Tammy's Recipes

When there's fresh food from the garden, it's easy to plan the menu!

Joshua: What's for dinner, Hon?

Me: I thought we'd have salad... and asparagus... and strawberry shortcake. Hey, will you grill some chicken for the salad?

Joshua (thinking): I guess that's the only way I'm getting any meat with this meal... ;)

Yes, I read his mind. Well, not really... but I could see him visibly wilt when I said "asparagus" since we'd already had asparagus once a day for the past 2 weeks.

The word "salad" elicits the same sort of reaction (I'm not creative enough when it comes to salads... that or else I'm just lazy!) but suggesting some grilled chicken did the trick.

(Read more for a photo tour of our meal "from the garden"!)

I finally got my Passover/Unleavened Bread menu planned! We'll be celebrating Passover from sunset on Saturday to sunset on Sunday. Passover is a day of rest (sabbath), as well.

After Passover, we'll have a whole week of Unleavened Bread -- and won't eat anything with leaven (yeast, baking soda, baking powder).

Passover is my favorite holiday and it's always such a blessed time of reflection and remembrance of our deliverance from sin through the blood of our Passover Lamb, Yeshua (Jesus).

Menu for Passover (I'm keeping it very simple)

Matza ball Soup
Oven-roasted chicken
Unleavened bread
Salad
Cooked peas and carrots
Unleavened chocolate cake (Yehoshua turns 4!)

My dinners for the week of unleavened bread

Saucy chicken broccoli bake (using leftover chicken)
AGK's organic chicken fettuccine
Taco salad
Chicken squash bake
Broccoli and cheese mina
Italian beef and beans over pasta
Easy chuck roast

I'll be sharing another unleavened bread recipe after I make it and take pictures. I am also excited about the cake for Yehoshua! It has been a couple of years since I made the cake, so hopefully it will turn out well and I can share the recipe! :)

I am, however, stumped when it comes to packing Joshua's lunch all week. I remember how poorly I did last year! I think Joshua practically starved at work. He doesn't like "sandwiches" made with unleavened bread... any ideas for an unleavened packed lunch food?? Joshua doesn't have access to a microwave at work, and only gets 15 minutes to eat lunch.

I just finished editing our new menus for after the new baby's born. The last time I had done any serious menu planning was 2 years ago, before Eliyahu was born. Since that time, we've added quite a few recipes to our repertoire, and it was definitely time for something a little more updated!

Before I share the actual menus, let me tell you how I went about making the menus. I doubt that my particular menus would be perfect for any other family besides us, but sharing the general idea and tips for writing out a long-term menu might be helpful if you're not sure where to start. :)

First, I made a two-week "Easy Meals" menu, which contains my easiest meals -- either meals that are just plain easy (like grilled cheese!) or else meals that are easy for me because I have ingredients in the freezer or pantry, already prepared (like spaghetti and meatballs!). I'll use this easy menu for the first month or so after having the baby, which should allow me to relax on meals and not need to spend too much extra time in the kitchen. :)

For the rest of the menus, I decided to plan a 12-week menu. I planned dinner for each night, and one different soup for each week. To begin, I made a list of our favorite main dishes. I made a list of all 12 weeks, and started filling in the days' meals. If it was a recipe we like, but don't want to eat too often, I just put it down once. For meals we really like (like pizza!) I planned them every 2 weeks or so.

I also made a list of some breakfast ideas, and we'll decide on breakfast each day or week. Lunches will be leftovers or else something from my list of lunch ideas. I also have a list of sides/breads. And, I always make a cooked vegetable or salad with the meal. :)

I won't follow these menus exactly... I'm sure I'll be adding in things that we get on sale/in season (especially in the summer, with all of our garden food!) or making special meals for guests. For this reason, the menus will probably last longer than 12 weeks. :)

Read more for the 2-week Easy Meals menu and my new 12-week menu! :)

Miriam wrote to me with a really tough question!

Do you have any suggestions for easy to share, economical meatless dishes? My hubby just started a new job at a huge County Emergency Room, and he often works from 3 PM - 3 AM, with virtually no time to eat. Once a month, I'd like to provide a meatless (since it would be non-refrigerated), yummy, healthy dish with wide appeal to place in the staff breakroom so that my husband and his coworkers have something besides vending machines to eat from. Any suggestions?

