Make Time for Homemade Family Dinner

Like many parents, I have the desire to make a good dinner for my kids, but not the time to do some fabulous creation. That would look great on social media but they probably wouldn’t like some fancy cuisine anyway. So, I try to plan on the weekends for the upcoming week. Yes, I am a list maker..including a menu and a grocery list. Otherwise, chaos and blown money ensue by the bucket.

I plan for four dinners. I’m not that good at math but four of seven is a goal. I figure my plan will go out the window at least one or two days and I’ll probably go to leftovers on at least one other. I always have back up to include mini corn dogs, fish sticks, grilled cheese, and the no fail, breakfast for dinner. However, I do try to actually cook for them too.

One of my go-to dinners is sliced pork tenderloin and homemade mac and cheese. Super easy.

Buy one or two pork tenderloins. I like Hormel’s lemon and pepper tenderloins. I salt them, put them in a baking dish and pour in a cup of apple juice and pop them in the oven at 375- 425 (depending on your oven) for 90 minutes (one tenderloin only takes 50-60 minutes). When the time is up, pull it out, slice it up, cover, and let it soak in the delicious juice for a few minutes!

For the mac and cheese I boiled 2 cups of Elbow macaroni for 15 minutes then drained it. Okay, truth be told – measurements are cumbersome in this scenario. I eyeballed this part but here goes:

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup half and half
3oz cream cheese
2 tablespoons sour cream
6oz shredded cheddar
1 tablespoon Parmesan
Salt & pepper to taste

Melt it all together in a large saucepan on medium heat (I used the same pot I boiled the pasta in). Once it’s melted, pour the pasta back in and mix it up!

Pour the entire mixture in a baking dish, sprinkle 2 oz shredded cheddar on top and put it in the 375 oven for ten minutes.

When times up, pull this cheesy creation out and enjoy!!!