I know I have lots and lots of friends that would love to cook good meals for their families every night, but tend to find excuses around every corner...unsure of what to make, don't have the ingredients, no time, etc. etc. I know this, because I have fallen into the trap too. I've decided to create this blog as a way to help those people! I am, by nature, a planner. I plan things that don't even need plans. Now, this week will just be used as a warm up week, but I'm hoping to (soon) post the ingredients needed the week before so whoever wants to join my cooking journey can do so!
This week we all started back our full-time routines. Little bit at preschool, the hubs at work and school on Monday nights, and me working all day and attempting to keep the house in order at night. So here's how the meals went (and mind you, with a little pre-planning, these meals are thrown together in about 30 minutes)...also, I should point out, that these are simple, usually what we keep in the cabinet, supplies; so sometimes the meals reflect that.
MONDAY - Monday's are hard to cook since there are only 2 of us there. My first instinct is always pop in a pizza, or grab some fast food. Nope, not this year! We had BBQ kielbasa, potato salad, and corn on the cob.
Ingredients needed: 1 or 2 kielbasa, bbq sauce, aluminum foil, 2 potatoes, mayo, mustard, relish, 3 eggs, corn on the cob
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Line a shallow baking dish with aluminum foil. Slice sausage to your liking (I usually make 3-4 inch pieces) and then cover with BBQ sauce to your liking. Throw in the oven and allow to cook about 30 minutes. Next, peel and quarter your potatoes and place in a 2 quart pot of water. Allow to boil for about 10-15 minutes (depending on how well you like your potatoes cooked). Boil eggs at the same time (I did this the night before as I usually boil about 6 eggs on Sunday to use in meals during the week and/or for breakfast). Also, grab another pot, fill with water and drop in your corn. Follow directions on boiling :). After the potatoes are done, drain, and put in a bowl to finish the potato salad. I usually had about 1/2 C. mayo and 1/2 C. mustard, 2 Tbs. relish, lots of salt and pepper, and chop up your egg. Mix, but don't mix so much your potatoes are mush. About this time, everything else should be finished, so set the table, and enjoy!
TUESDAY - Hamburger Steaks w/gravy, mashed potatoes, Red Lobster cheddar biscuits made at home, green beans, and corn
Ingredients needed: 1 lb. hamburger meat, 1 brown gravy packet, jar of mushrooms (optional), 2 potatoes, milk, Red Lobster biscuit mix, cheddar cheese, butter, canned green beans, beef bouillon cubes, frozen corn
First thing, open your green beans and pour in a sauce pan. Add 2 bouillon cubes. I also added bacon drippings from that morning for extra flavor. That is certainly optional, but can make them yummy! You can also add ham chunks for yumminess! Turn on medium and let em go. I like to cook mine until all the water is gone and then add just a hair more, but that's up to you...just don't let them burn! If you hear sizzling, they're probably burning. Next, pull out a large frying pan. Divide your hamburger meat into 4 pieces, roll them into balls, and then flatten them into patties. Drop in your frying pan on medium. Cover with salt, pepper, and (optional) onion salt. I usually cook mine until I'm starting to see a little brown around the edges. Flip them with a spatula, and then press down on them to keep them from shrinking. If you're patient, you can let them cook until done on this side and they should be OK...I'm not patient, so I leave them about 5 minutes and then I flip, flip, flip every time I think about it to make sure they're cooking evenly. Peel and dice potatoes while waiting on first flip of hamburger patties. Cover in sauce pan with cold water and allow to boil. I usually let mine boil at least 15-20 minutes. They really just need to be able to have a fork easily pierce them. While all the items are boiling on the stove, go ahead and follow directions on biscuit mix package and pop those babies in the oven. Drop some frozen corn in a glass bowl with a little bit of margarine, pinch of sugar, salt and pepper to taste, and barely cover with water. Stick that in the microwave to heat (follow directions). Finally, get started on the gravy. Just follow the packets directions. While gravy simmers, remove patties from pan onto paper towel to dab extra grease and put in a shallow dish. Pull out corn and biscuits once done. Take potatoes and put in a mixing bowl. Add about 3/4 C. milk (add more or less depending on the consistency you want your mashed potatoes), add Tbsp. margarine, lots of salt and pepper and cream with hand mixer. About this time, gravy should be finished too. Pour it over the patties. If you choose to use mushrooms, drain and place in microwave safe bowl. Warm for about 30 seconds and drop on top of patties. Meal should be ready and on the table to eat now!
WEDNESDAY - Spaghetti, salad, toast
Ingredients needed: 1 lb. hamburger meat, 2 cans tomato sauce, Italian seasoning, minced garlic (I used jarred), onion salt or powder, a box of spaghetti noodles, hamburger buns, margarine, cheddar cheese and garlic powder
Put meat in a skillet with about a tablespoon of garlic (and chopped onion if you like!), allow to brown completely, then drain off the fat. Add tomato sauce, and Italian seasoning. I usually eyeball the seasoning, and basically cover the entire skillet with a thin layer of seasoning, onion salt, and a dash of garlic salt. Allow to simmer about 30 minutes while stirring occasionally. After 30 minutes, I start to boil my water for spaghetti noodles and place them in when it is time (follow box directions for prep choices). I continue to let my sauce cook on low. Get the salad in a bowl (bagged works well here, although I usually just buy a head and make my own), and turn the oven on for toast. If you prefer frozen texas toast type things, go ahead! I didn't have any, and I had some hamburger buns (hotdog buns work well too!) that I didn't want to go to waste. Basically, open them up and spread a good layer of butter/margarine on them. Then sprinkle a tiny bit of garlic powder and as much cheddar cheese as you can handle :). Pop them in the oven on 350 until cheese is melted (usually the amount of time it takes to remove my noodles from the stove and drain). My family is picky, so I don't mix together my sauce and noodles, but you do what your family prefers! If you don't mix them together, then add a Tbsp. of butter to the noodles to keep them from sticking.
THURSDAY - I didn't feel like cooking (SURPRISE!) so we ordered out Chinese...WIN!!!
FRIDAY - (I had to make up for Thursday...) Pot roast, gravy, rice, broccoli with cheese
Ingredients needed: 1 eye of round roast, roast seasoning packet, brown gravy packet, Mr. Ben's rice, frozen broccoli, Velveeta cheese
Pull out that crockpot for a super simple meal! Drop in the roast in the morning (don't worry, it can still be frozen) and sprinkle the seasoning packet on top. I add about 8 oz. of water, but you can follow the packet's instructions. Plug it in, turn it on low, and let it cook all day! That evening, boil your water for rice, toss the broccoli in the microwave, and get ready to make your gravy! I follow the directions on the gravy packet, except I always pull my "water" from the crockpot where the roast has been cooking. That gives it a little more flavor, but is totally optional! After the rice has boiled, the broccoli is cooked and the gravy is finished, pull out the roast and chop, shred, or slice. I like a little cheese on my broccoli, so I cut up some velveeta (amount will depend on how much you want to make AND how much broccoli you make) and add a small amount of milk to it. Microwave on 30 second intervals, removing and stirring in between, until melted. If it is too runny, add more cheese; too thick, add more milk. Pour on top of broccoli. Make a rice bed on the plates, cover with roast and gravy, and add the broccoli.
Now, that's a weeks worth of meals that are all fairly simple! After practice, these meals should be ready in about 30-45 minutes! Enjoy!
OH, I also need to add that most of the meals I make I have found the recipe elsewhere. If they are long-time favorites, then I may or may not have the original source, but I want to do all that I can to give credit where credit is due!!
