What's Cooking {January 2019}

I think that one of the hardest things to do is make a delicious yummy dinner that your whole family will eat.  Whether a working mom or not, we are all exhausted by the time dinner comes.  I'm guilty of partaking in a cup of coffee just before fixing dinner and I am pretty sure I'm not the only one!  I may love cooking and eating both delicious food, but I really don't like spending hours cooking dinner. It's been awhile since I've done a round up of delicious recipes that I've found on Pinterest that are not only healthy and fairly easy, but also delicious.

A few notes about our meals:
:: We try to eat 3 to 4 meals a week that are considered whole 30 or paleo.   We do this, because the meals are guaranteed dairy free and nutrient rich. 
:: Ethan is at the point where he eats just about everything we eat. 
:: Weston is slowly adding more things to his pallet.  Our rule is they have to try 3 bites of dinner.  If they really don't like it they can make themselves something else. . . but chicken nuggets can only be eating once a week, so they have to choose carefully. 
:: If Weston requests something then I am pretty quick to get it on the menu for the next week.  For example, one day he requested bacon cheeseburgers (something he can't really eat at restaurants because of the cheese) so we made them and he scarfed that thing down like it was the best thing ever. 
:: Half of us have dairy allergies and we have one soy allergy.  So pretty much processed foods are out of the question. . . . plus, we feel better when we eat non processed foods, so that's a plus.
 :: If you want to see my weekly menu plans and what I'm cooking in my kitchen you come follow me on Instagram and find them all in my profile under "What's Cooking." (I keep my instagram account private, but if you don't look like a weirdo I will let you in). 

So here's what's cooking around here:

Zuppa Tuscana {dairy free}

 Last year, I was at a sweet friend's house to watch some of the IF gathering conference and she had made it for lunch.  Of course, her version was with cream, so I couldn't eat it.  But, I've had a hankering for it ever since.  So when the weather changed this Fall, I found this recipe and man, was it good.  I used store bought Italian sausage . . . because I'm not actually on a whole 30.  But this was approved by 3/4 of my little family, so that's a win.  I even made it for Christmas Eve!  I highly recommend using Thai Kitchen Coconut Cream, because it doesn't have a strong coconut flavor and you won't be able to tell you used coconut cream.  My husband hates coconut, but he couldn't tell that's what I used. 

Pulled Pork with Pineapple Salsa

Last month, our son Weston started taking rock climbing classes at our local rock climbing gym and it bumps right into dinner time and bedtime.  So, basically I'm not home to cook dinner and the kids need to eat as soon as they get home.  This recipe worked perfect.  I used the already cooked pulled pork from Costco (I keep it in the freezer for quick dinners) and stuck it in the crockpot that afternoon.  It was defrosted and warm for us to eat when we got home.  I also made the salsa and the slaw before leaving so all we had to do was pull it out when we got home.  I think I made quesadillas really quick for Weston and left some pineapple for him to devour.  This was so good, I loved the leftovers the next day for lunch! 

Egg Roll in a Bowl

This recipe is another super easy and delicious meal.  The sriracha sauce on top was the perfect addition!  Ethan approved, because he's an egg roll fan, he just ate his without the sriracha sauce.   And the fact that coconut aminos are used, we don't have to worry about soy!  So when the time comes that Weston is brave enough to enjoy Asian inspired meals, he doesn't have to worry about it making him sick. 

Charcuterie Boards
One Friday night, I was completely unmotivated to cook and nobody wanted to go out and we were watching a movie, so I filled a plate with cheese and crackers and whatever lunch meat I could find in the fridge and made board.  I added pickles, olives, and other random things I found in fridge and I couldn't believe how quickly the kids gobbled everything up!  So now, I plan stategically plan charcuterie nights every now and then and add prosciutto (both my boys love fancy meats) and make sure we have dairy free cheese.  These are super fun to use for a picnic in the living room while watching a movie. 

Sheet Pan Dinners
These are basically my life.  A couple of veggies from our local Trader Joes and a package of Aidells Sausage (We buy the Costco pack every month so we always have them).  The Aidells chicken sausages are great because they don't use yucky ingredients and they don't add sugar.  We put veggies and sliced sausage on a sheet pan and toss with olive oil and salt and pepper and roast (425ish) for about 20 minutes and wha-la dinner's ready and it's so good!  And yes, Ethan eats this too.  He especially loves it when brussels sprouts are included. 

Also. . . a little note on getting your kids to eat veggies.  Roasting veggies with olive oil and salt and pepper makes them so flavorful that after a few tries your kids may not be able to resist. 

And that's all the inspiration I have for you this time.

 What are you cooking up this week?