Recipes!

kboydbowman · April 2022

By request, if you have any favorite go-tos (especially if they're easy), post the recipes here! Also, if you're *looking* for a particular recipe, make a request - someone might have one!

kboydbowman · April 2022

This is one of my go-tos. Super quick and easy, and also fairly healthy (and it's very low carb, for our GD ladies):

Pork & Squash Soup

Ingredients:

1 TBSP oil

4 garlic cloves (minced)

½ lb. pork cut into small pieces

1- 1 ½ lbs opo or chayote squash; peeled and cut into stew pieces

2-3 cups chicken broth

1 large ripe tomato; cut into small pieces

Little bit of soy sauce (to taste)

Directions:

Heat oil. Add garlic and fry until browned (not burned).
Add pork and fry until browned. Add tomato. Cook together until tomato is mushy. Add some soy sauce to taste; continue to cook for about 5 minutes.
Add chicken broth or water; simmer until pork is tender. Taste broth. Add more soy sauce if desired.
Add squash. Cook until tender.

If you don't care about the carbs, I like to serve it over rice (usually sticky/calrose), but it's wonderful as just a soup, too.

bigworldlittleg · April 2022

I apologize in advance for the nutty amount of recipes I'll be sharing! I have a Pinterest board filled with recipes and I collect cookbooks like a wild woman. Seriously, forgive me all!! Anyway, here are some of my favorites:

Penne with Tuna and Tomato - by Laura in the Kitchen who has an outstanding YouTube channel
Sheet Pan Salmon with Horseradish Sauce
Baked Chicken Chimichangas
Chipotle Black Bean Roasted Veggie Enchilada Casserole - good make ahead/freezer friendly option
Linguine with Clams and Chorizo
Chicken Stroganoff
Cheesy Chicken Rice with Broccoli and Bacon - good make ahead/freezer friendly option
An all-time fave recipe: Ina Garten's Wild Mushroom Risotto

bigworldlittleg · April 2022

This Instant Pot Honey Garlic Chicken is a great fast weeknight meal (or you could make a double batch over the weekend for meal prep). I like it with brown rice and roasted broccoli!
https://www.familyfreshmeals.com/2018/04/instant-pot-honey-garlic-chicken.html

lucyg00cy · April 2022

My favorite marinade for grilled chicken- I’ve been eating this at least once a week recently with some grilled veggies.

2 lbs. Chicken Breasts Tenders, or Thighs
⅓ - ½ cup Extra Virgin Olive Oildepending on preference
3 Tablespoons Fresh Lemon Juice
3 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
¼ cup Brown Sugar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire Sauce
3 Garlic Cloves minced or ½ teaspoon Garlic Powder
1 ½ teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Pepper
Garnish:
Fresh Parsley

lucyg00cy · April 2022

@bigworldlittleg I love chimichangas- I’m going to try that baked recipe so I don’t feel as bad about eating the fried ones

newbabymama27 · April 2022

@lucyg00cy yum!! Your chicken marinade reminds me a lot of our favourite pork chop marinade except ours has lemon zest instead of lemon juice as well as Dijon mustard and thyme. I’m very picky about pork chops but this marinade makes them super tender every time. https://www.dinneratthezoo.com/grilled-pork-chops/

@bigworldlittleg I made your honey garlic chicken a few days ago and everyone loved it, including the toddler!

bigworldlittleg · April 2022

@newbabymama27 Yay!

blanket_girl · April 2022

I should hand my husband my husband the phone and tell him to post some of his recipes on here 😂
He has done almost all of the cooking since I got pregnant and he’s come up with some pretty amazing ones! Cauliflower parm, pad Thai w tofu, fish tacos, sweet potato enchiladas… (can you tell I’m pescatarian)

bigworldlittleg · April 2022

@blanket_girl All of those sound delicious! I eat meat now, but grew up vegetarian, and I've definitely been eating more vegetarian since getting pregnant.

csardaszz · April 2022

I bought five 9x13 pyrex dishes for frozen meal prep. This is the recipe I’m most excited about. (Found it on a twitter thread.)

