FAMILY MEALS: 20

Back in the kitchen and cooking feels good. Meals were simple this week, but still good. One evening, we had dumplings that we had frozen back when we had this party...

Despite how fancy or difficult you think they are to make, they are so easy! I plan on making and freezing another batch soon.

Another evening was for a super easy Turkey Tacos...

This is one of my go-to dishes when I don't have time to plan much out. We're still putting our house back together and Glow was sick for part of the week, so simple and quick was the way to go. 

Week of 6/18 - 6/22

Monday: Spaghetti & Meatballs

Tuesday: Pizza

Wednesday: A healthified version of Panda Express Orange Chicken

Thursday: Spicy Salmon and Brown Rice

Friday: Sushi Night! 

Anyone have any good summer recipe suggestions?

FAMILY MEALS: 19

Oh man. I am learning with any type of home fixing up, stress levels are high and homemade meals are really non-existent. Though, I did get one cooked night in and I decided to go with Patty Melts...

Patty Melts are something I remember my mom making for us often when we were kids and I wanted something kind of nostalgic to make for my girls during this busy time. I am definitely a fan of these types of sandwiches and I loved it paired with some carrot fries. Yum. Yum.

Here's how to make my type of Patty Melts...

Ingredients

- rye read

- 1 onion diced

- 1 lb. lean ground turkey

- Kraft Singles American Cheese

-unsalted butter

Directions

Dice the onions and with a fork mix it into the lean ground turkey. Form oval shape patties and season both sides of the patty with salt and pepper. Cook patties on a skillet until cooked all the way through. 

Meanwhile, butter the outside parts of the bread. On one slice of bread, top with 2 slices of cheese, a patty, and another slice of bread on top. I had a panini maker handy, so I just used that to finish the sandwich off. This made about 6 servings for us, but will differ a bit depending how much meat you put in your patties.

The rye bread gives the nice little kick and mixed in with a slice (or 2 because I like things cheesy) of Kraft Singles... I love it! So do my girls, which is most important. I miss my mom making these for me, but I am glad I can make them for my girls now. Hopefully next week things will calm down a bit and our kitchen can begin operation again and I can be cooking more than once a week. I really miss my kitchen!

Week of 5/28 - 6/1

Monday: Burgers (it's memorial day over here!)

Tuesday: Pizza

Wednesday: Dumplings

Thursday: Spaghetti & Meatballs

Friday: Sushi Night! 

I'm crossing my fingers that I will be back in my kitchen next week. 

|week 18|week 17|week 16|week 15|week 14|week 13|week 12|week 11|week 10|week 9|week 8|week 7|week 6|week 5|week 4|week 3|week 2| week 1|

*As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a coupon for a free Kraft Singles and a stipend.

FAMILY MEALS: 18

The only dinner I semi-prepared were bean and cheese tostadas...

The girls had theirs topped with a blob of avocado and I had mine with chipotles mixed in. It was good, but oh man, I'm tired of eating out and tired of bean and cheese tostadas. I want to get back in my kitchen and cook. Don't get me wrong, I am excited to be changing out floors and doing some house renovating, but being behind schedule two weeks isn't fun at all and is more challenging when kids are involved. It looks like it will be another week and half until things get back to normal around here. That's being optimistic though and realistically it will be two weeks until things settle down. 

Week 5/21 - 5/25

Monday: Dawn's Scampi

Tuesday: Sliders (gotta find a recipe)

Wednesday: Spaghetti & Meatballs

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Pizza

I can't believe it is pretty much nearing the end of May. Our kitchen hasn't been feeling very much love this month. Let's hope we can make up for it in June!

|week 17|week 16|week 15|week 14|week 13|week 12|week 11|week 10|week 9|week 8|week 7|week 6|week 5|week 4|week 3|week 2| week 1|

FAMILY MEALS: WEEK SEVENTEEN

Yup. Like I thought, not much cooking this week. We are still basically living upstairs and can't really use our kitchen much, so cooking is pretty much nada. 

