the sauce was different but it was a good dinner). Usually a broiled fish/shrimp/scallop dish with lemon/butter/seasoning.

Still wind up with some sort of chicken - cutlets, nuggets. Raviolli is always quick and handy.

Top 5 go to recipes

grilled chicken with rice and veggies
lemon chicken
chicken sauage, potato, onion
pasta of some sort
stirfry with tofu or shrimp or chicken

Re: Top 5 go to recipes

Chicken Chili but with a mix of different beans, a can of crushed tomatoes, and frozen corn added in. I usually roast a whole chicken and we eat the breasts for dinner one night and then I shred the rest of the meat for chili which lasts at least 3 more meals for DH and I.

Paula Deen's Old Fashioned Meat Loaf

Tacos or some type of concoction using taco meat

Buffalo Turkey burgers

Pasta with meat sauce or sausage

Re: Top 5 go to recipes

Top 5 go to recipes

Enchiladas -Beef or chicken cooked in stewed tomatoes, chicken broth, cumin, chili powder and garlic powder. Rolled in tortillas with cheese, then smothered in spicy red sauce and cheese.

Spaghetti and meatballs

Southwestern chicken chopped salad

Baked ziti

Smoky cheddar burgers

Re: Top 5 go to recipes

black bean burgers

southwestern salad: corn, black beans, avocado, romaine, tortilla strips and yogurt ranch

vegetarian chili

whole wheat pasta with roasted red pepper and broccoli

and my DH's fave: America's Test Kitchen meatloaf (its kind of a pain, and so, so fattening, but he loves it, so I cook it a few times a year)

Re: Top 5 go to recipes

Grilled chicken (with some type of marinade) and brown rice

Whole wheat pasta, vincent's sauce, and shrimp

Stuffed Peppers

A mexican dish- enchiladas, tacos or fajitas. I use those Old El Paso dinner kits.

Paninis (we have a panini maker). My favorite is grilled chicken, mozz, roasted red pepper and balsamic dressing

Re: Top 5 go to recipes

I try out a lot of different recipes, but here are some we tend to repeat for weeknight dinners:

1. Marinated london broil (or pork tenderloin or any other quick cooking roast), baked potatoes or sweet potatoes in the microwave, bag of steamfresh veggies in the microwave. Easy, quick, and relatively healthy... plus we always have leftover meat for lunches (salads, sandwiches). Also like the Perdue oven ready roaster chickens (can do a whole chicken that comes in an oven bag - ready to just pop in oven as is).

2. Cooking Light's Lemon-Pepper Shrimp Scampi with Orzo. Very quick to throw together, but tastes gourmet. Add a side salad and done!

3. One of my standby pasta dishes, which include WW Penne Vodka recipe, Cooking Light's Garlicky Linquine with Clams and Peas, and a creamy fettucine with porrcini mushrooms (may also be a Cooking Light recipe, can't recall), with salad.

4 Quiche (I just use frozen pie crust and add whatever fillings - veggies, cheese, etc.) I want, and serve with a soup or salad. Good way to get a vegetarian meal in. Very economical, too! Leftovers can be frozen and eaten for breakfast, lunch, whenever.

5. Tacos (in a pinch I just use the dinner kits from Ortego or El Paso) or chili, sometimes with brown rice and beans on side.

But in general, I like to look at cookbooks, magazines, online and do my weekly menu planning. I try to mix it up and incorporate 1 chicken meal, 1 beef, 1 meatless, 1 slow cooker, etc. (and allow a few nights for leftovers or whatever).

Re: Top 5 go to recipes

Re: Top 5 go to recipes

Re: Top 5 go to recipes

Re: Top 5 go to recipes

Black Bean Burgers (my recipe and a DH fave)

1 cup black beans, rinsed 1 cup
refried black beans 1/2 cup (ish)
Pepperidge Farm stuffing mix or fresh bread crumbs
1 tsp cumin (to taste)
1/2 tsp chili powder (to taste)
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 onion chopped fine
1 head garlic chopped fine
whole wheat flower for dusting


Saute the onion and garlic in olive oil until soft, remove from heat and put into large mixing bowl. Add black beans, stuffing mix, egg, cumin, chili powder and refried black beans together and mix until blended. Season with salt and pepper. Make 6 patties and dust lightly with whole wheat flour. Pan-sear the burgers in olive oil until crispy on each side. Flip once. Serve on a whole wheat bun with sliced avocados or a slice of fat-free cheese.

Re: Top 5 go to recipes

Top 5 go to recipes

1. roasted caprese pasta - roasted grape tomatoes (balsamic, olive oil, garlic, grape tomatoes, s&p roasted at 400 until blackened), tons of fresh basil, fresh mozz (or smoked mozz is great too), and pasta all mixed together. if you pour some pasta water into the roasting pan you can pick up a lot of the caramelized juices.

2. crunchy chicken - marinate chicken in whatever you want. mix panko, french's onions, herbs, spices. coat chicken in panko mixture, bake at 400 until cooked

3. veg stir fry (my husband can't eat chinese food out because he's allergic to nuts and sesame, he says mine tastes like he remembers before he became allergic)

4. big salads - I will often make big salads full of interesting things - grilled veggies, chicken, dried fruit...

5. lasagna

Re: Top 5 go to recipes

Re: Top 5 go to recipes

spaghetti and meatballs (I bake my meatballs and flip them 1/2 way, then finish them in the sauce).

Sweet Chili - 1/4 cup Heinz chili sauce, 1/4 cup ketchup, 1 large can vegetarian baked beans mix and simmer. In a pan cook beef with a small pinch of chili powder, some garlic powder and onion powder. Cook beef until browned. Drain excess fat. Stir meat into beans, low simmer a few minutes. Serve with rice and a veg. Sometimes I add 1/2 a bag of mixed veggies to the chili too.

Chicken cutlets (breaded) with potatoes, risotto or stuffing

Roast chicken

Baked salmon

Burgers

sweet and sour meatballs.

Re: Top 5 go to recipes

Re: Top 5 go to recipes

Our regulars include tacos- we use chopped turkey and a taco kit, Lipton Spanish rice

Enchiladas -Philadelphia cooking cream Santa Fe blend w black beans and corn and Lipton Spanish rice

Chicken breasts w rice usually Lipton variety and steamed veggies

Chicken w penne alla vodka and chopped spinach

Pasta w meat sauce, garlic bread, green beans

Chili

I love easy so I use a lot of frozen veggies, Lipton rices, anything quick and easy

Re: Top 5 go to recipes

Chicken Cutlets with Roasted Red Peppers & Fresh Mozz over Angel Hair pasta

Crockpot Chicken Tacos- 1.5 lbs of chicken, one jar of any salsa & half a packet of taco seasoning on high for 3 1/2 hours. Served with tortillas, sour cream, cilantro & avocado

Stuffed Salmon with this sauce & rice Salmon with Sriracha Cream Sauce

Spaghetti & Meatballs or Meat Sauce

Steak with Mashed Potatoes