Recipes of Late

I have been  getting many request lately for some of the things I've been making.
I have a hard time keeping up with you asked for what, so I am going to try and start posting recipes on my blog again.
I am not one to stick straight to a recipe. I usually tweak things to my own ways and likings, but I will always site the source from which I got the recipe.  (Blog etiquette and all that jazz :)

Also, all of my recipes are Gluten Free, unless otherwise stated.  If you don't eat Gluten Free, don't be afraid, the men in my house don't "eat" gluten free either, and yet they never complain about my cooking and eat good pretty much every night.  Gluten Free doesn't have to be a bad thing!

I am bad at including pictures on my blog.  I know that is what you want is pictures.
Sorry.  I am a slacker.



Here is a funny Zumba picture.  It has nothing to do with recipes, but it was on my computer and I want you to have something to look at.  And I want you to laugh.  And I want everybody to do Zumba because it is fun.

I stole this picture from my own blog from a couple years ago.  It is food.

Up first, Zucchini Lasagna!

OOH!  AHH!

Here is the original link:
Zucchini Lasagna

Here is my version:

1 lb lean ground turkey
spoonful of minced garlic
S & P to taste
15oz part skim ricotta
1 egg
Sprinkle of Italian Seasoning, garlic powder, onion powder, S & P  (This is the annoying part because Missy doesn't measure.  Sorry!)
1/4 cup Shredded Parmesan Cheese
1 jar of your favorite spaghetti sauce- you will probably want to jazz it up with some extra seasonings.  I don't care how good they advertise, spaghetti sauce is never good enough on its own.
2 cups of mozzarella cheese
3- medium to large whole zucchinis

First you will want to cut off the ends of the zucchinis. Slice them fairly thin.  Do not worry if they are not perfect.  Perfection is overrated.
Place your zucchinis on a cookie sheet that has been sprayed with cooking spray, and sprinkle with salt.
The salt helps to absorb the moisture of the zucchini.
Bake at 375 for about 10 minutes per side.
Remove to a plate and absorb excess liquid with paper towels.
This will probably have to be done on 2 cookie sheets.
* The reason for this step is because zucchini has a lot of water in it and if you don't cook out some of the moisture first, your lasagna will be watery.  If you like watery lasagna (don't share it with me) you can skip this step.

For the rest, it is basic lasagna 101.
Cook your ground turkey with the garlic and S & P.
Drain.
Please drain your meat.
Meat that is not drained is gross.

Mix your ricotta cheese,parmesan cheese, a beaten egg, and the other seasonings.

To assemble:
Put a little bit of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a greased 9x13 pan.
Put a layer of zucchini.
Put a layer of sauce.
Put a layer of Ricotta cheese mixture.
Put a layer of zucchini.
Put a layer of sauce.
Put a layer of Ricotta cheese mixture.
Put a layer of zuc....you thought I was going to say zucchini?
Nope!  Put a last layer of sauce, then top with the mozzarella cheese.

Bake at 375 for 45 minutes - an hour.  Put foil on it for the last 15 minutes if it is browning too much.
Enjoy!
If you care about such facts, you can cut it into 9 servings and each serving is only 324 calories of goodness.
Also, if you like leftovers, these are the best leftovers!  I ate this for about 4 days in a row, and the 3rd day it was perfect!
Don't judge me.



Next up, Chicken Pot Pie

I have no original link for this as I got it out of a magazine and tweaked it so much, its really not the same as the magazine anyways.

2 chicken breast, cooked and diced into small pieces
2 cans veg-all (the kind with the potatoes)
2 cups of chicken broth
3 TBLS cornstarch
S & P to taste
1 cup shredded cheese ( I use the pizza blend)
Bisquick ( I use GF)

Make a gravy with the chicken broth and cornstarch.  Add S & P to taste.
Add 2 cans of drained veg all, the chicken, and the cheese.  Let simmer until the cheese is melted and all the ingredients are mixed well together.

Pour into a greased 9x11 dish.

Make a crust with your Bisquick.  You can follow the directions on the box for biscuits.
The directions on the box will yeield more topping, or do it the following way:
1 cup bisquick
2 eggs
1/4 cup milk ( I use almond milk)
Mix together. Spoon over top of chicken mixture.
Bake at 375 for 30-40 minutes, or until top is done and mixture is bubbling on the sides.

Calorie Info: (This is figured with the crust mix as I wrote above)
6 servings at 303 calories per serving.
Comfort food at its best!
I will warn you, this is much better hot and fresh out of the oven.  It was not as good for leftovers the next day.  The biscuits absorbed all the liquid.



Moving on to Squash and Zucchini Casserole

The original link
Squash and Zucchini Casserole

What I did:
2 yellow squash and 2 zucchini- Sliced thin
1 onion
Spoonful of minced garlic
1 package of mushrooms ( small package)
1 cup part skim ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
6 TBLS egg beaters (or 2 eggs if you wish)
2 TBLS light sour cream
1/4 cup Shredded parmesan cheese

In a large pot, saute onion, garlic, and mushrooms with some cooking spray.
I added the squash and zucchini after the onions had sauteed some.
Add salt and papper to taste.  Let this all saute together for about 15 minutes.
Use the lid to your pot and drain off the excess liquid, or pour into a strainer.
Use a paper towel to absorb excess liquid.

Mix together the ricotta, cheddar, egg beaters, sour cream.  You may also want to add some salt and pepper and I just decided maybe a little chilli powder would be good in that too.  Yep, I need to make it again to be sure of that fact.  Darn.

Now combine your cheese mixture with your veggie mixture and pour into a greased casserole dish.
I use my large round corning wear.  In case you wanted to know.
Bake at 375 for 35 minutes.
Top with the parmesan cheese and bake an additional 10-15 minutes.

Serves 8 ( those are big servings!)
Calories per serving: 127 yummy calories.

A few notes:
The original recipe calls for layering all of these things.
Bleh.
I just combined them all and thought it was just fine.
The original recipe also has you boil the squash and zucchini.  Too many steps for me.  I thought combining it with the other veggies and then draining it was the way to go.
I am a food pioneer.




Another winner is Chicken Lettuce Wraps. 
Oh my.  Chicken Lettuce wraps are such a winner.  Winner winner chicken lettuce wraps dinner.

There are many variations out there, but this is how I do it.

1 Lb of chicken- cut into bite sized pieces

Small package of fresh mushrooms-sliced 

Handful of baby carrots-sliced

Small can of water chestnuts-diced 

Garlic powder, red pepper flakes, a couple teaspoons of soy sauce.

Teriyaki sauce, peanut sauce

Head of Ice Burg Lettuce

Rice Stick Noodles

Oil

Sautee all of the above in EVOO until chicken is cooked through.   

Then take this mixture and in small batches ( unless you have a big food processor) process down til its all small and shredded together.

