*If the link for the recipe does not work for you there are other recipes easily accessible online*

I have decided to share a list of my favorite recipes (yes, I cook), with the hopes that they could benefit another student with a large family. I know dinners at my home can sometimes be pretty stressful, so it’s nice to have some go-to meals.

Pozole

This is definitely one of my favorites. It’s easy to make, you can just put it in a crock pot and forget about it until meal time. It’s great garnished with onion, cilantro, radish, and a slice of lime. It’s made with hominy (which can be purchased in bulk at Winco, San Francisco, and really any mercado or grocery store in the Mexican food Isle), pork or chicken, and red chile if you chose. There are easily accessible recipes online, if the one linked below does not suit your cooking needs there are plenty of other Pozole recipes online. It’s a great recipe for a large family, or a potluck/family gathering.

https://www.isabeleats.com/mexican-slow-cooker-chicken-posole/

Goulash  

There aren’t a lot of rules when it comes to making goulash. When I was little my mom always made it with tomatoes, kidney beans, ground beef, whatever pasta we had around, and occasionally some bell pepper if we had it.  I feel like it’s definitely one of those food bank or “just what we had around” kind of meals. To show how different goulash can manifest I’ve linked two different recipes for it, the two constants being ground beef and pasta.

American: https://theblondcook.com/easy-american-goulash/

Hungarian:https://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/hungarian-goulash/

Chili

Chili Is another one of those meals you can just throw in the crockpot and forget about until it’s done. My mom often makes this for my siblings and I when she isn’t in the mood to make something extravagant or time consuming. Great topped with cheese, cilantro, and green onion.  

https://www.cookingclassy.com/slow-cooker-chili/

Banana Bread

I remember that, as a kid, my mom would often buy bananas. However, she could never bring home the right amount (perhaps some of you can relate to that). She either was short and they were gone within a few days, or she got to many and they went bad. Luckily her mother made banana bread when she was a kid, so she knew better than to just toss them away, but rather she would make them into banana bread. I linked a Gluten free recipe below, as my father is gluten intolerant and it’s the only one my family has ever used.

https://www.mamaknowsglutenfree.com/easy-gluten-free-banana-bread/

Yellow Thai Curry

When I was much younger my family and I spent some time overseas, traveling back and forth between thailand and laos doing what I guess could be called missionary work.  This was something that was commonly served there, and to this day is one of my all time favorite meals. My family buys the big MAE PLOY curry paste containers and it makes curry making so much more easy, I wouldn’t do it any other way.

https://www.evolvingtable.com/thai-yellow-chicken-curry-carrots-potatoes/

Korean Sesame Beef

This is such an easy recipe! I came across it when, at some point, my family had received an unbelievable amount of ground beef from the Food Bank and none of us had any new ideas of what to do with it. And so…for the longest time this was breakfast. I substituted the rice with scrambled eggs and some fresh chopped lettuce making it more closely compared to a breakfast salad… still surprisingly enjoyable, my family loved it!

https://therecipecritic.com/korean-ground-beef-rice-bowls/

Quinoa Salad

Quinoa salad has no real rules when it comes to making it, the only ones being that it must consist of quinoa and result in some type of salad esque thing. All your favorite fresh veggies, some spices, and maybe a light sauce for added flavor.

https://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/easy-quinoa-salad/

Fried Rice

This is a great recipe for leftover rice from a previous meal, especially because the value of the the fried rice goes up as the rice dries out (it tastes better when its not wet and mushy). Great with basil, sprouts, green onions, whatever on top. I have had various kinds of fried rice, chicken, shrimp, beef, chicken heart (my favorite), and once by accident my mom ordered baby squid fried rice, we were overseas and my mom couldn’t yet speak Lao very well (haha).

https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/a25325036/how-to-make-fried-rice/

Pad Thai

I don’t know a single person who hasn’t heard of Pad Thai before… at least to my knowledge. Absolutely delicious! It doesn’t make great leftovers because the noodles dry out…though usually there aren’t any leftovers when my family makes it.

https://dinnerthendessert.com/chicken-pad-thai/

Chicken Dumpling Soup

Growing up this was my absolute favorite, when given the opportunity I would beg my mom to make it for dinner…. Of course I often times ended up getting to help her in the process. When someone asks me what food is nostalgic for me, I definitely would likely say, “Chicken dumpling soup, absolutely!’

https://cookthestory.com/chicken-and-dumpling-soup/

Dandelion Soup  

This is a bonus dish! One of the most fun meals to get the kids in on. I always send my siblings outside to do the dirty work and pick all the dandelions for this one…. However they still enjoy making this soup. It’s very fun and makes me feel like the little kid playing in the mud making my own “meals” out of whatever junk happened to be in our yard at the time.

https://naturesnurtureblog.com/cream-of-dandelion-soup/

Thank you for reading my top favorite family recipes! I hope some of these can work for you and you family, or perhaps inspire you to start cooking for yourself (a truly important skill in adulthood). Have a good day!