Meal Plans 6/4/2012

I generally post my meal plans on a Monday or Wednesday.  However, my planning has been a little...ummm... sporadic.  They happen but it's not always one the same day.  Sometimes I plan for a little longer than seven days or I have to go to the grocery store on a particular evening.  That's another thing, I generally relegate my shopping now to the evenings or maybe a Saturday morning.  Not my favorite but that really is the best for the season of life that we are in right now.  Maybe that is a post post for another day.  HA!

I am actually pretty excited about some of the recipes this week.  However, there was one that I was particularly excited about and it turned not as over-the-top-delicious as I thought it would be.  Maybe I did something wrong??

Anyway, here's what's cookin'

• Chicken & Avocado Salad w/ veggies and hummus  (I made the original recipe that is mentioned here before and I will say that I like this updated recipe much better.  I think it's the bigger chunks that helps)
• Man Pleasing Chicken w/ Quinoa & Pine Nuts side dish , strawberries (This was the one that was abig disappointment.  While good, I was expecting more.  My kids LOVED the quinoa though!  We added the strawberries because the plate was looking a little brown)
• Tacos w/ Avocado, black bean, and corn salad.  Chips.
• Monterey Chicken  w/ zucchini tots
• Roasted Chicken w/ Orzo-stuffed peppers
• BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad

Freezer Meal Update: Review

At the beginning of February all the meals that I made in preparation for the arrival of Miss S were basically gone.  Oh how I wished they could just multiply themselves!  Between the meals that our church brought us (an out pour of such love!) and a few take out meals on our part were just really having to think about actually going grocery shopping and a whole new meal plan.  Simple was the name of the game for sure.

I am still trying to figure out how to cook a dinner with a three year old and a 21 month old under foot... plus an almost 6 month old who usually needs to be fed around the dinner hour.  Sigh.  I am thankful that my mother-in-law comes over pretty often and I cook while she plays with the girls.  Blessing beyond measure!

Now that we have had a chance to see how all the meals turned out after being frozen I thought that I would give a review of each meal.  At some point I will put all these tidbits in each post as well.  For now, they will all be here should you be enticed to use any of the recipes for bulk freezer cooking.  Which, by the way, is something that I think I would like to look into doing more often after this little adventure.  You can check out my final list here.  I am just going to go down the list and some will be similar or the same so I will just lump their reviews together.

Beef Stew (from Mom C) - Beautiful.  I don't have the recipe but I am sure that I can get it.  Froze well in a zip lock bag and thawed well on our stove.  I dumped it in a pot and warmed it up.  Super easy.  Highly recommend.

Tator Tot Casserole - Meh.  It was alright.  I think it was my particular recipe.  This recipe almost needed to be doubled to make one good sized casserole.  I like to have left overs and this just didn't cut it.  It wasn't my favorite.  Froze fine, thawed and cooked up nicely.

Meatloaf- Probably one of the best things to freeze.  They are probably better once they have had the time to sit and have the flavors meld, especially in the thawing process.  I originally was not too impressed with the Italian Stuffed Meatloaf.  However, I really liked it the second time around.  I think the kind of sauce you use can make a difference, too.  I think I changed my mind.  I would make this again.  Meatloaf you really need to let thaw probably two days in the fridge.  It was also helpful to label each loaf with what pan I used.  Made it easy to know which one I should use that night.  Good tip.  Implement it!

Stuffed Peppers (from Mom C) - Again, I don't have the recipe for this but I am guessing any recipe you have for them will do.  They froze nicely in a freezer zip bag.  The peppers were pretty soft when they were done cooking.  I think that had to do in part to the freezing and in part the liquid in the stuffing mix.  They were still really delicious and the girls enjoyed them, too.

Lasagna-  Do I really need to review this?  It's a freezer meal staple.  If you have a recipe you love... do it. Always good to have on hand.  If you are going to make a lasagna for dinner just double it and have it on hand when you are in a pinch.

Okay, really... there is a lot to review. Everything really did well freezing and was super yummy.  The only things that I had to finagle was warming up the breakfast burritos.  Basically, I used a wet paper towel, defrosted, and then warmed on a lower power setting.  I cannot give you times because it varies by appliance.  However, I can see that a toaster over would be helpful for these if you are not in a hurry.  I would do all of these meals again.

If you have any questions please fell free to comment below and I will get back to you.

