As a frequent contributor to Green Bay Area Moms Blog, I recently put together a sample list of weeknight meals that my family loves. And since my girls helped plan the menu, I’m guaranteed not to get any protests at mealtime.
For most of the meals, I was able to find a pretty good recipe online – something roughly equivalent to what I actually make in my kitchen. But for others, I just wasn’t satisfied and felt compelled to write out my own recipes, which are listed below.
Carol Ann’s Quick Clam Chowder
When my next-door neighbor heard that my older daughter loves clam chowder, she insisted on sharing this quick and easy recipe that even a 13-year-old can make. As with most soup recipes, I found this one to be even more delicious when it was reheated the second day.
- 2 cans cream of potato soup
- 2 cans minced clams
- 2 green onions, finely diced
- 3 Tablespoons butter
- 1 clove of garlic, diced
- 4 ounces cream cheese
- 2 cups Half & Half, or milk if you prefer
Saute the onions, then the garlic in your soup pot with the butter at medium heat. Turn to medium low and add the cream cheese to slowly melt. Then add the potato soups and Half & Half or milk.
Drain one can of the clams and add to the soup mixture. With the other can, add the clams and all the liquid. Cook 5 minutes or until heated through, but don’t let it come to a boil. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with oyster crackers, or additional green onion slices for garnish.
Kid-friendly Chili
My sister-in-law was the one who turned me on to using fire-roasted tomatoes in my chili. So good! You can make this recipe hotter or milder, based on your preferences, by playing around with the seasonings.
Brown one pound of ground beef in a pan with one diced onion. Season generously with salt and pepper and chili powder. If you like your chili more spicy, add red pepper or a teaspoon of Slap Ya Mama – a Cajun seasoning. Dump the seasoned beef into a Crock-Pot and add two or three cans of fire roasted tomatoes and two or three cans of chili beans. (I use Bush’s Best hot chili beans, but you can go medium or mild.) Rinse each can with a little bit of water and add that, too. Let the whole works cook on low for 3-4 hours. Serve with cooked elbow macaroni and sour cream, shredded cheese, tortilla chips, etc.
Fish Tacos with guacamole
We made these last night as I had time to mix up the homemade guac and deep fry the cod. If you are rushed for time, I’m pretty sure Festival Foods has guacamole in their deli department. And you can always use frozen fish sticks in place of the fried cod.
- 1 lb. cod, cut into eight pieces
- 1 cup Andy’s Seasoning red fish breading mix
- 4 small corn (or flour) tortillas
- 4 limes
- 2 Tablespoons olive oil
- 2-3 cups of vegetable or canola oil (for frying)
- 2 cups shredded cabbage or coleslaw mix
- 1 small red onion, finely diced
- 3 ripe avocados
- 2 Roma tomatoes, finely diced
- Garlic powder, sea salt
- ½ cup finely chopped cilantro
- ½ cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
Put the olive oil and juice from three limes in a baking dish. Add the cod. Let this marinade while you make the guacamole
Halve the avocados, discard the pits and scoop into a mixing bowl. Do a coarse mash with a fork. Season generously with garlic and sea salt, to taste, then add half to two-thirds of your diced red onion and one of your diced Roma tomatoes. Mix again, then add the juice from the remaining lime and half of your chopped cilantro. Adjust flavors to taste.
Pour frying oil in deep fryer and heat to 350 F. In the meantime, mix your cabbage or slaw with the remaining onion, plus a little olive oil and lime juice. Pat dry your fish pieces and coat generously in the Andy’s breading. Deep fry your cod pieces two at time for 3-4 minutes, or until the pieces are cooked through and flaky. Shred the fried cod into coarse chunks with two forks. Warm the tortillas and make the tacos with chunks of fried fish, a scoop of cabbage and guacamole, plus diced tomato and shredded cheese, if you wish.
Turkey breast in the Crock-Pot
My husband requests that I make this on Sundays because it fills the whole house with a delicious, Thanksgiving-y aroma.
Buy a frozen turkey breast that will fit in your slow cooker. Let it thaw in your fridge overnight. Remove from bag (take out the gravy pouch, if there is one) and rinse it in the sink. I remove the skin, but you don’t have to. Put the turkey breast in your slow cooker and add one envelope of onion soup mix. Put a little water (maybe ¼ cup) in the soup envelope to rinse it out and add that to the slow cooker. Cover and cook 7-8 hours on low or 4-5 hours on high. Serve with the gravy pouch over mashed potatoes, or shred turkey with two forks and serve on sandwiches.
For a sort of Italian-type twist, omit the onion soup mix. Once the turkey is pretty much done, add one packet of Stove Top Stuffing mix for chicken and ½ to 1 cup of chicken broth. (Add more liquid if it seems dry.) Shred this with two forks and let it cook another hour or so. This is delicious on sandwich buns.
Swedish meatballs
Frozen meatballs are the easiest thing to keep in your freezer and pull out when you need them. My family of four would eat about 20 meatballs at a sitting, but I make more so we have leftovers. Tip: They reheat more easily when cut in half.
- Large package of frozen meatballs (Paying more for the name brand is worth the extra pennies in this case!)
- 1 cup beef broth
- 1 envelope brown gravy
- 1/4 to 1/2 cup sour cream or plain Greek yogurt
Put the frozen meatballs in a large saute pan. Add the beef broth and bring to a low boil, then reduce heat to simmer. Let those cook until heated through. In the meantime, prepare the brown gravy according to the package directions. When it’s ready, add your scoop of sour cream or Greek yogurt. Mix those together and pour over the hot meatballs. Serve over mashed potatoes or cooked egg noodles.