I Am So Burnt Out on What to Make for Dinner

Skinless and boneless chicken thighs marinated overnight in Trader Joe's Soyaki souse and scallions (cooked on the stove) + cous cous + melon.

I just discovered Soyaki - it is so good. The salmon I cooked with it was very good too.

We barbecued whole chickens on Sunday and shredded the extra meat. So tonight we are adding spices to make chicken tacos and tomorrow probably barbecue sauce. :)

Have you considered making reservations?

We ate gross tonight - a store bought frozen pizza from target that said it served 3. (maybe 3 pre-k kids!) so we supplemented that with leftover frozen junk food from my kids party on friday. Chicken nuggets, mozarella sticks and poppers. Oh, but don't worry I made it healthy - I made a salad!!! LOL!

Catwalk's dinner is what we call "Muzgo" night. Because it all "must-go!"

Another friend calls it "YO-YO" night. "Your're On Your Own."

Tonight? We're having fish tacos, blackened fish with lettuce, cheese, limey tartar sauce, salsa, all in a tortilla.

If I were as burnt out as you are, I'd probably pop a frozen pizza in the oven and call it a night.

"Potpourri" night here...lol

In other words...leftovers...(but sounds more 'festive')

Chicken thighs...some BBQ pork...pasta/veggie salad...and sliced tomatoes with fresh basil, EVOO...and mozzarella cheese...

Meat is 'warming' as I type...table is set...just need to get call to pick up the missing child (football practice)...

Sipping a nice zinfandel while I wait...

Does it get any better?

Best Luck!
Michele/cat

Sooo burned out too. It is just too hot!

We are having shredded pork sandwiches. I cooked the pork roast in my crock pot yesterday. We like the Baha Chipotle marinate so we add a dab and some cheese on the thin rolls. Yesterday we ate the pork in tortillas with the usual taco fixin's like lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, etc. Really easy!

Cheesey chicken bake!

2 cups shredded cheddar
16 oz frozen spinach (thawed)
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
2 (10 3/4 oz) cans condensed cream of chicken soup
1 bag frozen tater tots
4 tsp butter
1/3 cup milk

Mix milk, butter, and soup in pot, pour into huge mixing bowl.

Add cheese and spinach; mix well.

Preheat oven to 350.

Pour mixture into baking dish; top with tots and add extra cheese.

Cover with foil; bake 35 minutes.

Anything left can be frozen for up to 3 months :)

I'm thinking of buying a grocery store chicken, bread, frozen veggies to cook and making a salad....... I'm burned out too

I am baking a pork tenderloin, steaming some broccoli, going to make a cauliflower au'gratin and a fruit salad for dessert. Maybe a half a slice of whole wheat bread for the kids...I used to make rolls or biscuits for every dinner, but hubby has gone low carb.

I can't wait to read the other responses because I am burned out too...I keep doing the same things to the same pieces of meat/fish.

Here are a couple of quick & easy ideas - using your crockpot.

#1 - Put frozen meatballs in a crockpot. Pour spaghetti sauce over them. Cook on low all day. Make meatball sandwiches when you get home. Add a side salad.

#2 - Put a pork tenderloin in a crockpot. Pour your favorite bbq sauce over them. Cook on low all day. Tear apart and mix well when you get home. Make pulled pork bbq sandwiches. Add cole slaw.

#3 - Put boneless chicken (thighs or breasts) in a crockpot. Sprinkle with taco seasoning. Add one cup of your favorite salsa and a can of cream of mushroom soup and a drained can of black beans. Cook on low all day. Tear apart and mix well when you get home. Serve in taco shells or tortillas or on a tostada, chips or rice. Just add your favorite toppings - cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, etc. My kids absolutely LOVE this. We usually do burritos. And then use the left overs the next night for nachos.

