While all tastes of pureed food have resulted in facial expressions of confusion and disgust, being given a tray of diced fried egg resulted in her steadily feeding herself for several minutes (no gagging) and a happy facial expression.
Meal Planning Help
Chris suggested I try simplifying my meal planning during this season of motherhood. He said he'd be satisfied with less variety, more simplicity. (Perhaps this is his way of saying he'd be "satisfied" with fewer nights with a tearful, angry wife trying to get together a complicated meal while three children cause loud chaos and a kitchen-full of pots and pans result after the dinner, which took her 117 minutes to cook but takes all of 7 minutes to eat, and the kids would have been happier with mac & cheese with hot dogs anyway.) I'm thinking of taking him up on this offer of being satisfied with less!
So, ladies, I'd love it if you want to share any of your favorite, simple dinner meal plans. Your go-to meal! Ideally these would have some nutritional content and require only about 30 minutes of actual standing in the kitchen and preparing it. (Don't worry about the fact that I'm a vegetarian and I have one picky eater: I'm just looking for inspiration!) I'm trying to assemble about 14 meals based on basic ingredients (nothing esoteric I have to seek out) that I simply rotate through twice per month.
I think Goya now makes MSG-free sofrito and recaito mixes (in the ethnic section of the grocery store - a red and a green capped glass jar, respectively). By adding a couple tablespoons of each to a couple of cans of beans, you are half way to a delicious rice and beans meal. I liked to serve it with green spanish olives and a salad. It is so easy and everyone loved it.
ReplyDeleteYou might consider putting 2 or 3 crock pot meals in the rotation for busy afternoons. I just did butternut squash soup in the crock pot which was super easy and would have been more so with an immersion blender. You can also do beef stew in the crock - and guess what I just found out - you don't even have to brown the beef first!
Since I HATE cooking I am all about the simple!
ReplyDeleteI will make a simple meat sauce using jar sauce (Aldi's jar sauce is pretty fresh tasting and not a whole list of whacky ingredients...basically just sauce). I saute an onion, brown half a pound of ground meat, add one jar of sauce. Make pasta and that is that. You can make some garlic bread. You can also add pureed veggies to the sauce undetected. I have done spinach, carrots, and shredded zuchini works well.
Also been buying from Aldi a little pre sliced ham. Then I can make scalloped potatos and ham in the crock pot, or ham steaks with baked beans (homemade are best in the crockpot!) and a veggie, or grilled ham and cheese with tomato soup, or 100 other uses. Cla will make a ham sandwich with it at lunch too.
I also have easy cordon blue recipe if you want, chicken parmesan is easy, beans and franks, also will cook some sausage on a George Forman grill then toss it in a with a jar of sauce and some pasta, or you can add a can of clams or crab meat to sauce and make with pasta (add veggies), tuna melts with tomato and soup and oven fries, breakfast for dinner, salsbury steaks...etc etc...I can send recipes for any of these if you are interested.
I make a BIG batch of Hummus every week ( of varying flavors) and once or twice a week, I simply put it in a pan and add a bit of milk ( ours is almond sicne we dont eat dairy at all) and mix it with pasta!! my kids think they are eating alfredo sauce or something really creamy, but they are really eating BEANS!!! fools them every time. We use gluten free brown rice pasta and they gobble it down...hope tha helps!
ReplyDeleteoh, I'll come back to this post later when the kiddies are in bed - just a quick question, are you amenable to picking meat out of various dishes? I do it myself - though I will eat some types of meat.. Didn't know if it being in there at all would be a deal-killer for you. I love meal planning discussions!
ReplyDeleteWe do tons of stir fry. You can chop your meats and veggies ahead of time and then throw it together very quickly. Pair it with rice and you're good to go.
ReplyDeleteI also like meals that require very little prep and hang in the oven for a while - roast chicken and veg for example.
Taco night is always a huge hit around here. Nothing fancy - tortillas, ground meat with packaged seasoning, shredded cheese and whatever other toppings strike your fancy.
