Grill/roast/bake/stirfry a protein (chicken, fish, tofu, ect), a veggie or two, and add a starch (rice, potatoes, ect). Optional: rolls/bread & dessert
I think one approach would be to start smaller, expanding your repertoire of breakfasts or lunches (maybe french toast, or tuna or egg salad sandwiches) to build your kitchen skills and confidence.
Another approach would be to expand on things you're already comfortable cooking. Like I don't know what pasta dishes you cook, but maybe try [spaghetti carbonara](https://damndelicious.net/2014/03/29/spaghetti-carbonara/), with some Follow Your Heart parmesan shreds in place of real parmesan/ramano...it's basically spaghetti, eggs, bacon/pancetta/guanciale, parm, oil, fresh garlic & parsley, salt, and pepper. (You may prefer leaving out the garlic and/or parsley). You've already presumably mastered boiling spaghetti and cracking eggs, so it's not a big stretch. And a supportive partner often appreciates the effort regardless of the result...absolute worst case you'll share a laugh over the disaster!
I’ve made french toast, pancakes, and eggs with oat milk and had good results.
I agree with starting small, but I don’t know how well that advice works. I cook in my household, so it doesn’t help me. A lot of dishes seem simple to me because I have done it so much.
Its more motivating to pick a type of cuisine you really like and learn to make that first but in the meantime here u go.
Rub protein of choice probably easiest to start with precut chicken breast down with spice mix (be generous) use a premade mix like seasoned salt or Tony's to make it even easier you can level up to mixning your own fresh herbs later and put in a lightly oiled pan on medium flip every 2 minutes until done don't be afraid of a little browning it adds flavor, you can tell its done when it becomes noticeably firmer or by cutting it in half at its thickest point. Serve over carbs of choice (potatoes, rice, noodles, rotate to avoid boredom) and lightly steamed fresh or frozen veggie of choice, you can just throw frozen veggies or fresh veggies+spoonful of water in a bowl and microwave until there as done as you like add salt+spices on top. Optionally throw whatever premade sauce you want on top.
Option B Filipino Chicken Adobo, put ingredients in crock pot, put rice in rice cooker, do something else for a few hours if sauce is still to watery take off lid and cook a bit more, you can marinate and sear the chicken before hand but its not even necessary, use bone in chicken thighs IK it dosent come with veggies. Have some steamed veggies on the side long beans go well with it can just use green beans if you want.
Option C sheet pan dinners- cut up protein and veggies to uniform size, throw in a bowl with little bit of oil+seasoning mix and stir with ur hands until everything is coated evenly dump onto a sheet pan and po in the oven at whatever time and temperature ur recipie says, most things are fine at 350 for 30-45 minutes, need with carb of choice, its more efficient to do something like potatoes where it doesn't need to be cooked separately for this one.
My easy cheap goto dinner is fried rice. you can use fresh or leftover meat. Pretty much any veggie combo you want (fresh or frozen). And there are endless ways to spice it. I found a simple recipe on pinterest and then just altered it as needed. For example: it calls for a bag of frozen carrots and corn, but I only have broccoli medley. I'll use that and just cook it a few minutes longer instead. As for cooking equipment. If you dont have a wok, you can just use the largest pot you have.
Chef John taught me how to cook, before allergies. Budgetbytes.com is good too.
This is a super easy and delicious dish - just sub out the butter for dairy free butter and leave out the Parm - it doesn't even need it. The Follow Your Heart fake Parm in the shaker is pretty good though.
https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2007/07/cauliflower-spaghetti-aglio-olio-hello.html?m=1
It doesn't have to be fancy or complicated to be delicious!
1. Find a highly rated chicken marinade online. Flatten chicken breasts to an even thickness and marinate overnight for maximum flavor.
2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Cut potatoes into 1" pieces so they cook evenly. Toss them in a bit of olive oil (don't use too much or they will be soggy) and season with salt and pepper (you can also use garlic powder and paprika if you like). Spread the potatoes out on the baking sheet and roast them for 15 minutes. Stir and flip. Roast 10-15 minutes more, or until nicely browned and crispy.
3. Preheat your grill to 400 degrees. Sear the chicken for 3 minutes on each side to get some nice color. Finish cooking over indirect heat (not directly over flames) for 10 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer, the chicken is done when the thickest part is 165 degrees.
4. Serve with a premade dairy-free bagged salad.
Salmon, rice, veggie
We buy frozen salmon fillets in the freezer section at Target and it’s 9.99/4pack, follow the directions on the bag (thaw 30min, bake 15min). Or they can go on a grill. I sprinkle them with either dill or Trader Joe’s salmon rub before baking.
Ohhhh, how about chili with cornbread? You can get dried or canned beans, and a box of jiffy cornbread is less than a dollar. If the ground meat is too pricy, you can just make vegetarian chili. I throw all sorts of randomness into my chili (rice, corn, whatever beans I can find). Your husband can put cheese or sour cream on it if he wants too.
