THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU to everyone who shared a family favorite dinner recipe (keep them coming!) You guys ROCK! (please let me know if I have forgotten any as I have been gathering them all week...)
After falling into a routine of making only dinner recipes I know by heart (in other words, those I've made a gazillion times), it is refreshing to discover new quick and easy dinners...We all have a stash of simple, crowd-pleaser recipes we make time and time again. I thought it would be fun to gather and share.
Particularly after having one of the busiest summer weeks ever (dance recital + baseball + swim team + Radkids camp + sail camp + good friend moving to Boston = ONE CRAZY MAMA)...we are in desperate need of something new and interesting in our dinner rotation.
Enjoy and happy summer to you all!
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| My kids would eat ICE CREAM all summer if they could! |
FIESTA BOWL
Ground turkey
with taco seasoning, rice, beans, and cheese mixed together in a tort. bowl or
just in a dish.
“My kids favorite
recipe. Easy and their favorite!”
- Jodie Mylen
PULLED PORK SANDWICHES
Pork tenderloin, 1 can of root beer and favorite BBQ sauce
Put the pork in your crock-pot. Pour root beer over it. Cook on high
for 5 hrs. Drain root beer, shred the pork, pour in BBQ sauce, mix it up and
voila! It's ready!!! Put it on a bun/roll and it's done.
“It's super easy
and always a hit! One of our favorites and the simplest meal I make!”
-Tara Walsh
Note > We also love this recipe and add cole slaw on top of sandwiches..delish! We pour an entire 2-L of root beer over pork and cook on low for 6 hours, mix with 2 sauces: KC Masterpiece Honey + Daddy Sams BBQ
SLOW COOKER CHICKEN TACOS
Take 4-5 chicken
breast (thawed or frozen) put in crock-pot, add a jar of salsa or green verde
sauce, packet of taco seasoning, and some corn or black beans if you like! Cook
in low about 6 hours then shred and put into shells
- Maggie Hobelman
Ahern
BLAT (bacon, lettuce, avocado, tomato)
- Jessica Wharton
WORKING MOM GO-TO FAMILY DINNER
Frozen turkey
burgers, haricot verts w/ butter (still crunchy), cut up cucumbers &
tomatoes with oil & vinegar, noodles w/ shredded cheese & butter OR
corn on the cob & cut up strawberries with whipped cream for dessert.
- Jacqueline
Byrne
TRADER JOES POTSTICKERS
Serve with brown
rice/ peas on side…
“All the boys
(Dad included) love it!”
- Heather Hampton
Koelling
CHICKEN w TOMATOES &
OLIVES
Cook diced onion in olive oil until soft add minced garlic and stir
until fragrant. Add one can of fire-roasted diced tomatoes, salt and pepper.
Place boneless skinless chicken thighs on top of the tomatoes and add a half-cup
of chicken stock. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered,
until chicken is done. 20-25 min Options: 1) eat as is 2) add kalamata or black
olives toward the end of cooking, 3) add bag of TJ's "Melodious Blend"
(frozen garbanzo beans, lentils) or another frozen veggie.
Serve over brown
rice, a grain blend or a bed of baby spinach.
- Jen Brigham
SLOW COOKER PORK w TOMATILLO (GREEN) SALSA
Plan ahead
slow-cooker: place a large pork shoulder in slow-cooker, add 2 c chicken broth,
2 cans of Herdez green salsa, maybe some chopped onion if you feel like it and
salt and pepper. Cover and cook on high or low for a long time until the pork
shreds easily with a fork. Remove pork from the crock-pot, shred with two forks,
add back some of the cooking liquid. Serve in corn tortillas, with fresh diced
white onion, cilantro and limes. You can also brown the meat before putting it
in the slow cooker if you're feeling ambitious. If you don't have a slow cooker,
you can do this in a large Dutch oven on the stovetop to start and then throw
it in the oven, covered tightly on low--250ish for a long time.
- Jen Brigham
CHUCK ROAST
Sprinkle a packet
of beefy mushroom Lipton soup mix on the top. Then, a can of cream of mushroom
soup on top of that. Place potatoes, carrots, and onions all around the meat,
up against the edges of the baking casserole. Foil the top tight, put in oven
at 11:00 AM, let it go at 250 until dinnertime.
“Something kids
will eat. Kids lick their plates!”
-Sonja Skerbeck
BAKED SALMON + VEGGIES
It only takes about 15 minutes from package to table. While the
salmon is cooking in the toaster oven (350-375 for 12-15 min depending on the
size if the cut), I cook up some frozen veggies.
