10 Favorite Meals

Good afternoon. I decided to play along with this week's Monday's Listicles. Food...the way to a man's heart. Ha! Least, that's what I've always been told. I'd say it seems to be true, too. Hubby loves my cooking; especially when he gets home from work and it's on the table. 

We have many favorites at our house, and we change the dinner menu up often, more so now that we are on a new budget which means that the new norm. is eating in instead of dining out.

10 Favorite Meals

1. Beef Roast with Loaded Mashed Potatoes and Gravy. My little girl still calls this "Roast Beast". Love it! The mashed potatoes have sour cream, shredded Colby jack cheese, chives, butter and salt, and russet potatoes work best. This is one of those rare dishes that I "eyeball" instead of measure. We usually get 2 to 3 meals out of each beef roast. Great for budget!
2. Chicken Alfredo. I used to make my own Alfredo sauce from scratch using Parmesan cheese and cream cheese, butter and milk, but it's so expensive to make it that way, so we've recently found that we like the Meijer's brand of Alfredo sauce. Oh, and I use tarragon on my chicken when sauteing. 
3. Tater Tot Casserole. Fry up ground beef loosely, layer in bottom of casserole dish, top with Cream of Mushroom soup, add tater tot layer, and top with shredded cheese. I bake this at the recommended temperature for the tater tots, which is 425 degrees for about 22 minutes. My son asks for this regularly.
4. Eggs, Bacon and Bagels. This is a great quick-fix meal when we're in a rush, or late getting home.
5. Waffles (or Pancakes) with Sausage Links. We make our pancakes and waffles from scratch. For the pancakes, during my son's egg allergy years, we used to substitute applesauce for the eggs. Surprisingly, they still turned out good. When we make the waffles, we have to make up a crushed strawberry topping and add whipped cream for my daughter. This is her personal favorite.
6. Steaks and Diced Potatoes. Hubby recently discovered this awesome marinade by Kikkoman. It adds a light seasoning without a completely different flavor, and is not loaded with pepper. I'm sharing the link here, in case you'd like to try it for yourself. It's very good and makes the meat so tender. For the potatoes, we peel, dice and add Lawry's Season Salt and butter and fry them up until tender and golden.
7. Spaghetti with Garlic Toast. I use Angel Hair Pasta only. I discovered this years ago at a spaghetti dinner. Anyways, I cut bacon into pieces and fry it, then add it into my spaghetti, along with shredded cheese and spaghetti sauce. Sadly, I have never learned how to make my own, so Bertolli's Five Cheese is what we use. The kids love spaghetti with garlic toast. Hubby is not a big fan of spaghetti, so this is only allowed once a month. I love to sprinkle cheese on top of leftovers and bake it in the oven the next day. 
8. Hamburger Stew. This is a dish that my mom used to make when I was growing up. You fry up ground beef loosely, add beef broth, sliced potatoes and cook until the potatoes are tender, then add a can of green beans and heat for 5 more minutes and serve. This dish takes about 35 minutes to cook, depending on your heat. It is pure comfort food and great on cold winter nights.
9. Lasagna. I make mine with cottage cheese, Bertolli Five Cheese Sauce, Shredded Cheese, Bacon (pieces), Sausage and Ground Beef (crumbles). LOL Yes, you really just read bacon. It's really very good. Sometimes, I serve it up with breadsticks that I top with mozarella cheese and parsley. 
10. Pizza. This is probably on every one's list. The kids and I love it, but hubby isn't as fond of it. You may have already guessed that he is a meat and potatoes kind of guy. We end up making ours 4 different ways each and every time. For hubby: pepperoni, ham, bacon and mushroom. For son: pepperoni, ham and bacon. For me: Ham, bacon and mushroom. For daughter: Cheese Only.

Though this one didn't make the official Top 10, I had to share a funny with you. My little girl loves grilled cheese sandwiches, but she calls them "Girl Cheese", and will ask each time I make them, if I am eating a "Boy Cheese" or a "Girl Cheese". It's and inside joke that no one ever gets unless we explain it to them.

P.S. Mashed potatoes used to be my nemesis. It's not mom's fault, really, that she never taught me how to cook. What I learned, is mainly from hubby's teachings, cooking shows, recipes, and good ole trial and error. Mashed potatoes used to be mostly error. LOL While cooking isn't my first passion, I enjoy it well enough. There is a certain pride that goes with providing meals for your family, and as you may have guessed, I love to make casseroles and one-dish type meals. I'd rather be spending my quality time with my family or in my craft room than slaving over a hot stove. (Shh...it's our secret.)

Casandra