Feeding Farmers

Farmers feed the world, but who feeds the farmer? Enter, the farmer’s wife. When feeding a farmer, there are some important factors to consider. First off, during the busy seasons, they won’t be able to eat at a table, but more than likely a seat in a tractor cab or the tailgate of a pickup truck. Meals need to be convenient, nutritious, filling, and most importantly, “farmer proof”.

On our farm, I share the joy of providing field dinners for the crew with my two sister-in-laws and my mother-in-law. So, I reached out to them to get their input on go-to field dinners and tips to make planning and prepping easier.

Every dinner we make has a main course, side, and a dessert. You can find some ideas for these items in the lists below. But first, here are some hacks to make prepping and delivering field dinners a bit easier!

Meal Hacks:

  • Line the biggest compartment of a styrofoam tray with foil to keep the main dish warm longer. This also helps keep gravy and other liquids contained in the tray.
  • Line the trays up in an assembly line fashion to fill multiple trays at once.
  • Prep the items that don’t need to stay warm in the trays first, and add the warm items right before packing up.
  • Make sure to add salt/pepper to anything that needs it.
  • Use a spoon as the only utensil and put it right into the tray for delivery.
  • Casseroles and crock pot meals are your best friends.
  • There is power in prepping. If I’m making a casserole, I’ll often make two and freeze one. That way, I can easily pull it out of the freezer and pop it in the oven for a very quick main dish… and I don’t have to get my kitchen dirty twice prepping the casserole.
  • Keep extra desserts in the freezer and pull them out for future dinners.
  • Don’t overcomplicate it. If you pull old brownies out of the freezer that look rough, add some frosting on the top and call it a day!

Main Courses:

  • Burrito Bowls-Josh’s Fav
  • Sweet and Sour Chicken w/ Fried Rice (this is one of my favorite go-to’s!)
  • Mini Corn Dogs & Chili (I make mini corndogs in mini muffin tins)
  • Tator Tot Hot Dish
  • Chicken, Broccoli & Rice Casserole
  • Chicken Pot Pie
  • Chicken Parmesan (instead of spaghetti, use a spoon friendly noodle-penne is my favorite)
  • Honey Mustard Bacon Wrapped Chicken Breasts w/ Rice (much easier to make than it sounds, I promise)
  • Ham in the Crockpot-can be used on sandwiches or with a side of potatoes (I like to do a honey mustard sauce with ham slices on a pretzel bun… yummmmmmy)
  • Stroganoff
  • Pulled pork with buns or biscuits
  • Chicken Spaghetti
  • Chicken and dumplings
  • Crock-Pot Bacon Wrapped Pork Loin w/ Potatoes or Rice
  • Honey Garlic Meatballs & Mashed Potatoes
  • Crock Pot Beef or Pork Roast & Potatoes
  • Baked Potato w/ Chili & Cheese on Top
  • Crock Pot Beef Stew w/ Potatoes & Carrots
  • Meatball Subs w/ Mozzarella Cheese

Sides:

  • Mashed Potatoes
  • Rice
  • Mac N’ Cheese
  • Roasted Veggies
  • Sweet Potatoes
  • French Fries
  • Carrot Sticks
  • Steamed Broccoli
  • Cheese Cubes/Slices
  • Olives
  • Pickles

Fruits:

  • Apple Slices
  • Apple Sauce
  • Cuties
  • Grapes

Desserts:

  • Dump Cake
  • Apple Crisp
  • Cookies
  • Bars
  • brownies
  • Cakes/Cup Cakes
  • Jello
  • Pudding
  • Banana Bread
  • Puppy Chow