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Showing posts with label dinner ideas for tonight. Show all posts
Showing posts with label dinner ideas for tonight. Show all posts

Sunday, 7 November 2010

Healthy Dinner Ideas for Tonight

The idea of healthy recipes has become a common look out for most people all around the world. And why not, with the number of different kinds of diseases on the rise, healthy food is one of the vital requirements of a healthy and ailment-free living. Here in this article, I would be giving you some smart, quick and healthy dinner ideas for tonight. Jot down the recipes you like and enjoy a nutritious meal.

Top 10 Healthy Living Dinner Ideas

The below healthy dinner ideas for tonight have been a hit among most people and I hope it would also make you give the same opinion.

Recipe 1

Ingredients:
Thick steaks, ½ inch - 8 ounces
Chili powder - 1 tsp.
Kosher salt, divided - ½ tsp.
Plum tomatoes, diced - 2
Lime juice - 2 tsp.
Extra-virgin olive oil - 1 tsp.
Fresh cilantro, chopped - 1 tbsp.

Preparation:
Dust both sides of the steaks with the chili powder and salt (1/4). Put a skillet on medium-high heat and heat the olive oil. Once heated, add the steaks and cook. At an interval of 1 - 2 minutes, flip the sides and cook again. Having done that, place the steaks on a separate plate and cover them with foil. Now, it is time to prepare the salsa. Make a mix of the tomatoes, lime juice and the remaining amount of salt and cook in the pan. Stir often, until the tomatoes soften. Remove from the pan and add in the cilantro. Serve the cooked steaks with this salsa.

Recipe 2

Ingredients:
Chicken breasts, skinless and boneless - 1 ½lb
Ground cumin - 2 tsp.
Red bell pepper, sliced - 1
Cilantro, chopped - 3 tbsp.
Ground turmeric - 1 tsp.
Chillies
Ginger - ½ tsp.
Garlic cloves, minced - 3
Green bell pepper, sliced - ½
Tomatoes, chopped - 1 cup
Garam masala (hot spices) - 2 tsbp.
Vegetable oil - 2 tsbp.

Preparation:
Stir fry the mix of garam masala, cumin, mustard seeds, and turmeric for a minute. Stir in the onion, garlic, ginger and garlic and cook until the onion softens. Add the peppers and chillies and cook for 5 more minutes. Increase the heat and add the chicken. Cook it until brown. Now add the cilantro and tomatoes and reduce the heat to medium. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Serve hot.

Recipe 3
Ingredients:
Macaroni - 2 cups
Campbell's cream of celery soup - 1 can
Dry mustard - ½ tsp.
Grape nuts - ¼ cup.
Milk - ¼ cup
Tuna - 1 can
Cream cheese - 1 small package
Garlic - ½ tsp.
Onion, small, chopped - 1
Butter - 2 tbsp.

Preparation:
First of all, have the macaroni cooked following the instructions on the package. Make a mix of Campbell's cream, cream cheese, and milk until smooth. Time to add in tuna, garlic, dry mustard and onion. Now, stir in the cooked macaroni. Melt the butter and add in some grape nuts. Spread this mixture over the top of the casserole. Now all you have to do is bake the mixture in the oven for 45 minutes.

Recipe 4

Ingredients:
Chicken breasts, skinless or boneless - 4
Basil pesto - ½ cup
Plum tomatoes - 2 cup
Mozzarella cheese - ½ cup

Preparation:
Before starting off, preheat the oven to 400. Toss chicken and pesto in a bowl. Cover the cookie sheet with foil and bake the chicken for 20 - 25 minutes. Top the chicken with tomato slices and sprinkle with cheese. Bake for another 3 - 5 minutes and the fourth healthy dinner idea for tonight is served.

Recipe 5

Ingredients:
Whole kernel corn, drained - 1 can
Cream-style corn - 1 can
Sour cream - 1 container
Melted butter - ¾ cup
Beaten - 2 eggs
Dry corn muffin mix - 1 package

Preparation:
350 degrees is what is the oven preheated to. Make a mix of all the ingredients mentioned above and pour in a baking pan. Bake for 35 - 45 minutes.

With this, we are done with 5 healthy dinner ideas for tonight. The rest 5 have been continued in the following section. You can go through some of these articles on easy healthy dinner recipes and quick and easy dinner recipes, as well for great dinner ideas.