- Katherine Swit Bass
TACO RICE BURRITOS
Cook one bag of Knorr Mexican
rice. After cooked, add avocado, jalapenos, red onion, black beans, corn,
salsa, Cholula, etc. Cook ground beef with taco seasoning. Add meat to rice
mixture, stuff into flour tortillas with sour cream and eat!!!
“YUM!”
- Molly Gruszka Kerckhoff
GENERAL
TIP
My kids love to help in the
kitchen. Smoothies are a favorite. I give mine choices and they choose what to
throw in the blender. That seems to guarantee they eat it, when they choose.
Same goes for tacos and homemade pizza. Place toppings on platter and they
pick.
“Full bellies every time!”
- Amy Kunde
FLANK STEAK W MARINADE
Marinade Ingredients:
1/2 cup soy
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup Worcestershire
4 fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 T garlic salt
salt pepper (combo)...
Instructions:
Marinate for 5 hours and
grill.
“I usually make it w/an orzo
salad”
- Jen Sika White
CHICKEN WITH BASIL-CORN RELISH
Ingredients:
1 ½ lb chicken cutlets
2 cups fresh corn kernels
(cut from 6 ears corn)
1 ½ cups diced red bell
pepper
½ cup light sour cream
3 T basil pesto
½ cup shredded fresh basil
1 Spray grill pan w vegetable-oil cooking spray. Sprinkle cutlets on both sides w ½ t
salt and ¼ t pepper.
2 Grill cutlets over med heat, 2-3 min per side, turning once,
until browned and cooked through.
Remove to a platter.
3 Meanwhile, in a nonstick skillet, heat 1 T canola oil over
med heat. Add corn and bell
peppers. Sprinkle w ½ t salt and ¼
t pepper and cook 5 min. Remove
from heat. Stir in sour cream,
pesto, and ¼ cup of shredded basil.
Spoon over cutlets and sprinkle with the remaining basil.
Makes 4 servings.
“Kids devour it”
- Brooke Ferber
RIGATONI WITH BROCCOLI AND SAUSAGE
Ingredients:
Course salt and ground pepper
1 lb rigatoni
2 heads broccoli, cut into
florets (about 4 cups)
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 T finely grated lemon zest,
plus 2 T lemon juice
4 anchovy fillets, minced
1 lb sweet Italian sausage,
casings removed
Parmesan, grated for serving
1.
In a large pot of
boiling salted water, cook pasta according to instructions. In last 2 min, add broccoli and cook
until bright green and crisp-tender.
Reserve 1 cup pasta water, drain pasta and broccoli.
2.
Meanwhile, in small
bowl, whisk together oil, garlic, lemon zest and juice, anchovies, ½ t salt,
and ¼ t pepper.
3.
Add sausage to pot and
cook over med-high heat, breaking up meat w wooden spoon, until browned and
cooked through, 8-10 min. Remove
from heat, return pasta and broccoli to pot, and add oil mixture. Toss well to combine, adding enough
pasta water to create a thin sauce that coats pasta. Serve sprinkled with Parmesan.
“Another favorite – anchovies are key ingredient”
- Brooke Ferber
SALSA CHICKEN BURRITO FILLING
Ingredients:
2
boneless skinless chicken breasts
8 oz
tomato sauce
½ cup
salsa
1 package
taco seasoning mix
2 tsp
ground cumin
2-3
cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp
chili powder (more or less to your liking)
1)
Place
chicken and tomato sauce in pan over med high heat. Bring to boil and then add other ingredients. Let simmer 20 min.
2)
With
a fork, shred the chicken. Cover
and cook pulled chicken another 10 minutes.
** I will
also put all ingredients into the slow cooker on low for 4 hours or so making
it super easy.
Serve
with burrito fixings – I sauté red, yellow, orange peppers with red onion in
olive oil and garlic, make some Spanish or Mexican rice, maybe some black beans
and some shredded cheese.
“Girls
love this one!”
- Tammy
Ardire
PILLSBURY CHICKEN CRESCENT SQUARES
Ingredients:
3 oz pkg cream cheese (softened)
2 Tbsp butter (divided)
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
Some chopped scallions
¼ tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
2 Tbsp milk
1 can crescent rolls
¾ cup crushed croutons
1.) Mix cream cheese and 1 tbsp butter, beat until smooth.
Add chicken, scallions, salt, pepper, milk, and mix well.
2.) Separate crescent rolls into 4 squares and press perforations
to seal.
3.) Spoon ½ cup chicken mixture into center of each square.
Pull 4 corners of dough to center to close and pinch edges. Place on
ungreased cookie sheet
4.) Brush tops with 1 tbsp melted butter and sprinkle with crushed
croutons.