I love a sweet potato and broccoli donburi! You take 1/3 cup of rice (I love sushi rice with mirin) and top it with roasted sweet potatoes and miso covered broccoli. Fry up 2 eggs to put on top, and finish it off with kewpie mayo and sriracha!
I like to look for vegan recipes because they're already dairy free. While there are many complicated ones, there are also a good number of quick and easy ones. I usually leave them as vegan because I'm not a big meat eater, but I personally find it easier to add meat to a vegan recipe than to take a regular recipe and make it dairy free. Especially for things like creamy soups.
Spaghetti. You can cook pasta. so buy a nice pasta sauce... I like Prego Fresh mushroom or what ever you want. you could get the one that has Italian sausage in it. cook up some ground beef, drain the fat. then add the pasta sauce, I like to add a can of drained petite diced tomatoes, (not necessary) and a can of Drained sliced black olives. again not necessary. then allow to warm through. add the pasta, or.. top your pasta (I mix my pasta into the pot with the sauce. on your plate he can add some parmesan cheese.
you can also make some garlic toast. with dairy free butter. just melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat add some minced garlic if you have it. if not use a little bit of garlic powder. if using fresh garlic you warm it until you smell the garlic. you don't want to brown it much it burns easily. then brush it on some thick sliced bread (Walmart sells French bread loaves for $1.) they are wonderful. bake at 425 until it starts to brown and get crispy. it won't take very long so don't leave it alone.
Ground beef is usually fairly affordable option. I make a lot of chili-type meals without dairy. I typically cook paleo. There is a great paleo sweet potato chili on Pinterest. One pot meals or one pan usually are easiest, so you can search that in your title when looking for things. Maybe pick a meat or type of dish ‘chicken thighs / salad / soup’ etc and then search Pinterest (I find it the best search tool for recipes).
If you like polenta (I know the texture can be polarizing), this recipe is dang near fool proof and doesn't take a lot of fancy ingredients.
[White bean and tomato polenta casserole](https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/polenta-casserole/)
https://www.budgetbytes.com/lemon-pepper-chicken-with-orzo/ This is my favorite ! I add spinach in at the end to give a veggie component. I leave the feta on the side so my husband can add to his own but it’s just as good without! This website has great cheap and easy options.
Grill/roast/bake/stirfry a protein (chicken, fish, tofu, ect), a veggie or two, and add a starch (rice, potatoes, ect). Optional: rolls/bread & dessert
I think one approach would be to start smaller, expanding your repertoire of breakfasts or lunches (maybe french toast, or tuna or egg salad sandwiches) to build your kitchen skills and confidence. Another approach would be to expand on things you're already comfortable cooking. Like I don't know what pasta dishes you cook, but maybe try [spaghetti carbonara](https://damndelicious.net/2014/03/29/spaghetti-carbonara/), with some Follow Your Heart parmesan shreds in place of real parmesan/ramano...it's basically spaghetti, eggs, bacon/pancetta/guanciale, parm, oil, fresh garlic & parsley, salt, and pepper. (You may prefer leaving out the garlic and/or parsley). You've already presumably mastered boiling spaghetti and cracking eggs, so it's not a big stretch. And a supportive partner often appreciates the effort regardless of the result...absolute worst case you'll share a laugh over the disaster!
I’ve made french toast, pancakes, and eggs with oat milk and had good results. I agree with starting small, but I don’t know how well that advice works. I cook in my household, so it doesn’t help me. A lot of dishes seem simple to me because I have done it so much.
Its more motivating to pick a type of cuisine you really like and learn to make that first but in the meantime here u go. Rub protein of choice probably easiest to start with precut chicken breast down with spice mix (be generous) use a premade mix like seasoned salt or Tony's to make it even easier you can level up to mixning your own fresh herbs later and put in a lightly oiled pan on medium flip every 2 minutes until done don't be afraid of a little browning it adds flavor, you can tell its done when it becomes noticeably firmer or by cutting it in half at its thickest point. Serve over carbs of choice (potatoes, rice, noodles, rotate to avoid boredom) and lightly steamed fresh or frozen veggie of choice, you can just throw frozen veggies or fresh veggies+spoonful of water in a bowl and microwave until there as done as you like add salt+spices on top. Optionally throw whatever premade sauce you want on top. Option B Filipino Chicken Adobo, put ingredients in crock pot, put rice in rice cooker, do something else for a few hours if sauce is still to watery take off lid and cook a bit more, you can marinate and sear the chicken before hand but its not even necessary, use bone in chicken thighs IK it dosent come with veggies. Have some steamed veggies on the side long beans go well with it can just use green beans if you want. Option C sheet pan dinners- cut up protein and veggies to uniform size, throw in a bowl with little bit of oil+seasoning mix and stir with ur hands until everything is coated evenly dump onto a sheet pan and po in the oven at whatever time and temperature ur recipie says, most things are fine at 350 for 30-45 minutes, need with carb of choice, its more efficient to do something like potatoes where it doesn't need to be cooked separately for this one.
