If you’re like me then you are always looking for simple and family friendly recipes and even more so now that many of us are cooking more than ever with the Stay at Home orders. Most days I don’t have much time to cook dinner so I prefer meals that I can prep ahead of time or are just easy to throw together. If I pull up a recipe that has a long list of ingredients then I just move on……I likely don’t have time for that :).
The meals I’m sharing today are my go-to’s that require minimal ingredients, can be prepped ahead of time, and are little kid and baby friendly. I hope these work well for you and please reach out if you have any questions.
*I also wanted to add a reminder that I’ve created a new Instagram account dedicated to House of Hensen stuff and will be making some of these recipes on stories. I’d love to have you follow along if you aren’t already.
Now to the recipes:
Slow Cooker Beef Stew
This slow cooker recipe is very simple yet super yummy – requiring minimal ingredients plus you prepare it in the morning and it cooks all day. I love simple stuff like this that you just throw in the crock pot and can forget about it. It’s also nice that the potatoes and veggies are soft and typically foods that babies and young kids can/will eat. You can just chop them up into small pieces and they are ready for your little ones.
Some people only do stews in the fall and winter but I personally love this meal year round. You can also serve with rolls and biscuits or add crackers to your bowl.
Ingredients:
- Chuck/pot roast meat
- Potatoes – either use round gold potatoes or red potatoes. I usually peel them, cut them in half and add about 5-6 potatoes depending on how big they are. You can leave them whole too if you’d like.
- 1 packet of baby carrots
- 2 packets of brown gravy mix
- 1 packet of dry ranch mix
- 1 stick butter
Directions:
- Place roast in bottom of crock pot
- Pour 1 ranch mix and 1 packet of gravy mix on top of meat
- Place stick of butter on top of meat
- Place carrots and potatoes around the meat
- Add 2nd brown gravy mix over entire mixture
- Cover and cook roughly 8 hours or until the meat is tender enough to easily shred with a fork.
- Shred meat and stir ingredients and then serve with some rolls or bread.
Mexican Lasagna
This recipe is from the blogger, HeyMadiNelson and it’s amazing! It’s easy, yummy, and it’s one of Cooper’s favorite meals that I make. I’ve made this for lots of family gatherings and everyone always loves it. I almost always double it so we have left overs so keep that in mind.
Ingredients:
- 1-2 lbs ground beef depending on how much meat you would like. I usually do about 1.5 lbs. You can also sub in ground turkey.
- 1.5 cups salsa (any kind will do)
- 1 package taco seasoning
- 6 flour tortillas
- 2 cans of either pinto or black beans (your choice)
- 2 cups shredded mexican cheese
- Baking dish size of your choice. A longer dish won’t have as many layers while a shorter and deeper dish will. I usually do a 9×11
Directions:
- Heat oven to 400
- Brown the ground beef, drain, put back in the pan
- Add salsa and taco seasoning to the meat and simmer on low for about 10 min.
- Layers:
- Spread a layer of beef on the bottom of your sprayed baking dish and cover with two tortillas
- add another thin layer of beef, beans, cheese, and 2 tortillas
- repeat layers until you reach the top and finish with a layer of cheese
- Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes
- Serve with any additions that you like such as guacamole, sour cream, corn, chips, salsa, etc.
Oven Roasted Sausage and Potatoes
This is such a simple meal to make but it’s always a hit for us. Cooper will usually eat it all and Reese will eat the potatoes and carrots cut up since they are soft. This could work well for kids of all ages and you can add additional veggies if you would like (broccoli, peppers, asparagus, etc).
Ingredients:
- 1 package of turkey or smoked sausage cut into rounds
- 1 large onion, peeled and chopped
- 5 large potatoes peeled and chopped into 1/2 inch cubes (I use gold potatoes)
- Bag of baby carrots (I use carrots but you can make without)
- Salt and Pepper
- Paprika
- Dried Thyme
- Greated Cheddar Cheese
Directions:
- Preheat over to 400
- Line a baking sheet with foil and spray with cooking spray
- Put sausage rounds, onions, potatoes and carrots into a large bowl. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, paprika, and thyme.
- Toss together with your hands and pour onto the baking tray and spread them out.
- Cook for 30-40 min stirring every 15 min. until potatoes are brown and tender. Time will depend on size of potatoes and your style oven.
- Scatter cheese over top and pop back in the oven for a few minutes if needed to melt cheese.
Baked Penne Pasta
This is a unique baked pasta that can also be made 1-2 days in advance and then put into the oven. You use cottage cheese and sour cream which gives it a nice creamy consistency. It’s so yummy!!
Ingredients:
- 1 box of penne pasta
- 1 jar of pasta sauce (any brand or flavor that you like)
- 8 ounces of cottage cheese
- 8 ounces of sour cream
- 5 cloves garlic – pressed. I use a jar so it’s ready to go.
- 4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
- You can add a pound of Italian sausage to add some protein or make it without. If you do then increase the amount of pasta sauce by about 1/2 cup.
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 375
- Cook pasta according to package and drain
- In a bowl stir together pasta sauce, cottage cheese, sour cream, and garlic.
- Stir in pasta and 2 cups of shredded cheese
- Spread pasta in a 9×13 (or similar size) baking dish and sprinkle remaining 2 cups of cheese on top.
- Bake for 15-25 minutes or until pasta is hot all the way through and cheese is melted on top.
Slow Cooker Chicken Tacos
We have taco night a lot and I love that these can be made in the slow cooker ahead of time. We do beef or turkey meat a lot so the chicken kind of mixes it up for us. Cooper loves tacos so these are always a hit and Reese will usually eat some of the shredded chicken and then I’ll also make her a quesadilla since I already have those ingredients ready.
Ingredients:
- 2-3 boneless chicken breasts
- 2-3 tablespoons taco seasoning
- 16 ounce jar of salsa
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
- flour tortillas
- Your choice of taco toppings: Pico de gallo, guacamole, sour cream, lime juice, corn, etc.
Directions:
- Place the chicken breasts in a slow cooker and sprinkle the taco seasoning over the chicken. Pour the jar of salsa on top.
- Cover and cook on high for 3-4 hours or low for about 6 or until chicken is able to be shredded with a fork and is no longer pink.
- Shred chicken with two forks and stir in cilantro.
- Divide chicken between tortillas and top with ingredients of your choice.
Family Meat Balls (with Spaghetti or as a sandwich)
This is Michael’s mom recipe and one of our favorite meals to make and we usually have leftovers for a few days. We will make these and eat with spaghetti 1-2 nights and then do a day or two of meat ball subs. These can easily be used for babies or young toddlers -just cut up and serve alone or with some cut pasta.
Ingredients:
- 1 lb hamburger meat
- 1 lb Italian sausage (can be mild or medium)
- 2 eggs
- 1 tsp. salt and pepper
- 1 tsp oregano
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 3/4 cup Italian style bread crumbs
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350
- Mix all ingredients in a bowl
- Roll into balls and place about 1 inch apart on greased baking sheets
- Bake 40-45 minutes turning meatballs about half way through
- Serve with spaghetti and sauce or in sandwiches covered with sauce and mozzarella and/or provolone.