5.) Bake @ 350 for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden
I serve this usually with asparagus sautéed in olive oil and
garlic and some rice or mashed potatoes.
“Ryan loves this one!”
- Tammy Ardire
PARMESEAN AND PARSLEY MEATBALLS
Combine 2 eggs, 1/2 cup fresh
breadcrumbs, 1/3 cup grated or shredded parmesan, 1/4 cup chopped Italian
parsley, 3 cloves minced garlic, salt, pepper, 1/4 lb ground hot Ital. sausage
(or a little olive oil if you omit this), 1 lb ground beef or bison. Add a
splash of milk if needed. Roll into ~15 meatballs and bake at 400-425* for ~20
minutes, turning once. Add to your favorite tomato sauce. Can use with French
loaf for meatball sandwiches or pasta for spaghetti and meatballs. Salad as a
side. Can freeze meatballs raw or cooked if you make a double batch.
- Jenny Korb McPheeters
BAREFOOT CONTESSA SALMON
Preheat the oven to 450
degrees. If you (or the fishmonger) can skin the 1 lb. salmon fillet, that's
great. If not, no worries. The skin will peel off easily when cooked. Heat a
dry ovenproof sauté pan over high heat for 4 minutes. Meanwhile, rub both sides
of a 1 lb. salmon fillet with olive oil and season the tops very liberally with
salt and pepper. When the pan is very hot, place the salmon fillets
seasoning-sides down in the pan and cook over medium heat without moving them
for 2 minutes, until very browned. Turn the fillets and place the pan in the
oven for 5 to 7 minutes, until the salmon is cooked to your liking. Serve with
sautéed spinach and some pearl couscous (which usually comes out of a box for
me).
- Jenny Korb McPheeters
BLACK
BEAN SOUP
(Recipe to come)
- Kim Roy Barner
ONE
PAN SPICY LEMON CHICKEN PASTA W TOMATOES
Ingredients:
1 lb chicken breasts
2 T olive oil
½ cup diced yellow onion
1 T minced garlic
8 oz small, dry pasta
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
2 cups chicken broth
Juice from one large or two small lemons
1 cup water
1 t dried basil
1 t salt
¼ t red pepper flakes
½ t pepper
1 cup shredded mozzarella
Instructions:
1. Heat olive oil in large skillet over med-high
heat.
2. Add onion and stir, cooking until soft and
nearly translucent.
3. Stir in garlic and cook 30 seconds.
4. Add chicken and cook until just browned.
5. Stir in pasta, tomatoes, chicken broth, lemon
juice, water, basil, red pepper flakes, salt and pepper.
6. Bring to boil and continue to stir often,
uncovered, for about 9 min, or until most of liquid has evaporated.
7. Remove from heat, sprinkle cheese on top, and
cover for 10 min, or until cheese is melted and remaining liquid is absorbed.
(From
Yellow Bliss Road Blog, Adapted from Martha Stewart)
“Tried this one tonight and it was good and
easy!!”
- Jen Berkowitz
SESAME HONEY CHICKEN
Ingredients:
5 chicken breast fillets,
skinless
3/4 cup low sodium chicken broth, no sugar
added
1/4 cup roasted sesame seeds (I used much
less)
1/4 cup honey
Directions:
1.) Cut up the chicken into bite-sized cubes
(about 1 x 1).
2.) In a large skillet add chicken and broth,
turn to medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cook
until the chicken is nearly cooked through.
3.) Pour in the honey and sesame seeds and
stir well.
4.) Cook until all liquids have cooked out and
the chicken begins to brown.
5.) Serve over brown rice with some broccoli
on the side.
“Kids loved!”
- Michelle Rocco Hunt
SALMON
OR CHICKEN W BROWN RICE
Make brown rice and top with either salmon (just
olive oil, salt, and paprika, bake at 350) or chicken (olive oil, salt, emril’s
chicken rub spice mix and grill) finally top with fruit salsa (any fruit kids
may like, although I usually try to include chopped strawberries and pineapple,
red onion which I chop big so kids can pick out, lime juice, and salt, and let
marinate a little while)…
“Usually a crowd pleaser”
- Dawn Blair
OHIO CITY 4 CHEESE RAVIOLI W
MARINARA AND GROUND TURKEY
Ohio
City 4 Cheese Raviolis breaded with half Italian breadcrumbs and half panko,
fry in olive oil and top with marinara and ground turkey
-
Dawn Blair
'MAMA INSPIRED' SLOW COOKER DINNERS
- website shared by Susan Gummersbach
(go to website for
more detailed info on ingredient list and step-by-step directions for making
several meals at one time to freeze)
Here are her 15 favorite crock-pot recipes.
