"Faux" Chicken N Dumplings

So once again I cheated...I admit....I have said this before and I will say it again, I am not superwoman!

This is another "short cut" meal w/only 5 ingredients.

I made "Faux" Chicken N Dumplings last night for dinner.


Ingredients

1-2lbs chicken thighs or breast (whichever you prefer or is in your budget)
16-32 oz bag of frozen mixed vegetables
(2) can of Condensed Mushroom Soup
1-2 cans of biscuits
1/2 can of milk

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 375
2. In a 13x9 casserole dish mix the frozen vegetables, 2 cans of soup and 1/2 can of milk. Set aside.
3. Slice chicken thighs/breast into small pieces.
4. Coat frying pan with EVOO or cooking spray, cook chicken thigh/breast on med heat until golden brown.
5. Mix chicken thigh/breast in with the mixed vegetables/mushroom soup.
6. Place biscuits on top of chicken/vegetables.
7. Cook for 15-20 mins, flip biscuits over and cook for another 15-20 mins until both sides of the biscuits are golden brown but the middle is still a little soft. 

Note:  When cooked this way the biscuits will not rise very much and be careful when you flip them because the bottom of biscuit will be gooey.

The biscuits will not be completely done.  You want them kinda gooey like dumplings but obviously cooked enough so they aren't raw.  Use your own discretion. 

And there you have it.  A bowl of  all around yummyness. 

Chicken N Dumplings just like grandma used to make just much easier (Ok, maybe that was stretching it a bit). 

MMMM, MMM, Good!

I am linking this recipe up to Not Just A Housewife and Tasty Tuesday.

5 On Friday-Frugal Style

Since we have been back from vacation I have been way to busy (& lazy)  to even go near a store to grocery shop...so I worked with what I had for dinner last night.


This is what I had.....

This is what I made.....






http://www.daily.mail.uk.com/





I call it Short Cut Sheperds Pie!


It literally took me 7 mins to cook the instant mashed potatoes (follow instructions on box) and then I put them over the 2 cans of soup that I had poured into a 13 x 9 casserole dish.  Heat in oven on 350 for approx 15 mins until top of mashed potatoes are golden brown and the soup under neath is heated.


Although it doesn't necessarily look the prettiest, it is very good and hearty!  And it was C-H-E-A-P! 

Box of instant mashed pototoes $4.69 (didn't use the whole box)  and 2 cans of sirloin & vegetable soup (2/$1.98 on sale this past week at Safeway).    If I take half the price of the box of pototoes $2.34 plus the $1.98 for the soup it turns out to be .86 per person.


Fed all 5 of us and even had some left overs.

How's that for being quick, easy and frugal!

5 on Friday

For those of you that are new followers of my blog this is my 5 on Friday series.  A tried and true main entree recipe with 5 ingredients or less.  I post a new one every Friday. 

Last night my sinus' were acting up.  I am actually fighting a sinus infection I think so I chose a recipe that I knew would clear them quickly and that they did!  A little too much I think...might have to tone it down a bit next time.

 

Roasted Red Pepper & Grilled Onion Steak

Ingredients

• 2 lbs Petite Sirloin steak  (On sale at Krogers/Fred Meyers this week for $2.99/lb)
• 2 small onions, diced
• 1/2 cup of Italian Dressing
• Roasted Red Pepper flakes (to taste)
• 2 cups of water*

*Technically water is not counted as an "ingredient" and you may need to use more water depending on the thickness of the steaks and how moist you want them to be.

Directions 

1. Spray frying pan with with non-stick cooking spray.
2. Pour Italian Dressing, Water , Red Pepper flakes and onions into pan, bring to low boil.
3. Add steak, flip steaks periodically
4. Continue to boil steak on medium heat for 15-20 minutes or until the steak is cooked to your specifications (med, well, etc)
5. To serve, top steaks with onions (I used a slotted spoon to pull out just the onions to then adorn the tops of the steaks).

I paired this with a baked potatoe and side salad.  Like I said, I think I over did it a bit with the Roasted Red Pepper so be careful.

5 on Friday

This is what's for dinner tonight.

Another week that I didn't get a chance to make my "5 on Friday"

meal before Friday.

I hate that but too many activities going on this week.