Pizza Dough

Remember my 2012 Crafting Plan?

Well, I finally finished ONE of them.  The pizza dough.  I have tried a couple of different recipes.

My first one was a simple recipe I got from my bread machine book.  I made a whole wheat version for this Black Bean Nacho Pizza.  I think whole wheat in general is a little dense but it was still quite good.

A couple of weeks later I tried the regular white flour recipe.  It turned out good.  I will say that there is a trick to working with pizza dough.  Gravity is your friend and I now understand why pizzerias twirl their dough.  However, the whole wheat dough was by far easier to actually roll out.

Just last night I used Pioneer Woman's pizza dough recipe from her favorite pizza recipe.  I like that I can do this dough up a few days ahead of time.  However, I did this one the morning of the day that I would be using it.  At some point I will try the aged option.  This was a really good recipe!  What else would you expect from PW?  However, I think for how I was using it I would use the whole batch for a thicker crust.  I would also maybe let it bake up some before putting the toppings on.

I know some people freeze dough and I may look into doing that, too.  I am all for putting things in my freezer :)

Meal Plan Monday

Yes, I know it's been awhile since we have done menu planning.  Yes, I know I generally do it on Wednesday.  But, I have my meal plan done today so we will roll with it.  I may actually have a lot of it done for next week, too but I won't really have that nailed down probably until Wednesday.  HA!

So, the freezer meals are basically gone.  I realized I had a couple left that I will put into next week's rotation.  Sometimes forgetting is a good thing.

The goal of any meal right now and for the next several months (years?) is simple, simple, simple.  My mother-in-law is around during meal prep time generally 4 nights out of the week.  I know that this will not always be and can change at any moment so I try to have very little hands on time.  Here's what's on the dinner docket for this week...

• Ravioli w/ butter sauce, Parmesan, roasted potatoes and green beans.
• Cranberry Chicken with creamed spinach
• Leftover Mashed Potato Soup
• Breakfast Pizza
• Fish Tacos w/ broccoli slaw
• Moms Meatloaf with twice baked mashed potato
• Pizza (back-up meal)

What's for dinner at your place this week??

Fiesta Chicken (Green)

As promised, here is the green version which I adapted from the the red version posted earlier this week.  I prefer this one but both are equally delish!

Fiesta Chicken (Green)


1.5 lb chicken breast
1 can petite diced tomatoes
1 can hominy (found in the Mexican or Latin food area) -- if you can find a small can go with that.  You may only be able to find the big can and that is fine.
1 can black beans (rinsed)
1 small can of green chile/enchilada sauce (or half of the BIG can)
1 small can of chopped green chile (fresh or frozen would be best but do what you need to do if you have little mouths to feed-- or add more to your liking.)

Put it all in a crock pot and cook on low for 4-6 hours (depending on your cooker and if chicken is frozen.  Mine tends to be on the hot side so it could even be 3 hours!)  Shred Chicken.  Serve with flour tortilla or over rice with cheese and sour cream.

Enjoy!

Fiesta Chicken (Red)

I realized I was in process of putting up all the freezer meal recipes that I made for the arrival of Miss S and obviously not finished.  At some point I will give an update on what I thought about the meals, how they thawed, and reheated.  It has been a fun learning process and we really haven't been disappointed.

Anyway... more on that tangent later.  :)

If you Google Fiesta Chicken you will get a plethora of recipes.  I found the one that I use here.  It's a random place to find the meals but I used many of their suggestions!

I call their version the Red version because I later adapted another version of it that I call Green.  Being from New Mexico I prefer most things in a green chile version.  Yum.  I will post the Green version in another post.

Fiesta Chicken (Red) from blonde-designs


1.5 lb chicken breasts
1 can diced tomatoes (I used petite)
1 can corn (could use frozen) - drained
1 can black beans - rinsed
1 C salsa
taco seasoning (I think I used about 1 T)

I may have added about 1/2 C water or stock because I don't generally use the "juice" from canned items except for the tomatoes or no salt/no sugar added corn.


Add everything to a slow cooker and cook on low until done (about 4-6 hours depending on your cooker and if your chicken was frozen or not) Shred chicken.  Serve over a flour tortilla or over rice with cheese and sour cream.  Or it makes a nice soup/stew like meal on its own, too!

If you want to use this meal for a cooking group or Once a Month Cooking you can just add everything to a zip loc bag and freeze.

