Bad Food Blog

Tag: Menu plan

• My May Menu Plan

  Posted at 10:04 pm by Rachel, on May 1, 2019

  Well, April got away from me and between Easter and everything else, I didn’t get to make a couple of the recipes on my last menu plan. But that’s just life, isn’t it? So I moved the recipes that we did not get to eat right onto my May menu. A couple of other recipes are repeats just because we like them.

  There are some special days this month, too! I think I will make a special dessert for Memorial Day, perhaps this flag pie or another berry dessert. And I’ve never tried chocolate covered bananas, and what better day to try than Cinco de Cuatro?

  

  Slow Cooker

  • Maple Jalapeño Pulled Pork Tacos – I don’t usually make pork other than bacon but these look good and super easy.
  • Sweet and Sour Chicken Thighs – Last month I used the Maple Mustard marinade from this list to make slow cooker chicken thighs and it was amazing – I think that was the most chicken I have ever seen my 4-year-old eat in one sitting! Now I’m wanting to try every marinade from this list.
  • Creamy Tomato Soup from The Complete Slow Cooker – This is a family favorite that always turns out excellent.
  • Huli Huli Chicken from The Complete Slow Cooker – Another family favorite! The juice from a can of pineapple slices is about the amount you need to make the sauce, and the pineapple slices make a beautiful accompaniment to the chicken.

  Eggs

  I never got around to making the quick quiche from Ellie Krieger’s You Have It Made last month, so that is still on my list for one night in May.

  Sandwiches

  • Quesadillas – I will be filling things with bits of whatever food is left in my fridge, probably some of the pork from the Maple Jalapeño Pulled Pork Tacos, or plain cheese for my kids. If you need some serious quesadilla inspiration, check out Budget Bytes (Beth is the queen of quesadillas as far as I am concerned) or these caramelized onion, spinach, and avocado quesadillas.
  • Grilled cheese
  • Mayonnaise-Free Chicken Salad Sandwiches – I saw this recipe in an email newsletter a few years back and I still reach for it when I want to make chicken salad. I usually bake a bunch of chicken breasts for all of my dinner salads and anything else that calls for cooked chicken at once.
  • Cantaloupe Soup with Prosciutto and Mozzarella Sandwiches from Real Simple: Meals Made Easy – I’ve made these sandwiches with the prosciutto cold and also cooked in a frying pan, both ways are great. The cantaloupe soup might seem unusual – or at least I have never seen it before – but it is worth a try.

  Salads/Bowl Meals

  • Southwest salad – I make different variations of this recipe, but the general formula is black beans, pinto beans, corn, avocado, tomatoes, and salad greens. I have some pepitas in the pantry, so I will probably toss some of those on top. This recipe for a cilantro-lime vinaigrette looks promising.
  • Cobb salad – I guess what I make is not a true cobb salad, because I don’t use blue cheese. My recipe is chicken, hard boiled eggs, bacon, tomatoes, avocado, salad greens, and either cheddar or jack cheese. I think I have everything on hand to make the salad dressing from this recipe.
  • Almond, Berry, and Chicken Spinach Salad – I’m pretty sure that this is my kids’ favorite salad; they love all the berries and the mandarin oranges!
  • Asian chicken salad – This was one of our favorites from last summer. The toppings make the salad!

  Pizza – For our weekly pizza I use this crust recipe with this sauce.

  Stovetop

  • Veggie Stir-Fry – So many vegetables, so many textures. The baby corn is my favorite – it’s just so cute. I’m pretty sure my kids ate this one even with the sauce last time.
  • Vegetable soup made from homemade vegetable broth – I have a big bag of veggie scraps in my freezer that I am going to try to turn into broth for soup. I have made chicken broth many times, but I have yet to try making vegetable broth! I read somewhere that the rind from a piece of parmesan is a great addition to vegetable broth, and I’m pretty sure I have one of those floating around my freezer too. A friend suggested I check out the vegetable broth recipe from Thug Kitchen, and it looks like that book is at my library!
  • Orange chicken – This is one that I didn’t get to make last month! I still plan to make the sauce and cut up the chicken ahead of time, and will probably try to make it in my wok.
  • Fast and Easy Pasta with Blistered Cherry Tomato Sauce – My favorite, super fast sauce. Make sure you dry the tomatoes on a towel after you rinse them, or you will be dealing with some serious fireworks in your frying pan.
  Posted in Dinner, Menu Plans | 1 Comment | Tagged chicken, Dinner, kid-friendly, Menu plan, salad, sandwich, slow cooker, soup, vegetarian

• My April Menu Plan

  Posted at 8:00 am by Rachel, on March 31, 2019

  My kids keep reminding me that April will be here on Monday! And Easter is in April! All that to say that we are very excited for April. Here in Georgia, things are finally heating up, so I’m starting to pull out some of my favorite warm weather foods. I’m looking at you, dinner salads! I tried to keep the meals pretty simple for this month, so there is a lot of low-prep, make ahead, and some store-bought favorites.