Curry chicken - coconut milk, thai curry paste, chicken and serve over rice.
I agree with the crockpot ideas! One of my go to meals is White Chicken Chili super easy! 1 large jar of white beans drained, 2 C chicken broth, 16 oz jar of salsa, 2 or 3 cut up cooked chicken breasts (i usually either boil them or use a couple fist fulls of left over chicken), 8 oz shreded Mont Jack cheese. Some times I will throw in some cummin too! Mix together. Cook on low for 6 to 8 hrs or high for 4 hrs. I have also cooked this on the stove when I was short on time! It is really good with either corn muffins of tortilla chips! My Mary is very picky an loves this meal! My other favorite go to meal is Tacos! Quick and easy!
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
We also love Ministrone soup, ham and bean soup, Enchiladas, baked chicken with potatoes, butternut squash and corn. Stir fry with the frozen prepared veggies and there is always either noodles with sauce or mac n cheese with hot dogs!
ReplyDeleteIf possible I will make a double or tripple batch and freeze the extra for later. It really only takes a couple of extra min to double most recipies!
peace, Katrina
some favorites from our house
ReplyDeletehalibut crystal symphony
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/almond-crusted-halibut-crystal-symphony/detail.aspx
chicken korma
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chicken-korma-ii/detail.aspx
the beauty of this recipe is the sauce is the YUMMIEST part and you can totally pick the meat out. I serve with naan http://allrecipes.com/recipe/naan/detail.aspx. Big trick there is to roll it out flat. It's "fun" to eat because to get "authentic" you can ditch the forks and use the bread as utensils :)
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/russian-mushroom-and-potato-soup/detail.aspx This is good and only uses chicken broth - not sure if that's out for you
There's always breakfast for dinner (pancakes, sausage/bacon, eggs, etc) - get fun molds to make the eggs/pancakes in fun shapes
What about a Mediterranean tapas night? You could do homemade pita bread, hummus (lots of homemade recipes out there, super easy to do), other appetizers that together would make a meal - you could do kafta (seasoned meatballs) for a meat portion
We've done this one a lot (easy crockpot meal)
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/awesome-slow-cooker-pot-roast/detail.aspx
Same with this
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/slow-cooker-pulled-pork/detail.aspx
We also have made sliders (using small dinner rolls and our own meat, cheese, and condiments of the kids' choice). Mix the meat with a container of onion soup mix
we also are fans of cheese souffles with french bread (esp. on fridays). My recipe is in the Good Housekeeping cookbook. I can post it if you want.
Another veggie option - cheese blintzes (crepes, homemade, filled with a sweetened cream cheese & cottage cheese mixture, topped with sour cream and fresh fruit or jam as you desire)
not many of these are meatless because my kids... um, really like meat :-)
I can come back with more ideas, but here are a few of my go-to simple ideas:
ReplyDelete*Chili in the crockpot (you can make it veggie and/or stir in ground turkey/beef right before you serve to the meat eaters. Serve with these biscuits: http://thisordinarytime.blogspot.com/2011/04/matushka-emilys-best-buttermilk.html or cornbread.
*"Mock" lasagna: make pasta of your choice and mix with sauce (meat or not) and ricotta cheese. Top with mozzarella and fresh Parmesan.
*Maple chicken: bake chicken breasts at 450 for ten minutes. Meanwhile, simmer 4 tsp. lemon juice, 1/4 cup maple syrup, 1 T butter for five minutes. Pour on chicken and continue baking 15 minutes or until done. I usually serve with golden mashed potatoes (Yukon gold potatoes and sweet potatoes) and a few veggies or salad.
*Potato soup: five or six potatoes cubed in the crockpot with one onion finely diced, three cups hot water, 8 oz. cream cheese, garlic powder, and cubed ham (optional). Cook on high for four hours, mix occasionally to incorporate cream cheese.
