Destiny's Diner

Homemade Brown Sugar

2010-12-30T19:45:00.000-08:00

In the process of all my holiday baking I ran out of brown sugar. Not wanting to brave the crowds, I simply made my own. It is incredibly easy and having made it, I actually prefer it over store bought. Homemade brown sugar is quite fluffy and light. The best part is you can make as much or as little as you need--no having to store it and having it get hard and lumpy.

You will need two ingredients:
regular granulated sugar
molasses

For every 1 cup of sugar, mix in 1 Tablespoon of molasses (more if you want a bolder flavor) with a fork. Keep mixing with the fork until it becomes light and fluffy.

The end.

Chocolate Sugar Cookies

2010-11-21T10:34:00.000-08:00

One of the reason I love the holidays is because it gives me an excuse to bake lots and lots of cookies (not that I really need a reason).

Ingredients:

2 c. melted butter (4 sticks)

4 one-ounce squares semi-sweet chocolate

2 c. powdered sugar

1 c. white sugar

2 eggs

2 t. vanilla

1 t. orange zest (I left this out)

1 t. baking soda

1 t. cream of tartar (critical)

1 t. salt

4 1/2 c. flour

1/2 c. white sugar in small bowl (set aside)

Melt the butter and chocolate squares (3 min in microwave). Once melted, stir them smooth, transfer to a large mixing bowl, and add the powdered and white sugars. Stir thoroughly and set the mixture aside to cool.

When mixture is cool enough so it won't cook the eggs, add the eggs, one at a time, stirring after each addition. Mix in vanilla, orange zest, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt. Mix.

Add flour in half-cup increments, mixing after each addition. Once flour has been thoroughly mixed, roll into one-inch balls. Dip balls into bowl of white sugar to coat.

Place the dough balls on a greased cookie sheet and flatten with the palm of your hand.

Bake at 325 degrees for 10-15 minutes.

Makes approx. 7-8 dozen

*This recipe is out of Joanne Flukes Apple Turnover Murder.

Breakfast Sandwich

2010-11-19T10:34:00.000-08:00

If you're looking for an easy and delicious breakfast, or a simple and healthy afternoon snack, I highly recommend these.

You need: whole wheat mini-bagels (or bagel of your choice), cream cheese (or peanut butter), thinly sliced apple.

Split your bagel, spread both sides with cream cheese and top with apple slices.

My girls really liked these and using the mini-bagels made them just the right size for them.

Enjoy!

Breaking the Fast Food Cycle

2010-10-28T15:16:00.000-07:00

When I first started this blog it was a way for me to track how much my family was eating out. We had gotten into the habit of eating out 3-4 times a week for lunch and 4-5 times a week for dinner. Not only were we spending hundreds of dollars on fast food but I was also still spending all of our allotted grocery budget each week on food that eventually just went bad in my fridge, thus wasting even more money. At one point I realized that all our discretionary money was being spent on eating out and that simply had to change.

It's been a little over a year and a hard struggle, but I'm happy to report that our eating out has curbed dramatically. We still eat out on occasion, but it is typically planned and put into our monthly budget. Since I have become much more aware of just how much bad food costs, I am less tempted to eat out just because. Why spend $30 on fast food when I can make something much better for way less? Also, there is just many more things I would rather do with that $30.

Here are a few of the things that helped my family break the fast food cycle:

Desire--This may seems lame, but you really have to want to stop. For us, it came from realizing just how much we were spending on food that really was not good for us. It also helps to have a reason or a goal. We wanted to buy a house and in order to make that work, we needed the extra money eating out was taking.
Budget--Each pay period I sit down and write out a zero balance budget. This means that every dollar is accounted for--there is no "free money" sitting in my account. After tithing, bills, groceries, household items and fuel, I look at what money I have left and assign it a category. I typically plan one or two days each pay period for eating out. If we eat out more than that then that money comes out of my grocery budget (my grocery budget is $100/wk for a family of 6). This makes me less tempted to eat out, since it typically costs us around $25-30 and I know that I can feed my family dinner at home for around $3-7.
Meal Plan--Each week I create a meal plan that includes breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snacks based on the weekly grocery ads, coupons, and what I have in my pantry/fridge/freezer. I also include a night for left overs.
Fall Back Meals--These are meals that your family likes that are quick and easy to make and you always have on hand. For us they are: spaghetti, eggs, and cheater shepherds pie (can of Dinty Moore and a packet of instant mashed potatoes.)
Don't Give Up--Occasionally, we'd fall back into bad habits having periods were we eat out more than necessary. Instead of giving up, we just resolve to do better again.

Now that I feel we have our eating out under control it's on to our next food goal, which is to eat healthier. I've noticed lately that our meals have become very centered around meat so I've been trying to have more fresh fruits and vegetables with each meal and less meat. I'm also trying to introduce more whole grains and fiber into our diet.

So, onto the next adventure!

Semi-Homemade Apple Blueberry Cobbler

2010-07-28T14:44:00.000-07:00

Life with a new baby doesn’t leave me much time for creating new things, like dessert for instance. So, I was happy that I could just throw this together last minute.

What you need:

2 cans apple pie filling
1 pint fresh or frozen blueberries
granola
just add water instant pancake mix

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Add cans of pie filling and blueberries to 9x13 dish. Mix pancake mix according to directions for lowest serving size. Drop pancake mix by spoonfuls into pie filling. Top with granola.

Bake for 30-40 minutes, or until pancake mix has cooked through. Serve warm with ice cream.

Cheesy Taco Soup

2010-07-26T08:21:00.000-07:00

This recipe is for taco soup, which is great in cold weather. We don't really have cold weather where I live, but it's still yummy.
Ingredients: 2 cans chicken broth (more if you want it more soupy instead of hearty), 1 can corn or hominy, 1 can diced tomatos, 1 can diced green chiles, 1 can tomato sauce, 1 can olives, 1 packet cheesy taco seasonings, 1 can chicken or chopped leftover chicken (hamburger could also be used), 1 can kidney, black, or pinto beans--your choice.

Add all ingredients to crockpot and cook on low 6 to 8 hours or on high 3 to 4 hours. Serve with chips or tortillas. Top with cheese, sour cream, avacado--be creative!

You can also heat this in a stock pot on the stove. Add all ingredients (brown hamburger first, if using) and bring to a boil. Turn to low and simmer for 10 minutes.

2010-06-02T10:16:00.000-07:00

This. This is the reason I've been absent. (Isn't he handsome?)

And the reason we've been doing so awful at not eating out.

My little guy seems to think that the perfect time to get cranky and need mommy is right when dinner needs to be started. We've started pulling back from the fast food restaurants once again. We bought a grill a week ago and my husband has been ecstatic, so he's been grilling. Nothing fancy yet, but when we do, I'll be sure to post it.

Jammin' Jambalaya

2010-04-06T09:29:00.000-07:00

My girls recently checked out Tiana's Cookbook (Princess and the Frog) from the library and this is one of the recipes in it. I tweaked it a little bit because my girls won't eat anything spicy, but it was still very good.

Here is the original recipe:

Ingredients:

1 T. olive oil

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch chunks

1/2 lb. Andouille sausage, cooked and thinly sliced (I used kielbasa)

1 med. onion, chopped (I left this out)

2 large celery stalks, chopped

1 small bell pepper, seeded and chopped

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1/4 t. salt

1/8 t. ground black pepper

1 cup canned chopped tomatoes, undrained (I just used 1 can diced tomatoes)

2 cups uncooked white rice

4 cups chicken broth (about 2 cans)

2 t. Worcestershire sauce

1 t. hot pepper sauce (I left this out)

Directions:

Saute chicken in oil until cooked through, about 5 min. Stir in sausage, onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic. Sprinkle on salt and ground pepper and stir again. Cook for about 5 min, stirring occasionally. Stir in chopped tomatoes and uncooked rice. Then stir in the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cover. Simmer until rice is tender, about 20 minutes. Stir in Worcestershire and hot pepper sauce.

Adjust the amount of Worcestershire and hot pepper sauce to make it as mild or as spicy as you would like.

This serves 6-8.

Chocolate Banana Zucchini Bread

2010-04-01T09:45:00.000-07:00

This is my favorite quick bread. I made it recently and it went so quickly, I didn't even get a picture before it was completely devoured.

