What's in my freezer? Dinner

Ever since becoming a mom well over 2 years ago, I have tried to do the majority of my cooking during the quiet moments of my day because it helps promote peace in our home.  When Shawn walks through the door after work, I don't want him to find me standing at the stove stressed and irritated because I'm trying to cook dinner but a child (or children) is making the task extra difficult on that particular day.  This scene has happened more than once and I never feel good about it.  For some reason it takes me far longer to shed my irritation than it takes our toddler to pick a new attitude so I often end up being the one who puts a damper on our family dinners when I allow myself to get wound up about the events that transpired during dinner prep.  For the days when I don't have quiet moments to prepare our meals, having food ready and waiting in the freezer feels like a gift.

We value eating together and we especially value the conversation, community and life that can be part of sitting around the table together.  Dinner isn't always ready at 5:30 and it doesn't always turn out the way that I hoped it would but I will continue to cook because I believe that shared meals nourish far more than just our bodies.  We know each other better because of the time we spend at the table as a family and it's one of the few times that everyone sits (mostly) still and can listen to one another without a lot of distraction.   I will be the first to admit that feeding a toddler is not always an easy task, but the more we eat together, the more we see that value show up in our home.  Nicole is often the one that says, "should we eat as a family?!" To which Shawn and I love to reply, "Yes! We should eat together as a family." 

Here's to hoping that these recipes help you have a harmonious and delicious family dinner time as well!

Bulgur Pilaf 
This is actually a side dish, but it was worth including because we all love it.  I always double or triple the recipe when I make some for dinner and freeze the excess for a different night.  If you aren't familiar with bulgur, this is a great recipe to start with.

Cheddar Chive Burgers 
Growing up, I loved it when we had family burger night.  My mom would spend the better part of her afternoon making patties to grill and preparing a gigantic variety of toppings so that all six of us could build our own burger to our liking.  It was fun and delicious and I still have great memories from those meals.  I love the idea of bringing that food tradition into my family too, but so far the task has been pretty easy, and much less elaborate, especially when I have these burger patties pre-made and in the freezer. 

Chicken Parmesan Casserole
I don't make a lot of casseroles, because feeding two adults and one toddler rarely requires the amount of food a casserole usually yields.  But, I gave this recipe a try before Jonah was born and we liked it so much that I made another one to put in the freezer right away.

Easy Slow Cooker Mexican Shredded Chicken 
We are a Mexican Food loving family which means that I have no shortage of recipes that can be turned into tacos, taco salad, quesadillas or enchiladas.  I always opt to slow cook chicken thighs instead of chicken breasts, but other than that, we love this one exactly as it's written.

Everything Greek Pork Pitas 
Another favorite meal of mine growing up was when my mom made gyros.  I remember asking for her recipe shortly after graduating from college and being totally shocked at how involved it was.  To this day I still haven't made it, mostly because I haven't taken the time to track down ground lamb.   I do, however, make this pulled greek pork and it is almost as good as my moms homemade gyros.

Quinoa and Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers  
Anytime I make these for dinner, I always try to have enough ingredients on hand to double the filling and freeze half for later.  Then, the next time bell peppers are on sale all I have to do is thaw my filling, wash and prep my peppers and bake it all together.  There is still some assembly required but the messiest and most time consuming part is already done.

Sloppy Joe Baked Sweet Potatoes 
This is another recipe where I try to double or even triple the filling when I'm making it for dinner and then immediately freeze whatever I don't need for dinner that night.  When I need a quick meal I just have to bake some sweet potatoes, thaw the filling and heat everything up.

Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Meatballs 
If you asked Nicole what her favorite food is, she would quickly tell you that it's "sauce".  What that really means is that she loves condiments of all kinds.  Ketchup, Salad dressing, Hummus, Mayonnaise, Gravy, and of course, marinara sauce.  These days, all foods contained in a sauce go over very well in our household so this big batch recipe was an instant hit around here.

Turkey Soft Tacos
One member of our family may claim "sauce" as her favorite food, but the other member of our family will always and forever love tacos the most.  Not only did we serve tacos at our wedding, but we have eaten tacos almost weekly since we got married.  While we do eat many, many varieties of tacos in our house, these are my favorite because the filling is full of vegetables.

Have a great 4th of July today!
Love,
Erica