NOTES >
- Recipes feed 4-6 adult people.
- No measurement is exact, for veggies, chop
and estimate a handful.
- When preparing the bags, keep the meat
raw. Take proper precautions and appropriate cleanliness for raw meats!
- Be sure to label bags.
- Cook meats to approx 165 degrees, all
slow-cookers vary in cooking time…mine usually cook in 4-6 hours.
- ALL items in the recipe go into one
freezer gallon size bag (even the liquids)…the bag goes into freezer for 4-6
months.
- When ready to make dinner, either thaw in
fridge for 12 hours OR place bag in a bowl of warm water for 30 min before
putting in slow cooker.
- It is OK if meat is still frozen when it
goes into slow cooker.
POT ROAST- 1 chuck roast (2.5-3 pounds), carrots, onion, potatoes (red, or sweet
for paleo) garlic, thyme, salt and pepper. 16 oz beef broth.
FRENCH SHREDDED BEEF- 1 chuck roast (2.5-3 pounds), 4 tsp homemade
ranch seasoning, 1 tsp homemade Italian seasoning, onion, garlic, 16 oz beef
broth. Serve on bread, or serve alone for paleo as shredded beef.
GREEN CHILI BEEF- 1 chuck roast (2.5-3 pounds), 1 jar green salsa, garlic, onions
CHICKEN FAJITAS- 4-6 breasts. Onion, red pepper, green pepper, tons of Mexican
seasonings, 8 oz chicken broth.
ITALIAN CHICKEN- 4-6 breasts. 6 tablespoons Italian seasoning. 8 oz chicken
broth.
CHICKEN & DUMPLINGS 4-6 breasts, 1 cream mushroom, 1 cream
chicken, 1 cup coconut milk last 45 minutes, in last hour- add one can of cut
up biscuits (the kind you peel paper off and remove/separate the uncooked round
pieces) (cut them to about 1" pieces before adding into the crock pot)
CHEESY CHICKEN - 4-6 breasts, 1 can of mushrooms, 8 oz chicken broth, Last hour
add: 1/4 cup coconut milk, 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese, bag of frozen
broccoli.
HAWAIIAN CHICKEN- 4-6 breasts, 1 can pineapple, 1 jar of
Hawaiian BBQ sauce. Add 1/2 cup water when it goes into crock-pot.
RANCH CHICKEN 4-6 breasts. 1/4 cup homemade ranch seasoning. 16 oz chicken
broth. 4-6 potatoes (red or sweet for paleo).
GREEN CHILI CHICKEN - 4-6 breasts, 1 jar green salsa, garlic, onions.
PORK TENDERLOIN single pork tenderloin. Onion, sweet potatoes, 2 tablespoons
homemade ranch seasoning, 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning, 6 oz red wine.
Last hour: add a bag of frozen mixed veggies.
RANCH PORK CHOPS- 4-6 chops. 6 tablespoons homemade ranch seasoning. 4-6 potatoes (red
or sweet for paleo). Carrots. 8 oz chicken broth.
ITALIAN PORK CHOPS- 4-6 chops. 6 tablespoons Italian seasonings.
Last hour add: bag of frozen peas or veggies, 1/4 cup coconut milk.
CHILI 1 pound cooked (and cooled before putting into bag) ground
beef or turkey, 2 cans BBQ beans, 2 cans tomatoes, 1 can black beans, 2 cans
white beans, garlic , Diced onion, tons of seasonings (add red chili
pepper flakes if you want it spicy, or even sub out tomatoes for ro-tel).
PHILLY -cube steak, raw cut into strips. Red bell
pepper, green bell pepper, onion. 8oz beef broth, seasonings. . Last 30 min top
with provolone cheese (or leave plain for paleo). Serve in bread or
alone.
HOMEMADE RANCH
SEASONING- store in airtight
container (double or triple!)
•
2 tbsp dried
parsley, crushed
•
4 tsp dried
dill weed
•
4 tsp onion
powder
•
1/2 tsp
paprika powder
•
3 tsp dried
onion flakes (tastefully simple onion)
•
4 tsp dried
chives
•
2 tsp garlic
powder
•
1 tsp ground
pepper
HOMEMADE
ITALIAN SEASONING- store in
airtight container (double or triple!)
•
2 tsp dried
basil
•
1 tsp garlic
powder
•
1/2 tsp
paprika powder
•
2 tsp dried
onion flakes (tastefully simple onion)
•
2 tsp dried
oregano
•
2 tsp dried
rosemary
•
2 tsp dried
thyme
