Week of Dinners #2

Here is another week's worth of dinners from our house. Please note these meals were before Jenna broke out in hives, so I had a little more time to devote to cooking. Let's just say our meals this week with 2 sick kids have not been picture-worthy! (Frozen pizza and waffles anyone?)

MONDAY: Wild Rice Pancakes, Bacon, Breakfast Potatoes, Fruit

Breakfast for dinner! I decided to try a recipe from my Pioneer Woman cookbook for wild rice pancakes. I know it sounds strange, and I was honestly afraid of what my family would say. But everyone loved them! (Except Lucas, who doesn't like pancakes). I also made some bacon in the oven, fresh berries, and breakfast potatoes from my 100 Days of Real Food cookbook. Everything turned out delicious!

TUESDAY: Turkey and Broccoli Pasta, Root beer Floats

This was one of those nights where I was trying to use up some random ingredients. I had half a box each of shells and elbow pasta. I would have preferred using whole wheat pasta, but I needed to use what I had on hand. I searched for pasta recipes that included ground turkey and broccoli, but nothing sounded great. This ended up being kind of bland, as I expected. It was a little dry and maybe needed a sauce. I added red pepper flakes, garlic and parmesan, which helped a little. After dinner Adam made a couple of root beer floats, and Ryan tried one for the first time. He was a fan!

WEDNESDAY: Smoky White Bean Chicken Chili, Quesadillas, Fruit

I used this recipe to make a huge batch of soup/chili back in June. This was our last batch that was waiting in the freezer and it was just as good two months later. The flavor is very smoky from the bacon. Adam always thinks it's strange to eat a hot meal like this in the summer, but I don't mind as long as I don't have to get hot cooking it. On the side I made some quick cheese quesadillas and served it with fresh fruit.

THURSDAY: Salmon with Brussel Sprouts, White Rice

This meal was based on a recipe from my Sheet Pan Suppers cookbook. It called for asparagus but I subbed in brussels sprouts since that's what I had. They ended up being a little undercooked, which I predicted, but I still ate them. On the sheet I put salmon, brussesls sprouts, red onion, lemon slices, tomatoes, whole garlic cloves, and salt and pepper. The result was very flavorful! I served it with white rice.

Since I only had 2 salmon fillets, I also cooked these fish nuggets for the kids. Ryan ate almost an entire piece of salmon, so it's a good thing I made these!

FRIDAY: Pizza delivery

Sometimes even I need a night off from cooking! My chicken and veggie pizza was great.

SATURDAY: Cube Steak, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli

Yum, comfort food! My Mom used to make cube steak when I was little, so this is a childhood comfort meal for me. I lightly coated the steaks with flour, salt and pepper, and then pan-fried them. I made homemade mashed potatoes on the side using Yukon gold potatoes. Plus some good old steamed broccoli.

SUNDAY: Roasted Chicken, Crescent Rolls, Quinoa/Brown Rice, Salad

I usually go the lazy route and cook a whole chicken in the crockpot, but this time I decided to roast it.  I think the caramelized veggies on the bottom were my favorite part.

I found these crescent rolls by Annie's and decided to try them since they had all natural ingredients. Can you believe I've never made crescent rolls from a tube like this?

I also microwaved this package of quinoa and brown rice from Costco.

And finally, I put together a simple salad of mixed green and shaved parmesan, with a quick homemade dressing.

I may make this type of post a more regular occurrence. As most of you know I love talking about food and sharing what we've been eating. I also love hearing new ideas from you, so please share what you've been cooking!