Put back on the stove and add some teriyaki sauce and let simmer on low while you cook the noodles.

Sorry again, I don't measure really.  But you don't need a lot of sauce.  1 or 2 Tablespoons at the most.

For the noodles:

1 bag of rice stick noodles.  Basically follow the directions, but here are some tips.

I did it in a 2 quart pot.  You put oil at least 2 inches high into it and let it heat over medium high heat.  

The key is making sure it’s hot enough but not too hot.  Break of about 1/8^th of the noodles and put into oil and they should immedietly curl and puff up.  Let it cook like that for about 20-30 seconds and then remove with tongs and put on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels.  Sprinkle with salt.  I cooked the whole package but should have only cooked about a quarter of it. 

What was leftover though made a nice snack for the kids.  I may just make some more of those and add different seasonings for a nice crunchy GF snack for everybody.

Assemble:

Then you just use iceberg lettuce pieces as a wrap.  Put the chicken mixture in it, top with some of the noodles, and then we also had some thai peanut sauce that was fabulous on top!  

Enjoy!  

Low calorie too...Around 200 calories for 3 full wraps!
This should be enough for 12 wraps.

You will never want to go to PF Changs again.  

OK, I lie.

I want to go to PF Changs, right now. 

I'm feeling extra nice today,  so I am going to share with you a recipe I made up the other day.

I say made up, but there are a kazillion recipes for White Chicken Chili out there.

This just so happens to be how I roll with it.

White Chicken Chili 

3 Chicken breast

32 oz Chicken Broth (or 4 cups)

2 cans Great northern beans
1 small can Green chillies
1 can Corn
S & P to taste
Chili Powder ( Um, to taste? Sorry, I don't measure.  I should start measuring so I can be a better sharer)

Put chicken in crock pot ( you can do this with frozen chicken)
Sprinkle with salt and pepper and some garlic powder if you'd like.
Cook on low for around 4 hours.
When chicken is cooked, shred with a fork and knife into small pieces.
Add remaining ingredients.  Do not drain any of your cans, just open them up and throw them in.
Do not throw in the can.  Nobody likes to eat cans.
Cook until heated through in your crock pot.

If you want to do this quickly, skip the crock pot and put it all in a pot on your stove and have a quick fix dinner.
This is muy bueno ( I am a good spanish speaker) topped with tortilla chips, shredded cheese, and eaten with tortilla chips.

As for servings and calories, you can get 8 big ole bowls of soup out of this or 10-12 small balls.
But lets go with 8 big bowls for purposes of calories...
Grand total: 168 (Without all the topping stuff.  Don't be a cheater and think you can eat cheese and sour cream and chips AND Soup for only 168 calories!)
GIVE ME SOUP!



I will now be nice, and I will give you some dessert.
Who doesn't love dessert right?!


First up, Pumpkin Chocolate Blondies.
This is the original recipe. I made up my own recipe, but since it is loosely based on this recipe, I thought I would include the link ( blog etiquette :) plus, the original looks really good, so I may want to try it that way sometime too.

You are about to love me or hate me.
I am about to introduce you to a concept that is either going to blow your mind, or send you running for the hills.
Are you ready for this?

Using beans instead of flour.

I know what you are thinking.
Stop thinking that.
Open your mind.
Don't be hatin on the beans.

I have made brownies several times using black beans instead of flour.
My friend Kim Hill makes the most awesome chocolate cake with black beans instead of flour.

I made this recipe with chic peas/garbanzo beans.

2 cans of Chic peas/garbanzo beans
1 can of Pumpkin
3 TBLS Coconut Oil
1 1/2 tsp Vanilla
2 tsp Baking powder
1/2 tsp Baking soda
1/2 tsp Salt
1 tsp Cinnamon
1 cup of Hersheys dark chocolate chips

Now listen very closely.  This is easy to make, but you can't cut steps.

Step 1: Rinse and drain  your beans.
Put them in a strainer and rinse and take out the little bad pieces.
I also pat dry with some paper towels.

Step 2: Put the beans in a food processor and process down til its not chunky.  It will have the look of thick flour.  I have a small food chopper type thing so I have to do it in several batches.  Its all good.

Step 3.  Place all ingredients (except the chocolate chips) into your mixer and mix.
( I have a kitchenaid stand up mixer and so I let it mix up for a couple minutes)

Step 4:  Stir in the chocolate chips.

Step 5: Here you have to make a decision.
Make thick, deep dish slices, or make thinner (but still thick) brownie type slices.
I chose deep dish and poured it into a  greased 10" springform pan (like in the link above).
You could also pour it into a greased 9x13 dish.

Some helpful hints from me to you.
Because I added a whole can of pumpkin, it made these very mushy.
I liked it mushy, but if you don't want it to be mushy, then only add half the can.
We ate them hot out of the oven,  mush and all, they were amazing.
We also ate them the next day, cold out of the fridge, and they were really good after they had firmed up some in the fridge.
Either way, it. is. good.

Some calorie and serving info for you my friends.
10" springform pan makes about 12 thinish slices at 254 calories a piece
                                                  or
                          10 thicker slices at 304 calories per piece.

In a 9x13 you could get 16 small bars for 190 calories a piece
                                                        or
                                          12 bigger bars at 254 calories a piece.

Who says you can't have dessert?  Not me!



Can you handle one more?
I think you can.


Enter, Chocolate Caramel Cake.

Here it  comes in its original form.

And here it comes in my form.

1 box of Gluten Free Yellow Cake Mix ( if you are not a GF person, just use regular...but then you can't share it with your GF friends, and shame on you!)
1/4 cup Hershey Cocoa
2 cups unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup So Delicious French Vanilla Coconut Milk Creamer
1 cup Brown sugar
2 TBLS Earth Balance coconut butter spread ( You can use butter if you want to.  I didn't want to.)
8 Oz tub of Cool Whip

Betty Crocker has made me happy with their Gluten Free yellow cake mix.  Yes, it does cost me over $4 per box.
But it has a box top....

Yeah.

It is just versatile!  I make so many things with this box mix, and I have never, not even once, used the eggs and oil that it calls for.


I can never find the chocolate cake mix, so I just add 1/4 cup Hershey cocoa to make it chocolate.
Who has 2 thumbs and is a problem solver?  This girl!
I then stir in 2 cups of applesauce until its all stirred together.  (Thumb user ;)
Bake at 350 for around 30-35 minutes.

While that bakes, whip up your "caramel" sauce.  I say "caramel" in quotations because it doesn't really look like caramel, but I like the flavor that happens with this french vanilla creamer.
I do.
The original recipe for the caramel sauce came from here. 

