meal planning Archives - Mine for the Making

Sloppy Nachos

September 4, 2017 Leave a Comment

I don’t know about you, but I’m always up for easy dinner nights and new ways to use up leftovers. Especially during busy week nights. One of our new favorites to make is Sloppy Nachos.

If you’re a fan of Sloppy Joes and you’re a fan of nachos, you’ll really love this. Sometimes we make Sloppy Joe mix just to make these nachos and other times we use our leftovers from the sandwiches to make them. Either way, they are a hit!

To make your own, layer chips, shredded cheese, and Sloppy Joe mix to your liking.

I like to make my own Sloppy Joe mix. I brown up seasoned, ground turkey meat and then add organic ketchup and my favorite barbecue sauce (brown sugar and honey) to taste. The beautiful part is you can make it as ‘sloppy’ or saucy as you want!

After you are happy with your layers, heat it up in the microwave until the cheese is melted. You can also put it on a pan and heat it in the oven. In the summers, I try not to use my oven.

The kids are bound to love it and you could even have them make their own plate of nachos. If you wanted to spice it up, you could add green onions or jalapeños to your Sloppy Nachos!

Let us know if you try it and like it!

What are some of your favorite, quick weeknight dinners to make?

Filed Under: meal planning, meal time, recipe

#ad Tiki Orange Cornish Hens

September 9, 2015 5 Comments

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #JuicyGrilledCornish #CollectiveBias

How was your holiday weekend, friends? Ours was busy but we were about to carve some time away to pull out the grill! I LOVE grilling… the smell is so nostalgic for me. Lots of backyard barbecues when I was growing up. This weekend we decided to grill up some Tiki Orange Cornish Hens and veggies. Y’all… it was delicious!! Probably one of my favorite recipes for the grill to date.

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tyson® Cornish Hens
bell peppers (any colors you like)
onion
1 orange (+ zest of orange)
1 1/2 tbs Kikkoman® Soy Sauce
1 cup orange juice (pulp free)
salt
10 drops lime juice
1 1/2 tbs water
3 tbs sugar
5 tbs white vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic (minced)
1 tsp ginger (minced)

After you purchase your ingredients from your local Walmart, defrost the Tyson® Cornish Hens, chop your veggies, and heat up your grill. Once they are defrosted, squeeze a slice of orange (1/6 of the orange) over each hen and stuff the hen with the orange slice. Massage salt and the juice into the hens and place them on the hot grill to add grill marks on both sides (about 1-2 min on each side). Take the hens off and wrap each in aluminum foil. Turn the heat down low on the grill and place the hens back on. Cover the grill and cook for about 30-40 minutes.

While hens are cooking on the grill, add your chopped veggies to skewers and set aside. In a bowl wisk together the juice of the orange, zest of the orange, cup of orange juice, water, vinegar, sugar, lime juice, garlic, ginger, and Kikkoman® Soy Sauce. Reduce to 1/4 on the stove top until it is the consistency of a glaze (as it cools it thickens).

Take the tiki orange glaze and skewers to the grill and uncover the hens. Place the skewers on the grill and brush the glaze all over the hens and the veggies. Leave veggies on the grill for about 5-10 minutes while your are basting the hens. Be sure to turn your veggies so that they grill up on all sides.

Remove everything from the grill and plate. This meal is great on a bed of fresh spinach, with a side of jasmine rice, or roasted red potatoes!

Find all the ingredients for this recipe at your local Walmart. You can find the Kikkoman® Soy Sauce in the Asian Foods aisle and the two pack of Tyson® Cornish Hens in the frozen poultry section.

So, I want to hear it! Do you love to grill? What are some of your favorite cornish hen recipes?

Filed Under: food, healthy, homemade, meal planning, recipe Tagged With: grill

Veggie Flats

April 17, 2015 1 Comment

Hello friends and Happy Friday to you! Today I am going to be sharing a healthy recipe that your kids will love to help you with. Plus it’s a great way to squeeze in those vegetables that are so important. This recipe for Veggie Flats can be used as a meal, side to a meal, or even a healthy snack! It’s one of the many awesome recipes found in the Children’s Culinary Institute curriculum.

