I know that I have promised all of you some great recipes over the coming weeks.  Although this one is probably not one of the best practice night dinners, it is one of my all time favorites!  Perfect for parties (just double or triple the recipe) or a fun family night (be sure to plan some games and more).  Here you go:

Fiesta Ring

Ingredients:

3/4 lb ground beef
1 package taco seasoning mix
1 cup mild shredded cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons water
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 cup salsa
3 cups lettuce, shredded
1 medium tomato, diced
1/4 cup onions, chopped
1/2 cup pitted ripe black olives, chopped
1 cup sour cream
1 cup salsa

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 375F. Cook ground beef in large pan over medium heat until thoroughly cooked . Remove from heat. Add taco seasoning mix,cheese and water to the ground beef. Spray pizza pan with non stick spray. Open cresent rolls and seperateinto triangles. Place in a cirlce on pizza pan with wide ends overlapping and points pointing up. Leave a 5 inch opening in center. Spoon ground beef mixture onto widest end of each triangle. Fold the top of the triangles over mixture and tuck under and pinch together. Ground beef mixture will not be intirely covered by the triangles. Bake 20 minutes or until golden brown. Once the ring is finished cooking, top with lettuce, tomatoe, onion, olives, more cheddar cheese, sour cream, and/or salsa and serve.

Here’s a fun recipe, I hope to start offering them more often! 

One thing that we do fairly often is have “theme” dinners.  I like to offer my kiddos diversity in their meals, and one fun way to do that is to tell them something like “Tonight we’re going to Mexico” or china, or wherever! 

So, the recipe today is for some yummy enchiladas, you can always add browned ground beef or shredded chicken to this as well if you’d like, and of course you could replace the cream cheese with sour cream if you absolutely must :) 

For a family our size (8) this recipe would simply be doubled.

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese (softened)
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup green onions (thinly sliced)
6 flour tortillas
1 (16 ounce) jar salsa of choice

Place cream cheese in bowl and beat with electric mixer until smooth. Add 1 cup of the cheddar cheese and onions. Mix well. Spread each tortilla with a portion of the cream cheese mixture down center of tortilla. Roll up and place, seam side down, in a baking dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas until cream cheese mixture and tortillas are used up. Pour salsa over tortillas. Sprinkle remaining 1 cup of cheddar cheese over salsa and tortillas. Bake at 350 degrees F for approximately 20 minutes or until everything is heated through and cheese is melted and bubbly.

* Serve with your favorite Mexican toppings and a side salad.

I thought it would be fun to give you all a great tip this week ~ ok 2!  I’m forever talking about menu planning (and have the resources for a few great ones in my right sidebar), but there can still be some complications if you don’t have a few things organized.

Tip One ~ Organizing the meal plan:

If you are using a meal planner, print out that week’s meals and assign a day to them all, write the name of the meal on your calendar and have a specific spot you keep each week’s recipes.  It’s best if you have one day set aside that you read through, organize and shop for the following week’s recipes.  This also applies to those who would like to print out meals a month in advance and for those who are not using a meal planner.

Be strategic about the meals you assign to each day, keeping in mind variety, activities and meat thawing time (see below).  You may have family members that do NOT want to have chicken 2 nights in a row and if there are 2 mexican meals you may want to spread those out a bit too.

Tip two ~ the answer to a common problem: not getting out frozen meat in time to thaw in the fridge. 

Gone are the days where were we could pull meat out of the freezer in the morning to thaw on the counter for that evening’s meal.  Now we are supposed to thaw all of our meat in the fridge which requires a lot more planning ahead!  Most meat takes 24 to 48 hours to fully thaw in the refrigerator, more if it is a very large item like a turkey. 

There are quick ways to thaw meat and it isn’t unheard of to use the microwave’s defrost settings, but I personally don’t love the inconsistent temperature of the meat I pull out (the edges are cooked and it’s still frozen in the middle making it a funny combination of rubbery and not ready)

So, here’s my recommendation:  As you are going through that week’s recipes write a note on the recipe telling yourself what meat you need to get a day or two before!  So if you’re going to need that frozen chicken on Friday and it takes 2 days to thaw write it down on the bottom of the meal page for Wednesday.  If you aren’t using recipe pages you can also write this information on your calendar!!!

Another tip along these lines would be to plan meals using fresh and frozen meat strategically so that you are using up the fresh meat at the beginning of the week and giving yourself plenty of time to get the frozen meat thawed for the end of the week meals!

Happy Meal Planning!

I’m always on the lookout for healthy food for my kiddos, especially for those days when I need something quick to give them.  So I was very excited when I found out that Yoplait Kids now has 25% less sugar than the average in other leading kids yogurts!  Add to that the fact that there are no artificial sweeteners or flavors and Yoplait Kids is definitely up my alley!!!

When I pulled out the yogurt my 4 year old was sooo excited and simply had to have one that minute!  So I obliged and he loved it.  Oh and another great feature for him, Diego was on the container . . . his new favorite character. 

So needless to say I’m very happy and hope that more yogurt companies follow suit!  I encourage you to go to www.YoplaitKids.com and be sure to click on the “Free Coupon” button to get a pack of Yoplait Kids for free (or click here)!

