We got fed

Beef Stew

Posted on December 29, 2013 by ben

Date: December 21st, 2013

Recipe: http://iowagirleats.com/2013/12/16/beef-stew/

Modifications: I used a few more vegetables and a little less salt than the original recipe called for. Also left out the mushrooms, cause yeah.

Time to table: 30 minutes prep, 2 hours simmer time

Servings: Two family dinners

Erin: Love

Ben: Love

Annie: Like

Luke: Dislike

Notes: This was delicious with mashed potatoes, for some reason Luke didn’t like it either night we had it. Too bad for him, cause Mom and Dad liked it, so we’re definitely having it again!

Posted in beef, carrot, celery, garlic, onion, peas, shallot | 1 Comment

Crockpot Italian Beef Sandwiches

Posted on November 13, 2013 by ben

Date: November 12th, 2013

Recipe: http://iowagirleats.com/2013/10/23/crock-pot-italian-beef-sandwiches/

Modifications: No changes

Time to table: 15 minutes prep time, 8 hours cook time

Servings: Probably enough for 6-8 sandwiches

Erin: Love

Ben: Love

Annie: Like

Luke: Like

Notes: This was incredibly easy to make and great for a weeknight meal. We probably should have planned a vegetable to go with it, that’ll have to wait until next time. Luke enjoys stuffing his face with a fistful of meat.

Posted in banana peppers, beef, bread, cheese, crockpot | Comments Off

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Posted on November 13, 2013 by erin

Date: November 11th, 2013

Recipe: http://www.annies-eats.com/2009/11/05/broccoli-cheddar-soup/

Modifications: No changes

Time to table: 40 minutes or so (including simmering time)

Servings: 6 adults

Erin: Love

Ben: Love

Annie: Like

Luke: Love (but couldn’t eat this so easily, a little too runny)

Notes: I pureed this one but left some chunks and it was a great consistency. This was an excellent soup, I was impressed at how much it tasted like restaurant quality!

Posted in broccoli, carrot, cheese, onion, soup, vegetarian | 1 Comment

Chicken, Bacon, and Artichoke Pasta with Creamy Garlic Sauce

Posted on November 12, 2013 by ben

Date: November 7th, 2013

Recipe: http://iowagirleats.com/2013/10/28/chicken-bacon-and-artichoke-pasta-with-creamy-garlic-sauce/

Modifications: We used ziti instead of penne, so effectively no changes.

Time to table: 60 minutes

Servings: About six adult dinners, we had Liz and Jono over for this meal and there was a solid tupperware of leftovers.

Erin: Love

Ben: Love

Steve: HATE

Notes: This was an adults-only meal when Liz and Jono came over. My brother Steve was over the next night babysitting and he was not a fan. Didn’t know what the sun dried tomatoes were. We thought this was delicious, the garlic sauce was excellent. It’s a little more involved to make than our typical meals, but we didn’t really start making it until the kids went to bed, so it was fun to cook a bit a fancier meal.

Posted in artichokes, bacon, cheese, chicken, garlic, pasta, spinach, sun dried tomatoes | Comments Off

Chili in Bread Bowls

Posted on November 10, 2013 by erin

Date: November 10, 2013

Recipe: Bread bowls: http://www.annies-eats.com/2007/10/07/chili-in-bread-bowls/

Chili: http://weelicious.com/2011/02/01/four-bean-chili/ (previously made here)

Modifications: No modifications for the bread bowls, and for the chili we used the same modifications we typically do for that – subbed ground turkey and added a green pepper.

Time to table: Bread bowls took about 4 hours total to rise, only about 10 minutes prep. Chili takes about 15 minutes prep and simmers for a few hours – you can also make in the crockpot.

Servings: 4 bread bowls, chili would easily serve 6+ adults

Erin: Love

Ben: Love

Annie: Love

Luke: Love

(bonus guests Jake and Justin also seemed to love it)

Notes: I have wanted to try bread bowls forever, and decided that would be a great way to break in baking at our new house! (hence the several month hiatus in posting – but really we’ve just been using this site as it was intended and referring back to it to make the meals we love) We make this chili very frequently, and it was perfect for the bread bowls. My bowls weren’t very voluminous, so I filled it twice to get my normal portion, but it worked. They were far easier than I expected and were a really fun way to eat the chili we have so often. The kids both love the stuff, so it is one of those meals that is tempting to make weekly!

Posted in black beans, bread, cheese, green pepper, kidney beans, onion, pinto beans, sour cream, triple love, turkey, white beans | Comments Off

Veggie Tortellini Salad with Browned Butter

Posted on July 21, 2013 by erin

Date: July 16, 2013

Recipe: http://www.annies-eats.com/2013/06/27/summer-veggie-tortellini-salad-with-browned-butter/

Modifications: Used frozen corn and peas, and did put them in boiling water just for a bit. Also used the big bag of frozen cheese tortellini from Whole Foods.

Time to table: 30 minutes. The most prep is slicing the tomatoes.

