Week Two

Hey all! Welcome back! I hope you enjoyed all of last week's recipes, but most importantly I hope that they made your life a little easier. If you are joining me for the first time, take a look back at Week One to find out what the inspiration and thought behind Mia's Table is. This coming week will be all about warm, comfort food as we have just had our first snow fall of the season!

 I was hoping to get in one more meal on the grill before the season's end, but as there is snow on the ground I don't foresee that happening, so I am going to give some country style ribs in the crock pot a try to satisfy my taste for BBQ. Whenever I think BBQ I think corn muffins, so I am going to pair this with some corn muffins, and in the interest of total disclosure, I will be using a boxed mix as I don't foresee having the time to make them from scratch. To add a little freshness to this meal I am going to finish it out with a tray of crudites, so prep your favorite fresh veggies and serve alongside some ranch or hummus if you would like.

Nothing says comfort food like a tender pot roast and hot veggies, It really is a whole meal in the crock pot, but you could also make rice or noodles to put underneath this roast and gravy, or even pair it with a thick slice of bread. Want to get the most out of your roast? Use leftovers to make sandwiches the second night. Butter some hearty bread, top with shredded leftover beef and a slice or two of cheese, even add some horseradish if you would like, and toast in a hot pan or on a panini press.

I love a good, hearty breakfast, but rarely have time for it, so this week we are having breakfast for dinner. The nice thing about this meal is that it can be anything that you want it to, and you can make it for your family's taste. Our family will be eating sausage, bacon, buttermilk biscuits, and crockpot applesauce. Now I don't believe that you HAVE to make biscuits from scratch if you don't have time, truthfully Jiffy or Bisquick works just as well, and to kick it up a notch, replace the water or milk with buttermilk and about 3/4 of the way through baking brush the biscuits with melted, salted butter. You could even make sausage gravy to go with your biscuits or scrap the biscuits altogether and make pancakes or waffles, really this meal can be whatever your family likes.

Another easy, hot meal for your family on a busy night is fried rice, so easy in fact that you really don't even need a recipe because you can add whatever you have or whatever your family likes, it can be fresh or it can be leftovers, really the possibilities are endless. You can marinate some bite sized meat or seafood in soy sauce and garlic and pan fry, if you like, add some veggies like diced carrots, corn, peas, bean sprouts, or chestnuts, and scrabble an egg or two. When your add ins are all cooked and tender, add in one serving of rice per family member (make this in the morning so it has time to cool, this makes for the best fried rice) and sprinkle on some soy sauce to taste, let the rice heat up, and there's dinner. If you like you can even add toasted sesame seeds on top for a little extra crunch.


Shopping List
-Beef Roast (choose your favorite cut)
-Beef broth
-Potatoes
-Whole Carrots
-Bread (if you are making sandwiches with pot roast leftovers)
-Sliced cheese (again, if you are making sandwiches)
-Country style ribs
-Garlic
-Onion
-Your favorite BBQ Sauce (I like Guy Fieri's or Famous Dave's)
-Liquid Smoke
-Fresh veggies or salad (with your ribs)
-Corn muffin mix (you may need eggs and milk for this, or even use the buttermilk from the biscuits)
-8 medium apples
-Lemon
-Cinnamon stick (powdered cinnamon works, too)
-Brown sugar
-Biscuit mix
-Buttermilk
-Salted butter
-Sausage and/or bacon
-Meat for your fried rice
-Veggies for your fried rice
-Rice
-Soy Sauce

Keep in mind that your shopping list may look a little different depending on what you decide to cook your family for "breakfast for dinner," but regardless of what you serve, I highly recommend making the homemade applesauce, it is the best and only way to eat applesauce!