Maybe it’s the fact that I am a little less than three weeks away from my due date…Maybe it’s the cold, rainy, blustery weather….Maybe I just like simple, easy to prepare, comfort food! Whatever the reason, I have a week’s worth of easy and tasty meals for you.
Monday: Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole I may have posted this one before (but my memory is failing me these days..) However, this is a quick and easy dish that my whole family loves. You can play with the recipe a bit as well, changing up the soup and veggie combination to suit your family’s tastes. It’s not fancy, and I usually up the seasoning (as most recipes on campbells.com tend to be bland), but it’s a crowd-pleaser, especially with young kids. (And, it is a one pot meal! Bonus!)
Tuesday: Clam Chowder in a bread bowl : Pretend you are away at the coast and are eating at Mo’s! Safeway sells the bread bowls in their bakery for around $3 (package of 2). You will need to scoop out the middle of the bread (and save it to make homemade bread crumbs!). Fill it up with your favorite brand of canned clam chowder (because really, what mother of young children has time to make clam chowder from scratch?!) I like Campbell’s Thick and Chunky Clam Chowder (which actually used to be served at The Chart House in Vancouver with just a few more potatoes added..)
Wednesday: Ravioli and Garlic Bread- I have made from scratch ravioli…Honestly, I thought the frozen stuff was almost as good, and SO much easier to do. Pretending I get to eat mushrooms, I like the frozen mushroom ravioli, topped with a marinara jazzed up with some sliced mushrooms and cooked Italian sausage. Broil up some good garlic bread to sop up the rich sauce.
Thursday: Taco Soup – I can’t get away with making soup very often in my house ,but generally, my husband will eat this one without much complaint. =) There are a TON of recipes for this out there, but here is mine:
1 1lb hamburger (drain and brown and mix with 1/2 pkg. taco seasoning mix). Add 1 28 oz can tomatoes (run through blender for a second or two to dice up). Add 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can undrained kidney beans, and the rest of the taco seasoning. (That is the BASIC bare bones recipe, and it is great..However, you can also add..1 can of corn, 1-2 cans of diced green chiles, 1 can of black beans.) Heat through and top with tortilla chips, sour cream, cheese, onions, etc.
Friday: Crispy Dijon Chicken (serve with rice or pasta and a veggie)
Saturday: Pancakes and Bacon (Who says dinner has to be fussy?!)
Sunday: Meatloaf and Mashed Potatoes – One day when I get enough followers, I will post my two AMAZING meatloaf recipes..For now however, this one is quite good, and is one I used to make all the time before discovering the other two. =) It is quick, easy, and has a lot of flavor. Be sure to jazz up your potatoes too! (I could do a whole post on how to do that..I think I will one of these days!)
Happy meal planning!
