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HI JenGilly:

I struggle with this also in the winter months. Here are a few things I try to make dinner time more exciting:

I've been relying on my slow cooker to make things more exciting. Did you know we about a year and 6 months worth of dinner slow cooker recipes on here? I know. Intense.

I remind myself that spring and summer are near. At least once a week I try to remind myself with something in the kitchen. This week I bought fresh basil even though I grow it in the summer time. I'll probably make a pasta sauce using it and spread it through out other dishes.

Pre-make things ahead (when you have the energy). http://www.bettycrocker.com/search/searchresults?sr=2&term=make%20ahead

Make Mondays... or any day of the week more exciting. I just bought this book to help me inspire me. There is reason to celebrate food ever single day in the kitchen.

Also, our Dinner Made Easy newsletter comes out every Sunday. Sometimes I get inspired from there: https://www.bettycrocker.com/betty-crocker-newsletters

Hope this helps. I'm so glad you've joined our boards. I love reading your comments.

Sincerely, Cate

HI JenGilly!

We are having boneless skinless chicken breasts for supper tonight.  I'm not sure how I'm fixing them yet.  Maybe Parmesan Chicken.  We also like to grill them on a George Foreman Grill.  I wish the weather would cooperate so I could break out the gas grill.  I was able to grill Porterhouse steaks on Valentine's Day.  So good.  We had 19 inches of snow last weekend and are expecting another snowstorm this weekend.  So much for grilling.  If you want something a little different for chicken breasts combine dijon mustard, orange mamelade, and red pepper flakes.  Brush this mixture on chicken breasts while grilling them.  Please don't use this on a George Foreman Grill though as the glaze will burn onto the grill plates and become impervious to cleaning.  Yes, I speak from experience.  Have a great day!

Jen, I think we all get stumped every once in a while!

Cate, I use my crock pot a lot.  I love it for chuck roasts and stew meat.  It's so easy to vary the flavors depending on the spices so it's not the same thing everytime.

BLT, 19 inches of snow?!! Oh my, I don't see how you deal with that much snow.  We hardly ever get snow down here, but this year for the first time in over 100 years, it snowed on Christmas day.  We didn't get very much, but it was very exciting, lol!   It's been beautiful here for several weeks  - it's almost 80 here today! 

I went to Penzeys Spices Monday.  I love that place!  I got a jar of Shallot Salt and couldn't wait to try it out.  As soon as I got home, I mixed a little bit of it with some cream cheese then spread it on a slice of ham and rolled it up.  It was so good!

I'm making lasagna for dinner tonight and I'm going to mix some of the Shallot Salt with the ricotta and cottage cheese for some added flavor. Yum!

Thank you all for the ideas!  I have just been in a kind of a bummed out state of mind lately and cooking dinner used to be a joy but has been a big chore lately.  I have 3 stepsons and 2 sons so I have 5 boys who all like different stuff, well one has baby food but the other 4 all have their likes and dislikes.  We have used our grill all winter since we live in Arizona, but gosh I sure don't miss the snow!  I have lived all the US and love the weather here!  I think I am going to do breaded pork chops, mashed taters, and maybe some corn, but then again one of the boys won't eat corn, so I dunno lol!

I make a pork chop casserole  using 6-8 pork chops, 1 can cheddar cheese soup,(add 1/2 can water and 1/2 can of milk)  1 sliced thinned medium onion, salt and pepper  chops, also add rosemary and thyme (just a pinch of each), 6-8 medium potatoes peeled and sliced.   Spray casserole dish 9x13" and layer with pork chops on the bottom, then onion, then potatoes, then the soup mixture.   Bake 350 degree oven for 1 1/2 hrs.   Easy and so good.

Thank you guys so much for your ideas!  Its really different for me since I don't work anymore but have my house and 5 boys plus my hubby to take care of!  I have kind of been bummed out lately, not sure what it is but hopefully with spring around the corner I can get out of my funk!

Hi JenGilly,

I know you wrote this a bit ago but I see that you have a very busy life!  No wonder you are feeling in a funk.  I can't imagine taking care of all you take care of.  When I am making something for dinner and decide on a veggie and know that one of my boys will not like it I always have a bowl of carrot sticks or apple slices or something like that as well. That way I don't have to worry that they are not getting their serving of veggies/fruit, without having to cook another item.  There is no way to please everyone, unless I order pizza!  But, my budget doesn't like that too much. 