  I still haven’t finalized an Easter menu yet. A couple of years ago I made Easter Dinner on Two Sheet Pans, and while it was a very satisfying meal, we really enjoyed our Christmas meal of appetizers and sides. Ahh, decisions! Either way, I’ll be making another lamb cake, and maybe some other sweet things since we like sweet things.

  

  Sandwiches

  My kids have trouble eating most sandwiches beyond a PB&J or grilled cheese – it is hard for their little hands to hold it all together! I usually serve them the sandwich components on a plate – it keeps them happy and is just easier for everyone.

  As with all recipes, if you want great results, start with high quality ingredients. Don’t skimp on the bread! I’m serving these up with oven fries – probably going to alternate between Russets and sweet potatoes, throw some different seasonings on them – these look pretty tasty.

  • Caprese sandwiches – fresh mozzarella, sliced tomatoes, fresh basil, and a balsamic reduction on some good bread
  • Black bean burgers – It’s been a while since the last time I made these. I am guessing that at least one of my kids will not want to eat the black bean patty, so I’m going to reserve some plain, unmashed black beans for them just in case.
  • Roasted Sweet Potato Wraps with Caramelized Onions and Pesto – These are SO GOOD and they freeze phenomenally. Even better, my local Target now carries Simply Balanced tortillas (no hydrogenated oils!).
  • BLTs

  Eggs

  Eggs are moving to Mondays for April! These are a great, easy meal, so perfect for a weeknight. I want to make the quick quiche from Ellie Krieger’s You Have It Made one night. It is nice to change things up from time to time and this was a solid recipe.

  Pasta

  I’m keeping things fast and easy this month. All of these pastas are easily served with or without sauce, and two of them (bowties with pesto and tortellini with red sauce) I’m just going to buy at the grocery store. My sometimes picky eaters will eat the Lemony Broccoli Pasta without modifications and sometimes like to dip their pasta in the sauce.

  • Penne with Arrabbiata Sauce
  • Lemony Broccoli Pasta
  • Fast and Easy Pasta with Blistered Cherry Tomato Sauce – If you’ve never tried making a homemade tomato sauce, this is an excellent recipe to start with! It is so easy but still so flavorful. One or two times and you’ll be able to make it by heart.
  • Bowties with pesto
  • Tortellini with red sauce

  Meat

  • Maple mustard chicken thighs – Already prepped and in my freezer! I’m going to try these in my slow cooker.
  • Slow Cooker Shredded Balsamic Beef – I always like to try new slow cooker recipes, and I thought that this one sounded pretty good. I want to sear the meat before putting it in the slow cooker, and other than that I’ll follow the recipe as written.
  • Huli Huli Chicken from The Complete Slow Cooker – My husband has requested this again! It’s so good and the leg quarters look so impressive when they come out from under the broiler. I’m no grilling expert, but I suspect you could finish this up on the grill instead of using the broiler.
  • Orange chicken – I plan to make the sauce and cut up the chicken ahead of time and stick them in the fridge until dinner – just a bit more manageable than trying to get it all done at dinnertime. I might try making it in my wok this time.

  Pizza – For our weekly pizza I use this crust recipe with this sauce.

  Salads/Bowl Meals

  • Polenta with roasted veggies and pesto –  I’m linking this recipe so you can get the general idea and see a picture of what the end result looks like. The pesto and polenta recipes they include are probably great, but I have not tried them – I simplify a bit by using store-bought pesto and this polenta recipe. Also, tomatoes and zucchini are delicious, but feel free to sub in whatever veggies you like.
  • Greek salad with broccoli and sundried tomatoes – This looks like less prep work than my previous go-to Greek dinner salad, and it has sundried tomatoes, which we recently rediscovered at a friend’s house.
  • Southwest salad
  • Asian chicken salad

   

  Posted in Dinner, Menu Plans | 0 Comments | Tagged beef, chicken, Dinner, kid-friendly, Lent, Menu plan, pasta, salad, sandwich, soup, vegetarian

• Freezer Cooking for Baby #3 and My Postpartum Menu Plan (Part 4)

  Posted at 2:00 pm by Rachel, on March 15, 2019

  This is the last part of a four post series on filling your freezer before adding a new baby to the family. Revisit Part 1, Part 2, and Part 3.

