well, my first thought is that a sit down dinner is a really nice thing even if there are only 2 of you.

one idea is to make a sit down dinner once, and reheat it on night 2 or night 3. so you only have to cook it once, which isn't so bad. I do this with most everything I cook. but if you're not into cooking, then...

not 100% ideal, but not the worst either would be to buy some canned low-sodium vegetable soup. add in some pasta and just let it simmer for about 15 minutes. you can almost ignore it. you can even throw in some extra veggies like frozen peas or a can of green beans to make it more healthy.

serve it with something fun, like low-fat microwave popcorn or goldfish crackers, or shredded cheese on top, or toast some whole wheat bread peanut butter on top. (sorry I know that is like a sandwich but it helps balance out the meal)

sometimes I'll do a cold meal of things like this:
cottage cheese, thawed/rinsed (edamame) soybean pods (from the freezer section) (no cooking involved unless you want to), apple slices with peanut butter, sunflower seeds and shape it into a face.

oh, the plate faces -- my son thinks this is as great as anything.

the other thing that seems like cooking, but is very easy is this:
before school/work, throw chicken breasts into a crock pot and add potatoes, cut in 1/2 and some liquid, like chicken broth from a can or water or wine (and anything else you like such as entire carrots) and that gives you meals for at least 2 evenings and it only takes 5 minutes to throw stuff in there.

Are you looking for super healthy ideas or just some basic good ole' meals that aren't out of a box? Is your daughter picky or open to new things?

I know its hard to cook for 2 - it used to be just my son and I, so you have to cut back on the serving size or have a lot of leftovers! ;-)

I have some recipe ideas but I'm not the most knowledgable about the health content!

I'm looking for healthy ideas that aren't out of a box.....my daughter is picky......she doesn't like english peas......We bought salad fixings and I bought some english peas in the veggie isle to put in the salad, and she said ewwww peas when I asked her if she wanted some in her salad.

Mechellebelle: Didn't say that I wasn't into cooking.....I am just not a good cook. And I don't have a lot of recipes around hand to use.....The more recipes the better.....and I like easy recipes.....hard to follow recipes and I'm just not there or able to cook it.

I like the chicken idea.....but my daughter isn't into much breast meat....would chicken thighs work or drumsticks?

Oh, OK LOL

well, as far as the crockpot goes, you could really throw just about any meat into it, so yes, any chicken parts would work.

the general recipe is:

veggies like potatoes or entire carrots (peeled) on the bottom, then the meat on the top, put about 1 cup of clear liquid (broth, water, wine...) and cook on low for 8-10 hours or high for 5ish hours.

you can sprinkle whatever herbs on top you like. I think Mrs. Dash and a mix of chicken broth and white wine makes a very good meal. and when you cook the carrots that way, they have a very good flavor, not what you'd generally expect. I've had picky eaters go back for a 2nd helping of carrots.

you know I think I may have posted that recipe on this group about a month or two ago also.

I have a cookbook, I think it's by betty crocker or good housekeeping just for crock pot cooking. all of the recipes in there are very easy and quick. you might want to check it out on amazon. here are a couple I found:

http://www.amazon.com/Rival-Crock-Pot-Incredibly-Easy-Recipes/dp/1412728037/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222865116&sr=1-1


http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Two-Healthy-Exchanges-Cookbook/dp/0399532544/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1222865032&sr=1-7

Stir fry is always quick and easy. Then you can add what veggie she likes (broc, snap peas, or whatever). I just get the china boy noodles (you can get whole wheat noodles too) and cook them while I cook the chicken and veggies in a pan. Then I toss it with a stir fry sauce. My daughter is 7 and she loves this meal. Oh, you can even cut up the chicken and veggies ahead and put them in baggies so when you come home you just pop them in the pan. Hope that helps!

Thanks everyone for all of your ideas! Boxed dinners are so boring now......it's time for this mom to start thinking outside of the box.

Today's spaghetti night and tomorrow's veggie pizza night.

