Monday, March 9, 2009

Let's Get Cookin'

Recently our family schedule has picked up in the crazy department. Two of the kids play volleyball which demands two nights of practice per child at dinner time, to boot. Then two of the girls have dance classes, also at dinner time. Add to that the fact that Mr. O and I like to eat out together on Fridays and Houston, we have a problem.

That problem is how to sit down and eat together, not to mention actually cooking something for everyone to eat. My goal this week is to have healthy food (or basically, just not takeout) for all of us to eat. This may mean we eat at 4:30 two nights a week or at 7 PM. But, I'll figure it out.

Currently, we are suffering from recipe fatigue. It feels like we eat the same stuff all the time even though I rotate it every two weeks. So I'm asking a really big favor - what are your family favorites and do you have recipe suggestions?

Here are some of the things I fix regularly (or used to):
Chicken Enchiladas with white sauce
Thai Spring Rolls
Lemon Pepper Chicken
Roast
Spaghetti Pizza
Homemade Pepperoni or Pesto-Veggie Pizza
Tacos
Chicken and Rice Casserole
Chicken Teriyaki Stir-fry
Shrimp Scampi or Stir-fry
Puck's Chicken (a tomato/Alfredo sauce over farfalle)
Grilled Salmon
Pita Pizzas
Minestrone Soup
Hawaiian Haystacks
And the bad boys: Macaroni or Ramen

Sides:
Garlic Roasted Veggies
Baked Sweet Potato Fries/Wedges
Carrots and Potatoes
Corn
Salad
Peaches
Tropical Fruit Salad
Bread of some sort
Cornbread
Asparagus w/Olive Oil and Prosciutto

All of the above taste really good, but I think we've eaten our fill of them. Please bail us out of our rut and tell us some of your family favorites. Please!

Note: I am definitely open to crock pot ideas (ones that are actually tasty).