  Well we have made it to the last post in my series, and this one is about all of the “extras.” Side dishes, breakfasts, and desserts may not cross your mind when you start planning a freezer menu but oh, they should!

  A lot of these foods are quick to get going. I made many of them, such as rice, quinoa, breads, and pancakes, while I was waiting on a main dish to cook. Use what may otherwise be dead time to get stuff done!

  Side Dishes

  

  • Cornbread (double batch, wrapped in foil)

  Breads freeze very well. I’ve been freezing the cornbread from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything since 2014 and it has never failed me!

  • Sweet Potato Casserole (single recipe, 2 8×8 foil pans)

  Let me start by saying that while this froze well, I would tweak this recipe more if I made it again because I found it to be sweeter than I generally care to eat for dinner. I froze mine without the topping because I was afraid it would get mushy when it defrosted. The first time we ate it, I did a half batch of the topping (since the pan was half the original recipe) and it was way too sweet. The second time, I halved the sugar and it was a lot better. Both times the topping was pretty scant – I guess that’s what happens with a “lighter” recipe.

  • Buttermilk Loaf (double recipe, wrapped in plastic wrap and foil)

  Wow that was good! I just made the basic recipe, but this was so tender and delicious, even after freezing, that I feel like I need to try all of the variations. Overall this was very easy to make and very easy to double so long as you have two loaf pans.

  • Mashed White Beans (quadruple recipe, 2 gallon-sized freezer bags)

  I always double this recipe when I make it because it is never enough. I did the quadruple batch this time to get it all cooked at once, but I think next time I will do two double batches. There was just so much liquid and reducing it took a very long time. They do freeze very well.

  • Rice (multiple batches, 4 gallon-sized freezer bags)

  I had heard about freezing rice before but this is the first time I actually tried it. I watched the rice closely and turned off the heat when there was still the slightest bit of moisture in the pot so that it wouldn’t be dry after reheating.

  • Quinoa (multiple batches, 2 gallon-sized freezer bags)

  Reading that rice freezes well inspired me to freeze some quinoa too. I made mine with chicken broth and – just like with the rice – watched carefully to make sure it did not dry out. This came out so well; it did not taste like it had been frozen.

   

  Other Stuff

  

  • Buttermilk Pancakes and Pumpkin Pancakes (store in gallon-sized freezer bags)

  These are great for a quick breakfast. My kids love when I make pancakes, and sticking them in the freezer makes this a doable breakfast any day of the week. It actually took me a few times to get as many pancakes into the freezer as I wanted to because my kids and husband kept eating them! 😄 I prefer using buttermilk in my pancakes, especially for freezer pancakes, because the texture is far and away superior. To freeze pancakes, cook as normal, cool completely, and store in a large freezer bag.

  • Breakfast Burritos (single recipe, gallon-sized freezer bags)

  This is my husband’s favorite breakfast item for the freezer. I love having a savory fast breakfast option in the mix, especially in the early nursing-around-the-clock days. We make them with bacon instead of ham.

  • Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (3 or 4 dozen, gallon-sized freezer bags)

  I am not one to say no to chocolate for breakfast. I honestly do not remember how many banana muffins ended up in my freezer as I made more than one double batch, and I know I have made more since the baby was born. I do know that they freeze like a dream. I use the banana bread recipe from How to Cook Everything – one loaf pan translates to one dozen muffins.

  

  

  • Pumpkin Muffins (double recipe, gallon-sized freezer bags)

  Sometimes I do half whole wheat flour so I can feel a little better about my breakfast (I also make them without the icing). My kids ate these faster than anything else we put in the freezer, and I have actually made them several times since the baby was born because my big kids love them so much.

  

  • Brownies (store in gallon-sized freezer bags)

  New moms like chocolate, or at least this one does, so these were a must-have on my cook list. After baking the brownies, let them cool and cut them into squares. Freeze them in a gallon-sized freezer bag. We generally microwaved these and ate them warm, but the fudgey interior pieces are pretty delicious straight from the freezer.

  • Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough (double recipe, 5 dozen dough balls)

  This was my first time freezing cookie dough. We are a big sweets family, and warm cookies are my husband’s favorite dessert, so it was bound to happen sometime. It was so easy! I’ve been suggesting it to everyone I know! Mix the cookie dough and shape it into balls as usual, then flash freeze on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet for one hour. Once the dough is frozen, transfer to a gallon-sized freezer bag. You don’t defrost the dough before baking – put it into the oven straight from the freezer, just add a minute or two to the normal bake time.