Ben did make some black bean burgers, but even that was using some frozen patties he bought from the market...

In a pinch, they worked. We were out of buns, so good 'ole whole wheat bread had to do, and we added some avocados and chipotles and we called it a dinner. With a side of broccoli. Balance is good. It was yummy, we were fed, and that's as fancy as we get this week.

Now throw in some panda express, frozen pizzas, and maybe sunflower butter sandwiches and those are what our other nights comprised of. We have about a week left of living like this (there have been some hold ups), but we are getting antsy over here and can't wait to get this home back in working order. Plus, this mama is ready to decorate!  Next week, will be another quick and easy dinner week for us, but I will put a meal plan here from one of our favorite weeks just in case some of you need ideas. 

Week 5/14 - 5/18

Monday: Dawn's Scampi

Tuesday: Oven Fried Chicken

Wednesday: Spaghetti & Meatballs

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Pizza

When you can't cook in your kitchen, what's a quick and easy thing you put together?

|week 16|week 15|week 14|week 13|week 12|week 11|week 10|week 9|week 8|week 7|week 6|week 5|week 4|week 3|week 2| week 1|

FAMILY MEALS: WEEK SIXTEEN

One home cooked meal this week and that's because we are pretty much quarantined upstairs. All the carpet is gone downstairs and it is quite dusty, so the kitchen is only in use for quick things.

I did get to make some baked salmon...

I merged this recipe with the olive tapenade in this post and this is what came up. It was good, but I don't think it fit our taste palate. We like salmon with spice and though the flavors were good, they were just too mild for us. It did give me a chance to try baking salmon in foil, but for me this came out dryer than when we grill it. I prefer salmon grilled. 

For veggies we had roasted brussels sprouts...

Ben made it with a little bit of lemon juice, zest, garlic, salt, and pepper. This combo always wins with us. Here's a recipe you might want to try. Brussels sprouts are really good! Really!!!

I have a feeling there won't be much cooking again next week, but I will still plan, just in case. 

Week 4/7 - 4/11

Monday: Seafood Medley Pasta

Tuesday: Spaghetti and Meatballs

Wednesday: Oven Baked Taquitos

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Pizza

What's your family's favorite vegetable?

|week 15|week 14|week 13|week 12|week 11|week 10|week 9|week 8|week 7|week 6|week 5|week 4|week 3|week 2| week 1|

FAMILY MEALS: WEEK FOURTEEN

This week there weren't too many new things being made. Ben and I are busy de-cluttering our respective spaces, him the garage and me various parts of the house, so new meals have been last on our list. 

Monday we did have more Dumplings, since we had tons leftover from our dinner party...

Tuesday we made Shrimp and Oven Baked Sopes...

This recipe for the sopes was so delicious. The masa came out so good and we had the whole family involved in the process. It was Soul's first time in the kitchen and I am sure it won't be her last. The only thing we might change from the sopes recipe next time is to use less oil. Other than, easy and delicious, which make good combos in this house. We topped ours with queso fresco, shrimp sauteed in chili oil, avocado and cilantro. I want more just thinking about it!

Wednesday, Ben and I went on a date and Thursday we had Trader Joe's frozen pizza because Ben and I were in the zone cleaning that we just needed something quick to throw in.

Week 4/23 - 4/27

Monday: Thai Chicken with Hot-Sour-Salty-Sweet Sauce

Tuesday: Leftovers

Wednesday: Spicy Tofu and Brown Rice

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Pizza

Next week will be another light week on home cooking because it's True's birthday and we still haven't quite figured out what we are doing, but I am guessing we may not be cooking at home. We love cooking with our kids, what are some of your favorite recipes that are cooking-with-kids friendly?

|week 13|week 12|week 11|week 10|week 9|week 8|week 7|week 6|week 5|week 4|week 3|week 2| week 1|

A DUMPLING DINNER PARTY

We had some friends (BFF and her husband, and Taylor, but we call him Sexytay, and his wife) over Sunday night and I decided to turn our dinner into a dumpling party. I used these recipes: Gyoza, Shrimp & Chive Dumplings, and Steamed Dumplings. The BFF and her other half were here to help with the wrapping and let me boss them around a bit in the kitchen, while we let Sexytay and his wife entertain the kids (thanks guys!).

