Raige Creations

If I hadn't made it clear in any of my earlier posts, I think I have hinted at it, planning dinner stresses me out most of the time. I have tried having the kids cook, hubby cook, asking for requests, and  planning days ahead . Ultimately, these things fade away, and I am back to stressing about what to cook at the last minute , order , or suggest for dinner. This morning, having this discussion with my 2 kids who had the luxury of a 2 hour delay of school, we had some fun with weekly dinner plans. Today, being Tuesday and having our oldest son coming home from college who loves anything as long as a tortilla is involved, we decided to have our 'Taco Tuesday' . This is a popular one we have been doing for years now. Celebrating a Previous Taco Tuesday My kids drew this for me. photo: Raige Creations This led to 'Meatloaf Monday ', since that meatloaf was a huge hit the other day, and 'Spaghetti Sunday' , since we have pasta at least once a week...

My daughter had been asking for meatloaf for days (!), as we all get so tired of the same old meals, and we hadn't had meatloaf in forever! So meatloaf it was. (I just said meatloaf way too many times.....) As you know, hubby can't have any dairy, so milk was not an option. So here the easiest, milk free, recipe for a great meatloaf. Ingredients: 2 lbs Meat - I used a mixture of ground chicken and ground pork 4 Green Onions - or one regular would do just fine 1 heaping tsp Garlic - I used jarred, but fresh or powdered is fine Ketchup - a squirt - then about 1/4 cup for topping 2 tsp Pickapepper Sauce - then 2 tsp more for topping 1 Egg 1/4 cup Breadcrumbs Salt and Pepper Dried Basil and Parsley to taste Crushed Red Pepper to taste Olive Oil cooking spray Instructions: One reason I love meatloaf is that it is so easy! Just throw everything in the bowl and mix. That is basically it. But I took pictures so you can see the progression. Slice the green onions...

For me, it is hard to find a good recipe I can follow directly. I scoured the internet for chicken and dumpling recipes, but wasn't satisfied with any I found. For one, hubby can't have milk or cream, so that ruled out half of them. Second, I didn't happen to have any biscuit mix and I wasn't about to go to the store at 7:30am to get some. Besides, growing up in the 1970's I have had my fill of Bisquick . (my mother didn't use flour at all that I can remember, only Bisquick .) So I found if I took ideas from these recipes, and tweaked them to suit our needs and tastes, I could create my own perfect homestyle meal, and make my own comfort food recipe.  I love slow cooker meals ( I have raved about them before ). There is nothing better than coming home from work with dinner ready. No stress for me and a wonderful meal to enjoy with the family.  For this meal you will need: Big Ass Chicken One whole Chicken (I got a big ass chicken from Sams Club) salt ...

Having little time to do much of anything but work, dinners at our house have been a little lacking. If we don't order out, or I don't pick up things from the deli at the grocery store, I revert to 'Get Your Own' night and everyone makes their own dinner. This is hardly the tastiest or healthiest ways to go about having family dinner.  if only it were that easy   I suspect that I am not alone in this dilemma of trying to get dinner on the table the fastest and easiest way. I am one to really value a family dinner time, and insist that we all eat together whenever possible. But since I opened the shop and have been working all open hours myself, with few exceptions, home made dinners eaten as a family are becoming few and far between.  these 2 ingredients make it YUMMY Then my youngest asked for a dinner I haven't cooked in ages. It is a dinner I learned from hubby's family - a staple of Caribbean cooking - Stewed Chicken and Rice and Beans. It taste...