  Finally, if you are still looking for something else to stick in your freezer, here are a few things that I planned to make but I ran out of time and energy before I got there:

  • Veggie Packed Freezer Ready Breakfast Sandwiches
  • Blueberry muffins
  • Pumpkin pie and apple pie
  • Hearty Black Bean Quesadillas (for lunch/snacks)
  • Easy Calzones (for lunch/snacks… I like the pepperoni ones)

  This concludes my series on freezer cooking for a new baby. What are your favorite freezer foods? Tell me in the comments!

  Posted in Menu Plans | 0 Comments | Tagged breakfast, dessert, freezer friendly, kid-friendly, Menu plan, side dish

• Freezer Cooking for Baby #3 and My Postpartum Menu Plan (Part 3)

  Posted at 3:00 pm by Rachel, on March 8, 2019

  This is the third part of a four post series on filling your freezer before adding a new baby to the family. Revisit Part 1 and Part 2.

  Before we go any further, I need to emphasize that 8 weeks of food is a lot to take on, especially towards the end of pregnancy. I had a lot of back and abdominal discomfort towards the end of my pregnancy that made standing for long periods of time difficult. If you want to pack your freezer, plan ahead – don’t wait until you are 39 weeks along! I started one month before my due date, and just kept cooking things and adding to our stockpile until a few days before my due date. If you have a helper, use them! Without my husband helping this would not have gotten done.

  

  As far as supplies go, I like to store my freezer meals in slider top freezer bags. I used to use Ziploc brand, but as far as I can tell they discontinued the slider top freezer bags. Don’t use the non-freezer bags in the freezer, as they periodically break and leak while defrosting. Ask how I know. And I really like a slider top so I know that the bag is closed. The Up&Up brand bags from Target have been pretty good so far (available in gallon- or quart-sized). Bags are good for slow cooker meals, soups, muffins, and anything oddly-shaped. Store them FLAT in the freezer so you can stack them or file them on their sides. Some meals freeze better in a casserole dish, and I use disposable foil pans for those meals. I have noted how I stored each food below for easy reference. However you store it, label your food with what it is, the date, and cooking instructions so you don’t have to dig them out later.

  Main Dishes

  

  • Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup  (double recipe, 2 gallon-sized freezer bags)

  I usually use Great Northern beans and dried sage when I make this. While I have not noticed it in the past, the cream separated from the rest of the soup upon reheating. This was more of an annoyance than anything else (it just made for a lot of extra stirring), but next time, I’m going to wait to add the cream until right before serving the soup.

  

  • Roasted Butternut Squash Soup (double recipe, 2 gallon-sized freezer bags)

  I didn’t notice any separating with this soup, but it doesn’t hurt to leave the cream out until serving. Read my full review of this soup here.

  • All-American Beef Chili (single recipe, 3 gallon-sized freezer bags)

  This recipe is from The Make-Ahead Cook: 8 Smart Strategies for Dinner Tonight, which I borrowed this book from my library. This recipe on Brown Eyed Baker is the same, but half the amount the book recipe yields.

  Wow, what a great chili! It’s a bit too spicy for my kids (although they did enjoy the toppings and cornbread that we served up with it), but I thought it was a good amount of seasonings for grown-ups.

  

  • Easy Chicken Noodle Soup from a Leftover Roasted Chicken (2 single recipes, 2 gallon-sized freezer bags)

  Do not freeze the soup with the egg noodles! You can add egg noodles once you reheat the soup, but this soup is also delicious without them. I prepped this soup twice, each time after I made a whole chicken.

  • Onion-Butter 2-Step Chicken (double recipe, 2 8×8 foil pans)

  I highly recommend cutting large chicken breasts into smaller pieces so they bake more quickly. I forgot to cut up the giant chicken breasts I bought and it ended up taking about twice as long to cook them all the way through.

  

  • Mini Garden Turkey Loaves (double recipe, 2 dozen mini meatloaves in 2 gallon-sized freezer bags)

  I have made this recipe several times now and we love it. The mini meatloaves freeze so well and they reheat quickly in the microwave. However, be forewarned that the prep time listed on the recipe is way off. Especially for a double recipe, I think it took me about a half an hour to cook off all of the liquid from the vegetables.

  

  • Dijon-Pecan 2-Step Chicken (double recipe, 2 8×8 foil pans)

  Again, cut large chicken breasts into smaller pieces so they bake more quickly. My kids really enjoyed this one!

