Fabulous new meals

Hello! I'm back for a quick post. The last few months have brought a lot of food changes to our home. With PTA meetings, cub scouts, girl scouts, friends, etc, it's getting harder to be home for meal prep. Plus, I'm not experimenting as much, so we're making old favorites over and over again.

A few years ago, I did a workshop for the ladies in my church on meal planning.  I even blogged about it. Fast forward to this month, where I'm doing this same workshop in my new area.  As I'm looking over my materials and sprucing them up, I was reminded of my old neighbor who used to plan meals 6 weeks in advance. I was also reminded that I had sat down and done that as well.  When it came to execution though, I don't think it lasted long. 

However... I think my family is at the point now that we need this. It would be more stable and easier to plan.

 

(This one is more like our house!)

This looong story (sorry!) lead me to look at the new recipes we've made and loved the last few months. I have them all on a Pinterest board, but would like to share them here as well so they are all in the same spot.

Here they are- all pictures belong to the original blog.  Have fun!

 Quick and Easy Chinese Orange Beef

by Our Best Bites

 My 10yr old son has been asking for orange chicken. I found this recipe and had beef so we made it.  Let me just say, I really, really dislike Chinese food. But this dish? LOVED it!

 

Crockpot Boiled Peanuts

My husband served his mission in South Carolina. This is a popular street food there. He was in heaven! 

 

 Crock Pot Santa Fe Chicken

by Skinnytaste.com

I LOVE this dish.  It's so simple, but full of flavor. It makes a TON, so make sure you have lots of people to eat it! I serve it on rice, or even just plain. I like to add some crushed tortilla chips for some texture.

Spicy Turkey Lettuce Wraps 

by Our Best Bites

Another WOW from Our Best Bites. I really enjoy this dish. 4 out of 5 family members loved it as well. The 1 who didn't is my 7yr old daughter who doesn't like anything. Quick, easy, HEALTHY, and yum! 

 

This recipe is called The Best Pot Roast... Ever!  and it really is!

by youretoocrafty.blogspot.com

Make sure you make potatoes or rice with it so you have something to sop up the amazing gravy!

 

 This is a simple, yet delicious meatloaf recipe. 

1 lb ground beef or turkey

1 egg

1 box stuffing mix

1 cup water

Mix everything together and press into a loaf pan.  Bake at 350 for 45 minutes. Yum! 

And finally...

 Pork Carnitas

by mykitchenescapades.com

So. Very. Good. 

It is mandatory to broil the meat after cooking it. I cooked it in the crockpot, and it was really good. However, after broiling it- Amazing!

I think that's good for today.  There are some more great meals on my Pinterest board, and I'm always adding more.

Need more Soup?

Try this copycat recipe from Real Mom Kitchen! 

Rumbi's Bahama Mama Tortilla Soup

Photo taken by Laura of Real Mom Kitchen and used by permission

Full of flavor, this soup has Coconut Milk, Ginger, Grilled Chicken and other amazing spices! It's a good brothy soup.

 Next time I'll cut down on the chicken broth by 2 cups, and add an entire can of coconut milk (I did that this time). I also added a garnish of cilantro! Yum! The tomatoes in the bowl are essential!!

Enjoy!

UPDATE: I finally went to Rimbi's and tried this soup. Let me just say... Laura's recipe is better! I did like the fact that Rumbi's was less "brothy", but Laura's had SOOOO much more flavor!

The Best Cornbread Ever

This is it. The wonderful, amazing, moist, delicious Cornbread that I served with my Ham and Bean soup last week.

It comes from the wonderful Mel at Mel's Kitchen Cafe.  I like so many things on her site! Go ahead and browse for awhile... I'll wait! 

Are you back? Okay, so go now and MAKE THIS CORNBREAD! Yum! 

Enjoy!

Some top notch meals!

This last week has been a fabulous food week. I've made a few meals from other blogs that beg to be made again and again. My camera isn't working right now, so I decided to just outline these winning recipes here!


Baked Potato Soup by Our Best Bites. You knew they had to be on the list, right? This soup was amazingly rich and tasty. I ate a bowlful every day... even for breakfast one day! Potatoes... bacon...cheese... those are breakfast foods, right?  It's quick, easy, and a *tiny* bit healthier than other soups with cream.

