Tuesday’s Table: Busy Weeks, Crock Pots & Taco Tuesdays

I hope you’ve been enjoying Tuesday’s Table and finding some new meals to add to your family’s rotation!

I’m cheating a little this month and making every Tuesday a different version of Taco Tuesday. And you know what? I’m completely okay with that.

Transitioning back to working outside the home while still running our home and several businesses has proven to be more challenging than I thought it would be. Right now, having some sort of repeating dinner schedule is one less thing I have to think about.

Sometimes making life easier doesn’t mean doing more. Sometimes it means simplifying what we’re already doing.

So, Taco Tuesdays it is!

This week has several really easy dinners, a couple of crock pot meals, some planned overs, and two family favorites that take quite a bit more work—but are absolutely worth it.

Let’s get into it!

Tuesday: Shredded Beef Tacos

Taco Tuesday!

For tonight’s dinner, I’m throwing some beef into the crock pot with my homemade taco seasoning, green chilies and Mexican-style tomatoes. Then I’ll let it cook low and slow all day.

My homemade taco seasoning recipe is already on the blog, so be sure to check out that post if you want to make your own.

Having dinner ready when I get home from working is wonderful.

But you know what’s even better?

Knowing I’m cooking TWO dinners at the same time.

I’m intentionally making extra shredded beef tonight because we’ll use it for our enchilada casserole later in the week.

If we have extra rice and beans after dinner, those will get saved too.

That’s what I love about planned overs. I'm not doing traditional meal prep or spending an entire day cooking. I'm simply making a little more of something I'm already making.

PLANNED OVER: Make extra shredded beef, rice and beans for enchilada night.

Wednesday: Beef Ragu Rigatoni

Tonight’s Beef Ragu Rigatoni is something I can assemble ahead of time so the kids only have to put it into the oven.

I always feel a little guilty when they have to come home after working all day and then make dinner, so whenever possible, I try to make their part as easy as I can.

I also have a couple of family members who aren't huge pasta fans, so I make this dish with plenty of meat and sauce. The beef ragu is really the star, and the rigatoni is more of an extra.

And if you made extra ground beef earlier in the week, use it!

One less thing to cook tonight.

TIP: Whenever you're browning ground beef, ask yourself if there's another meal coming up that needs it. Browning two pounds really isn't much harder than browning one.

Thursday: Chicken Tortilla Soup

I planned Chicken Tortilla Soup because I've really been craving it.

There is just one little problem.

It's still over 100 degrees here in Southern California. 😂

Now I'm wondering if we really want soup after all.

I know how to make Chicken Tortilla Soup from scratch, and I've done it plenty of times. But this week? I have a FULL work week, and today is an especially long day.

So I'm opening up some Bear Creek soup mix, adding canned chicken and calling it dinner.

And guess what?

That still counts as feeding my family.

Not every dinner has to be completely homemade. There are seasons when we have time for that and seasons when we need a shortcut.

This is a shortcut week.

Friday: Kielbasa Sausage & Potato Casserole

Another busy day calls for another crock pot meal.

I love meals like this because everyone can eat whenever they're ready, and I don't have to be standing in the kitchen at exactly 5:30 trying to get dinner onto the table.

Cut up kielbasa sausage and place it in the bottom of your crock pot.

In a bowl, combine cream of chicken soup, sour cream and shredded cheese. Stir in diced hash brown potatoes and pour the mixture over the sausage.

That's it!

If you want to get fancy, you can add crushed crackers or cornflakes on top.

Easy dinner. Very little cleanup. And it's ready whenever people are hungry.

That's my kind of Friday dinner.

Saturday: Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken & Rice

Guess what?

Today is another REALLY busy day.

I have centerpieces to deliver in the morning, then the kids have an event doing face painting and balloons from 10:00–3:00, followed by a birthday party from 5:30–7:30.

I'm going to be gone ALL DAY.

So once again, the crock pot is saving dinner.

You can use boneless chicken breasts or thighs for this—whichever you have or whichever is cheaper.

