Meal Database 2.0

Several years ago I created a meal database of our favorite meals. I refer to it often when I'm trying to figure out what to cook for dinner, but the list of meals I cook for dinner has grown over the years and the database was in bad need of an update.

Beef

• Brisket
• Taco salad {ground beef}*
• Beef enchilada casserole {ground beef}*
• Hamburgers (we usually go bunless and add awesome toppings like caramelized onions, bacon, and a fried egg) {ground beef}*
• Warm, toasted roast beef sandwiches
• Roast
• Beef fajitas
• Beef fajita quesadillas
• Pasta with meat sauce {ground beef}*
• Hobo dinners {ground beef}
• Grilled steak
• Stuffed bell peppers {ground beef}*
• Beef and broccoli 

*For recipes that use ground beef, sometimes I substitute part or all of the ground beef with ground turkey.

Chicken

• Chicken enchilada casserole
• Chicken spaghetti
• Chicken with a balsamic glaze
• Baked chicken breast
• Crispy yogurt chicken
• French fried onion chicken
• Chicken fried rice
• Chicken pot stickers
• Chicken pot pie (drop biscuit or regular pie crust)
• Chicken fajitas
• Chicken fajita quesadillas
• Chicken and sausage jambalaya
• Chicken, sausage, squash, and onion bake 
• BBQ chicken quarters

Pork

• Pulled pork
• We eat pulled pork a variety of ways, including on buns, in tortillas, or in bowls with jalopeno coleslaw!
• Grilled pork chops
• Pork tenderloin

Seafood (I've been trying more seafood, but haven't found a bunch of recipes that make the "regular" rotation yet)

• Salmon oven roasted in butter
• Balsamic salmon
• Shrimp sautéed in butter 

Other

• Traditional breakfast for dinner (usually includes bacon and eggs plus one of the following)
• Pancakes
• Biscuits
• French Toast
• Apple Fritters (Often without the apples, lol)
• Breakfast tacos (may be "regular" breakfast tacos or could include something like leftover brisket (brisket + eggs = great Texas breakfast taco!))
• Pizza
• Stuffed bell peppers {could be stuffed with ground beef and cheese OR breakfast sausage, cream cheese, and shredded cheese}
• Lasanga
• Chicken spaghetti
• Pasta with meat sauce
• Creamy pasta with chicken and bacon

Soups and such

• Taco soup (ground beef)
• Chicken enchilada soup
• Chicken and dumplings
• Creamy chicken, bacon, and rice (sounds weird, but it is yummy!!)
• Potato soup

Favorite sides

• Grilled corn
• Corn hash (corn roasted with bacon, bell peppers, and onions)
• Grilled asparagus
• Grilled squash
• Roasted broccoli or roasted broccoli and carrots
• Roasted asparagus
• Sautéed green beans
• Sautéed broccoli or sautéed broccoli and carrots
• Sautéed squash
• Sautéed cabbage
• Black-eyed peas
• Mashed potatoes
• German potatoes (still trying to master these!)
• Crash hot potatoes
• Oven roasted potatoes
• Coleslaw
• Jalapeno coleslaw
• Asian coleslaw salad
• Rice
• Couscous
• Cornbread stuffing (if I’m feeling ambitious)
• Fried squash

Breads

• Cornbread
• Parker house rolls
• Garlic bread

Make Ahead Meals (or meals that require little prep AT dinner time)

• Chicken enchilada casserole
• Beef enchilada casserole
• Roast
• Country style steak
• Chicken spaghetti
• Lasagna
• BBQ chicken quarters
• Pulled pork
• Beef and broccoli (if cooked in crockpot - I like it better NOT in the crock pot)

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

After a crazy month of May, we’re hoping to slip back into a normal routine (at least for summer!). Here’s what I’m thinking for this week:

• Pork fajitas
• Sausage, chicken, and veggie grill packs: I’ve never made this before, but it looks like an easier summer dinner.  I also plan to add chicken to the mix.
• Chicken fried rice
• Chicken enchilada casserole

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

• Baked chicken, roasted broccoli and carrots, and mashed potatoes
• Shepherd’s pie
• Chicken spaghetti
• Breakfast for dinner

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

In some ways, I feel like planning a weekly menu is a joke, because I’ve felt so terrible with my hyperemesis that I haven’t been able to look at much food not to mention actually cook food.  In fact, I’ve hardly been able to look at Pinterest lately because my stomach just can’t handle seeing the pictures of food (and, yes, that makes me feel totally weak, but it is the truth). BUT, here’s to hoping I’ll be able to cook at least a few nights this week.

