Delicious Family Dinner Ideas For a Large Brood

Cooking for a large family can sometimes be quite a challenge. Planning ahead and creating delicious family dinner ideas is the way to stay on top of it. You can really use the seasons to your advantage when cooking for a large family. During the warmer months of the year, use your outdoor grill as much as possible. With a larger cooking space, you can grill several pieces of chicken or hamburgers or hot dogs in record time. Serve your grilled meat with a scoop of barbecued baked beans and an ear of corn on the cob and you have a quick and delicious dinner for a large family that was made in no time flat!

In the colder months, it is all about casseroles, which can serve a large family. Many people are not fans of "one-pot" meals, but with a large family and very little time, sometimes sacrifices have to be made. Combine diced ham with cooked egg noodles, cream of chicken soup, shredded cheddar cheese, canned corn and diced green peppers in a greased casserole dish. Top it with bread crumbs and more cheddar cheese and bake for 1 hour at 350 degrees and you have a hearty, stick-to-your-ribs meal with only one pan to clean up, leaving you more time to spend with that large brood of yours!

Meat Casseroles

Take to other families who have a large household for more family dinner ideas. Often times, sharing and swapping recipes will give you new and improved ideas to serve your family. If you live in a good community, come up with a "day of cooking" schedule where you take your kids to the neighbors and you spend the entire day cooking and freezing items that you can use for the month. On a different day, your neighbors will do the same. This is a great way to keep your freezers stocked with healthy meals and your children will enjoy having a play date with some of their friends! Freezing items such as meatloaf, tuna casseroles, spaghetti sauces and soups is a great plan on colder months when you are not able to use your outdoor grill as much.

Delicious Family Dinner Ideas For a Large Brood

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Ground Beef Spaghetti Casserole That's Diabetic Friendly

Whether you are a beginning cook or an experienced one, this is a recipe you will be proud to serve.  It is simple, easy and delicious.  This dish is easy to assemble and only needs a half hour to bake.  In this one dish you have grains, vegetables, meat, and dairy products.  Add a tossed salad or steamed fresh broccoli, some crusty bread, and you have an easy, healthy meal for your family to enjoy.  If you follow my blogs, you know I am big on family meal time.  I believe we need to spend more time in the kitchen and less in the fast food drive-through lanes.  Your family will eat better when you cook at home.  It doesn't have to be elaborate, just satisfying.  If your children are old enough, let them help by setting the table, putting the salad together, filling the water glasses, etc.  They can also help after the meal by joining in clearing the table, loading the dishwasher, etc.  It is a great time for parents and children to talk about their day and spend valuable time together.  This casserole is a great block to building a fantastic family meal!

For more of Linda's recipes visit http://diabeticenjoyingfood.squarespace.com

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A Hearty English Chicken Casserole Recipe

When the weather is cold and gray and you fancy something hearty and warming for dinner, sometimes nothing but a casserole will do. One of the nicest ways to cheer up your family on a cold day is to make an authentic English chicken casserole recipe with dumplings.

There are various recipes for casseroles and beef and chicken feature in a lot of them, along with typical winter vegetables, herbs and other delicious ingredients. The following recipe has quite a few ingredients in it but the preparation is simple and the flavor is amazing. Unusual walnut dumplings liven the dish up and stilton cheese and English ale add a wonderful taste.

Meat Casseroles

You will also like the ale, sage, mustard, bacon, garlic, thyme, and other full-flavored ingredients. All these ingredients work nicely together and blend perfectly over the long, slow cooking time, to result in one of the most delicious casserole recipes ever created. It smells heavenly while it cooks and the flavor is amazing.

What you will need:

4 oz unsalted butter 8 chicken pieces 2 oz all purpose flour 4 leeks, in 2 inch pieces 2 sticks celery, in 2 inch pieces 1 chopped yellow onion 4 chopped sprigs thyme 4 chopped cloves garlic 8 chopped strips bacon 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard 1 bay leaf 1 pint chicken stock 2 peeled, chopped parsnips 8 oz peeled, chopped rutabaga 12 1/2 fl oz English ale 1 teaspoon dried sage 2 chopped carrots 1 teaspoon white sugar 1 teaspoon malt vinegar 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

For the dumplings:

2 egg yolks 1 oz chopped walnuts 1 3/4 oz chopped stilton cheese 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 3/4 oz suet 3 1/2 oz all purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

How to make it:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Season the flour with sage, salt and pepper and dust the poultry in this mixture. Heat the butter in a big casserole dish and brown the chicken all over. Take the chicken out. Fry the bacon in the dish for a couple of minutes, then add the onion, leeks, celery, garlic, and carrot and fry these for five minutes, stirring often.

Add the sugar, ale, thyme, mustard, and vinegar and bring the mixture to a boil, then add the stock, rutabaga, parsnips, bay leaf, and chicken. Cover the dish and bake for ten minutes. Turn the heat down to 285 degrees F and cook for another hour and a half.

Put the walnuts, cheese, flour, egg yolks and flour in a bowl and add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg, stirring well. Shape the dough into small balls and scatter these dumplings over the top of the casserole half an hour before the end of the cooking time. Let the casserole bake uncovered for the final half an hour, then serve it in bowls, perhaps with crusty bread for soaking up the tasty juices.

