In Need of Some Delicious Family Meal Ideas? I've Got You

Grippo's chicken tenders

1. Beat together an egg and a cup of buttermilk, and add some Grippo’s seasoning.

2. Pour Grippo’s potato chips into a shallow dish. Crush them finely with a meat mallet.

3. Dunk chicken tenders in the mixture and roll them around in crushed Grippo’s. Press relatively hard so that every inch of the surface is coated.

4. Place on a wire rack on top of a baking sheet and repeat for all tenders.

5. Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes, or more, depending on the amount of chicken used.

While the chicken tenders are in the oven, let’s make an old fashioned Southern macaroni salad to go with it.

Southern macaroni salad

1. Prepare half a box of macaroni. Rinse under cold water and set aside to drain well.

2. In a bowl, mix 1 ½ cup of mayonnaise, two chopped stalks of celery, 1 ½ tablespoon of mustard, a good amount of onion powder, a bit of salt and plenty of pepper. Give it all a quick stir to combine.

3. Add the pasta to the bowl and get the noodles coated in the mayo mixture. Add four chopped up hard boiled eggs, top with paprika, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for at least a couple of hours before serving.

Serve the tenders with the macaroni salad and some fresh corn, dipping the tenders in barbecue sauce.

Taco pizza

1. Make some dough, or use a Chef Boyardee pizza kit and follow the instructions. Cover with a kitchen towel and let it rest.

2. In the meantime, chop up a pound of ground beef and fry. Once cooked through, drain it and add in a package of Kroger brand taco seasoning as well as some water. Let it simmer and thicken.

3. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick cooking spray, plop out that dough and spread it out.

4. In a small bowl, let’s make the base for the pizza, or the sauce. Mash together ½ can of refried beans and ½ cup of salsa or taco sauce. Keep on stirring until it looks smooth and well combined, then plop that out onto the uncooked dough and spread it into an even layer with the back of a spoon.

5. Over the bean mixture, spread that taco meat and then top with two cups of cheese.

6. Bake at 425 for about 15 minutes.

Serve with sour cream (could swap for Greek yogurt), chips and guacamole.

Honey lime chicken enchiladas

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F.

2. In a large bowl whisk 1/3 cup of honey, juice of one lime, a tablespoon of chili powder, a teaspoon of garlic powder, and ¼ teaspoon of salt. Stir in two cups of cooked and shredded chicken and let marinate for 10 minutes.

3. Cook up some tortillas.

4. Coat the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan with salsa Verde, enough to cover the bottom of the pan. Reserve the remaining salsa.

5. Start assembling the enchiladas: to a tortilla, add a few tablespoons of the chicken and 2 tablespoons or so of shredded cheese. Roll up the tortilla and place seam side down in the salsa verde. Repeat the process until all tortillas are filled and the chicken has been used up.

6. For the sauce, mix a cup of heavy whipping cream and the rest of the salsa verde, and drizzle that over the enchiladas. Sprinkle with some more cheese.

7. Bake at 350 F for 35 minutes.

In the meantime, let’s make cilantro lime rice to go with it.

Cilantro lime rice

1. To a saucepan, add a tablespoon of olive oil and a big spoonful of minced garlic, then saute for 30 seconds.

2. Add in a cup of washed white long grain rice and toast it up for a few minutes with a teaspoon of salt.

3. Add in 1 ½ cups of water or chicken broth, bring it to a boil on medium-high heat, cover the pot, and reduce the heat to low. Simmer for 12-15 minutes, until the water is absorbed and the rice is tender.

4. Remove the pot from heat and let it sit covered for 10 more minutes.

5. Add the lime juice, lime zest, and a handful of chopped cilantro, and stir everything together.

Serve with the enchiladas, along with some refried beans.

Boursin pork chops

1. Season the pork chops with garlic salt, onion powder and pepper and cook in a big skillet with olive oil and butter on medium-high heat for a few minutes on each side. Once they get a golden brown sear and are cooked through, set them aside on a plate.

2. Add ¾ cup of chicken broth and the Boursin garlic and herbs cheese to the skillet. Crumble it up with a whisk and stir for a couple of minutes for a smooth sauce. Let it bubble for 4-5 minutes, then stir in chopped parsley.

3. Add the pork chops back in with all the juices and flip them over to get them fully submerged in the sauce. Let them simmer and thicken for a few minutes.

Serve with steamed green beans and mashed potatoes.

Ohio casserole

1. In an instant pot, saute a pound of ground pork or turkey with some onion powder.

2. Once cooked through, add in some garlic powder, salt, pepper, a bit of smoked paprika and a bit of poultry seasoning (be careful as it is quite potent).

3. Pour in 1 ½ cups of chicken broth and a cup of uncooked washed white rice.

4. Without stirring, add in half a head of cabbage, chopped, and a can of cream of chicken soup.

5. Cover and seal, then let it cook on manual for 3 minutes, then let it natural release for 10 minutes and flip it to venting. Once the steam is out, open and stir everything together.

Serve with some cinnamon applesauce.

Family meal ideas

I hope you will try these recipes at home and let me know how it goes. Also, leave your favorite quick and easy dinner recipes in the comments!

Next, check out these other Quick and Easy Budget Family Meal Ideas.