Ok so I am rather on top of the menu planning, I go through 6 weeks of recipes and then start over. This has been going well but I really want to update my menu in a more seasonal sense. I mean blts every 6 weeks is nice but tomatoes a not always in season, while I have few recipes that involve winter squashes...
So, what fallish/wintery dinners do you gals like to make. I prefer crock pot recipes or recipes that take little actual cooking time at the stove. I dislike soups and stews as I have small children still learning to navigate spoons and forks and the house we are renting has brand new carpets, but I am sure I am not the only one to read this question looking for ideas so add them too!
Thanks everyone. I am still going to be avoiding soups and stews. The 18 month old is just not ready for it, though the older 2 are great with them.
Thanks for the great suggestions.
There is a new site that has only been around a month or two - crockpotgirls.com It is all in categories, chicken, beef, appetizers, cakes, Etc. GREAT site.
I agree with Tiffany you can still do great stews and soups and make them "child friendly"...and your children have to learn to eat things with liquids in them sometime...so you could just GO for it!! I have a huge pot of Beef stew on right now...most of it will be going to my daughters home to be frozen for later use after our newest grandchild makes her/his entrance in the next couple of weeks....her 3 year old will enjoy it right along with them.
I also do a lot of casseroles and baked dishes....
Lasagna
Rice Con Pollo (Chicken with rice...includes peas, mushrooms,onion, lots of yummy stuff)
Macaroni and Cheese Casseroles ( Mac and cheese, mushroom soup, tuna or ground beef and peas)
Meat Loaf ( I have a great recipe that I would be happy to share with you)
We love Ham and Beans with Cornbread but it might not be too "child friendly"
We had a great Pot Roast last night...with plenty of left overs for tonight!
I have a wonderful recipe for pork chops baked in the oven ( I have done them in a crock pot before but wasn't as pleased with the results)...pork chops, browned then in a dish, add some baby carrots and chunks of potatoes...cover it all with a mixture of a ration of 2 cans cream of mushroom soup to 1 envelope Lipton Dried Onion Soup Mix...thin as needed with beef broth (you can double the soup mixture if you are baking a bigger batch) bake and enjoy.
If anyone would like the specific recipe for anything..message me and I would be more than happy to share.
I am in the process of trying to do a 4 week menu! I can't wait to get to 6 weeks.
In season right now, eggplant Parmesan, red pepper cream sauce (my kids favorite). Mushroom anything.
I just want to say how impressed I am that you can do a six week menu! I have trouble not repeating over 6 days!!!
i just got a pressure cooker and it has opened up a whole new range of cooking options, and healthier too. might be worth googling! :)
Ummmm I just want to know if you can send me your six week recipe schedule? LOL that is awesome!! And I'm serious by the way, I recycle about every week and a half.....
I actually have little kids too that are learning to eat on their own and this time of year I make lots of soups and stews, but I make them with little fingers in mind. For example, if I make chicken noodle soup, I use the flat noodles and make larger chunks of veggies and meat, I also thicken the broth or do very little broth. When I serve it, I just use a spoon that is grated so all I get is the chunks of food and put it on a plate. I do have to cut the pieces up sometimes to make them smaller but they have all these great pieces to pick from. (I like to do chili this way too)
Since you don't want soups, I also like to do casseroles. Chicken and rice is great because if you want to add any of the veggies in season, they all work with this casserole. Just add what you want to it when you are mixing the ingredients. We also like to make homemade pizza which also can bear a lot of seasonal veggies and the kids love to do the toppings.
Good luck!
I love allrecipes.com for new recipes. You can save recipes you like and have a personalized recipe book. It doesn't cost anything, but they do have a service you can pay for. It has reviews of recipes you can read and I find reading the reviews gives a wealth of new ideas to try and some to avoid.
Another way to find new recipes that others like is to go to estate sales. Look through their old cookbooks. If you find one with smudged pages, you'll know that's a recipe the family liked. Buy the book and when you get home tear out the page and throw the book away. Try it and if you like it put the page in your recipe box.
Good luck to you and yours.
I find this website interesting: http://thisweekfordinner.com/ It is all about meal planning and everyone posts their plan for the week (I think it's Sunday that they post it, although she posts new ideas every day). There are lots of recipes on the site, too.
Check out www.crockpotguys.com - simple crockpot recipes with lots of flavor. If you like cooking with Stove Top stuffing, they have simple tasty recipes too.
Im a big fan of Kraftfoods.com and bettycrocker.com - both sites are full of quick, easy family friendly recipes! Good Luck!
I make baked pastas, roasted veggies, chili, roast chicken, roasts during cooler months. When I don't mind turning on the oven.
Check out recipes on www.eatingwell.com and www.vegetariantimes.com. Both have excellent ideas.
Have fun...D.
my favorite website is allrecipes.com
but i really love searching blogs for good recipes!
here are a couple that i like
http://www.thesisterscafe.com/
http://sugar-freekids.blogspot.com/
http://sarahsfares.blogspot.com/
http://richchefpoorchef.blogspot.com/
i know theres TONS out there, and most of them are written by moms like us!