Freezer Meals: I'm Done...I think

I'm done.


It's officially December.  I'm huge (in my mind's eye when many others have said, "Oh you don't look like you are due in a month.)  I'm tired of cooking -- to an extent.  And in some sense we are running out of freezer space.  Not entirely.  But there are some other things I want to throw in there and not have to worry about it.  So, I am done.


Not much happened in November.  I technically made two Chicken Pot Pies but one was for that night's dinner and the other I froze.  My mother-in-law (the gem that she is!)  made a double batch of meatballs for us so those are in there.   Yep, that sums up the month.  HA!


However, as I sit here looking at the list there are a couple of things that I can just let the slow cooker take care of for me.  While I tend to use a different recipe for enchiladas I stumbled upon a friend's recipe that I loved while we were visiting with her family earlier this year in Texas.  I can just whip it up, freeze it, and then put it all together when we are ready for it.  Sounds delish.


That may be the only one I really go after from the list.  My cranberry chicken is super easy and really everything I need for it is in the pantry.  I just need to make sure that I am stocked up on everything times two for that.


I'll keep the other recipes around and close at hand for when I need to start cooking again.  I can double it up or some of them may just be easy.  Also, the burrito recipes may come in handy when I am scrambling for something to send with Husband to work for lunch.  He's not picky so I will look at that some more, too.


I need to work on my freezer inventory list as I have some things in there that I am sure that I will forget about when Baby#3 arrives.  You know, like vegetables and some other sides.


OH!  I will also add a few things from Costco.  Chicken nuggets (because the girls are gaga over anything chicken nuggets these days) will be used for lunches mostly but will probably make an appearance with dinner at some point, too.  Ravioli will feed our family 2-3 times depending on how hungry the girls are that night.  Fish for tacos (we love them!) or just to throw in the oven with a side if we are running out of time.


So, I think we have a good start to things.


What now?


Well, we wait for Baby#3.  We thought she might try to make an ultra early entrance yesterday but alas she is content to stay inside a little longer -- with the help of some modern medicine.


I have a lot of the ingredients I need for lactation bars so my mother-in-law has graciously offered to make up a bunch of those for me.  I can bake them up no problem.  I need to get that moving here sooner than later.  HA!


My dad has also said that he would help with Christmas cookies (ahem - I know you are reading this) and he can be bribed with dinner or the promise of chocolate chip cookies anyway.


Welp, here's the final list.  Not fully finished but I took a good whack at it!


Beef Stew x 1 (from Mom C)
Tator Tot Casserole x 1
Mom C's Meatloaf x1
Stuffed Peppers x 1 (from Mom C)
Husband's Lasagna x 2
Italian Stuffed Meatloaf x 2
My Chile x 2
Veggie Chile x 3
Ren's Chocolate Muffins x 2 (has good stuff like pumpkin, flax, etc -- it's not ALL sugar)
Chicken Pot Pie x 1
Fiesta Chicken x 2
Fiesta Chicken (Green Version) x 2
Spaghetti Sauce x 2
Spinach & Artichoke Mac & Cheese x 2
Green Chile Enchiladas x 3 (or more at the request of Husband)
Spaghetti Pizza x 2
Turkey & Vegetable Meatloaf x 2
Meatballs x 2 (17 in each bag) from Mom C
Brown Bag Burritos x 1 (makes 20-ish)
Chicken Spaghetti (Pioneer Woman) x 2
Pulled Pork x 1 (more if meat comes on sale again)
Breakfast Burritos x 1 (will probably make more - cranks out about 16)
Chicken & Rice (Quinoa) Burritos x 1 (makes about 8?)
Baked Ziti x 2
BBQ Beef & Bean Corn Bread Casserole x 2
Bacon, Egg, Cheese Biscuit Cups x 1
Ham & Cheese Pockets x 1
Sausage Biscuits x 1
Twice Cooked Mashed Potatoes x 2
Cranberry Chicken x 2
Broccoli & Cheddar Soup x 2
Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken x 2
Lactation Cookies x LOTS!


*That is not a picture of MY freezer.  Just so you know.

Freezer Meals: October Update

So, I am pretty sure we are good to go on meat loaf now.  HA!  It's a good thing we like it around here as we now ave FIVE loaves in the freezer.  Three different kinds - Turkey w/ vegetables (so YUMMY!), Italian stuffed, and a Mom C meatloaf.  Yeah, I think we are just fine there.


