Stay-at-hom Moms, what do you cook?

[anthonysmommy]

I will soon be a stay-at-hom Mom to my 1 year old son. I am not very good in the kitchen, and never know what to cook. What do other SAHM's make for dinners? Thanx!

 

[yummy72]

Here's a couple of our favorites. Inexpensive, easy and DD Loves them:

Tater Tot Casserole

1 large onion, chopped
2 pounds hamburger meat
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cheddar cheese soup
1 package frozen Tater Tots

Brown onion and meat. Mix in soups and put into a 9x13 dish. Cover with Tater Tots and brown in a 375 degree oven.

Taco Mac

1-pound ground beef
1 package Velveeta Shells and Cheese Mix
1 jar Taco Bell Sauce

Brown ground beef, drain fat. Meanwhile prepare shells and cheese according to package directions. Combine ground beef with prepared shells and cheese and add jar of taco sauce.


I also use my crock pot A LOT! There have been several threads here on the Dis board with Crock Pot Recipes

HTH,
Candi

 

[pattyT]

Unfortunately I tried to get all creative with cookiing -
but my family are VERY PLAIN eaters!
I LOVE a lot of the Papmpered Chef recipes and Tastefully Simple ones too (you can go to their web sites to see!)
But I end up with a LOT of lefetovers and still making the old standby's of
mac and cheese,
taco's
pasta and sauce,
BBQ boneless chicken
etc!
GooD luck though!

 

[nicki dahling]

I'm the queen of can , box, takeout and microwave !

These are staples in my house :

- Spaghetti and meatballs ( frozen meatballs or ground beef once in awhile along w/can spaghetti sauce )

- Sausage and fries ( I have a deep fryer )

- Meatloaf and mashed potatoes/string beans ( I season the meatloaf with lipton onion soup mix , with barbecue sauce on top )

- Fried chicken and baked potatoes/salad ( chicken from super walmart w/ batter and seasoning already on it )

- Chilli w/cornbread ( ground beef , baked and kidney beans , pinch of sugar and canned spaghetti sauce with diced onions and green pepppers ) , the cornbread is the 4 boxes for a dollar kind .

- Pizza ( Sams Club )

- Porkchops ( shake and bake is good ) w/rice and greens ( Old Glory out a can greens and rice already seasoned out of the box )

Sometimes I make mac and cheese ( box ) and add real shredded cheese , sour creme and cream cheese , butter and milk . Than salt and peper to taste .

- Oh ! And sometimes we do breakfast for dinner .

No gourmet meals here.


Just the old stand-byes.....

 

[shelbyjosh]

Tacos and sloppy joes are quick, easy dinners to prepare. We also do ham steaks (oven or grill), pot roasts, Bisquick oven-baked chicken. We are big BBQers..at least 4x/week! We do hot dogs, burgers, brats, shish kebobs, steak, ribs, chicken. We usually get pizza or some other carry-out on Friday or Sat. With my dinners, I make Lipton noodles or rice. Other good side dishes are mashed potatoes, baked potatoes/yams, fries. DH tens to think of me on the predictable and boring side. I just went wild last week and made him jambalaya with sausage. Notice I said "him"? Kids and I had something else! During the winter the menu doesn't change all that much. I still BBQ, but do more baking, too. Becoming a SAHM is an adjustment..both mentally and physically. Just take it one day at a time and enjoy the time with your son!!

 

[powellrj]

have you ever heard of Taste of Home Magazine, its a great reference for new cooks (and old ones too!!)

 

[yummy72]

Ditto on what powellrj had to say about Taste of Home magazine. Also Quick Cooking is a great one (made by the same company)

 

[JulianneP]

Congratualtions on being able to stay at home. It can be very hard at times but very rewarding. When I became a stay at home mom my husband assumed I would turn into an amazing cook. Well it does not work that way. I hate cooking! I try (Going on 4 years now) but I still ruin simple things. Plus I'm a picky eater and so are the kids. So plain and simple meals still work best. Don't feel that just because you stay at home now means that your Martha Stuart. You will be surprised how at fast the day goes and how little time you will have.