A Hearty English Chicken Casserole Recipe

A casserole is the perfect dish for a cold day, when you fancy something soothing and thick, but what about making something like an easy baked chicken rice recipe in the warmer months? There are also plenty of tasty chicken salad recipes which are perfect for the summer.

BonelessChickenRecipe.com - Chicken so delightfully moist, you can almost smell it through your monitor.

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Seven Reasons Why I Love Cooking in an Electric Skillet

It may sound a tad artificial when I say that I love my electric skillet, but I do. Once I tell you the reasons, I am sure you will want to hurry and get one for yourself. I purchased a big, quality brand electric skillet, complete with a domed glass lid that allows for viewing of the food as it cooks, without having to lift the lid and thereby losing the steam or heat. And, with the nonstick finish, cleaning up afterwards is a breeze.
This is my list of seven factors that I enjoy about using an electric skillet.
1. I'm able to prepare cooked fish, cabbage, and any "smelly" foods in my electric skillet, outside of the house on the patio. I'm able to relish these wholesome yet "smelly" meals, and not have my whole house smelling too.
2. When a large meal around Thanksgiving or Christmas is being prepared, the electric skillet saves space in the kitchen, thereby giving you a greater area in which to work. An electric skillet can be used any place you can plug it in, and it can have a big amount of dressing in it without struggling for space in the oven with the turkey.
3. Instead of baking small roasts in the oven, I save electricity by using my electric skillet. The roast is perfectly moist and browned every time, due to the temperature control keeping the heat levels even and the lid letting the juices be absorbed back into the meat throughout the cooking process.
4. My electric skillet has a dual purpose since it's pretty to look at but big enough to feed everyone a casserole right from the skillet. It makes an attractive sight on a buffet table and conserves time since you are spared the additional cleanup of serving platters.
5. When the food is done but waiting to be eaten, the electric skillet's "Warm" setting maintains its temperature.
6. I have two words for you, fried chicken. It's true; not only the Colonel and his staff make fried chicken these days. Set the temperature at 350 degrees and let the half inch of oil get hot prior to adding your breaded chicken pieces. It isn't necessary to have one of those familiar buckets to get fried chicken that'll make you to lick your fingers.
7. And my favorite reason, due to the non-stick surface, is that I can prepare an upside-down pineapple cake in the electric skillet, and when it is finished cooking, I simply flip it onto a plate. It is wonderful, and I am constantly being asked to make it at gatherings with family and friends.
There it is, the top seven reasons why I love my electric skillet. Do you have one yet? If not, I bet you will soon.

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Pork Casseroles

People are focusing more and more on eating healthy foods at mealtime. You might not realize it, but pork casseroles include one of the leanest, healthiest cuts of meat available as a main ingredient. These delicious dishes that can be made with different products, including ham, sausage or pork chops. Whether you're looking for a dish that's spicy and savory or sweet and mellow, you'll be able to find a recipe for these dishes that will satisfy your taste buds while still being healthy for your heart and waistline.

Just a few of the pork casseroles you can try include recipes using potatoes and sausage, ham and cheese, pasta and sausage, or ham with scalloped potatoes and sweet onions. Low calorie pork casserole recipes are also available. At least one of these delicious dishes is sure to appeal to even the pickiest eater.

Meat Casseroles

Pork can be added to a variety of ingredients to create a savory main course with a difference. Pork's mild flavor means it won't overpower any fruits or vegetables in the recipe. The mildness of pork means peaches, berries, pineapple, apples, potatoes and carrots all serve as delicious ingredients for pork casseroles.

Preparing appetizing, nutritious but low fat, low cholesterol meals can sometimes be a challenge. However, adding recipes including pork and an assortment of flavorful ingredients to the meal planning process can help dieters and those seeking heart healthy meals to prepare delicious, nutritious, healthy casseroles.

For example, a casserole that includes lean meat, fresh tomatoes and chunks of pineapple provides a meal loaded with flavor and it's ideal whether it's summer or winter. People of all ages, both children and adults, will be delighted with its appetizing blend of flavors, but adults will also be pleased because of its low calories and low carbohydrates.

Another advantage of pork is its ease of preparation. Pork recipes are frequently easy to prepare and can be cooked and served fairly quickly. You'll be able to find pork casserole recipes designed to be cooked in the oven, on the stove-top, in a microwave or in a crockpot.

If you've been thinking about serving this type of dish in the near future, you might want to consider trying a delicious pork chop or pepper pot casserole. Just a few of your other options include glazed ham and mixed vegetables, a Mexican-style pork stew, or maybe even plantain pork.

Casseroles typically allow the cook to add, substitute or even omit some of the recipe's ingredients without changing the overall flavor of the meal significantly. Casseroles are easy to prepare and they're delicious and healthy, which is why so many people are constantly on the lookout for new and different recipes. Pork casseroles are versatile, healthy and easy to prepare. Isn't it time you learned more about their benefits and tried a few of these delicious recipes?

Pork Casseroles

Rick Mongiovi shares his recipe for ham cheese casserole and more casseroles recipes for breakfast, pasta, vegetarian and more on his site at Best-Made-Casseroles.com.

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