After our first attempt at making dumplings, I am convinced it is much better to make them than buy. Ours didn't come out as pretty and we didn't get too fancy with the wrapping style, but the flavors in all the recipes came out fantastic and it really is quite simple to make. Of course, I didn't make the wrap from scratch, which did help a bit, but maybe I will be adventurous next time to try those too. We already ate another bunch on Monday night for dinner and I froze a bunch more and those are ready for when we get that next dumpling itch.

We have an Asian Market not too far from us that we go to often for groceries, though looking at the recipes you should be able to find most of them at your regular market. Also, if you want to figure out a good substitute for an ingredient you are missing, go to Food Subs. I love that site. For example, I didn't want to buy shaoxing wine (don't know what that is either), but Food Subs told me that dry sherry was a substitute and I already had that. That site becomes your best friend in the kitchen! Seriously.

We had three April birthdays in the house, so we celebrated with a little song and Strawberry & Blackberry Shortcake for each celebrant. I use this recipe, but just added blackberries.

It was a good night with good food and best of all, good company. Not only were our guests our friends, but also part of our church family, and while we don't get to hang out with them often, it was good to be able to share life together Sunday evening. We don't have people over for meals often enough, but when we do, we always have so much fun! Having more people over for a meal is a goal of ours that we are slowly working on.

p.s. kimchi fried rice made by the bff and pretty disposable plates were from wasara.

FAMILY MEALS: WEEK THIRTEEN

There is lots of cooking going on in this house these days. It's nice to have fresh, well thought out meals for my family. I like to serve them with yummy food.

One night, I made Pancit Bihon...

We had left over rice noodles from when I made Spring Rolls last week, so I attempted to make my girls some Filipino food. I am a Filipina (never been to the Philippines though), but sadly I don't know how to make any authentic dishes and when I try, I make it healthy, so it kind of loses all the filipino-ness from the food.

I know my girls like pancit when my mom makes it, so I attempted to make it too. I used tofu instead of meat and it came out eh. Something was missing and I couldn't figure it out. I pretty much followed the recipe, but me thinks that it wasn't made by a Filipino because something was just off. Anyone familiar with pancit have any suggestions? I would not recommend this recipe, but I would like to find a good one and master a healthy version of it!

Ben actually got in chef mode again and made us some Spicy Grilled Salmon...

The rub we put on the salmon is just so good and super spicy. The girls just have their filets salt and peppered. This is one of our go-to faves and it hits the right spot every time.

Crunchy Pork Kimchi Burgers?!! Yes, please!

It stood out to me when I was going through my latest Food & Wine and it sure was tasty. Plus, we had some fresh homemade kimchi from my BFF's mom, so I knew it was going to come out fabulous. It was fast, easy, and tasty! We had ours with spinach and some brown rice. Actually, my parents were over for dinner, so I also made Scallion Meatballs and they were all so yummy together.

Another night was for Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce with Chickpeas and Feta...

I saw it on Stephanie's blog last week and the combinations just sounded good and it indeed was. I cooked the eggs a bit longer since the little ones were eating it, so ours wasn't quite poached, but it didn't hinder the flavors at all. The recipe calls for one can of chickpeas, but I doubled it and I think I might have doubled the tomatoes too. I am trying to let go of being so precise and just going based on experience and things we like. We love tomatoes and chickpeas, so I though a bit more wouldn't hurt. We paired it with pita bread and the girls were devoured all of it.

It really makes me smile to see my girls eating well and trying new foods. I am loving this family meal planning thing and loving the time spent at the dinner table a whole lot more.

