Family meals: 1

Within hours of posting the link to last week's post about a family meal series, I had multiple guest contributors volunteer to share! I am really excited to get a glimpse into their minds and their kitchens...

I sent them off a list of questions and will be sharing family meals from a few great ladies in the coming week!

Today, though, I'll share my family's meals from last week. Sunday through Wednesday were meals for three adults and one child. We have an international student living with us who is 18; he eats like a grown man (because he is a grown man) and I've had to adjust my portions accordingly for the last month. Because we had family in town for Charlotte's birthday party, a few of the meals were for a bigger crowd. 

Sunday- whole wheat pizza and salad. I purchased two balls of dough from my local grocery store and topped the pizzas with jarred sauce, shredded mozzarella, and sliced pepperoni from the deli counter. This was an easy dinner, which I specifically planned for the evening after I got home from a 48 hour retreat. 

Monday- eggplant and zucchini risotto with frozen corn and fresh bread. My neighbor miraculously dropped off a loaf of warm bread around 3 pm this day, which was amazing! The risotto recipe I used was from the Baby Led Weaning cookbook, and while it was delicious, didn't really make enough for all four of us. We were really glad to have the bread to fill us up!

Tuesday- chicken tacos. Last week I had two extra chicken breasts that were about to expire in the fridge. I put them in the crock-pot with salsa, chicken broth, and homemade taco seasoning. Then, when the chicken was cooked, I froze it to use this week for tacos. There wasn't a ton of chicken, so I supplemented the tacos with canned black beans, shredded cheddar cheese, lettuce, sliced tomatoes, sour cream, and a tiny bit of homemade guacamole.

Wednesday- spaghetti with turkey meatballs (above image from skinnytaste) and salad. I used whole grain spaghetti and jarred sauce. The recipe for meatballs calls for a crock pot, which I LOVE! So easy and quick to toss together during nap time!

Thursday- out to eat with my parents

Friday-  roasted chicken drumsticks, homemade buttermilk biscuits, steamed broccoli. For the drumsticks, I simply peeled back the skin and cut it off using kitchen shears. Then I put some olive oil in a 9 x 13 pan and sprinkled the drumsticks with paprika, garlic, and black pepper. I roasted them on 425 for about 35-40 minutes. 

Saturday- chili with cornbread (I use my mom's chili recipe which is very basic but very delicious. This time I subbed the ground beef for ground turkey breast, since I had some in my fridge.)