Broccoli & Garlic Penne Pasta

Ingredients

• 1 can chicken broth
• 2 cloves garlic, minced or garlic salt/powder to taste (I typically use garlic salt)
• 3 cups broccoli florets
• 4 1/2 cups penne pasta, cooked and drained
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

1. Heat the broth, garlic and broccoli in a 10-inch skillet over medium heat to a boil.
2.  Reduce the heat to low. 
3. Cover and cook until the broccoli is tender-crisp.
4. Cook penne pasta as directed, drain 
5. Add the broccoli into the pasta and lemon juice
6. Toss to coat.



Photo Courtesy of Vegeta.com



Pair with a side salad and slice of garlic bread. 

Enjoy!

5 on Friday-Chicken Wraps

Here are the pictures from the chicken wraps I talked about on my 5 on Friday post this past week. 

I actually decided to make two types of chicken.  I made Honey Dijon Chicken and Italian Chicken for these wraps.  They turned out wonderful but next time I think I am going to use actual wraps rather than tortillas.  The tortillas didn't roll as tight as I would have liked.  I soaked the chicken in the dressings a bit longer than I listed in my recipe and the flavoring was just perfect. 

 



We had fresh corn on the cob, with these, that I bought last week at Growers Outlet.  Yummy!

5 on Friday

For any new visitors, this is my "5 on Friday" series which is a main entree meal with 5 ingredients or less. 

I post one every Friday.  It is tried and true; all the recipes I  post are ones that I have used for quick and easy family dinners (and often times budget friendly since I am frugal like that).

Italian Chicken Wrap

Ingredients

• 1-2 pound boneless skinless chicken breasts, baked/grilled/pan cooked, sliced into strips 
• 1/2 cup Italian dressing
• 1/2 cup shredded lettuce
• 1/2 cup Roma tomatoes, quartered
• 6-10 (10 inch)  tortillas

Directions

1. Marinate chicken in Italian dressing for 15-20 mins
2. I will be cooking our chicken on our George Forman grill but you can also bake it, grill it on BBQ or pan cook it. 
3. To bake it, line cookie sheet with tin foil, spray with non stick cooking spray and bake in oven on 475 for 15-20 mins. 
4. To pan cook it, spray pan with non stick cooking spray and cook on medium heat until done (15 mins).
5. Spoon chicken slices down centers of tortillas.
6. Add lettuce and tomatoes
7. Fold in sides of tortillas, then roll up burrito-style.

Add a side of cole slaw, potato salad or macaroni salad and you have a quick and easy dinner.  Not too mention this one is a bit on the "healthier" side too.

There are several variations of this.  

• Marinate in Cesar dressing and have it become a Cesar Chicken Wrap.
• Add some Feta Cheese (did I say feta cheese?) and it is now a Greek Chicken Wrap. 
• Add salsa and sour cream, instead of marinating in dressing, for a Southwestern Chicken Wrap.

It is up to you and your taste buds.  Have at it!





I will be making this tonight for our dinner therefore I do not have a picture of my own to post.  I will post it tomorrow.

"Frugal" 5 on Friday

Normally this dinner would not be on a 5 on Friday post but because I "cut" a few corners and bought bags of frozen vegetables to use, I am counting those as one item (even though there are several different types of vegetables in the bag). 

 

 

During the spring/summer when produce is plentiful and much cheaper I would buy fresh vegetables therefore I would consider more than 5 items.   (Does that make sense?)

Steak Fajitas

Ingredients

• 2 lbs lean steak, cut into strips (I used Carne Asada; $4.47)
• 2 bags of Safeway frozen southwest style vegetables (peppers, onions, corn, beans, broccoli) ($1.98)
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (already had in pantry)
• Fajita seasoning to the taste (already had in pantry)
• 10  flour tortillas ($2.29)

Directions

1. Combine lime juice and fajita seasoning into small bowl, set aside.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil* in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add steak strips, and fry until cooked to your liking. Set aside.
3. Cook frozen vegetables in a separate pan (I used cooking spray* instead of oil on this pan so the vegetables were  more crispy and not soggy/oily), adding a little bit of water as needed. 
4. Cook until al dente.  You don't want vegetables cooked to where they are soft and soggy but rather a little bit more firm/crispy.
5. Add the steak slices into the pan with vegetables, pour lime juice/fajita seasoning into pan, stir.
6. Continue to cook on low heat while the lime juice/fajita seasoning soak into the steak/vegetables. Stir often.
7.  Serve the steak fajitas on tortillas

*Vegetable Oil & Non Stick cooking spray are not considered an ingredient



Pair with a side of tortilla chips/salsa/sour cream and you have dinner!