Week 4/16 - 4/20

Monday: Shrimp Gorditas

Tuesday: Thai Chicken with Hot-Sour-Salty-Sweet Sauce

Wednesday: A healthier version of Panda Express Orange Chicken (or Seafood Pasta, not sure which one yet)

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Pizza

Honestly, I didn't like cooking much before this. It just wasn't my thing. I am having fun now, but cooking was always more of a chore than a love. If you get stuck on what to make for dinner, try meal planning for one week and take it week by week. You will slowly get familiar with your family's taste buds and what's in your pantry, that cooking will slowly get easier. I am still no pro, but I am loving the challenge! Are you a cook or does planning meals stress you out?

|week 12|week 11|week 10|week 9|week 8|week 7|week 6|week 5|week 4|week 3|week 2| week 1|

p.s. i'm pinning! follow along here or repin cakies stuff here, since you can't do it straight from my blog because i use flickr. well, it seems you can pin from my blog again, but i didn't change anything in flickr settings. i'm so confused! weird because now you can no longer pin... again.

PLANNING MEALS

Our newest Food & Wine issue came in and there are a ton of good stuff that I marked to be put into the family meal planning schedule within the next few weeks. There are two that really stood out and one of those might get cooked tomorrow (instead of what I originally planned from last week). I am getting hungry just thinking about it. One of them involves kimchi and I really love kimchi. If I had to be re-born into another Asian, I think I would choose to be Korean, though it is neck in neck with being Japanese. Their food is just so much better than Filipino food (to me at least).

For our meal planning, I have typically just been searching through Food Network recipes, Smitten Kitchen, and a few others online resources. I really do like looking through Food & Wine though, I think good pictures make the world of a difference. For me, the problem with using actual magazines is that I don't like to tear out pages, and the recipe I like gets lost because the magazine gets put in with the other stacks of Food & Wine magazines we have and I never remember which issue to find it again. Does that ever happen to you?

It won't happen this time though because blogging about it will be a good reminder and I think for sure I am making one of the above recipes tomorrow. My parents are coming over for dinner, so I want to make something extra yummy!

When looking for new recipes, what is your go-to source?

FAMILY MEALS: WEEK TWELVE

One day we had Black Bean and Quinoa Burgers...

Who knew making a vegetarian slider was so easy?! I didn't exactly follow the recipe because I didn't blend the quinoa and the beans together and I did without the fried french onions and used whole wheat bread crumbs and threw two eggs in the mixture too. We put it on whole wheat buns with arugula and some quick-made chipotle mayo... and bam! We all loved it!

Another day was for Spicy Tofu and Soba Noodles...

This was a wing it recipe based on what I have learned about ingredients these past few weeks of cooking. I also topped the noodles with bok choy because we had some on hand. I couldn't try it until after Ben tried it because I was nervous about how it would taste since I didn't follow any recipe. When he said it was good, I felt comfortable trying it. I liked it too! The girls are all about soba noodles, so that was pretty much devoured.

And we also had Shrimp and Tofu Spring Rolls...

I made this a long time ago when Ben and I were dating so I knew it was going to be liked by the girls. We also made a spicy peanut sauce to accompany the rolls. True still doesn't like tofu, but she liked everything else inside. We'll get there. One day I will find a recipe with tofu that will get it just right for True. Until then, we just keep exposing her to it in different ways to see what she thinks.

If you wonder if my children eat the same things we do, they do. We have a rule that they must try things at least once and are not allowed to say yuck at the table, even if they think that. So what you see pictured is what they eat too. Of course, I have to accommodate for True's food allergies (she doesn't get the peanut sauce), but for the most part they are served the same thing. If they don't like all the ingredients in a dish, they just eat the parts they do, but there hasn't been an entire dish that they didn't like at least most of it. Like with the tofu dishes, True will pretty much eat everything except the tofu. After dinner they will also have fruit and some yogurt, but if they don't like the main dish, I don't make them something just for them.

