Week of Dinners #8

These past couple weeks have been really weird for my appetite. I suddenly have zero interest in cooking, grocery shopping, or prepping food. So unlike me! I kind of feel like I did in my first trimester, just with less nausea. Certain foods sound awful, and tend to give me heartburn at night. But then certain textures and flavors (like anything sweet and creamy and carby) sound amazing! I had a milkshake last week at Taylor's and it was AMAZING. Hands down the best thing I ate all week. So all this is to say.....I did cook some dinners last week but I really wasn't feeling it.

Monday: Turkey Burgers, Tater Tots, Berries
I tried a recipe for turkey burgers that my Mom shared with me....and we loved them! Ryan ate an entire burger, and that really says something. It was simply 1 pound of ground turkey, 1 Tbsp Worcestershire, 2 Tbsp ketchup, 1/2 tsp salt, and a little pepper. I cooked the burgers in a pan on the stove in a little avocado oil, and ended up with 4 burgers. They were so tasty!

I served them on these torta sandwich rolls we got at Costco. I usually buy whole wheat hamburger buns from Trader Joe's, but I hadn't been there recently. So I got these rolls as a "treat" and we all loved them.

On the side we had Trader Joe's tater tots (also a treat for us) and a plate of strawberries, blueberries, and raspberries.

 Lucas likes strawberries, Ryan likes raspberries, and Jenna kind of likes all 3 berries.

Tuesday: Calzones, Salad

On Tuesday I finally got my act together and made a few freezer meals for when baby is here. I made my recipe for Turkey and Quinoa Stuffed Peppers. Then I made this new recipe for Beefy Baked Ravioli. And finally I made a huge batch of pizza dough and assembled 6 cheese pizzas to stick in the freezer. At the end of the days I was exhausted. Ugh I hate having no energy! I used a super easy recipe for the sauce. It just contains a couple canned tomato products and spices. Let me know if you want the recipe!

I decided to keep dinner simple and use some of the leftover pizza dough to make calzones. I filled them with my homemade sauce, mozzarella, romano, and some uncured salami. I couldn't find any nitrite-free pepperoni at the store, so the salami was a good substitute. On the side we had simple salads of romaine, cucumbers and croutons.

 

Wednesday: Thai Basil Chicken Stir-Fry

In my recipe book I keep a stack of recipes that I want to try. This had been in there for a while, so I finally decided to make it. It was really good! It contained chicken breast, bell peppers, jalapeno, basil, onions, and a thai sauce. I only wish I had added more basil. I served mine over brown rice and made white rice for the boys (and Adam).

That night I decided to try this new all natural Jello. Can you believe I have never made Jello in my life? My mom gave us this because it contains no artificial coloring or flavorings. I made it according to the package directions but it never set up! The boys were disappointed, so I'll have to look for it at the store and try it again.

Thursday: Breakfast
I had plans to make a meat and mashed potato pie, kind of like a shepherd's pie. But I just didn't have the motivation to make it. So I decided breakfast would be an easy dinner. We had bacon baked in the oven:

And a huge batch of homemade whole wheat waffles! Honestly the waffles took forever because I doubled this recipe and it made a ton. But it was worth it because all 3 kids have been eating them for breakfast this past week.

 We also had more berries and scrambled eggs.

 Friday: Out
Adam's Aunt was in town and she treated us to dinner! I was thankful for the night off from cooking.

Saturday: Spaghetti
I wasn't feeling that great on Saturday. Just really worn out and really pregnant. I told Adam he was in charge of dinner, which I realize is kind of like telling me I'm in charge of building an engine. But Adam complied and made a big plate of spaghetti. So many yummy carbs! He topped the meat sauce with some spices and two kinds of cheese, and even made garlic bread on the side. Thank you Adam!

Sunday: Cereal?
Once again, I just wasn't feeling up to cooking. The end of this pregnancy is so strange! I think the kids ate chicken nuggets and cereal, and I think I ate cereal. It's tough when you aren't feeling well but you still have a family to feed.

Monday: Chicken Fajitas, Spanish Rice
I wanted to start this week off on the right foot. So I made a batch of chicken fajitas, using this recipe. This is my favorite recipe for easy fajitas.

I served mine on our last corn tortilla and topped with cheese and 4-ingredient guacamole. I went back for seconds of the chicken mixture, and ate it on top of some lettuce.

On the side we tried this new Spanish Rice we found at Costco. I thought it sounded really good, and I've liked other rice mixtures by this brand. Unfortunately I thought this was pretty bland. Next time I make it I'll add in some salsa and beans.

 

And there you go, another week of our dinners. I have no idea what I'm making this upcoming week, but I know it needs to be easy. What do you make when you aren't motivated to cook? (And your family is really picky).