I will have to check that magasine out! I still have not given up with my cooking skills.

 

[crazyforpooh]

I'm not a stay at home mom but, I love to cook for my family.

A few simple things I make are: Sauteed Garlic Shrimp with Spinach and Tomato's over angel hair pasta, Chicken Pesto, Meatballs and Sausage in the crock pot, grilled chicken and potatoe on the grill, Nacho's or taco's, on Friday nights we either order out or my family will ask for me to make my Italian sandwiches that they love.

I also love the recipes out ot the Tast of Home, and all of the Pampered Chef recipes. If you don't have a stone to cook on then I say invest in one. Roasted Chicken in one is the greatest with all the veggies and potatoes in the same roaster.

But, if I were you I wouldn't worry so much about the cooking as I would enjoy the time with my little one they grow up into teenagers so fast. Enjoy these precious years.

Laura
A Scrapaholic

 

[Spinning]

I'm ASAHM and cooking is the worse part of the job! I was a much better cook when I worked! As odd as that sounds! I guess it was the routine or something you know pick the kids up at the same time, walk in the house at the same time start dinner! Now I think I have all the time in the world and boom it is time for dinner and I forgot to pull something out!
I do a lot of grilling. Frozen steaks do very well on the grill! Same with burgers! LOL
In the winter I make soups, stews and pot roasts.
I love my crock pot and have been making different things in there

Here is one I think I got on this board:

4 large chicken breast (bone in is fine)
1 package of good seasons dry dressing mix
Put chicken in pot cover with dry mix
cook on low 4-6 hours
Remove chicken
drain juices into a pan
add one block cream chees (I use reduce fat)
1 can cream of chicken soup ( use reduce fat)
combine till creamy
I serve this with bow tie good noodles and a side salad!
YUMMY!

 

[sha_lyn]

I'm trying to cook whole foods/organic so I'm not using the boxed stuff anymore (well I do on occasion but not like I did before).
tonight I made

homemade noodles with Quinoa and whole wheat organic flours

3 cups Quinoa fl
1 cup whole wheat
1 tsp sea salt
3 eggs
4-5 tbs water

Mix flours and salt
beat eggs and water
Add flour mixture to egg mixture, adding more flour if needed to form a stiff dough

roll very thin and cut into noodles. I use a pizza cutter to cut the dough

let dry for 30 min
then boil in salted water for 3-4 min


Beef stroganoff

lb thin sliced round roast
1 large onion thinly sliced
1 cup mushrooms
1 tsp garlic

brown the above and add 2 cup beef broth, a bay leaf, 1 tsp worcheshire sauce,salt and pepper to taste. simmer 30 min
mix together 1 cup sour cream,
1/2 cup 1/2&1/2
and 1 TBS corn starch
add to the beef mixture and simmer on low until thick


Rautittouli (sp?)

2 large zuchinni (organic from a friends garden)
1 onion
2 tomatoes
1 tsp garlic

sclice all thinly and saute in 1 tbs olive oil until tender. Salt and pepper to taste

 

[Gillian]

I'm pretty bad at planning meals, but I love to cook & DH loves to eat! It's just hard sometimes, with an almost 3 year old & a newborn.

Anyway, we grill a lot in the summer, simple stuff like steaks and chicken. We like Mccormick montreal streak seasoning (shaker of stuff) but it's a little spicy. For the chicken we've been using Lawry's marinades a lately. They were on sale with a coupon so I bought a bunch!

For meat, I shop the sales & go with what's fresh & inexpensive.

I keep a variety of frozen vegetables on hand. If you use an electric steamer to cook them (or learn how to deal with your microwave) they come out great! I add a little salt/pepper and maybe butter. DS even eats them!

For fancy recipes we like epicurious.com (from mags like Gourmet).

If money is a concern, try couponing! I've been doing it for about 6 months and it's amazing how much stuff you can get for almost free. Things like dish soap, cleaning products and shampoo. Cereal and side dishes, too. By combining coupons with sales I find I can buy brand name products for less money than I used to spend on store brands. A good place for beginners is FatWallet grocery coupons forum

Have fun staying home!