Hainanese Chicken Rice. I attempted make this recipe healthier and use chicken breast, not as much oil, and it tastes close enough to what we remember from Singapore. I think what makes it is the spicy chili sauce. I quadrupled that recipe and we poured that stuff all over our chicken. You know us and spice, we love things spicy!!!
Spicy Roasted Bok Choy. I pinned this on pinterest this week and it sounded easy enough to make, so I did. It’s a great vegetable dish to add to our repertoire.
Spaghetti & Stuffed Garlic & Herb Meatballs. I will have the recipe for my meatballs for you this week! Basically, I throw in a lot of herbs and I think that’s what makes it so delicious.
Roasted Cauliflower Steaks with Lemon Relish. I’ve made it numerous times before (see here), and it’s always good.
Week of 8/25 – 8/29
Monday: Leftovers (we still have plenty from last week)
Tuesday: First day of school dinner
Wednesday: Seafood Pasta
Thursday: Chicken Wings with Angry Sauce with Korean Spinach (made healthier of course)
Friday: Sushi night
I’m so happy that I started meal planning over 85 weeks ago. It’s made such a difference in our family dinners and made me feel more comfortable in the kitchen. I actually think cooking is fun! When I’m cooking, the girls usually are playing together and that’s how I’m able to get time to cook. Ben and I really want to start including them in the preparations though, so I need to plan for that time for them to join me in the kitchen. We usually eat dinner around 5:45pm, and I start cooking between 4:30-5:00pm. If I want to get the kids to join in, I probably should start a little earlier so I don’t feel like I’m rushing around. Do you get your kids involved in the meal preparations?
Our3 (almost 4) year old loves to cook with me. She isn’t a picky eater but she just doesn’t eat much. I feel like preparing meals has helped foster excitement for eating and tasting 🙂 also- I got her little chefs knives on amazon and highly recommend them.
I need to look up those little chef knives!
look forward to your meatball recipe! going to bring spaghetti and meatballs soon to friends that just had their second baby, so what great timing. 🙂 thanks for the bok choy recipe. that’s one of my favorite veggies- will definitely try that sometime.
i spy the hainanese chicken rice!!! looks legit 😉
Looks delicious! When I was growing up (as the oldest of 4 girls!) my mom had us help out so we could learn to cook healthy meals for ourselves. She had never learned to cook anything other than eggs and mac & cheese and wanted to save us from that. As we got older each us were actually given a day of the week where dinner was our responsibility. We helped a bit with the meal planning for our day and cooked a meal for the whole family, with little to no assistance from mom depending on age and skill. It was one of my best memories growing up. We loved being able to pick new things to cook and would often check out cook books at the library to make menus! I started much younger than my siblings, it always happens that way as the oldest, and by about 9 years old I could make a meal almost completely on my own. I hope to do this with my kids as well. So far we only have boys, but I think learning to cook can help create a healthier life and is helpful to anyone!
ps. little ones are great at washing and chopping!
that bok choy looks so good! on the menu for lunch today, thanks! two of three of my littles love to cook. it usually works out to involve them in the kitchen while their older sister (10) does her homework in peace! each christmas, my husband buys them a kitchen utensil for their stocking, so they’ve managed to each have a whisk, spoon, and small kid safe knife (we like the plastic ones from our local asian grocery). I’m really curious how much you budget for your food bill. I was inspired the other day by a mama friend who spends $100 for the week for a family of 5, mine is double that and I’m curious how you do it. 🙂
those meat balls look amazing!
xxoo,
nikki
http://www.dream-in-neon.com
i love the recipe info you post, so thank you! i wondered if you could post something about “how” you meal plan. grocery list, recipes, budgeting, shopping, etc. that’s where i can’t seem to get it right! i feel like i do try to do this, but i feel like i end up failing in this department. and i dislike that so much! i too have four kids and we home school. we are on the dave ramsey budget plan and so every single penny counts. i need to figure meal planning out and stick to it. thanks for the inspiration as always. 🙂
Your dinners look so yummy. I love that you want to include the girls in dinner prep. My kids love to cook too. I would suggest that you start small since they are younger. Let them set the table, wash the veggies & slowly add things in as you can. I would often have one child help at a time. It was our time together & it allowed me to work really closely with each one without distraction by the other. My mom didn’t let me in the kitchen with her so I love that my kids want to learn & help out. They can pick recipes online & we will do what we can to make them. They love it. Have fun.
They have the setting table up part, but good idea on the washing veggies. I will use that too. I also like that you guys helped out one at a time. I think that might make it more manageable for me. Thank you for the tips!