This post is sponsored by Taste of Home in conjunction with Blog Meets Brand, and I have been compensated for my participation. All opinions are my own.
Meal planning is just kind of my thing. We all have a few household chores that we really get into – and inventorying our pantry to figure out how I can feed my family wholesome, delicious recipes each week is one of mine. I love it.
But, of course, to meal plan effectively, you have to have the right tools. I like to have a few cookbooks on hand full of attainable ingredients and simple steps. While I love to experiment in the kitchen, I also want recipes that aren’t too complicated and are totally doable for a quick weeknight meal.
My meal planning process is pretty straight-forward: each week, I inventory the meats and perishable items in my kitchen that need to be used soon; those become the basis for next week’s meal plan. I come up with 4-5 meals that use up all of the items that have to be used, filling in as I can with things from my pantry that are a little more shelf-stable. That makes for less food waste in our home and really reduces my grocery bill each week. I fully believe in shopping your own kitchen before shopping at the store!
I like to have a cookbook with a variety of recipes that use just about anything that might be in my kitchen. That’s where cookbooks like Taste of Home’s Simple and Delicious Cookbook come in.
Southwestern Sautéed Corn
source: Taste of Home
Ingredients:
1 tablespoon butter
3-1/3 cups fresh corn or 1 package (16 ounces) frozen corn
1 plum tomato, chopped
1 tablespoon lime juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/3 cup minced fresh cilantro
Directions:
In a large nonstick skillet, heat butter over medium-high heat. Add corn; cook and stir 3-5 minutes or until tender. Reduce heat to medium-low; stir in tomato, lime juice, salt and cumin.
Cook 3-4 minutes longer or until heated through. Remove from heat; stir in cilantro.
Yield: 5 servings
1 package (16 ounces) spaghetti
1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (14-1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350°. Cook spaghetti according to package directions.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, cook beef, green pepper and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in next eight ingredients. Drain spaghetti; add to beef mixture.
Transfer to a greased 13×9-in. baking dish. Cover and bake 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheese. Bake until cheese is melted, about 5 minutes longer.
Yield: 12 servings
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