16 Meals the WHOLE Family Enjoys – Grace, Grit & Coffee

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Posted on April 26, 2020April 26, 2020 by Noelle

# 16 Meals the WHOLE Family Enjoys

We are all eating at home a lot more often these days. Pretty sure I’m not alone in having some picky little eaters. Once upon a time I was making 2 or 3 different meals at a time for super in hopes to appease everyone. I have diet restrictions and the other 3 in my family are just plain picky. I could not keep up with this, obviously! I have since strategized. My strategy is this: 3-4 times a week I make things that I know the entire family will enjoy. 1-2 times a week I try something new or something that someone in the family may love but the others do not. I also try not to cook on the weekends. We eat leftovers, lunch/snack items, or we order out (limited to once on the weekend). If I make a meal that someone does not like I do allow them to make a Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich. If its a new meal they are required to try it before they are allowed to veto it. No treats or snacks for the rest of the day until dinner is eaten. Below I have listed dinners that all 4 of us enjoy! Dinner Time WINS!

1. Spaghetti

Many of you I’m sure have this on your list and have your own favorite recipe so I won’t bother with a recipe here. I will say that our family always adds Mild Italian Sausage to our sauce. It gives the sauce just enough heat.

2. Ravioli

This is one of the easiest dinners I make. All I do is take my spaghetti sauce (made with the Italian sausage) and frozen Ravioli (our family prefers the cheese ravioli over the meat) and layer in a crock pot. Be sure to spray the pot before you add your first layer of sauce. Also make sure the sauce is the first layer on the bottom and last layer on the top. Slow cook on high 3-4 hours. About 45mins-1 hour before the ravioli’s are done I add a layer of mozzarella cheese to the top.

3. Cheeseburger Soup

This is a recipe that is more then a recipe. Every time I make this I’m reminded of how God provides. This is one of the meals that was brought to my family during a difficult season. When our son was born he was a preemie (and I was a first time mom) we were in and out of the hospital a lot. Several friends brought us meals. This is one of those meals. We enjoyed it so much David and I had to have the recipe. It has become a staple in our home ever since. I believe it will be a recipe that lives on long after I am gone.

Cheeseburger Soup (Recipe by Karen Christensen)

1 lb Hamburger

3/4 Cup Onion (diced)

3/4 Cup Shredded Carrots

3/4 Cup Celery (optional)

1 tsp Basil

1 tsp Parsley

1 TBLS Butter

Sauté 5-10 mins then add 3 cups of chicken broth (I personally add a whole carton which is about 4 cups I do believe) and 4 cups of diced peeled potatoes. Bring to slow boil. Simmer 10-12 mins. Melt 3 TBLS butter add 1/4 cup of flour to butter add to the pot after the 10 min simmer. Cook for about 5 mins then add 8 oz of American Cheese (I only add about 6 oz of cheese). Add 1.5 cups of milk add salt and pepper to taste. Simmer until potatoes are cooked but not mushy.

4. Burrito’s

This meal freezes well!! I usually prepare these in the afternoon and set aside a package for our dinner that evening and then put the rest in multiple freezer bags for another 2 meals down the road. We only use 1 can of refried beans, I add more chicken 4-5 cups, and only about 1-1.5 cups of shredded cheese. Also I do not add cheese to the top when I bake these. We serve this with Spanish Rice-a-roni or a Salad or tortilla chips and salsa.

https://moneysavingmom.com/southwest-roll-ups-recipe/

5. Chicken Taco’s

The key ingredient in this recipe is definitely the fiesta ranch! Yum!! When I make this for us I cut the cream cheese in half (only 4 oz). Unfortunately Im the only one in my family who likes black beans so I trade the black beans in for pinto beans. Also I make sure to drain the corn and beans. I also cook the chicken in the crockpot before I add the other ingredients because I drain some or most of the chicken broth that forms. I do this so that our tacos aren’t too runny. I have noticed that the mix has plenty of liquid that forms without adding to it.

chicken taco

https://mylitter.com/fiesta-chicken-crockpot-recipe/

6. Chicken Tortilla Soup

For this I use the recipe from our chicken tacos (the one above) and instead of draining the liquids I add all the liquids plus I add about 3/4 cup of water and 1-2 cups of chicken broth. It makes a really yummy soup!