Ingredients:

3 eggs

2 c. sugar

3/4 c. melted butter

2 1/2 c. flour

2 1/2t. baking powder

2 1/2t. baking soda

1t. cinnamon

2t. vanilla

1/2c. cocoa

1/2 c. milk

1 medium banana, mashed*

1 small zucchini, shredded*

1c. chopped nuts (optional)

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat together eggs, sugar and butter until creamy. Sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda and cinnamon. Add to egg mixture. Add vanilla, cocoa, milk, banana, zucchini and nuts. Pour into greased bread pans and bake 50-55 minutes. Makes 2 large loaves.

*You can also use just bananas or zucchini. You want about 2 cups total.

Jazz Up Your Ramen

2010-03-26T10:17:00.000-07:00

My husband and I are avid watchers of Japanese anime and one of the things we always comment on is how good their ramen looks. So, we decided to see if we could make something similar based on what we had on hand.

We used:

1 pkg ramen noodles

2-3 slices lunch meat (your meat and noodles should be of the same flavor, i.e., roast beef meat and beef/roast beef flavored ramen)

chopped green onions

sliced mushrooms (we used baby portabella)

sliced carrots

2 cups boiling water

Place dry noodles in a bowl and top with remaining ingredients. Mix flavor packet into boiling water and then pour over noodles. Cover bowl with a plate for 3 minutes. Enjoy!

Salad Savoy

2010-03-23T09:53:00.000-07:00

I participate in a food co-op called Bountiful Baskets. I really enjoy being able to get quality produce inexpensively and it's a great way to meet others in my neighborhood. Occasionally, we get an item we haven't had before and I have the exciting task of figuring out what it is and how we're supposed to eat it.

This last time we got Salad Savoy. I had never heard of this before and to be honest it looks like one of the pretty plate garnishes that you see at fancy restaurants, that are just for presentation.

Since I had never tasted it before and wasn't sure we'd like it, I didn't want to make it the main dish or even the main ingredient. So, I used just enough in a vegetable dish, that we could try it out, but so the dish wouldn't be ruined if we didn't like the flavor.

Here's what I used:

leaves from salad savoy
1 carrot julienned
1/3 head of cabbage shredded
1 diced bell pepper
1 tsp minced garlic
1/4 c. chicken broth

I combined them all in a large pan and then steamed them. I served them with chicken over brown rice.

Verdict: It was ok. My husband and I thought it was fine. My children picked out the salad savoy and ate the rest of the vegetables. The salad savoy has a strong, slightly bitter taste and is kinda tough, so I don't know that I would just use it in a salad unless I really wanted to chew. If I made this again I think I would use rice vinegar instead of the chicken broth. This isn't a vegetable I would choose to buy, but it was nice to try.

Tostadas

2010-03-04T08:48:00.000-08:00

Last night I made tostadas. Mainly, because they're an inexpensive and fast way to feed my family when 1) I don't feel like cooking and 2) we won't all be eating at the same time.

If you want, you can make these a lot more complicated and longer to make by making your own refried beans and frying your own corn tortillas, but that defeats the whole "fast" part of it.

What you need:

corn tortillas (I buy mine already cooked)
1 can refried beans
shredded cheese
your choice of toppings (We like olives, lettuce, tomato, sour cream and salsa for ours.)

You can also add taco meat if you like.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spread beans on corn tortilla and top with shredded cheese. Place in oven until cheese is melted (2-5 minutes). Top with desired toppings.

Spanish rice would make a nice side dish to this.

Posting

2010-02-23T08:41:00.000-08:00

We recently lost (and just managed to find) the charger to our digital camera. So, while I do have a couple new recipes, I unfortunately, do not have pictures and so have neglected to post. I really prefer my recipes come with pictures. For whatever reason I like to be able to see what the finished product is supposed to look like before I decide if it's something I want to try, so I try to do the same thing here.

Anyway, now I have my camera back. How I missed it.

Crepes with Homemade Blueberry Syrup

2010-02-03T07:40:00.000-08:00

I made crepes and oatmeal for dinner. I love having breakfast for dinner. For one reason, I'm not really a breakfast in the morning person--it's just too early to cook--and another is, aside from being good, it makes for an inexpensive dinner.

I found my crepes recipe here on The Prudent Homemaker.
I made my own blueberry syrup, with some blueberries I had picked up earlier in the year and frozen.

Blueberry Syrup
1 cup sugar
1-2 T. cornstarch
1 t. lemon juice
1 c. fresh or frozen blueberries

In saucepan over medium high heat stir sugar, cornstarch, and lemon juice until sugar is dissolved. Next add blueberries. Mash some of the blueberries with a wooden spoon while cooking and leave the rest whole. Bring to a boil. Pour over crepes. The syrup mixture will thicken as it cools and sits, just warm it up again to turn it back into liquid.

Crepes are also good with nutella, powdered sugar, ham and cheese, etc. Be creative!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-02-01T07:15:00.001-08:00

This is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. It's one I got from my MIL shortly after I married and probably the only one I use for chocolate chip cookies. This recipe makes four dozen cookies. You can either half it if you want less, or freeze the leftover dough or cookies.

Ingredients:

3-4 cups flour

1 t. baking powder

1t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 c. unsalted butter

1 c. granulated sugar

1 c. packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 t. vanilla extract

12 oz. chocolate chips

1 1/2 c. walnuts (optional)

Directions:

1. Cream butter, sugar, eggs and vanilla.

2. Add dry ingredients--begin with 3 cups flour and add in more flour until doughy.

3. Mix in chocolate chips and walnuts.

4. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

5. Bake for 10-12 minutes, then place on wire rack to cool.

Ratatouille on Pasta

2010-01-29T08:00:00.000-08:00

I found some eggplant on sale for $1. I've only had eggplant once before on a pizza and my husband and girls had never tried it, so we decided to be a little adventurous.

I decided to use my eggplant in ratatouille. Here's how I made mine:

You need:

1 eggplant

2 zucchini

1 can fire roasted diced tomatoes with garlic

1 can tomato sauce

olive oil

salt

pepper

pasta

Dice up the zucchini and eggplant. Because the zucchini will take longer to cook, add it to a large skillet and drizzle with olive oil and cook for about 3 minutes or so, until it starts to become tender and then add your eggplant. Drizzle with more olive oil and salt and pepper. Cook for another 1-2 minutes and then add diced tomatoes and tomato sauce. Bring to boil and simmer until vegetables are cooked through.

While cooking ratatouille, put on pasta to cook. I used miniature bow tie pasta and dittany, simply because that is what I had on hand.

The verdict:

My husband and I both thought this was very good. My girls refused to even try the eggplant, but really had fun with the pasta. I thought this would also be good with sausage.

Mushroom Burgers with Sweet Potato Fries

2010-01-27T14:19:00.000-08:00

I found mushrooms on sale for a dollar so I picked some up. I also had a few sweet potatoes and surprisingly an onion that needed to be used real soon in addition to muenster cheese in the freezer that I had picked up on sale a while back. What to do with all these? Make hamburgers and fries, of course.

I bake my hamburger patties in the oven at 350 degrees for 20-30 minutes, flipping once. I find this is easier for me than cooking them all in a skillet, especially since we don't have a grill. I sliced the onions thin and sauteed them with the mushrooms in Worcestershire sauce. As for the sweet potatoes, I peeled them and then placed them on a cookie sheet with some olive oil and salt and pepper for about 20 minutes or until cooked through.

White Chicken Chili

2010-01-17T08:16:00.000-08:00

With the weather taking a bit of a turn and getting colder, I decided to make a nice hearty chili. While I made this on the stove, this could easily be put in the crock pot to cook.

Ingredients: 1 can chicken, 1 can diced green chilies, 1 can garbanzo beans, 1 can navy or white kidney beans, 1 can corn or hominy, i can sliced olives, 1 t. diced garlic, 1T oil (I use EVOO), 1 can chicken broth (or 2 cups if using homemade), 1t. cumin. If you want it spicy add 1/2-1 can of El Pato sauce (We add ours to individuals bowls after serving.)

