I’ve been meaning to write this post for months… maybe years! I used to share new recipes that I tried and liked on here a lot when I first started blogging, because learning to cook and trying new recipes was all I really had when we first moved to England. Once I started working and then had kids, I just didn’t have time to post new recipes. But I still try new recipes pretty frequently!
I’ve decided to occasionally share a week’s worth of our meals to update what’s been in our rotation and to give feedback on any new meals we’ve tried and liked, loved, or won’t be making again. At this point in life, we’re still doing two set meals a week: Mondays are always pizza and salad, and Thursdays are always spaghetti and meatballs. I know the kids enjoy and will eat those meals, plus it’s two fewer meals I need to think about! But fair warning… photos of my meals are not actually blog-worthy haha. I seriously just snap a quick photo on my way to the table or at the table. Or a few bites in because I forgot I was sharing a week’s worth of meals. So without further ado…
Sunday
Not every weekend, but some weekends I make more hands-on, complicated, or time-consuming meals because I know Andrew will be home to help with the kids. This was one of those days.
Dinner was Char Siu Bao (Chinese BBQ pork buns) and roasted broccoli. This was a recipe I tried solely because it sounded yummy and the pictures looked good. I didn’t know, going in, how time-consuming it would be ha. That being said, it’s totally worth it. These buns are a really perfect blend of sweet and savory, plus they reheat really well as leftovers. They’re definitely kid friendly too. Once I made the pork the first time, I froze what I didn’t need and got 2 more meals out of it… big win in my book! My roasted broccoli recipe is just broccoli with a healthy douse of olive oil then sprinkled with salt, pepper, and garlic powder and cooked at 400 degrees for 20-30 minutes… depends how crispy you like it!
Monday
Pizza night! Who doesn’t love pizza night? I rotate my pizza schedule: pepperoni, chicken and bacon, pepperoni, Hawaiian, repeat. My boys LOVE pepperoni pizza, but I can’t eat it every week, so I change it up. We serve pizza with salad… but I don’t like making salad haha. So salad-making is Andrew’s job. And if Andrew won’t be home, I buy a pre-made kit. Or just throw together a spinach and strawberry salad.
This Monday night we had chicken and bacon pizza. I don’t have a recipe for it, but I’ll share what I do have.
Chicken & Bacon Pizza
pizza dough recipe (cut in half)
5 oz cream cheese (room temperature)
1 whole head of garlic
olive oil
salt & pepper
soy sauce
heavy whipping cream
1 chicken breast, cubed
4 slices bacon
1 green pepper, sliced
1 onion, sliced
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1. Make your pizza dough up to the rising step.
2. Preheat oven to 400F. Cut the top of head of garlic off so all cloves are exposed and peel off excess paper. Wrap garlic in aluminum foil and pour a bit of olive oil on top before closing foil up. Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. Once cooked, pull out to cool.
3. Heat cast iron skillet over med-high heat. Once beginning to smoke, add a drizzle of olive oil, then add the chicken. Season with salt & pepper and sauté until cooked through. Remove from skillet and set to the side.
4. Add another drizzle of olive oil to the skillet, then add the green pepper and onions. Sauté until softened and becoming charred. Add a generous splash of soy sauce and deglaze the skillet. Set peppers and onions off to the side.
5. Cook bacon (I prefer doing mine in the microwave). Once cooled, crumble and set aside.
6. Bake pizza crust for about 10 minutes.
7. Pull cooled garlic cloves from the paper and place in a bowl. Mash garlic cloves with a fork, then add the cream cheese and continue mashing until everything is combined. Add a splash of heavy whipping cream and mix. Repeat adding cream until you get your preferred “sauce” consistency.
8. Spread sauce over crust, then sprinkle about 2/3 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese over crust. Now add toppings (chicken, bacon, peppers & onions). Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese over the pizza.
9. Bake pizza for 10-15 minutes, then remove from oven to cool.
Tuesday
Tuesday is almost always my grocery shopping day, so I usually try to make something quick and easy. This week I went with Bacon Tortellini Bake. It’s a family favorite and fairly quick to pull together.
Wednesday
This next recipe is way up there for Andrew & me, and I’m hoping the kids end up loving it too. I got this recipe from a friend who shared it on our local cooking group. My only complaint for Greek Meatballs & Orzo skillet is that I never plan enough time for all of the chopping as well as making the meatballs. But it is really delicious and it reheats great! I usually serve it with a roasted vegetable, this time cauliflower.
Thursday
Thursday night is always spaghetti night! It has been a family favorite for years, and it’s one of our weekly meals. I used to make my own spaghetti sauce, but now I just use Prego because it tastes like home. It’s what my mom always used for our Sunday spaghetti lunch. Something I didn’t grow up with was spaghetti with meatballs. I developed my meatball recipe from a mini meatloaf recipe I enjoyed growing up, and this is my current recipe:
Italian Meatballs
1 lb. ground beef
1/3 cup + 2 tsp bread crumbs
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup milk
2-1/2 tsp dried chopped onion
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp Italian seasoning
- Combine all meatball ingredients and mix well with clean hands.
- Lay wax paper down and shape meat mixture into about 24 meatballs. Place meatballs on wax paper.
- Heat large skillet over medium heat until smoking. Add a drizzle of olive oil and begin pan-frying your meatballs, rotating frequently. Continue to cook until meatballs reach at least 165 degrees F.
I know a lot of people like to bake their meatballs, but I personally love pan-fried ones. I’m sure these meatballs would be yummy baked as well though.
Friday
This was a new recipe that turned out to be pretty good! Even better… it’s a slow cooker recipe!
I’m always looking for new recipes to try, and it’s always a bonus if they’re slow cooker meals or one-pan meals. Slow Cooker Honey Lime Ginger Pork ended up being delicious! I served it over rice with roasted carrots on the side.
Saturday
I actually ended up NOT cooking this night! We had a block party planned, and I ended up not cooking anything for it.
But since I don’t have a meal for the day, I figured I’d just roll into Sunday and share that meal instead!
Sunday
We had Bacon Cheeseburger Bombs, a family favorite. I’ve made this meal with refrigerated biscuits so many times, but I recently started making my own dough instead.
With the dough recipe, I divide it equally into 12 pieces, fill them with the cheeseburger filling, then let them rise for half an hour-ish before baking. I serve these with curly fries from the frozen food section or a roasted vegetable if I’m feeling healthy.
So there’s one week in the Kiel house at dinnertime! I tried to keep it short and sweet, and hopefully I’ve given you some new ideas to try when you’re planning your next menu.
On An Even Kiel 