Honestly, I am having difficulty coming up with any sort of substantial dish that wouldn't require refrigeration after 2 hours. Meats aside, dairy, eggs, and cooked vegetables (basically low-acid foods, unlike tomatoes or fruits) should be left at room temperature for a maximum of 2 hours.

So unless the food is definitely going to be consumed within two hours, I wouldn't recommend any "main dish" sort of meals that contain vegetables, rice, beans, cheese (like cottage cheese; some hard cheeses can be at room temperature longer, I believe), milk, or eggs...

But I don't think you want to make everyone peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. So here are some other suggestions... they may not all be healthy, or particularly "complete" as a meal, but surely they'd be more enjoyable than food from a vending machine! :) (Click here to read more...)

Joshua and I have been talking about Bethany's once-a-month-cooking, since I've been on a three-weeks-and-counting streak of making tacos, pizza, tacos, and more pizza. (Meaning, I have no clue what to make for dinner!)

Since we don't have a chest freezer, and we don't want to eat something from the oven every single night for dinner, I'm thinking "once a WEEK" cooking might be a temporary solution for me.

I'm really not sure why I've been in such a lull... it's probably not obvious online, since I usually have a pile of recipes/photos that are just waiting to be blogged. If we have tacos three times in one week, I can just, ummm, post about the banana bread I made two weeks ago, or something. :)

The silly thing is that I need to print some of my own recipes off of this website! When I'm creating a recipe (or substantially altering a recipe), I usually end up with a half-legible scrap paper of notes. Later, I type the recipe in great detail, and post it online. But I don't have a computer in my kitchen! (Or downstairs at all, for that matter.) So I should be printing my recipes so they're more usable to ME! ;)

But anyway, do you ever have those times when nothing, just NOTHING sounds good to eat? I haven't felt like cooking lately, because I haven't felt like eating anything! Well, besides bagels. I always feel like cooking (and eating!) those... ;)

So, here's the plan. I'm going to make a one-week menu (dinners, breakfasts, and lunchbox treats), and do any prep possible, all in one day. I'll freeze some things, but not all, since we're only talking about 7 days' worth of meals. And then I'll report back here to you guys. :)

I'll probably start the planning tonight, and cook tomorrow. I got groceries today, and since I rarely purchase groceries for certain recipes, but instead maintain a pantry of the ingredients that are in most of my staple recipes, this should be pretty easy. Let's hope, anyway! :)

P.S. Cooking isn't the only thing in which I've been barely scraping by. If you've emailed me in, say, the last month, thanks for your patience. ;)

After seeing our lunch of hamburgers, Lyn asked:

I wonder if you have any other good ideas for quick meals. Sometimes I only have enough energy for a very short time in the kitchen. Thanks. 

Lyn, thanks for asking! 

Taco Salad is one of my staple last-minute meals, especially since it's a favorite of Joshua's. :) Tammy's Chicken Rice Bake involves very little preparation (it has a long baking time though!) and I think it's yummy. :) Grilled cheese sandwiches are another fall-back on busy days. :)

I used to make a Homemade pizza with a pre-baked crust (crust can be frozen until needed), which, when using a bread machine to knead the dough, was a quick-prep meal. Now, I've gotten fast at making Tammy's Easy Pizza and it's another last-minute, less-prep-time solution for me. :)

Another thing I consider when searching for a quick meal to make, is this: What leftover ingredients do I have in my freezer or refrigerator that can be used for a fresh dinner?

If I have leftover chicken or cooked ground beef, I often make a simple gravy-based meal, like Chicken Gravy over Egg Noodles, or my Simple Beef Gravy Supper. Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli is very quick to assemble if you have leftover chicken to use. I have a page devoted to leftover ideas (which is in need of updating). :)

Here is an index of all of the recipes on this website that I've termed "quick and easy". There's quite a variety, and I think most take between 15 and 30 minutes to make. Trying a new recipe usually takes me longer than normal, though, so even a "quick" new recipe may not be extremely efficient.

Since I cook mostly from scratch, I don't have many 5-minute main dish recipes. Most of my "quick and easy" meals are actually meals that I planned and partially prepared ahead of time. Here's some more info about how I utilize "cooking ahead" to fit our needs.

