Given all the extra menu planning we are doing, I thought I’d share with you some of my Tried and True Family Meals.
At the beginning of January, my sister-in-law and I started a new group on Facebook, sharing meal ideas through a weekly theme. I’ve seen so many great ideas that I’ve added to my Pinterest boards and can’t wait to try as we are able. But, when times are kind of confusing, it’s just easier for me to plan meals in terms of “tried and true” things I know we will love, and that usually cook up with leftovers so I only have to cook half of the week. I”m not saying the meals are perfect, but many of them I grew up on and they stay on repeat for the bigpittstop family!
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1. Chicken Spaghetti
CLICK FOR RECIPE – My husband might tell you I don’t make this enough, but it’s for sure a rich and heavy treat. Make a side salad or some green beans to go with it and it’s a full meal. I like to make this ahead, double the recipe with the same amount of work and put one casserole in the freezer. It’s always a surprise when I get to the bottom and I’m looking around for meal planning and find a whole, crowd-pleasing casserole ready to go.
2. Shortcut Lasagna
CLICK FOR RECIPE – This is THE EASIEST Homemade Lasagna you will ever make. Well, at least for the deep traditional flavors that so many of us love without all the extra work. I use a few quick hacks to make the layers taste so good. Make a double batch and leave it on the porch of a busy mama or first responder. They are all loving our community so well right now.
For an even easier version, my friend Lacie makes a 5-Ingredient Lasagna Ravioli and it completely takes away all the homemade excuses.
3. Slow Cooker Stroganoff
CLICK FOR RECIPE – I don’t know what it is about Slow Cooker Stroganoff, but I love it. Maybe it’s because this version is cooked in the slow cooker or the fact that the meat becomes super tender, or finishing it off with that creamy greek yogurt, but we have Stroganoff at our house once a month. Hands down!
4. Tacos
There are so many options here, but keep it simple!
- ground meat with taco seasoning – turkey, chicken, beef, any of them work!
- Crockpot Turkey Tacos – set out your crockpot and all the toppings as a “make your own” buffet on the kitchen counter and everyone gets exactly what they want.
- Picadillo Rice Bowl – use the Crockpot Turkey Tacos recipe and sub out deer meat, roast, or stew meat, and add pineapple tidbits. Some people like olives in their picadillo and roasted red peppers could be a fun addition as well! See what kind of things you already have on your pantry shelves in those flavors.
- grilled fajitas – our local Latin grocery store has pre-seasoned meat. It’s the best flavor. We usually throw that on the grill and put onions and peppers in a grill pan and dinner gets ready at the same time!
- Grocery Store Taco Kits
- Family Meal Kits from a local restaurant – you can drive up and they bring everything out to your car ready for you to take home to your family. That might be the best idea ever!
5. Sheet Pan Meals
Some of our favorite sheet pan meals include:
- Sausage Sheet Pan Dinner (with veggies)
- Sheet Pan Fajitas
- Mini meatloaf, roasted potatoes, green beans, or broccoli
- Fish and roasted summer vegetables
- Roasted Parmesan Chicken and zucchini or broccoli
- Sheet Pan Nachos or these Chicken Finger Nachos in the One-Pot Cooking cookbook
- Cajun Sheet Pan Meal
- Roasted Sausages, potatoes, and root veggies
6. Meatloaf
So, I usually just get the McCormick seasoning pouch and follow those directions. I usually use ground turkey or super lean ground beef. I do saute some frozen seasoning blend (bell peppers and onions) and then use chili sauce instead of ketchup. But, it’s good every time. Growing up, my mom would put a layer of cheese in the middle to make it like a cheeseburger, but that’s your call. Super easy and I usually serve it with a potato and green vegetables. This was Sunday dinner this week with roasted potatoes and broccoli.
7. Frozen Pizza
I don’t know that there is much to add here. Keep it easy on yourself. This has been our go-to on Friday nights. Some weeks I could only find a cheese variety so we just added turkey pepperoni and frozen peppers and onions. Usually, we are a one meat lovers and one “funky” pizza kind of family. This was especially helpful this past week when we had a water main break in town and were under a boil order. Pizza and paper-plated, no-fail!
8. Asian Chicken Slow Cooker dish
- Literally chicken cut up in cubes in a jarred simmer sauce from Target or Aldi. Our favorite is Tikka Masala or Korma. But I’m not picky when it comes to Thai or Indian sauces.
- Slow Cooker Butter Chicken – I would double the tomato paste and dice the onions. I think chopped carrots could be a good addition to this as well.
