Hey There, Friends!
I try to keep this little blog of mine very authentic to what’s happening in my life and what our family is busy with at the moment. Right now {like SO many of you-we’ve chatted via IG messages} you guys are busy with fall sports, fall practices, middle school extra-curricular activities, high school things, etc. This is a BUSY time of year for all of us. One thing that can make me feel like I’ve got a small grip on those extremely busy weeks are our meals. If we have crazy chaotic things happening all after school but I manage to still get a homemade meal on the table, well I’m WINNING! I’ve been keeping track of what I’ve made for dinner since school started and I’m sharing our top five favorites….
#1 Crockpot Broccoli Cheddar Chicken-I’m a sucker for a slow cooker recipe and this one fit the bill perfectly! I didn’t add quite as much cream cheese as the recipe called for but instead added some fat free half and half to still get the cream without all the calories. It was very much like a broccoli cheese soup with the protein added in! And my kids all love a broccoli cheese soup! I made rice and pasta and my people chose their preferred carb. I looked forward to eating this for leftovers the next day and so did Tab! The only negative was when it was cooking in the slow cooker, Ebby Lee and friends came home from school and she said, “Uh, Mom, it smells like Urban Air in here.” That’s not a compliment because Urban Air always smells like sweaty feet. ha!
#2 Frito Taco Bowls-I have two kids that will eat/try almost anything and two that can be very picky. I’ll let you guess who’s who. 😉 For some reason a bowl of chili doesn’t speak to my picky eaters but seasoning the meat like I did in this recipe and serving it with Frito’s was a big hit!
#3 Slow Cooker Spaghetti-I can pretty much take or leave spaghetti. It’s just “okay” to me but it’s easy and 3/4 of my kids are fans so it’s in the dinner rotation quite a bit. I recently placed a grocery pick up order and must have blacked out while ordering because when it arrived I’d ordered TWELVE different kinds of Rao’s pasta sauce…vodka, marinara, alfredo….you name it I ordered it. Needless to say, I really need to be whipping up some Italian dishes because I’m pretty stocked in the sauce department. Just last week we had a crazy evening so I browned three pounds of lean ground beef while the kids were eating breakfast. Then I added a big jar of the Rao’s Arrabbiata Sauce and the Rao’s Alfredo Sauce, let it cook on low all day, and then made some protein pasta when we got in that night. The pasta just took about ten minutes from start to finish so dinner was ready really quickly. And the little spiced up version of the sauce made it a little “extra”. My people loved it!
#4 Turkey Sausage Bowls-This isn’t so much a recipe but some stuff I threw together one day. I slice up a TON of the skinless {I gagged as I typed that! I’m so sorry-just wanted you to know what I used} turkey sausage. I seriously did four packs of the sausage the last time I made it. I saute it and add a little dry rub seasoning. In a separate skillet, I saute onions and peppers. And then I serve it with rice. Tab and I also like okra in our bowls. It kind of gives it a jambalaya feel. My kids love this!
#5 Shay’s Slightly Sweet Sloppy Joe’s-are another family favorite. We eat this on baked potatoes, on buns, and even on sweet potato tots! It’s easy, can be made ahead, and just added to a slow cooker on low for those REALLY busy week nights.
Honorable Mention-Salmon Bites in the air fryer-we will add those to bowls as well and top with avocado, edamame, cucumbers, red onion and our preferred sauce. {We like sweet chili, sriracha, sriracha/greek yogurt mix.}. I know I’ve shared this one with you before but it’s totally worth a spot in this post. My kids LOVE!
Okay, now it’s YOUR TURN! Please help me with more great busy night meals! I’d love to hear your favorite!
Happy Wednesday, Friends!
XO
