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Mexican Stuffed Shells

Mexican Stuffed Shells
Date: 5/10/2012

Recipe: http://thewaytohisheart.wordpress.com/2011/09/30/mexican-stuffed-shells/

Modifications: I used ground turkey,and this taco seasoning recipe.

Time to table: 45 minutes prep, plus 45 minutes of baking time

Servings: 4 adults

Ben: Love

Erin: Love

Annie: Like – it was a bit “picy” for her :)

Notes: This was really good and actually pretty easy. I thought the filling could stand to be cheesier, so I would up the cream cheese next time, and maybe add some veggies into the filling too.

Mexican Stuffed Shells

Sweet Potato Foil Packet Tacos

Sweet Potato Foil Packets

Date: 5/8/2012

Recipe: http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/main-courses/sweet-potato-foil-packet-tacos/

Modifications: I used ground turkey, black beans, and did not peel the sweet potatoes. I didn’t have tomato sauce, so I just used some crushed tomatoes instead. We use this taco seasoning recipe.

Time to table: 30 minutes, plus 30 minutes of baking time

Servings: 6 adults

Ben: Love

Erin: Love

Annie: Like

Notes: My friend Chelsea sent me this recipe, and I immediately knew it would be a winner in our house! The best part about these is that you really can prep everything completely beforehand, and then just pop the foil packets in the oven when you’re ready to eat. Ben has an oven at work and was able to bring the extra packets to work the next few days. It is important to layer the packets with the sweet potatoes on the bottom, if they are on top they won’t get cooked through. We served with tortillas and sour cream.

Sweet Potato Foil Packets

Sausage and Spinach Stuffed Shells

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Date: 4/26/2012

Recipe: http://annies-eats.com/2009/02/27/sausage-and-spinach-stuffed-shells/

Modifications: I got diced tomatoes for the “chopped tomatoes” called for in the recipe – I’m not sure if there is a different thing actually called chopped tomatoes, but if there is, I couldn’t find it. I only made 2 8×8 pans, and for my preference, there wasn’t NEARLY enough sauce. I added a large can of crushed tomatoes to the top – a 28oz can split pretty evenly between both pans.

Time to table: 1 hour prep, ~1 hour baking time

Servings: Three 8×8 pans (but I got only 2 + some extra)

Ben: Love

Erin: Love

Annie: Like

Notes: This made a little more than 2 8×8 pans for me – but the remaining weren’t quite enough for another pan. I used my small pampered chef cookie scoop to stuff  the shells – about 2 scoops per shell. I froze the 2nd 8×8 pan prior to the baking step. This is very similar to the other stuffed shells recipe we tried, but I liked this one better, especially since I knew to add a lot more sauce. The filling was especially rich and delicious, probably due to using sausage versus turkey.

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Brussel sprout hash

Brussel Sprout Hash

Date: 4/19/2012

Recipe:

  • 1 small sweet potato, diced
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 bunch brussel sprouts, quartered
  • 5 cloves garlic, minced
  • ~6 strips of bacon
  • shredded cheddar cheese
  • one egg per person
Cook the bacon in a skillet. Remove from pan and save the grease. Cook the sweet potato, onion, brussel sprouts, and garlic in the bacon grease. While the vegetables are cooking, chop up the cooked bacon. When the vegetables are done (or nearly done) mix the bacon back in. Turn off the heat and top the mixture with the cheddar cheese and cover the skillet to let the cheese melt.
While the cheese is melting, fry up one egg for each person. Serve the hash in a bowl/plate and top each dish with a fried egg.

Time to table: 30 minutes

Servings: 2 adults, 1 toddler

Ben: Love

Erin: Like

Annie: Dislike

Notes: This is similar to another dish I’ve made before, but it was different enough that I figured I’d post it. I absolutely love this meal and would eat it very often. I also feel that in spite of the bacon and the bacon grease, it has enough healthy components going for it to be a guilt-free meal. Annie didn’t necessarily not “like” it, as much as she just ignored it, just part of being a toddler I guess. We’re sometime dumbfounded by what she decides she doesn’t want to eat. Veggies cooked in bacon grease, with cheese, and an egg?!?!  Whatever. :)

Brussel Sprout Hash

Chili Macaroni and Cheese

Chili Mac n Cheese

Date: 4/18/2012

Recipe: http://weelicious.com/2011/02/02/four-bean-chili-mac-cheese/

Modifications: I added a lot of sour cream since I was using 2% milk and because sour cream is delicious, and I think I used too much pasta so I added more chili and cheese to compensate.

Time to table: 20 minutes

Servings: 5 adults

Ben: Love

Erin: Love

Annie: Love

Notes: Again, this was so easy – I LOVE the concept of using leftovers to make a slightly different meal. We will definitely be trying this more! We all loved this meal in both forms – Annie probably enjoyed it a bit more here – mostly she just picked out each noodle though :)

Annie eating the noodles

Annie eating the noodles

Herbed Risotto with Chicken and Carmelized Onions

Risotto with carmelized onions and chicken

Date: 4/9/2012

Recipe: http://annies-eats.com/2011/01/13/herbed-risotto-with-chicken-and-caramelized-onions/

Modifications: I cooked 3 chicken breasts, but it seemed like FAR too much chicken – I probably only used 1.5 and then we saved the rest for another meal. I also forgot the butter at the end and it still seemed plenty rich and delicious :)

