I titled this “Average Mom Meal Planning” because in today’s society, it feels like everyone is buying organic, all natural, gluten free, air fried not deep fried, veggie chips, etc. You get where I’m going with this. Don’t get me wrong, I would love to buy all organic or at least more organically than we do BUT we are a family of 5 on a tight budget and organic doesn’t fall within that budget.
I was raised in a home where our dinner typically consisted of meat, potato/starch, and a veggie. So, naturally, this is how most of my meals for my kids look. So, my veggie may not be organic but hey, I get a veggie on the plate. That counts for something right? I mean, I will absolutely hear, “how many bites of broccoli do I need to take?”, “UGH! Mom…you know I hate asparagus!”, “can I eat more chicken and no vegetables?”. Even with all the whining and complaining that comes with serving vegetables, it does not stop me from putting it on their plate. Now, as I type this, I have many nights that frozen pizza, mac and cheese with hot dogs, and turkey sandwhiches end up being the meal that night. We all need easy nights where there’s no complaining or need quick meals as an option when you have days that don’t go as planned and you just need to get some form of food in their tummies. So, for me, I try my best to meal plan but keep those backups available just incase.
So, on to my meal planning. Every week I TRY to sit down and plan out a week of meals. This can become VERY time consuming if I’m in a mood where I am sick of all the same recipes on repeat and I jump on the internet in search of budget friendly family meals. Although meal planning can get overwhelming, once the meals have been determined, written down, and groceries purchased, it does make the week run smoothly meal wise. That is unless I forget to write down or purchase one of the ingredients….
Every week, I’m going to give you 5 meals that I’ve made and are hopefully kid approved. Lately I’ve been drawn to recipes from http://damndelicious.net . The recipes I have made thus far have been easy, fairly quick, and pretty tasty. My kids have eaten ALL OF THEM with NO COMPLAINING! What!?!? Here are some of the meals I have made and are kid approved.
Cheesy Avocado Quesadillas.
I will admit that I did leave out the avocado in the quesadilla my older two split. This was an absolute case of me not wanting to deal with the battle of getting them to eat the avocado. I did put it in my husband, my youngest daughter, and my own quesadillas and we loved it.
https://damndelicious.net/2015/02/07/cheesy-avocado-quesadillas/
Parmesan Chicken Bites
These were messing to make as is any meal where you’re dipping meat in flour, eggs, and another mixture. I also didn’t have a pan big enough to fry all the chicken at one time. So, I needed to cook in batches and we ate in batches. With that said, my kids absolutely LOVED this meal. I paired this meal with green beans and halved baby red potatoes that I lightly coated in olive oil and then coated with a packet of dry onion soup mix. I baked those on a baking sheet at 400 for 20ish minutes. We love these potatoes!
https://damndelicious.net/2014/12/26/parmesan-chicken-bites/
Slow Cooker Korean Beef
I tend to make at least one slow cooker meal a week. Wednesdays and Thursdays the kids have sports and I teach piano. So, making dinner gets tricky with our schedules overlapping and sports taking place during normal dinner hours. So, these days I try to plan for slow cooker meals. This was a tasty meal that we all enjoyed. My sauce didn’t thicken very well but we didn’t mind. I added cooked broccoli and minute rice to this meal. Easy peasy.
https://damndelicious.net/2015/02/21/slow-cooker-korean-beef/
Slow Cooker Tater Tot Casserole
Here we are with my second slow cooker meal. 🙂 This was good but I think we all like the other meals better. With that said, my kids ate it and didn’t complain. So, that’s a win in my book and I’ll be making it again.
https://damndelicious.net/2017/02/25/slow-cooker-tater-tot-casserole/
Easy Chicken Tikka Masala
So… I’m going to be honest… I was not a fan of this one at all. With that said, my kids and husband LOVED it. So, I decided to include this one because even though the spices are not ones that I love, at the end of the day, it’s clearly a good recipe given everyone else loved it.
https://damndelicious.net/2019/02/08/easy-chicken-tikka-masala/
So there you have it. 5 meals that we have enjoyed and will be making again. I can definitely see more meals from damn delicious coming your way next week but I’ll throw in some other meals as well. Hope you enjoy these and bon appetit!