I fed 5 of us with this (2 fajitas each).  Therefore it was $1.74 per serving (not including the chips which were $1.99/bag but we barely ate any of those).

5 on Friday

Protein. Check. 

Vitamin B1, C, E, K, Omega 3.Check. 

Carbohydrates. Check.

Calcium. Check.


This weeks 5 on Friday is none other than the quick, easy, budget friendly CHEESY TUNA CASSEROLE!

Or Tuna Mac as we call it in our house.  Casserole sounds to elaborate to me.


Cheesy Tuna Mac

Ingredients

• 1 package of elbow macaroni (or you can use most any other pasta noodles you have on hand)
• 1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cheese soup
• 1 soup can of milk
• 2 cans (6 ounces) tuna, drained and flaked
• 1-2 cup frozen peas or fresh/canned peas

Directions

• Cook the noodles according to package directions; drain.
• Stir in the cheese soup w/ milk while on stove top on low heat
• Add the tuna & peas, continue to stir and heat for 5-7 minutes until tuna & peas are warm.

If you want the "casserole" to be a bit crunchy instead of cooking on stove top do the following:

• Mix cooked noodles, soup mix, tuna & peas into a greased 1-1/2-qt. baking dish
• Add a layer of bread crumbs on top
• Cover and bake at 350° for 20 minutes.
• Uncover; bake 5-10 minutes longer or until heated through. 

There are tons of other variations for this recipe:

• Add carrot shavings
• Add small slices of celery
• Add a layer of cheese rather than bread crumbs if you cook in the oven
• Instead of cheese soup use cream of mushroom soup
• Add broccoli instead of peas
• Want a little bit of zing? Add pimentos or onions.

Pair with a salad and you have dinner!

*Stock Photo

*I was not going to use this dish as my 5 on Friday meal originally therefore I did not take a picture of it.

5 on Friday

For any new visitors, this is my "5 on Friday" series which is a main entree meal with 5 ingredients or less.  I post one every Friday.  It is tried and true; all the recipes I  post are ones that I have recently used for quick and easy family dinners (and often times budget friendly since I am frugal like that).

 

We had this Wednesday night.  It was very quick to make which was nice since we had youth group that night.  I didn't have a whole lot of time to prepare dinner. 

 

 

And the best part....the kids loved!!!  (which is always a good thing in our house)

 

Taco Salad

 

Ingredients

 

1 lb ground beef
1-2 roma tomatoes, diced
1 head lettuce, shredded
1 12 oz pkg. shredded cheddar cheese
1 bag tortilla chips, crushed (or if you want to have real taco salads you can use taco salad bowls that you can either make yourself with tortillas or purchase at the store; the store ones are pretty expensive)

      Directions

1.  Cook ground beef in large skillet until golden brown.  Drain fat.

2.  Toss together shredded green lettuce, chopped tomotoes and cheese in large bowl.

3.  Mix ground beef into the salad.

4.  Crunch up tortilla chips and put in single serving bowl.

5.  Spoon salad into bowl over tortilla chips, mix

You can then add a dab of dressing of your liking.  I didn't include that as an ingredient since salad dressings typically are an item that most people have on an ongoing basis.  And since it is such a minimal part of the meal.

If you want to spice it up you can add a dollop of sour cream and salsa instead.

Enjoy!

Simply beautiful and yummy, too!

 

5 on Friday

This Fridays, 5 of Friday is brought to you by....A crazy and neurotic mother of 4...lol...It has been one of those weeks but TGIF!

I made my 5 ingredient entree last night for dinner.  So easy, loved it!

Onion Pork Roast w/Carrots

1 (1 ounce) package dry onion soup mix

1 1/4 cups water

2-3 pounds Pork Roast ( I bought a 3 pack of Pork Roasts this past week at Winco for $7.26.  Which turned out to be $1.21/lb; the total weight of all 3 roasts was approx 6lbs)

 

Directions

1. Place your Pork Roast in 13x 9 casserole dish. (slice a few openings throughout roast to help get juice flowing)
2. Mix dry onion soup and water.
3. Place carrots around Pork Roast (I used baby carrots)
4. Pour Onion Soup and Water over Pork Roast/Carrots
5. Place a layer of tin foil over Pork Roast
6. Cook on 350 in oven for 1 1/2 hours.   Remove tin foil from Pork Roast approx 15-20 mins before done to get the outside golden brown.

