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.

Baked Mac and Cheese

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: 

• 1 15 oz. can hormel chili with beans
• 1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained, ground in food processor
• 2 10 oz. cans red enchilada sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 tsp dried oregano

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!

French Dip Sandwiches

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.

See all our weekly menus HERE