runsonoatmeal · April 2022

Not quite a recipe, but my go-to lunch for the week is a big batch of quinoa with some kind of bean, whatever veggies are in the fridge, and whatever else sounds good. My favorite recently has been a version of the “quinoa tabouleh salad” in the Forks Over Knives cookbook. It would be fantastic with chicken breast, too, although I’ve only had the veggie version:
1.5 - 2 cups of dry quinoa (3-4 cups cooked, depending on how much you want)
1-2 cans of chickpeas
2-3 cucumbers (I tend to leave them unpeeled)
3-4 tomatoes (or the better half of a container of grape or cherry tomatoes)
feta crumbles to taste
kalamata olives to taste
salt and pepper to taste
dill to taste (we usually have dried handy)
tablespoon or two of olive oil
juice of 1/2 - whole lemon

Cook the quinoa while you prep the other stuff, then let it cool and mix it all in. Lunch is done for the week!

runsonoatmeal · April 2022

@csardaszz I’m always up for a new lasagna recipe! Also I’m very happy to see that this one uses ricotta and not cottage cheese

runsonoatmeal · April 2022

@blanket_girl mine has been doing most of the cooking too! Do you have a recipe for the pad Thai?

blanket_girl · May 2022

@runsonoatmeal sorry for the late reply! Just got back from our baby moon in Ireland yesterday so I am playing catch-up on here

He bases it off this recipe: https://www.cookingclassy.com/chicken-pad-thai/

Instead of chicken or shrimp, he dices up a package of extra form tofu and just throws it in with everything else.
He also said he adds a little extra “razzle-dazzle” to it depending on his mood 😂 - usually by adding an heaping tablespoon of peanut butter to the sauce.

runsonoatmeal · May 2022

@blanket_girl thank you! Will definitely be trying this. Hope you had a wonderful baby moon!

csardaszz · May 2022

Can anyone recommend some good smoothie recipes?

I’ve decided to up my protein by adding in a smoothie with protein powder. Yesterday’s kale + papaya in coconut water didn’t cut it.

maple1422 · May 2022

I'm a sucker for pb, banana, and chocolate shakes. Can use a chocolate protein or chocolate syrup with vanilla protein.Also can swap peanut butter for any nut butter or pb poweder. I like PB&Me.

csardaszz · May 2022

Pb, banana, and chocolate is the best combination! I do have some cacao powder I could use, which is DELICIOUS!

When I found out I was having twins I bought 2.5lbs of unflavored and 2.5lbs of coffee protein powder. The coffee one is by far the tastiest, but it has real coffee so I rarely use it. I think at some point I’ll start doing coffee + banana smoothies instead of my morning cup.

lalarose22 · May 2022

@csardaszz here's one of my favorites: peanut butter, banana, flax seeds, cinnamon, oat milk

bigworldlittleg · May 2022

A really good recipe for Grilled Chicken and Asparagus Pesto Pasta:

https://reciperunner.com/grilled-chicken-asparagus-pesto-pasta/

If you don't have homemade pesto, store bought is fine (classic Ina Garten reference right there!)

Using whole grain pasta would make it even healthier. It may freeze well too, I'll have to try it...

ciscothedog2018 · May 2022

@csardaszz I just made one the other day that I really liked: plain greek yogurt, frozen dragonfruit, strawberries, a bit of fresh spinach, almond butter, chia seeds, oat milk & a squeeze of honey! I also often do peanut butter, chocolate almond milk, and banana. I also personally find that green smoothies are better with citrus/sour fruits like mango, pineapple, green apple, etc. and that almond butter/peanut butter goes better in berry-based smootheis! (May just be me though!)

csardaszz · May 2022

@ciscothedog2018 That sounds delicious! And now I must have dragonfruit!

Yesterday I made a golden milk smoothie that was pretty tasty. I used a mango, vanilla yogurt, milk, turmeric, cinnamon, ginger, and a pinch of pepper.

lilienne · May 2022

Thank you all for the great recipe ideas!

https://www.wellplated.com/peanut-butter-protein-balls/ is my current go-to snack (I'm trying to ease off on cookies and ice cream but still wanted something sweet)
https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/218878/citrus-shortbread-cookies/?internalSource=streams&referringId=855&referringContentType=Recipe%20Hub&clickId=st_trending_s are the best cookies ever for when I give up on trying to stick to healthy snacks
https://www.ayearofslowcooking.com/2008/03/crockpot-apricot-chicken-recipe.html is my very favorite easy crockpot dinner

Ridiculously easy bread recipe below, as the link no longer works:
Refrigerator Bread Again and Again by Kelly Yandell

Prep time: 20 mins

Cook time: 25 mins

Total time: 45 mins

Sometimes the easiest things are also the best things. This bread is a great example.

