The Daily Grind

I don't know about you but for me, once or twice a year, I get overwhelmed by the never ending grind of daily life. You know, get up, go to work, come home, cook supper, take kids somewhere, help kids with homework, squeeze in a load of laundry, pay bills, clean the kitchen and repeat it all the next day! And sometimes it seems you're the only person who cares that the house is clean, the laundry done, the garbage is taken out for pick up on time and we have decent suppers. So usually when I get in these moods, I have a minor meltdown, read my family the riot act, get them to pitch in and move on.

And this is pretty much what happened this time, except for the suppers. I like cooking except during the week when I come home from work tired and am usually in a time crunch of some sort. So I turned to the free Kraft magazine for inspiration and actually planned and wrote out what meals we would have for the week. And what a relief not to have supper looming over your head while at work all day!

So here's some recipes(click on recipe name for the actual recipe) I've tried over the past week or so:

Chicken Parmesan Bundles



This recipe calls for boneless chicken breasts rolled over the filling. Except I got out bone in chicken! So after thinking about it I decided to cut a pocket into the bone in breasts,stuff the filling in and coat them as best as I could. And you know what, they turned out OK! The usual test of whether a recipe is good or not is whether my family thinks I should make it again. This one got a yes, lets make it again!

Layered Enchilada Bake



I thought the kids would like this given their perference for tacos. And they did! As I made this one I realized I didn't have enchilada sauce so used some extra salsa. Also as I had larger tortillas than I think the recipe called for I used fewer and didn't need to any cut into strips. I also used yellow corn not the corn called for the recipe. This was another, yes lets make this again!

Roast Pork Tenderloin

Of the recipes tried so far this was my favourite! I served it with new baby potatoes and asparagus. The pork was moist and tender, I think the searing of it before putting it in the oven to bake helped to seal in the juices! I'll definitely make it again!

Slow Cooker Tex Mex Chicken

Steve put this recipe together while I was at work. I'm not a big fan of minute rice but we used Uncle Ben's brand which wasn't too bad. And this with a salad made a good supper. We'll make this one again!


Beef Bruschetta Skillet




This dish is very garlicky and uses lots of fresh tomatoes! This with a salad makes another quick and tasty supper. We'll make it again.

Chicken Stir Fry

This recipe is on the agenda for tonight's dinner! My friend Kathryn's family has made this and said it was great. I'll be sure to post and let you know our opinion.

One Pan Tacos

I think I've made this recipe before and its planned for later this week. Again this paired with a salad should make quick dinner. And since the kids love tacos, I'm sure they'll like it!

And now back to the weekly grind of cleaning and laundry!