August 2-8, 2015

Sunday:  Salsa Ranch Chicken Wraps with Salad

Salsa Ranch Chicken Wraps

  This recipe from Thrifty Frugal Mom is incredibly easy and pretty tasty too!  We had family movie night on Sunday this week, and these were a great movie food.  I served ours with a salad, and we were all set!  I used rotisserie chicken in mine and mixed up the filling earlier in the afternoon.  So, when it was time to make dinner, I just had to assemble and cook them on the skillet.  J

Monday:  Hobo Dinner and S’mores Dip!

Hobo Dinner

  I’m not sure everyone calls dinner in a foil packet “Hobo Dinner,” but that’s what it was called the first time I had it at church camp a million years ago.  But, the basis of it is a ground beef patty with seasonings and Worcestershire, pile veggies on top, add a few more seasonings and olive oil, and then wrap everything up in a foil packet.  The kids helped with this, and had a blast!  I had bowls of potatoes, green beans, bell peppers, and zucchini, and they assembled their own dinner.

I planned to grill them originally, but we had some coals on the fire pit that were ready for a fire, so Chad cooked them that way instead!  The kids played in the water while we cooked our dinner outside. 

Then, we all opened our packets and dinner was ready!  It was pretty hot, so I let the kids’ cool for a few minutes.

If you want this recipe and more like it, go here:  http://www.homemadeinterest.com/10-no-fuss-foil-packet-meals/

To continue with cooking things in foil over the fire, I threw some marshmallows and dark chocolate chips in another foil packet, and we cooked that over the fire too!  

Then we ate it as a dip with animal crackers!  Delish!! 

Tuesday:  “World’s Best Chicken” with Roasted Broccoli and Carrots

“World’s Best Chicken”

  This recipe from Fresh Dreamer was super simple to make, and we all gobbled it right up!  It was very easy to add roasted broccoli and carrots to this meal, which are two vegetables my kids always eat without complaint.

Wednesday:  Venison Barbacoa Tacos with Salad

Venison Barbacoa

  This was essentially brisket tacos that Chad made with a venison roast from the deer he shot last year.  Again, the Food Saver has been well worth it!  Here is a picture of the recipe since Chad made it using his game cook book.  I really enjoyed them, and think they would be good with any cut of meat.  J

Thursday:  Breakfast for Dinner!  Eggs, Bacon, Fruit, & Donuts

  Chad was gone for work, so the kids and I had an easy dinner.  Their Grammy and DadDad had brought them some Krispy Kreme donuts earlier in the day, so I let them have one after they had eaten all their protein and fruit.

Friday:  Chicken Tenders, Salad, & Grapes

  To make family movie night easy and fun, I just prepared some Purdue Simply Smart Chicken Tenders from the freezer (even Chad and I like these!), made a quick salad, and added a little bowl of grapes.  I took this picture to show how different our plates can look…everyone likes a different sauce, Payton doesn’t eat salad so she had a green applesauce, and Callen was sick to I didn’t give him much food.  Still, everyone was happy and everyone made a happy plate!  I was happy because clean-up was a cinch!

Saturday:  Honey BBQ Turkey Meatloaf with Roasted Broccoli

Honey BBQ Turkey Meatloaf

  A family fave!  I made a double recipe and took the same meal to some friends of ours.  This is the easiest, tastiest meatloaf recipe.  I altered the original recipe from Can You Stay For Dinner.

1-1.5 lb. 90% lean ground turkey

½ cup oatmeal

1 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon spicy brown mustard

1/2 cup smoky barbecue sauce, divided

2 tablespoons honey, divided

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

-In a large bowl, use your hands to mix together the ground beef, oatmeal, 1 tablespoon of the Worcestershire sauce, the spicy brown mustard, 1/4 cup of the barbecue sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, egg, salt, and black pepper.

-Shape the mixture into a long, thick loaf and place in an oiled baking dish. Be careful not to pack the meat too tightly or you’ll end up with a very dense, tough loaf.

-In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining 1/4 cup barbecue sauce, 1 tablespoon honey, and 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce. Spread half of this mixture evenly all over the meatloaf. Reserve the other half for serving.

-Bake for 35-45 minutes. Slice and drizzle with reserved honey barbecue sauce.