- Hawaiian Chicken with Coconut Rice (rice cooked with coconut milk instead of water) – PIN FOR LATER
- Pineapple Chicken – PIN FOR LATER
- Or our staple – cubed chicken, Thai chili sauce, chunk pineapple, and a little sriracha or chili sauce. Serve with your favorite variety of rice and roasted broccoli or oriental stir fry veggies.
- So many friends in a meals group are talking about this Slow Cooker Basil Chicken in Coconut Curry Sauce
9. Slow Cooker Soups or Stews
I mean this time of year may not be “soup season.” But throwing a bunch of stuff in your crockpot and letting it cook all day while you participate in Zoom calls, coordinate homeschooling, and try to keep a little personal sanity – never goes out of style. Plus you can dip some of that big bread loaf you are making in these soups.
- Stockpile Stew – aka 7 Can Soup
- Crockpot Gumbo
- Green Chile Chicken Chili
- Rustic Italian Chicken Stew
- Beef Stew
- Mexican Chicken Stew
10. Frozen bagged meal
No shame, in Quarantine time, we are eating one frozen bagged meal a week. It was what I grabbed when I first heard about the possibility of social distancing and we are slowly eating them down – Great Value, Bertoli, PF Chang, Birdseye. I usually try to find the ones that are lower in calories and hold a lot of vegetables, but its not always a requirement. Some days, mama has just wrangled a toddler one too many times and she is over anything resembling cooking. So, throwing a bag of frozen food in a skillet with a sauce included sounds like the best plan!
11. Meatballs
I’m a big fan of spaghetti, but I know that pasta has been a little scarce these days, so I’ve been mixing it up. But, if you’ve not had spaghetti, then keep it simple with a canned or jarred sauce and stir in a little pesto or Italian seasoning and minced garlic to keep it fresh. Serve it over whatever pasta you have on hand.
Sometimes we have Swedish-style meatballs with a topping similar to Stroganoff, but the easiest way to make it is by mixing one can of cream of mushroom soup and beef broth or french onion soup. Stir together and add meatballs. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes. Serve over rice, cauli rice, or egg noodles.
Another way to have meatballs is to coat them with Thai chili sauce and cook them down with a can of drained pineapple chunks. Steam or roast an oriental stir fry vegetable mix and serve with rice.
12. Mexican Casserole
I mean there are so many options and I’ve got a few ideas for fun meals for Cinco de Mayo in a couple weeks, but its really hard to get away from a good, dependable Mexican Casserole. This Mexican Lasagna is so easy, Weight-Watcher friendly and it makes a ton so you can have it for multiple meals in one week.
Growing up, we ate a lot of King Ranch Chicken and I’m totally not opposed to a Dorito casserole. Or keep it super easy and make Taco Salad, one of my favorite treats!
13. Support a local business – Take out Once a Week
It’s no secret that I love a local dive. Whether it’s tacos from a food truck, greasy spoon burger, or driving to the ends of the earth to find a restaurant that I think I heard about down this crazy dirt road, I’m all about trying something new and supporting “mom and pop”. Some areas have made “take out Tuesday” a thing while we are social distancing. I’m not picky. If it’s a day I’ve had it and don’t feel like cooking or a planned pick-up on the menu, I think it is so important to support our small businesses more now than ever. I sure don’t want to lose any of my favorite spots in our local community.
Other go-to family meals that always win!
- Favorite recipes on Pinterest
- Cheesy Crockpot Tortellini – if you’ve never had this, it will change the life of your family. No really, you will make it for holidays, dinner guests, to take to neighbors, it will be on repeat. Trust me. Buy a Ceasar salad kit and some frozen garlic bread. You will thank me later!
- salad kit with leftover meat – this is a great weekend meal, usually a Sunday night for us. Get a premixed salad kit from the grocery store and use whatever meat is leftover as a topping or on the side – grilled chicken, fajita meat, smoked sausages, or slow cooker Asian meats. So many options, so little work, and vegetables are included!
- Sunday Roast and Shepherds Pie for leftovers later in the week.
- Mississippi Style Roast – great way to use up deer meat or wild game
- Homemade Pizza night – we’ve been using 2-ingredient dough to make different bread options and still feel good about all the potential carbs we are consuming through Quarantine. But, it’s ok to buy a frozen cheese pizza and add your own toppings. We may or may not have done that one, two, or three times already! We love to have pizza night on Friday night followed by card game time or a movie!