For example, today we had spaghetti and meatballs for lunch. I boiled some pasta, and heated up some (homemade, frozen) meatballs and sauce. Because I do most of the work ahead of time, spaghetti and meatballs is a very quick meal for me to prepare.

So the two main ways I achieve homemade, from-scratch, low-prep meals are:

1. Cooking ahead and/or freezing leftovers
2. Using leftovers 

This is just what works for me and our family. :) Does anyone else have any other tips or recipe ideas for Lyn? Thanks!

Charlette wrote to me and asked,

Could you tell me how you prepare your side vegetables (the broccoli, carrots etc) that you show often with the main dishes? They look so bright and inviting. I'd love to know your recipe and how you prepared them. Thank you.

Charlette, thanks for asking! Most of our meals involve at least one cooked vegetable, and most of the cooked vegetables I serve are prepared very simply.

My main tip is not to over-cook vegetables. I used to add salt and pepper to our cooked vegetables, but I somehow got out of that habit and we still enjoy them. It's one less step for me! :)

Here's a run-down of the veggies we eat:

I always buy frozen green peas. We can't stand the canned ones! We eat peas several times a week, because we both love them. We also buy a frozen carrot/cauliflower/broccoli mixture from Aldi.

We eat either canned or frozen green beans and corn. These garlic green beans call for frozen green beans; this easy green bean casserole uses canned green beans. Of course, when we have fresh green beans from the garden, I use those in either recipe. :)

We like broccoli best when it's freshly boiled/steamed to crisp-tender. Frozen broccoli just isn't as good, in my opinion!

Carrots taste best when they're freshly coooked, too. I love cooked baby carrots tossed with butter and salt!

We also eat some seasonal veggies from the garden -- asparagus (almost always prepared as Asparagus and Onions), cabbage (here's my quick and easy fried cabbage recipe), yellow squash (usually cooked accrding to this recipe, but also in this summer squash casserole), and sugar snap peas (cooked until crisp-tender, or added to egg noodles).

This time of year (March), you're seeing a lot of frozen peas, cauliflower, carrots, and broccoli on our plates. I remember last June/July, almost every meal that we photographed had asparagus on the plate. ;)

Today was busy, but fun! The children and I were eating our breakfast this morning when a friend of mine called and asked if she and her 3-year-old grandson could come for a visit. Thankfully, I wasn't planning to go away or anything today, so I said "sure!" and invited them to stay for lunch, as well.

I had leftover oven-roasted chicken from yesterday, which I had de-boned and was planning to use for something. When I found out we were having guests for lunch, I started some water for pasta, and made a dish of Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli -- a quick and easy casserole that usually goes over well.

I also had some potatoes in the fridge that Joshua had cubed for me, which I had cooked and planned to use for cheesy potatoes. In a matter of minutes, I had a dish of Cheesy Potatoes to put in the oven with the vermicelli.

I cooked some canned corn and some bagged frozen peas, and rinsed off some fresh grapes that I got at the grocery store yesterday. And that was our lunch!

I did prepare most of it while our guests were here, since it was on short notice (and I spent most of that 45 minutes tidying up the house, getting dressed, and caring for the children!).

I was reminded of why I prefer to have the food already made when company comes. I am practically incapable of cooking and visiting at the same time. Is that odd? I can generally multi-task quite well (what mom can't?! ;D) but I always have difficulty entertaining guests while trying to prepare the meal. :)

Sunday

• Farmhouse Chicken (really yummy!!) with cooked veggies

Monday

• Vegetable Bean Soup with Spinach,  Hearty Herb Bread, and green salad

Tuesday

• My Mom's Easy Fried Chicken (I have a bag in the freezer from the last sale! Usually I don't have room to freeze extras. :D) with rice and cooked veggies on the side

Wednesday

• Try-a-new-recipe day :D

Thursday  

• Taco Salad

Friday

•  Quiche with whole wheat pie crust

Saturday

• A new make-ahead recipe (still deciding)

Sunday

• Leftover creamy broccoli cheese soup
• Tammy's Easy Pizza and homemade taco pizza (1 of each)

Monday

• Pan-scrambled eggs

Tuesday

• Taco Salad

Wednesday

• Try-a-new-recipe day :D

Thursday 

• Italian Meatball Soup

Friday

• Oven-roasted chicken

Saturday

• Leftover Spaghetti and Meatballs

Sunday

• Lunch at my mom's house
• Tammy's Easy Pizza (This meant basically no dishes today! Yay!)