But since I don't stick to recipes, here is what I did.
I just can't stress to you enough how much I loved the SoDelicious French Vanilla Coconut milk creamer.
Get some!
I melted 2 TBLS of the butter spread in the pan, then added 1 cup of brown sugar.
I like using all brown sugar.
Its a personal thing.
Then pour in the creamer and stir until the sugar melts.  Keep stirring until it all thickens up a bit and you want to lick the hot pan.  Except you don't really want to lick the hot pan, cause that would burn your tongue.  You just want to lick the sauce, but unfortuantly the sauce is IN the hot pan.

I digress.

Once the cake comes out of the oven, use a fork and poke holes all through your cake.
Poke Poke.Poke.
Then, and this step is going to make you giggle while you work...
Pour that vanilla flavored caramel sauce all over that poke poke poked cake.
Put that cake in the fridge and let the caramel do its work in the poke poke poked holes.
After a couple of hours, spread that thawed cool whip over the top, and then serve it.
Serve it with reckless abandon to your friends, neighbors, strangers on the street that will now want to be your friends...just serve it up!

You could serve 9 friends, neighbors, strangers at 404 calories a piece.
Of you could serve 12 of them a much smaller piece at 304 calories a piece.

P.S.  This only makes an 8x8 pan.  A shame.



Here we come to the end of this fiesta of recipes, but I feel like I would be amiss if I didn't share one more with you.
Did I already say that?

Well.

Its another variation of this Chocolate Caramel Cake, but we are going to call this one...
are you ready?


Pumpkin Caramel Cake Bars

Use that Yellow Cake mix, and instead of adding chocolate and applesauce, you will want to add a can of pumpkin, and some pumpkin pie spice instead.
Oh. Yes.
Follow the same steps with the  recipe above.
With this one though, it makes better gooey bars, so you can pour it into a 9x13 dish.

This will make about 12-15 bars at around 250 calories a piece.
And I will tell you a secret.
Cool Whip started making frosting.
And it is good.
And it goes reallllly well with these bars instead of plain cool whip.
You are welcome.
Again.


I will try, try, to post more recipes.
If you have a request, let me know.

Holiday Baking Ideas

Because I'm sick and consequently bored, I thought I would start posting some holiday ideas.

You never know when you might be the reciepient of some holiday kitchen goodies from yours truly!

Homemade Twix Bars- Oh. MY.!

Homemade Oreos- Killing me softly.

Cookie Dough Balls- Someone may die eating these.

Ginger Molasses Cookies- Different is good.

Christmas Cookie Bowl- I'll never make this, but it sure it cute!

Peppermint House- This got me to wondering...I wonder if you could make a house out of Pop Tarts. Hmmmm.

Yuletide Treat Logs- I saw these last year and thought they were so cute.

Chicken Alfredo Lasagna- Ok, so this has nothing to do with Christmas persay....just thought it looked good.

White Trash- Everybody makes it different, but you gotta love it!

That is all for now. There will be plenty more to come this holiday season.

What is your favorite Holiday standby?

Potato Soup & Writing Things Down

I know everyone has a recipe they love for Potato Soup, but I have yet to find one that is my favorite. So today I invented one. Both children loved and fawned over it with reckless abandon all the while groaning and making "Bob" sounds. (The movie, "What about Bob?"). They then begged me to write it down so we can have it again.

Well, since one of the things that has been on my mind a lot, has been the death of a set of parents that we know of, leaving behind 3 kids ages 25, 19, and 13, I figured I should again be better about writing things down.

I'm not trying to be morbid, I just think of these things, like random potato soup, that I want to leave for my kids if something were to happen to me. Don't tell me you don't do the same thing. I won't believe you.

So here it is, in complete un measured form:

Potato Soup

1 carton chicken broth (the large kind)

2 cans cream of chicken soup

5 diced potatoes

6 baby carrots sliced thin

1 celery rib, sliced thin

Here's where I don't know measurements:

I threw in some minced onion, some garlic powder, some salt, some pepper.

Threw it all in the crock pot around 10:00 this morning, on high.

Around 1:00, I turned it to low.

Around 2:00, I added a handful of shredded cheddar.

Around 4:00 I turned it off so it could cool some.

Around 4:30 we ate it...oh how we ate it...we ate it with cheese, and sour cream, and bacon bits. MMM. We ate it with smiles on our faces, a glass of water by our sides, and a pumpkin muffin to top it all off.

Why, you may ask, did we eat it so early? Well so we could go to football practice and then come home and eat some more of course!

So here you go my little kiddies, Mama has documented this soup for you, so that noone can turn to you and say "No soup for you!"

On the Table

On the Table, thanks to Veazer, AKA as Karen, this is the name I will always call it when posting dinner menus.

I must say that I am very happy about the way my grocery shopping has been going. Going to 3 different stores is kind of a pain, but I like the end result of saving money and therefore will keep doing it as long as I am able.

So for this weeks menu we have some of the same ole same old, and some old tried and trues that I haven't made in a while. Plus a newbie.

Let us commence:

Monday-

Ritz Cracker Chicken & Rice. Green Beans

4 chicken breast

1 can cream of mushroom

1 cup sour cream

1 sleeve Ritz Crackers

1 stick butter

2 cups cooked rice

Cook rice. Put into the bottom of 9x13 dish.

Salt and Pepper chicken and place on rice.

Combine cream of mushroom and sour cream and pour over chicken.

Crush crackers and sprinkle on top, and top with melted butter.

Bake @350 for 30-45 minutes.

Tuesday-

Taco Tuesday - Unless something crazy happens, I foresee Tuesday being taco night for a long time. Its cheap, my family loves it, and its easy. The end.

Wednesday-

Sloppy Joe Bake & Brocolli

1 c. bisquick

1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar

1/2 c. water

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 c. ketchup

1/2 tsp salt

1 can tomato sauce ( 8 oz)

Stir together bisquick, 1 cup of cheeze, water, & egg. Set aside.

Cook beef and drain. Stir in ketchup, tomato sauce, and salt.

Heat until Hot.

Pour into dish & top with bisquick mixture.

Bake @400 for 25 minutes.

Sprinkle with remaining cheese and cook 5 more minutes or until cheese melts.

Thursday-

Again, until the end of the world presumably, we will be having breakfast for dinner (brinner) on Thursday nights. My mantra...its cheap, they like it, its easy. The end.

This Thursday will probablly be Bacon, Eggs, and Blueberry Muffins.

Friday-

Leftovers. Friday night is fun night at my friend Crissy's house, so the kids and I go there and Stacy gets a free night all to himself.

Saturday-

MMMM, Taco Filled Pasta Shells. This makes 2 pans, so I will make 1 to freeze for probablly next Saturday night. I need easy Saturday night/post football game meals for Saturday.

You can click back on THIS link to an older blog post for the recipe.

Sunday-

I don't usually cook on Sunday. That is so not the southern woman thing to do, but its the fact around here.

Monday-

Italian Pineapple Chicken, homemade mac'n cheese, and green beans.

