What We Made for Dinner | Meal Plan + Cook with Me

Welcome to a new week of meal planning and cooking. I share what's for dinner in our household in today's video along with our plan and grocery bill.



I started meal planning again after not doing it for a long time. I was burnt-out, but now I'm back and fully see the benefit of meal planning. We eat better, we stay on budget, and I find cooking exciting and enjoyable again. I understand burn-out though so if you are experiencing that... I can relate to you!

Let's look at the meals this week:


Black beans and brown rice in the Instant Pot

My friend, Amy, shared this recipe with me from iFoodreal. You don't need to cook your rice or soak your beans, which makes this an excellent meal to make last-minute. It makes a lot so I froze half and easily served my family of 6 with the rest. We loved this with guacamole and cheese. It was a delicious meal and could be made vegetarian by replacing the chicken broth with vegetable broth. I used my Instant Pot for this, as well as my lemon squeezer.



Vintage Ambrosia Salad with Grilled Lemon Pepper Chicken
For the ambrosia salad, I mixed pineapple tidbits, mandarin oranges, maraschino cherries, and grapes, with one cup of shredded coconut (sweetened), one cup of mini marshmallows, and one cup of sour cream. I served this on a bed of lettuce with some grilled chicken. We rubbed the chicken with olive oil and seasoned it with lemon pepper (most people use lemon pepper for fish, but try it for chicken) and then grilled the chicken. This was a tasty, light, nostalgic dinner, perfect for the end of the hot summer.



Homemade Hamburger Helper with side salad

I initially saw the recipe on Countryside Cravings, but modified the recipe a bit to suit our tastes.

Homemade Hamburger Helper
1 lb lean ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1½ cups milk
1½ cups beef broth
2 cups elbow macaroni, uncooked
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

For this kid-friendly dish, sauté one chopped onion in olive oil and then add your ground beef. I like to use this meat masher to make the ground beef mince evenly chopped. Drain the cooked meat and return to the pan. Add the paprika, garlic powder, Italian seasoning, milk, beef broth, uncooked pasta, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil, then cover a reduce simmer. Cover and cook for 15 minute, or until the pasta is cooked. Stir in cheddar cheese when ready to serve.



Baked Potato Skins with Garden Salad
We love baked potato skins. I like to get them started in the morning by washing the potatoes, pricking holes in them and rubbing them with oil and seasoning them with season all. I bake the potatoes for about an hour at 400 degrees F. Later in the day, when we are ready to eat, I cut the potatoes in half and scoop out a lot of the flesh (save for another meal). Then place them in the oven and bake them again until slightly crispy (about 15 minutes at 400 degrees F). Then place chopped bacon and shredded cheddar cheese in each potato. Place back in the oven for a few minutes until the cheese melts. Then serve with sour cream, chopped chives and green onions. We serve this with a side salad. Sooo good.



Strawberry and Cream Merengues This dessert is from the Cookbook for Girls which is a cookbook my daughters just love! Mix two egg whites until they are frothy. Add 1/2 cup of superfine sugar (we used regular sugar and it turned out great). Bake at 220 degrees F for one hour. Make whipped cream and add that, along with chopped strawberries to the merengues. Enjoy!

⚜️ Featured in the video:
Meal planning notebook/ grocery list
lemon juicer
Instant Pot
Kitchen-Aid white mixer
Copper measuring cups
Cast iron skillet
Vintage kitchen timer
French apron
Blue & white Churchill plates
meat masher
Season all seasoning
salad spinner
Cookbook for Girls

⚜️ Style
Nail polish Londontown (Changing of the Guards) JenniferS for 25% off
Leopard headband

I hope you enjoy today's video.

On Instagram
Lessons from Madame Chic on Instagram...

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Nighttime routine✔️ . I’ve been trying to take time to really take care of myself and do the things I truly love lately instead of always being “productive” and rushing through my days with a giant to-do list. Most nights lately that’s meant more time reading, writing, and soaking with all the candles burning. Tonight that means taking two Benadryl so I can go to sleep because I STILL can’t stop coughing. But hey, whatever works!

A post shared by Jordan Taylor Sears (@jordantailored) on Jan 30, 2019 at 8:35pm PST

Comment of the Week
Noni Posi writes, "I tried the salmon/crab recipe. It was a risk because my kids are so picky. But they ALL ate it ALL! 😱🥰 It’s pricey, so not a bi-weekly meal but it’s definitely on the Master Meals List as an option. And I figure - it’s still way cheaper than eating out at even a cheap sea food restaurant. ☺️ 🦀 🎣"

Noni, I'm so happy your family enjoyed the fish. So wonderful! It's really the best when our meals are appreciated. The emojis made me laugh, haha!


Thank you for watching. I hope today's video gave you lots of meal inspiration. Let us know in the comments what recipes you have enjoyed making lately. Your comment could be chosen as comment of the week.



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