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I'm making my shopping list and thinking ahead to dinners for the week, and feeling completely uninspired. The meals that are coming to mind are starting to seem like the same old stuff.

Tell me, what's on your dinner menu tonight. What have you had lately?

Oh my am I gonna be following THIS thread! By the time we try to eliminate certain "unhealthy" foods and concentrate on what we SHOULD eat, the grocery list gets pretty slim. Then too, I'm not the best cook. So I totally comprehend the lack of inspiration in meal planning!

Wish I could offer any suggestions other than try to learn a new ethnic cuisine from one month to the next. By the time you get tired of that country's food preferences it's time to move around the globe to the next port of call.

Tonight is leftovers. Pork ribs smoked on our green egg BBQ with homemade potato salad and corn on the cob. Followed up by cherry crisp.

I love to cook. I'm not afraid to try anything. I get a lot of ideas from following some facebook recipe posters.

I'll update as I go!

green egg BBQ

Oooooh, we have a Big Green Egg, too! In the last two weeks we've had smoked brisket and smoked pork ribs.

Usually, I won't make a list until I see what's on sale at the store. I'll head for the mark-down spots and see what looks good.

It's only my son & I, and many times I'll make a casserole or taco meat and we'll eat on it for most of the week. This week, I went to a local Thai place. For $25, I picked up their chicken pahd Thai. It's about 5 pounds of food and we'll both eat on it all week.

For lunches, I hit the farmer's market and got some cherry tomatoes and regular tomatoes. I'll be able to switch between cherry tomatoes & cottage cheese or tomato sandwiches...or even cucumber sandwiches.

Sometimes, I'll do chicken schwarma with a seasoning mix I found online & make. Then get pita bread & whatever else I want to throw in. Chicken fajitas are nice to have on hand. One hot dish that my son taught me is to get chicken & season it. Throw it in a 9x13 pan. Top with a big can of cream of chicken soup, but I've substituted cream of mushroom. Top with hashbrown patties or tater tots. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Top with shredded cheese & bake for another 15 minutes.

ETA: I did a meal service for awhile. One of the meals was panko crusted tilapia with creamy lemon spaghetti. I've changed it a little bit and use chicken.

1 lb or so of chicken, cut up and seasoned (garlic, onion, Old Bay). Cool and set aside.

Boil spaghetti or pasta of chioce. Reserve pasta water.

2 Tbsp butter in pot
Saute garlic (I just squeeze in some jarlic, but use 3 or so cloves)
1 8 oz block of softened cream cheese, stir in & melt
2 Tbsp butter
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Pasta water
2 Tbsp Old Bay seasoning, or more to taste

Toss chicken and pasta into the sauce. Add more pasta water to get to the right sauciness you like.

I'll make this every other month and the 2 of us will eat it all week. Sometimes my family will ask me to make it for a special occasion.

[This message edited by leafields at 4:33 AM, Monday, September 8th]

Easy fool proof recipe.

Bell & Evans chicken thighs (6 per package) marinated in Ken’s Italian dressing with Asiago cheese.

Grill on BBQ.

I get rave reviews from friends every time I make this.

Has anybody enjoyed Indian food lately? Can be very healthy and lots of vegetables. Doesn't have to be HOT.

I haven't had much experience with Indian food. I love Thai and Chinese. The problem I have is accumulating the condiments. Unless I consistently make them, I end up with shelves of fish sauce, oyster sauce, curry paste etc....

I have been eating a lot of Cobb salads lately. With 1000 Island dressing although any favourite dressing is great. The produce/harvest around here is so incredible. The veggie stands are just bursting with colour and freshness.

I'm on my own for supper most nights and I can't usually get into a lot of effort. My H cooks for both of us when he's home, and he's a meat and potatoes guy for the most part - he sure can make excellent fettucine Alfredo, too. When it's just me, I often revert to wraps and sandwiches (although I have been off bread for the last few months and have lost 30 lbs). I'm allowing myself just one or two sandwiches a week so I love a toasted western or a bacon/tomato with a bit of onion and mayo.

I'm going to splurge a bit tonight and have fish and chips. And I'm not being healthy about it - I'm using the deep fryer and using frozen, battered fish.

I made chicken cordon bleu meatloaf. I used a recipe from the internet.

Great suggestions here. Thanks, everyone.

It's been a not so great week and I am still lacking motivation, so i's just been easy meals the last few days. But your suggestions have given me some inspiration.

Another thing I love to have when I'm on my own is just a shrimp cocktail and a salad. My H has a shellfish allergy.

Kraft used to put out a little magazine called What's Cooking, and I loved it (still have them somewhere). Obviously, based on many Kraft products that one might have in their pantry, I found them simple, comfort foods. I've done a lot of the recipes from those little magazines. Then the magazine moved on-line. I went looking for it today, and didn't find it exactly but there is a Kraft-Heinz site with lots of recipes like the old magazine site.

I used to do one that I loved that had penne, chicken, bell peppers, salsa and grated cheese. The leftovers were good cold or warmed so it was great to take for lunch at work the next day. Simple but tasty.