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Thursday, February 26, 2009

Foldovers

Foldovers are a cross between a burro and a tostada. Sometimes we have them for lunch and other times for dinner. You need: tortilla (one for each person), 1 can refried beans, 1 can olives, cheese, butter, taco meat (optional). Suggested toppings: salsa, sour cream, guacamole.First butter one side of a tortilla. Place butter side down on a skillet. Spread refried beans on one side. Top with olives and cheese. Sometimes I will add taco meat if we have any leftover.
Cook until it is a golden brown on both sides and cheese is melted. Serve with your choice of toppings.

Spinach Egg Scramble

We have breakfast for dinner quite often. It's my favorite backup when I forget to take meat out of the freezer. It's also inexpensive. Last night I put yellow bell pepper and fresh spinach in the scrambled eggs, as well as salsa and cheese. If you're a fan of "Green Eggs and Ham" you can omit the bell pepper and salsa and add a couple drops of green food coloring and you'll have your own green eggs. All you need to do is add the ham.

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Chicken in Rice


This is a super easy recipe that my kids really enjoy. It can be served as a main dish or as just a side depending on who and how many you are feeding.
You need:
3 chicken breasts, cut into 1 inch pieces, cooked
1 box Chicken Rice-A-Roni
Broccoli florets (optional)
Follow the package directions on the rice and add the chicken and broccoli when you add the water and seasonings.
Serve with a salad and rolls.

Monday, February 23, 2009

Hominy Casserole

This is hominy casserole. Hominy is corn that has been soaked to get rid of the outer hull, leaving it with a softer texture. I really like hominy, but it's hard to come across recipes that use it. The most common recipes are menudo or pozole, but I never make either of those. So I was excited when I found this easy recipe that uses it as one of the main ingredients.
Ingredients:
1lb ground beef
1/2c. chopped bell pepper
1/2c. onion (optional)
1 can white hominy, drained
1 can yellow hominy, drained
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can green chiles
1/2t. salt
1/4t. pepper
1c. grated cheese
Brown the hamburger, when it is no longer pink add the bell pepper and onion (if using) and cook for about three minutes. Stir in remaining ingredients, except cheese. Spoon into baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Add cheese the last 10 minutes.
I served this with cornbread and it was very good. I think it would be good with a cornbread crust which I might attempt next time.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Stromboli

Here is my stromboli recipe. It's similar to the calzone. The main difference is the calzone is more like a pizza and the stromboli is more like a sandwich. We had this on Thursday.
Ingredients:
1 lb frozen bread dough, thawed or your own dough
mustard
salami
ham
bell pepper
olives
cheese
*you can add whatever other deli meats or toppings you would like
First roll out the dough into a rectangle. Brush with mustard. Layer meats, and toppings. Bring sides and ends together and pinch closed. Lay seam side down on baking sheet and bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden brown at 350 degrees.
Another filling idea would be to use alfredo or other cheese sauce and layer with shredded chicken and broccoli.

Thursday, February 19, 2009

Simplicity

Sometimes I get so caught up in "making" something, that I feel I need a recipe or else all is lost. I forget that sometimes the most basic meals can also be very delicious. Last night was one of those simple meals, that was also quite good and fairly inexpensive. I managed to get several fryer chickens on sale a couple weeks ago for 39 cents/lb. I also, got a bag of mixed vegetables on sale for $1 and a box of pasta-roni for 88 cents. So, for about $5, I fed our family of five. Pretty good deal. It was nothing complicated. No fancy herbs, no extra ingredients, just chicken with two easy sides. The best part is there was enough left over for my husband to take for lunch and for me to make another chicken dinner. I think I might use the extra chicken for taco soup later in the week. I try to space out my meats, so I don't have two chicken meals back to back, or hamburger, etc. Maybe I'm wierd for it, but I don't want to feel like I'm eating the same thing all the time.

Monday, February 16, 2009

A Little Crazy

So, this weekend got a little crazy. Friday, we had fry bread again, so no new recipe. Saturday, we went to Peter Piper to celebrate my daughters birthday. Sunday, we had chicken with white chedder shells and peas. Today, though is where it got really hectic. My husband went out of town and took one of our daughters and they ate out for lunch. I went shopping all day with a couple girlfriends and this entailed lunch. Then my jusband called to tell me they wouldn't make it home for dinner and since I didn't want to cook for just me and my other daughter, we ate out for dinner. Next Saturday, my husband and I are going on a date, so until then I will be cooking from home.