Recipe 6

Ingredients:
Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced - 4 pounds
Heavy cream - 2 cups
Butter - 3 tbsp.
Chives, chopped - 3 tbsp.
Salt and pepper

Preparation:
First, immerse the potatoes in a large pot containing cold water. Add in 2 tbsp. of salt. Put the pot over medium-heat and bring the potatoes to boil until tender, and drain well. Add in butter and cream in a saucepan. Now, mash the boiled potatoes until smooth. Add in the cream and butter mixture and season with salt and pepper. Mix well while adding in the chives.

Recipe 7

Ingredients:
Chicken breasts, boneless, skinless - 4
Salsa - 1 jar
Monterey jack cheese - 1package
Preparation:
Cover the chicken breasts with salsa. Place the pieces in a pan and cover them with foil. Bake for about 25 min in 350 degrees. Cover each chicken pieces with the cheese. Bake again for 5 - 10 minutes for until cheese melts. Serve hot with rice and tortilla chips.

Recipe 8

Ingredients:
Bacon - 1lb
Baked beans - 2 cans
Chili sauce - 1 bottle (12 oz.)
Sweet onion, chopped - 1
Brown sugar - 2 cups
Preparation:
Cook bacon in a skillet over medium-heat until brown. Before that, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Drain the pieces thereafter. Mix the beans, chili sauce, onion, brown sugar and bacon in a separate bowl and pour it into a casserole dish. Bake for 45 minutes to an hour and serve hot.

Recipe 9

Ingredients:
Green beans - 15 oz
Beef bouillon - 1 cube
Worcestershire sauce - 1 tbsp.
Soy sauce - 1 tsp.
Butter - 1 tbsp.
Garlic pepper seasoning - 1 pinch.

Preparation:
First you would have to drain the beans and reserve ½ of the liquid. In this liquid, dissolve the beef. Add the beans and liquid in a saucepan and then add the two sauces, butter and garlic pepper. Let the mixture simmer for 15 minutes. Transfer this to serving bowl and leave the beans sitting in the liquid.

Recipe 10

Ingredients:
Dry onion soup mix - 1 oz
Beef chuck roast - 3lb
Jellied cranberry sauce - 16 oz
Butter - 2 tbsp.
All-purpose flour - 2 tbsp.

Preparation:
Fill the bottom of the slow cooker with the onion soup mix. Add the roast to the cooker and top with the sauce. Cover and cook. Transfer the roast to a separate plate and set the cooker to High. Mix the butter and flour and add to the liquid left in the cooker. This would create a thick gravy. Serve hot with the roast.
All these health dinner ideas for tonight sure made me hungry.

I would be trying one of these ideas to prepare my dinner tonight. And I hope you would do the same and enjoy the healthy dinner ideas for tonight.

Friday, 5 November 2010

Chicken Dinner Ideas

One of the most popular food item, that almost nobody can refuse is chicken. Chicken, for me, is one of the best foods ever invented (for lack of a better word). The soft and delicious meat, drenched in a mouthwatering gravy, or freshly roasted leg pieces, just oozing with the embedded flavor in it. Simply delicious, don't you think? And when you're wondering about some chicken dinner ideas for tonight, then you've come to the right page, my friend. In this article, are given some dinner ideas that involve delectable chicken recipes, that you'll want to try out immediately.

Dinner Ideas with Chicken

Chicken is the perfect example of a wholesome food. It is good for health, because it is high in proteins, and tastes so yummy, that even kids can't complain. So, whether its chicken dinner ideas for kids or just simple chicken dinner ideas for two, you can count on this article, for some great ideas, to fill those empty stomachs with some delicious quick dinner ideas with chicken. Read on...

Soups
Let's begin with some delicious chicken soup recipes that you can try out. Here are some easy to make chicken soups that are totally sumptuous to have.

Option 1: The first option that you can try out, is a creamy chicken soup. It is very easy to make, and you can use different ingredients, according to what flavor you want. All you have to do for this easy chicken soup recipe, is, put the ingredients in a pot, with water, bring it to a boil, and as the flavor begins to spread with the aroma, keep it on simmer. Most common ingredients for this soup are, chicken breast, chicken stock, vegetables, mild spices, and cream.

Option 2: If you want to try out something different, then a Thai coconut soup is just right for you. Don't be fooled by its name. The flavor of coconut milk, together with ingredients like ginger, lemon, chillies, a little sugar, and some lemon-grass, all boiled together in delicious chicken broth, will have you asking for more!

