Delight in the Ordinary ✨ with Brittany Major

Sometimes I need some new meal ideas, and I am so grateful for the people that share some of their favorites. I either try them and usually love them, or it gives me an idea of what to search on Pinterest ヅ

If you’re in need of some fresh meal inspo, here have been some of my favorites lately! 

1. Birria Tacos/Enchiladas 

Full recipe: https://cookinginthemidwest.com/blog/shredded-beef-tacos/

We love cooking in the midwest. His recipes are always so flavorful which is typically our biggest complaint when we try something new. I love these because it feeds us for multiple meals. Plus I had never heard of Birria tacos before (typical for me) so it was something completely new that we now have all the time. 

We usually make tacos from the meat the first night – follow his method for the besttttt crispy tacos. And then I use the meat for some enchiladas another night. We usually still have extra, which means lots of lunches for me. 

2. Pot Pies

Full recipe: https://butteryourbiscuit.com/mini-freezer-chicken-pot-pies/

Fun fact – my wonderful and amazing aunt made us these mini pot pies when I had our son. I got her recipe and have been making them ever since! I usually make a day out of it and invest in my future self by making extra (I make 3 bigger pot pies altogether), and that makes us dinner for that night and 2 other nights. 

I set up the kitchen with a candle or the diffuser going (extra points if I can cook in a clean kitchen) so the kitchen feels extra cozy, and maybe put on some music or a podcast while my son might be outside playing. The more fun and cozy it feels, the less I groan about how much work it is and appreciate that I get to make some wonderful and wholesome meals for my family from scratch. 

I’m a little extra and also make homemade pie crust for the pot pies. It’s honestly pretty easy (and I hate when people say that when the recipe is in fact not easy, so you can trust me here) and I loveeeee having a meal that’s completely homemade (and I know has all good ingredients because my goodness that’s almost impossible these days). PLUS, I bought the premade pie crusts originally and they were like $8 each and that was just for one (like the bottom or the top), so I had to buy 6….uhh no ma’am, I will not be doing that again LOL. 

I found this easy recipe for crusts and just triple the batch. 

Flaky, Buttery Homemade Pie Crust

3. Biscuits & Sausage Gravy 

Okay so my husband loves biscuits and gravy. I remember him always wanting them when we were in high school. Fast forward so many years later, and I got this cookbook that had a sausage gravy recipe that I thought would give a shot. It was a hit, and my husband has been wondering why his wife has not been making him this recipe for the last 10 years hahaha. I wasn’t a fan of B&G, but this recipe made me one! 

Full recipe in this cookbook (ebook) : https://stan.store/elishaburns/p/grab-nourish-for-less

Physical book: https://www.lulu.com/shop/elisha-burns/nourish-for-less/paperback/product-84yn8n6.html?page=1&pageSize=4

I do not want to post her recipe without permission, but you can find her instagram at this link: https://www.instagram.com/bringinguptheburns/

Her cookbook is 1000% worht it. She’s a mom with 4 kiddos, and her recipes are actually so easy and simple (and delicious). And for someone like me who never learned kitchen basics, she has lots of basics for the newbie homemaker like me – like how to make barbecue sauce or common mistakes. 

4. French Dips

We have two versions of french dips and they are both AMAZING! We rotate them lol. 

Recipe 1 is also from cooking in the midwest: https://cookinginthemidwest.com/blog/crockpot-french-dip-sandwiches/

Recipe 2 is courtesy of my parents: 

• Get the French Dip essentials: buns, cheese (we like swiss), au jus sauce, sides, and then go to the deli section and ask for however much you want of sliced roast beef. I plan for 1/3 of a pound per french dip, and I get enough for 2 meals. 
• Lightly butter the buns and then add your sliced meat and cheese
• Cook in the oven at 380 for about 8 – 10 minutes. 

Bonus Tip: 

Not sure about you, but I start to get a collection of recipes from many different sources and places. I have many saved to a Pinterest board, but there’s so many that I don’t have online. I absolutely love this app called Paprika. You can copy URLs and I also upload photos of recipes I have on paper in a random drawer or even from a cookbook. When I am looking for what to have for dinner, that app has them all listed to scroll through, and it’s been so helpful! I’m still slowly adding recipes to it over time, but it’s helped me remember recipes that I just have in my head, or have forgotten about. 

I think it was $5 for lifetime access to the phone app when I bought it a couple of years ago (keep in mind you have to buy a separate desktop version, if you want to access it on your computer). 

HAPPY COOKING!

Much love + I’m rooting for you!

💛 Brittany