My little one loves doing this and other then putting in the oven and taking it out she prpares this by herself.
Take English Muffins cut in half
Can of spagetti sauce
Pepproni
cheese
(use any type of toppings you want)
Let them make there very own mini pizza's
Bake about 10 minutes and they are great.

mmmm...I've had those before Jade they are good! Nice idea I forgot about them!

We do the english muffin pizzas all the time and we all love them. Another idea is having breakfast for dinner; you can do scrambled eggs with cheese and bacon/sausage, cereal with milk and toast, waffles (throw them in the toaster & voile'

You don't always have to have dinner food and if it comes out of a box that's fine also, just add a serving of fruit veggies and you're good to go!

Well, my stepdaughters will eat almost anything so I'm not sure if these ideas will work for you but...

They really like meatloaf - you can make it the night before & stick in the oven. I like to serve with mashed potatos but they take a while, plus a veggie.

I also find it quick to make a chicken pot pie - I have an easy recipe if you want it, basically I buy chicken breast strips, cut them up & cook them then throw it in a casserole dish with some frozen veggies (thawed a bit) and can of Campbells soup (cream of chicken). Mix up some jiffy baking mix with milk & egg, throw in oven & pour on top and throw in oven.

I get a lot of recipes off of the campbells soup labels - they may not be the healthiest but I am not a great cook - I overcook and dry things out. The soup prevents me from drying it out! There is a chicken "alfredo" with brocoli on the cream of mushroom soup - leave out the chicken if she doesn't like meat.

I also found lasangna is not so hard - boiling the noodles can be the long part but there are some "ready noodles" where you just bake them, no cook.

I'm just starting to experiment with cooking so it may not be the healthiest stuff but I have to learn that next (whole grain, etc..) One fun veggie I recently found - never had as a child - is spagetti squash. Just cut in half, throw in oven, then scrape it & its like spagetti! You just have to know what to do w/ it next. I used feta, tomato, etc.., but kids probably won't eat that so I heard it was good w/ marinara sauce too. My sisters kids really like butternut squash - something I have to try yet. But that seems like a side dish.

I've got some good crockpot recipes too with pork chops if you eat that.

butternut squash is a side dish...but totally delicious! I cut them in half, scoop out the seeds, and fill the hole where the seeds were with a little bit of maple syrup and brown sugar...pop in the oven and they are GREAT!

I'm also a HUGE fan of the crock pot. I work 12 hour days, and just don't have time to cook at night after work.

I throw stuff in my crock before i leave in the morning, set it for 12 hours, and dinner is ready when we get home.

One of my family's favorites is "rotisserie" chicken. I put a whole chicken in the crock pot, along with some carrots, small red potatoes and whatever herbs and spices you like, 1 cup of water, and walk out the door.

You can make these kind of pot luck meals with pretty much any kind of meat...pork or beef roast, chicken, whatever veggies you want.

OH...one of my kids favorites is crock pot stroganoff...throw some beef stew meat and 2 cans of cream of mushroom soup in the pot, let it cook all day...then when you get home just have to boil the egg noodles and serve the beef/gravy over the noodles. Very good!

I use burrito wraps (whole wheat) and put just about anything in them-beans and cheese, chicken and broccoli, kids like them as they are hand held and fun (and easy easy easy)!

Ok I am thinking on this one.

What about mini sausages cooked in the oven with say chooped tomatoes and a few herbs then towards the end putting some grated cheese on top, also to go with it try this and funny enough this is something I am cooking to go with my steak .... mashed potatoe with crumbled feta cheese, diced spring onions, a little bit of dill (2 table spoons), a little bit of lemon juice (1 table spoon) and olive oil (2 table spoons),oh and mix in a beaten egg. Make sure it is chilled and then basically you make little balls of the potatoe mix about walnut size, flatten them down a little so they look like flat parcels, brush them with olive oil and grill them until golden brown. Honestly they are lush and it will also give your daughter a new taste, honestly my son is fussy and he loves these. Good luck and let us know how you get on. You say your daughter also does not like peas what about sweetcorn!!