What's For Dinner?

"What's for dinner?" Preparing meals seems to be an endless job for us moms. Sometimes the cooking of the meal isn't the hardest part it is figuring out what to make. In our house if my husband says "Thanks for making this.", that means it's edible, but not something he is really enjoying. If he says " This is good.", it really is GOOD. Tuesday night was one of those nights and I can only take credit for finding the recipe; my 14 year old son and 10 year old daughter did the cooking.
One thing I find helpful is to prepare a menu for a week or two weeks at a time. This can take awhile to do, but is a time saver during the week. You could make several menus and corresponding grocery lists and rotate them. As I make the menu I write down everything I need to purchase to prepare that dish. It is also a good idea to check the grocery store ads and plan your menu using meat that is on sale that week. I might purchase pork chops if they are on sale and freeze them to use in the future as it is a real money saver if you can get your meat items on sale.
We purchase the bulk of our staple items at Aldi- a German based stored that sells mostly their own brand of product, it is a very basic, no frills store, but the prices are the best around. www.aldifoods.com Since there is one in Woodbridge my husband will stop after work and do a major purchase for us about every 2 weeks. I email him our grocery list and he gets everything he can, certain items that are more specialized I have to pick up later or do without. We will also purchase some pre-made items for the weekend, ie pizza, stir fry veggies packs, hot dogs. Even though these items are more expensive they save us from spending money on take-out or going out to dinner.
I hope these ideas help you out with the never ending job of making meals. Lastly here is the recipe for our successful, delicious entree that we had this week.

Nacho Spuds
prep time 15 minutes
4 servings
Slice 2 large potatoes into 1/2" thick rounds(no need to peel), toss these with a little olive oil. Lay the potatoes on a baking sheet in a single layer and bake at 450 until tender, about 20 minutes.
While the potatoes are baking, cook 1/2 lb. ground beef. Mix in a 15oz can of black beans(any beans will do), 2 tablespoons of taco seasoning and 2 tablespoons water. Simmer on low heat for 10 minutes. Layer the potatoes in an 9x11 over proof dish, sprinkle with 1 cup of cheese and layer the meat mixture on the potatoes, top with another cup of cheese. Place in the oven and turn the oven off. Let sit in the oven 2-3 minutes or until the cheese is melted. Serve with sour cream, lettuce, black olives if you like.

We had to use a lot more potatoes, about 2 per person and a pound of beef and additional cheese in order to have enough to feed everyone. (I have 2 teen boys that are really putting the food away these days).

Have a wonderful week.
Melissa