Turkey Meatloaf. You can’t go wrong with this recipe from Skinny Taste. I always make two batches… one regular and one with a tablespoon of cayenne thrown in because that spice makes everything so much better.  We paired ours with a big heaping of mashed cauliflower. Yum, yum.

Blackened Salmon and Rice. One morning as I was browsing Pinterest, I repinned this because it just sounded good (and easy!), so I made it that evening. Mine came out a little redder than the picture because I think I tripled the cayenne for the filets Ben and I were going to eat. The girls can take some spice, but not as spicy as we eat it. Hopefully one day they’ll make their way up to our spice levels. The recipe was really good and I will definitely be making this again. I also roasted some Brussels sprouts to go along with it and you really can’t ever go wrong with roasted vegetables.

Week 11/4 – 11/8
Monday: Sopes
Tuesday: Crab Cakes with Kale
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Black Bean Soup
Friday: Pizza/sushi night

Last week, I was so exhausted that I didn’t spend too much time in the kitchen. I even picked up fast food one evening because I just needed something easy. It was just one of those weeks. What have you been cooking lately?

Spring Minestrone with Turkey Meatballs. I made this for dinner club with ground turkey instead. All the soup was pretty much gone the first night, so it was really lacking in this bowl when I took a picture of it.

Fish Tacos. Don’t mind the messy looking taco. I promise you though, it’s really good! I’ll share my recipe soon.

Week of 10/21 – 10/25

Monday: Crab cakes
Tuesday: Mom’s Pot Roast
Wednesday: Leftovers
Thursday: Sloppy Joes with Sweet Potato Fries
Friday: Sushi/pizza night

I’ve never made pot roast, so I’m excited to do so for the first time in the crock pot. Anyone have a particularly good recipe to use?

Chicken Enchiladas. This is one of our faves (you can do a search for it here and can see I’ve made it plenty of times). I can now pretty much make this without having to look at the recipe. Brave isn’t much of a meat eater, so I made her a batch of cheese enchiladas. According to her, they were quite yummy too.

Crab Cakes and Lemon Aioli. Just realized I had this is the last family meal post, but we liked it so much, that I was itching to try it again. The first time was with canned crab meat (non-refrigerated) and it was good. This time, I got some refrigerated lump crab meat and it came out a lot better. I didn’t use hot sauce, but made two batches, one with 1 tbsp cayenne and one without. I also used a whole bundle of chopped parsley instead of the measly tablespoon the recipe calls for. Another change is that I lightly pan-fry instead of using a 1/2 cup of oil like the recipe suggests. True is allergic so she got a personal pan pizza that night; I want to try it next time with a batch of imitation crab just for her.

Week of 10/14 – 10/18
Monday: Spaghetti
Tuesday: Fish Tacos
Wednesday: Spring Minestrone with Chicken Meatballs
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Pizza/Sushi

We’ve been having our dinner clubs almost weekly and it’s about 10-12 of us. I’d love to hear some of your go-to meals for large groups! It’s been such a blessing to have this time with our friends (and new friends) who join us. Sharing meals together is pretty much always guaranteed to be filled with lots of laughs and encouragement!

Crab Cakes with Lemon Aioli. Very good and threw cayenne pepper in there because we love spicy. I already have some lump crab meat (a decent price at trader joe’s!) in the fridge to make more soon!

Yakisoba Chicken. I winged this one and it came out good. This was for the girls, since I was cooking up something spicy for Ben and me. True still doesn’t like mushrooms, but she liked all the rest of it. The baby really loved this dish! She was the last one standing.

Jjambbong (Korean-Chinese Spicy Noodle Soup). This was so good and I doubled the recipe and doubled the amount of chili it called for. Ben said, “You for sure have to make this in the winter!” Mind you, I made this when it was sweltering hot outside, so we were double sweating from the weather and the heat in the food. Such a good recipe and if you like spicy foods, make this!

Spaghetti and Meatballs. I know it’s basic, but even still I usually need a recipe to make something from scratch. This time, I didn’t even use a recipe for the meatballs! I’m slowly getting more comfortable venturing off on my own, but I still wouldn’t say I’m a cook of sorts. Maybe one day it will come more naturally, but until then, I’ll keep practicing.