You can also use a roasting bag instead of putting the Pork Roast directly into the casserole dish.  This helps the Pork Roast to contain more moisture and flavor. (You would just put all ingredients in the bag, tie it and throw it into the dish and bake accordingly) 

We paired this with some mashed potatoes. 

Perfect comfort food dinner for such a cold and dreary night.

And you can even do this in the crock pot!  For everyone that loves a good crock pot dinner.  Same instructions just put everything in Crock Pot and cook on low for 7-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours.

5 on Friday

Meatloaf...Simple & Glorious Meatloaf....

It was my husband's birthday yesterday and one of his favorite meals is meatloaf, so guess what I made?


MEATLOAF!!

Ingredients

• 2-3 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed tomato soup (do not add water)
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 slices of toasted bread, crunched up (toast in toaster, put in ziplock bag and crunch up)
• 2 eggs, beaten

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine ground meat, soup, chopped onion and eggs. Mix well.
2. Shape into a loaf in an ungreased 9x13 casserole dish.
3. Bake in a preheated 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) oven for 1 hour or until done.

It was THAT simple!   Pair it with some mashed potatoes (instant ones are ok remember we short cut sometimes) and mixed veggies.



Everyone scarfed it down....Barely a morsel left to spare.

Thank you Rachelle B for an awesome pic!





With all the birthday celebrating going on...I forgot to take a pic of the finished product! DOH!

5 on Friday

This recipe comes from my new Crockpot Cookbook that was one of my Christmas presents from my husband.  I have made this before and have always enjoyed it.  I will be making this for dinner today. 

Crockpot dinners are so easy.  I just love them!

Scalloped Potatoes and Ham (or Bacon in our case)

3 pounds potatoes (6-10 med size potatoes), peeled and thinly slice

1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese *

1/2 cup diced onion

1 cup chopped cooked ham or bacon   (I used bacon because for some reason the store I shopped at this week didn't have any of the ham chunks or single ham steaks; they only had the huge hams leftover from Christmas so this would be a good left over idea for your Christmas ham)

1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup (mixed with 1/2 can of water)

Salt and Pepper to taste**

*You can substitute shredded cheddar cheese with cheese soup if you do not have regular cheese on hand.  You can also use cheese soup in place of the mushroom soup for extra cheesiness. 

**Freebies

Directions

1. Place sliced potatoes in slow cooker.
2. Mix shredded cheese, onion, and ham or bacon (sliced) with potatoes in slow cooker.
3. Using a medium bowl, mix together condensed soup and water. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour evenly over the potato mixture in crockpot.
4. Cover, and cook on High for 3 1/2-4 hrs (or until potatoes are tender when poked with fork).

Pair with a side salad for a tasty quick and easy dinner!


Sidenote: If you use the cheese soup instead of regular cheese or mushroom soup, use two cans.

***You can also make this in a 13x9 casserole dish, if you do not have a crockpot.  Bake in the oven on 350 for 1 hr***






Thank you Big Momma Kaboose for the photo



5 of Friday (Thursday)

Since tomorrow is Christmas Eve, I wanted to post this early because I will be spending the day with family hopefully like many of you.

I made this meal one night last week. 

Even though you would normally probably think of this dish as a side item, I used it as the main entree and paired it with some applesauce since the entree already had protein (chicken), carbs (rice) and vegetables (peas & carrots).


Chicken Fried Rice

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds cooked/diced chicken breast (chicken tenders or chicken for stir fry work well so you have less prep time in cutting up chicken into smaller pieces)
• 1/3 cup soy sauce (or more depending on your taste buds)
• 1 bag of frozen peas/carrots medley
• 6 cups cooked white rice (we typically use brown rice)
• 2 eggs
• Non Stick Cooking Spray* (NSCS)

*Freebie

Directions

1.  Spray large skillet with non stick cooking spray.

2. Cook diced chicken in large skillet on medium heat until brown (10-15 mins)

3.  Cook brown or white rice as directed on bag/box.

4. Cook frozen peas/carrots on stove top until al dente.  Drain excess water. Set aside.

5. Cook eggs in separate skillet, scramble*.  Do not add milk.

6. Mix all items into the large skillet where chicken was cooked. 

7. Add soy sauce, stir. Let simmer for about 5 mins and serve.

*Don't forget to coat skillet with NSCS

Serves 6-8


This is also a great recipe for left over pork, turkey and even ham!  I know it doesn't sound as appealing Turkey Fried Rice, Ham Fried Rice...but it's all good!