  

  • Slow Cooker Maple and Dijon Pot Roast (double recipe, 2 gallon-sized freezer bags)

  I like the flavors in this pot roast recipe. Usually I only use 2 onions, and add about a pound of carrots, peeled and chopped into 1/2 – 1 inch chunks. I made it with bacon for the freezer, but I usually just throw some olive oil into the pan before searing the meat.

  • Ginger Peach Chicken (double recipe, 2 gallon-sized freezer bags)

  This is one of my favorite dump meals for the slow cooker. I’ve made it with fresh ginger and ground ginger and both versions were excellent. Mix everything in the freezer bag EXCEPT for the frozen peaches. Add those in for the final 30 minutes of cooking or they will turn to absolute mush. I also recommend slicing the onion VERY thinly (I use the 4mm disc on my food processor).

  • Slow Cooker Taco Chicken Bowls (double recipe, 2 gallon-sized freezer bags)

  

  • Tender and Juicy Slow-Cooker Meatballs (single recipe, 4 gallon-sized freezer bags)

  These are the meatballs I used for pasta and meatball night as well as for meatball sandwiches – they are my husband’s new favorite meatballs. However, it is important to note that I did not follow the recipe for the sauce, and instead added my meatballs to a single batch of the Best Slow-Cooked Tomato Sauce. I started the sauce first, prepped the meatballs, and popped them into the Dutch oven once they were out from under the broiler. Also, I used all of the meat to make meatballs (instead of making a meat sauce), and ended up getting about 32 instead of 16, great for stretching this into a few meals.

  

  • Baked Penne with Roasted Vegetables (single recipe, 3 8×8 foil pans)

  I love this recipe, although I’m still working on convincing my kids that it’s okay for different foods to touch each other. I freeze before baking, and I cook the pasta for about 3-4 minutes less than what the box instructs. Use a high-quality sauce with a flavor you enjoy.

  • Vegan Tuscan Pumpkin Pasta Sauce (double recipe, 2 gallon-sized freezer bags)

  I wanted to throw different sauce into the rotation and landed on a pumpkin sauce. My neighbor used to make the most delicious pumpkin sauce with sage, but many recipes warned that they would separate if frozen and I did not want to deal with that issue. Finally I found this delightful recipe. It is vegan so no cream and no separating. Its flavor reminds me of a cinnamon raisin bagel, but is not so sweet that it felt weird putting it on pasta. You really just have to try it to understand – it is so good and so fast to make.

  Next week I’ll be wrapping up this series with Part 4, all about freezer-friendly sides, sweets, and extras!

   

   

  Posted in Menu Plans | 5 Comments | Tagged beef, chicken, Dinner, freezer friendly, kid-friendly, Menu plan, pasta, slow cooker, soup, turkey, vegetarian

• Freezer Cooking for Baby #3 and My Postpartum Menu Plan (Part 2)

  Posted at 8:00 am by Rachel, on March 1, 2019

  This is the second post of a four post series on filling your freezer before adding a new baby to the family. Read Part 1 here or continue onto Part 3.

  Before I get into the specific items that went into my freezer, let’s talk about what didn’t:

  • Scrambled eggs – I make these every week because my kids usually eat them, they’re an inexpensive source of high-quality protein, and fast to make. Straight up scrambled eggs do not freeze well, but the prep and clean up are so fast that they really are not overwhelming to whip up for dinner, even with a new baby.

  

  • Roasted sweet potatoes – I love fresh roasted sweet potatoes so much, and it breaks my heart that they do not freeze well. I tried it a couple of different ways to try and make it work, but it really just does not work. The texture suffers. I cooked them a couple of times when I had the time to dice potatoes, but otherwise we made do without them.

  

  • Most pastas – Baked pastas freeze well, so in the past I have made a lot of them for freezer meals. However, my kids have been going through a “won’t-eat-foods-touching-other-foods” phase, and that makes casserole-style meals a struggle. Instead of fighting with them, I chose to make and buy different sauces for most of our pasta dinners (the exception being a baked penne that we really love). The meatballs with red sauce, pumpkin sauce, and baked penne with roasted vegetables went into the freezer; I could have added the pesto to my stockpile as well, but it was just as easy to buy it at the store as needed. Making just the sauces instead of pasta casseroles allowed me to serve sauce on the side for my kids and saved me a bunch of space in the freezer.

  

  • Pizza – We don’t have a great pizza place near us, and even if we did, ordering takeout every week can get expensive. Pizza dough actually does freeze well, but I have yet to master the art of stretching out pizza for a New York-style pie. What I do make about once a week is a Sicilian-style pizza. The dough for this pizza is so sticky that I have not found a good way to freeze it (if you have any insights here, please let me know!). However, it does refrigerate well! I experimented and learned that I could mix the dough first thing in the morning, let it rise for two hours, stretch it, then pop it into the fridge until I was ready to bake it. If you try this technique, make sure you stretch the dough before refrigerating, otherwise it will need to warm up before stretching – learned that the hard way! Pizza sauce would freeze well, I just never got around to making a big batch of it.