Monday

• My Mom's Easy Fried Chicken (Yep -- chicken leg quarters were on sale again! Yay!), rice, and cooked veggies

Tuesday

• Hot Chicken Sandwiches (A favorite with Joshua and a quick and easy use of leftover chicken meat!), cooked veggies

Wednesday

• Leftover fried chicken (we put it in a glass dish, cover with foil, and bake until hot), cooked veggies

Thursday 

• Spaghetti and Meatballs with Italian Garlic Bread (I'll be making extras of these things to take to an aunt who had a new baby last week)

Friday

• Spicy Meatball Sandwiches (one of Joshua's favorites and a great use of leftover spaghetti sauce and meatballs)

Saturday

• Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli, Italian Cheese Bread, cooked veggies, lettuce salad, and Broccoli Cheese Soup (Recipe coming after I get photos!)

Sunday

• I blogged about our Sunday lunch menu here (pizza, taco pizza, and cheesecake)
• Leftover pizza and lettuce salad for dinner

Monday

• Cheesy Tortilla Casserole, cooked peas, and fresh oranges

Tuesday

• Vegetarian Black and White Bean Chili (made in crock pot) and fresh corn bread

Wednesday

• Tacos

Thursday 

• Easy Cheeseburger Casserole

Friday

• Creamy Dijon Grilled Cheese Sandwiches, cooked veggies

Saturday

• Lindsey's guest chef menu (finally!)

Sunday

• Tammy's Easy Pizza, made with Tammy's Spicy Pepperoni (we had company)
• Quiche with Whole Wheat Crust, cooked veggies

Monday

• Pan-Scrambled Eggs, toast, and veggies
• Grilled Garlic Herb Turkey Burgers

Tuesday

• Chicken Fried Rice

Wednesday

• Taco Salad

Thursday

• Hot Chicken Sandwiches

Friday

• Leftovers

Saturday

• Not sure yet, since we may or may not have company coming :)

Sunday

• Taco Pizza Bake, cooked veggies

Monday

•  Pan-Scrambled Eggs, toast, and veggies

Tuesday

• Tammy's Easy Pizza, made with Tammy's Spicy Pepperoni -- yum!!

Wednesday

• Taco Salad

Thursday 

• Soup in the crock pot (yet to be decided) and Creamy Dijon Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Friday

• Spicy Grilled Turkey Burgers, Italian Garlic Knots, and cooked veggies

Saturday

• Stuffed Shells, Italian garlic bread, cooked peas, and salad

Sunday

• Taco Pizza, cooked veggies

Monday

•  Leftover taco pizza (Yay! A break from cooking!)

Tuesday

• Grilled Garlic Herb Turkey Burgers

Wednesday

• Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

Thursday 

• Baked Nachos

Friday

• Balsamic-Thyme Chicken with rice and veggies

Saturday

• Guests are coming; menu still being decided! :D

Sunday

• Appetizer plate of homemade cheeseball, spicy pepperoni, and crackers
• Oven-Roasted Chicken with Italian Cheese Bread, cooked peas, lettuce salad, mixed fruit, and gourmet potatoes

Monday

•  Hot Chicken Sandwiches, cooked veggies, leftover salad and mixed fruit

Tuesday

• Grilled Garlic Herb Turkey Burgers, cooked veggies, and baked potato wedges

Wednesday

• Chicken Fried Rice (made with homemade yellow rice and leftover chicken)

Thursday 

• Something in the crock pot! Any good suggestions? I rarely use my crock pot, and want to find some delicious meals to make with it. I'd love to hear about a crock pot meal that isn't roast beef or soup!

Friday

• Chicken alfredo over pasta, cooked veggies

Saturday

• Something else in the crock pot. I am determined to start finding good slow-cooker recipes!!!!

Today I'd like to post our special "guest menu" which we enjoyed Friday through Monday!