Go to THIS LINK for the pineapple chicken ( I dont add the cheese btw).

And I posted my mac n cheese recipe, HERE.

Tuesday-

See previous Tuesday. And the Tuesday before that. And the Tuesday 2 months ago. And 5 Tuesdays into the future.

Wednesday-

My new (new to me) recipe for the week!

Bowtie Lasagna. The Pioneer Woman likes it, and if she likes it...well, that is good enough for me.

You can find the recipe, HERE.

*I'm going to go ahead and predict that at least one member of my family does not like this recipe. (insert me licking my lips because I will certainly like it and they will certainly go hungry)

Thursday-

Breakfast. For Dinner. Remember, cheap, they like it, easy. The end.

Brinner this week will be dependent upon, a. what I have left in the house. b. how nice my family is to me. c. what I feel like making.

Don't you wish you lived in my house?

Friday-

Start all over again.

Thats whats on the table at the Lowery house. Now go get to cookin!

On the Table

I still can never decide what I want to call the postings with my menu's. Surprises are fun right?

I'm going to try to be diligent about posting weekly menu's, if for no other reason but to keep me on track.

These next 2 weeks are going to be boring and not the most healthy as my budget was a little tight this week. But bear with me, in the coming weeks I am going to pull out some old recipes, and everyone will be happy :)

So for this weeks b.o.r.i.n.g menu, here goes:

Monday- Golden Mushroom Chicken, Rice a Roni, Green Beans

Tuesday- Tacos, refried beans, corn

*Bonus* I'm going to a meeting Tuesday night and I'm going to try to bring THIS AMAZING CREATION

Wednesday- ~Here is where you will gasp~ Beef Strongonaff, UM, Hamburger Helper. And a big fat salad!

Thursday- Blueberry Muffins, Eggs, and Bacon

Friday- Going to Logans Football team cookout

Saturday- Pizza Biscuit Cups, Salad, and maybe some Ice Cream if my family is nice to me and I feel like going to the store again.

I feel the need to tell you that at Publix this week I got 6 boxes of Hamburger Helper for $2.50.

I mean really, I know its not the most healthy, but its cheap, and I like cheap.

I promise, more fun menus are on the way!

Hope everyone has a great week!

My First Day with Coupons

Well today I did it....I shopped at Publix with my envelope full of coupons.
This is a big deal for me because I am mostly an Aldi shopper with some Wal-mart thrown in there. (BTW...I still have to go to Wal-Mart. I hate you wal-mart for making me need you!)
Anyhoo....I spent several hours yesterday at http://www.southernsavers.com/ going through their list of Publix stuff, printing coupons, and then cutting my own out of the newspaper.

Here is my break down:

1. I usually have $200 to spend for 2 weeks. This includes non-food items...toiletries, dog food, medicines, cleaning supplies...all of that annoying stuff.

2. The non-food items I needed today where as follows:
Dog food
Dog treats
Lysol Wipes
Comet
Windex
Laundry Detergant
Fabric Softener
TP
Q tips
Ziplocs (large and small)
Aluminum foil
Vitamins
Paper Plates
Total I spent about $40 on these items, but I did get some good deals.
For instance.

Dog Treats: They were $3.69 each, but where buy one get one free. I also had a $1.50 off of 2 coupon, so I got $7.38 worth of dog treats for $2.19.....Total Savings $5.19

Windex: (I actually got "Glass plus" ) It was $2.49, but was buy one get one free, making it $1.25 for 1. I had a $1 off coupon, so I got it for .25.....Total Savings $2.24

Comet: $1.19 each usually. Walgreens had a coupon for 2 for $1...Total Savings $1.38


Food items:
These were some of my favorite food deals.
PREFACE: I usually buy Aldi brand snacks and cereals. I don't have a problem with it, however my husband....well lets just say, it will bless his heart to have some name brand snacks.

Cheezits: $3.19 a box. On sale, buy one get one free. I had 2 $1 off coupons. So I got 2 boxes for $1.19 . Total savings: $5.19

Claussen Pickles: On sale for $2. I had a $1 off coupon. So I got them for $1.

Frenchs Mustard: On sale for .93. I had a .50 coupon, but AHA, Publix doubles coupons, so they paid me .7 to buy mustard today!

Kraft Cheese: On sale for 2 for $4. I had 2 $1 off coupons, so I got them for $1 each.




I have a lot of deals like that.


Now, I did also go to Aldi cause lets face it, they cannot be beat on milk, bread, and fruit.
I spent $35 at Aldi. I figured up that if I would have bought the items I bought at Aldi, at Publix, I would have spent $50 on those items. ( Because there was no sales or coupons on those items.)


Walgreens had some good coupons, and since Publix doesnt consider them a competitor they won't take their coupons. So I did go into Walgreens for several things.
I spent at Walgreens $8.84, and saved $7.04.
This was on Campells soups, Comet, Chicken Broth, and Green Giant Vegetables.

Back to my Publix total.

I spent (and I always take a big gulp when I see this amount of money being spent, but I do have to remind myself that I got ALOT of stuff and nobody in my house will starve, smell bad, be dirty, or complain about Aldi crackers!)....$159.95 and saved $96.47.

So to sum up:

Total spent (at 3 places) $204.06
Total saved........................$118.51


I feel really good about that, escpecially considering the amount of stuff that I got, and the fact that this will last for at least 2 weeks.
Hopefully in 2 weeks I can do even better because I'll have more coupons stored up, I won't have to buy as much non-food items (i.e. dog food), and I will know a little bit better what I am doing.

Also, I know about the CVS thing, and I had planned on doing some stuff with that, but honestly, I am out of money, so it will have to wait.

I still have to go to Wal-mart to get some vitamins and duct tape. Oh well.

Lets get "LOST" tonight!

It is here. The night that many of us have waited for...hoped for...longed for....
Groundhogs Day Night............

Er, I Mean, LOST night!


Stacy and I started watching Lost about a year ago as something we could watch together. So we rented them from Net flix and spent the next several months with the survivors of Oceanic Flight 815 on the mysterious Island in the middle of nowhere.
About 8 months later we finished all 5 seasons, and now find ourselves like everybody else...still confused, having to wait, and above all else, LOST!

Tonight begins the first episode of the last season. The season where it all comes together and all our questions are answered. Ahem...we shall see.

My husband and I have been anxiously awaiting this night. WHY? Is it because the show is THAT good? YES. Is it because it is one of the only shows that we both like and can watch together? Double YES. Is it because we can lock ourselves downstairs for 3 whole hours while the chidren terrorize each other upstairs. Yes, you have it, triple YES.

So to commemerate this evenings much anticipated "date night", I have planned a Dharma Initiative feast. If you do not know what the Dharma Initiative is you should go away now.