*Mac and cheese as you like it with pureed butternut squash mixed in (I usually buy it frozen, but I've also done it with fresh). You cannot taste or see it, and it pumps up the nutrition just a tad!
*Also, make pizza dough "mix" to keep in the fridge to grab at the last minute (I can share my recipe if you need one since it needs no rising time) or make the dough and freeze. Then you've got the basis for calzones, pizzas, etc.
My rule of thumb is to pick "themes" for each night and just change up the recipe: pasta, chicken, slow cooker, rice and beans, pizza, etc.
Also, join Pinterest and you'll find millions of fast meal ideas! Here are my pinboards: http://pinterest.com/ordinarytime/
My new favorite cookbook for super simple ideas is No Whine with Dinner: http://www.amazon.com/No-Whine-Dinner-Liz-Weiss/dp/0615381227
Thank you so much, ladies! I have so many good suggestions already, it will take time for me to sort through them all! And my kids got very sick overnight, so today might be spent at Urgent Care, but I didn't want you to think I was totally ignoring your great ideas. :)
ReplyDeleteI cook from this book two to three times a week: Slow Cooker Revolution. We have only found one thing so far that we won't make again. We always have homemade pizza on Fridays, a non-crockpot meal Sundays, and leftovers the other days.
ReplyDeleteI utilize my freezer a lot to prepare my own “ingredients” so that meals come together faster, especially on busy or poorly-planned days. (So even if I didn’t cook it that day, I still *made* it myself.)
ReplyDeleteEg. Cook triple batch of rice. Freeze two portions for later. Cooking ground beef/turkey/sausage/etc?- cook 2 lbs and freeze one for later.
Roasting chicken? Cook two chickens and then remove meat, chop and freeze in 2 C portions for future meals. I then use the two carcasses to make chicken stock…
Onions and peppers can be chopped and frozen without any special preparation. I also keep frozen veg on hand that we all like such as broccoli, and mixed frozen veg to add to casseroles and such.
Cook big batches of beans or lentils (if you cook from dry) and freeze in 2 C (can sized) portions.
Complete meals that I like to cook in bulk and freeze for later (i.e. eat one, freeze one): Red Chili and White Chili (Having a regular chili night is a life saver b/c 80% of the time, it comes from the freezer and I can get much more work done around the house or be less stressed if it’s an errand day.), chicken pot pie, quiche, stew, soups (some soups can be a meal, some are a side).
My go to easy/simple meals: tacos (in shells, wraps or salad style), pasta anything (esp with frozen cooked meat and jarred sauce plus something like frozen peas), noodle casserole (with your choice of protein) which is like making homemade mac n cheese and then adding frozen veg (peas or chopped mixed veg) and canned meat; “big salad” (with chicken or canned salmon and as much other stuff as I have on hand – love to have hard boiled eggs, avocado, bacon, cheese, vegs, nuts, dried fruit – although I do not always have all those things), fried rice (with previously frozen chicken, frozen/leftover rice, frozen veg and scrambled egg); one pot rice + meat + veg+ sauce meal (lately I like TJs peanut satay sauce or many flavors of indian sauces from a jar/pouch.), chicken rice or chicken noodle soup, soup and sandwich (esp grilled cheese w or w/o ham), english muffin pizzas or pitz pizzas. I also do roasted vegetables a lot. Even though it requires some time for chopping, it is very simple and almost every vegetable tastes good when it is roasted, IMO. I only drizzle/toss with butter a/o olive oil salt and pepper.
Those are my ideas. HTH! I am enjoying reading the other comments as well!
I also wanted to add that I think it is very thoughtful of Chris to give you "permission" to simplify meals. That is sort of how "chili night" was born at our house. It has always been a favorite of Michael's and I would make it from time to time, but not often enough b/c he would often request it. Then one evening as he was saying how he really liked my chili, I asked him, "Do you like it enough to eat it every week?" He said yes! and so it was done! I alternate between two recipes, but having that "anchor" in my meal plan gives me just one less day to worry about and that is a big help to me!
ReplyDelete