Kitchen FAIL!

I had a FAIL in the kitchen.  It happens (probably more often that I would like to admit or blog about for that matter).  I tried my hand at making Kale Chips for the first time.  They are all the rave so I thought I would jump on the bandwagon and try them myself.

Big fat FAIL!

I followed a tried and true recipe to a T.  To a T, I tell you and well, not sure what happened because they didn't turn out as intended. 

The smell in the house as they were cooking should have been my first clue.  Didn't smell all that appetizing to me nor my husband who came in from the store while they were cooking and says, "What is that horrible smell?"

And then when they were done, they tasted a bit sour and disintegrated quickly when I put them in my mouth.  They weren't burnt though.  I cooked them for the amount of time suggested and watched them carefully.  The only thing I can think of is my Kale wasn't of very good quality and maybe I put to much olive oil on them.  Who knows.

I will try again. 

I love store brand Kale Chips so I am certain I will *eventually* love home made Kale Chips.

I am a work in progress.

Do you make home made Kale Chips?  What recipe do you use?

Source



Want some GREAT Kale recipes?  I stumbled across this blog post at Lick My Spoon that had tons!

Mmmm Good...

What I made for dinner last night.

Stuffed Green Peppers & Corn On The Cob. 

Here they are with just the Spanish rice stuffing.

Dressed up with a little CHEESE.

Piping hot, coming out of the oven.

Mmmm, good.

I made some fresh bruschetta this past week too

with some fresh from the garden tomatoes.

It turned out FAB,

if I must say so myself.

(made with tomotoes, onion, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil)









Whatcha Got?

I read an article a week or so ago in our Food Day insert and it hit a chord with me.  Although, I have been doing this for awhile not everyone does.  Instead some look in their pantry, refrigerator and see nothing while others see a plethora of possibility.  The article called it "The Pantry Principle" I call it, working with "Whatcha got!"

It really boils down to rather than running to the store every other day for ingredients to make that "perfect" meal, work with what you have.  If you have a well stocked pantry/refrigerator, often times you can make a meal on the fly if needed.  I find that when I do this, the meals are often times better because I get a bit more creative. 

And it doesn't have to break you grocery budget because many of the items in your well stocked pantry/refrigerator are multiple use items therefore you do not purchase these every time you shop.

My well stocked pantry/refrigerator often times looks like this:

~Spices:  Salt, Pepper, Dash (love this), Paprika, Chili Powder, Fajita Seasoning, Garlic Salt, Onion Powder, Basil, Thyme, Marjoram, Parsley, Johnny's Seasoning, etc...

~Rice, Beans, Condensed Soups, Tomato Paste, Stewed & Diced Tomatoes, Broth.

~Flour

~Eggs, Milk, Sour Cream, Cheese, Condiments of all sorts: mustard (reg and Dijon), mayonnaise, salad dressings (several kinds I often times will use as marinades for meat), salsa, soy sauce.

~Olive Oil, Lemon Juice

~Butter

~Chicken Breast (I always have frozen chicken breast in the freezer)

~Variety of frozen vegetables


The above might not seem like a lot but it really is. Here are several things that I can make with the above:


Southwest Beans
Southwest Chicken & Rice
Chicken & Mixed Vegetable Casserole
Chicken & Mushroom Over Rice
Quiche
Chicken Picatta
Chicken Stir Fry
Taco Bake

Endless possibilities with only a few key ingredients. 



What does your pantry/refrigerator look like?

www.cspc.com

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!

 

Low (er) Fat Lasagna

Low (er) Fat Lasagna.  Yes, there is such a thing.

I made this last night for Sunday night dinner. 

 

Ingredients

• 1-2 pound lean ground beef
• 1 (16 ounce) can of diced tomatoes with Garlic & Basil (Italian Blend)
• 32 ounces low fat small curd cottage cheese
• 3 cups low fat shredded mozzarella cheese
• Bag of fresh spinach (in salad section)
• 2 eggs
• Salt & Pepper to taste
• 15 boiled lasagna noodles (al dente)
• 1/2 cup water

