Tuesday, January 2, 2018

What's for Dinner #1

I have had some requests recently to bring back the blog from personal friends looking for new meal ideas. I'll be honest, I need meal ideas sometimes too and thought it would be nice to be able to jump back on the blog when meal planning and have a list of our favorites to pick from.

I hope to find time to do this regularly and will be sure to update on the blog's Facebook page when I post so you'll see it and can meal plan using some of our family favorites.

Monday
Baked Chicken 
Frozen Peas


Tuesday
JW Marriott Cornbread

I had this cornbread at a hotel recently and it was the best- ever! The chef wrote down the recipe for me. It is the perfect sweet cornbread!

1/2 cup butter
2/3 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/2 t baking soda
1 c cornmeal
1 c all purpose flour
1/2 t kosher salt

Preheat over to 375 and grease baking pan. Melt butter in skillet, remove from heat and stir in sugar. Quickly add the eggs and beat until well blended. Combine buttermilk with baking soda and stir mixture into pan. Stir in cornmeal, flour and salt and blend until it isn't lumpy. Pour batter into baking pan and bake for 30-40 minutes.

*This makes a ton of chili and we normally eat half and freeze half; however, this time around we are taking a meal to a friend. It is perfect for sharing!

Wednesday
EASY DINNER NIGHT! Whenever I need a quick and easy dinner night (normally on Tuesday when Abby is in dance), I rely on Trader Joe's meals. We plan to have either their beef ravioli with salad or frozen Mandarin chicken, fried rice and edamame.

Thursday
Frozen Garlic Bread
Fresh Green Beans

This recipe includes 5 pounds of beef, so it makes a TON! I make it on a Sunday afternoon when we are home and then freeze it in quart sized baggies. I can typically get 6 dinners from this sauce. I will use it for spaghetti, baked penne, lasagna. It works for it all and is super tasty.

Friday
No Peek Beef Tips with Rice

2 lb cubed stew meat
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1  packet brown gravy mix
1  packet lipton dry onion soup mix
4 oz can mushrooms (I leave these out!)
1 cup water  

Add cubed meat to a 9 x 13 inch pan. In a large bowl mix the remaining ingredients together and pour over the meat. Add mushrooms and stir to coat. Cover with foil and bake at 300 degrees for 3 Hours. Do not remove foil until done. Serve over rice, mashed potatoes or egg noodles. Servings 6-8

Extra
Our babysitter made these for us once and now they are a favorite!