Three Staples In Our Weekly Dinner Rotation

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“What’s for dinner Mom?” are usually the first words I hear from my children when I walk in the door after a long day at work. My standard answers are “food” and “I don’t know yet.” What I really want to say: “I really have to feed you goblins every night? Can’t we just have cereal?” I try my best to avoid this conversation every night by meal planning for dinner on Sundays with my girls. They love getting involved by picking out their favorite recipes to incorporate into the menu for the week. 

From the beginning of their solid food eating experience, I have really pushed for my daughters to be good eaters. We have never made them a separate meal except on the rare occasion it was something spicy or something completely bizarre. Now don’t get me wrong, we eat our fair share of “kid” food such as chicken nuggets, macaroni and cheese and Cheez-Its but we try to make as many well rounded meals as possible also. It’s all about balance, right?

I have to admit, I am addicted to browsing Pinterest for dinner recipes. I have hundreds of recipes pinned but I have only actually made a small fraction of these recipes. I am fortunate that my husband and girls will try almost anything once, so they are frequently my guinea pigs!

These are a few of my family’s favorite recipes that often go into our weekly rotation:

There are never leftovers with this Chicken Parmesan Casserole. This recipe freezes very well. This is a perfect dish to take to a friend that just had a baby, had surgery or a just needs a break from the dreaded “D” word. 

Chicken Parmesan Casserole

This One Pan Cheesy Smoked Sausage Pasta is a perfect quick dish. I try to slice the meat ahead of time so I can throw everything in the pan when I get home and get dinner going. 

https://www.yellowblissroad.com/one-pot-cheesy-smoked-sausage-pasta-skillet/

This Turkey Chilli is a great fall/winter dinner, plus it cooks in the crockpot! It includes lots of veggies and protein. If you’re like me and love avocados, they really make this extra yummy. 

CrockPot Kid-Friendly Turkey Chili Recipe

I could share recipes with you all night. Cooking is kind of my thing. I just wish I had someone to clean up after me as I go. Another thing that really helps with making dinner a breeze are frozen vegetables from Costco. We have to make a trip at least once a month to replenish our supply of vegetables. Among our favorites are green beans, broccoli and corn. My girls prefer to eat the green beans frozen (they are weirdos). Trader Joe’s also has a fabulous selection of frozen vegetables. 

So next time you are looking for some dinner ideas, don’t be afraid to search on Pinterest or refer back to this blog. Many times Pinterest is overwhelming but I know we all get burned out on making the same things over and over again. I would love to hear how you make the “D” word less stressful and what some of your favorite recipes are for quick and easy weeknight dinners. 

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Erin Martin
Hi y'all! I am a full-time working mom of 2 beautiful girls, 8 year old Eleanor and 3 year old Violet. I have been married to my husband for 10 years, going on 11. I am not just a regular mom, I have the privilege of being a medical mama for my 3 year old. I am a lover of coffee, wine, tacos, margaritas, chocolate, Chris Stapleton and so many other things I can't even begin to list them all. Outside of my family, my main passion in life is connecting with other medical mamas and supporting them throughout their journey. In addition, we do all we can to support our local hospital (Mercy Children's) and our non-local hospital (Cincinnati Children's) through toy drives and supply drives for Ronald McDonald House.

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