Great meals for the family and the wallet

When I cook I sometimes get stuck in a rut.  My husband is a creature of habit and would happily eat the same three meals over and over again.  I am completely the opposite and even though I find comfort in the regular fair, I like to change it up and find new and tasty meals for the family.

I have recently stumbled across a few meals that are not only huge crowd pleasers but easy on the wallet.

 

Braided Spaghetti Bread 

Braided Spaghetti Bread

Do not be intimidated by its title or picture! This meal is super easy to make and when you post your photo on Facebook about what is for dinner, everyone will be impressed with your skills.  Plus, you probably have all the ingredients on hand.

Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken

Broccoli and Cheese Stuffed Chicken

This is an unbelievably delicious meal that is actually low in fat and calories. My kids inhaled this and were asking for seconds.  The only ingredient that you may not have on hand are Panko crumbs.  They are not expensive and you can pick them up at almost every grocery store and they are a useful thing to always have on hand.

French Dip in a Crock Pot

(I forgot to take a picture)  This meal was a huge hit with my family.  The only thing I would change is the amount of soy sauce.  A friend replaced half of the soy sauce with a beef broth and still had great results!  One of the best features of this meal is CROCK POT.  Put the roast in and walk away.

There are three easy and fairly inexpensive meals that you can add to your meal rotation.  I found all of these on Pinterest and if you need any more ideas or want to share jump on and start following me!

Cooking with real pumpkin

How to make fresh Pumpkin Puree

During colder months one of the main activities that people participate in is baking.  Baking anything and everything.  If it isn’t nailed down it typically ends up in a brownie mix and you like it, odd how that works isn’t it.

One main ingredient that I have being using A LOT of this season is pumpkin.  I am using pumpkin puree for dinner, desert, and occasionally breakfast.  As I was making dinner last night, with pumpkin puree, I took note of the fact that I only ever use fresh puree and I decided to tell you why.

Whether you want to read it or not.

Fresh Pumpkin puree is probably one of the easiest fresh ingredient to incorporate into your cooking.  The flavor is not overwhelming and it is crammed with vitamins. Vitamin A, C, K, E, Z,G, Magnesium, Potassium,  Fiber (I added some of my own vitamins letters to shake it up)

You can eat healthy without noticing. This is a big win for me.  I enjoy feeling like I am getting away with something.

Would you like to know how?

Get a pie pumpkin and slice it in two. Lay it meat side down and bake it at 350 for an hour to an hour and a half. When it is done, scoop it out and throw it into a food processor until it is smooth.

Voila – Fresh Pumpkin puree that is not canned from a factory.  If you want to save it then put it in a storage container and place in the freezer.

Super simple and you can feel like you are getting away with something just like me.

Breathing Dinner

I do not enjoy cooking.

I know that I have said this before but the fact remains the same. I hate cooking.  And it’s horrible truth because it conflicts directly with my love to eat. I  sit for hours reading Paula Deen, the Pioneer Woman, and countless blogs that have mastered the art of making good food.  I have romantic visions of myself sitting on a patio I don’t own, drinking wine with friends that I don’t have and laughing at lifes’ complexides while plates of delicious food sit before us.  Plates filled with food that I just whipped up in my spare time.

My vision is really a catalog add for Pottery Barn mixed with Bobby Flay.

Occasionally I feel the urge to cook and as long as I have most of the ingredients readily available, there is no holding me back.  The pots and pans are pulled out, the oven is preheated to the magic 350 and I am determined to make a dinner that all will enjoy.  A recipe that I can turn around post about here on my blog.

I finally gave in to these cooking urges even though my cooking common sense told me not to.  I looked up a Paula Deen recipe that was sure to please and feed the masses.

The cooking went well and my dish came out perfectly.  It was worth warming up my house in the August heat. I proudly distributed dinner to my children and we all sat down to enjoy a family meal together…..  Now, I am not sure how many of you have read Calvin and Hobbes but my children must have found mine and took notes from Calvin’s dinner time etiquette.  Just seconds after their first bite the fake vomiting noises and suddenly they both asked if it was breathing.

Bobby Flay needs to be my personal chef to avoid faces like these

Cute kid huh?.

See that plate.

He still ate it even if it was breathing.

The day of chocolate

There are days when I massively crave chocolate.  Sometimes the craving is so extreme that my husband has been known to run to the store to get me a sweet treat.  Today was a chocolate day and the husband was no where to be seen and I had to impervise.

I made homemade chocolate covered pretzels.
Homemade Chocolate Covered Pretzels
These are quite possibly the easiest treat to make.  I purchased my first Chocolate Almond Bark a few weeks ago and put it to use today.  (It took me months to get over the fact that Almond Bark does not taste of Almonds)  The recipe is really simple.  Melt the Almond Bark in the microwave for 90 seconds, dip your pretzels in and then place them on wax paper.  Done.  Seriously, that’s it.

If you notice, I did go a little crazy. I melted some white chocolate chips and drizzled it on top.  They are now gourmet chocolate covered pretzels.

Here is another chocolate treat that I posted some time ago but it didn’t get the attention it truly deserved.

Enjoy!
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