Week of 9/23 – 9/27

Monday: Fish Tacos
Tuesday: Leftovers
Wednesday: Chicken Enchiladas
Thursday: Curried Split Pea Soup 
Friday: Sushi/pizza night

I’ve cooked so many different recipes in my family meal planning. I definitely should do a round up of my top ten. There is so much to learn in the kitchen. I’ve been the main chef these days that it’s been months since Ben has cooked and cooking is more natural to him than me. Family planning has definitely saved us a lot of time and allowed us to enjoy our dinners more together as a family. We’re so thankful for our dinner times!

I saw this pin and immediately repinned it to make on Glow’s birthday because I knew this stack of pancakes would make for  a good breakfast (birthday cake) in bed! Breakfast in bed is tradition for birthday celebrants in our home, and while it usually is some sort of pancake or waffle, we knew we’d be out the entire day so we needed a breakfast dish that would also double as a birthday cake. This one fit the bill perfectly!

Nordic Pancake Cake with Berries and Cream
(original recipe here made by A Tasty Love Story, but I slightly changed it up, so you’ll get my changes below)

For the pancakes:
2 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
3 large eggs
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
Zest from 1 lemon
Cooking spray

For the berry sauce:
2 1/2 cups mixed berries (blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries)
2 tbsp sugar

For the toppings:
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup greek yogurt
2 tbsp sugar
2 cup mixed fresh berries (this is for topping the cake)

Directions:
In a bowl, whisk all the pancake ingredients together. Make sure the batter is smooth. Heat a nonstick pan, spray some cooking oil and pour 1/3 cup of batter onto the pan. Fry the pancake for about 1-2 minutes on each side. When you see one side start to bubble, it’s time to flip it. Repeat for the rest of the batter. Allow pancakes to cool completely before stacking together with the cream and berries.

To make the sauce, place the berries in a small pot over medium heat. Add the sugar and with a potato masher continue to mash the berries together. Once all the berries have been mashed (it’s okay to have some chunks), allow the sauce to simmer for 3-5 minutes. Allow it to cool completely before you use it. I made all the various components the night before, so the pancakes and the sauce cooled in the fridge overnight.

Whisk the cream with wide strokes (or using a mixer) and once the cream starts to thicken up, add the sugar. Continue to whip the cream until it is light and airy. Once it is done, gently fold in the greek yogurt.

To assemble the cake (make sure all the components have cooled), place a pancake on the plate. Next add a layer of berry sauce or whipped cream (or both), then layer another pancake on top. Continue until you have used all your pancakes. Top the cake with the rest of the whipped cream and the fresh berries… voila!

Our pancakes were about 8″ circles and we had about 15 pancakes layers in our cake. Your cake might differ slightly based on the size of your pancakes.

It looks fancy, but it’s so easy to make! My mind is swirling with ideas to modify this recipe even more and even make mini ones. All 4 girls devoured the entire cake, I think I barely got a couple bites in. Most importantly, our birthday girl enjoyed her birthday cake as she had a berry stained face to prove it!

The girls and I were itching to do some baking, okay, it was probably more like itching for some sugar. No matter though, however we got there, the results were good. I pin a lot of recipes (well, a lot of things in general) and this was one that was calling our name, so we made it. The girls helped mixed, but we were in kind of a hurry that I was the one who threw all the ingredients in. I told them next time I’d let them do it, so we’re probably going to be making this again this week.

Funny though, the recipe is from Half Baked Harvest called Healthy Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bars, but it is definitely far from healthy. I think the creator meant it as funny joke to name it that. I told Ben the name of the recipe and what was in it and he just laughed. Apparently, 1 cup of canola oil is 1,927 calories and 216 grams of fat, and that’s only the oil! Throw in the chocolate chips, sugar, and the rest of the magic that makes this thing yummy, and these bars should have flashing lights over it saying, “Danger! Danger!” But life is short and I love living dangerously! Right, folks?!

We will try to make it again this week, but slightly healthier and we’ll cross our fingers that they still come out yummy. Or we will continue to live our life on the edge, either way, I’ll let you know how it goes!