To Start the evening we will be dining on:
"Loin of Wild Boar"
"Seasoned with John Lockes 11 herbs and Spices"
"UPC # 4 8 15 16 23 42"


With a side of:
"Roasted Root Potatoes"
"Given special attention by the 'Sun' and cooked over an open flame".
"UPC # 4 8 15 16 23 42"


And of course some veggies:
"Native Vegetation"
"Others must have been here"
"UPC # 4 8 15 16 23 42"

And to top it all off, some Desssert:
"Dessert for the Deserted"
"Contraband from Sawyer. What else is he hiding in that tent?"
"UPC # ( can you guess whats coming? 4 8 15 1 6 23 42"



And in case your wondering what that REALLY means, the menu is as follows:
Peppercorn crusted Pork Tenderloin
Roasted Rosemary Potatoes
Corn on the Cob
M & Ms and brownies (or MAYBE Duncin Donuts if my husband brings some home!)






So there you have it, our own personal Dharma Initiative date night.
Do not disturb between the hours of 7-10. We will be LOST!

Ding Dong Dinner

I don't know...just go with it.

Since you are dying to know whats on the menu this week, here goes.


*Meatloaf w/ bacon on top- Homemade mac' n chz- veggie

*French Dip Sandwiches- Corn on the Cob

*Fish Tacos- Black beans and Corn

*Cream Cheese Chicken- Rice- veggie

*Birds in a Nest- Bacon- Fruit

And since I KNOW you are gonna say next, "How do you make_____"
I will also give you some recipes, cause lets face it folks...thats how I roll.

Fish Tacos:
I got some grilled garlic fish at Aldi.
Figure I'll add some black beans, lettuce, fresh salsa, cheese, a squeeze of lime, sour cream, throw them in a tortilla shell, and we'll call it a day.

French Dip Sandwiches:
Again, at Aldi, I got some French Dip meat ( It was a special item in their special freezer case. I think you have to be special to get it.)
Also got some French Baguetts at Aldi, and some Muenster Cheese.
Gonna heat the meat and au jus. Gonna toast the bread. Gonna top the bread with meat, au jus, and cheese. Gonna pop that in the oven until the cheese melts.
While I'm doing that, I'm gonna put some corn on the cob in a pot for about 5 minutes.
Yep, thats what I'm gonna do.

Cream Cheese Chicken:
I got this recipe years ago from Danae Haskins. I make it a little differently I think, but its still GOO-OD, and EA-SSSY!

4 frozen chicken breast
1 packet of Italian Dressing Seasoning OR Ranch Seasoning
2 cans Cream of Mushroom ( I use low fat)
1 -8oz block Cream Cheese ( again, low fat)

Put the FROZEN ckn breast in the crock pot ( That is the genious of this recipe, you can use frozen chicken).
Sprinkle seasoning packet on top.
Pour Cream of Mushroom in.
Cube (or just break off in really messy pieces like I do) the cream cheese.
Add to the top.

Cook on low 4-6 hours, stirring every once in a while.
MMM and another MMMMMMMMM.
Serve over Rice and there you have it.

Homemade Mac 'N' Cheese:
( I also make a different version in the crock pot, but Master Logan has requested it this way this week)
(This is the famous Bonnie Preslar way to do it)

2 cups Elbow Noodles (Cooked and drained)
2 cups Milk
2 Tbls Butter
2 Tbls Flour
1 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Pepper
1/2 tsp Ground Mustard ( this is my addition to the recipe cause it just adds a little zip)
3 Cups Cheese (Sharp Cheddar and Colby is what I use)

Make a white gravy by melting the butter, and whisking in the flour to make a "rue".
Slowly whisk in the Milk. Stir until thickened. Add S & P, and mustard.

Now, I do things a little differently, cause I have found that my family likes it best this way.
I add 2 cups of the cheese to the gravy, and let it melt.
Then I add the noodles and stir around.
Pour it into a greased casserole dish and add the other cup of cheese to the top for a yummy crunchy top.
Bake @ 350 for about 30 minutes.
Serve it to your family and let them think you are Queen of the world.


Birds in a Nest:
I'm going to make some homemade bread. Then slice it into medium size pieces.
Next I will lightly toast it.
After that, I am going to heat my electric griddle.

Actually, I am going to plug it in, and electricty and a little heating element are going to heat it.
Ahem.

I will then, melt some butter.
While my butter is melting, I will cut holes out of my toast.
I shall then, add the toast to the afore mentioned skillet.
In each hole, I will crack an egg.
I will let the egg set until it looks like I like it.
While it is setting, I will take the pieces from the holes that I cut out approximatly 7 minutes ago, and I will add a little butter and cinnamon sugar to them.
Oh yeah, thats gonna be good!

Somewhere during that process I will have fried up some bacon, and cut up some fruit.
Then I will put it all on a serving platter, and bring it to the table, where my family will be anxiously awaiting their Birds in a Nest with bacon, fruit, and Cinnamon treat!

And there you have it. Ding Dong Dinner.

A Little Impromptu Chinese Dumpling

No, we didn't adopt a Chinese kid! (Although I am certainly not opposed to the idea)
This morning we were enjoying a nice rainy Saturday morning, watching Kung Fu Panda, when it hit us that we NEEDED some Chinese Dumplings. How it could occur to us when we've never actually HAD them, well I really have no idea. I guess it was just the site of PO the Panda and his master tossing a bit of cartoon Dumpling around, that got our mouths salivating a little bit.

How sad that we are inspired by cartoons, but alas....we where.

Thankfully we have this great thing on our computer called "Google". So we "Googled" and found THIS great cooking website with a post about Chinese Dumplings. COMPLETE with pictures I might add. This is always helpful when you've never made something before.

Husband decided that we must have them and so off to Wal-Mart I must go.

I have to tell you, it was a lot of fun all of us doing this together. There was lots of chopping involved, as well as deveining of shrimp...and we all know what that REALLY means! Yes, Lana MAY have been freaking out just a little.

Stacy worked on the dough. He's a cute little dough boy ;)

MMMM, this is ours simmering in the pan...

And the finished product....

OH YAY, and how about a little Teriyaki Rice and a Fortune Cookie to go along with it.

And what was my fortune today might you ask?
"Yours will find true love soon."
Really? Yours will? Yours what?

Of course, in the continuation of rainy day movie day, we had to have the PERFECT movie for Chinese Dumplings..
That's right folks, a little Karate Kid II!

~Sigh~ I sure did like me some Ralph Machio back in the day.

OK, a few tips if you too feel inspired to make Chinese Dumplings.

1. We did the pork and shrimp filling- I used mushrooms (minced) instead of the water chestnuts.

2. The dough on this recipe site uses only half of the filling. We got 16 dumplings out of it and I froze the other half of the filling for another day.

