At my house, my husband and I are always trying to figure out what to have for supper each night. More times then I would like we end up throwing a pizza in the oven or chicken nuggets in the fryer. (Hey don't judge, we use peanut oil, so its not AS bad :) I have found that planning a little helps us eat better, so a while ago, I found this great post on Pinterest (where else) on how to convert an 8 x 10 photo frame into a "What's for supper?" Meal planner. Basically you print on scrapbook paper the days of the week, then you can write on the glass with a dry erase marker about what you are going to eat for supper that week. I went to the source for all my frames, Goodwill and picked a decent one up for $0.88, then got a scrapbook page of popcorn from Joanne's.
]First couple weeks, it was great, I remembered what to put in the fridge the night before and didn't have to bother hubby as much PLUS we ate better. Its been up for oh about 3 months or so, and guess what?! I've only used it for like 4 weeks total! The last time, we didn't even eat anything close to what I wrote on that board. This always happens, I do something with every intention of making my life easier, and it fails. No, more like I fail at making it a habit!
....so last night I was stuck again, didn't know what to make and it was already 6:00. Fortunately, I did have the good sense the night before and had put some ground beef in the fridge. So, it was either tacos, cheeseburgers, sloppy joes/maid rites, or god forbid, hamburger helper. My hubby HATES boxed meals. Which, when I first met him, was about the only thing I knew how to make. He is a much better cook than I, and I have fortunately learned a great deal from him in the last 5 years!
Problem was, I was craving meatloaf but that takes 1 hour just in the oven! Anyone who knows me knows that I get hangry if I don't eat. (Angry because I'm hungry) This describes me well....
PLUS I have a 3 year old, and I would like to feed her before 7:30 at night :)
Thankfully I had remembered that there was a way to cook individual sized mini loafs in muffin tins! I got the original recipe from this blog: http://www.ringaroundtherosies.net/2012/04/more-freezer-cooking-meals-part-3.html
I hope to do a lot of other ideas on her website, freezing crock pot meals to help my family eat better. I'll let you know how that goes!
I adapted mine a little bit so here is the Momma's Best Shot Version: Also, I do want to say the measurements are not exact, I'm guessing about how much I put of stuff in. Pre-hubby days I used to have to measure everything out exactly, but thankfully my husband helped me to "let go of my fear of messing things up" and just use trial and error. Plus I was in a hurry so I didn't have time to measure stuff out!
1 lb ground beef (I think I used 80/20, but I'm sure whatever you have would work)
1 egg
1/2 onion (I used 3/4 of a small onion, depends on how much you like onions!)
1/4 packet plain crackers ...Ritz, saltines, breadcrumbs, whatever. Maybe like 1/2 Cup? I thought I was out, so I was going to use rice crispies :) My mantra is make do with what you got!
3 shakes Worcestershire sauce
1 TBS mustard (I had Dijon so I used that)
salt and pepper to taste.
1/2 Cup tomato sauce
Preheat oven to 350. Put thawed ground beef in med sized bowl. Add all ingredients except tomato sauce. Mix well. (I used my hands, its easier!) Place in muffin tins. Push down on middle to create "bowl" so they cook well in the center. Put tomato sauce over top. Cook for 30-35 min @ 350 degrees.
Result, hubby and short stuff liked it! Short stuff doesn't really like beef, but she ate this! I always ask my husband what he thought or how I could improve it, and he said instead of tomato sauce to use ketchup with a little mustard, worchestershire sauce, and brown sugar to top it. I love getting ideas from him about how to improve, I hope to be a really good cook in 10 years :) The great thing about this recipe is you can easily double it and freeze the leftovers, so instead of throwing a pizza in the oven you can throw these little guys in the microwave for a quick meal on those nights you are too tired to cook.
I also had a winter squash I needed to use. It came from my in-laws garden (I don't even know what kind it is. Kind of looks like a squashed pumpkin thats green) So I cut that in half, scooped out the insides, put it in a bowl, turned both halves over on the cut sides, added an inch or so of water, put a lid on, and microwaved for 6-10 minutes (till its fork tender) turned it back over in an oven safe dish, put dash of salt, few shakes of ground nutmeg, around 2 TBS honey and 3 TBS butter in each middle and put it in the oven until it melted. I would of added some apple juice if I had some (Original recipe came from a church cookbook, again measurements not exact!) When I scooped it out on the plate, I added a little more honey on top. Too bad I didn't have walnuts or something like that! It was decent, not as good as using brown sugar though. I am sure maple syrup would have been great too! We would have had apples with this but short stuff wanted an orange. Short stuff ate all of the squash first. I am a fortunate Momma, because she loves all sorts of veggies! Olives, mushrooms (straight from the can usually) zucchini, asparagus, peas, dill and bread and butter pickles, picked beets, green peppers, you get the idea. She'll try just about anything too, don't ask me my secret, cause I don't have one! She has always been a curious eater. I actually took most of the onions out of her meatloaf cup, because I know she doesn't really like them. When I gave her her plate, I told her that I took out the onions for her, but I had a lot of onions because I like them. She found one while she was eating, ate it, and told me she liked it! We'll see if she eats them next time they are in something.
Which reminds me....I didn't put anything in the fridge to thaw for tonight. What are some of your favorite go-to quick meals? I need ideas!
So meatloaf cups, honey squash, and oranges were on the table at 6:45. Well, that's Momma's Best Shot!
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