Using a stock pot (or dutch oven) add oil, garlic, green chilies and cumin and mix together. Add in remaining ingredients. Bring to boil and simmer about 5-10 minutes. Serve with chips, cheese, salsa, tortillas, sour cream, El Pato, salsa, corn bread, etc.

If using a crock pot, cook on low 4-6 hours or high 2-3 hours.

This also makes a great food storage recipe, since all the ingredients are pantry friendly.

Goals Update

2010-01-06T13:32:00.000-08:00

I started this blog a year ago to help me keep track of how often and how much we were spending eating out. While I didn't do so great in keeping a monthly tally, I did get better at eating more at home. We moved to a smaller city in the fall, which I believe helped. There simply isn't the fast food or restaurant choices available here as there used to be. I also began watching other children during the week, which has put an end to my lunch time fast food runs. I don't necessarily want to spend more money than I make watching them to feed them lunch. We do still occasionally eat out, but not nearly as often and more than not I have planned to eat out, which is a first. Before, it was simply a whim. Dinnertime would come and I would not feel like cooking, so off to the nearest fast food place we'd go. I've gotten better at menu planning and stocking my pantry and freezer, so I can put a quick meal together with what we have. I still have room for improvement. We still eat out 1-2 times a week. I'd love to get that down to 1-2 times a month. We'll see what 2010 brings.

Kielbasa and Acorn Squash

2010-01-04T13:03:00.000-08:00

I received a plethora of acorn squash over Christmas, so I've been coming up with recipes to use with the ones I haven't been able to give away.

This is just a twist on an old recipe.

Ingredients: 1 pkg kielbasa, 1 acorn squash, bell pepper, 1/2 c. orange juice, 1/4 c. maple syrup, instant rice, olive oil

Directions: Peel and cut up squash into 1 inch pieces. Dice bell pepper. Slice kielbasa. In skillet, pour approx. 1 T. olive oil and add kielbasa. Cook kielbasa to desired doneness (Kielbasa doesn't need to be cooked, but we like ours browned. So, if you want you can just add it along with the vegetables.) Add squash and bell pepper. Mix orange juice and syrup together and pour over meat and vegetables. Cook until squash is done, about 10 minutes. Prepare instant rice. Serve kielbasa and acorn squash over rice.

Bernadette's Popovers

2009-12-14T10:30:00.000-08:00

*This recipe is out of the Key Lime Pie Murder novel by Joanne Fluke.

I made these for a brunch I hosted and they were quite delicious. I've never made or had popovers before, and these were very easy to make. They turned out, light, fluffy and a pretty golden brown.

Ingredients:

4 eggs--should measure about 1 cup

2 cups milk

2 cups flour--not sifted

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees with rack in middle position. Spray a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. (Do not use muffin liners. I had anticipated these cooking like muffins, but they do not. They are more like muffin tops, so using a paper liner only means you get a hollow bottom and paper stuck to your popover.)

Whisk eggs by hand until they're a light, uniform color, but not yet fluffy, about 1 min. Add milk and whisk until incorporated.

Place flour in bowl and add salt on top. Using a wooden spoon, stir until all the flour has been moistened and incorporated. You will still have lumps (like brownie batter), but that's fine.

Transfer the batter to a container with a spout--like a measuring cup--and pour into muffin cups, filling almost to the top.

Bake for exactly 30 minutes. Don't peak while cooking or they will fall.

After 30 min, remove to cool rack and pierce the top with a knife to release steam. Serve with butter, jams, or cream cheese.

These are good both warm and at room temp.

Nutella Croissants

2009-12-12T08:37:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Nutella, which is a cocoa hazelnut spread. It is simply scrumptious. Most of the time I just eat it plain or on fruit, but occasionally, I like to cook with it also. This is a simple recipe that would make for a good brunch item or after dinner dessert. It may be a little too dessert-like for breakfast, but would probably be fine if served with something else.

You need:

1 jar Nutella

1 pkg refrigerated croissant rolls

Unroll the croissants from the package and spread Nutella on them.Roll up according to package directions.
Bake according to package directions. Enjoy.

Snowball Cookies

2009-12-10T09:00:00.000-08:00

Snowballs are one of my favorite holiday cookies, unfortunately, I lost my recipe, so I've been looking at other recipes to try and recreate it. This is one I found off of Cooks.com. The only difference is I substituted chocolate chips for nuts. The cookies were good, but they didn't quite have that melt-in-your-mouth quality, that I was hoping for, so I think I'll keep looking and tweaking.

Here's the recipe:
Ingredients: 1 c. butter, 1/2 c. confectioners sugar, 1/2 tsp. vanilla, 2 c. sifted flour, 1c. chocolate chips. Additional confectioners sugar to sprinkle on top or roll cookies in.

Directions: Beat butter and sugar until creamy. Add remaining ingredients and mix. Roll dough into golf ball sized balls. Bake at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. Cool slightly and then sprinkle or roll in confectioners sugar.

Freezer Breakfast Burritos

2009-12-08T08:42:00.000-08:00

I love egg burritos in the morning, but I don't always have time to fix them. So this weekend I cooked up a batch to put in the freezer, this way all I have to do is pull one out and warm it in the microwave.

You need:

1 pkg tortillas (I use the taco size, so there the right size for my girls)

1lb bacon (or breakfast meat of your choice, cooked)

1 dozen eggs, scrambled

cheese

salsa, optional

Cook your meat. Scramble your eggs as you normally would. (I like to add the cheese and salsa in while I scramble mine, so that the salsa doesn't make the tortilla soggy. Also, to cut out steps when I'm rolling them.) Mix your meat and scrambled eggs together. Place a small about, approx. 1/4 c. into center of tortilla and roll.

Place rolled burritos seam side down on baking sheet and place in freezer for 30 min to an hour. This will allow them to freeze closed and then you can transfer to a Ziploc.

When your ready to eat one, just take it out and place it in the microwave for 45-50 seconds.

These can also serve as a last minute dinner.

Murder She Baked

2009-12-06T11:41:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy cooking. Especially trying new recipes. I also love reading. Imagine my thrill when I found a series that combines the two. I was at the library looking for a book to read since I'm caught up on all the series that I read, when I found a book by Joanne Fluke from the Hannah Swenson series. She's no Janet Evanovich, but the story was good and kinda reminded me of the Stephanie Plum series. It was definately a light read; however, the most exciting part was all the recipes. I can't wait to try out several that were in the book. I picked up a book in the middle of the series, but will go back and start reading them from the beginning, if for nothing more than the recipes included. I'll post the recipe and my review of the ones I make. There's a popover recipe that I think will work just great at an event I'm hosting this month and I'm excited to try it.

Shredded Pork Meals

2009-12-03T10:11:00.000-08:00

Awhile back pork roasts went on sale B1G1, so I bought two and put them in the freezer for a later date. They were quite big, so one roast made several meals for us. Because I didn't want to have the oven on, I used my crock pot to cook it. Simply place the roast in the crock pot in the morning. I don't braise mine, first, but you can if you want. I flavored mine with some Worcestershire and lime juice. I didn't measure it, sorry. You don't need a lot, because the pork itself has plenty of flavor. Probably about 3T Worcestershire and 1T lime juice. Cook on low 6-10 hours. Once cooked, set on cutting board to cool and using either a fork or your fingers shred and place in a casserole dish. Pour in some of the juices from the crock pot (not a lot, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan) and drizzle with more Worcestershire and lime juice. Bake in the oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. This gives the pork a crispiness to it and is very delicious.

When it is done, remove it from the oven and use it in your recipes. We made taco's and BBQ sandwiches out of ours, but you could also use it for burritos or just eat it like it is.

For tacos: place in taco shell, cover with cheese and put in oven until cheese melts. Top with cabbage drizzled with rice vinegar and salsa.

For BBQ pork sandwiches (no picture): Place dollop of BBQ on bun, top with pork and cabbage drizzled with rice vinegar. You could also stir the BBQ sauce into the pork if you want.

Chicken Enchiladas

2009-11-04T07:39:00.000-08:00

I found this recipe from Campbell's for Chicken Enchiladas and thought I would try it. While not the best I have made, they were still pretty good.