  

  • Slow cooker chicken thighs – It felt like a waste of a plastic bag to “prep” these for the freezer, seeing as how it would just be the chicken in the bag. My own very easy recipe requires so little prep work that it is easier to make it the day of than to freeze it ahead of time.

  Next up is Part 3, all about freezer-friendly main dishes!

  Posted in Menu Plans | 5 Comments | Tagged chicken, Dinner, eggs, kid-friendly, Menu plan, pasta, pizza

• My March Menu Plan

  Posted at 3:00 pm by Rachel, on February 27, 2019

  March is upon us! Lent begins this month with Ash Wednesday on March 6th. Because this is a penitential season, I decided to limit how much meat I put on this menu. Specifically, I’ll be cooking meat on Thursdays as well as the 17th (St. Patrick’s Day) and 19th (the Solemnity of St. Joseph). I intentionally chose Thursday as our main meat night, because Catholics abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday and Fridays during Lent. Our lunch is usually the previous night’s leftovers, so this will be an active reminder of the sacrifice for us every Friday.

  My other food goals for the month are 1) to eat some eggplant and 2) take my new wok for a spin. One of my kids asked to try eggplant recently, and we have already made it to serve on the side once, but I want to take advantage of her interest and make it a couple of more times this month. I used my wok once last month to make this vegetable stir-fry, and promptly destroyed the starter-seasoning I did. Whomp whomp. So I will be re-seasoning in the oven and then, more importantly, using my wok! If you have any interesting stir fry or other wok recipes, please send them my way!

  

  Eggs

  It was fun getting a little fancier with a souffle at the end of February, but this month I am back to basics. I will be keeping Sundays simple this month with scrambled eggs and roasted veggies.

  Pasta

  • Spaghetti alla Carbonara – I’m using the recipe from How to Cook Everything, the first place I usually look for basic recipes
  • Fast and Easy Pasta with Blistered Cherry Tomato Sauce – If you’ve never tried making a homemade tomato sauce, this is an excellent recipe to start with! It is so easy but still so flavorful. One or two times and you’ll be able to make it by heart.
  • Spaghetti Aglio e Olio – Another great basic – I will be pairing this with broiled eggplant
  • Skillet Pasta with Roasted Red Pepper Sauce and Eggplant – This will be my first try at this recipe. My husband requested a pasta topped with bread crumbs and my daughter requested eggplant – check and check!

  Vegetarian

  • Quinoa and Roasted Vegetable Salad – This salad is an offshoot of this recipe. The way I usually make it these days is pretty different from its mother recipe, but I still use that salad dressing. The original is great too, although it might be hard to find butternut squash this time of year.
  • Chipotle Portobello Oven Fajitas with Sweet Potato Cornbread – I will probably leave some of the fajita vegetables raw for my kids. As I recall, this recipe is more medium than mild spiciness, and they do not like spicy foods right now.
  • BBQ Sweet Potato Burrito Bowls – I know that this link leads to a recipe for BBQ Chicken Burrito Bowls, but I will be omitting the chicken to make it vegetarian. I usually roast up the zucchini with some cubed sweet potatoes. About half the time I forget or just choose not to include the chicken and it is always a satisfying meal.
  • Weeknight Enchiladas – I think the last time I made these I ended up with 3 or 4 pans of enchiladas because there were so many beans leftover. Great for stocking the freezer or sharing with a friend!

  Skillet/Wok

  • Chicken and Snap Pea Stir-Fry – As I mentioned, I am trying to break in my wok. This looks like a nice, simple recipe for a beginner like me.
  • Potato Kielbasa Skillet
  • Stir-Fried Chicken with Kale from How to Cook Everything
  • Beef tacos with Budget Bytes’s taco seasoning

  Pizza – For our weekly pizza I use this crust recipe with this sauce.