3. You only use 1/2 a lb of ground pork, so I froze the other 1/2 lb for another day as well.

4. We made Teriyaki rice to go with it. I discovered that rice that you cook for a long time and NOT minute rice, is the best for this. I just added some Teriyaki sauce and it was really good. I like it when my rice sticks together. It makes me a little giddy.

5. You have to have Fortune Cookies. Have to. Non negotiable. I'm thinking Homemade Fortune Cookies might be my next big endeavor.

You might recall that we had another Chinese Food Night a while back. I never liked Chinese as a kid. It's nice to that my kids like it and that we can have fun making it together.

Linking to Todays Creative Blog! Check her out!

On the Menu

I really should come up with a permanent name for my menu postings. I don't think I've named it the same thing twice. Maybe I just like to keep you on your toes! Or maybe I should do a contest and YOU can name it! Oh, but then I would have to give you a prize, and I would certainly stress about what to give you. So, nevermind. Just be suprised whenever I post menus. Variety is the spice of life right?!

I didn't have much to report this past week cause we did a lot of leftovers and squeezing out what I could find.

I did however, make 4 lbs of this taco meat for the Taco Filled Pasta Shells. We ate one batch and I froze the rest for this coming week.




Tonight we are having this Enchilada Casserole.






Some other things for this week are:



Homemade Pizzas- Don't be afraid, pizza dough is very easy.


This is my sisters recipe for Homemade Pizza dough, and since she is the Domestic queen of things homemade (you know you have to be when you live in the bush of Africa), you know you will love it! She even makes her own Pizza Sauce! How cool is that?!


Pizza sauce
1 can Tomato paste/water
sage/parsley
oregano
garlic
salt
I have no measurements, I just cover the top.

Pizza dough
1TB yeast
1 1/4 c warm water
2TB oil
1t salt
3 1/2 c flour

Dissolve yeast, stir in oil and salt. Mix in flour. Knead. place in oiled bowl and cover. Let raise until double. Divide into 2 parts and put in pizza pans. Should be enough for 2 9x13 pans.
Bake around 425

Steak Bites from the one and only Pioneer Woman- The most amazing woman on the planet!

Baked Mushrooms, eggs, and Orange/Chocolate Scones ( I made those mushrooms a few weeks ago and they were so good that its already time to have them again!)

Chicken Ranch Casserole (thanks Amy Thompson!), that you KNOW is going to be good because its got Doritos in it. And you know what they say about Doritos don't you? Oh, you don't...well I'm not gonna tell you!

1 Whole Ckn (cooked and cut up)
1 Can Rotel

1 Can Cream of Mushroom

1 Can Cream of Chicken

onion

Half bag of Doritos (crushed)

Shredded Cheese

Combine the soups and rotel.

Layer, Chicken, Sauce, onion, Doritos, and Cheese. Then Repeat.

Bake @350 for 30 minutes.

Now just for an added bonus, cause I love yous guys...I am going to share some goody recipes with you.

If you haven't discovered Bakerella yet, then go....right now....open a new window...check her out!

She has a post about this recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Brownies.

However, if you look at her post about them, you will see, that Betty Crocker SHOULD pay her to advertise this product because her pictures make you want to lick the screen.

I will prove it too you...take a close look at Betty Crockers Picture...

Yep, that looks good. You are possibly salviating slightly. You at least have licked your lips a little bit.

But now my friends...

Wait for it....

Wait just a little bit longer....

Yes, yes, good things come to those who wait...

NOW!

Embrace it, go ahead! It's perfectly OK that you have just jumped across your desk to lick your computer screen! Do not feel embaressed that you are taking in deep sniffs trying to catch a wiff of what is surely heaven!
I tell you, this woman is a genious.
I love that instead of plain ole Betty Crocker frosting, she kicked it up and went with homemae Ganache.
You cannot beat homemade Ganache.
I dare you to try.

All I can say is WOW, I sure can't wait to make these for Brush Arbor on Sunday.


Now for something a little less sinful, but good nonetheless.
Monkey Muffins.
It is a good idea to buy bananas simply with the intention of letting them go bad. Cause then you can make things like this little bit of yummy goodness.

Lana and I made them the other night and they are most scrumptious. We used Crunchy PB cause thats what we had in the house + I didn't have mini Chocolate Chips so we used regular.

And that my friends are the things that we will be partaking of this week.
Hope you find something good in your pantry!

My Epic Cupccake Fail

It started out as a good idea.
Back to school cupcakes for a little back to school pool party.
It seemed simple enough...cake, frosting, m & m's, chocolate covered graham crackers, good and plentys, more icing. Check, check, check, check, check, and check. Yes, I can SO do this.

See lookey how cute!


But OH NO, mine did not turn out like this....not even close...











Why yes, yes these do look like "Back to the GRAVE", cupcakes and NOT Back to school.
Or maybe they are "Back to the TOILET", cupcakes with the very large suppository's resting on the side.
Or maybe they are "Sorry you have the chicken pox, or whatever that red sore is that is apparently going to KILL you", cupcakes.


Lets back track. Where did I go wrong?
Mistake #1: Trying to save a buck or 2 I got Wal-mart brand Chocolate Covered Graham Crakers, as opposed to the Keebler ones that are in fact perfect little rectangles.

Mistake #2: I saw Mike and Ikes before I saw Good and Plentys, therefore, Mike and Ikes it is!
Oh and look, who needs white when they have all these lovely tropical colors.

Mistake #3: And speaking of tropical colors, I'm going to get Neon gels to write everones names with. Hey, they'll match the Mike and Ikes and how cute is THAT going to be?!

Mistake #4: Actually taking them and serving them to people. One child (Ellas of course) looked at me and said "Why are we having tombstone cupcakes?"
Why Ellas? Why? Because, I am a failure at Back to school cupcake making! That is why!
And well, dadgummit, because I just wanted to remind you that there are indeed worse things than going back to school! Yes, yes, thats right. That really was the point of these cupcakes.


Well, at least my homemade icing was good.
Oh my, and there is some left...in a bowl...upstairs...in my fridge...excuse me ple

Dinner Time

I have a goal for this week.
Would you like to hear it?
OK.
NO return trips to the store.
Say it with me now.
"NO return trips to the store."
Return trips to the store kill me.
First they ruin my budget, and 2nd they just annoy me.
And considering this next week is the first week back to school for many kids, plus this weekend is the "tax free holiday", (which btw is a joke if you shop in jeff co, since they are not participating. Braving crowds of half crazed school shoppers, just to save 4% is not my idea of savings at all.) the stores will be crazy this week.
So I went today to Aldi and Walmart. $80 at Aldi and $20 at WM. And if anyone in this house needs anything between now and next Friday, they will just have to live without it or starve.
There, that is my small rant. I am done.