For the sauce, mix together:

• Minced garlic
• ¼ cup honey
• ½ cup ketchup
• ¼ cup soy sauce or coconut aminos
• A dash of oregano
• Parsley
• Black pepper

Place the chicken in the crock pot, pour the sauce over the top and let it cook.

Then all the boys have to do is make some rice to go with it.

Easy as that.

Dinner doesn't have to be complicated to be good.

Sunday: Loaded Buffalo Potato Casserole

Okay.

I warned you that some meals this week were easy.

This is NOT one of them. 😂

Loaded Buffalo Potato Casserole isn't quick. It isn't a one-pot meal. You're going to use a bunch of dishes.

But it is a HUGE family favorite, and I haven't made it in probably a year because it just wasn't practical to make while we were living in the trailer.

So this one is worth the work.

Start by peeling and dicing your potatoes.

Pour some olive oil into a large zipper bag, add your favorite seasonings and a few squirts of Sriracha. How much Sriracha you add depends entirely on how much heat your family likes.

Add the potatoes and toss everything together.

Bake until the potatoes are almost done. You don't want them mushy—just slightly tender.

While the potatoes are baking, cook your chicken. I season mine with my house seasoning and usually air fry it instead of baking it because I like the flavor better. We don't have an outdoor grill yet, so the air fryer is my next best option.

While the chicken is cooking, make your cheese sauce and cook the bacon.

An Easy Bacon Trick

I cut my bacon into pieces before cooking it.

That way I can put several pounds into a pan at once, stir it occasionally and cook everything until it's golden brown and crispy. It's so much easier than cooking individual strips and chopping them afterward.

For the cheese sauce, I combine milk, sour cream and cheese until I have a nice creamy sauce.

I wish I could give you exact measurements, but this is one of those recipes where I don't measure. 😂

Season the sauce with garlic powder, onion powder and a few more squirts of Sriracha.

Once everything is ready, start layering.

Potatoes first. Then chopped chicken. Then cheese sauce.

Repeat.

You should be able to get about two layers of each ingredient.

Give everything a quick stir, slightly smashing some of the potatoes as you go. Then top the entire casserole with chopped bacon and another sprinkle of cheese.

Bake until everything is hot and the cheese is melted.

SO. GOOD.

And because I'm already making the mess, I don't make one pan.

I usually make three or four.

My kids always come back for seconds, and I love having another pan in the refrigerator for lunches.

This one takes some work, but I promise it's worth it.

If you try it, let me know what your family thinks!

Monday: Enchilada Casserole

We're ending the week with another meal that isn't necessarily quick to assemble—but it's another family favorite.

And here's the good news:

I can make it on Sunday.

Then on Monday, all the kids have to do is put it into the oven.

This is also where Tuesday's planned overs come back into play.

Remember that extra taco meat?

Pull it out!

If you don't have any left, no big deal. Use whatever meat you have.

I prefer shredded beef. My husband prefers ground beef. And all of us like chicken.

So I use whatever is available and often make a few pans.

If I'm already assembling one casserole, it doesn't take much more work to make another one for the freezer.

And if you saved extra rice and beans from Taco Tuesday, you've already got your sides too.

Tuesday-you just made Monday-you's life a whole lot easier.

And THAT is the whole point of planned overs.

Tip of the Week: Give Yourself Permission to Repeat Meals

I think sometimes we put unnecessary pressure on ourselves to constantly come up with something new for dinner.

Right now, I don't need 30 completely different dinner ideas.

I need dinner to happen.

Having Taco Tuesday every week gives me one less decision to make. Crock pot meals allow me to cook when I actually have time instead of when everyone expects to eat. Planned overs mean I'm getting more than one meal out of some of the work I'm already doing.

There is nothing wrong with simplifying your meal plan during a busy season.

In fact, sometimes that's exactly what makes home-cooked dinners possible.

I hope this week's menu gives you a few ideas for your own family—and I really hope some of you can enjoy that bowl of Chicken Tortilla Soup without your thermometer reading 100 degrees outside. 😂

Until next Tuesday,

Cook once. Eat more than once. ❤️
Jennifer