Dana's note: It is also possible to make a half-batch and bake it in one single, larger loaf.

Ingredients

32 ounces bread flour
½ ounce active dry yeast
1 tablespoon salt
3 cups warm water

Instructions

Weigh the bread flour and add it to a large container. Mix the yeast and salt into the flour. Finally, add the water and use a large sturdy spoon to stir the dough until it is completely moistened. Set the container on the counter and leave it to sit at room temperature for two hours. Then, place the container in the refrigerator. It should stay in the refrigerator for a minimum of two hours before proceeding with the baking procedure, and may stay in the refrigerator for up to a week.
To bake a loaf of bread, remove the container from the refrigerator and reach into the container and pull out roughly a third of the dough. This is best done with amply floured hands. Shape the dough into a ball by folding it over onto itself a few times and sealing any seams by pinching. Use additional flour to keep the dough from sticking to your work surface and hands. Place the ball on a lightly floured piece of parchment paper. Allow the ball of dough to rise until doubled in size, approximately 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 475 degrees. Place a heat proof dutch oven inside the oven to warm at the same time (Make sure the pot is oven safe and that all of its fittings and handles are oven safe before doing this). When the dough has risen, CAREFULLY pull the oven rack out and remove the lid from the pot. Or, remove the Dutch oven to a HEATPROOF surface and remove the lid. Cut a ¼" slit in the top of the bread with a very sharp knife. Gently drop the dough (still attached to the parchment) into the dutch oven. Spray 3 squirts of water mist into the pot with a mist bottle and quickly replace the lid. REMEMBER THE POT AND LID ARE 475 DEGREES.
Quickly, place the pot back into the oven and allow the bread to bake for 25 minutes. Then, remove the lid from the pot and allow the bread to continue to bake for another 10 minutes. At this point, check the bread for doneness by rolling the loaf over with a spatula or using a gloved hand and piercing it through the bottom with an instant read thermometer. If it registers 200 degrees, the bread is fully baked. Remove it to a cooling rack and allow it to cool completely. If it is not fully baked, continue to bake in 5 minute increments until it reaches 200 degrees.

newbabymama27 · May 2022

@lilienne those citrus shortcake cookies look divine 😍 I love anything citrus-y and have to make them ASAP. And I make almost exactly the same bread as your recipe very regularly. So sooo good!

lilienne · May 2022

@newbabymama27 how fun that we have the same bread recipe! My husband is a more ambitious baker than I am, but I love recipes that taste delicious and don't take quite so much work. And yes, definitely try the shortbread recipe. It's a good thing they take some time to make, or I think I would eat a lot more of them than I do.

laj0217 · May 2022

So, I pulled this one back out last night. Totally forgot about it. We always add lemon juice, and sometimes I add feta. Its also forgiving if you want to increase or change the veggies.

It’s not a great freezer recipe, but it can be eaten hot or cold, so if you make it in pieces (baby starts crying etc), it should still come out fine.

https://www.marthastewart.com/337717/orzo-with-chicken-corn-and-green-beans

trapperkeeper87 · May 2022

If you enjoy manicotti, this is one of the best recipes I've ever tried, and the recipe itself needs so few adjustments to be divine (lots of recipes on this site have great reviews for adjustments). The only thing I do differently is soften the noodles beforehand.

https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/86446/three-cheese-manicotti-ii/

dvmmama · May 2022

This is a bit premature, but I'm thinking about making freezer meals for when bebe comes since I'm on a 4 week break before my internship starts. How long have people stored freezer meals for? Anyone have any particular favorites to share? I've been looking on Pinterest, but would love to have some tried and true recipes. We have no dietary restrictions and eat basically anything edible.

jhysmath · May 2022

@dvmmomma have you made any before? I found in not a fan of most freezer meals and it took me a bit to want to even eat them. I only did an enchilada stack, and lasagna. The lasagna held up a lot better and I'm used to making those as I usually make two at a time and freeze one. I've done stuffed shells before, those work best if you freeze on a tray abs put in a bag, that way you only take out a many as you'd want for a meal.

I'll also add I was away for 3 months after I had my baby each time so I couldn't eat from our freezer anyhow until I was back at work.

dvmmama · May 2022

@jhysmath I have, and wanted to ask for recipes others have tried and liked because that is my feeling as well. I've definitely made/had some good ones (manicotti, enchiladas), and we ate a lot of Tater Tot hotdish growing up in the Midwest which I know will freeze well, but I've had a few that are pretty mushy and gross or one flavor which I'm not a fan of.