Directions

1. In a large skillet over medium heat brown the ground beef. Drain the grease.
2. Add the can of diced tomatoes to meat.  Heat.
3. In a large bowl, mix together the cottage cheese, eggs,  salt and pepper.
4. In the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish evenly spread 5 of your lasagna noodles across the bottom of dish.  
5. Spread half of your meat/tomatoes mixture on top of the lasagna noodles
6. Layer 1/2 of the your cottage cheese mixture on top of the meat/tomatoes mixture. 
7. Place a layer of spinach on top of tomatoes/meat mixture.
8. Sprinkle layer of mozzarella cheese on top (approx 1 cup).
9. Cover with 5 lasagna noodles, repeat steps 5-8 (spreading the rest of meat/tomatoes and cottage cheese mixture). 
10. Spread 5 additional lasagna noodles across top.
11. Sprinkle the remaining mozzarella cheese on top of noodles.
12. Add 1/2 cup water to the edges of the pan. Cover with aluminum foil.
13. Bake in a preheated 350 degree F(175 degrees C) oven for 45 minutes.
14.  Uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Hopefully I didn't miss anything.  There were a lot of steps to this dinner.

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!

Puppy Chow

Heaven in a bite…(or handful or several handfuls in my case)

We had our Christmas Lunch today at work and one of my co-workers brought each of us a bucket of “Puppy Chow”.  Have you ever had that? 

Don’t let the name fool you like it almost did another one of our

co-workers….He started eating it and when the co-worker who gave it to us said, “How do you like the puppy chow?” he stopped mid bite… until he realized that was the name of this wonderful confection.



Not this Puppy Chow...



If made right, “Puppy Chow” melts in your mouth (not in your hand). 

Here is a recipe if you want to try it:

• 1 (17.5 ounce) package crispy corn cereal squares
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar for decoration

Directions

1.        Put cereal in a large mixing bowl. Melt the butter or margarine, chocolate chips and peanut butter together. Pour over cereal and stir gently. Let cool.

2.        Once cool place coated cereal in a large bag add some confectioners' sugar and shake until coated.

This one!

Funny thing though (after eating half of the bucket myself) I actually removed it from my office and put it on the floor in our copy room so it was out of sight, out of mind…so I wouldn’t eat anymore.  The coworker that brought it in noticed it and says, “I know it's called “Puppy Chow” but come on.” 

It has since found its way back into my office and is calling my name…

Gotta go…I am being summoned.

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).

Poached

Awhile back I did a post on making home made Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwhiches, kind of like the ones you can buy at Starbucks, but without the hefty price tag. 

I am taking it one step further.  Instead of cooking the eggs in a muffin tin so they come out perfectly round, I have purchased a "microwave egg poacher." 

Didn't I tell you I like to cut corners?  Any time I can shave a few minutes off what ever I am doing without compromising the end result, I am there...


Anyways, back to the egg poacher.  I bought one at Ross for $2.99!  And so far it has worked wonderfully.   I made myself an egg and cheese breakfast sandwhich yesterday morning using my new gadget.

It is so simple to use.  You break an egg into each side of the poacher.  Poke the yolk with a fork, add a teaspoon of water to each side, close and snap lid. Microwave for 1 min or so with two eggs.  I only did one egg so I microwaved for 45 seconds. 

Toast my english muffin, slap the egg onto the muffin, add a slice of cheese and/or canadian bacon or ham.  Fold into a paper towel and microwave for 30 seconds for cheese to melt.  (If you add canadian bacon or ham I would recommend heating that up separately for a little bit longer).

There you have it...It is quick, it is easy and it is cheap!  No more excuses to pay $3.00-$4.00 for that breakfast sandwhich when you can make your own at a fraction of the price!

You can also use the grill side of the poacher to reheat pre cooked breakfast meats such as sausage, bacon, ham, etc....

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!

Dip-ity Doo Dah

I made this yesterday to spread on celery instead of cream cheese or peanut butter. 

 

It is a lower fat alternative.  You can also use it as a dip for chips and other vegetables such as carrots, cucumbers, broccoli, cauliflower,etc..

 

Ingredients

• 1 (8 ounce) package Neufchatel Cheese, at room temperature (on sale at Albertsons this past week for $1.19)
• 1 cup low fat sour cream (Tillamook of course) or low fat cottage cheese*
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped green onions
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill weed
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic (optional)
• 2 tablespoons milk (optional)

Directions

In a medium bowl, blend Neufchatel cheese and sour cream with an electric mixer until smooth. Mix in green onions, salt, dill and garlic. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to blend flavors. If the dip is too thick after chilling, stir in milk 1 tablespoon at a time until you reach your desired consistency.

