Cute Squirrel Eating Dinner.

A cute squirrel eating rice krispie treats. Hope u enjoy

What's For Dinner? 30-Minute Menus for 2010 - 34th Edition

This is the 34th edition of the weekly 30-minute menus for 2010. These are published on a weekly basis; I like to develop the weekly menus on Thursday or Friday, grocery shop on Saturday, and start the week's menus on Sunday.

Happy Labor Day to all! Can you believe that summer is over? I hope you have enjoyed every minute of your summer - mine was great.

My family is visiting for the Labor Day weekend. They began arriving on Friday evening so everyone is here for our dinners on Sunday and Monday. Sunday's dinner of Chicken Veronique is so easy and a family favorite; you can have a great meal and still have time to spend with your family. I will serve a Deli Delight appetizer course consisting of: Sliced Swiss, Cheddar and Provolone with Apple Cranberry Chutney; Sliced Ham, Beef, Turkey with Horseradish Mustard; Cherry Tomatoes, Broccoli, Cauliflower, Baby Carrots with Vindaloo Curry Sauce; Roasted Garlic Crackers and Mini Toasts; Golden Roasted Gourmet Peanuts. (Note: I will use the leftover Vindaloo sauce with the Mushroom Fritters on Friday).

I just love the Cincinnati Chili for a Crowd menu for the Labor Day celebration. You may even have a chili competition if you have a folks that like chili to make chili their way. This menu works well for eating at home, in the backyard, or porting to your picnic. Just put your chili in a crockpot and you are all set for good, family fun for all!

You will find that I use several cooking methods, mix and match, to get dinner on the table quickly! (The ingredients in parenthesis show some of my quick-prep steps.) You can always substitute your favorite made-from-scratch recipes when you have more time.

I hope you have a great week!

Sunday: Family Visiting for Holiday Weekend
Chicken Veronique (boneless, skinless chicken breasts, sliced mushrooms; purchase extra mushrooms for Friday)
Rice or Pasta
Sauteed Yellow Squash
Caprese Salad (purchase extra tomatoes for Wednesday and Friday)
Double Chocolate Torte (purchased pound cake and chocolate frosting; save some pound cake for Friday or purchase extra)

Monday: Labor Day
Cincinnati Chili for a Crowd (Cinci chili 5 ways with noodles, shredded cheese, onions, beans, or plain)
Condiment Bar (jarred salsas and relishes with sour cream)
Citrus and Avocado Salad (jarred citrus)
Stacked Brownies (purchased brownies and chocolate syrup)

Tuesday:
Quick Weeknight Jambalaya (boxed gumbo mix, chicken tenders, fully cooked smoked sausage, cleaned and deveined shrimp, canned tomatoes)
Fruit Salad (bagged spring mix, jarred fruit of choice)
Cream Puffs (purchased cream puffs)

Wednesday:
Hurry-Up Chicken Pot Pie (canned or deli chicken, biscuit mix, cream of mushroom soup, sour cream, frozen vegetable mix)
Sliced Tomatoes with Blue Cheese (crumbled blue cheese, bottled vinaigrette)
Blueberry Stacks (refrigerated crescent rolls, jarred blueberry jam)

Thursday:
Beef and Broccoli Stir Fry (bagged, cut broccoli; purchase extra broccoli for Saturday)
Rice
Sesame Cuke Salad
Phyllo Raspberry Creams (frozen phyllo cups, instant pudding mix)

Friday:
Fried Mushroom Fritters with Vindaloo Sauce (vegetarian; sliced mushrooms, jarred Vindaloo sauce)
French Bread
Fresh Fruit Salad (seasonal fruit)
Toasted Pound Cake with Ice Cream (purchased pound cake and ice cream)

Saturday:
Lemony Pan Seared Pork Chops (prepared lemon juice, jarred capers)
Pasta (boxed pasta)
Fresh Broccoli Spears
Rice Krispy Treats (rice cereal, mini-marshmallows, chocolate morsels)

I sincerely hope you have fun with your meal planning and preparation,
Elizabeth Randall and Family

How To Find Healthy Dinner Recipes

When I'm looking for information about something I just type the word or phrase into Google and I can usually find what I'm looking for in the first couple of pages of results. When I typed in "Healthy Dinner Recipes" I was overwhelmed. There were lots of results of course, so I clicked on the first one and got a list of dishes:

Appetizers, Beverages, Breakfast, Candies & Treats, Entrées, Healthy Cookies, Cakes & Bakes ....Wraps, Sandwiches & Burgers.

The word 'dinner' doesn't even appear, and on checking out some of the meals, they didn't even appear that healthy to me. The next site I tried was actually better, although I had to scan a lot of recipes to find something that appealed to me.

Criteria for a healthy recipe

If you're like me, time is precious so I have to find what I need fairly quickly. Unfortunately when it comes to finding ideas for healthy dinner recipes you still have to do a lot of looking. I try to scan the recipe and screen out ones that don't meet my basic criteria for a healthy dinner meal. Here are the things I look for when selecting a suitable dinner recipe:

- a generous portion of mixed vegetables

- a source of protein such as lean meat, fish or beans

- a source of carbohydrates like potatoes or brown Rice.

Whole wheat bread, whole grain Rice and whole-wheat pasta are healthier choices than the white varieties. A green salad always makes a healthy choice.

If you are a vegetarian it's much easier to find a healthy recipe. The thing to look for though is an adequate source of protein. Soybeans are a good alternative to meat but should be consumed in moderation. The Harvard School of Public health has a good article on protein on their web page. (http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/nutritionsource/protein.html).

Other Sources

So, where else can you find healthy food recipes? Another good online source is Amazon.com. If you search on the keyword 'healthy dinner recipes' you will find a lot of books listed, (of course this isn't going to help you get dinner ready this evening!). The only thing to be aware of is that a lot of these books are focused around weight loss diets, which are not necessarily good for you in the long run. Nevertheless Amazon is a good source of information.

If you have children it's especially difficult to find recipes that are nutritious and appeal to them. This problem is worse if you are trying to change the eating habits of the family. The CDC website (http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/nutrition/nutrition_for_everyone/quick_tips/healthy_children.htm) has some good information about preparing healthy dinners for children.

Conclusion

In conclusion, there is a ton of information out there but trying to zero in on the best healthy dinner recipes for you and your family is going to take time. You also have to be prepared to make a lot of changes until you find something that works for everyone. I used to joke about our kids' reaction to some of my dishes (Lima bean soup comes to mind) - if they don't like it, it must be good for you!

Seriously though, there are lots of good healthy dinner recipes available that everyone will love. You just need to be able to spend the time to find them, and experiment a little in the kitchen.