Delicious Mealtime Recipes

Home made meals are not only nutritious but more economical than eating at restaurants. It is also important to involve the family to share the load of cooking meals as this way they learn the essence of contribution and responsibility and pick up some cooking skills as well. The younger ones are usually more enthusiastic and eat well as they have put their energy and creativity into preparing this delicacy. Pick up some ideas for delicious mealtime recipes.

Meal planning is one of the most important steps on the road to a nutritious and healthy diet. Just think of how less stressful evenings are when you have dinner planned. The Heart and Stroke Foundation suggests that you plan your meals for the week to save you time and help you meet family's nutritional needs.

Orange and Grape Tortellini Salad

Refrigerated three piece tortellini package
Red seedless grapes 1 cup
Green seedless grapes 1 cup
Mandarin oranges, drained 2 can
Red onion chopped ¼ cup
Walnuts, chopped and toasted ¼ cup
Honey Dijon salad dressing 1 cup

Combine pasta, grapes, oranges, onion and nuts in a medium sized bowl and add the dressing. Toss to coat. Mandarin oranges and grapes pair perfectly with cheese tortellini in this coat for a refreshing pasta salad. It could be served with crunchy breadsticks and tall glasses of tea with a twist of lemon.

Pistachio Nut swirl dessert cake

Yellow cake mix 1
Pistachio instant pudding 1
Eggs 4
Sour cream 1 cup
Oil 1 cup
Water ½ cup
Cinnamon 1 teaspoon
Nuts finely chopped ½ cup

Combine cake mix, pudding, eggs, sour cream, oil and water in a large mixing bowl. Blend the ingredients. Beat at medium speed of electric mixer for about 2 minutes. Combine sugar cinnamon and nuts in a small bowl. Pour ½ of the butter into greased and floured cake pan. Sprinkle with half of the sugar mixture. Top with remaining butter. Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes until the center springs back when lightly touched.

Easy lemon ice cream pie

Cracker crust graham 1
Vanilla ice cream
Frozen lemonade concentrate
Whipped topping

Place the ice cream and thawed lemonade concentrate in a blender and thoroughly blend them. Pour immediately onto the graham cracker crust. Top with a layer of whipped topping. Freeze for at least 3 hours till set.

Beef casserole

Olive oil 1 tablespoon
Beef round tip steak cut into 1 inch cubes
Onions coarsely chopped 1
Carrots diced 1
Potatoes large, peeled and sliced 2
Garlic and clove crushed 1
White wine dry or chicken stock 1/3 cup
Tomatoes minced 2 tablespoons
Lemon zest 1 teaspoon
Mint 1 teaspoon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Heat oil in a heavy oven-proof skillet over high heat. Sear beef 2 minutes, stirring frequently until browned. Transfer to a platter and set aside. Sauté the onion and carrots in same skillet over medium high heat for five minutes, stirring frequently until onion is softened. Add potatoes and garlic and sauté for five minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients salt and pepper to taste and any juices accumulated from meat. Bring to a simmer stirring with a wooden spoon to deglaze. Stir in beef. Cover skillet and bake for about 20 minutes. Remove cover, reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for another twenty minutes or until beef is tender.

Lemon chicken casserole

Olive oil 11/2 tablespoon
Chicken pieces skinless 3 lbs
Onion coarsely chopped 1
Carrots diced 2
Potatoes large peeled and sliced 2
Garlic clove crushed 1
White wine dry or chicken stock 1/3 cup
Artichoke hearts
Sun dried tomatoes
Lemon zest 2 teaspoon
Lemon juice ¼ cup
Fresh chopped mint 1 tablespoon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and heat oil in a heavy ovenproof skillet over high heat. Sear chicken 2 minutes per side until browned. Transfer to a platter and set aside. Sauté onion and carrots in the same skillet over medium high heat for about five minutes. Stir frequently until the onion is softened. Add potatoes and garlic and sauté for five minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients salt and pepper to taste and any juice accumulated from chicken. Bring to a simmer. Arrange chicken over vegetables. Cover skillet and bake for about 20 minutes and remove cover, reduce heat and bake for another 15 minutes until the chicken is cocked throughout.

Cinnamon coffee

Whipping cream chilled ½ cup
Sugar 1 tablespoon
Vanilla extract ¼ tsp
Ground coffee ½ cup
Cinnamon 1 tsp
Water 4 ½ cups
Coffee liqueur optional ¼ cup

Combine first 3 ingredients in a bowl. Beat to soft peaks. Chill until ready to serve. Combine ground coffee with cinnamon and brew by desired means. Serve coffee with liqueur if desired and top with whipped cream.

Quick Pizza

Cheese pizza crust baked 1
Pizza sauce ½ cup
Fat free mozzarella cheese shredded 5 ounces
Basil crumbled ½ tsp
Pepperoni slices optional ½ lb
Parmesan cheese grated ¼ cup

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F and place crust on a large baking sheet. Spread pizza sauce over crust and spread shredded mozzarella evenly over top and sprinkle with basil. Arrange pepperoni slices over top and sprinkle parmesan. Bake for about 10 minutes until topping is bubbly.