*If you use cottage cheese keep in mind that the dip/spread will be thicker and a bit *chunky* no matter how much you blend due to the curds.


There are a lots of other variations of this dip/spread where you can add lemon juice for a lemon dill dip.   You can use mayonnaise instead of the sour cream or cottage cheese and then use as a spread on sandwiches.  Instead of the Neufchatel Cheese you can use cream cheese, too! 

Hope you enjoy this as much as our family did.

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!

Low (er) Fat Appetizers

To go along with my "Here Is The Skinny" post I decided to share some low (er) fat appetizer ideas that I am going to try out this holiday season (to discourage those pounds from packing on). 

Perhaps you would like to try them as well? 

Feta Cheese Dip
Serve with fresh raw veggies and low fat crackers.

Servings: 24 Yield: 3 cups

• 2 (8 ounce) packages fat free cream cheese, softened
• 1 (8 ounce) package regular or low fat feta cheese, crumbled
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and minced
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

In a medium bowl, thoroughly blend cream cheese, feta cheese, garlic, and dill with an electric mixer. Cover, and refrigerate at least 4 hours.

Per Serving: 44 Calories. 2g Fat (47.3% calories from fat). 4g Protein. 2g Carbohydrate. Trace Dietary Fiber. 10mg Cholesterol. 209mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Cherry Tomato Scoops
These little bitty bites are full of flavor!.

Servings: 6

• 2 cups (one pint) cherry tomatoes
• 1 3-ounce package fat free cream cheese
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup roasted sunflower seeds
• 3/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
• 1/3 cup fresh basil, shredded
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed

Wash and pat dry cherry tomatoes. Cut 1/4 inch off top of each tomato. Scoop out pulp. Drain tomatoes upside down on paper towels.

Meanwhile, beat cream cheese and lemon juice in a small bowl until smooth. Combine with Parmesan, sunflower seeds, parsley, basil and garlic. Mix well.

Spoon cream cheese mixture into tomatoes. Chill for 30 minutes.

Do not prepare too far in advance - the basil tends to become bitter.

Per Serving: 63 Calories. 3g Fat (41.0% calories from fat).5g Protein. 5g Carbohydrate. 1g Dietary Fiber. 4mg Cholesterol

Artichoke Cheese Rolls
Serve on a pretty party tray with chive yogurt sauce for garnish.

Servings: 8 Make about 24 slices

• 3 green onions, very finely sliced
• 1 - 14 ounce can artichoke hearts, drained and finely chopped
• 1/2 cup (1/2 of an 8 ounce tub) low fat cream cheese
• 1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
• 1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese (use low fat if you can find it)
• 3 tablespoons low fat pesto
• 8 - Eight inch fat-free flour tortillas
• 1 - 8 ounce jar roasted red sweet peppers, drained and cut into strips
• 1 - 8 ounce container of plain fat-free yogurt (optional)
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh chives (optional)

In a large bowl, mix together the artichoke hearts, green onions, cream cheese, parmesan cheese, feta cheese and pesto.

Spread 1/4 cup of the mixture onto each tortilla. Top with roasted red pepper strips and roll up. Arrange tortills in a cooking oil spray 3 quart baking dish. Light spray rolls with nonstick cooking spray. Bake uncovered in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until just heated through.

Stir together snipped chives and yogurt. Cut each tortilla into thirds and arrange on tray. Serve with yogurt sauce for dipping if desired.

Per Serving: 77 Calories; 3g Fat; 1g Saturated Fat; 4g Protein; 10g Carbohydrate;1g Dietary Fiber;7mg Cholesterol; 142mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1/2 Grain (Starch); 1/2 Vegetable; 1/2 Fat.

Spicy Southwestern Tortilla Pinwheels
Just the right amount of heat that is offset by the creamy cheese!

Makes 30 Pinwheels

• 1 - 8 ounce package fat-free cream cheese, softened
• 1 - 2 ounce can chopped black olives
• 1 - 4 ounce can diced green chiles
• 1 - 4 ounce jar sliced pimento peppers, drained
• 2 green onions, minced
• 3 tablespoons hot pepper sauce, I prefer Cholulu
• 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
• 10 - 10 inch fat-free or low fat flour tortillas

In a medium-size mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, olives, chiles, pimentos, green onions, hot sauce and fresh cilantro. Spread the mixture onto tortillas. Roll the tortillas up and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Slice the roll ups and serve.