Option 3: The best idea for someone who wants everything fresh and homemade, is a homemade chicken noodle soup. You'll need the general ingredients of a soup, like celery, chicken stock, carrots, and shredded chicken. Heat the ingredients, including the noodles, except the chicken, on simmer. Add the chicken after the vegetables are soft.

Salads
After the soups, we'll move onto some chicken salad recipes that can be used to whip up a delicious and healthy salad, for the extremely health conscious ones reading this.

Option 1: If you're looking for something different and refreshing, then how about a poppy seed chicken salad? A simple way to make this is, in a bowl, toss together some lettuce, celery, tomatoes, roasted cashews, cooked chicken in a bowl. Add the poppy seed salad dressing to it, and serve.

Option 2: For a cold chicken salad, you can try this. Boil, flavor and shred some chicken, and refrigerate it. In the meantime, toss up some lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, carrots, celery, and spring onions. Add the chicken to this mixture, and top it off by sprinkling some lemon juice, or with some mayonnaise.

Option 3: A fruity-veggie salad chicken is the perfect way to have a blend of all flavors, to please your taste buds. Pick your favorite greens, and some small to mid sized fruits like grapes, cherries, strawberries, diced oranges, or sweet limes. Take chicken, and roast it on a grill, with a tangy flavored dressing. Make slices of this chicken, arrange them on a plate, and surround them with the fruits ad vegetables!

Starters
For those who are on the lookout for some quick chicken dinner ideas, that are tasty too, here are a few options.

Option 1: The supermarket is stocked with frozen chicken, I'm sure. Get yourself a pack of frozen wings or legs, and deep fry them. In the meantime, ask your friend or spouse to prepare a simple, yet yummy dip using flavored cheese, yogurt, a pinch of pepper, and some chilly flakes. When the wings are ready, dip them in the dip, and you have a delightful appetizer ready.

Option 2: Alternatively, if you have the time, you can also get fresh boneless chicken, and chop it into cubes. Prepare a sauce of tomato, ginger, garlic, chilly, salt and a little pepper if you wish. Marinate the chicken cubes in this, for at least four hours, and then shallow fry them, till the chicken is cooked completely. Once they are ready, put them on tooth-picks, and serve the with a simple side salad.

Option 3: One more thing that you can try with chicken, as a starter, is have the chicken boiled and shredded. Then, marinate it in a mixture of lime juice, salt, and pepper. After about 2-3 hours, fry, refrigerate it, and serve it with a green chutney of coriander or mint.

Main Course
After those starters, let's go on to some yummy healthy chicken dinner ideas that you can use as your main course.

Option 1: Boil the chicken till it is soft enough to be eaten. Poke it with a knife to check that it is not pink form the inside. While the chicken boils, whip up a gravy using ginger, garlic, salt, yogurt, chilly powder, and any other spices of your choice. Work up the right consistency, and see to it that the color of the gravy remains whitish. Now, poke holes in the chicken, and add it to the gravy. Let the gravy boil on simmer, for a few minutes. Garnish with fresh thyme or coriander, and serve with ginger rice, or bread of your choice.

Option 2: Now for an idea, that is a complete opposite of the above one. While that was more sober and a little on the bland side, this one has all the ingredients to make your eyes water. Marinate the chicken in a spicy sauce of tomatoes, chillies, ginger and garlic, for at least three hours. For the gravy, you'll need oil, chilly powder, ginger, garlic, pepper, cumin powder, onion and tomato paste, salt, and coriander powder. Again, get the right consistency by adding appropriate amounts of water, once you see that the onion and tomato paste has turned a shade of brown. Then add the chicken, slowly, after poking holes, to allow the flavor of the gravy to seep into the chicken. Keep it on simmer for one boil, and then garnish with coriander. This curry is best eaten with steamed rice!

Option 3: One more idea that you can use for a main course chicken dish is casual, yet filling one. You'll need potatoes, a whole lot of cheese, and of course, chicken. Take the potatoes, and cut them into half. Pour molten cheese between two halves, with a piece of chicken in between. Put this into the oven, and cook till the potatoes are baked, the cheese is warm, and the chicken is cooked.

Those were some good chicken dinner ideas, that will make anyone's mouth water. And they're ridiculously easy to prepare too, aren't they. So, go on and try them out, and have a wonderful time!