This is a different kind of post than usual, but I have several food posts in mind, so you might be seeing more of these. Now, let me just set everyone straight. There are probably people laughing that I am posting about cooking. I’m definitely not known for my cooking skills. I mean, I’m not terrible (sometimes I am), but I don’t have a natural knack for cooking. I don’t LOVE cooking. I DO love eating tasty food. I DO love entertaining people in my home. I DON’T have a budget for eating out as much as I would like. So, I have to cook, and I have to try to make it taste good. I know there are a lot of people like me that want easy tasty meals. So, I’m just going to pass on a few meals that I’ve found (mostly on pinterest) that are wins. I don’t know what my family would be eating without pinterest!
I mentioned in my last post that we are on a bit of a spending freeze post mudroom and pre floors. We are doing FREE projects around the house. Another way we’ve decided to save money around the holidays is to really cut down on eating out. This is a big step for us. We usually eat out every Friday and Saturday night. During our last two week budgeting cycle, we didn’t even eat out on the weekends. Gasp! I’ve even shocked myself. I feel like I deserve to eat out on the weekends. Its my break, and I LOVE eating out. We did allow ourselves healthy carryout once or twice (salmon). But I actually cooked on some of the weekend nights. If I can’t eat out, I still want the meals to feel like I am. So, here are three of my favorite meals that taste as good as a restaurant and aren’t difficult. Just remember, if I can do it, so can you!
- Steak
I’ll stay home if I can eat steak. I’ve made this a lot. Its kind of become our New Year’s Eve tradition. It makes New Year’s still feel fun and special even if we aren’t going out with friends like we did in our pre-kid days. And ever since I discovered that you can buy 6 mini filets for $9.99 at Target, we eat steak a lot more often. Follow the directions in the link for delicious steak!
Want to make it easier? I skip the lemon zest and parsley because lemon zest sounds like too much work, and I never have parsley. Also, she claims that part of what makes this so good is using the freshest and best ingredients. That might be true, but I wouldn’t know. I use dried thyme from the spice isle and minced garlic from a jar, and I think it tastes absolutely delicious. I mean I really do think it tastes as good as a restaurant if you buy a good steak. I buy good expensive steaks for special occasions. I buy the $9.99 mini filets when its a week night or we are trying to save money.
Also, if you like steaks medium like me, you will need to add several minutes. Get a meat thermometer. However, don’t let lack of a meat thermometer stop you from giving this a try. You can always slice into your steak to see if its done to your liking. We aren’t stressing out here, we are just trying to eat good food.
- Rigatoni (similar to Pasta Bravo from Bravo)
This was way better than I imagined. I love Pasta Bravo from Bravo. I decided to try this recipe because I thought it might be similar. It tasted a lot like it to me (however, I haven’t had Bravo in quite awhile). I skipped the peas. It sounded weird. Next time, I will probably add in mushrooms and spinach. Also, I used more sauce than the recipe called for. I’d probably add even more next time because the leftovers were a little dry. Also, I have no idea what she was saying about putting the cooked pasta in boiling water for three minutes? My sauce/chicken combo was done first. When the pasta was done, I just drained it and then put it in a bowl and mixed in the sauce.
- Carnitas Street Tacos
I am obsessed with street tacos. They ALWAYS sound good. However, we live at least a half hour from my favorite Bakersfield. I really want to perfect making these at home. I’m not going to link to a pinterest recipe on this one because I really just picked up some spice ideas from there and didn’t really follow a recipe. Look at me. I’m a big girl. I do have to shout out to my girl Natalie for showing me by example that you don’t always have to follow a recipe. She also told me that recipes/precision are for baking and you can experiment more with cooking. Maybe that was kind of an aha! moment for me. So, here’s how this usually goes down. I get a Boston butt roast and put it in the crock pot for 8 hours. Then we use this meat to make dinner for a week. One or two nights we make barbecue pork sandwiches or put the barbecue pork over white rice (me, not Parker). Other nights we make a pulled pork pizza (smoked gouda is the key), or pulled pork nachos. Finally, the carnitas street tacos.
Heat up the pre-cooked meat in a skillet with some olive oil. You want the meat to be juicy, so add more olive oil if it seems too dry. Also a trick I just learned but haven’t tried is to keep all the juice that you suck out from the crockpot on the first day. Put it in the fridge. The fat will separate and sit on top of the juice. Clear the fat off and then you can use the rest of the juice to get juicy tacos.
While you are warming the meat in the skillet, season it with the following spices: garlic, oregano, ancho chili powder, salt, and cumin. How much? I don’t know. Just season to taste. Again, if I can do it, so can you. Start slow and then taste and add more if needed. Also, chop a sweet white onion.
Warm both soft flour tortillas and soft corn tortillas in a skillet. Use both of them layered together for each taco.
Add the meat, sprinkle with queso fresco (buy as a block), add the chopped onion, and add cilantro. I’ve skipped the cilantro in the past, but I do think cilantro would probably take it to the next level.
If you need a picture, here is the link to the recipe where I got the spice ideas.
I really hope this helps somebody! We all need new dinner ideas, and I’m happy to share the recipes that have worked for me. Remember, I don’t like cooking, and I can manage these. What are some of your favorite tasty but also easy recipes? I think I might follow this post up with my favorite EASY appetizers to take to all of your holiday parties. We also have some house updates to share soon.
Jalene
? I like this post because I suck at cooking and need someone to give me ideas that aren’t hard! Thanks! Also, I still make your gourmet grilled cheese all the time. You used that yummy pretzel bread from whole foods though which we don’t have. But cheese (I use whatever we have, sometimes even pepper jack), pesto, tomatoes. Delicious. I make this when I make crockpot soups too. And about experimenting like Natalie said…crockpot soups is where I experiment. Vegetable soup, beef soups, chicken soups. The vegetable soup I made was delicious and sooo healthy. I keep bouillon cubes (beef and chicken) at home so they don’t go bad forever, they’re cheap, and you just add them into water in the crockpot as your base. So vegetable soup- I used chicken bouillon cubes with water, yellow squash, diced potatoes, tomatoes, kale, onion, carrots, celery and bay leaves (because I had them for a previous recipe). I used some minced garlic from a jar and salt, pepper, crushed red pepper, and that might be it or maybe some other random ones. I’ll try to post a pic.
Good job! I don’t make soup very often except for a white chicken chili which is SO easy. Just 5 ingredients. I’ll have to try the vegetable soup since its so healthy.