Let’s face it most of us have families that are very busy! With all the sports, games, performances, church and other activities it can be a huge challenge to prepare an appetizing meal for the kids after school? Believe it or not though, you have time if you serve an easy to cook kids’ meal.

I often find myself throwing a hotdog in the microwave or setting a tortilla in a pan on top of the stove, add some cheese and 90 seconds later have a simple quesadilla, but what’s the excitement in that? Instead I want to introduce the idea of experimenting with Casseroles or one-pot meals which in most cases go over well with the kids and are simple to whip together.

Here’s a quick kid’s meal made with ingredients many of us keep on hand:

1 – lb. ground beef
1 - 16 oz jar spaghetti sauce
1 - cup water
1 1/2 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
1 - cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Crumble beef in a three-qrt glass baking dish and microwave for 4-5 minutes, or until beef is no longer pink. Mix & rotate part way through cooking time. Drain Beef. Stir in sauce, water and macaroni. Microwave another 12 minutes, stirring part way through. Sprinkle cheese on top and allow to stand covered approximately 5 minutes before serving. Serves a couple hungry kids.

There are many meals you can cook with hamburger, but did you know that any recipe that asks for hamburger will work just fine replaced with ground turkey, chicken or venison instead. The simple recipe below uses ground meat. It does take nearly an hour to bake but just a few minutes to prepare.

Combine together:

2 pounds ground meat
1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
Crinkle Cut French Fries

Brown ground beef and drain the grease. Add both soups to strained ground beef and spoon into a 9×13 greased baking dish. Top off with cut French fries and bake at 350 degrees for 50-55 minutes or until French fries are light brown.

Taco salads are also very quick and easy to prepare.

Begin with lettuce, then add tomato, onion and cheese (if your kids will approve of it.) Fry up some meat and toss in an envelope of taco seasoning or just incorporate some taco sauce to the meat. Next add crushed tortilla chips or Fritos. Finish off with salsa or Ranch salad dressing. Remember the sour cream and guacamole too! Kids love this meal!

For a fast, on the go, healthy, cold meal try this recipe on for size:

A head of lettuce (not bagged lettuce)
Ham or Roast Beef slices
Cheese slices
Condiments

Step 1: Peel off a medium lettuce leaf.
Step 2: Assemble meat, cheese, and condiments.
Step 3: Roll up and stick a toothpick in the middle.
Step 4: Gobble Up.
Step 5: Wipe your face, there is a trace of mayo. on your cheek.

How about an interesting twist to the normal macaroni and cheese kids recipe?

1 (16 ounce) box macaroni (elbow, seashell, bowtie – doesn’t matter, just not spaghetti)
1 c. cottage cheese
1/4 c. sugar
1/2 t. cinnamon

1. Cook macaroni according to package instructions.
2. Stir in cottage cheese, sugar, and cinnamon with drained macaroni.
3. Taste and add sugar or cinnamon, if required.
4. Serve right away. Delicious!

Incorporate a bit of creativity to create a twist on a tried and true recipe and even with the chaotic after school activities you will find time to cook a nourishing meal for your kids every night. I would love to know if you use one of these meals for your family and look forward to hearing how much they love them!!!

Did you know that you can get Kid Friendly Meals delivered to your email box every week? Just visit their site and sign up for the trial to check it out for a week!

Once again, I simply have to point out this amazing mom friendly meal planning program! I you are simply looking for complete meals that are super kid friendly you will definitely want to check out Dine Without Whine!

When you sign up for this super affordable program (just $6.95 per month) you will get A Weekly Menu Plan & Grocery List Delivered To Your E-mail Box!

Not convinced? Follow this link to get their Weekly Meal Planning - Free Sample! They also offer you the opportunity to try out the system for one week for only a penny!

You all know how much I love meal planning and how much I love giveaways. This time I’m excited to offer every single one of you a freebie!!! Just in time for Valentine’s day here’s a couple of great family friendly recipes for you, just click on the link and enjoy! I’m going to try to bring you even more special from Dine Without Whine soon!

Valentines Day Special Recipes

Many of you have probably seen my little Are You Meal Planning Yet button off to the right. Clicking on that button will lead you to Menu Planning Central . . . every mom’s BEST friend! I really love what they have to offer, complete meal plans at affordable prices, but if you act fast you can get a super deal!

If you sign up for a membership before Jan. 31st your monthly fees will be only $9.97 per month for as long as you keep your membership! As a member you have access to a full month of three different menu types: Family Friendly, Healthy and Vegetarian. Did I mention that each menu comes complete with weekly recipes and shopping lists? But it doesn’t stop there!

You also have access to creating your own menu plans, special reports for holidays and seasons and tons of great resources each month. This month I am very excited because they have just added a “Bulk Cooking for the Freezer” resource! This is one of my all time favorite things to do. In all honesty I haven’t been able to do this since the twins were born, but I love love love being able to simply pull a fresh and healthy meal out of the freezer for my family to enjoy. This time of year when there’s sickies in the house being able to prepare freezer meals has an added bonus of making life nicer for the well part of the family!!!

I encourage you all to hop on over to Menu Planning Central and give it a try, even for one month. I think you’ll be surprised at how much less time you spend planning meals, how much less money you spend on meals for the month and how much more you are able to enjoy family meal time every night!  Hurry though, the monthly membership goes up on February first, so join now to take advantage of the great price they’re offering!