Per Pinwheel: 29 Calories; trace Fat (9.8% calories from fat); trace Saturated Fat; 2g Protein; 5g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 1mg Cholesterol; 147mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 0 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates.

Chicken Satay Appetizers
Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

Servings: 12

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 3 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon chili paste or chili sauce
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil
• 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• 1 lime
• 36 bamboo skewers, soaked in water for 1 hour

Mix soy sauce, chilli paste, garlic, oil and sugar. Cut chicken into 36 thin strips and marinate in a bowl with the soy sauce mixture, turning to ensure chicken is coated. Thread chicken pieces on to the bamboo skewers, line skewers up on a parchment/foil-lined baking tray and keep covered in the fridge until ready to cook.

Preheat oven to 190°C/375°F.

Bake the chicken skewers for 10-15mins in the hottest part of the oven (maybe 4-6" from top heating element).

When done, remove the tray from oven and squeeze juice of 1 lime over the chicken.

Per Serving (3 skewers): 67 Calories; 2g Fat (22.5% calories from fat); trace Saturated Fat; 10g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 23mg Cholesterol; 186mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 1/2 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 0 Fat; 0 Other Carbohydrates


Enjoy! (but not too much remember everything in moderation)

What To Do, What To Do (Thanksgiving Leftover Ideas)

With all that left over food....

Here are some ideas:

Black Friday Pie*
Turkey Soup
Turkey Pot Pie
Turkey Enchiladas*
Turkey Salad Sandwiches
Turkey Casserole*

*These are the leftover meals that I will be making over the weekend.

 I will let you know how they turn out.  In years past I have made Turkey Soup and Pot Pie so this year I am going to try some new recipe ideas.

If you hover over the meal, I have included a link to the recipe.


Hope you all have a Happy Thanksgiving!

What's For Dinner

This is a bit of a short week cooking wise...Last night we had our Thanksgiving potluck at church so I made Loaded Bake Potato Casserole to bring (see prior post). 

Monday:

Beef Portabello & Broccoli

• 2 boneless beef sirloin steak or top round steak (about 2 pound), cut into 1-inch cubes (Or use stir fry meat which is already sliced which is what I do)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 cups thinly sliced baby portobello mushrooms or 2 regular portobello mushrooms, thinly sliced  (OR you can substitute with mushroom soup which is what I do)
• 1 cup Swanson® Beef Stock 
• 2 cups fresh or frozen broccoli

Season the beef as desired. Heat the oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook until it's well browned, stirring often. Pour off any fat. Add the mushrooms or mushroom soup, cook until the mushrooms are tender and/or soup slightly boiling. Stir in the stock. Add the broccoli and heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 20 minutes or until the beef is cooked through and the broccoli is tender. Serve the beef and broccoli by itself, with another side item OR over noodles or rice and call it good.

Tuesday:

Crockpot Pork Roast (Pork Roast on sale at Safeway for $2.99/lb)
Stew vegetables (can use fresh pots/celery/onion/carrots OR frozen stew vegetables if your are crunched for time)

• 1 boneless pork roast (about 3 pounds)
• 1 envelope dry onion soup mix
• 1 cup water
• 6 potatoes, peeled and quartered
• 6 carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
• 3 celery stocks, sliced
• 1 large onion, sliced

Spray 5-qt. crock pot with vegetable oil spray (like Pam). Put vegetables in the crock pot. Cut pork roast in half; place meat fat side up on top of the vegetables. Combine onion soup mix and water; pour over roast. Cover and cook on high for 5-6 hours or on low for 10-12 hours or until a meat thermometer reads 160 - 170 degrees. 

Wednesday:

Since this is the night before Thanksgiving and I will probably be doing last minute shopping, cleaning, food prep for Thanksgiving day tonights meal will be quick and easy.

Quesidillas (we have a Quesidilla maker which we bought at a garage sale years back.  It is still one of my "best" finds.  I love it!)
Spanish Rice (white or brown rice with salsa mixed in)

Thursday:

THANKSGIVING FEAST WITH ALL THE FIXINS!!