Hope you like some of these ideas :)

going to have hubby grille some fish and use some left over quinoa and make a salad. I'd do burger night (veggie burger that is), but no buns in the house!
Update: making bobby Fillets red cabbage slaw (so easy and was so good at a friends house, not to mention, I'm also out of most greens for my salad)

Me too.
I'm doing beans n weens tonight.
I chop up an onion, throw it in a pot with a large can of pork n beans, with a package of cut up hot dogs and a little bit of brown sugar.
It's a fairly quick meal that everyone loves.

we have some chicken left over from last night I made some homemade mac and cheese and put in the leftover chicken torn into pieces.
added in some pepper and garlic salt so good

Upside down pizza. Well, we aren't having it tonight, but I'm suggesting it b/c it's easy and yummy, and I may make it tomorrow. I made a few changes to the original recipe which is here, I'll write my changes below:

http://familyfun.go.com/recipes/upside-down-pizza-in-a-pa...

* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1 cup chopped onion
* 1 cup chopped mushrooms
* 1 large zucchini cut in 1/2 inch chunks
* 4 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 lbs shredded chicken (recipes calls for 2 lbs ground turkey)
* 2 (15-ounce) cans Italian-style tomato sauce
* 2 teaspoons dried basil
* 1 cup chopped pepperoni
* 1 teaspoon pepper
* 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
* 1 (13.8-ounce) package prepared corn bread mix (or use prepared pizza dough mix)

Instructions

1. Heat the oven to 400°. In a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, mushrooms, and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions begin to soften, about 3 minutes. Add the turkey and continue to cook and stir, breaking the meat into small pieces, until it is no longer pink, about 8 minutes.

2. Stir in the tomato sauce, basil, and pepperoni and cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Add the pepper, then transfer the mixture to a 9- by 13-inch casserole dish.

3. Scatter the cheese on top and layer on the pizza dough. Bake the casserole until the dough is golden, about 20 minutes. To serve, spoon out portions with a large serving utensil.

Another of my fav meals is this yummy, smoked sausage corn chowder I wrote about on my blog:
http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/2011/01/smoky-corn-and...

But, tonight, we are having grilled chicken, asparagus and salad.

We are having what my mama called hobo dinners. It probably has a proper name but....
foil paper
potatoes
hamburger meat
onion
garlic salt or powder
green beans
I brown the hamburger patties with some garlic powder just to get a crust on the outside then I start layering. One potato sliced per" package" layer in onions sliced and a handfull of green beans. Close up and put in 400 oven for about 45 mins. Easy clean up and its sooo good :)

BLTs for the kiddos
Leftovers for me & hubs

I warmed up left-over cheeseburgers from Sunday night that my husband grilled...YUM!

Wish my son appreciated it, my husband called to vent/check-in from work and our son dumped his milk all over his "Crabby Patty." The dogs REALLY enjoyed that unexpected treat.

oh the dreaded question...what's for dinner?!?!?! it's like the movie groundhog day - where every morning you start the same thing over and over again...never fails...what's for dinner happens every night! ;-)

i sometimes struggle too - and i love to cook. but over 3 years ago i discovered wildtree (www.jenwarr.mywildtree.com) and started a blog (www.wildtreecooking.blogspot.com) where i posts meal plans, recipes, freezer meal workshops & bundles and much more.

wildtree is all about making dinner in minutes that does not sacrifice health or your wallet! here are a couple posts to check out...
http://wildtreecooking.blogspot.com/2011/01/on-budget-bun...
http://wildtreecooking.blogspot.com/2011/01/value-of-wild...
http://wildtreecooking.blogspot.com/2011/07/whats-for-din...
http://wildtreecooking.blogspot.com/2011/04/arroz-con-pol...

if you would like more info about the recipes, freezer meals, or earning free groceries from wlidtree - let me know! i'm on a mission to fill every kitchen with healthy ingredients that actually taste good so we moms can feel good about not only getting dinner on the table in a short time, but that we are actually filling our family's belly with nutritious food!

hope this helps!
J.
www.jenwarr.mywildtree.com

I made goolosh tonight. Shell noodles, browned ground beef (drain) and tomato juice with garlic bread. If it wasn't going to rain then it would have been steaks on the grill.