5 on Friday

This quick and easy recipe is ALWAYS a hit in our house. 

 

I hope your family will enjoy it too!

 

Taco Bake

 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes with green chile peppers, drained
• 1 (1.25 ounce) package taco seasoning mix
• 8-16 ounces shredded cheese (Cheddar, Monterey, whatever you like best)
• 1 bag of corn tortilla chips or 8-10 tortillas

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef and drain fat. Add the diced tomatoes with green chile peppers and taco seasoning mix . Let simmer for 5 to 10 minutes.
3. In the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish, place a layer of tortilla chips OR tortillas.
4. Cover with a layer of the meat mixture then a layer of cheese. Repeat until the top layer is cheese.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.

If you do not use tortilla chips nor do you want to lay the tortillas on the bottom, you can just layer accordingly without those items (which is what I usually do). 


Then you can roll the mixture into a tortilla like a burrito adding a dollop of sour cream and salsa.  OR you can put on top of the tortillas chips for "nachos".


Pair with some spanish rice (brown rice mixed with a little bit of salsa) OR southwestern corn (corn mixed with a little bit of salsa).

5 on Friday

Another 5 ingredient main dish that I prepared this week.  Too bad I couldn't taste it.  I have been fighting a bad cold that has since turned into a full blown sinus infection and bronchitis.  I was told they smelled and tasted good.  I will definitely have to cook them again when my smell and taste come back.

 

Now this dish wouldn't normally be a 5 ingredient dish but because I took a short cut, it worked out to be just that...

 

Ingredients

• 6 green bell peppers
• 1-2 pounds ground beef
• 1 can of diced tomatoes (with celery and onion bits)  **This is my shortcut. Counted as one item even though really 3 separate items had I used fresh items**
• 1 cup cooked  brown rice
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions 

1. In a large skillet, cook beef until browned. Drain off excess fat.
2. Stir in the can of diced tomatoes, continue to simmer on low.
3. Cook 1 cup of brown rice based on cooking directions until tender. 
4. Mix beef and tomatoes into pot of brown rice. 
5. Slice your green peppers in half, remove seeds and "innards"
6. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. (175 degrees C).
7. Stuff each pepper with the beef and rice mixture, and place peppers open side up in a lightly greased casserole baking dish.
8. Bake  for 25 to 35 minutes.
9. Sprinkle Mozzarella Cheese on top of peppers the last 5 minutes.

I paired this with corn as the side dish.  To spice it up a little bit more you can also use salsa instead of the the diced tomatoes.

Enjoy!

5 on Friday

Although I like to cook, I don't always have time to prepare an "elaborate" meal for my family.  Often times I find shortcuts, cut corners, substitute here and there in order to prepare something that is not only delicious and healthy (ier) but also less time consuming in the kitchen (while also staying on budget).

I am starting a new *series* if you want to call it that where every Friday I am going to post a recipe (s) that only require Five Ingredients (cooking oil/spray,spices, water, salt & pepper are freebies).

This will hopefully get you going for your menu planning for the following week.

I will start the series off with the meal I prepared last night...Beef & Broccoli.

Ingredients

• 1-2 lb thin cut steak (I often times by Beef for Stir Fry and/or have butcher slice the meat; meat at Albertsons was BOGO this week)  **Lower cost alternative would be the Carne Asada Beef**
• 1 lb broccoli florets (fresh or frozen; I used the steamable bags of broccoli since on sale at Albertsons for $1.25/each)
• 1 large onion (diced)
• 2 tablespoons of soy sauce mixed with 3/4 cup of water
• 1 teaspoon cornstarch dissolved in soy sauce/water (for thickening)

Freebie:  Water, Vegetable Oil or Olive Oil

1  Coat pan with 2 tablespoons of oil.
2  Stir in beef and onion , let cook until golden brown on med heat, stirring frequently (apporx 10-15 mins)
3  Prepare sauce in medium bowl
4  Blanch the broccoli in a small pot of boiling water OR throw in microwave if steamables but do not cook entirely (4-7 mins).
5 Once meat is golden brown, add broccoli & sauce
6 Cook covered on med heat for 10-15 mins longer stirring frequently while the sauce settles into the beef and broccoli.


Serves 6 (we even had leftovers)

Pair with a side of Asian salad  (Lettuce, Cucumber, Mandarin Oranges, Asian Noodles & Kraft Asian Toasted Sesame Dressing) OR Rice and you have yourself dinner!



D-E-L-I-S-H!