- Grilled Burgers and fries or chips are always a favorite. We make “whip the fool dip” as my favorite with burgers. It’s just 1 package of cream cheese to 2 cups salsa and beat in a stand mixer until it’s fluffy and no lumps. Eat immediately or refrigerate to set!
- Chicken Pot Pie – Amy Hannon from Euna Mae’s has a famous recipe that is perfect to double and take a friend. But, also love my version that is “semi-homemade” and all the deep creamy flavor is brought about by adding some of that garlic herb cream cheese spread.
- Little Ham Sliders never get old and you can totally mix up the meat and cheese combinations are endless. Combine with some pimento cheese spread, french onion dip, or your favorite flavored chips.
- Healthy Chili Mac – I had been craving this for some reason. I just wanted that homemade version of Hamburger Helper flavor and this was sooooo good and had all kinds of extra veggies mixed in. I text 5 people immediately with the recipe.
- Slow Cooker Swiss Steak – a great way to use up deer meat in the freezer, but it’s also great with ground round. It’s hearty and tastes like a meal your grandma would spend hours making.
- Tomato Basil Chicken – this is our version of a The Freezer Family meal – Place 4 chicken breasts in the bottom of a slow cooker. Add 1 large can of tomato sauce, add 2 cans of diced tomatoes with garlic, peppers, and onions, and one package of spaghetti sauce seasoning. Leave this all in the crockpot on low for 8 hours. About 3o minutes before you eat, add in a bag of fresh spinach or a box of thawed frozen chopped spinach. Serve over penne, rotini, or bowtie pasta. I usually take the leftovers and make a casserole out of them for later in the week. So, stinking good!
- Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes – we had these at church recently for Wednesday night supper and they had to go get more supplies. The kids loved them (and the grown-up too – especially the dads!)
- Meatball Subs – put meatballs and spaghetti sauce in the crockpot for 4 hours – serve on hoagie rolls or hotdog buns and top with provolone cheese slices. This is one of my favorite small group meals.
- Egg Roll in a Bowl – lots of veggies, lots of Asian flavors, but doesn’t really keep well as leftovers. But my mama loves this and we try to make it when she comes for a visit. I usually stir fry oriental veggie blend and throw them in as well as Asian dumplings on the side.
- Smoked Sausages with Velveeta shells and cheese and broccoli slaw or green veggies – I mean this is such a good protein option when all the others are out. Plus you can sub out flavored sausages, turkey sausages, boudin, or kielbasa, and its all so good. Dice it, bake it, grill it, or throw it in the Air Fryer.
- Homemade Calzones – I mean these always feel so fancy and they are just pizza pockets. You could set up a buffet of toppings and your kids would love getting to make their own creations.
- Quesadillas – I mean how can you go wrong – tortillas, cheese, insides. This is a great weekend meal to take whatever is left in your fridge and press it into a quesadilla. We had fajitas earlier this week and the meat was really tough, so I’m going to dice it and turn it into quesadilla meat where it has all the flavor but not as much chew.
- Pulled Pork – put a pork sirloin or tenderloin in the crockpot for 12 hours and shred it with forks – sliders, hamburger buns, tacos, baked potatoes, etc. We had this for Little Man’s birthday and I just froze leftovers in zip-top baggies and we have been pulling them out once every couple of weeks. Our new way to eat it is as toppings on a tostada with avocado. Where have tostadas been all my life?
- Chicken Parmesan – so my favorite thing to do here is to get Tyson Air Fried breaded frozen chicken strips and top it with marinara sauce and mozzarella cheese over angel hair pasta. No reason to make this hard!
- Enchiladas – I need to get my enchilada on. It’s funny I like homemade enchiladas, but not typically a meal I order out at a Mexican food restaurant. There are so many varieties and I should probably post some of mine sometime, but just go to Pinterest and search for easy!
- Chicken Tacos – boneless, skinless chicken breast or thighs in the crockpot with one packet of taco seasoning and 2 cans of Rotel. Others add a package of dry ranch as well or leave out the ranch and add a block of cream cheese. Like the pulled pork, it’s a topping you can use on near anything, or inside those enchiladas.
Other Meal Plan Solutions you might enjoy:
- Crocktober Roundup
- Tried and True Family Meals
- Slow Cooker Freezer Meal Ideas
- 2020 Monthly Meal Plans – more coming soon!
- 2019 Monthly Meal Plans – Sept – Dec
- Family Beach Meal Plan
- Road Trip Family Menu
- Easy Meals to take and serve to another family – new baby, grief, hard week
- Table Food Hacks for Toddlers
- Easy Meals for a Social Distancing Family