I sure hope you are feeling better.  Hang in there and I hope you have some time just for you now and then.

Hi all!

I ended up letting George (Foreman) do the cooking tonight.  I grilled the chicken, nuked a steam-bag of Green Giant Broccoli with Cheese Sauce, and started the meal with soup from Schwan's.  I don't want to scare anyone but this winter we have had 76 inches of snow so far.  March is usually our snowiest month.  We are at our 10th snowiest winter so far.  Yay!  Have a great evening!

Yum, that sounds good BLT and gosh a blt sounds even better lol.  We decided to just go out to eat tonight, so I will make my pork tomorrow.  We never ever go out so it will be a nice change of pace!

   We had lemon sole.  I scramble an egg and place the fillets into the egg while I season some bread crumbs with a bit of salt, pepper, dried dil and celery seed. I place the fillets in the bread crumbs and turn to cover both sides.  I also as a cooks treat also fry the scrambled egg. I fry the fillets in grapeseed oil.  We had steamed potatoes and mixed diced carrots and parsnips.

That sounds really good but what could I use instead of cabbage? (as cabbage gives my husband bad gas.)

Hi JenGilly,

Lately I've been feeling the same way. I am sick of the cold weather and ready for the warm weather to start cooking more summery types of meals. I have a house full of picky eaters and find myself dreading making the same old boring meals like spaghetti every week because the kids will eat it. I don't try new things very often because it's not worth the effort when I am just going to hear complaints. Then once in a while I remember that I don't have to make the kids the same thing as the adults and that I'm spending too much time trying to please the kids instead of myself. Serve the kids something quick and easy - fresh fruit and vegies and a pasta like mac and cheese and then spend a little time having fun in the kitchen making something new for yourself. I'm in the mood for grilled salmon and a nice summer citrus salad to go with it. Happy cooking! :)

our family finds it useful to cook a pot roast and use it over the next few days in french dips, philly cheesesteaks, shredded in corn tortillas with lime and cilantro, cubed in a pesole, shredded in tamales and enchiladas, fried with potatoes, onions and carrots in hash, stripped up with stir fry veggies, throw some in a salad....the possibilities are endless.
If you don't want to use beef or pork it works just as well to make up a large quantity of chicken, turkey or tempeh to use the same way. If you cook up a fair quantity of any beans you like your repertoire is magnified even further. Whatever soup, stew, stirfry, sandwich or salad strikes your fancy is easily at your fingertips in minutes instead of hours. :)

We had a three rib roast on Sunday. The top layer turned out to be tough as shoe leather! The rest, although a bit over done for our better tasts, was still very good. What to do with the tough piece.  I remembered croquettes from my childhood.  Well I removed the though skin and bit of sinew and dicing the piece, go t out my trusty mini food processor. I also diced some green onions and added the half baked potato leftover from dinner.  To this I added a bit of cream sauce. ( Here on this side of the pond, BISTO makes an instant cream sauce with boiled water.)  I then kept the remaining cream sauce hot by placing the jug into a pot of boiled water. I made patties of this mixture and dusted with bread crumbs and fried until brown on both sides. Served with a bit of the heated cream suce on top.  This along with the bones was our dinner for today.  YUM, the croquettes were an answer to tough meat!!!!!

Stuffed Peppers! :)

Gosh everyone has such good ideas!  I too have a house full of picky eaters, what happened to "you eat whats on your plate?"  Most of the time, seafood is out, I can get them to eat tilapia sometimes.  As for veggies, that would be a big no except for salads and carrots.  I have been trying to do some different stuff in hopes to get out of this pizza, burger, and chicken finger rut lol!

Hi JenGilly:

We asked your question on our Facebook page:

http://www.facebook.com/#!/bettycrocker/posts/10150116297519316

You may get a few more ideas here.

 Sincerely, CC

My family had Family Favorite Chicken Pot Pie last night. I am enjoying left-overs today.  It is a great recipe and very easy. Give it a try :) It is one of my favorite recipes!!