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Easy Meals for Big Families (with ingredient links)
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items Big families require a lot of food and a little bit of strategy. Here are some of the meals we eat repeatedly. My strategy involves meals that can be modified to fit everyone’s preferences without making separate meals for different family members.
Sections
4
Mexican Night
Homemade Pizza
Pasta Night
Protein Pasta Salad
Mexican Night
What we call “Mexican food night” in our house is an easy way to please everyone. I can make the building blocks of the meal (meat and rice) and everyone can have it how they like it with toppings. Tacos, burritos, taco salad, quesadillas.
Cook it up, season with Camp Mix, cumin, paprika and oregano.
Marketside Organic Grass-Fed Ground Beef, 85% Lean/15% Fat, 1 lb, 3 Count
I prefer to get the burrito size tortillas because they fold up better for small hands to eat without dropping it all on the plate. For tacos, burritos, quesadillas.
Great Value Burrito Flour Tortillas, 20 oz, 8 Count
We always have chips on hand! My husband prefers a “Mexican bowl” and will eat the meal with chips. My kids like to have some on the side to scoop up what they drop out of their tortillas.
Tostitos Restaurant Style Original Tortilla Chips, 17 oz Party Size Bag
This is one of the flavors of rice we like to cook up for Mexican food night.
Zatarain's Yellow Rice Mix, 6.9 oz Box
You can’t have Mexican food without salsa!
Great Value Mild Restaurant Style Salsa, 16 oz, Shelf Stable
We always have sour cream, salsa and guacamole with our Mexican food.
Great Value Original Sour Cream, 24 oz Tub
Making your own guacamole is preferred, but when you’re short on time the premade stuff makes it easy.
Freshness Guaranteed Mild Guacamole, 8 oz Tub
Cheese is a staple for Mexican food night! Add as much or as little as you like.
Great Value Fiesta Blend Finely Shredded Cheese, 16 oz Bag
Homemade Pizza
Homemade pizza is one of those easy meals that I can throw together and cook in 30 minutes. It’s a crowd pleaser and it doesn’t break the budget either. Add your own toppings according to your taste!
I love that Walmart is offering these meal bundles now! It takes some of the mental work out of figuring out what to make for dinner.
Pepperoni Pizza Meal Bundle
I need at least 3-4 crusts to feed my entire family.
Pillsbury Refrigerated Classic Pizza Crust, 13.8 oz
One bag of cheese will cover approximately 2 pizzas. If you like extra cheese, you will need more.
Great Value Shredded Pizza Cheese Blend, 8 oz Bag
Pasta Night
Another crowd pleaser that doesn’t take long to whip up is pasta night. We alternate between red sauce and Alfredo, chicken, sausage and ground beef or frozen meatballs.
Cook it up, season with camp mix and add red sauce and let it simmer for ~10 minutes for a meat sauce. OR make meatballs.
Marketside Organic Grass-Fed Ground Beef, 85% Lean/15% Fat, 1 lb, 3 Count
Another meal bundle making it so easy to feed everyone at the end of the day!
Simple Pasta
An easy salad is an easy way to get a vegetable on the meal plan!
Little Leaf Lettuce
Toss lettuce and salad dressing in a storage bag and shake!
Marie’s Caesar Dressing
Serve salad with croutons on top.
Great Value Seasoned Croutons, Baked and Seasoned, 5 oz Resealable Bag
Garlic bread is a must have side for our pasta nights!
Freshness Guaranteed Garlic Bread, 16 oz
Protein Pasta Salad
I eat protein pasta salad for lunch most days. This is an easy one to prep ahead of time for a busy evening. Cook pasta slightly undone, drain and rinse in cold water, let soak in cold water while you prepare the veggies. Cut up vegetables and add to...
We love the protein pasta, especially for lunches.
Barilla Protein+ Penne Pasta, Plant Based Pasta, 14.5oz
I chop these cucumbers up into small pieces.
Fresh Mini Cucumbers, 16 oz
I use about half a bag of shredded carrot per one box of pasta.
Organic Fresh Shredded Carrots, 10 oz Bag
I use half a bottle of the Italian vinaigrette per box of pasta. You can really use whatever salad dressing your family likes!
Ken's Steak House® Simply Vinaigrette Italian Salad Dressing 16 fl oz
Optional, but I like to add cottage cheese when serving the pasta salad for extra protein.
Great Value 4% Milkfat Minimum Small Curd Cottage Cheese, 24 oz
Protein option: Tuna. I like to make up some tuna and mayo with Camp Mix and add to the pasta salad when serving.
(4 Cans) Bumble Bee Solid White Albacore Tuna in Water, 5 oz
Protein Option: pre-made chicken. I like to add this to the pasta salad when serving.
Diced Chicken Breast
I like to cut these into quarters to add to the pasta salad.
NatureSweet Cherubs Heavenly Grape Tomatoes, 10oz Package, Fresh