Gratefully Wild Home

By this time in November, the trees have shaken off their summer clothes and stand bare as morning frost gathers on the tips of their branches. The cozy late fall season has begun, and everyone is starting to plan and prep for the holidays. This time of year also starts to call for warm, cozy meals—soup often makes it into a one- to two-time-a-week rotation. I always make my own bone broth in the Instant Pot to have on hand. Using the Instant Pot for homemade bone broth has changed my time in the kitchen for the better. It can be done in just two hours if needed, or I can set it and let it warm slowly, forming a nice gelatin on top throughout the day. My favorite part about using the Instant Pot for broth is that no liquid is ever lost. I usually have bones for bone broth on hand since we purchase a grass-fed half cow every 18 months or so. One great option if you don’t have beef bones is to use a whole chicken to make broth—it’s simple and can be used to create multiple meals.

Sunday began with a beautiful baptism of my newest nephew. Since we attended the baptism, there was no need to plan a dinner Sunday evening. For the rest of the week, I made some great budget friendly meals and kid favorites.

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Monday: Sloppy Joes

Sloppy Joes are always a great, budget-friendly weeknight meal—and a hit with the kids. For most meals that need a bun, this is my all-time favorite homemade bun recipe. It only takes 40 minutes and is a great option for beginner bread makers. I often make enough food at dinner so we almost always have leftovers for lunch the next day. The kids are a little picky about leftovers (I don’t understand why—Paul and I believe the food always tastes better the next day), but this is one they were happy to eat leftover style.

Tuesday: Chicken Soup

For this recipe, I use one from memory from my dearly departed mother. I always roast the chicken for 30 minutes in the oven with salt and pepper and some olive oil. Then I fill the biggest pot I have and put the chicken in with seasonings (parsley, thyme, sage, bay leaf are some examples), a onion, diced tomatoes and some more salt and pepper. I then let it simmer for the day. I cook a pound of pasta, shred up half of the chicken and strain the broth to make a simple chicken noodle soup. The kids love it with only the pasta and chicken in the broth, and I am happy to oblige. What is great about this meal is that it keeps giving. I used the broth and chicken in meals throughout the week.

Wednesday: Chicken Enchiladas

There is always something comforting about enchiladas. The bone broth enchilada sauce recipe definitely adds to that comfort feel for a fall meal. I loved also changing the enchiladas up with chicken instead of beef.

Thursday: Pulled Pork Bowls

I love bowls. Isn’t’ funny as a child, you always want everything separated on your plate. Nothing can be touching. Yet, as an adult the theme becomes give me all the bowls and mash all that food together! What is also nice about a weekly bowl style recipe is that the kids can pick and choose what they want to eat. We do try to encourage them to eat everything, but a bowl takes some pressure off of everyone. It is easier to choose to not pick the food battle. I was able to use some of the chicken broth in my instant pot pulled pork recipe. I then served with rice, corn, black beans, micro greens (my brother grows these locally! Such a blessing to have them almost consistently on hand), BBQ sauce and cheese.

Friday: Ramen

Ramen noodles from Costo. A must on our grocery list. I then had enough chicken broth to make the soup for this easy Friday meatless meal. The chicken from Tuesdays spread through 4 meals from the rest of the week!

Saturday: Hotdogs

I had a fundraising bingo event in the evening. The day called for an easy hotdog dinner for Paul to make the kids while I was away. I do buy our hot dogs from a local farmer, so they are made with clean ingredients. Hotdogs are 3-year-old Gregory’s favorite meal!

And lastly, my favorite photos of this past week. Imagination and active play among these little boys. Childhood memories at their best.