Next week, when Noah and Anna both head off to MDO, I am going to tackle a duty I have long neglected: Cooking meals for my family on a daily basis. You see, cooking has never been my thing and it really stresses me out. I need time, planning, and quiet (translate: no interruptions) to get it done without high levels of anxiety on my part. So each week from now on my goal is to plan a schedule of meals a week or two at a time. Then, while the kids are at school, buy all the groceries needed for all those meals, and hopefully, cook a few of those meals in advance. And the more I think about it, the more excited I am getting about my pending project. Josh is doubly excited about it. :)
Along the way when I find a good recipe, I am gonna post it here for anyone interested in super easy good stuff, b/c you know I won't be cooking it unless it is relatively easy. :)
Here is the first of some of my favorite recipes...Brown Rice (I got this one from Carol, my mother-in-law). And left alone in a house with a pot of this, I could eat the entire thing myself. It is that delicious to me. Carol says it's probably something to do with the stick of butter. :)
Brown Rice
Melt 1 stick of butter in a casserole dish. Add 1 cup of Uncle Ben's Converted Rice, 1 can of French Onion soup, 1 can Beef Consomme soup, and (optional) 1 can of mushrooms. Don't drain. Bake covered at 400 degrees about 40-45 minutes. Then gobble!
Mmmm... brown rice is one of our favorites!!! We brought along 2 cans each of Beef Consomme and French Onion soup for "special occasions" ... Shannon's birthday (June) and our anniversary (October). When we head home in Dec. we'll bring back a couple more for next year. :) My mother-in-law tweaks it just a bit and instead of melting the stick of butter you just slice 1/2 stick of butter into small pats and lay them on top of the other ingredients - as it cooks they melt down into the rice. Tastes just as yummy (to us) with only 1/2 the guilt. ;)
ReplyDeletePower to ya! It's a constant battle here but as long as I plan in advance we have a great week of meals. I'm doing good this week though:-) I'll have to share some of my super easy and yummy homemades. I have an awesome crockpot maccaroni that is soooo easy to make.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youvegotsupper.com/
ReplyDeleteThis is a great site. If you sign up, you'll get new recipes every Thursday. AND check out the cripsy chicken with the apricot sauce. It's a fav here, served with rice.
Good idea about just putting the pats of butter on top...saves me step.
ReplyDeleteShannon and all: Oh yes, I meant to say that! Please, please, please post or email me any good recipes to add to my stash!
ReplyDeleteLove the idea! I do that around here too. I usually do one week's meals planned out and make a grocery trip for just those items. Seems to make a life a lot less stressful around 4:30 when I am trying to figure out what is for dinner.
ReplyDeletewww.kraftfoods.com is also a great website for recipes. They are all very easy to make! I am all about easy. I'll definitely try the Brown Rice recipe and the one Shannon mentioned too!
Oh, definitely Kraftfoods! I get that magazine and half my recipe collection comes from it.
ReplyDeleteGlad I read the above comments. I was just going to tell you to subscribe to Kraftfoods magazine because it is free and filled with super easy meals! When I get a chance I will have to give you the recipe for the mexican bisquick meal I am making tonight. Easy and super yummy. A one dish casserole. I'll try to remember to post it in a comment later tonight.
ReplyDeleteYum, Laura...can't wait to get that one!
ReplyDeleteHey Kimberly! I've made the brown rice as well - it's quite good - although I just used 1/3 stick of butter and didn't melt it. Even easier!
ReplyDeleteO that sounds so good. I may have to try that!
ReplyDeleteoohh, that sounds really good. When I first read "brown rice", I was thinking, "She's never had brown rice before? And...I mean, I like it and all but it's THAT good?" Lol. I thought you were talking about plain ol' brown rice without anything added.
ReplyDeleteWe love stirfry when I'm wanting a really quick and easy meal. You can even buy frozen stir fry veggies to make it really easy - just cook the meat and the toss them in with the sauce. Served over (plain) brown rice and eaten with chopsticks. My kids pick the meat and rice out and don't eat the veggies, but they love the chopsticks! And there are so many variations that can be made that it can be served every week.
I love allrecipes.com. Everything we've eaten there has been rather tasty. And some of them are really easy to make. Campbell's also has a recipe site which has really good (easy) recipes.
A tip that I use is that each day of the week is given a certain 'dish'. Monday for us is seafood, Tuesday - chicken; Wednesday - sandwiches/soup, Thursday - pork/beef; Friday is pizza night, and Saturday is pasta. If we eat at home on Sunday, we have leftovers. The only time I deviate from that is when I make one of those "cook once, serve three different ways" type of recipes. Anyway, It just makes it easier for me to make out our weekly menus.
Good luck!
Penne Pasta w/ Spinach and Bacon
ReplyDeletePrep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes
(I was iffy about this one - usually hate spinach - but I LOVED it)
Ingredients:
1 (12 oz) box penne pasta (I used 14.5 oz)
2 tablespoons olive oil, divided
6 slices bacon, chopped (I used about 8 and I cut them with scissors)
2 tablespoons minced garlic
1(14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 bunch fresh spinach, rinsed and torn into bite sized pieces
Directions:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add the pasta and cook until tender (10 minutes?)
Meanwhile, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over med. heat. Place bacon in and cook until brown and crisp. Add garlic, and cook for about 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes and cook until heated through.
Place the spinach into a colander and drain the hot pasta over it so it is wilted. Transfer to a large serving bowl and toss with the remaining olive oil, the bacon and tomato mixture.
Wild rice shrimp Saute
ReplyDelete(I hate shrimp so I picked them out, but PJ and the boys loved this one)
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 35 minutes
Ingredients:
2 1/3 cups water
4 tablespoons butter, divided
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 (6oz) package long grain and wild rice mix
1 lb uncooked shrimp, peeled and deveined (I cheated here - got the frozen shrimp that was ALREADY cooked, deveined and peeled!)
2 tablespoons chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons chopped green onion (Again, I cheated - bought the already chopped green onion)
Directions:
In a saucepan over med. heat, combine water, 1 TBS butter, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, mustard and pepper: bring to a boil. Add rice with seasoning packet; return to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed.
Meanwhile, in a skillet over med. heat, melt remaining butter. Add shrimp, green pepper and onions. Cook and stir for 7-9 min. or until shrimp turn pink and are cooked through. Add rice, heat through.
This was a bit more involved (a few more ingredients) than our regular veggie/meat saute w/ rice, but it was so good that I think it was worth it. Still very easy though!
Mmmmm, Brittany! That Pasta/Spinach Bacon one will be one of the first I try.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm with you on the seafood - yuck - but I may try it for Josh and Noah's sake and pick it out like you said. ;)
Yeh, I hate everything about seafood - even fish sticks and popcorn shrimp. But I want the boys to eat it and love it (and PJ loves shrimp) so I make it anyway. I just have to find easy ways to prepare it, because I don't want to mess with it! No cutting skin off, or...deveining....eck. I refuse! :)
ReplyDeleteI made salmon patties last monday, and the boys loved them. Dipped them in ketchup (though I had made a honey mustard sauce to go with it). I even ate it. It wasn't my favorite (still tasted slightly of fish), but it wasn't bad. And it was an easy and cheap meal!
I'm also planning on cooking more now that I'll have Elliott gone more. Yes, post recipes! :)
ReplyDelete