I always enjoy the beginning of a new year. All kinds of plans. A slow down from the holiday season. Decluttering, even if it's just taking down Christmas stuff.
This year, thanks to helping move his brother, hubby is on a huge kick to finally get rid of some of his stuff. Frankly, he wants to pitch it all, and I'm not stopping him . . . he just needs to stay away from my stuff, or the kids'. We, the kids and I, go through stuff on a regular basis. LOL, he just never notices unless there's something he sees and decides to keep.
Purging items is always on my list, but big purging is definitely something I need to be in the mood for (like the pantry) - and I'm not there yet. However, hubby's in the mood and more power to him! We've already made one big trip to a local recycling place that took the ton of electronic stuff we had. The boys took a big load of clothing and housewares over to the local give-away.
Anyway, new year. New list of things to do and try. And if you've seen my Instagram feed this morning, you'll see it's quite the list, too. To stay on top of the list, I need to have menus in place so I don't have to think about dinners.
Part of that purging is getting these recipe posts up and out to you, in case menu planning is on your 2018 list of things to take on. Truly, it makes dinner time so less stressful if you know what you're making and you've got everything on hand.
Bacon, plus 30 minutes equals Brown Sugar Bacon Garlic Chicken. This was really good. Bacon kept it moist and that sweetness from the brown sugar, with that bit of bite from the garlic was just right.
This Pumpkin Monkey Bread got raves all around the table. It was soooo good. A little crunchy from the caramelized sugar, gooey from the brown sugar sauce. The only downside was it rose so much while cooking it puffed up and out of the pan and made a disaster of my oven. I used the bundt pan option. Next time I'll try a 9 x 13 (and maybe an additional smaller pan), plus I'll but sheet pans underneath to catch any escapees.
I love pineapple and chicken, so I enjoyed this Skillet BBQ Pineapple Chicken meal. It was good. Against my better judgment, I used jalapenos - which I don't like - and as expected were too hot for me. Be sure to check the salt level in the sauce before serving.
Last year, a goal, was I wanted more meatless meals on my menu - and fish - and managed pretty well on the meatless part. Fish, not so much. But these Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas were good. Flavorful and filling without feeling overstuffed. I don't buy red enchilada sauce anymore, using this super fast 5-minute recipe instead.
These Apple Cider Mules . . . oh my, so good! I'm not a huge fan of ginger beer - some brands are pretty strong - but in here, it was great! If you're not a fan either, change the ratio and go for a splash of ginger beer and more sparkling cider.
2017 was the year I came to adore the sheet-pan meal. This Autumn Sausage Veggie and Apple Sheet Pan Dinner was just one of many. I usually go with whatever sausage I have on hand, and we always have sausage on hand. We just eat these bowl-style, with some sort of crusty bread, but you could certainly serve it over something - barley, farrow, quinoa, rice (white or brown.)
I had not tried lentils, to my knowledge, before this One Pot Cheesy Mexican Lentils, Black Beans and Rice. The meal was not only meatless, but good. Filling and warm with lots of flavor. Definitely a bowl-only meal, though I served it with some tortilla chips. I had heard there was lentil pasta, and have found it in my local store, and would like to try it for the nutritional boost, but the cost is a significant increase.
I'm off to tackled pieces and parts of that large list.
Happy Friday,
Lori
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