I'm
a foodie. I love to cook, I adore baking, and eating is one
of my favorite past-times. The Food Network is one of my favorite TV
channels to watch and I have an addiction to “Cupcake Wars”. I
just can't help it. Food is yummy, tasty, fun to eat with friends,
fun to make with kids (most of the time...OK, sometimes) and
an important part of family bonding.
There
is something that I have learned, though. After my brain first
caught a glimmer of this truth, I panicked. I ignored it. I did not
want to accept this truth! You see, I love being in the kitchen. It
is one of my deepest burning desires in life to someday open a
bakery. I enjoy new recipes. Grocery shopping? Not so much. But
everything else surrounding food? YES! The truth I was avoiding was
that dinner must be simple. With four children ages 7 years down to
10 months I simply don't have two hours every afternoon to experiment
and prepare exciting new recipes. Besides that, with four children
ages 7 years down to 10 months I don't have the money to prepare new
exciting recipes! We just can't afford swordfish or tuna steaks
(seriously? tuna comes in steak form? I thought it only came in a
can!). Speaking of steaks, I don't remember the last time we bought
steaks. You know the big juicy kind to throw on a charcoal grill?
Mmmm, my mouth is watering just thinking about it! Yeah, those...we
don't buy 'em!
Instead
I've adopted a very simple system that is pasted on the side of the
fridge. It goes like this. Monday = meatless; Tuesday = chicken;
Wednesday = pasta; Thursday = beef; Friday = soup or casserole;
Saturday = crockpot; Sunday = leftovers. I don't meal plan; I don't
have time! If we're hankering for something special I'll buy
ingredients for it, but otherwise I buy pantry essentials, meat that
is on sale, and we go off the weekly chart. Meals are simple (my
kids don't love asparagus, steak with au pauvre sauce or chicken in
white wine sauce anyway). We're sticking pretty much to kid-friendly
basics like tuna noodle casserole, spaghetti and meatloaf in this
household. Do you know what I've discovered? Kid-friendly, simple
and inexpensive meals all go hand-in-hand. Less adventurous? Yes.
Less fun? Maybe. Easier, quicker and less stressful? Totally. And
those requirements are pretty high up on the priority list lately.
What
are your favorite frugal, kid-friendly meals? Leave recipes, if you can. We'll all benefit!
I make a dutch puff at least once a week.
ReplyDelete2 cups of milk
8 eggs
2 cups flour
1 stick butter.
Spray a 9 x 13 inch pan with non-stick spray. Put your stick of butter in the pan and put it into your oven (set at 400 degrees) to melt. Put your other ingredients in a blender. Blend for a minute. Pour into your pan once the butter is melted and bake for 20 minutes. It will be super puffy and begin to collapse when you take it out of the oven. You can serve this with pancake syrup or jam or fruit... whatever. Sometimes we have this for dessert with apple pie filling and real maple syrup or my home canned chocolate raspberry sauce. It's super easy and everyone in our family loves it!
Pioneer woman has some awesome recipes! Very basic pasta sauces that are delicious! I make her Mac and Cheese a lot too. And some of her meat and potatoe dishes are simple in terms of ingredients, and to die for because she loves butter so much ;-)
ReplyDeleteI used to blog...kind of anonymously...I miss it it's fun! :-) one of these days I'll keep up with it again...
Rashelle
Thanks for the ideas! Aunt Cherie, I'm trying yours this morning. But now I need your chocolate raspberry sauce!!! Thanks Rashelle. I do love the Pioneer Woman. I'll need to look at her recipes more!
ReplyDelete