Saturday, February 14, 2009

Chicken Biscuit Bake

All right, first confessions, Thursday my husband was home for lunch so we ate out. Thursday evening I made this chicken biscuit bake. It's quite similar to chicken pot pie. I was going to do step by step pictures, but I had a little recipe mishap and had to concentrate on still making it palatable instead of food photography. So here's the recipe:


Ingredients:
1/2c. plus 1T all-purpose flour
1/2t. baking powder
dash salt
3T cold butter
2T beaten egg (note, NOT a whole egg)
1/4c. buttermilk
Filling:
2T butter
2T all-purpose flour
1c. milk
1T. chicken boullion granules
1/2c. cubed cooked chicken
1/2c. frozen mixed vegetables
1/2c. small curd cottage cheese

In a bowl, combine flour, baking powder and salt; cut in butter until mixture resembles course crumbs. Stir egg into buttermilk. Add to crumb mixture; stir until it forms dough. Turn onto floured surface and knead until smooth. Divide in half and roll out one portion and place in bottom of greased 1-qt baking dish.
In small saucepan, melt butter. Stir in flour until smooth. Gradually add milk and boullion. Bring to boil; cook and stir 1-2 minutes until thick. Stir in chicken, vegetables, cottage cheese. Pour into dish.
Roll out remaining dough and place on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-35 minutes.

I had issues with the dough. I think next time I will make the filling and use canned biscuits and pour the filling over the biscuists. I've tried using the canned biscuits on top, but then the bottom of the biscuit doesn't cook. I think the filling would also be good over a baked potato.

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Indian Fry Bread--Indian Taco

Tuesday night I made fry bread. Growing up I lived next to a reservation, and there were always occasions to partake of this wonderful food. It was really a treat and every year I looked forward to the occasions when they would make it for us. Many tribes make this although, the Navajos are the original tribe, I believe. Fry bread makes a great food storage recipe and can be eaten as either a main dish or a dessert, it just depends on the topping. The most common is the Indian Taco. To make your fry bread, you will need:
1 cup flour
1t. dry milk
1t. baking powder
1/4t. salt
1/2 cup water
oil for frying
(This will make four fry bread)
Mix all the ingredients together, but do NOT knead dough. Kneading will make your fry bread heavy. The dough should be sticky. Using well floured hands, divide the dough into four balls.
Using your hands flaten the dough into a circle. Don't worry if it isn't completely round.
Heat your oil in skillet. Oil should be about 350 degrees. You can test the readiness by dropping a small piece of dough in. If it bubbles and floats to the surface it is ready. Once oil is ready, gently place in your fry bread. Once bottom is golden brown, flip over and cook on other side. About 3-4 minutes each side.
Remove from oil and prepare to eat. Fry bread can be kept warm in the oven at 200 degrees for about an hour. It can be refrigerated and reheated at 350 degrees.
To make an Indian taco, top with beans, tomato, lettuce and onion. We topped ours with beans, taco meat, cheese, olives, bell pepper, and avacado.

To make a dessert, top with honey and powdered sugar.
This is really a great recipe, I hope you try it.

Hawaiian Haystacks

Monday night we had hawaiian haystacks. I must admit I had never had these prior to joining the Church. The best part is their versatility. The basics are rice and shredded chicken, but the rest is up to you. I use cream of chicken soup and milk for the sauce, but I've also known people to use sweet and sour or teriyaki--whatever your family prefers. We like pineapple, olives, avacado, bell pepper and chow mein noodles for toppings. Some other ideas are tomatos, almond slices, raisins, etc. Just be creative.

Sunday, February 8, 2009

Kielbasa with Saffron Rice

Tonight I made kielbasa (I used turkey, but use whichever you prefer) with saffron rice and green beans. I got the idea off of Meal Planning Mommies. The rice takes the longest to cook (20 min) and you just follow package directions. To cook the kielbasa, just slice it and place it in a skillet and cook it to your preferance. We like it kind of blackened. I used frozen green beans, but you could use fresh as well. It made for a yummy and inexpensive dish (under $5).

Pot Roast

Friday I made a roast. Nothing fancy, just the roast with potatoes and carrots. I do put beef broth for the liquid to give it extra flavor. I don't, however, braise it beforehand. We used the leftover for sandwiches and are still eating it. Saturday we went out to eat. Saturday is kinda hard to eat at home because it is our family day and we rarely spend it at home.

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Hamburger Calzone

Tonight I made hamburger calzones. I was looking for a new way to use hamburger and this is what I came up with.
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
vegetables of your choosing, I used diced bell pepper, mushrooms and olives
pizza, spaghetti or tomato sauce
bread dough, I used premade frozen dough
cheese
salt, pepper, parsley, pizza seasoning
First brown your meat. I seasoned my meat with salt, pepper and parsley. Next turn off heat and add your veggies. Add enough sauce to just coat everything, but not so there is excess in the pan.
Roll out your dough into a rectangle.
Brush sauce over dough and sprinkle with pizza seasonings. Next add your topping and finish with cheese. Bring up the sides and fold together.
Place seam side down on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes.
Uses extra sauce or ranch for dipping.