Ingredients:

1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 c. sour cream
1 c. salsa
2 tsp. chili powder
2 c. chopped cooked chicken

1/2 c. shredded cheese
6 flour tortillas, warmed (I used wheat)

Directions:

Stir soup, sour cream, salsa, and chili powder in bowl.
Stir 1 cup salsa mixture, chicken and cheese in another bowl. Divide chicken mixture among tortillas. Roll up and place seam side down in 2-qt. baking dish. Pour remaining salsa mixture over filled tortillas. Cover baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 min. or until hot and bubbly.

Chicken Black Bean Soup

2009-10-30T08:30:00.000-07:00

I live in Arizona and normally it doesn't become soup weather until close to Christmas; however, the last couple days have been quite chilly and a hearty soup was just what we needed to keep the chill away.

Ingredients:

3 T. butter

3 T. flour

2 cloves garlic (or 1/2 t. minced garlic)

1/4 c. chopped onion

1/2 t. ground cumin

1 can green chilies

1 small can sliced olives (optional)

4 c. (or 2 cans) chicken broth

1 can black beans

1 c. sour cream

2 chicken breasts shredded or cubed

*If you would like this spicy add in El Pato sauce

Directions: Saute butter, garlic and onion until onion is soft. Add flour and to make a roux. Add broth slowly to avoid clumps. Add cumin and green chilies and bring to a rolling boil. Boil until soup starts to thicken. Once thickened add chicken, olives and beans and heat through. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream.

The first picture is without the El Pato sauce. My girls will not eat anything spicy, so I simply leave the can of El Pato out and my husband and I add it into ours afterwards which works out quite nicely since he likes his spicier than I do.

This is the soup with the El Pato. You can add cheese on top or eat with tortilla's or tortilla chips or just by itself. This soup is a favorite for all of us and I love that I can make it spicy for my husband and I and plain for my girls.

For those who don't know, El Pato is mexican tomato sauce. So, basically it is tomato sauce with chilies. It is excellent for mexican dishes.

Pumpkin Seeds

2009-10-29T11:18:00.000-07:00

With Halloween just around the corner, this is a tasty snack to make using the seeds from your jack-o-lantern.

You will need:

1 cup Unwashed seeds (clean off all the stringy gunk from them)
1/4 t. Worcestershire

1 T. melted butter

1/2 t. salt

Mix all together in shallow baking dish. Place in oven at 250 degrees for 2 hours, stirring every 15 to 20 minutes. Enjoy!

Green Pepper Soup

2009-10-09T10:10:00.001-07:00

I found this recipe off of 5dollardinners.com while looking for a new soup recipe. My husband and I thought it was good. Our kids, not so much. I served it with homemade rolls.

Ingredients:

1/2 lb. ground beef

1 green pepper, diced

1/2 onion, diced

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can tomato sauce

1/2 cup rice, uncooked

1T. brown sugar

4-5 c. water

1 beef boullion

salt and pepper

Directions: Brown ground beef and drain. In large saucepan, add all ingredients. Bring to boil and simmer until rice is done, 15-20 minutes.

MIA

2009-10-01T07:35:00.000-07:00

Sorry, I've been neglecting this blog. I've had a busy few months. We bought a house, packed and moved in two days before school started (did a lot of eating out). I started watching a couple kids at the same time who are quite energetic to say the least, leaving me no time for anything, because if they're unsupervised for two minutes they destroy my house. But the number one reason is: we're expecting our fourth baby and I've been battling morning sickness. Food is just not appealing, so my family has been fending for themselves for dinner. Hopefully, it will ease up soon. Until then, I'm afraid my posts will be sporadic. Sorry.

Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins

2009-08-31T09:34:00.000-07:00

These are super delicious and a great way to use bananas that are getting too ripe.

Ingredients:
1 3/4c. flour
1/4c. sugar
2 1/2t. baking powder
3/4t. salt
1 egg
1/2c. milk
1/3c. vegetable oil
1/2c. ripe bananas
1/2c. unsweetened applesauce
1c. mini semi-sweet chocolate chips

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt in one bowl. Combine egg, milk, oil, banana, and applesauce in another bowl. Stir in dry ingredients until moistened. Fold in chips. Pour into muffin tins and bake 20 minutes at 400 degrees.

Strawberry Trifle

2009-08-16T07:50:00.000-07:00

This is a great dessert to use up some of those summer strawberries.
Ingredients:
1 box strawberry cake
2 tubs whipped cream
1 1/2 pints strawberries

Bake cake according to package directions in a 9x13 in. pan.
While cake is cooking, thaw whipped cream and slice strawberries in half lengthwise.
When cake has cooled cut in half across middle and down the length, then cut each section into 1 in wide pieces about 3 in long (think lady fingers). Next use half the cake to layer the bottom of your trifle dish. Using a rubber spatula, spread the whipped cream over the cake, trying to get it into the crevices of the cake. You should not be able to see the cake on top through the whipped cream. Next top with strawberriess. Add a thin layer of whipped cream. Add another layer of cake, then whipped cream, topping it off with the strawberries.

This dessert looks beautiful and tastes delicious. I wish I had a picture, but I set it on the table and turned around to get my camera and in the moment I had my back turned, it had been divided down to the last dollop of whipped cream and everybody was eating. Maybe next time, or you could just make it yourself to see.

(repost from 3/14)

Valley Fresh Chicken Pot Pie

2009-07-14T16:02:00.000-07:00

I enjoy homemade chicken pot pie; however, I have yet to find one with a crust I like. Unfortunately, this one was no exception. This recipe came off the can of Valley Fresh canned chicken. The filling is different from my other recipe. (It is a simpler version, that requires only opening and emptying cans.) This one uses cut up canned biscuits. I was hoping that by cutting them up, the bottoms would cook, but alas, I ended up with golden tops and soggy bottoms. If anyone has a good chicken pot pie topping, I'd be interested in it.

Here is the Valley Fresh recipe:

1 can cream of broccoli soup
1/3 c. milk
1/4 t. coarsely ground pepper
1/8 t. dried thyme
1 can chicken, shredded and drained
1 pkg. frozen vegetables
1 can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (6 count)

Heat oven to 400 degrees. In 1 1/2 quart baking dish, combine soup, milk, pepper and thyme. Stir in chicken and vegetables. Bake 20-25 minutes. Separate biscuits; cut into quarters. Arrange biscuits over chicken mixture. Bake 12-15 minutes longer or until biscuits are golden brown.

Cheese Ravioli with Vegetables

2009-07-06T20:59:00.000-07:00

Ingredients:

1 package frozen ravioli
1 medium zucchini, julienned
1 medium squash, julienned
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
garlic pepper
1/2t. basil
1/4t. thyme
olive oil

Directions:

Put water for ravioli on to boil.

Place 1-2 T. olive oil in a skillet over medium high heat. Add vegetables and cook until done, about 4-5 minutes. (You may also grill vegetables, if you prefer. Just slice them in half and finish slicing them once cooked.)

Cook ravioli according to directions. Add ravioli to vegetables. Add another 1-2T. olive oil, cheese and seasonings. Stir to coat.

Serve while warm.

Fried Green Plantains

2009-06-17T12:42:00.000-07:00

I tried these for the first time at a Columbian restaurant for lunch. I had never had plantains before and they were quite good and looked really easy to make. The taste is inbetween fried zuchinni and fried potatoes.

You need:

1-2 large green plantains
enough oil for frying
salt, to taste

Peel plantains and slice into 1 inch pieces.
Heal oil in skillet.
Place slices in oil and fry for about 5 min on each side.
Remove from skillet and place on paper towels. Using a plate or skillet mash each plantain slice until half its size.
Place back in skillet and fry about 1 min each side.
Season with salt.

These are good served with salsa and a nice alternative to fries.

Kielbasa and Potatoes

2009-06-15T09:19:00.000-07:00

This is a quick dish with few ingredients and a new favorite for us.

Ingredients:
1 package kielbasa, cut into 1 inch slices
3-4 medium potatoes, peeled and diced
1 can green beans
1 can beef broth

In a skillet, brown your kielbasa. Next add potatoes and beef broth. Bring to a boil, cover and cook for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are soft. Add green beans last five minutes, to allow to warm through.

Absence

2009-06-15T09:18:00.000-07:00

Sorry I have not posted in some time. We have been traveling and are in the process of buying our first home, so I have not had much time to blog.