I made a bit more progress this month.  One weekend I cranked out four things:  Turkey meatloaves, Sausage (and cheese) Biscuits, Breakfast Burritos (made 23), and Twice Cooked Baked Potato Casserole (which I am pretty sure we will also be having for Thanksgiving... divine!).  These were all relatively simple so I was able to crank them out in a decent amount of time.  There was some rush at the end (we were off to see a movie) because I took a long break while the girls were napping.  Dinner was delegated to Blimpie's and in the end all was perfectly fine.


Husband asked if I was done after that day.  I looked at him and kind of laughed.  I said, "No."  However, my goal is to basically be done by the time December rolls around.  The only thing that I think that I want to be working on in December are Christmas cookies and lactation bars.  HA!  Husband thought this was funny and a good idea all at the same time.


I also tried to find random moments to whip something out during the weekdays.  I did the Bacon, Egg, and cheese biscuits on what turned into a rather busy and tiring day but it was worth it for sure!  I may make more of these because I just scored 5 packages of bacon for under $4.  Whoop!  Although, I am pretty sure my family would just like to eat some bacon, too.  HA HA HA!


It seems like there were a couple of weeks when I was really trying to crank some things out and when I thought I had all the ingredients I would find I was missing one.  Or some other random hiccup.  But we press on just the same.  I realized that some things will not be made in the quantity that I had originally anticipated so my list is becoming more streamlined and I am rethinking a couple of recipes.  Nothing has been totally scratched as of yet.


Also completed this month -
Fiesta Chicken (Red Version)
Fiesta Chicken (Green Version) x 1 -- The other crock pot is being used for soup today.
Ren's Chocolate Chip Muffins
Spaghetti Sauce


Beef Stew x 1 (from Mom C)
Tator Tot Casserole x 1
Mom C's Meatloaf x1
Stuffed Peppers x 1 (from Mom C)
Husband's Lasagna x 2
Italian Stuffed Meatloaf x 2
My Chile x 2
Veggie Chile x 3
Ren's Chocolate Muffins x 2 (has good stuff like pumpkin, flax, etc -- it's not ALL sugar)
Chicken Pot Pie x 2
Fiesta Chicken x 2
Fiesta Chicken (Green Version) x 2
Spaghetti Sauce x 2
Spinach & Artichoke Mac & Cheese x 2
Green Chile Enchiladas x 3 (or more at the request of Husband)
Spaghetti Pizza x 2
Turkey & Vegetable Meatloaf x 2
Meatballs (not sure how many yet)
Brown Bag Burritos x 1 (makes 20-ish)
Chicken Spaghetti (Pioneer Woman) x 2
Pulled Pork x 1 (more if meat comes on sale again)
Breakfast Burritos x 1 (will probably make more - cranks out about 16)
Chicken & Rice (Quinoa) Burritos x 1 (makes about 8?)
Baked Ziti x 2
BBQ Beef & Bean Corn Bread Casserole x 2
Bacon, Egg, Cheese Biscuit Cups x 1
Ham & Cheese Pockets x 1
Sausage Biscuits x 1
Twice Cooked Mashed Potatoes x 2
Cranberry Chicken x 2
Broccoli & Cheddar Soup x 2
Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken x 2
Lactation Cookies x LOTS!

Italian Stuffed Meatloaf

So, I realized that I had originally planned to post all of the recipes I was making for the freezer when Baby #3 arrives.  I am SO behind.  I must say there are some that I am more excited about than others which may be why I haven't posted some yet.  This may be one of those recipes that I am not so excited about right now.  The recipe comes from some ladies that do some once a month type cooking.  They have a group of ladies that get together, make meals, swap, and they leave with about 12 different meals to use during the month that they store in their freezers.  If you follow the link at the bottom of the recipe you can get to the original post and click on a PDF that is there of many recipes that they use for this gathering.  Many could also be used for freezer meals for a baby as well.  I have a few other recipes that I will post from them that we really enjoy.

Anyway, when I made this I tripled the recipe -- two for the freezer and one for dinner that night.  I was a little less than excited in the final product.  However, it was different and it was good.  I probably won't make it again as I like my Turkey &Vegetable meatloaf much better.  I wonder if this would taste better with a different meat like elk (yum!) or turkey.  Maybe someday I will try it that way.

If you try this let me know what you think!