  Soup

  • Cheesy Cauliflower and Potato Soup
  • Vegetable Soup from Meals Made Easy
  • Unstuffed Cabbage Soup with Potato Cakes – My mom gave me a recipe for Unstuffed Cabbage Soup years ago and a few years back I adapted it for the slow cooker. Recipe forthcoming! Potato cakes are another family recipe. They are on the more indulgent side of ways one can eat a potato.
  • Creamy tomato soup – A solid recipe from The Complete Slow Cooker. My kids keep asking for it – no complaints here!
  • French onion soup
  Posted in Dinner, Menu Plans | 0 Comments | Tagged chicken, Dinner, kid-friendly, Lent, Menu plan, pasta, skillet meal, soup, St. Patrick's Day, vegetarian, wok

• Freezer Cooking for Baby #3 and My Postpartum Menu Plan (Part 1)

  Posted at 8:00 am by Rachel, on February 23, 2019

  This is the first post of a four post series on filling your freezer before adding a new baby to the family. You can continue reading Part 2 or Part 3.

  When I was expecting my children, I knew that the first few weeks would be especially hectic between getting acquainted with a new little person, less sleep, doctors visits, and everything else that having a newborn entails. I carefully planned and prepared as much as I could to ease the transition for my family. A big part of my plan each time has been freezer cooking.

  My first big foray into freezer cooking was when I was getting ready for my first baby. I did not have a separate freezer – only the freezer on top of our standard-size refrigerator. Still, I managed to pack the freezer with enough dinners to last us about five weeks, along with muffins, breakfast burritos, cornbread, and biscuits. Since then, although I do not always cook quite so much, freezer cooking has become a regular happening in my kitchen. When I was expecting my second baby, I made a plan to get us through the first six weeks, again with just one small freezer. So of course when I was expecting my third baby, filling the freezer was on my mind again.

  

  This doesn’t look like much, but it fed me and my husband dinner for five weeks!

  This last time around was a bit different than the previous two. For one thing, we have two opinionated toddlers to feed; for another, we now have a large upright freezer. The dramatic increase in storage space made the decision to cook more food easy.

  

  Our large upright freezer packed with food in preparation for Baby #3!

  For every day cooking, it’s easy to just double a recipe and stick half in the freezer. But when you are looking at several weeks of food, making a more detailed plan is essential. No one wants to be stuck eating chili every day for two months. If you want to fill your freezer, do not start cooking without a menu plan.

  I started my plan by choosing seven categories – I like using categories for my menu plans, especially longer-term menu plans, because it helps build in variety. You can categorize by mode of cooking (oven, slow cooker, pressure cooker, etc.), regional cuisine (Italian, Indian, Tex-Mex, etc.),  types of food (pastas, casseroles, big pieces of meat, vegan, etc.), or really anything that you can conjure up. This time I chose:

  1. Soup
  2. Baked in the oven
  3. Eggs
  4. Slow cooker
  5. Pasta
  6. Pizza
  7. Leftovers

  I wanted to make enough food for eight weeks of dinners, so I planned four weeks of meals that could be repeated to make an eight-week plan. We have finally finished eating our freezer meals, and I am happy to report that this plan worked out very well for us. Granted, we also had Thanksgiving and Christmas thrown in the middle to mix things up, but there definitely would have been enough variety even without those holiday meals. In the past I have used six-week menu plans that were structured the same way (three weeks of meals repeated to make a six-week long plan), and that was enough variety for my family.

  After a lot of tinkering, this is the menu plan that I arrived at. We followed it more or less as written, occasionally inserting another leftovers night or swapping meals as needed:

  

  Check back next week for Part 2, where I share the foods that I did not prep for the freezer, and what I did instead.

  Posted in Menu Plans | 3 Comments | Tagged Dinner, freezer friendly, kid-friendly, Menu plan

• My February Menu Plan

  Posted at 4:03 am by Rachel, on January 26, 2019

  We have finally eaten most of the contents of our freezer and I am back with a monthly menu plan to share! I have really missed menu planning so I am excited to get back into the swing of things. Scroll down for recipe links and details on what I’m cooking this month.

  

  Eggs

  I would like to make a souffle again this month; I am specifically eyeing the Winter Squash Souffle from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. However, most egg nights we will be sticking to our traditional (easy) scrambled eggs and roasted veggies.

  Slow Cooker

  • Huli Huli Chicken – I borrowed The Complete Slow Cooker from the library recently and this recipe was one of our favorites. I highly recommend this book if you’re looking for some new slow cooker recipes.
  • Whole chicken in the slow cooker, sweet potato vegetable bake – I’m trying to expand my side dish repertoire and this recipe from You Have it Made is first up.
  • Pot roast – I usually make this recipe with 2 onions and about a pound of peeled, chopped carrots
  • Chicken thighs, Chili-Spiced Sweet Potatoes with Maple Pecans – This sweet potato recipe is also from You Have it Made. I made it for a neighbor recently and now I want to make it for myself. It’s freezer-friendly, but I have not personally tested that out yet.

