Meal Ideas - Bethlehem, PA

You must go to trader joes and get their manicoti in the frozen section (i think its called canolli or something like that).... to die for delicious!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and comes in portions of two that are perfect for one. i eat it often when my husband is out of town. their mac n cheese is delicious, too!!!!!

Hi L.,
Have you tried substituting pork or beef for chicken in recipes you already have? Also, try substituting tofu in your seafood recipes. Tofu absorbs the flavors you put into your dish especially if stir fried. You may want to try some recipes out of a vegetarian cookbook. Don't be discouraged, there's a whole world of cooking out there. Be creative!!
Sincerely, M.

Dear L.,

One of my favorite easy meals with pork chops is:
4 pork chops (bone-in or boneless)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can of french style green beans-don't drain!

Brown pork chops on both sides. In bowl mix green beans(including liquid) and soup together. Put porkchops into greased 9 x9 baking dish. Pour
mixture over top of chops. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or longer if chops are thick. Serve with mashed potatoes and put the bean mixture on top of them. For added yum factor, mix some pepper jack cheese into mashed potatoes while mashing them. It gives it a little more flavor.
Hope you enjoy.
G.

My favorite quick and easy meal is enchilada bake. You brown 1 lb. of ground beef (or turkey for a healthy alternative!) with onions. Once it's browned you drain the fat and add 1 can of cream of mushroom soup, 2/3 cup of milk, half a can of green chiles (the teeny tiny can), and about 2 tbsp. of taco sauce (although I never fully measure). You bring it to a boil and then let it simmer for 8-10 minutes. Break tortillas into quarters and line a 9 by 9 casserole dish with them. Then pour half of the mixture into the casserole dish. Lay cheese on top then add another layer of tortillas, mixture and cheese. Now you can either bake it in the oven at 350* for 30 minutes (it does taste best this way) or in the microwave for 10 minutes (you will love it this way too). The whole recipe takes about 30 minutes to make and cook (if you put it in the microwave) and even my 21 month old son LOVES it! Good luck!

My husband has the same allergy. I am curious, how were you diagnosed for sure? Just wondering. My husband began the allergy at age 21. He is now 40. We eat a lot of salads, pork, beef and pasta. I will be interested to see the responses you receive, as I am always looking for new ideas without chicken and fish as well. (He is also allergic to turkey!) Good luck!

Hello L. W.

How do you do with Pasta? Are you also allergic to Eggs? Can you eat sausage? There are some wonderful stir fry recipes out there. Make lasagne with out the meat or use beef. Stuffed shells. Do you eat pork do you like veggies? Have you tried veggie burgers? There is always pancakes and waffles as a change. Pizza is good. My kids like to make rice bowls and potatoe bowls just make it with veggies or another kind of meat. use your imagination when cooking replace chicken and seafood with something you can eat. If you can eat sausage this is something I do for a break.

I take Sausage and cut it into little circles about and inch thick cut while still frozen. Cook it up add some green peppers and onions, salt, pepper, garlic, orgeano and parsley. I add to angel hair pasta and serve with garlic bread. It is a good change over sausage pepper and onion sandwiches or Spaghetti with tomatoe sauce.

Remember anything that you made with chicken or seafood can be made with anyother kind of meat. Good luck and have fun.

There are many alternatives:

BJs/Sams Club sells marinated pork roasts that are wonderful.
Meatloaf (stuff with cheese, with eggs, with carrots)
Shepards Pie
Lamb Roast
Sloppy Joes - beef
Tacos - beef, vegetarian, pork
stuffed peppers
stuffed cabbage
homemade mac and cheese - with beef, with bacon/onions
pancakes
french toast
waffles
Crepes with ham/cheese
Stuffed pepper soup
Pasta fagiole soup
Beef barley soup
Grilled Kelbasa

Even with no allergies, it's easy to fall into dinner ruts and routines. Good Luck

S.

I don't know any specific cookbook names, but I'm sure there are cookbooks dedicated to ground beef or beef in general. Try using Google to look up something like "ground beef cookbooks". Also, although I personally don't like it, tofu is a good option for recipes. Good luck with this. I know my husband wishes he was allergic to chicken (he's a big meat and potatoes man).

Spaghetti and meatballs, tacos, enchiladas, steak, pork chops, tenderloin - all the good stuff!

Are you willing to try new tastes and textures? A few years ago, due to some health issues that my husband developed, we made a move to a largely vegetarian diet. I love to cook, and I grew up eating lots and lots of veggies and grains, so I had no problem adjusting our routine. You can google "vegetarian recipes" and come up with lots of different things. Eating vegetarian meals a few times a week can stretch out your meal repertoire very easily. Things like home-made soups, pizzas with creative toppings, and rice and bean dishes make up the bulk of our meals these days.

If you are missing some of your favorite recipes that call for chicken, try using soy chicken found in the frozen vegetarian section. Morningstar makes a great breaded chicken patty (100% chicken free) and other products like hot wings, and chicken to go in recipes. There is fake tuna (you'll have to get it at health food stores like Rhubarbs) but not too many fish or seafood substitutes.

Vegetarian dishes, especially international cuisines, may be just the variety that you are looking for. Keep an open mind and you'll realize that you will have more meal choices than before chicken and seafood left your table.

It does become hard when you can't have certain foods. Have you tried taking a recipe that calls for chicken or some type of sea food and switch it with something else? Have you tried beef, deer, bufflo, lamb, or even maybe a vegatarin dish. There are ways around it. Best of luck.

Here are some of our favorite meals - pot roast, pork roast, spaghetti with meatsauce or meatballs, meatloaf, steak salad, stuffed peppers or stuffed tomatoes, ham/bean/potato stew, ham bbq, pulled pork sandwiches, roast beef au jus sandwiches, a casserole we call potato soup casserole made with cream of potato soup/ground beef/egg noodles and veggie of choice, sweet sausuage over pasta, keilbasa and pierogies, pork stir fry (we also do stir fry with left over steak). I am not an adventurous cook so the recipes I use are pretty simple, often with very few ingredients. If you'd like any of them just send me a message. One other thought, if you aren't allergice to turkey maybe you can use that as a substitute for chicken.

Pizza, meatloaf, hot sausage, Barbeque Beef sandwiches, Breaded & oven bake pork chops, Pork tenderloin marinated & on the grill--YUM! We also make what my mom calls Monday Night Potatos (sausage, potatoes, green peppers & onions in a 9x13 pan & baked (cook/brown sausage first then cut up). Also, soups--Split pea, Beef & barley, minestrone.

I love pork loin. I salt and pepper the whole loin then pat tons of dried rosemary on it. You can brown it in a pan or just leave it. Cut up some cabbage, celery, carrots, and potatoes and toss it all in a crock pot. This can be done the night before. Just turn it on low and let it cook all day 6-8 hours. I love it! And it's so easy.

I think any recipe for chicken, you could substitute pork. They're both mild, white meats...

how about soy or veggie 'meats' - they're in the frozen section of markets. Quorn makes a good chicken breast substitute, and both Quorn & Morningstar make strips of 'chicken' you could use in casseroles calling for chicken strips, even chicken salad. I find them yummy, just gotta watch the sodium on them, so we only have them once or twice a week.

I've got tons of recipes in my gourmet food business, and would be happy to email them to you if you'd like! ____@____.com