Burger King

So yesterday was one of those days. At 6 o'clock I still hadn't even started dinner, so when my husband got home we went out to eat. I cringed when the guy told me our total. We got girls one item each off the dollar menu and they shared a drink and fries. My husband and I each got a value meal, but we got one of the cheapest ones and neither of us up-sized. Uck!

Now that I'm keeping track of exactly how much we're spending on eating out, I'm so much more conscientious of how much we're wasting. Which is good because I don't think I really realized it before. I saw that maybe we only ate out 3 times in a week instead of 5 and thought we were doing good instead of realizing that those three times were still costing us ~$60 for the food, not to mention the groceries that I was throwing out because we weren't eating them fast enough.

Still, it is a very hard habit to break. Every time we get the circulars, I think, well if we use this coupon. . . or when I drive by some of the places we frequented and they have a new item, I think, that would be good. Then I have to remind myself that we're trying to cut back so we can more wisely spend our money and so that we can be healthier. So I am constantly reminding myself of our goals and doing my best to resist temptation.

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Crockpot Chicken and Rice Dinner

Tonight we had a crockpot dinner. This is probably one of my favorites.
You will need:
3 cans cream of chicken
1 cup water
1 lb boneless chicken breasts or tenders
2 cups uncooked instant rice
1/2 cup diced celery (optional)
salt, pepper, paprika

Combine cream of chicken, water, and rice. I like to layer my rice between the soups. Add chicken and sprinkle with spices. Top with celery, if you are using. We were out, but I really do like it better with the celery.
Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.
We served ours with a side salad.

Breadsticks

Monday night we had spaghetti with meat sauce and breadsticks. Spaghetti is pretty much a staple in our home because it's so inexpensive and my girls love it. Normally, I serve it with toast instead of garlic bread because it's less expensive, but lately I've really wanted breadsticks. The first recipe I used I didn't much care for, so, I tried another one. These ones turned out really well. They were light and fluffy and very delicious.
Here's the ingredients:
1 1/2c. hot water
2T. sugar
1/2t. salt
1/2c. dry milk
1T. yeast
~3c. flour
1/3c. melted butter
First disolve the sugar, salt and milk in the hot water. Next add 1 cup flour to make a soupy mixture. When water is warm but no loner hot, add yeast and stir well.
Add the rest of the flour and knead until smooth.
Roll into rectangle shape. Spead 1/2 butter onto pan and then place dough in pan and spead the rest of the butter on top of the dough. Top with garlic salt, parmesan, shredded cheese, etc. and cut into slices.
Let rise 15-20 minutes.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes.
This would also make a good pizza dough. I would add the sauce after the butter and the rest of the toppings after it had risen.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Cashew Chicken

Saturday we ate out, but Sunday evening I made cashew chicken. It's a fairly simle recipe. You need: chicken breast cut into 1 inch pieces, broccoli, cashews, soy sauce, corn starch, rice.First brown your chicken. Once browned, add your broccoli. Cook until broccoli is a nice emerald color. While cooking your chicken and broccoli, mix 1 T cornstarch, with 2 T soy sauce. When broccoli is done, add your cashews. Add more or less cashews depending on preferance. Peanuts would also work, or you can leave them out altogether. Turn down heat and slowly add your soy sauce mixture while stirring your chicken and broccoli. If your heat is to high, mixture will clump and not coat. Once nicely mixed, it is ready to serve over rice. Make rice according to package directions.

Goal for February

Last month we spent quite a lot eating out. Over $200 in fact. Sadly, we had cut down quite a bit, so I can only imagine how much we were spending. While I would like to say this month I don't plan on spending any money eating out, I know that is unrealistic. Baby steps. So, my goal is to spend half or less of this amount. Which is still quite a lot. Wish me luck!

Sunday, February 1, 2009

Breakfast for Dinner


I don't know about you, but I love breakfast for dinner. Friday we had egg scrambles with biscuits. I used frozen biscuits, which were surprisingly good. You can put whatever you want in your scrambled eggs. I put diced bell pepper, olives, broccoli, bacon, salsa and cheese. I aslo put a tablespoon or so of milk to make the eggs fluffier. You'll want to cook the bacon before hand and add the bell pepper and broccoli before the eggs so they have time to cook properly.

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