• Steaks with roasted asparagus and mashed potatoes
• Taco salad
• Baked chicken with squash and cornflake potato casserole
• Pasta with meat sauce and asparagus (there was a good price on asparagus this week, and I’m testing out this storage method I saw on Pinterest)

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

• Taco soup
• Chicken spaghetti
• Chicken and dumplings
• Hobo dinners

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

• Lasagna, garlic bread, and salad
• Paula Deen’s Farmers Pork Chops (new recipe for me) and a green veggie
• Chicken enchilada casserole and beef enchilada casserole, salsa, guacamole, mexican rice, beans, and chips (we’re having this when we are having a group over for dinner)
• BBQ chicken quarters, a green veggie, and probably some sort of potato side
• Hamburgers
• Leftovers or maybe breakfast for dinner

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

It feels good to actually be planning a menu – it means things are finally settling back into our normal routine. Although I love the holidays, there is something comforting about being at home, in our routine, doing our thing.

• Taco salad
• Chicken spaghetti with broccoli
• Chicken fried rice with asian coleslaw salad (also for me to lunch on throughout the week)
• Fried pork chops (new recipe for me) with cornflake potato casserole and green beans
• Breakfast for dinner

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

Wow, what a crazy month! I’m thankful for a little calmer week this week (I hope anyways!).

• Roast with parker house rolls (hopefully I won’t forget the salt in the recipe this time!)
• Country style steaks with black eyed peas (and left over rolls if we have any!)
• Grilled chicken, pasta, and broccoli
• Fried fish with left over black eyed peas

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

Aw, finally, really back to our regular routine (well, you know, not counting the holidays that will be here before you know it!).

• Chicken, sausage, black eyed peas, and cornbread
• Country style steak
• Taco soup
• Beef fajitas
• Beef fajita quesadillas
• Chicken enchilada casserole
• Pulled pork sandwiches

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

• BBQ chicken tacos with cole slaw and rice (left overs from last week)
• Hamburgers (never got to this last week)
• Breakfast casserole and biscuits
• Parmesan chicken
• Country style steak

Drafting Dinner: Meal Database

I’ve been planning our weekly menus for a while now; however, I still find that there are times I get “stuck” on what to plan for each week. I’ve decided to work on compiling a list of meals we frequently eat and enjoy so that I can refer to the list to make menu planning even easier. I’m categorizing my meals in lists below; some meals may appear on more than one list. At least twice a week we eat a meal that I can make ahead of time – either in the slow cooker or that I can simply pop in the oven when it is time to cook it. (Writing this list out has also reminded me of some meals that we enjoy that I haven’t made in a while!)

Make Ahead Meals

• Chicken enchilada casserole
• Beef enchilada casserole
• Roast
• Country style steak
• Chicken spaghetti
• Lasagna
• BBQ chicken quarters

Beef

• Taco salad {ground beef}*
• Beef enchilada casserole {ground beef}*
• Hamburgers (we usually go bunless and add awesome toppings like caramelized onions, bacon, and sometimes for me, a fried egg) {ground beef}*
• Warm, toasted roast beef sandwiches
• Roast
• Beef fajitas
• Beef fajita quesadillas
• Pasta with meat sauce {ground beef}*
• Hobo dinners {ground beef}
• Taco soup {ground beef}*
• Grilled steak
• Stuffed bell peppers {ground beef}*

*For recipes that use ground beef, sometimes I substitute part or all of the ground beef with ground turkey.