If you're looking for menu ideas for preparing meals for overnight or extended-stay (more than one meal!) guests, this should give you a bit of an idea of how I go about preparing and cooking for our guests!

We had a family of 6 visiting, and I wanted to serve nice meals, yet still be able to spend time visiting, playing with the children, or going out for walks or other activities. To meet this goal, I prepared as much of the meals in advance as possible (see notes after each meal's menu). I also wrote down my menu so I wouldn't forget my plan!

I was pleased with the results of my hard work. I spent minimal time on meals the entire weekend, and there weren't many dirty dishes. Now, we'll be eating leftovers all week... ;)

Friday

• Lunch: Tammy's Easy Pizza with cooked veggies (Guests had not yet arrived, so I needed something quick and easy since I was preparing meals for the next couple of days!)
• Dinner: Nacho Grande Casserole, cooked veggies, warmed homemade bread, chocolate-vanilla swirl cheesecake (I prepared the casserole earlier in the day and just had to bake it before dinner; the homemade bread was made earlier in the day also, and warmed in the oven while I was baking the casserole; Joshua made the cheesecake two days in advance, since cheesecake is best enjoyed after 24 hours!)

Sabbath

• Breakfast: French toast with jam and pumpkin butterscotch muffins (The muffins were already made.) 
• Lunch: Oven-Roasted Chickens, gourmet potatoes, cooked veggies, Chicken Pasta Salad, mixed fruit, and cranberry roll-up cookies (The chickens were already seasoned and in the roasting pan, ready to be baked; the gourmet potatoes were also completely made and just needed baked; the pasta salad and cookies were made on Thursday, so all I did was bake things and make mixed fruit!)
• Dinner: Incredibly Easy Taco Pie and two kinds of cooked vegetables (The taco pie wasn't already made, but the meat was already fried and seasoned, and the cheese was grated. I quickly assembled the casserole and baked it.)

Sunday

• Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with cheese, toast and bagels with jam, fresh apples (Our guests had brought homemade bread, jam, and fresh apples, which I easily incorporated into our breakfasts!)
• Lunch: Beef Barley soup, Beef Vegetable soup, Cornmeal Crescent rolls, pumpkin pie, and cherry cheesecake (My mom made this entire meal, and we went to my parents' house to eat lunch and spend the afternoon! It was a nice break from cooking.)
• Dinner: Cheesy Chicken Vermicelli, Italian Cheese Bread, and Chicken Pasta Salad, homemade Pumpkin Roll for dessert (Sunday morning after breakfast, I cooked some pasta. I used leftover chicken meat from the day before and some pre-shredded cheese and made a dish of chicken vermicelli that could be quickly baked that evening when we got back to our house. While the vermicelli was baking, I made the cheese bread, which went into the oven right after the vermicelli was finished baking. The pasta salad and pumpkin roll were already made. The pumpkin roll had been frozen, so I thawed and sliced it.)

Monday

• Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with cheese, toast with jam, pear-granola muffins, fresh apples (The muffins were already made and in the freezer, so I just thawed them.)

Sunday

• Tammy's Easy Pizza, cooked broccoli, and navy bean soup

Monday

• Grilled Garlic Herb Turkey Burgers and baked jojo potatoes

Tuesday

• Hot Chicken Sandwiches

Wednesday

• Incredibly Easy Taco Pie

Thursday 

• Happy Thanksgiving! I'll be taking Pumpkin Dinner Rolls to our family gathering!
• Rosemary Thyme Game Hens with Quick and Easy Egg Noodle Side Dish and cooked veggies

Friday

• Taco Salad 

Saturday

• Pan-scrambled eggs and toasted bagels 
• Leftovers for lunch

Someone emailed me the other day, asking about our Thanksgiving menu! Read more for my thoughts and ramblings about this year's menu. Or, leave a comment with your own Thanksgiving menu ideas!

Sunday

• Tammy's Easy Pizza

Monday

• Grilled Chicken Fajitas

Tuesday

• Hot Chicken Sandwiches

Wednesday

• Tammy's Easy Pizza

Thursday 

• Chicken and Stuffing Casserole

Friday

• Tammy's Easy Pizza

Saturday

• Chicken Chimichangas 
• Leftovers for lunch