  Soup

  • White bean and garlic soup
  • Chicken noodle soup
  • Creamy tomato soup – This recipe was another great find in The Complete Slow Cooker. My kids really enjoy helping me prepare it too.
  • French onion soup

  Pasta

  • Pasta and meatballs – My mom made us a bunch of meatballs on a recent visit, so we have a glut on meatballs in our freezer right now. If you need an excellent meatball recipe, I recommend checking out this one from Serious Eats (paired with this sauce).
  • Lemony broccoli pasta – The last time I made this, my kids gobbled it up with no modifications. Here’s to repeat success!
  • Butterflies with chickpeas – This is another recipe from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. It looks simple but delicious.
  • Gnocchi with chicken sausage and tomatoes – Truth be told I am not feeling too confident that I will find decent gnocchi to use in this recipe. If I can’t find the good stuff then I’ll probably sub in tortellini.

  Pizza – For our weekly pizza I use this crust recipe with this sauce.

  Stove/Oven

  • Pepperoni pizza quinoa stuffed peppers – I imagine that some people would say “no” to pizza two nights in a row… fortunately I am not one of those people. I haven’t made these for a while, but they have been on my mind and I’m already excited to eat them.
  • Veggie Stir-Fry
  • Beef tacos with Budget Bytes’s taco seasoning
  • Cheesy chicken, broccoli, and rice
  Posted in Menu Plans | 0 Comments | Tagged chicken, Dinner, kid-friendly, Menu plan, pasta, side dish, slow cooker, soup

• Menu Plan 9/4/18 – 9/12/18

  Posted at 7:33 pm by Rachel, on September 4, 2018

  This week’s menu is a bit longer than usual because I am trying to change my shopping day from Tuesdays to either Wednesdays or Thursdays. There’s a lot of good food on this menu and all I can say is: I’m pretty excited to eat this week.

  The only completely new to us recipe here is the golden chickpea soup on Thursday. To say I love my slow cooker would be an understatement, so you can imagine my excitement to try out a new slow cooker recipe. Tonight’s dinner, BBQ Chicken Salad, is my favorite burrito bowl recipe served over lettuce instead of rice. I have leftover roasted sweet potatoes and steamed broccoli in the fridge, so I might throw in one or both of those as well. I planned to do our Monday night ravioli with pears instead of figs because I didn’t think my usual grocery store would have figs in stock (and they didn’t). They did have the most beautiful red pears and I know that the final product will be so gorgeous. I’ve made the ravioli with both figs and pears before (this was such a great variation suggested in the recipe’s comments section) and as delicious as figs are, I think I actually prefer the flavor of the pears in this dish. Lastly, if you decide to make the ginger peach chicken, I cannot stress enough that it will turn out better if you wait to add the peaches in the last 30 minutes of cooking. Fruit is delicate and it will turn to mush if you just dump it into the pot with the chicken at the beginning of the recipe.

  Tuesday 9/4 – BBQ Chicken Salad
  Wednesday 9/5 – Buttermilk pancakes, fruit
  Thursday 9/6 – Golden chickpea soup, green veggie, bread
  Friday 9/7 – White pizza, veggies
  Saturday 9/8 – Leftovers
  Sunday 9/9 – Sheet pan steak and potatoes, carrots
  Monday 9/10 – Ravioli with pears, green salad
  Tuesday 9/11 – Ginger peach chicken, rice, green veggie
  Wednesday 9/12 – Eggs, sweet potatoes, green veggies

  Posted in Menu Plans | 0 Comments | Tagged Menu plan

• Menu Plan 8/21/18 – 8/27/18

  Posted at 12:27 pm by Rachel, on August 21, 2018

  I don’t remember how hard shell vs. soft shell tacos came up, but last time we ate tacos I promised my preschooler that we could try hard shells next time. Apparently you’re supposed to bake taco shells before you eat them – maybe that will help keep them from shattering into a million pieces 😀

  Tuscan white bean pasta sounds like something my kiddos will like. Pasta is always a hit and beans usually go over well too. I’ll be using Great Northern beans since I already have them on hand.

  Tuesday 8/21 – Chicken and berry salad, bread
  Wednesday 8/22 – Hard shell tacos
  Thursday 8/23 – Tuscan white bean pasta, green veggie
  Friday 8/24 – Leftovers
  Saturday 8/25 – Pizza, salad
  Sunday 8/26 – Mayonnaise-free chicken salad sandwiches, green veggie
  Monday 8/27 – Scrambled eggs, sweet potatoes, green veggie

  Posted in Menu Plans | 0 Comments | Tagged Menu plan

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