Time to table: 45 minutes

Servings: 4 adults

Ben: Love

Erin: Love

Annie: Like

Notes: Risotto is one of those meals that is always a hit. How could it not, with all that cheese and butter?? The carmelized onions really put this one over the top for me. It was delicious. Annie (of Annie’s Eats, not my child) says this method is easier, but for the time you save from stirring, I spent shredding chicken, which is one of my most hated tasks in the kitchen. This still seemed plenty involved – wouldn’t be what I would call a “quick dinner” but it was worth it! Luke enjoyed watching me cook – good thing :)

Luke watching mom cook

Now Annie's plate
Annie was well accessorized for this dinner

Mexican Baked Eggs

Mexican baked eggs

Date: 3/31/2012

Recipe: http://www.closetcooking.com/2011/09/mexican-baked-eggs.html

Modifications: I only used one jalapeno and just realized that I forgot the oregano. It also seemed to take longer than 5-8 minutes for our eggs to cook, more like 15 minutes, however the yolks were far more done than they appeared visually.

Time to table: 30 minutes

Servings: 4 adults

Ben: Dislike

Erin: Like

Annie: Like

Notes: This was one of those meals that kept getting pushed off. I thought it was pretty good, would have been better if we hadn’t overcooked the eggs. The leftovers would be great in a tortilla – Annie had that for lunch the next day and seemed to enjoy it. Ben thought it tasted just like salsa with eggs and wasn’t a fan.

Mexican baked eggs

Chicken Spaghetti

Chicken Spaghetti

Date: 3/26/2012

Recipe: http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/chicken_spaghet/

Modifications: We used an entire chopped red pepper and a whole onion too. This was split into 2 portions, each in a 8×8 pan.

Time to table: 1 hour prep (including cooking chicken and shredding it), 30+ minutes baking (it’s closer to an hour if baking from frozen)

Servings: 4 adults

Ben: Love

Erin: Love

Annie: Love

Notes: This is one of our freezer meals – I’ve blogged about it on my other blog several times but it’s never been featured here. It’s a big hit around our house. I think it would be good with different veggies in it too – maybe some chopped broccoli instead of the pepper.

Annie's chicken spaghetti
“Now picture of Annie’s food, too”

Cornmeal Chive Waffles with salsa and fried eggs

Cornmeal Chive Waffles with salsa and egg

Date: 3/25/2012

Recipe: I followed the waffle recipe from here: http://www.eating-for-england.com/savoury-cheddar-chive-waffles/ and got the meal idea from here: http://annies-eats.com/2012/02/29/cornmeal-chive-waffles-with-salsa-and-eggs/

Modifications: No modifications – I went with Eating for England’s waffle recipe because it included cheese, and why wouldn’t I want that?! I forgot fresh parsley, so just used dried.

Time to table: 30 minutes

Servings: 4 adults

Ben: Like

Erin: Love

Annie: Like

Notes: I really loved how easy this meal was! Annie LOVES helping (almost too much) and especially loves helping with waffles. She greatly enjoys watching the light go from orange to green when the waffles are done. This was a super quick weeknight meal (that we made on a weekend, but every meal needs to be quick with a newborn and a toddler right now!). Great for a savory breakfast, or breakfast for dinner. We used our homemade salsa for this.

Making Cornmeal Chive Waffles

Making Cornmeal Chive Waffles

Mexican Lasagna

Mexican Lasagna

Date: 3/20/2012

Recipe:

1/2 lb of ground turkey
1 28oz can of crushed tomatoes
1 14 oz can of black beans
1 14oz can of kidney beans
1 14oz can of pinto beans
1 diced sweet potato
1/2 packets of taco seasoning (I just threw in some cumin, adobo seasoning from Penzey’s, chili powder, paprika, garlic granules and cayenne)
1/2 an onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
4 cups of shredded mild cheddar
1 packet of Spinach Tortilla wraps

Coat the bottom of a larger, somewhat deep saucepan, with extra-virgin olive oil. Let it warm up (burner on medium heat), then throw in onion and garlic. Sautee for about 2 min. Add ground turkey and cook until no longer pink. Add all the beans and sweet potato and stir. Then add taco seasoning and about 1/2 cup of water (or more if it gets too dry), stir. Finally, add crushed tomatoes.  Lower heat, simmer, and stir occassionally for about 20-25 min.  (Meat and bean mixture cooked the night before, tastes better the next day. But, it’s still good same day : )

To layer ingredients: 1 9×13 inch pan.  Thin layer of meat/bean mixture, tortillas (cut to fit pan), then cheese. Then repeat: meat/beans, tortilla, then cheese.

Bake in 375 degree for aluminum pans, 400 for glass for about 15-25 min. Or until cheese on top is bubbly.

Modifications: I didn’t want such a huge batch, so I made this in a 8×8 pan and froze the other half of the mix.

Time to table: an hour of prep (some is simmering) and 25 minutes baking.

Servings: original recipe serves 8 adults

Ben: Love

Erin: Love

Annie: Loved the sour cream that it was topped with…

Notes: This is a meal that was brought to our neighbors who also have a new baby, and shared with us. We both loved it so much we had to get the recipe from her friend Karen, who apparently adapted it from a Rachael Ray recipe. I further adapted it from what she sent to include a sweet potato and to reduce the amount of meat. The original also called for corn, but I didn’t have that so did not include. There is another Mexican lasagna recipe on the blog too, but I preferred this one.

Mexican Lasagna