The menu for the week shares easily prepared recipes made directly from the pantry. We all have experienced when our pantry is overstocked or there is meat in the freezer that you need to defrost and cook. Many times I’ve been tempted to try new recipes and go out for new ingredients, but I’ve learned to manage the kitchen to shop and cook from my pantry to use those ingredients before they expire or go bad.
Cooking from the pantry is an excellent way to get meals on the table when time is short and you can’t get to the store, when dinner ideas have dwindled or if an unexpected supper has to be whipped together.
Cooking from the pantry, leads you to lots of home cooking and creativity. You also control how much you spend on groceries. An organized, well-stocked pantry is the first step, but once that’s established, creative, delicious dinners are just minutes away.
This week’s Noel’s Family Meals Members are creating:
What’s For Dinner
- Leftovers Creation: Turkey and Corn Enchiladas (Crock Pot Recipe)
- Garlic Lime Chicken
- Taco Salad
- Veggie Beef Burgers with Seasoned Homemade Potato Fries
- Homemade Enchilada Sauce
- Homemade Mayonnaise
- Homemade BBQ Sauce
- Garlic Lime Sauce
- Lemon Cream
- To be announced later in the week
Tags: Family Meal Planning, Family Mealtimes, Quick and Easy Weeknight Dinners, Slow Cooker Crock Pot
Weekly Menu Theme and Recipes for Family Dinners
Posted on 01 January 2012 by noelskitchen
Happy New Year! Are you ready to get organized this new year? Here’s to a brand new year full of wonderful family meal times together. Noel’s Family Meals is helping you and your family save money, time and eat better this year. In my house, life is shared in the kitchen and around the table over delicious homemade recipes that I grew up to love and ones I created and will hopefully be passed down to our children. The table is where we stay close to one another. It’s where we define ourselves by the food we eat and the wonderful stories we tell, as we pass around our plates around the table. A family meal is all about sharing. It’s not about getting dressed up, or serving fancy food. It’s a chance to step back in our busy everyday lives, everyday worries and focus on what really matters.
I love to plan our new dinners weekly and this year we’re starting off with a new creative way to meal plan. We’re starting off our week with Sunday Suppers (Dinner Around The Table). This is one night of the week you really shouldn’t miss gathering around the table for dinner. Sunday Suppers start the week off with a fresh new and positive look at the week ahead.
This year, I won’t be cooking without my new crock pot. We’re creating some new savory slow cooked meals on Slow Cooker Mondays. We’re starting off the new year with a savory 5-Spice Beef slowly cooked and served over a fluffy bed of white rice.
If that’s not enough to get your mouth watering, then stick around for Italian Tuesdays where we’ll serve up dishes like Chicken in Lemon Creme with Penne; the theme meal ideas are endless with Italian night.
Mix It Up Wednesdays will feature meals from everyday family entrees such as Stuffed Zucchini and Red Bell Peppers, Garlic and Citrus Chicken, to easy carefree dishes like Tomato Soup with Pancetta, Sub Sandwiches, Scramblewiches, and many more entrees your family will love.
As we move to the end of the week, we’ll go back in time and remember those meals we grew up loving with Casserole/Comfort Food Thursdays. You’ll definitely remember growing up with these favorites – Baked Macaroni and Cheese, Bacon-Wrapped Meatloaf Patties with Pan Gravy, Stuffing-Topped Pork Chops, Country-Fried Steak with Milk Gravy, and Beef Stroganoff.
Come Friday, you’ll be ready to kick off the weekend with Family Nights and have a Kid Food Night Friday. There’s a fun new twist on pizza with BBQ Sloppy Chicken Pan Pizza, have a taco bar with Turkey Tacos and a board game night and serve up Tuna with Everything-but-the-Kitchen-sink.
Grilling doesn’t have to be just in the summer. Relax, kick back and enjoy your weekend with Saturday Grill Night. Serving up dishes like Chili Dog Bacon Cheeseburgers, Brats and Peppers, Spiced Grilled Chicken and Veggie Pockets and Rosemary Garlic Grilled Pork Chops.
Of course we’ll make room for those leftover nights where we eat from the pantry (your pantry, fridge and freezer). The recipes are flexible and nearly foolproof, so you never have to worry about making everything perfect.
Hopefully the recipes I share with you’ll find yourselves remembering old family traditions of good food and family togetherness. And perhaps it will inspire your family to create new family traditions of your own.
Tags: Family Meal Planning, Freebies, Holiday, Noel's Family Meals, Tips for Working Moms
Noel’s Family Meals December Holiday Fun Special!
Posted on 17 December 2011 by noelskitchen
Noel’s Family Meals Premium Members Freebie
In the beginning of the year, I shared with my fellow busy moms, life can get a little chaotic. I created a Home Management Book to help me tackle all of the day-to-day challenges a busy mom has. It’s a great system to have and that’s why I’m offering this Bonus “Merry Christmas” Holiday Fun Package exclusively for Noel’s Family Meals Premium Members, I’m sharing with you:
Bonus “Merry Christmas” Holiday Fun Package Includes:
Holiday Stationery (4 styles)
Holiday Recipe Cards (4 styles)
Holiday Jar Labels (4 styles)
Holiday Gift Labels (4 styles)
Holiday Greeting Cards (4 styles)
Holiday Coloring Pages (5 pages)
These are great fun ideas to add to your Working Mom’s Home Management Book!
You must be a Premium Family Meal member only to view the following information. To see more and view this week's meal plan with recipes and grocery list, pictures and more, log in or for more information on becoming a member of Noel's Family Meals, visit here:
Tags: Family Meal Planning, Freezer Cooking, Make Ahead Meals, Slow Cooker Crock Pot
Weekly Meal, Grocery List and Recipes: Easy Weeknight Dinners
Posted on 11 December 2011 by noelskitchen
This weekend, we were getting into the festive spirit with some last minute Christmas shopping, the annual toy run, decorating the tree and I spent a majority of my time with the kids in the kitchen baking different types of cookies, making fudge, peanut butter balls and trying a new recipe for Peppermint Bark.
This week is a great time to start baking and making those food gifts if you haven’t started already. Food gifts are great because they are simple, fun to make and can be done inexpensively.
Last week, Noel’s Family Meals Members started a majority of our batch and freezer cooking in preparation for a less hectic second part of this month when our focus will be on Christmas. For this week’s menu plan, we still want to keep it simple as we move closer to the holiday. This avoids the feeling of being burnt out later in the month when we want to enjoy our time with family and friends. Remember, we are incorporating all of those useful meal planning tools.
Our December Plan Continues….
You must be a Premium Family Meal member only to view the following information. To see more and view this week's meal plan with recipes and grocery list, pictures and more, log in or for more information on becoming a member of Noel's Family Meals, visit here:
