Does anyone here have any recipes they'd recommend for dinner? I am currently skinny and I want to build strength eventually but to do so I need to change my diet. I've realized that my diet is pretty inconsistent minus my breakfast but I think meal planning would be easier if I could just make something for dinner and just have the leftovers later.

Egg bites (sausage/bacon/ham, cheese, and some veg (e.g. spinach)) https://www.thespruceeats.com/easy-oven-egg-bite-recipe-5214233
You can freeze these as well.

Meatballs and hamburger patties that you can also freeze. Make sure you add egg in the patties. Cook in lard/butter. 
Chili (kidney beans, ground beef, cheese, green peppers and mushrooms) can also freeze. 

Yogurt with granola (toasted oats, honey), nuts, seeds, fruit. 

Use a slow cooker and you can use the meat (e.g.pulled pork) to meal prep or to use in sandwiches, wraps, salads, soups. Also, can add toasted chickpeas in salads and give it crunch. 

Can I ask roughly how old you are?

Protein helps, but you have to work hard, feel the burn hard, then keep working. If I can't lift a weight anymore, and don't feel any bad pain, just the usual burn, I decrease the weight and keep going. The burn tends to go away, and my strength comes back a little. That's how I know I'm really working myself. A fast pace wood chipper feeding or log splitting and chucking marathon (at least 6-8 hrs) is a good workout, with an occasional 2min break. Better to slow down than stop. Then the muscle starts piling on if you eat protein. I prefer strength and long endurance over bulk and short burst strength. Bulk can make for a bad power to weight ratio as far as I have observed.

Does anyone here have any recipes they'd recommend for dinner? I am currently skinny and I want to build strength eventually but to do so I need to change my diet. I've realized that my diet is pretty inconsistent minus my breakfast but I think meal planning would be easier if I could just make something for dinner and just have the leftovers later.

Once a week we usually slow bake (takes 3 hours at 350) 2 big packs of natural chicken thighs and then cut that up and add it to various meals throughout the week. (We save the drippings for soups and sometimes make bone broth from the bones as well.)

Can you please post a pic of the type of physique you’re after (ie., the diet and exercise regimen I’d recommend will vary significantly, depending on your goal)?

These are the 4 main types (though there is crossover between all four):

1) The soldier: Lean but not gaunt.  Excellent muscle endurance, if lacking somewhat in size and strength.  This physique can be achieved simply by diet, cardio, and calisthenics.

Example (Nate Diaz: 6’ 170 lbs):




2) UFC Middleweight Fighter: lean but with moderate muscle development (achieved by rigorous cardio, disciplined high protein/no carb diet, and weightlifting 4-5x/week).  The cardio + no carbs ensures your physique does not morph into the next category.

Here’s an example (Vitor Belfort: 6’ 195 lbs):




3) Bodybuilder: Significant muscle mass and well defined and isolated muscle groups.  (Note: In my opinion, getting halfway between #2 and #3 is ideal).  You don’t have to end up looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger, but you could.  To achieve these results, you’ll eat 6x/day, and at least 2 of those meals will be high carb; all will be high protein; all will be low/no fat.  Difficult and expensive.  You’ll be in the gym 5-6x/week. 

By the way, there’s nothing unCatholic about pursuing this physique, so long as you are treating it as a sport and pursuit of excellence, rather than vain body worshipping.

Example of hybrid bodybuilder-fighter, halfway between #2 and #3 (Ken Shamrock: 6’1”, 210 lbs):



4) Powerlifter: Characterized by undefined bulk; muscle groups not well defined.  Body fat is tolerated.  No cardio except what is gained from lifting.  High carb, fat, and protein.  This physique will limit flexibility, range of motion, and the diet is hard on the heart (as is the excess body weight powerlifters carry).

Here’s an example (Eddie Hall: 6’3”, 362 lbs):

When I was a pro wrestler (don't get involved in it, many occasions of sin and a very dirty industry) the trainers always emphasized eating a lot of ice cream and oatmeal (and meats of all kinds) to just put on bulk and heft, it worked but it was what's considered a "dirty bulk."  The muscle would come from the crazy conditioning pro wrestling required.  When I did MMA (don't get involved in this industry either) the diet changed to more clean foods although the conditioning was almost as hard this was focused more on muscular endurance and less on muscular strength and size.  

Like Seen posted it kind of depends on what body type you are and what you're after.  I'm assuming you are a hard gainer ectomorph in which case trying to get body type 3 and 4 will be extremely difficult for you but 1 and 2 are very achievable and the easiest for you to achieve based on your soma (body) type. 

I think you should work within the framework of your God-given body type and not try to transform yourself based on a perceived desire of big muscles or whatever.  

Eat a lot of meat, ice cream, and oatmeal (other things as well like rice, beans, pasta) if you just want some more lbs on your frame but a big key is doing the proper conditioning if you don't want to walk around being "skinny fat."  PM me if you want a good regimen on that front and a more detailed diet.    

Can you please post a pic of the type of physique you’re after (ie., the diet and exercise regimen I’d recommend will vary significantly, depending on your goal)?

These are the 4 main types (though there is crossover between all four):

It is important to note that all of these men, save for Nate Diaz, are using some sort of steroid. Good genes and years of training can result in a physique similar to Belforts, but his traps and shoulders are still indicative of steroid use.

On a similar note, I wonder about the morality of modern man using testosterone replacement therapy. Testosterone levels have plummeted in the last hundred years (microplastics? sugar? something in the water?), which may be why you see so many pudgy men with breasts who hold fat in all the wrong places. It seems to me that using TRT would simply be getting your testosterone levels back to where they rightfully belong