Friday:

TBA

Sat:

TBA

Come back and visit for my TBA meals.  They will include Thanksgiving  leftover recipes.  I will post them on Wednesday.

Until next time....

Loaded Baked Potatoe Casserole

This is what I made for our church potluck last night. 

Thankfully, I was able to have some before they were all gone.   

They were D-E-L-I-S-H if I do so say myself. 

 

Ingredients

• 2 bags of Hash Browns (do not fully defrost)
• 2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese (or more if you really like cheese)
• 4 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled (or you can cheat and get the "real" bacon bits for salads located in the salad dressing area of your grocery store; I cheated)
• 1 (10.75 ounce) cans Campbell's® Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup*
• 16 oz sour cream
• Green Onions
• Salt & Pepper to the taste

*Do not add milk to the soup.  The sour cream is the substitute.  If you use milk for soup plus the sour cream, it will come out soggy.

 

Directions

1. Spray casserole dish (13x9 inch) with non stick cooking spray
2. Spread the hash brown potatoes into the baking dish
3. Bake for 20-30 mins at 375 degrees, mixing around often. (This allows them to crisp a bit rather than become too soggy)
4. Stir the soup and sour cream into the potatoes.  Add bacon, onions salt and pepper. Stir.
5. Bake for another 20-30 minutes or until hot. Stir periodically.
6. Sprinkle cheese on top the last 5-10 mins.
7. Cheese should be melted and golden brown when you remove from oven
8. Serve while still hot so the cheese is nice and gooey

I am going to be a rebel this year and make these for Thanksgiving dinner rather than "ordinary" mashed potatoes.  I am sure they will be a hit!


Yummy!  Yummy!  Can't wait....

Half Hour Meals

In my search for some quick and easy recipes for our family dinners I ran across this website.  I only have looked at a handful of the recipes.  I am going to try out a few of them and I will let you know how it goes.

http://www.halfhourmeals.com/recipes/

If you end up using any, let me know so I can share your success with others.

Happy cooking!

Crockpot Chicken--Yummy!

Who Would Have "Thunk?"

Obviously somebody did...In this case, this idea comes from my friend, Erika E. 

At the recent Women's Retreat I attended, we shared time saving and cost saving ideas.  One of the ideas Erika E. shared with me after we were talking about our "love" of Starbucks coffee and their breakfast sandwiches, but not so in "love" with the hit to our pocketbook was, how to make your own breakfast sandwiches, just like Starbucks. 

Who would have"thunk" to cook eggs in a muffin tin in the oven?  The eggs come out perfectly round to fit like a glove on a toasted english muffin.  Add a slice of cheese, ham or canadian bacon, wrap in a papertowel and microwave for 30 seconds AND you have breakfast.

**Cook at 325 for 12-18 mins and make sure to spray your muffin tin with non-stick cooking spray**

In Erika's case she makes several of these on the weekend, puts them in ziplock baggies and freezes them for a "grab-n-go" breakfast during the week. No more swinging through the drive thru.

In our house, I also made a few with out the yolks since my "mid"  man T does not like egg yolks.

These have become quite the hit in our house these past couple weeks.

Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkin Eater....

Occasionally, I cheat...on dinner that is...Monday night, things were a bit hairy to say the least in our household.  I even actually came home from work early but it was still a bit hectic....Anywho, since my weekend was even "more" chaotic than Monday, I didn't get a chance to grocery shop...What is a mom to do for dinner for her family?  Drive Thru?  Pizza?  Nah, that would require leaving the house with all the kids in tow...or paying top dollar for delivery...definetly not in our budget for the week...

I threw together a hodge podge of "italian" items and made Pasta Soup. 

"Cheaters" Pasta Soup

(1) Jar of Ragu (or you can use a couple cans of tomato soup or tomato sauce and add your "own" seasonings)
(1) Jar of Water
(1) Diced Zuchinni
(1) Diced Onion
Sausage (or other meat you might have on hand)
Noodles (again any kind will work; I used elbow macaroni because that is what I had)

Throw everything but the noodles in the crock pot.  Cook on high for 3-4 hr.  The last 30 minutes throw the noodles in.  You want the noodles to be "al dente" rather than fully cooked and mushy.

Prep time:  15 mins
Cook time:  3-4 hrs

Add a side salad and some garlic bread and there you have it.  Dinner is served!