So I have this theory. I have this theory that if I make up a list of 10-15 weeknight meals for each season then I will have less anxiety when, on occasion, my kids eat hot dogs & nuggets & mac-n-cheese for dinner.... with no veggies.
So that's how it started.
Then I enlisted the help of my sister and my brother.
My brother was very little help. When I asked him to list his 5 favorite meals he said, "spaghetti, tacos, pizza, leftover spaghetti, anything my boss is buying...."
My sister, however, is becoming Doris Domestic and she had lots of great ideas.
My plan is to make these things fit into my grocery budget, include leftovers for work lunches and make "two-fers" as often as possible.
So, here, I present the first of our Fall Season menus.
Day 1: Porcupine Meatballs & Mashed Potatoes.
My mom makes porcupine meatballs all the time... turns out she makes them in the pressure cooker. I needed the pressure cooker for the potatoes (and my sister, gasp, doesn't OWN a pressure cooker) so, if you want a recipe, google it.
My recipe is, basically, this:
2 lbs burger (I used elk)
one packet onion soup mix (seasoning base for all redneck meals)
some water
2/3 c rice, uncooked
Make meatballs and brown them in an electric skillet. Then add 2 15oz cans of tomato sauce, maybe some Italian seasoning, more water (a cup or two??) and simmer for a while. 40 minutes maybe?
Scrub some potatoes, cut up and put in pressure cooker with water. Bring to shht-shht and cook for 6-7 minutes. Cool and drain. Mash with handy-dandy stick blender, milk, salt & pepper. If you want to get fancy add some cream cheese or that seasoned cheese.... I rarely get fancy.
Serve with veggie of choice from the freezer or call the tomato sauce a veggie.
Ok, I got a little fancy and made homemade rolls for day 2. I make the dough in the breadmaker and then cook the rolls in the oven.
1 c warm water
2 tsp yeast
1 egg
4 TBS butter
4 TBS dry milk
4 TBS sugar
1 tsp salt
4 c flour
Day 2: Meatball Sandwiches
Rolls. Reheated meat balls. Mozzarella cheese slices (from last weekend's faker eggplant Parmesan and tomorrow night's homemade pizza.)
Broil until warm and bubbly. Serve with a side of veggies (corn for the kids, leftover squash for me) and apple slices. My kids were not crazy about the sandwiches so next time I think I'd take some of the leftovers for lunch and let them have warm chicken nugget sandwiches...what? We're about simple.
Note: My sister made the meatballs the night before I did and used beef and they were good. But our burger is pretty lean... you might have to drain off the fat after you brown the meatballs if you use normal burger.
Tonight's menu is chicken tender salads.... I have some greens I need to use up. I'll let you know how it goes.
3 comments:
I try to do a variation of this. We'll make a full recipe of a casserole. Split it in two and freeze half of it. Make the other half now, and then use the leftovers for lunches. I've got chicken rice casserole and spaghetti casserole in my freezer now.
I use the Sneaky Chef here at our house. Basically you puree spinach/broccoli, carrots/yams, cauliflower/zuchinni and freeze. Defrost and add to meals accordingly--viola, you have successfully tricked a meat-and-potatoes man and a 'nana-eating baby into getting their colorful veggies.
My husband hates leftovers. I'll do anything to get him to eat them.
I don't know if you like Whole Foods Market, but they have great recipe database for low-cost, kid-friendly lunches and dinners. Even if you don't shop there, the recipe section is pretty cool.
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