We also don't force them to eat their entire plate or their vegetables. We tell them, if they are hungry then they can eat, if not, they don't have to, but they still have to sit at the dinner table with us.

Week 4/7 - 4/11

Monday: Grilled Salmon

Tuesday: Scallion Meatballs with Soy Ginger Glaze (made week 7)

Wednesday: Poached Eggs in Tomato Sauce with Chickpeas and Feta

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Pizza

Meals are a bit busier here lately because since Ben has been home, we have all been eating lunch together too. Maybe I need to start meal planning lunches for this month too! If you are home with your kids during the day, what types of things are on your lunchtime menus?

|week 11|week 10|week 9|week 8|week 7|week 6|week 5|week 4|week 3|week 2| week 1|

FAMILY MEALS: WEEK ELEVEN

With the busyness of taking care of some house stuff, this week's meals were easy and familiar to me meals. I didn't try anything new and stuck with some favorites.

Tuesday we had Chicken Piccata...

This time I added arugula to it, but we loved it just as much as the first time.

Wednesday, we had Hand-roll Sushi...

This we learned from my BFF when she and her husband brought it over for us once. It is seriously the best stuff ever. We don't give the girls raw sushi yet, so we had imitation crab for them to make their own rolls. I could eat this stuff all the time!

Week 4/2 - 4/6

Monday: Shrimp Spring Rolls with Peanut Dipping Sauce

Tuesday: Crispy Pressed Tofu with Garlic and Mint

Wednesday: Black Bean and Quinoa Burgers

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Pizza

We have enough leftovers from this week's cooked meals to work for tonight and tomorrow. If you haven't tried meal planning, I definitely recommend it though it does take work to actually get planning. Once you do, you will be so glad! It really helps us enjoy our evenings together a whole lot more!

|week 10|week 9|week 8|week 7|week 6|week 5|week 4|week 3|week 2| week 1|

FAMILY MEALS: WEEK TEN

One of the best things about meal planning is that we are all spending so much time together and eating and talking in the evenings. I really enjoy our dinnertimes!

Monday, we ate Spaghetti and Meatballs...

I actually kinda winged this meal. I am getting slightly more adventurous dabbling here and there. I looked up a few different meatball recipes and once I figured out the gist, I did it myself. I used the bread crumbs we had from this recipe with finely chopped garlic, onions, and parsley, along with one egg and about a quarter cup of parmesan, and mixed it together with a fork. Then, rolled them up into balls and lightly pan fried them and they came out really yum! I don't typically like meatballs, but these ones I liked. And topped on whole wheat spaghetti is just perfect.

To celebrate The Great Meatout on Tuesday, we had Simple Tomato Soup and Garlicky Spinach...

Soul and Brave pretty much gobbled this up really fast. I put the soup on top of brown rice and white beans and it was a good combo. Plus, add that dollop of coconut milk (I used reduce fat) and the flavors were really good. My change in the recipe is to use half the olive oil and reduce fat coconut milk and it feels much better to eat. The spinach dish was loved so much that I made it twice this week.

Thursday was for Pizza with Garlic Cream and Arugula...

This was my favorite dish of the week. I used this focaccia bread recipe for the dough and I didn't use heavy cream, but non-fat milk mixed with two tbsp of flour to thicken it up. I think the cream came out pretty good despite the omission of fat. Also, we couldn't find nettles, so we used arugula, which is the suggested substitute. We have enough leftover, so just thinking about it is making me excited about eating it for lunch tomorrow.

Another winning week for family meals. Ben loves it, the girls love it, then that's good enough for me.

Week 3/26 - 3/40

Monday: Black Bean and Quinoa Burgers

Tuesday: Roast Chicken with Butternut Squash

Wednesday: Handroll Sushi

Thursday: Leftovers

Friday: Pizza

What's the yummiest thing you ate this week?

|week 9|week 8|week 7|week 6|week 5|week 4|week 3|week 2| week 1|