ITALIAN STUFFED MEATLOAF

1 lbs ground beef
1/2 c breadcrumbs
1/2 t salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 1/2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 c onion, diced
1/8 c celery, finely diced
1/2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp basil
1/8 c Parmesan
1 eggs
1/8 t Worcestershire sauce
1/8tsp hot pepper sauce
1-1/2 c spaghetti sauce

Filling:
1/2 c ricotta cheese (low fat)
1/2 c Italian cheese blend, shredded
1/2 T parsley

Assembly:
Meat Mixture: In small bowl, mix breadcrumbs, salt, pepper, garlic, onion, celery, Italian seasoning, basil and cheese.  Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, break up beef and make an indentation in the center. Break the eggs into this well;
add Worc. Sauce and hot pepper sauce. With a fork, quickly beat the eggs and sauce together in the well. Using either your hands or large spoon, mix eggs and meat together until well combined. Pour the breadcrumb mixture into the meat mixture in 2-3 installments, mixing each time until well incorporated. If mixture seems too dry, add a little milk or one more beaten egg to the mixture. Filling: In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese, shredded cheese and parsley. Mix together and set aside.

Divide meat mixture into two equal parts. Line loaf pans; press 1/2 of meat mixture into loaf pan. Pressing
down with your fingers or the back of a spoon, create a shallow “ditch” down the middle of the meat mixture. Spread part of ricotta filling mixture into each ditch, leaving about 1-1/2” border of meat all around. Press second 1/2 of meat mixture into loaf pan, pushing down around the edges to help seal in the filling.

If freezing, do so here using foil and plastic wrap method. (Thaw in fridge before cooking)

To Serve: Preheat oven 350 degrees. Bake meatloaf for 30 min, then spoon off any excess grease, if necessary. Pour 1-2 cups of your favorite tomato or spaghetti sauce on top of meatloaf and bake an additional 25-30 min. Be careful not to over-bake. Serve with buttered noodles or pasta, a salad, and garlic bread.

courtesy of http://blonde-designs.squarespace.com/blonde-designs-blog/2010/1/29/freezer-meals.html

"Vegetarian" Lasagna

I am always looking for something to add vegetables to our meals rather than just as a side.  I am not really creative there and Miss L is now in a phase of hit or miss on whether she likes vegetables and Miss A could not care any less as long as the food is in front of her.  I found this recipe browsing Pinterest (surprised?) and it was in a list of "8 weeks of easy recipes" from a website called, Moms Who Think.


So, while I am not a huge fan of mushroom I purchased all the necessary ingredients.  I had pasta sauce already on hand from a great sale and oddly enough I also had feta on hand that I needed to use sooner than later.  I have the word vegetarian in quotes in this post because I happened to have some left over pasta sauce that had some Italian sausage in it.  I added more sauce to the recipe as an estimate.  Go with what works for you.  Also, 24oz of mozzarella was a lot of cheese.  I didn't use it all by any means.  I will be using in in another meal later this week.  Be sure not to cook the vegetables too much as they will become too mushy during baking.  While I almost left the feta off because Miss L has not been such a fan of feta in the past.  However, she seemed to like it and it adds a whole new dimension -- must. add. feta.

This meal, while messy for my one year old, went over very well!  Great leftovers and the girls gobbled it up!  Totally worth the mess.  Totally.

Vegetarian Lasagna Ingredients:

4 medium zucchini
1 package of fresh mushrooms (amount depends on taste)
1 medium onion
Fresh garlic (to taste)
10 oz. frozen chopped spinach
28 oz. jar pasta sauce
24 oz. mozzarella cheese
8 oz. feta cheese
Olive Oil (to coat the pan)
Lasagna Noodles

Directions:

1. Boil lasagna noodles until al dente. Mince zucchini, mushrooms, onion and garlic.

2. Coat pan with oil and sauté vegetables until tender. Add defrosted spinach. Add pasta sauce.

3. Layer vegetable mixture on top of noodles; add mozzarella cheese on each layer.

4. Top with feta cheese. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 until brown and bubbly.

5. Serve with warmed Italian bread. (Or maybe a fresh green salad!) 

Chipotle Bean Burritos

My friend, AMH, pinned this recipe and she blogged about it later.  So, here I am doing the same thing.  She warned me that this may be a little too spicy for the little mouths that gather around my table so I proceeded with caution.  As I read through the recipe I decided that I would take beans out for the girls before the mashing of some of the beans and the addition of salsa.  That seemed to work as the girls gobbled it up without blinking an eye.  However, the beans for the girls were a bit dry when I started mashing them.  I added a couple of teaspoons of water.  Next time I think I will add some stock or something with more flavor.  Also, my girls love pico de gallo so I will give them that instead of salsa (although they sometimes devour salsa, too).  The original photo and recipe can be found on the website My Recipes.