Last night was pork chops in the crock pot and rice made in the microwave.

We might have King and Queen night tomorrow. Burger King dollar menu and Dairy Queen ice cream for dessert.

Steaks with mac n cheese and watermelon slices.

I'm not too inspired to cook tonight either:(

Hi... I got your post late, sorry.. Last night I made home made potato soup. It's a comfort food for us and it's OH, so easy. Also, I purchased sourdough bread "bowls", cut off the tops and hollowed them out. I took the bread from the centers and toasted it, put it on a plate and then put the soup inside the bowl and topped it with chives and sharp cheddar cheese.

My daughters (12 and 8) love it as does my hubby and my 3 yr. old son. It only takes about an hour to cook from start to finish.

L.

TOTALLY relate! I found a menu plan called E-Mealz I found it through the Everyday Cheapskate site...even if I don't follow it perfectly each day, it's made dinner a little easier, because it's both the menu & the shopping list each week good luck

Trying this one for the first time tonight:
http:// allrecipes. com/recipe/smothered-chicken-breasts/detail.aspx
(minus the spaces after // and before .com)

Here are a couple more (I add a space after "//" and at the end before "com" because I think someone said to add a space when posting links on mamasource! So, you'll need to delete the spaces to get the link to work...I think - just copy/paste them and then delete the spaces):

http:// allrecipes. com/recipe/speedy-spaghetti/detail.aspx

http:// allrecipes. com/recipe/chicken-noodle-soup/detail.aspx

We love this one (double the sauce, though):
http:// allrecipes. com/recipe/chicken-breasts-in-caper-cream-sauce/detail.aspx

That's probably enough. I have a ton of recipes that I go through and when I get burned out, I always find new stuff at allrecipes.

Oh, and this is a super easy one that most people know, so you probably already know this (or a similar version!):

Tator Tot Casserole:
1 lb of ground beef
1 can of corn
tator tots

Brown the beef - season it however you want (I use salt and garlic). When it's brown, put it in a casserole dish, layer the corn above it, and then top it with tator tots in a single layer. In the last 5 minutes of cooking, you can add cheese on top. You cook it at whatever temp the bag of tator tots say to cook and for the length of time it says to cook the tator tots. This is a recipe I use mostly when I'm short on time.

I just went through the same thing....never knew what to make for dinner, thought about it too late in the day, etc....I found this website called How Does She do it.com. Its a free meal planning website with tons of recipes. You make a profile, add recipes that you find that u like and also you can add in your own family favorites. When planning your weekly menu, the really fun thing is that it automatically generates a shopping list for all of the ingredients for each meal, plus you can add any extra stuff you need at the market. Now, i only have to think aboutbwhat to makemfor dinner once a week (usually on Sunday, so I can utilize the coupons and the market ads to see what is on sale). So far, I have been using the meal planner for two weeks and in that two weeks, we have only had one meal that my family didn't love. Evrything else was amazing and the best part was I didn't have to think about what to make every night!! You can use the planner for breakfasts and lunches too, but so far I have only done dinners, it is really fun and has totally solved my what to make for dinner dilemma/burnout. Just thought in would share it after seeing your post, hope it helps!

Last night we made Cuban sandwiches with shredded pork. So we could have leftovers,,

We are talking about making sub sandwiches.

Griiled fish, rice and salad.

Super Nachos with shredded chicken or taco meat.

BLT's with giant slices of Tomatoes and some really good bread.

Breakfast for dinner.

I noticed the store has Roasted Turkey legs.. thought that could be good with stuffed potatoes and some good squash.

I need to decide!

I agree with Virginia C. I was SO burnt out on trying to come up with dinner ideas every night. This has really saved my life.
Check it out: http://e-mealz.com/amember/go.php?r=189912&i=l0