peace. love. shoreview.: recent kitchen adventures.

in an effort to spend less money and overall be healthier as a family, i have been cooking a lot more lately. i don't want ben growing up thinking dinner is takeout every night! my parents really made family dinner a priority (much to my brother's and my annoyance) and i really appreciate that looking back. i want family dinner to be a non-negotiable in our house. if we can't do it when we're completely in control while bennett is little, it sure won't be easy when school activities, homework and friends are thrown into the mix.

it's hard to continue coming up with ideas for dinner each night. i have a few tried and true recipes i tend to fall back on (mainly tacos and lasagna!), but beyond that i tend to draw a blank. i really can't wait to be a stay at home mom and read cookbooks and watch food network all day in between restful naps (only interrupted once in a while by the maid).

wait, what? that's not what it's going to be like? huh, i'll need to rethink this...

in all seriousness, though, working [almost] full time doesn't leave much time for planning or for actually cooking the meals. i am looking forward to having a little more time to prep and not feel like i walk in the door and instantly have to start frantically getting dinner together. bennett is ready to eat promptly at all.the.time o'clock so time is of the essence and we are always moments away from a meltdown right before dinner.

anyway, here are a few of the successful meals i've made over the past couple of weeks...

chili- the pioneer woman
i didn't do the frito pie part (although i did put tons of fritos in mine). i just made the chili. and i omitted the cornmeal mixture because it sounded weird and i didn't feel like getting out more stuff from the cupboard.

cheeseburger soup- taste of home
yep, it has velveeta in it. which makes it awesome. and processed. oh well.

mexican chicken spaghetti- the pioneer woman
umm, this recipe calls for 3 cups of shredded cheddar cheese. enough said. except that next time i would do even less cayenne or omit it entirely. ben was not a fan of the "kick." so pretty much it wouldn't be mexican. and i used egg noodles instead so it's not even spaghetti. the title really gives nothing away.

salmon with balsamic glaze and sauteed veggies- giada
i used salmon my parents had given us from their trip to alaska. how very green and sustainable of me, you say? well thank you. unfortunately bennett felt that the salmon would be put to better use in george's tummy. my mom, a salmon hater herself, probably would've agreed.

crockpot beef stroganoff- somewhere on pinterest
i skipped the mushrooms because i don't like them. regardless, joe and bennett both devoured this! let's face it: so did i.

white chocolate bread pudding- thank you google
just yum.

and because no post would be complete without them, here's some recent pics...