Pizza Factory-Like Breadsticks from Ambition's Kitchen.  These were so easy to make, that my 5 and 4 yr old helped. They were HUGE and very tasty. The only change I'll make next time is to put the Parmesan cheese on the inside, and more seasoning.  I didn't want to over-do the garlic, but I didn't do enough!


Roasted Garlic Pesto Cream Pasta from Taste and Tell was wonderful. My husband raved about it. I had to use jarred pesto, but it worked just fine. The cream added a wonderful layer, and the roasted garlic made it shine.  This is going on our permanent meal rotation!

Have fun exploring these wonderful blogs!

These are a few of my favorite things...

Comfort food. In all it's glory.  Since I've started this blog, my family hardly ever gets our good "old" loved meals anymore. It's all about trying new recipes and methods. After sitting down and planning 3 weeks of menu's- all with new meals- I decided to bring some of our favorites to the table. 

Now, I PROMISE that I'll have some new recipes and pictures up for you next week. I've fallen behind in that area, but I have a few to post, and lots to make!  For now, please enjoy some of my favorite meals!

Teriyaki Flank Steak

Banana Bread

Mussaman Curry

Chicken Alfredo

And for dessert...

Chocolate Butterscotch Bars

I hope you enjoy some of my favorite meals! You can look forward to new meals coming next week. Maybe they will become your next favorite! 

Favorite Recipes from Other Blogs 2nd Ed.

Our Best Bites

Recipes I've made and posted here:

Breadsticks and Pizza Dough
Flour Tortillas
Rosemary Focaccia Bread


Other Favorites:
Pumpkin Pie Milkshake
Chocolate Chip Cookies

Bellalimento

Nutella Milkshake

Recipe Shoebox

Indian-Style Beef with Cilantro Sauce Soon to posted here. This meal is just divine!

Eat at Home

Posted here on my blog:

Hawaiian Grilled Chicken and Tropical Salad

Crafty Creative
Dangerously Delicious Danishes

Food Finery
Spinach Fontina Soup

Go visit these wonderful blogs! Don't go without eating first though!!!

Favorite Recipes from other Blogs 1st Ed.

Good Morning! I was making dinner last night, a new recipe from one of my favorite blogs, and I thought that it would be fun to have a list on my blog of all of my favorites from other blogs! This is a great way to showcase amazing recipes, but not have to re-post them on my blog. It will also introduce you to other fun Foodie bloggers!

My Favorite Recipes from Other Blogs

Our Best Bites

If you read my blog, you know that these gals are my #1 source of new recipes. EVERY thing I have made using their recipes has been fantastic. Sometimes you get recipes that are good if you change this, or add that... not with Our Best Bites! Their recipes are ready to go!

Favorites:
*Ones I've made and posted on my blog:
Pineapple Cilantro Rice
Apple Cider Spiced Donuts
Garlic Seasoning
Crispy Coconut Chicken Fingers
Pork Chimichurri or Cilantro Parsley Pesto
Fruit Salsa with Cinnamon Chips I made this for a dinner party and it was a hit!

**Recipes I've made but not blogged:
Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos These are fabulous with Beef too! Last time I made them, I used flour tortillas and my Cilantro Lime Chicken. Yum!
Tip: How to cut a Mango
Candied Coconut Sweet Potatoes My Sister-In-Law made these for Christmas last year.
Egg Salad Perfect.
Strawberry Sorbet Delicious with shredded coconut on top!


Mel's Kitchen Cafe

Tacos Supreme These are what I was making last night. The flavors are amazing, and even my picky taco-eater loved them! They will be made over and over... I didn't use the full amount of chili powder, or the jalapeno because of that picky son. However, the flavor was still amazing!

I've got a number of other recipes from Mel's site to try. I'll keep you updated!

Barbara Bakes

Amish Baked Oatmeal I love this stuff. I usually bake a batch, cut it and freeze it in small ziplocs. Then, I simply pull one from the freezer, take it to work, and eat it there with milk. Yum! I've made it with dried tropical fruit, coconut and macadamia's, and maple and brown sugar. Everytime it comes out perfectly!

Two Peas and Their Pod

Cinnamon Roasted Almonds These are the best spiced almonds I've ever had. This mix is also excellent on Pecans.

Maria's Sunshine Salad A perfect Spring salad!


I think that's enough for today! Have fun exploring these amazing blogs. I'll do more of these posts as I try new recipes! I'll also be adding these links to the top for easy reference.

A few of my favorite things...

By Etsy artists of course!

Click on the picture to be taken to the artist's shop!