Reuben Chicken

2009-05-26T14:00:00.000-07:00

Last week I tried this recipe for Reuben Chicken. It wasn't bad, but none of us like the sauerkraut on it. Something about cooking sauerkraut just ruins it. So, it was ok, but not one I'll be repeating. However, if you like reuben's or sauerkraut, you may give it a shot.

Eegads!

2009-05-26T13:43:00.000-07:00

This months total is outrageous. I knew it would be high, because we went out of town twice this month, which required us to eat out for most meals, but I wasn't quite expecting it to be this bad. My grocery budget for the month is only $400; I didn't expect to rival it. I probably wouldn't have, except our A/C was not working properly the beginning half of the month, so by mealtime our house was a furnance. It didn't make me want to add to the heat by using the stove or oven, so most nights we went out where it was cooler. I did only spend $300 out of my grocery budget because we were eating out so much, and included in the total is our date night, and dinner for my in-laws and lunch for my grandma. I wasn't quite sure how to count those, since technically, it was still eating out, but the difference of those three dinners is a little over a hundred dollars. Ah, well. Next month should be normal, so we should be able to get back on track.

Ding Dong Mustard

2009-05-13T19:45:00.000-07:00

My four year old daughter loves cooking shows. Whenever one comes on tv she watches it and repeats all the ingredients and then tells me how good it would be. She even prefers them to cartoons. The other day she came up with her very own recipe, called Ding Dong Mustard, then asked if she could have it with her chicken. I told her I didn't know what that was. I thought she was just making something up, and well, she kinda was. But here is her recipe for what she has named Ding Dong Mustard: equal parts mustard and ketcup mixed together. Yum!

Crustless Blackberry Cheesecake

2009-05-12T11:13:00.000-07:00

This is a good and easy summertime dessert. It's much simpler than regular cheesecake.

Take 1 can sweetened condensed milk, 1 package cream cheese, 1/3 cup lemon juice and a teaspoon vanilla extract. Mix all ingredients together until smooth.

We topped with blackberries, but you could use any fruit or pie filling. It can also be served in waffle bowls, but we just used regular bowls.

Kielbasa and Sweet Potatoes

2009-05-05T20:12:00.000-07:00

My family really likes kielbasa, and sadly, I don't make it that often. This is one dish that we really like.

Ingredients:
1 pkg kielbasa
1 sweet potato
1 cup orange juice
1/4 cup syrup
instant rice

I like to brown my keilbasa first, but its not necessary. While browning meat, peel sweet potato and place in microwave for 5 minutes (more or less depending on size, you don't need it completely cooked through, just a little soft to make dicing easier). Dice sweet potato and combine with kielbasa. Mix orange juice and syrup together and then pour over meat and potato. Cook for 3-4 minutes. Serve over instant rice for a meal or serve alone as a side.

Chef Salad

2009-05-03T20:11:00.001-07:00

It's started getting hotter here, we're in the 90's all week and have been now for a couple weeks. It makes cooking unbearable, especially, since the apartment we're in doesn't have good air conditioning. So, I've been trying to avoid cooking, while also not eating out. I'm hoping I get more creative. The other night I made us all chef salads. Well, I made my husband and I one and our girls a vegetable plate. They won't eat it mixed together, but are fine if it's all separate.

I used: romaine, yellow bell pepper, tomato, cauliflower, carrots, cucumber, boiled egg, deli meat, cheese, olives.

You can add or leave out items given your personal preference. The picture below is one of the girls vegetable plates. They got a kick out of their "fancy" dinner.

Almost There

2009-04-25T20:30:00.000-07:00

So, I'm a bit excited because the month is almost over and we've only spent a little over a hundred eating out. Which is so much better than we did last month. We did eat out for lunch today, but then I made stromboli for dinner. I think the big difference is this month we transferred any extra money we had immediately into savings. We left us a small amount for discretionary, but that was it. Before we would always wait to transfer money, in case we needed it for something, but then we'd always spend it eating out, so even if we did need it, it was no longer there. I'm hoping we can do as well next month. We have to travel out of town several times, so I'm worried, but hopefully we can contain what we spend.

Berry Salad

2009-04-20T18:34:00.000-07:00

This is my all time favorite salad. I love it in the spring and summer. It consists of: baby spinach, romaine lettuce, craisins, feta cheese, sliced strawberries, and when I can find them on sale, blueberries and walnuts. I use a raspberry vinaigrette for the dressing and when I serve it as a meal, I cook grilled chicken lightly flavored in the vinaigrette dressing to serve on top. It is very delicious.

Spicy Lentil Soup

2009-04-17T10:11:00.000-07:00

Since winter seems to have reemerged, here is a healthy and delicious soup to stave off the cold. I was given this recipe a couple years ago and it completely opened me up to lentils. It is from the Conscious Cuisine cookbook. Also, if you leave out the fresh vegetables, then it makes a good food storage recipe.

Ingredients:
1/4t. olive oil
1 cup chopped, peeled carrots (2 med.)
1 cup chopped celery (3 med ribs)
2 cups lentils (1 lb) washed
1 28oz can diced, peeled tomatoes in juice
1 cup chopped onion (1 lrg)
1/2t. ground cumin
1/2t. Cayenne
1t. minced garlic
8 cups vegetable stock
1t. Paprika
1 bay leaf
1t. chile powder
1t. dried basil

Directions:
Use olive oil to coat bottom of medium stock pot over med-high heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic. Cook until the onion has softened, about 2 min. Stir in the lentils, tomatoes, stock, bay leaf, cayenne, chile powder, cumin, paprika, and basil. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until lentils have softened, about 20 min. Remove bay leaf before serving. Makes 12 servings.

(If you want it spicy, but not hot, then leave out the Cayenne.)

Homemade Powdered Laundry Detergent

2009-04-09T18:07:00.001-07:00

This really isn't a food recipe, but it was too good not to share. I saw a recipe for liquid laundry detergent here and it not only looked super easy, but was really cheap--like $2.50 for 160 loads. I like powdered better, so that's what I made. If you would like to make your own detergent and save a ton of money here's how:

You'll need (for approx 480 loads):
Borax--$3-$4
Zote--$1
Arm & Hammer Washing Soda--$3-$4 (NOT Baking soda)
this can be found in grocery stores, the top two at Walmart

Grate the bar of Zote. Add 3 cups of Borax and 3 cups of Baking Soda. Place in food processor to chop Zote into finer pieces. (The other two help make the Zote not so waxy, so it doesn't stick to your blades.)

Viola! You are now done. Place it in a sealable container. Use 1 tablespoon for small and medium loads and 2 tablespoons for large loads. Also, the dry detergent works best washing in warm or hot water (the soap may not dissolve all the way in cold), so if you wash in cold a lot you might try the liquid.

You will still have enough Washing Soda and Borax to do another batch, you will just need to get another bar of Zote.

(I took pictures, but am having trouble getting the camera to upload, so when I fix that I'll add them.)

Chicken Gumbo

2009-04-07T11:56:00.000-07:00

I was looking for something a little different for dinner and found this recipe for chicken gumbo. I substituted the summer sausage for kielbasa, since my goal wasn't to only use food storage items. My husband and I both enjoyed it. Both my girls ate it, but they complained the whole time and only finished so they could have dessert. It did make a LOT. I was able to separate two more meals into zip locks and freeze them for future dinners. I did leave out the cayenne pepper because I worried it would make it too spicy (for kids) and next time I will decrease the oregano. If you don't mind spicy and like oregano, then you could leave it. It would also be really good with shrip or prawns instead of chicken.

Beef with Rice and Vegetables

2009-04-01T09:57:00.000-07:00

This is a variation on stir-fry and a good change.

Ingredients:

1 pkg stir-fry meat, either cut in strips or diced

(we prefer diced)

1 can chicken broth, beef would also work

1/2 pkg snap peas

1/2 pkg baby carrots

2 cups instant white or brown rice

1T Worcestershire

Directions: Add Worcestershire and meat to skillet and cook until no longer pink. Bring chicken broth and vegetables to boil in sauce pan. Once meat is cooked, add to sauce pan. When broth has reached rolling boil for 1-2 minutes, add rice, cover and remove from heat. Let set 5 minutes (or amount indicated on box to cook rice) and then serve.