Overall, this was a pretty yummy meal.  I think that I would actually increase the chipotle pepper after I take the beans out for the kiddos.  I know my spice isn't very old and I wanted to taste it a bit more.

We generally have all these ingredients on hand (or things that are easily done without or substituted) so this makes a cheap and easy meal for us.  Even my husband who is sometimes apprehensive about our meatless meals thought this was pretty good and was up for eating it again.  YAY!!

Chipotle Bean Burritos

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup water
• 1 (15-ounce) can organic black beans, drained
• 1 (15-ounce) can organic kidney beans, drained
• 3 tablespoons refrigerated fresh salsa
• 6 (10-inch) reduced-fat flour tortillas (such as Mission)
• 1 cup (4 ounces) preshredded reduced-fat 4-cheese Mexican blend cheese
• 1 1/2 cups chopped plum tomato (about 3)
• 1 1/2 cups shredded romaine lettuce
• 6 tablespoons thinly sliced green onions
• 6 tablespoons light sour cream

Preparation

• 1. Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add garlic to pan; cook 1 minute, stirring frequently. Stir in chile powder and salt; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Stir in 1/3 cup water and beans; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in salsa. Partially mash bean mixture with a fork.
• 2. Warm tortillas according to package directions. Spoon about 1/3 cup bean mixture into center of each tortilla. Top each serving with about 2 1/2 tablespoons cheese, 1/4 cup tomato, 1/4 cup lettuce, 1 tablespoon onions, and 1 tablespoon sour cream; roll up.

Maureen Callahan, Cooking Light 
JANUARY 2010

Freezer Meals: Update

UGH!  I am not making it through this list as fast as I would like to at this point.  The only thing I crossed off this month was Pioneer Woman's Chicken Spaghetti.  However, I can add that I randomly made a tator-tot casserole and doubled the recipe.  So, I froze half.  Also, my very sweet, kind, and oh-so-gracious mother-in-law made two meals for me.  I'll add those meals (and cross them off because it's fun) so I will have a running list.


I think I need to sit down and look at the budget with Husband to see if we can extend the budget a bit so I can make these extra meals while still feeding us.  I had been doing pretty well with that but it seems like all of a sudden the prices went up in stores and the good sales came to a grinding halt.  I anticipate some good sales on certain items with the holidays coming up so we will flex when that time comes.


Also, a sweet blessing in timing is that Zaycon Foods will be offering their yummy chicken to all lower 48 states soon at $1.49/lb.  We'll probably get two units this time around.  If you are interested in using my referral link please let me know.  :)  Can't beat that price these days!  It will be a good stock up item for us and as my husband says, "I like meat!"  He's been good in enduring my "meatless" meals from time to time but he likes to remind me that he is an omnivore with more carnivorous tendencies!  Anyway, once we get the chicken I think I will be able to cross things off a bit more quickly with the purchase of a few simple items.  YAY!!


Of course, I am always finding more recipes that I want to try... never enough time :)


Tator Tot Casserole x 1
Mom C's Meatloaf x1
Stuffed Peppers x 1
Husband's Lasagna x 2
Italian Stuffed Meatloaf x 2
My Chile x 2
Veggie Chile x 3
Ren's Chocolate Muffins x 2 (has good stuff like pumpkin, flax, etc -- it's not ALL sugar)
Chicken Pot Pie x 2
Fiesta Chicken x 2
Fiesta Chicken (Green Version) x 2
Spaghetti Sauce x 3 or 4
Spinach & Artichoke Mac & Cheese x 2
Green Chile Enchiladas x 3 (or more at the request of Husband)
Spaghetti Pizza x 2
Turkey & Vegetable Meatloaf x 2
Meatballs (not sure how many yet)
Brown Bag Burritos x 1 (makes 20-ish)
Chicken Spaghetti (Pioneer Woman) x 2
Pulled Pork x 1 (more if meat comes on sale again)
Breakfast Burritos x 1 (will probably make more - cranks out about 16)
Chicken & Rice (Quinoa) Burritos x 1 (makes about 8?)
Baked Ziti x 2
BBQ Beef & Bean Corn Bread Casserole x 2
Bacon, Egg, Cheese Biscuit Cups x 1
Ham & Cheese Pockets x 1
Sausage Biscuits x 1
Twice Cooked Mashed Potatoes x 2
Cranberry Chicken x 2
Broccoli & Cheddar Soup x 2
Healthy Mama BBQ Chicken x 2
Lactation Cookies x LOTS!