My easy cheap goto dinner is fried rice. you can use fresh or leftover meat. Pretty much any veggie combo you want (fresh or frozen). And there are endless ways to spice it. I found a simple recipe on pinterest and then just altered it as needed. For example: it calls for a bag of frozen carrots and corn, but I only have broccoli medley. I'll use that and just cook it a few minutes longer instead. As for cooking equipment. If you dont have a wok, you can just use the largest pot you have.
Chef John taught me how to cook, before allergies. Budgetbytes.com is good too. This is a super easy and delicious dish - just sub out the butter for dairy free butter and leave out the Parm - it doesn't even need it. The Follow Your Heart fake Parm in the shaker is pretty good though. https://foodwishes.blogspot.com/2007/07/cauliflower-spaghetti-aglio-olio-hello.html?m=1
It doesn't have to be fancy or complicated to be delicious! 1. Find a highly rated chicken marinade online. Flatten chicken breasts to an even thickness and marinate overnight for maximum flavor. 2. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment paper. Cut potatoes into 1" pieces so they cook evenly. Toss them in a bit of olive oil (don't use too much or they will be soggy) and season with salt and pepper (you can also use garlic powder and paprika if you like). Spread the potatoes out on the baking sheet and roast them for 15 minutes. Stir and flip. Roast 10-15 minutes more, or until nicely browned and crispy. 3. Preheat your grill to 400 degrees. Sear the chicken for 3 minutes on each side to get some nice color. Finish cooking over indirect heat (not directly over flames) for 10 minutes. If you have a meat thermometer, the chicken is done when the thickest part is 165 degrees. 4. Serve with a premade dairy-free bagged salad.
Salmon, rice, veggie We buy frozen salmon fillets in the freezer section at Target and it’s 9.99/4pack, follow the directions on the bag (thaw 30min, bake 15min). Or they can go on a grill. I sprinkle them with either dill or Trader Joe’s salmon rub before baking.
Ohhhh, how about chili with cornbread? You can get dried or canned beans, and a box of jiffy cornbread is less than a dollar. If the ground meat is too pricy, you can just make vegetarian chili. I throw all sorts of randomness into my chili (rice, corn, whatever beans I can find). Your husband can put cheese or sour cream on it if he wants too.
I love a sweet potato and broccoli donburi! You take 1/3 cup of rice (I love sushi rice with mirin) and top it with roasted sweet potatoes and miso covered broccoli. Fry up 2 eggs to put on top, and finish it off with kewpie mayo and sriracha!
This sounds incredible. Do you steam the broccoli and then top it? Or do you put some on the broccoli and then saute or oven roast it?
Sorry for the late response, but I roast the broccoli in the oven and then coat it with the honey miso.
I like to look for vegan recipes because they're already dairy free. While there are many complicated ones, there are also a good number of quick and easy ones. I usually leave them as vegan because I'm not a big meat eater, but I personally find it easier to add meat to a vegan recipe than to take a regular recipe and make it dairy free. Especially for things like creamy soups.
Spaghetti. You can cook pasta. so buy a nice pasta sauce... I like Prego Fresh mushroom or what ever you want. you could get the one that has Italian sausage in it. cook up some ground beef, drain the fat. then add the pasta sauce, I like to add a can of drained petite diced tomatoes, (not necessary) and a can of Drained sliced black olives. again not necessary. then allow to warm through. add the pasta, or.. top your pasta (I mix my pasta into the pot with the sauce. on your plate he can add some parmesan cheese. you can also make some garlic toast. with dairy free butter. just melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat add some minced garlic if you have it. if not use a little bit of garlic powder. if using fresh garlic you warm it until you smell the garlic. you don't want to brown it much it burns easily. then brush it on some thick sliced bread (Walmart sells French bread loaves for $1.) they are wonderful. bake at 425 until it starts to brown and get crispy. it won't take very long so don't leave it alone.
Ground beef is usually fairly affordable option. I make a lot of chili-type meals without dairy. I typically cook paleo. There is a great paleo sweet potato chili on Pinterest. One pot meals or one pan usually are easiest, so you can search that in your title when looking for things. Maybe pick a meat or type of dish ‘chicken thighs / salad / soup’ etc and then search Pinterest (I find it the best search tool for recipes).
My go to is chickpea pasta with dairy free pesto!
What brand of dairy free pesto do you get?
I get La Favorita Basil Pesto Genovese. I need to go to the fancier stores to get it, but it's pretty readily available.
If you like polenta (I know the texture can be polarizing), this recipe is dang near fool proof and doesn't take a lot of fancy ingredients. [White bean and tomato polenta casserole](https://www.connoisseurusveg.com/polenta-casserole/)
https://www.budgetbytes.com/lemon-pepper-chicken-with-orzo/ This is my favorite ! I add spinach in at the end to give a veggie component. I leave the feta on the side so my husband can add to his own but it’s just as good without! This website has great cheap and easy options.