Sorry I don't have a picture, I couldn't find my camera.

Sliders

2009-03-30T15:47:00.000-07:00

The new thing in all the fast food restaurants right now seems to be sliders. I like the idea of mini-burgers mainly because they are fun for my kids. I decided to cook some up for dinner.

Ingredients:

1 1/2lb hamburger

1 bell pepper (or 1/2 c. onions)

2T Worcestershire

1 pkg hot dog buns

12 slices cheese

If you have a meat grinder, then grind the hamburger and bell pepper together, otherwise, you can but the bell pepper in the food processor and then mix it in. Mix in Worcestershire to hamburger. Place hamburger in 9x13 dish and pat down. It should be about 1in thick. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes or until no longer pink.

Cut hot dog buns into thirds while waiting and then separate the tops from bottoms.

Cut cheese slices into fourths.

When hamburger is done, cut into squares. Place one piece of cheese on each square and top with top of hot dog bun. Place bottom of bun on top. Cover with foil and bake for 5 minutes, or until cheese is melted. Garnish with your favorite condiments and enjoy.

Out of Control

2009-03-29T12:57:00.000-07:00

Ack! I can't believe how much we spent eating out this month. We completly fell back into our old habits. This month I wasn't updating everytime we ate out and I think that made it harder. I wasn't constantly aware of how much we were spending on fast food, which is never good anyway. I think next month I'll try pulling out cash and having a fast food fund and when it's gone it's gone.

Corned Beef

2009-03-19T12:15:00.000-07:00

For St. Patricks Day, I made corned beef. This was my first time ever making it and thankfully, it turned out fine.

I used:

1 pkg corned beef w/ seasoning pkt

1 bag baby carrots

1/2 cabbage head

4 red potatoes

I put everything in the crockpot in the morning and filled with enough water to cover the meat. I cooked it on low for about 9 hrs. If you're home while this is cooking, I hope you like the smell of cabbage, because it will be quite strong.

Tortellini Alfredo

2009-03-18T15:59:00.000-07:00

A quick easy dinner is Tortellini Alfredo. We've had this twice in the last couple weeks.

Ingredients:

Frozen cheese tortellini, ravioli would also work

1 jar alfredo sauce

1 can chicken or leftover chicken shredded

1 bag peas or broccoli (optional)

Cook tortellini according to directions.

If you are adding vegetables, cook them according to package directions also. Warm chicken and alfredo in large saucepan (if using peas, add to same pan after peas have cooked). When tortellini is done add to sauce. We have to keep our peas or broccoli separate because my children won't eat them mixed in, so we mix them into our own individual servings. Serve with a salad and bread.

Vegetable Skillet

2009-03-17T09:35:00.001-07:00

This originally started out as a pot pie recipe, but I adjusted it enough, it's more of a skillet meal.

You need: 1lb ground hamburger or turkey

1T brown sugar

2T Worcestershire

1 pkg frozen mixed vegetables

1/2 c. salsa

1/4t. chili powder

1/2t. mustard

First, brown your meat. Once meat is brown add your frozen vegetables. When vegetables are cooked through, about 3 minutes, add the rest of your ingredients. Mix together and let simmer about 1-2 minutes.

We had this with biscuits, but it would also be good with mashed potatoes.

Ranch Sweet Potato Slices

2009-03-13T16:10:00.001-07:00

Last night I decided to try something new with my sweet potato. The ingredients are fairly simple: 1 med-lrg sweet potato, sliced; 1T Ranch; dash of salt, pepper, and thyme.In a bowl, mix sliced sweet potatoes with ranch and seasons. You want just enough ranch to coat.

Spead out on a baking sheet and place in oven for 20-30 minutes (until fork tender) at 350 degrees.

These were surprisingly good. You couldn't really taste the ranch, though. The slices weren't really crisp, so if you want crisp you might try grilling or frying. That may also bring out the ranch flavor more. I think it would work better if you used russet potatoes or a mixture of both.

Cranberry Water

2009-03-11T18:38:00.000-07:00

To give your water some flavor--and color--add 1 cup craisins to a pitcher of water and steep over night in the fridge.

Fried Bologna Sandwich

2009-03-10T13:23:00.001-07:00

One of my childhood lunch favorites is fried bologna sandwiches. I'm not a big fan of bologna in general, in fact, this is the only way I will eat it.

I like to fry my bologna first. Make sure to place a couple slices around the edges, otherwise the bologna will curl. When it has cooked to desired doneness, I take two pieces of bread and spread them with either butter or mayonaise (if you want a more even brown look, use mayo. It doesn't effect flavor whatsoever.) Place one slice bread butter side down, top with fried bologna and a slice of cheese and the other slice of bread, buttered side up. When first side has browned, flip over and brown the other side.
If you want, finish with mustard, lettuce and tomato.

What best is this is quite inexpensive. Package of bologna-$1, loaf of bread-$.88, package of sliced cheese-$1. Three dollars and you can have it for more than one day making it quite a prize.

Spinach and Olive Omelet

2009-03-08T13:26:00.000-07:00

Omelets are great because you can make them as complicated or easy as you like. Also, you can just add whatever you have. The hard part of omelets, of course, is the technique. If you get it wrong you end up with either one ugly omelet or scrambled eggs. Rest assured, both will still taste good.
In my omelets, I like to scramble my eggs in a bowl and add a little milk. I think the milk makes for a fluffier omelet, but that's just me. This is also where I add the mix ins, in this case spinach, olives, and cheese. You would also add your spices now.
Heat up a small non-stick skillet. Try to use one the same size you want your omelet to come out. Coat the bottom with olive oil, this will make it easier to flip and will also add flavor.
Pour a thin layer of your mixture onto the hot skillet. Let it set until it looks like the edges have formed. (Sorry I don't have pictures for this, but it's hard to be camera man and chef with omelets.) Now take your spatula and pull the edges away while tipping the pan so the runny liquid on top runs to that spot. Continue to do this until there is no more runny liquid--the top of the omelet will still be uncooked, but the bottom should be done and the edges formed. Gently loosen the edges and bottom of the omelet. When it is loosened gently flip over and let the top finish cooking. Slide out of pan onto place and fold in half with spatula.

Top with extra cheese or chives. Serve with salsa or ketchup.

Corn Zucchini Saute

2009-03-05T12:39:00.000-08:00

This dish makes a nice side and is great for spring/summer. You need: 3 zucchini, sliced--yellow squash would also work or a combination of the two; 1 can corn, drained; 1 plum tomato, diced or 1/2 can diced tomatoes, drained; cheese; dash of thyme, salt and pepper.In a large skillet, add a bit of olive oil and zucchini. Cook until zucchini is mostly tender.

Add corn, tomato thyme, salt and pepper. Mix together and heat through.

Top with cheese and let sit until cheese melts. Serve.

Product Review: Wanchai Ferry Kung Pao Chicken

2009-03-04T14:34:00.000-08:00

I really enjoy chinese food, unfortunately I have yet to come across an "authentic" recipe I can make at home that tastes anything similar to what I find in the restaurants. Chinese food can also be expensive. Since, we are trying not to spend extra money eating out, and since there is little at Chinese places my children like, and because I had a coupon for a dollar off and it was already on sale, I decided to try this.

I will admit I had low expectations, generally ethnic foods purchased pre-made are not that tasty. Sweet and sour frozen dinners come to mind. So I was surprised to find that this was actually not all that bad. It wasn't altogether spicy, but then again, I didn't "break" the peppers to make it hotter. Since I hadn't had it before and was unaware of its spice factor I chose to err on the side of caution. While I like spicy, I didn't want it so hot all I could taste was the heat.

The best part about this for me was that you use your own meat, allowing you to skip all those pieces in other brands where the chicken piece is mostly fat. I would suggest adding vegetables, such as sliced carrots, celery, water chestnuts, etc.

I would buy this again, but only if I had a coupon and it was on sale. It's a bit expensive for me otherwise (I believe it's about $6 a box plus the cost of chicken). Also, even though it says family size, it really only serves two.

Overall, I'd give it a 3 out of 5. Coupons.com currently has a coupon for $1.10 off if you want to try it.