On to dinner for this week: (btw...Friday is always fun night at my friend Crissy's, so I usually just take whatever I have on hand, or leftovers, and we all pull together our stuff. This is why there is usually no dinner plan for Friday.)

Saturday- We are FINALLY going to eat THIS Salmon.

Sunday- You know I don't cook on Sundays.

Monday- Chicken, Bacon, and Mushroom Alfredo with Wheat Rotini Pasta & Brocolli on the side
Alfredo Sauce
1 block of cream cheese
1/2 stick of butter
1 cup or so of milk
1/2 cup of paremsan cheese
S & P to taste
Melt cream cheese and butter with milk. Add parmesan cheese and stir until melted. You can add more parmesan if you like. Add s & P to taste.

Then I add some cooked chopped chicken breast, some bacon, and some sauteed mushrooms to the pasta, toss with the alfredo, and waallaa (is that how you spell that?) yummy yummy yumminess!

Tuesday- Enchilada Casserole ( I will use enchilada sauce instead of tomato sauce, just because I'm cool like that) Chips and Salsa, and Corn

Wednesday- Italian Pineapple Chicken, ( I don't add the cheese to this, and today I found "Parmesan Light Italian Dressing" at Aldi that I will use)
Rice a roni (The Alabama Treat), Peas

Thursday- Worscesire beef and mashed potatoes, Green Beans

This is a recipe that my sister made while I was in Africa, and I really like it.
1 lb ground beef
Onion and garlic (as much as you like)
Worscesire Sauce
(I don't know a measurement, but a good amount. You really want to taste it!)

Saute beef with onion, garlic and worscesire.
Make mashed potatoes.
Place mashed potatoes in the bottom of greased 11X9 dish.
Top with beef mixture.
Top with about a cup of shredded cheese.
Bake 2o minutes at 350.

Lunches this week:
Ramen
Grilled Cheese
PB & J
Lunch Meat
Buffalo Chicken Wraps ( I have been craving these, and found some grilled buffalo ckn strips at Aldi today...MMMM)
Pizza Quesedillas

Breakfast:
Waffles
Cinnamon Raisin Toast
Oatmeal
Toast
Cereal

Snacks:
Bing Cherries
Stawberries
Blueberries
Grapes
Bananas
Carrots
Brocolli
Pretzels
Popcorn
Graham Crackers
Pop Ice
Cheese
Peanuts

So, what are YOU having for dinner this week? Enquiring minds want to know. I want to know.

Yes, we still eat

I am commited to posting my menus every week.
I am. I am. I am.
I just had a busy weekend, and didn't do it Saturday as per my plan.
Friday night I went to my friend Crissy's house for the whole night.
Whole night as in, period of 24 hours.
I took all of my homeschooling stuff and planned like a fool for the upcoming school year.
Like a fool, like a fool. (sorry, I digress into a little Phoebe Boufee)
I did get a lot done, which makes for 1 happy Mama, and hopefully some very well educated chillens come August 13th.
Why August 13th? Its the Last quarter moon that day. Duh.

OK, I digress. Some of you just want to know what we're eating this week, so I will shut up now.

I will back track so as not to hurt your feelings:

Saturday- Well, I planned on the Salmon that we never ate earlier in the week, but I was so pooped when I got back from my planning session, that my nice husband said "Don't worry about fixing dinner, we'll fend for ourselves." AH, nice husband!
Anyways, one of these days we will have Salmon. I promise.

Sunday- Don't even....

Monday- Baked Mushrooms with Crispy Bacon, Scrambled Eggs, Monkey Bread
OK, I have to tell you, (cause it is Monday night at 11:00, so obviously we have already eaten dinner) the mushroom bake was REALLY good. I mean REALLY good. Even the children ate it. Of course, throw a little bit of bacon on anything and my crew will eat it.

Also, the monkey bread was the perfect thing for my 7 year old to make.
Since this recipe calls for bread stick dough, it was easy for her to cut, dip, and dip again, and place in a pan. She was very happy to have made this all by herself.
Some modifications. I just had her cut each bread stick in half, and we placed it in a round cake pan instead of muffin tins.

Tuesday- Logan and I are going to a ball game, so Stacy and Lana will be having bean burritos.
That should be pretty self explanatory, but in case its not:
Tortilla shells
Refried Beans
Cheese

Wednesday- Lemon Shrimp with Parmesan Shrimp
This has become a family favorite and is so good.
And I might add that this, as well as the mushroom bake, called for fresh parsley.
Get it? Thats right, I used 2 recipes needing parsley, so as not to waste.
Yes, I am a brilliant chef.
Oh, except I always add mushrooms to this, and I just remembered that I used all of my mushrooms in the mushroom bake.
Uh, we should strike the brillant chef comment from the record.


Thursday- Happy Birthday to Me! The question now is, what is the family going to cook for dinner?

Friday- PAY DAY! Start over!

Hope you all are enjoying your week!

The Dinner Bell

It is my goal to post my menu for the week every Saturday.
I didn't have to do it last week because we were at my parents over the weekend, and then Logan and I were at kids camp (along with 1300 other people!) during the week.
This left Lana at Marmi and Pappy's and Stacy to fend for himself. (With the groceries I left for fending of course!)

So here we go for this week....

Saturday- Pork Chops, Fried Poatoes, Corn ( Yes, this was completly unhealthy and everyone finished their plates!)

Sunday- How many times do I have to tell you people, I DON'T COOK ON SUNDAY!

Monday- Basil Caesar Salmon, Rice, Green Peas (as opposed to Magenta Peas)

Tuesday- Breakfast for dinner- Can I get a MMMMM???!!!

Wednesday- Red beans and Rice w/ Smoked Sausage and Corn, and Sour Cream Sauce (basically just some melted down sourcream and melted chedder cheese with a little garlic salt)

Thursday- Teriyaki Pork Tenderloin (from Aldi) Rosemary Potatoes, Brocolli

Friday- Tacos, refried beans, chips and Salsa

Breakfast this week:
Cereal
Waffles
Toast
Eggs
Fresh Pineapple Juice- We bought 3 whole pineapples this week and are going to start juicing again.

Lunch this week:
Ham or Turkey Sandwiches
Pepperoni Quessedillas
Ramen Noodles
Bean Soup
Grilled Cheese
Omelettes

Snacks:
Grapes
Bananas
Bing Cherries
Blueberry Bread
Popcorn
Pretzels
Cheese cubes
Peanuts


Seriously folks, I had better not hear "I'm hungry, there's nothing to eat!"

Some Goodies

These are a few of my favorite things...

I've been doing some exploring of creative blogs in order to come up with some new ideas to get my creative juices flowing.
For those of you that share my interest in such things, I am sharing with you, my faithful 3 readers, a list for your enjoyment.
Some of you may have been the ones that suggest these sites to me in the first place, and if you are, I thank you and am sorry to steal your thunder.