I feel like it would be nice to have a few options in the freezer while we figure out life as a family of 3, and I know my mom will be coming to stay for some time and although she is a wonderful mom she is a TERRIBLE cook lol.

jhysmath · May 2022

@dvmmomma I usually have to deal with my husband's cooking for the first 6 months as baby doesn't allow me to put them down long enough to prep and cook, and they tend to hate my husband and only stop screaming when I have them. So for 6 months I'm pretty much stuck with burgers and kielbasa because that's his go to... and he wonders why I'm not a fan of hamburger.

lilienne · May 2022

@dvmmomma I have a few recipes I routinely freeze, but I don't know how long they'll stay fresh - I know they'll last longer if you vacuum seal everything, rather than just using freezer bags. Disclaimer: none of these are healthy! They're all high-calorie, comfort food options. My usual use-case is for Burning Man, where I'll make a big batch of something and then cut it into small individual servings and freeze the servings. That way when I need food in a hurry I can reheat a small portion and still be getting a pretty good energy boost.

White Wine Lasagna with Spinach

Serves ? Preheat oven to 350°

Prep time ? Cook time 55 min

Sauce Ingredients

3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup dry white wine
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk, heated
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Salt and pepper to taste

Lasagna Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 cup diced onion
1 cup carrots, shredded
20 oz fresh spinach, washed and dried, and chopped into 1/2 inch bits
1 pound part-skim ricotta cheese
10 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste
12 lasagna noodles - cooked (boiled and drained)
1 cup shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese (4 ounces)

Method

White Sauce

Melt the butter over medium heat in a medium saucepan.
Sprinkle in the flour and stir with a wire whisk for 1 minute. Add wine in three pours, stirring between intervals. Do the same with the warm milk.
Increase the heat to medium-high, cooking and stirring until the sauce thickens allowing heat to get to a near boil.
Reduce heat and cook, whisking occasionally, for 5 minutes.
Whisk in nutmeg, salt, and pepper, then remove from the heat and set aside.

Lasagna

In a large skillet heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion and carrots, and saute until softened - about 5 minutes.
In a large bowl combine the spinach, ricotta, onion mixture, 1/3 cup white sauce, 4 tablespoons of the Parmesan cheese, salt, and pepper. Toss like a salad to combine well.
Spray a little olive oil cooking spray over the bottom of your favorite baking dish - these are usually about 13 x 9.
Arrange 4 strips of lasagna on the bottom and cover with about 2/3 of the spinach mixture, about 1/2 cup of the white wine sauce and 4 more strips of pasta.
Cover with the remaining spinach mixture and about half the remaining white sauce. Top with the remaining noodles and white sauce.
Sprinkle with the mozzarella cheese and the remaining 4 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese and bake for 35 minutes.
Cover with foil and increase the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Bake an additional 20 minutes or until the lasagna is bubbling hot.
Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Make Ahead Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Preheat oven to 375°

Prep time 20 min (longer if shredding chicken)

Cook time 45-60 min

Ingredients

6 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 28 oz can green enchilada sauce
1 packet of enchilada seasoning
14 corn tortillas, cut into 6 triangles each
3 cups shredded cheddar cheese

Equipment: One 9"x13" casserole dish

Method

Mix the pre-shredded chicken breast with enchilada seasoning and about half the can of green enchilada sauce. Set aside.
Using a pizza cutter, cut each tortilla into 6 equally sized triangles.
Spread a little green enchilada sauce on the bottom of a 9 x 13 in. baking pan.
Start layering by laying down the tortilla triangles.
Next a layer of chicken.
Then a layer of cheese.
Top cheese with another layer of tortillas.
Repeat the layering process 1 more time. cheese, chicken and then tortillas.
Pour the remaining green enchilada sauce over the casserole and sprinkle the top with remaining cheddar cheese.
Bake in a 375 degree oven for 45-60 minutes or until sauce is bubbling and top is golden brown.

Three-Cheese Mini Macs

Yields 36 Preheat oven to 425°

Prep time 10 min Cook time 30 min

Ingredients

1/2 pound elbow macaroni (or other small pasta)
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus more for brushing
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/4 cup milk
8 ounces cheddar cheese, shredded (1 packed cup)
1 large egg yolk
1/4 teaspoon smoked Spanish paprika
NEXT TIME: try 1 teaspoons Kosher salt

Equipment: Three 12-cup, nonstick mini muffin tins. Metal works best, silicone does not get crispy enough.