Sweet Potato and Spinach Chicken Risotto

2009-03-01T16:18:00.000-08:00

We had this earlier in the week. I originally found this recipe when I was looking for a dish that used both chicken and sweet potato and it has easily become one of my favorites.

Ingredients:

2c. aborrio rice (risotto rice)

5c. chicken broth

2T. butter

2c. diced sweet potato (about 2 medium)

2c. chopped chicken

(I like to put my chicken in the crockpot in the morning when I am cooking this. It saves time at dinner, shreds easily and I can use the stock in the recipe)

1c. chopped fresh spinach

1/4t. salt

1/4t. thyme

1/2c. cheese

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Add butter, rice, sweet potatoes, and chicken stock to casserole dish. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes.

After 30 minutes, remove from oven. Stir until creamy and add the chicken, spinach and seasonings. Top with grated cheese. Return to oven for 5 minutes.

Enjoy.

March Goals

2009-03-01T15:55:00.000-08:00

A new month and a chance to try again. We overspent last month by about $75.oo. However, included in this is my husband and my Valentine dinner.

Saturday's seem to kill us. It is the one day we have where we are all together and we generally spend it running errands or doing something together as a family. Unfortunately, that means we are usually not home for lunch or dinner. I am still troubleshooting our Saturday's for a way to avoid this.

Ideally, we wouldn't be eating out at all. But I figure baby steps are better. My main motivation being we are trying to pay off our debt this year and this is the one area in our spending that really isn't necessary. Therefore, it simply has to go. I have been doing my best, but apparently I need to up my best. We are still working on our emergency fund and are half way there. If we are diligent, we should be able to finish it this month.

We have budgeted three big eat out days this month: our date night, our trip to the Temple, and a family dinner. Those three days will be about $60.00. If we do our half rule (reduce last months spending by half as the new goal), that leaves us with $35.oo to spend eating out the rest of the month. I suppose that averages to about once a week.

Foldovers

2009-02-26T08:38:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-26T08:27:00.001-08:00

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.

Chicken in Rice

2009-02-24T08:27:00.001-08:00

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.

Hominy Casserole

2009-02-23T07:15:00.001-08:00

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.

Stromboli

2009-02-22T18:56:00.000-08:00

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.

Simplicity

2009-02-19T08:16:00.000-08:00

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.

A Little Crazy

2009-02-16T20:08:00.000-08:00

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.

Chicken Biscuit Bake

2009-02-14T21:43:00.000-08:00

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.

Indian Fry Bread--Indian Taco

2009-02-10T19:54:00.003-08:00

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

2009-02-10T19:54:00.001-08:00

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.

Kielbasa with Saffron Rice

2009-02-08T18:24:00.000-08:00

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

2009-02-08T18:21:00.000-08:00

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.

Hamburger Calzone

2009-02-05T18:25:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-05T09:26:00.000-08:00

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.

Crockpot Chicken and Rice Dinner

2009-02-03T17:21:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-03T17:20:00.000-08:00

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.

Cashew Chicken

2009-02-02T12:52:00.001-08:00

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

2009-02-02T12:50:00.000-08:00

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!

Breakfast for Dinner

2009-02-01T15:07:00.000-08:00

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.

Spanish Rice and Enchilda Style Burros

2009-01-30T15:24:00.000-08:00

Thursday night we had Mexican food. I was raised in a town that had the BEST mexican food ever. I myself cannot make it that awesome, but I'm not bad. Since there is no meat in this recipe, it's fairly inexpensive. You could always add red or green chile with shredded beef to the burros if you prefer. (Burros=burrittos, depending on where you're from). Here are the ingredients for the spanish rice:1 1/2c. rice, 1 can tomato sauce, 3 cups water, 1/4t. minced garlic, 1/2t. cummin, 2T. Caldo con sabor de Pollo, olive oil Place olive oil in skillet (enough to lightly coat), add garlic and rice. Next, brown the rice. Once rice is browned add remaining ingredients. Be sure to add the liquids slowly. Stir just enough to mix together and then bring to a boil.

Once boiling, cover and simmer for 20-25 minutes.

It should look like this when done.

If you want you can add a can of drained corn, but it's up to you.
For the bean burros you will need: refried beans, butter, sour cream, cheese, tortillas (not pictured). If you want them enchilada style, then you will also need enchilada sauce. Normally I make my own sauce, which tastes much better, but this time I used store bought. To get rid of the canned taste of the beans I add butter and sour cream to taste, usually about 1-2T each. You can do this or not, but it does improve the flavor.

To make your burro, place some beans and cheese in the center of a buttered tortilla.

Next, fold in the sides.

Then fold in the corners to keep the beans from spilling out.

Roll. Repeat.

Place in a dish and cover with enchilada sauce and cheese and bake at 350 degrees F until cheese is melted.

Serve with your rice and enjoy.

Wednesday--Chicken and Broccoli Alfredo

2009-01-30T15:10:00.000-08:00

Wednesday we had chicken and broccoli alfredo. I fix it all separately because my girls will not eat it if it is mixed together, but they will eat it if I make it all separately.

Upside Down Shephards Pie

2009-01-28T10:41:00.000-08:00

Last night I made upside down shephards pie for dinner.Ingredients: 1/3 c. sour cream, 1/3 c. ketchup, 1 can green beans, 1t. parsley, dash of dill, instant mashed potatoes (serving 4), 1lb hamburger, cheese (not pictured)

Prepare mashed potatoes according to package directions for 4 servings. (You can also use regular mashed potatoes, if you're so inclined, but it takes longer.) Mash into bottom of 1.5 or 2qt dish. Place in oven at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes or until edges are a golden brown.

Brown hamburger and then add the remaining ingredients, except for cheese. Mix all together.

Place hamburger mixture on top of mashed potatoes.

Top with cheese and bake another 5-10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Serve.

We had this with cottage cheese and peaches, but a nice dinner salad would also go well.

Easy Eggrolls

2009-01-27T12:56:00.001-08:00

Last night for dinner we had eggrolls with white rice to celebrate Chinese New Year. Granted they were fairly americanized eggrolls, but they were still quite delicious and very easy to make.Ingredients: 1 package eggroll wraps (found in the produce section), 1 can chicken or cut up chicken breast, 1 can Chop Suey, 1 bunch green onions, oil for frying.Empty chicken with water into frying pan and cook until there is no more liquid.

While chicken is cooking, chop up onions.

Move chicken to one side and add onions. Cook for about a minute.

Drain chop suey and place in bowl.

Add chicken and onions and mix well.

Next, get a small bowl of water to use to roll your eggrolls. The water is what will seal the eggrolls, so oil doesn't get in when you cook them. Place one wrap on a flat surface. Place about 2T. of the mixture diagnally in the wrap. Next dip your fingers in the water and run them along the top and side edge.

Roll up the bottom corner of the wrap.

Fold the two sides into the center.

Roll. You can go over the seam with more water if it seems like it needs it.

While you are making the eggrolls, heat up your oil.

Drop them in and cook until they start to turn a golden brown. Place them on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.

Serve with white rice. We use La Choy Sweet and Sour sauce and a mustard/soy sauce mixture to dip the eggrolls in.

On the off chance we have left overs (which we didn't last night), I like to place a slice of cheese on top before microwaving them.

These can also be frozen prior to frying.

BBQ chicken and risotto

2009-01-26T09:24:00.000-08:00

So, Saturday we went to lunch at Eegee's and then to see Bolt. I only saw the first half because of the baby or else I'd give a review. For dinner Saturday, we had frozen pizza. I had planned on actually cooking dinner, but we got out of the movie later than I envisioned. Sunday I made BBQ chicken and risotto. They had fryer chickens on sale for $0.39/lb so I had to stock up. The chicken wasn't to hard. I just brushed barbeque sauce over it before putting it in the oven and once again after it had been cooking for a little while. My risotto didn't turn out as good as it usually does. It is supposed to be a really creamy rice and it was more dry this time. It was still good though. I think I just needed to add more liquid. Normally, I would make chicken and sweet potato risotto, but this time I just made the risotto, so I wasn't using my normal recipe.