Ham & Cheese Sliders

I keep seeing this recipe being "repinned" on Pinterest and I always think to myself, "Good recipe, I need to blog about it."  This was one of the first things I tried from Pinterest.  It was originally pinned from The Girl Who Ate Everything.  (I need to look through this blog a bit more! HA!)

Ham happened to be on sale that week.  I will say because of the general expense of meat I probably would not go out of my way to make this meal again.  However, it will be in rotation for when we generally have leftovers of ham.  So, think Resurrection Day/Easter, Christmas or New Year's if that's your thing... or anytime it is on sale.  This recipe may work well with deli sliced ham if you find a good deal on it.  This meal was a bit on the expensive side for me because I got the swiss cheese in the deli.  However, my buyer's remorse was short lived with how well this meal went over with everyone AND I was able to use the cheese I had not only for this meal but for another meal and some lunches.

I actually halved this recipe because I didn't think we would need ALL of them.  Plus, I was running short on time (I forgot I still had to slice the ham myself!) and I had opted earlier to only buy one bag of rolls.  Next time I will make the full recipe as they were gobbled up and they would make AWESOME leftovers.  Just sayin'.

Ham and Cheese Sliders

adapted slightly from the Recipe Club

24 good white dinner rolls

24 pieces good honey ham
24 small slices Swiss cheese
1/3 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup miracle whip

Poppy seed sauce
1 T poppyseeds
1 1/2 T yellow mustard
1 stick butter, melted
1 T minced onion
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

In a small bowl, mix together mayonnaise and miracle whip. Spread onto both sides of the center of each roll. Place a slice of ham and a slice of Swiss inside of each roll. Close rolls and place them into a large baking dish or heavy cookie sheet. Place very close together.

In a medium bowl, whisk together all of the poppy seed sauce ingredients. Pour evenly over all of the sandwiches. Let sit 10 minutes or until butter sets slightly. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until cheese is melted. Uncover and cook for 2 additional minutes. Serve warm.

** sandwiches can be assembled a day ahead and kept in the fridge ready to bake.

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wraps

Let me just say, my kiddos (1 & 2 1/2) gobbled this up!  That should be all you need to know to try this yummy meal.  I had just used the last of my sour cream a couple of days before so I didn't get to use that in these this time around.  However, my littles don't really like sour cream so I would have left it out of theirs anyway.  I put a little less chili powder in as my girls can be a bit sensitive but they didn't complain! I will add this to a regular rotation.  I had some left over chicken from another meal so it made it a pretty cheap meal.  However, I may try this with whole wheat tortillas next time around. (You can find the original recipe by clicking on the photo - they also have a print friendly version available there.)  Oh yes, this was also tagged on my Pinterest board.  Love.

Crispy Southwest Chicken Wrap

*Makes 6 wraps*

1 cup cooked rice, warm or at room temperature
1 cup cooked, shredded chicken
1 can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 green onion, finely sliced (white and green parts)
1/2 red or green pepper, diced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
juice of 1 lime
1/2 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
2 cups shredded cheese (I used a combination of monterey jack and sharp cheddar)
Sour cream (optional)

6 burrito-sized flour tortillas

Mix rice together with chili powder, cumin and garlic salt. Add remaining ingredients except for cheese and sour cream. Sprinkle cheese over tortillas, leaving 1/2-inch border around edges, then arrange chicken and rice mixture down the center of each tortilla. (Optional: on some of the wraps, I dotted the cheese with about 1-2 tablespoons of reduced fat sour cream before arranging chicken and rice mixture down the center – it made the wraps delightfully creamy.) Roll stuffed tortillas, leaving edges open. Spray the tortillas all over with cooking spray.

Heat a large non-stick skillet (or griddle) over medium heat for 1 minute. Arrange 2 wraps, seam-side down, in pan and cook until golden brown and crisp, about 2-3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and repeat with remaining wraps. Serve.