Some favorite recipes from this week’s menu. Our favorite enchiladas, some delicious homemade mac and cheese, and more!
I’ve been in a cooking rut lately, so here’s what I made for our menu this week
The last few weeks I haven’t really been excited about cooking. I don’t know why, but I needed to add a few new recipes to the mix to make me feel excited again. I actually pulled out some cookbooks to help me feel motivated — and it worked!!
BUT cooking from a cookbook means I can’t share the recipe because it’s not online. So I’m sharing some other recipes I can share that I made in the last week two weeks.
This baked macaroni and cheese is a recipe I’ve made before and it’s delicious. It’s a great make-ahead dinner too! I made it on Thursday morning because our Thursday evenings are super busy. I just popped it in the oven around 5:00 and it was ready for everyone to eat at various times. Usually we eat dinner together, but Thursdays we’re all in different places.
It calls for pepper jack cheese, which can be a little spicy for tiny mouths, so sub for mozzarella cheese or extra cheddar if you want it more mild!
Homemade hamburgers
Hamburgers are always a crowd pleaser at my house!
We buy store bought dinner rolls (no regular buns for us), frozen patties, and then make them on a skillet.
I always serve them with tots or waffle fries.
Our Favorite Beef Enchiladas
This is a recipe I’ve been making for almost a dozen years and it’s a favorite! Another great make ahead recipe (perfect to bring to a friend who just had a baby too).
Here’s the recipe:
Beef Enchiladas
Makes 12 enchiladas
Sauce:
Mix all ingredients together in saucepan. Simmer on low heat for 30 mins.
Filling:
- 2 lb. beef roast (shoulder, butt, or chuck roasts all work) — can also substitute chicken or pork!
- 1 10 oz can enchilada sauce
- 1 tablespoon taco seasoning (I usually make my own with THIS RECIPE)
- 12 flour tortillas, taco size
- 2 cups grated cheddar cheese
Cook beef roast in the crockpot or instant pot with 2 cups of beef broth until very tender and shreds easily. If I’m doing the crockpot, it takes about 6-8 hours on low, or 4-5 hours on high. In the instant pot it takes about 1 1/2 hours on high pressure. Drain liquid.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
To the meat, add enchilada sauce and taco seasoning. Mix evenly.
Divide beef mixture evenly onto tortillas. Sprinkle cheese over the beef mixture; roll up tortillas.
Place seam side down in a 9×13 baking dish. Pour the sauce over the top. Sprinkle with additional cheese, and bake for 30 minutes uncovered.
Serve warm with tortilla chips!
I’ve been using my instant pot a ton the last few weeks, and I made some delicious French dip sandwiches using a recipe from This Pilgrim Life’s new cookbook. The recipe isn’t online, but THIS ONE is similar and has great reviews!
Quiche Cups
These quiche cups are a quick and easy dinner that I make when I don’t really have a dinner plan.
I honestly don’t use a recipe — I put some eggs (maybe 5-6), a cup or so of shredded cheese, a tablespoon or two of cream cheese, and some milk until it’s the consistency I want.
I like to chop some spinach and some ham or cooked bacon and add it to the mix.
Divide evenly between two muffin pans. Makes 24 cups. Cook at 425 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes until they’re puffy and browned on top.
Here’s what we made for dinner this week. Some of my favorites including a yummy homemade Focaccia!
We had a busy week here with summer in full swing and here’s what we ate. Easy, delicious, and fast!
This recipe is so easy and such a crowd pleaser. I’ve been using the grill as much as possible while the weather is perfect, and this is a great one to throw on the grill. But if you don’t have a grill, it works great in a grill pan on the stove too! I served with grilled corn and watermelon.
Monday is my 11 year old’s day to make dinner and he chose turkey paninis. These were easy to make, and we actually don’t have a panini maker, but we just cook the sandwiches in the waffle iron and that works perfectly. He served with chips and fruit.
Omelets are an easy weeknight meal that everyone loves. I put out a bunch of veggies and a few meat options and everyone chooses their own. I served with toast and that was it!
We had some shredded beef leftover from a recipe a few weeks ago, so we pulled it out of the freezer and my oldest (14 years old) made loaded nachos with it. Everyone loved this dinner! I made homemade guacamole (recipe below), pinto beans, pico de Gallo, and we served with melted cheese and the shredded beef.
Homemade guacamole recipe:
- 2 ripe avocados
- 1 roma tomato
- 1 TB white onion (shredded in the cheese grater)
- 1/2 jalapeño finely diced and mostly de-seeded (if desired)
- Fresh squeezed lime juice from 1/2 a lime
- Salt to taste
THURSDAY: LEFTOVERS
FRIDAY: BOY’S AT GRANDPA’S
SATURDAY: FAMILY DATE NIGHT
This is a super old recipe created by my friend, Kayla. All these years later, it’s still one of my favorites! It’s so flavorful and delicious. I’m serving with homemade foccacia bread.
Sounds like a delicious and varied week of meals! From grilled chicken thighs and loaded nachos to homemade focaccia and chicken marsala, your dinners are both impressive and inspiring. It’s great to see such creativity in using leftovers and involving your kids in meal prep—turkey paninis in a waffle iron, genius! Can’t wait to try out some of these recipes myself. Thanks for sharing your weekly menu!