Another edition of What's For Dinner in the Nullmeyer house! My hope is that this will give you a little dinner inspiration for your own family. Because like it or not, they want to be fed every single night!
This right here sums up life in our house.
One quick note: Since reading Eat To Live and doing some research, I have been trying to eat a more plant-based diet. The problem is, Ryan and Lucas will NOT eat any vegetarian meals that are remotely healthy. They don't like any beans, nuts, eggs, lentils, tofu, vegetables, etc. So I was finding that whenever I cooked a vegetarian meal, they would just eat a bunch of carbs or skip dinner and then eat 5 bowls of cereal before bed. So I'm trying to find a happy balance between meat-based meals and lighter options. This week we ate a lot of meat. If you want to see some lighter meals, let me know and I can record what we eat next week to kind of get back on track.
Friday: Taco Black Bean Soup
This was just a simple leftover dinner. I had made some black bean soup that contained ground pork, black beans, corn, tomatoes, and a variety of spices, So I finished it off with a little sour cream, and a quick corn quesadilla on the side. I also had some of this yummy guacamole from Trader Joe's that is made with Greek Yogurt.
Saturday: Chicken Cacciatore, Caesar Salad
I was so glad that I put chicken cacciatore in the crockpot Saturday morning. Both boys had soccer games, and then we went out and bought a refrigerator and then shopped at Costco. Coming home to dinner was perfect. In the crockpot I put chicken thighs, bell peppers, onions, diced tomatoes, tomato paste, basil, oregano....and maybe a few other ingredients. All I had to do was cook some pasta (Wacky Mac). On the side we had a bagged Caesar salad from Costco.
Sunday: Shrimpin' Dippin' Broth, Rice, Green Beans
Oooh this shrimp is so yummy. It's a copycat recipe I got many years ago of a dish they used to make at Bubba Gump's. The broth is made from butter, Worcestershire, Cajun seasoning, broth, and lemon juice. The shrimp cook up really quickly and I always serve them over rice with green beans on the side.
Monday: Pinto Beans, Cornbread, Salad
This was our 1 vegetarian meal of the week....except I may have cooked some ground beef for the kids. Oh my goodness, these beans were SO good. I got this recipe from a Mops Mom back in Newark probably 7 years ago and for some reason never made it. Until now. Adam and I couldn't stop raving about them, and Jenna ate 3 bowls of them! They are very simple but full of good flavor. Here is the basic recipe: To a crockpot add 1 pound dried pinto beans (no need to presoak), 1/2 tsp cumin, 1 TBSP salt, 1 tsp pepper, 1 TBSP olive oil, 3 TBSP dried minced onion. Fill with water to within 2 inches of the top of the crockpot. Cook on low for 8 hours. I served the beans with cornbread (topped with honey and butter...the best way to eat cornbread in my opinion), and a big salad.
Tuesday: Kalua Pork, Mashed Potatoes, Broccoli/Cauliflower
Kalua pork is so simple but so delicious! It's just pork roast, Pink Sea Salt, and Liquid Smoke. It cooks in the crockpot all day, and in Jenna's opinion, makes the house smell like hot dogs. I made homemade mashed potatoes and steamed veggies with it.
Wednesday: Spaghetti Pie, Salad
This spaghetti pie was another really old Mops recipe. This one turned out OK, but wasn't our favorite. It was basically a layer of cooked whole wheat spaghetti on the bottom of the pie pan, mixed with 1 egg and some parmesan. The next layer was cottage cheese, and finally it was topped with a ground turkey/tomato sauce mixture. Heated through with some mozzarella on the top. Not bad, just not terrific. On the side I had another salad. (Can you tell we bought a giant tub of salad greens from Costco?)
Thursday: Cuban Sandwiches, Tater Tots, Watermelon
We had some leftover Kalua Pork, so I turned it in to Cuban Sandwiches! I had one once and loved it, so I attempted to recreate it. Mine wasn't authentic though, because we do not like ham. Instead, inside my roll I used havarti cheese, kalua pork, dijon mustard, red onions, and pickles. Something about the pickles made it taste like a tuna sandwich! Haha, not exactly what I was going for. I made tater tots for the kids (and stole a few), and cut up some watermelon. We are having a heat wave right now, so this dinner was perfect. Oh, and these are the best pickles ever. I'll never go back to jarred pickles.
In retrospect, beef stew may not have been the ideal meal for a 95 degree day. But I was bringing dinner to a friend tonight, and wanted to make something easy to double in my crockpot. On the side I made
homemade biscuits as well as strawberries and fresh whipped cream. We are enjoying this right now as we pick out a movie for family movie night!
What did you make for dinner recently?
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