Has the panic set in yet? For my family, this season is definitely making me more aware of who is around me, and the kids coughing and such. The good news is that I am stocked up on TP, hand soap, and food. Food — that is the scariest part for me! We have four teenagers at home, and I have to feed them three meals a day for God knows how long. It will be a major challenge, but I know I can handle it with good meal planning, my trusty crockpot, and my mom and grandma’s recipes.
Now the fun part begins: cooking dinner and planning breakfast, lunch, and dinner for the next couple of weeks. My plan is to prep and dump in the Crockpot. Then our meals will be ready in a few hours, and I can go back to tending to my kids, who are so bored! Here are a few of my absolute favorites, and one, in particular, is very special to me. I hope this takes some of the stress away.
Breakfast
Lunch
Lunch for us is whatever is leftover from dinner the night before. Sometimes we don’t have leftovers, so I do the traditional sandwiches, hot pockets, or I make a ghoulash with a container of shredded chicken I keep on hand. You can use whatever leftovers you have in your refrigerator. That’s the great thing about a ghoulash recipe; it’s awesome for things that you already have on hand. The recipe I’m following is what my mother taught me, and it’s used for my large family, but you can customize it any way you like.
Ingredients
- 3lbs Chicken, Ground Beef, or Turkey
- 6 cloves Garlic
- 4 15-ounce cans Tomatoes
- 2 Yellow or White onions, large
- 2 cup chicken broth
- 3 15-ounce cans Tomato sauce
- 2 tbsp of heavy cream
- 3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 3 cups Elbow macaroni (any pasta will do fine)
- 1 tbsp Italian seasoning
- 2 tbsp of creole seasoning
- 1/2 tsp Pepper
- 1/2 tsp Salt
- 1 cup Sharp Cheddar cheese
- 3 cups Water
Instructions
In a Crock Pot, add your cooked meat and onions. Add 3 cups of water and your broth, also add tomatoes, garlic, tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and salt and pepper. I let that simmer in my crockpot for one hour on high. The next step would be to add elbow macaroni, allow to simmer, and stir a few times to check that pasta is done. I let it all cook together on high for 2 hours. Serve in a bowl with honey biscuits and sharp cheddar cheese on top!
Dinner
- Easy crockpot shredded buffalo chicken sandwiches
- 5-ingredient slow cooker steak fajitas
- Slow cooker queso chicken tacos
- Crockpot chicken and dumplings
- Crockpot brown sugar balsamic glazed pork tenderloin-
- Crockpot meatball sandwiches
- Crockpot Sloppy Joes
- Crockpot pulled pork
I know it’s going to be a hard couple of weeks for all of us, but the great thing is that we have a chance to truly make memories with our families and enjoy the time that we always say we’re missing because we’re so busy. In my opinion, it’s God‘s way of slowing us down so that we can cherish what is important to us. And it’s not things — it’s the people that we love with all of our hearts. I hope these recipes can put your mind at some type of ease and warm your heart! Please stay safe, everyone.