7. Bacon Pasta Dish

This is our newest addition to the family favorite list. This is a Pampered Chef Recipe. I like it because I use 1 pot to make the entire meal. Easy to make and easy to clean up. I also love that I typically have all of the ingredients on hand. Some of the adjustments I make to this recipe: I use cavatappi or penn pasta instead of linguine. The directions on the recipe are a little confusing if you don’t have the pampered chef items. Like I said before I make it all in one pan. I use my large 12 inch skillet. I only use 1 can of diced tomatoes or 1 can of Rotel (kids don’t love tomatoes yet). I also don’t usually add the garlic. The kids aren’t big fans of garlic yet. I also usually use regular Kraft parmesan (what I have on hand).

https://www.pamperedchef.com/recipe/Main+Dishes/30+Minutes+or+Less/Bacon%2C+Linguini+%26+Tomato+Toss/90102

bacon pasta dish

8. Breakfast for Dinner

This can be a number of things. My kids love it all except in the morning. They just aren’t that hungry in the mornings so we actually save breakfast for dinner and once in a while lunch or brunch on the weekends.

9. Chicken Dumpling Soup

This is a recipe that changes each time I make it. I put a little of this and a little of that so putting together a recipe here is tough for me but I shall try!

Chicken Dumpling Soup

3-4 chicken breast cooked & diced

1/2-1 bag mixed frozen veggies (can also use can or better yet fresh veggies)

1 can cream of chicken soup

1 can pillsbury dinner rolls

2 cups chicken stock

3/4 cup water

1/2 TBLS Minced Onion

1/2 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp Basil

1/2 tsp parsley

Salt & Pepper to taste

Add Chicken, soup, chicken stock, water, and seasoning to large pot. Simmer about 10-12 mins. Cut dinner rolls in small chunks add to the pot. I make sure the soup is simmering higher then usual to cook the “dumplings” well. Simmer for 5 mins or until your dumpling are cooked. Take off the heat and let cool for a good 5-10 mins before serving (dumplings will also continue to cook while it sits).

10. Meat Balls

This is another favorite of mine because I’m able to prepare these and freeze them. So I can get multiple meals out of one preparation time. I usually mix 1.5 lbs of ground beef with 1.5 lbs of ground turkey. We eat these in a couple of ways: with barb-q sauce (our favorite is Famous Dave’s Sweet and Zesty or Sassy) over the top as well as a Swedish Sauce or just brown gravy. Serve with mashed potatoes and your family’s favorite veggie.

https://moneysavingmom.com/4-weeks-to-fill-your-freezer-barbecued-meatballs-day-11/

11. Stroganoff

I use regular milk from our fridge and I add it until I like the consistency (about 3/4-1 cup). Our family likes this served over Egg Noodles

.https://www.cookingwithk.net/2011/10/beef-stroganoff-grannys-recipe.html

12. Hamburgers or Sloppy Joes

Simple Hamburgers on the grill or Sloppy Joes. When I make Sloppy Joes sometimes I use manwich and sometimes I use my dads favorite Famous Dave’s Recipe.

Famous Dave’s BBQ Recipe:

1 lb Ground Beef

1/2 Cup Finley chopped Onion

1/4 cup Finley chopped green pepper

1 jalapeño Finley Minced (we usually omit this because the kids can’t handle this much spice)

1 TBLS Chili Powder

1/4 tsp Cayenne (another one we omit or only use 1/8 tsp)

1.5 Cups Famous Daves Sweet & Zesty (or sassy) Barbecue Sauce

1 tsp mustard

I usually brown the ground beef and then add to a crock pot along with all of the other ingredients and slow cook for about 2-3 hours so the spices simmer together. Serve on Hamburger Bun.

13. Taco Bar

This is pretty self explanatory. We like to mix it up though. Sometimes we do hard or soft shell. Sometimes we do salad. Sometimes haystacks (load everything up over Frito corn chips). Sometimes taco in a bag (nacho cheese Doritos’).

14. Pizza

Same with the Taco thing. Sometimes we make our own pizza’s with English muffins or large Pillsbury biscuits. Some of our favorite frozen pizza’s: Jacks, Red Baron, and Pizza Corner. Keep it simple. Always serve with a salad.

15. Chicken Noodle Soup

This is very similar to my chicken dumpling soup except I put extra broth in it so its not quite as creamy. I also add celery to my chicken noodle soup. Add egg noodles instead of dumplings.

16. Chicken Salad

We love to cook the chicken on the grill (when possible) cut and serve over romaine. We do add other veggies to the salad but we allow the kids to pick the veggies they want to add to theirs so most of our veggies are served “buffet style”. Serve with favorite dressing and roasted & salted soy nuts (great source of fiber and protein and gives it a great crunch).

Remember these are recipes my whole family enjoys. These are not necessarily my personal favorite meals. Maybe on a future post I will share some of those. Feel free to follow me on Pinterest where you will find many of these recipes and more.

https://www.pinterest.com/gracegritcoffee

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