Method

Preheat the oven to 425°. In a large saucepan of boiling salted water, cook the macaroni until al dente, about 5 minutes. Drain, shaking off the excess water.
Brush the muffin tins with butter. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the Parmigiano; tap out the excess.
In a large saucepan, melt the 1 1/2 tablespoons of butter. Whisk in the flour over moderate heat for 2 minutes. Whisk in the milk and cook, whisking, until boiling, about 5 minutes. Add the cheddar cheese and whisk until melted. Off the heat, whisk in the egg yolk and paprika. Fold in the macaroni.
Spoon slightly rounded tablespoons of the macaroni into the prepared muffin cups, packing them gently. Sprinkle the remaining 2 tablespoons of Parmigiano on top. The recipe can be prepared through Step 4 and refrigerated overnight.
Bake the mini macs in the upper and middle thirds of the oven for about 10 minutes, until golden and sizzling. Let cool for 5 minutes. Using a small spoon, carefully loosen the mini macs, transfer to a platter and serve.

laj0217 · May 2022

@dvmmomma I don’t have a specific recipe for you, but we usually make double batches of spaghetti sauce and chicken noodle soup for easy meals later. Freeze in individual servings. Chicken soup is good to go. Spaghetti sauce just needs noodles which is easy.

I tend to be a much bigger fan of crock pots myself, especially if the recipe just lets you dump everything in - google crack chicken and Mississippi pot roast. Both great crock pot recipes.

newbabymama27 · May 2022

@dvmmomma I regularly make huge batches of spaghetti sauce, chilli, and meatballs and freeze them for later use. The spaghetti sauce and chilli reheat easily on the stove, you just need to make pasta to go with the spaghetti sauce. I toss the frozen meatballs in a quick sweet and sour sauce in a crockpot for 4-6 hrs and then rice in the rice maker before dinner and that’s super easy too. We’ve also made pulled deer recently and it froze well (first time making it, similar recipe to any pulled pork), so that’s an option too.

Also, several of the moms in my other bump group made these when we had our babies in 2019: https://pinchofyum.com/freezer-meals but I didn’t get around to it. You can look through these to see if any of them sound good to you. They looooved these! She also has a ton of tips on how to best freeze meals in general. I plan to make some of these this time

dvmmama · May 2022

Thanks y'all! I figured now is a good time to start stocking up since I'll have some time.

babywiik · May 2022

@dvmmama chili is a good one that freezes well and tastes just as good after. One thing I've done is just brown hamburger and freeze in portions. So easy to pull out a bag to add to spaghetti sauce or any other dish that calls for ground beef. If you're adding to a sauce you can dump in frozen and it'll thaw pretty quick. If you make homemade pizza, you can make a bunch of pizza crusts and freeze them.

dvmmama · May 2022

I have to share this recipe that absolutely blew my mind and is so easy! A friend told me about it and I was like.....how have I never thought of this before??

Ingredients:
*Can of refrigerated Cinnamon rolls with icing (I used Annie's)
*Can of apple pie filling

Cut the rolls into 1/4ths, place in greased 9x13 dish. Pour apple filling around roll pieces. Bake at 375 for 20-25 mins, pour icing packet over after baking.

That's it! Made it this morning and it was so good. Was going to add pecans but I didn't have any. 10/10 would make again and will probably top the leftovers with ice cream later 😋

jhysmath · May 2022

I'm not sure how much a believe in lactation cookies anymore, but with my first I figured they were necessary. These freeze really well either cooked or not, and eating them frozen from the freezer might be something I enjoy doing as a snack when I don't want to cook after baby.

https://www.trialandeater.com/lactation-cookies/

newbabymama27 · May 2022

@jhysmath thanks for the recipe! I think I made some about two weeks postpartum but didn’t eat many because I had no appetite, but I’ll use this recipe to make some ahead of time and freeze just in case. No idea if they actually work either but they sound tasty ha!

jhysmath · May 2022

@newbabymama27 there's something in the brewers yeast that gives it a different flavor, and I find myself craving them. I made a batch for a friend after she had her baby, and her husband ate half of them and she laughed and told him they were lactation cookies I brought over and he thought that meant I put my breastmilk in them and got disgusted. We laughed a bunch about that. He thought they were delicious.

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