Chicken with Zucchini and Wild Rice

2009-01-23T12:30:00.000-08:00

Friday night I made chicken, lightly seasoned, with zucchini and wild rice. I used chicken broth to cook the rice in to give it a little extra flavor.

Tater Tot Casserole

2009-01-23T11:55:00.001-08:00

Wednesday night I made Tater Tot casserole from a recipe I found off of Meal Planning Mommies. It's fairly eary to make. It got mixed reviews in our house. My husband really liked it. I thought it was ok. One of my daughters ate it and the other refused to touch it. Thursday I made ramen noodles and added frozen peas to it for girls. My husband and I had leftover casserole.

Mix one can each of cream of mushroom, cream of chicken, and evaporated milk. Meanwhile, brown hamburger in a pan.

Place browned meat in a 9x13 dish.

Top with 1.5-2lb bag frozen tater tots.

Pour soup mix on top.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 45-50 minutes. Place cheese on top last 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

The Snowball Effect

2009-01-20T15:19:00.000-08:00

Sorry, I've slacked. I spent most of Sunday in bed with a headache. My husband fed our children chicken nuggets for dinner and as awful as this is, went to Jack-in-the-Box after they went to bed to get us dinner. Monday night I did cook dinner. We had bacon and avacado burgers. However, we then went to McDonalds to get ice cream for family home evening. It's like a snowball effect, once we eat out, then it just makes it easier to keep eating out and harder to stop the cycle. I do cringe everytime I see the total we have spent eating out on my sidebar which does give me some motivation. Keeping track has also helped me to recognize what triggers us to eat out. For example, if my kitchen is a mess or the table is dirty, I don't want to cook. If we run errands before dinner we are more likely to eat out. Today I nearly panicked because I forgot to take meat out to thaw. So instead, we're having baked potatoes and chicken cesaer salad. Yum!

Saturday Out

2009-01-17T22:01:00.000-08:00

Today was our family day and we drove to the Temple, so we ate out both lunch and dinner.

Bacon Burgers

2009-01-16T18:21:00.000-08:00

Tonight I made bacon burgers. I marinated the hamburger in Heintz 57 steak sauce and they turned out quite well. I served it with tator tots and baby carrots. Normally, I don't make hamburgers at home. They bring back too many memories of being poor newly weds when we used to buy a box of 30 hamburger patties at Sams for $10 and every other night each month we had hamburgers because they were dirt cheap that way. Looking back, I'm not sure why I didn't think to chop the patties up and cook something else with it besides hamburgers.

Peach and Pineapple Cobbler

2009-01-16T13:06:00.000-08:00

I picked up some fresh peaches at the store on sale so last night I made a peach and pineapple cobbler. It was the first cobbler I've made and it turned out quite nicely. I was looking for a peach cobbler recipe, but I could only find ones using canned peaches, so I decided to just wing it.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and cut up peaches (about 2 cups fresh). Then add a can of pineapple chunks with half the juice. Add 1/3 cup sugar and 1/4t. vanilla. Stir and let sit. Place 1/2c. butter in a 9x13 in dish and put in oven to melt.

Mix 1c. flour, 1c. sugar, 1c. milk, and 1t. baking powder in bowl.Once butter has melted, add fruit.

Spread fruit in pan and then add batter. Do not stir.

Sprinkle top with cinnamon and nutmeg and place in oven for 50-60 min to bake.

I don't have a picture of the whole cobbler, because it got attacked the moment it came out of the oven.

Jack-in-the-Box Mishap

2009-01-15T17:09:00.000-08:00

We went out for lunch today. Naughty, I know. I did, however, fix dinner tonight. We had boneless pork sirloin with julienne potatoes and mixed vegetables. I'm not putting up pictures, because there are no recipes. I just cooked everything according to the package. Inventive, right?

So, my counter on the side is reset. We will also be eating out Saturday, since we will be going out of town, but my goal is to not eat out for a week after that. Wish me luck.

Chicken and Dumplings and Leftovers

2009-01-14T19:55:00.000-08:00

Tonight we had leftovers, exciting I know. It was quite tempting to eat out, but I didn't. Hooray! Yesterday we had Chicken and Dumplings. Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Soup

5c. Chicken broth

1-2 c. water (enough to cover veggies)

1lb. shredded chicken

3 large carrots, sliced

3 large celery stalks, sliced

1/4t. minced garlic

Olive oil

Dumplings

2c. baking mix

2/3 c. milk

dash salt and pepper

Directions:

Place minced garlic and olive oil in stock pot with carrots and celery. Cook veggies for a couple minutes and then add chicken, broth and enough water to cover veggies. Bring to a boil.

While waiting for soup to boil, mix dumpling ingredients.

Once soup is boiling, add spoonfuls of dumplings. Boil for 10 minutes and then flip dumplings over and cook for another 10 minutes.

When soup is done it sill have a creamy white look. Dumplings should be light and fluffy, not dense.Bon Appetit!

Resisting Temptation

2009-01-13T08:27:00.000-08:00

Last night after we put kids to bed, we nearly almost went and got McDonalds frys. But then I thought about how I had just blogged about going one week without eating out and getting fries would make me a complete liar. So, we didn't get them. Hooray for us!

One Week Fast Food Free

2009-01-12T18:55:00.000-08:00

Today marks one week since we've eaten out. That may not seem like much to some, but to us it's quite a feat. I think this is the longer we've gone without eating out in maybe a year. Sad, I know.

Monday's Pork Fajita's

2009-01-12T18:44:00.000-08:00

Tonight I made pork fajita's. First, I marinated some pork stir-fry strips in lime juice and minced garlic. Use about 1/2 t. minced garlic and maybe 1/4 c. lime juice. I let it sit for about 20 minutes. Fifteen would probably be okay as well.When it was done marinating, I added about a fourth of a fajita seasonings packet and cooked the pork. When it was close to done I added some bell pepper. Add the bell pepper sooner if you want it softer.

Then I made some instant brown rice and added a can of black beans.

I served it all with tortilla's, shredded cheese, lettuce and salsa.

Spaghetti with Meat Sauce and Homemade Breadsticks

2009-01-11T17:06:00.000-08:00

So tonight we just had simply spaghetti with meat sauce. I did however make homemade breadsticks. I used a recipe a found out of a Taste of Homes cookbook. Here are the ingredients: 1/4 c milk, 1 c baking mix, 1/2 c cheese, 1/4 t. garlic powder.

Mix all the ingredients.

Knead 8-10 times.

Roll out into 8x6 in rectangle.

Cut into 8 slices.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10-15 min

Brush with butter.

These didn't quite come out how I expected. I think next time I will sprinkle then with garlic salt after I brush them with butter or maybe use garlic salt instead of garlic powder.

This was the meat sause I served over the spaghetti. I can't stand plain store bought sauce, so I spice it up with ground meat and add my own spices, such as parsley, oregano, basil, garlic salt and paprika or red pepper.

This week at a glance

2009-01-10T21:53:00.000-08:00

So far I have done quite well this week. On Monday we took the girls to a movie and went to Applebee's afterward. I had had a dinner planned, but those plans changed when we decided to go to the movies. Tuesday, we had chicken quesadilla's and bean burros. Wednesday, we had Chicken and Dumplings. It turned out really well and I plan on making it again. When I do, I will include pictures and the recipe. My four-year-old didn't like it and only ate the carrots, but my almost six-year-old had seconds. Thursday, we had alfredo with chicken and broccoli and a salad. I served it all separately, since my girls wouldn't eat it if it was mixed together. Friday, was almost a disaster. I had planned on baked potatoes, but it turned out my potatoes were bad, so I had to come up with something else last minute. Luckily, I had taken out the hamburger to thaw early that morning for a different dinner, so I made a goulsh type dish with hamburger, rice, diced tomatoes, green beans and corn. Again, my four-year-old protested. Today, we had shake-n-bake chicken with mashed sweet potatoes and mixed vegetables. The sweet potatoes were a new instant variety. I generally dislike instant mashed potatoes, so I'm not sure what made me think these would be good, but they were iffy. I also made rolls, but I forgot about them, so we had them afterwards with homemade pomegranate jelly for desert.
For future posts, I'll try to include recipes and pictures, but I warn, there may not be much variety. Perhaps it will be an incentive to try new things.

Total spent eating out: $40