Chicken

• Chicken enchilada casserole*
• Chicken spaghetti*
• Baked chicken breast
• Crispy yogurt chicken
• French fried onion chicken
• Chicken fried rice
• Chicken pot stickers
• Chicken pot pie (drop biscuit or regular pie crust)*
• Chicken and dumplings
• Chicken fajitas
• Chicken fajita quesadillas
• Chicken and sausage jambalaya
• Chicken enchilada soup
• BBQ chicken quarters

*I make homemade chicken stock about once every six weeks. When I make the chicken stock I also freeze portions of the cooked and shredded chicken. I then use that shredded chicken in many different recipes. (By the way, the trick I saw on Pinterest about using your KitchenAid stand mixer to shred chicken does work! It works best with warm/hot chicken)

Pork

• Pulled pork
• Grilled pork chops
• Pork tenderloin

Other

• Breakfast for dinner
• Pizza
• Stuffed bell peppers {could be stuffed with ground beef and cheese OR breakfast sausage, cream cheese, and shredded cheese}

Favorite sides

• Grilled corn
• Grilled asparagus
• Grilled squash
• Roasted broccoli or roasted broccoli and carrots
• Roasted asparagus
• Sautéed green beans
• Sautéed broccoli or sautéed broccoli and carrots
• Sautéed squash
• Sautéed cabbage
• Black-eyed peas
• Mashed potatoes
• German potatoes (still trying to master these!)
• Crash hot potatoes
• Coleslaw
• Asian coleslaw salad
• Rice
• Couscous
• Cornbread stuffing (if I’m feeling ambitious)

Breads

• Cornbread
• Parker house rolls

 

We really don’t eat much seafood, but I would really like to implement eating more fish in our diet regularly. Hopefully I can add some favorite fish recipes before long!

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

• Taco salad
• Tilapia with couscous and a green veggie
• King Ranch chicken
• Crispy yogurt chicken (except with boneless chicken) with a green veggie

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

• Grilled steaks with a peppercorn cream sauce, whipped sweet potatoes (this recipe without the banana), homemade rolls, and green veggie
• Lasagna
• Tilapia with couscous and a green veggie
• Beef enchilada casserole
• Chicken and broccoli with bacon, onion, and garlic cream sauce pasta.
• Chicken pot pie

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

• Grilled pork chops with a peppercorn cream sauce, mashed potatoes, and green beans
• Baked chicken with couscous and salad
• Breakfast for dinner: biscuits, eggs, and bacon
• Hamburgers
• Chicken with pasta (never got around to this last week)

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

• Grilled pepperoni pizza
• Country style steak with potatoes
• Chicken with this pasta (new recipe for me)
• Pork quesadillas

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

• Roast
• Chicken spaghetti
• Chicken and sausage jambalaya (didn’t get to this last week)
• Smoked chicken with grilled veggies
• Maybe breakfast for dinner? I’m having trouble deciding what else I want to make this week!

For Father’s Day I made the Pioneer Woman’s cinnamon rolls (with some modifications to the icing). They were pretty good, but I think I’d change a few things up the next time I make them.

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

• Breakfast for dinner
• Taco salad (never got around to this last week)
• Smoked/bbq chicken with baked potatoes and a green veggie
• Chicken pot stickers or chicken fried rice with Asian slaw (also never got around to this last week)
• Chicken and sausage jambayla

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

Due to lots of craziness going on over the past month, I haven’t had the opportunity to cook much (at least not regularly). I’m thankful that we’re back into a least a little bit more of a regular schedule again. It is funny to me to think about how much I’ve evolved regarding my attitude towards cooking – I used to try to get out of cooking dinner, and now most nights I want to cook dinner – I really enjoy it and thankful for the opportunity to do it!

• Grilled steaks with a peppercorn cream sauce, grilled corn, and grilled asparagus
• Taco salad
• Hobo dinners
• Fajitas
• Maybe chicken pot stickers with an Asian slaw salad (still a bit up in the air as to what I want to do for this meal)

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

• Hamburger steak with rice and green beans
• Migas and fajitas (never got to this last week)
• Homemade pizza (also didn’t get to last week)
• Chicken pot stickers (maybe with an Asian slaw salad)
• Chicken breast with couscous and a green veggie

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

I've been a bit too slack in my menu planning lately (or perhaps actually executing the menus I have planned). Hopefully I'll be back on track this week!

• Hurry up chicken pot pie
• Chicken enchilada casserole
• Sweet bacon chicken with a veggie and another side (I can't decide what!). I'm going to try to make a version of Paula Deen's sweet chicken bacon wraps - I love the brown sugar-bacon-chili combination, but these take forever to make (at least in my experience) so rather than making them as bites I'm going to try to do a variation using thinly slice chicken breasts.
• Migas and beef fajitas. I love migas, but I've never actually attempted making them.
• Homemade pizza