Servings: 5 adults

Erin: Love

Ben: Like

Annie: Like

Luke: Dislike (as in, gagged)

Notes: We knew that neither child would be particularly enthused by this. I don’t really get it, but neither of them seem to like any tortellini dish we’ve made. They are weird, because they like cheese, and pasta. Luke tried it but literally gagged. Whatever. To make for a more pleasant mealtime, I just gave them each a half piece of peanut butter toast with their meal so as to not listen to their whining. They were still offered the pasta but Annie had to be cajoled to try a few bites (which she ate fine, hence the “like”). They are weird because I thought this was really good, and Ben liked it a lot too. Leftovers weren’t as good because the sauce got a little iffy but still tasty for 2 additional days.

pre-sauce

Posted in chives, corn, parmesan, pasta, peas, tomatoes, vegetarian | Comments Off

Shrimp Tostadas

Posted on July 18, 2013 by erin

Date: July 11, 2013

Recipe: http://www.dinneralovestory.com/tag/quick-shrimp-tostadas/

Modifications: None, but we did fry the corn tortillas for the tostadas.

Time to table: Most prep was the night before, maybe 15 minutes that day.

Servings: 4 adults

Erin: Dislike

Ben: Dislike

Notes: This was a bust. The shrimp mixture was fine (although nothing special or particularly flavorful) but the tortillas fried just did not work well and were super tough so it was really hard to eat. While I like the DALS blog overall, none of the meals we’ve made from there have been winners. Should clearly just stick with my faves! We made the kids quesadillas with the mixture instead and neither ate it very well although I thought their meal was much better than ours. Pass on this one!

Posted in avocado, jalapeno, lime, shrimp, tomatoes | 4 Comments

Chicken and Rice

Posted on June 17, 2013 by erin

Date: June 17, 2013

Recipe: http://www.dinneralovestory.com/chicken-and-rice-for-beginners/

Modifications: Added a red pepper since we had some, and used one large onion. We did also have asparagus (as you can plainly see) but broiled it instead of mixing in as suggested in her commentary. Used chicken thighs.

Time to table: 45 minutes total, 20 minutes prep

Servings: Probably 5 adults

Erin: Like

Ben: Like

Annie: Like

Luke: Like

Notes: This is a good base recipe, easy for weeknights. It wasn’t anything too exciting, but we all liked it and there were no complaints from the kiddos. I always find it difficult to think of things besides burgers, hot dogs, brats, etc for summer meals. Hate to turn on the oven and on some nights even the stove is too much. Pasta salads are always good, but beyond that I draw a bit of a blank. Any suggestions for summer meals (VERY easy) are welcome!

Meal plan this week:

Monday: Chicken & Rice with Asparagus
Tuesday: Tortellini Garden Bake
Wednesday: Disappearing Zucchini Orzo
Thursday: Curry
Friday: Sloppy Joes

Posted in chicken, onion, red pepper, rice | 1 Comment

Coconut Shrimp Cakes with Mango Pineapple Salsa

Posted on June 12, 2013 by erin

Date: June 12, 2013

Recipe: http://www.annies-eats.com/2013/05/30/coconut-shrimp-cakes-with-mango-pineapple-salsa/

Modifications: Forgot to get a red onion, so just put in more red pepper (not the same, I know, but whatever). I didn’t put sriracha in the cakes, and I forgot cilantro in the cakes.

Time to table: One million hours (real time: one hour) – why is it every single meal Annie claims is “quick” takes me SO long? I didn’t mind at all, I’d been home with the kids all afternoon due to Luke’s fever and no one was in a rush so whatever. It was all the chopping that did me in and if I’d made the salsa in advance that would have helped. Couldn’t happen since I basically held Luke for 5 hours straight.

Servings: Probably 5 adults

Erin: Like+

Ben: Like

Annie: Had maybe 3 bites and then said she was full. No drama about it or anything but clearly wasn’t a huge fan.

Notes: These were quite tasty! I loved the coconut flavor and the salsa was great. Only downfall as always with these types of dinners is that I’m starving at 9pm. (even though I also had 2 baguette pieces as well)

Posted in chives, cilantro, coconut, eggs, garlic, jalapeno, lime, mango, pineapple, red pepper, shrimp, spinach | Comments Off

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes, Broccoli and Feta

Posted on May 6, 2013 by erin

Date: May 6, 2013

Recipe: http://www.annies-eats.com/2013/03/20/lets-do-lunch-quinoa-salad-with-roasted-tomatoes-broccoli-and-feta/

Modifications: None

Time to table: 35 minutes (most is inactive roasting time)

Servings: I hope to get 3-4 lunches out of this.

Erin: Like

Notes: I made this last night to bring for lunches this week. Definitely a quick and easy recipe that would be great to whip up on a weeknight. It is surprisingly tasty, I think the roasted veggies and feta give it really good flavor. Especially the juices of the tomato mixed in made it delicious. Really loved it, although I just never stay full with dishes like this and at 2pm am really intensely craving a cheeseburger. Or pizza.

Posted in broccoli, feta, lunch, quinoa, tomatoes | 1 Comment

Beef Stew

Crockpot Italian Beef Sandwiches

Broccoli Cheese Soup

Chicken, Bacon, and Artichoke Pasta with Creamy Garlic Sauce

Chili in Bread Bowls

Veggie Tortellini Salad with Browned Butter

Shrimp Tostadas

Chicken and Rice

Coconut Shrimp Cakes with Mango Pineapple Salsa

Quinoa Salad with Roasted Tomatoes, Broccoli and Feta

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