INGREDIENTS:

1 med head cauliflower

1 med head of broccoli

4 large eggs

1/4 cup chopped fresh spinach

2 tsp onion powder

2tsp. garlic powder

salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2. Trim the cauliflower,and broccoli cut it into small, uniform pieces, and pulse in a food processor in batches until you get a couscous type consistency. The finely chopped veggies should make about 4 cups packed.

3. Place the fine veggies in a microwave-safe bowl with the chopped spinach and microwave for 4-6 minutes. Place the mixture in a fine cheesecloth or thin dishtowel and squeeze out as much liquid as possible, being careful not to burn yourself. Dishwashing gloves or nylon pot holder mitts are suggested as it is very hot.

4. In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs. Add in veggie mix , salt and pepper. Mix until well combined. Use your hands to shape 4-6 small round flats on the parchment paper.

5. Bake for 10 minutes, carefully flip each flat, and return to the oven for an additional 5 to 7 minutes, or until completely set. Place tortillas on a wire rack to cool slightly.

6. Heat a medium-sized skillet on medium. Place a baked flats in the pan, pressing down slightly, and brown for 1 to 2 minutes on each side. Repeat with remaining flats.

We love to add cheese and fresh salsa to the tops of our Veggie Flats. But you could also add pizza sauce, mozzarella cheese, and toppings!

Look at that proud smile! I guarantee had I made this without her she would have never tried a bite. Having kids involved in the cooking process often encourages them to try new things that they otherwise wouldn’t have.

As mentioned before, this recipe (and lots of others) can be found in the Children’s Culinary Institute curriculum. I have been a CCI instructor for 4 years now and I will be the first to tell you that I LOVE it. I am able to use the CCI curriculum and be apart of a team of instructors (nation wide!) who continue to support and help you grow. I can make my own hours and work right from home doing something I love, teaching kids of all ages how to make healthy choices and how to cook and bake. This is an important life skill that so many kids miss out on since it’s often not something offered in schools anymore. Cooking and baking incorporate math, reading comprehension, and science all while learning how to prepare healthy meals and snacks. We have themed months, cooking competitions, field trips, and the kids can even progress through the courses and move up in apron colors. They absolutely LOVE it. Their sense of accomplishment after starting with raw materials and then creating something that they can eat and enjoy… that’s priceless. If you follow me on social media, you have had an inside peek to lots of my kids cooking classes and how fun they really are!

Interested in learning more about becoming a CCI instructor? Click HERE and fill out the form at the top of the page.

Interested in finding classes for your kids in your area? Click HERE and scroll to the bottom of the page.

Filed Under: cook, food, Food-a-licious Friday, kid-friendly, meal planning, meal time, recipe Tagged With: cooking class, kids cooking classes

Food-a-licious Friday {90} Meal Planning

August 3, 2012 5 Comments

Happy Friday, friends!

Today for Food-a-licious Friday, I am going to share some FREE ways for you to stay organized in your meal planning! I have found that it is so much easier for me to function if I am organized. In this busy life, I NEED organization.

Can you relate?

I have found that planning ahead for meals and keeping an on-going grocery list makes my life so much easier. At first, I started planning one week at a time, rather than day-to-day. Now I try to meal plan for the entire month, and keep an on-going grocery list for my weekly shopping trips.

A couple tips that may help you…

I always plan for the following throughout the month: crockpot meals, breakfast for dinner, Italian night, Mexian night, Chinese night, left-overs, family date night, etc. Plotting a few of these throughout the month really relieves some of the anxiety that meal planning can cause (I’m not alone, am I?). I also try a new recipe (from my Pinterest recipe board) once a week if possible. If we like the new recipe, it’s something I can use for next month’s meal planning too!

Now where are you going to write all of this down?

Not to fret, my friends. I have a great round-up of FREE printables from around blogland that you can download and print to make your meal planning and grocery list making so much easier.

Just double click on the image to get to the printable you desire.