1. We are that family

2. Complete Organizing Solutions

3. EHow

4. Simple Mom

5. Spearmint Decor

6. Todays Creative Blog

7. How about Orange

8. Lloyd and Lauren

9. Not Martha

10. Better homes and gardens
I like this site because you can sign up for there e newsletter. I also like that the format is usually in pictures. I.E. 15 ways to spice up your kitchen, followed by 15 pictures. I'm visual! If you want me to do it, I've gotta see it!

There are others, I'm just leaving it at 10 for today. Leave me your favorites and I'll compile another list soon.

Happy Juicing!

Whats the Plan?

Last weeks menu posting went well for me.
I even got a little dollar dry erase board and put it on the fridge.
The kids loved looking at it and knowing what was for dinner that night.
So I am going to try again this week.
5 more weeks and it will be a habit!
I never even got to 2 of the meals because we had so many leftovers from other meals, so that was what Martha Stewart would call, A good thing.

Breakast, Lunch, and Snacks are pretty much the same.

Dinner:

Saturday- Tacos, Refried Beans, Chips and Salsa

Sunday- Event at Church

Monday- Shrimp Stiry Fry and Stewed Apples

Tuesday- Pork Chops and Oven Roasted Potatoes (Diced-tossed with Butter, Rosemary,and S & P), Brocolli

Wednesday- Red Beans and Rice with Smoked Sausage, Salad

Thursday- Breakfast for dinner- Hashbrowns, Sausage, Eggs

Friday- Leftovers

Saturday- Caesar Crusted Salmon, Rice Pilaf, Peas

As Requested...

This is my recipe for Chicken Dressing Casserole.
You MUST eat this with Apple Sauce. My sister and I do that for some reason and it just makes it yummier than yummy.
We also like to have it with Green Beans for a well rounded meal. ( I say this in my best Food Network Hostess voice.)

Chicen and Stuffing Casserole
3-4 chicken breasts-cooked and cubed ( I just microwave it for about 12 minutes)
1/4 stick butter
1 can Chicken Broth
1 tsp. Rosemary
1 can Cream of Mushroom Soup
8 oz Sour Ceam
1 Box of Stuffing

Heat butter, broth, and Rosemary til boiling.
Add stuffing and set aside.
Mix mushroom soup, sour cream, and chicken in a seperate bowl.

Place in a greased 9x11 baking dish.
Top with stuffing mixture.
Bake @ 350 for 20-30 minutes or until heated through and bubbly.

When I made it tonight I used Cream of Mushroom and Cream of Ckn just because, and it was really creamy and good.
You can use low fat soups and sour creams.
You can also had celery to the broth mix, but I don't.

Enjoy :)

Must give props: This recipe (although I do it a little differently) comes from a cookbook from the ladies of Fellowship Bible Church in Roswell, Ga.
I love this cookbook!

2 Birds-1 Stone

I blog tonight for 2 reasons.
Reason #1- I need to be a better blogger. I just haven't been feeling it lately.
So in an effort to be more disciplined, I will be blogging more often.

Reason # 2- This week will be one of those tight grocery $ weeks, so I need to really use up what I've got. I thought if I actually have a menu documented, that I just might have to stick by it.
So, here we go.


Breakfast-
Waffles
Pancakes
Cereal
Cinnamon Toast


Lunch-
PB, Honey, and Granola Wraps
Ham and Swiss Wraps
Cheese Quessedillas
Ramen Noodles
Bean Soup
Grilled Cheese
Fruit
Pretzels
Chips
Salsa

Snacks-
Fruit Smoothies
Blueberry Bread
Key Lime Bread
Popcorn

Dinner-
Sunday- Leftovers

Monday- Chicken Dressing Casserole, Apple Sauce, Green Beans

Tuesday- Spaghetti

Wednesday- Ckn stir fry-from a bag cause I already have it, Stewed Apples

Thursday- Breakfast for dinner- Sausage, Hashbrowns, Eggs

Friday- Pay Day

Needed from Store:
Milk
Apple Sauce ( You have to have applesauce with CKN casserole. It is a requirement!)
Bread
Fruit
Chips
Salsa

Chinese Food Night

I meant to post these over the weekend, so now I am just blogging twice in one day. Uh Hum, Mother, I accept your apology.

I made a Chinese Buffet Friday night when my brother and his fiance were here. It was a lot of fun to prepare and everything tasted really good!



I made these P.F Chang style Lettuce wraps.

MMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was a pouring sauce for the wraps, and also a spicy thai peanut sauce.

Hot and Sour Soup and Pork Satay to dip with the peanut sauce.

MMMM, Hot and Sour Soup!

Crab Rangoon...My mouth is officially watering!

My happy buffet attendees!

We rounded off the night with Fortune Cookies, Chocolate Chip Cheesecake, and PB Chocolate Eclair Cake. ALL low fat of course!

So there you have it! I want to make it again, so if you want to come over one night and join me for a Chinese Buffet, just let me know 24 hours in advance! This kind of thing doesn't just happen ;)

Stop Yelling at Me!

Alright, I am finally posting some recipes for you people so you'll stop making rude comments.
And you people know who you are Melissa Mohr, Megan Thompson, and Ashley Faulkner.

Anyways...here are 3 of my favorites. 2 dinner and 1 breakfast.

Taco Filled Jumbo Shells:
Ingredients:
2 pounds ground beef
2 envelopes taco seasoning
1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, cubed
24 uncooked jumbo pasta shells
1/4 cup butter, melted
ADDITIONAL INGREDIENTS (for each casserole):
1 cup salsa
1 cup taco sauce
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1-1/2 cups crushed tortilla chips
1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
3 green onions, chopped
Directions: In a Dutch oven, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Add taco seasoning; prepare according to package directions. Add cream cheese; cook and stir for 5-10 minutes or until melted. Transfer to a bowl; chill for 1 hour. Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. Gently toss with butter. Fill each shell with about 3 tablespoons of meat mixture. Place 12 shells in a freezer container. Cover and freeze for up to 3 months. To prepare remaining shells, spoon salsa into a greased 9-in. square baking dish. Top with stuffed shells and taco sauce. Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes. Uncover; sprinkle with cheeses and chips. Bake 15 minutes longer or until heated through. Serve with sour cream and onions. To use frozen shells: Thaw in the refrigerator for 24 hours (shells will be partially frozen). Spoon salsa into a greased 9-in. square baking dish; top with shells and taco sauce. Cover and bake at 350° for 40 minutes. Uncover and continue as above. Yield: 2 casseroles (6 servings each).

Alteration: I don't use taco sauce or salsa. I use enchilada sauce because my family likes it. I also don't always top it with anything but the sauce and the cheese just to make it cheaper.
I usually double this and make several pans to freeze to take to people cause it is GOOOD and everyone likes it!
If you want to save some calories, you don't have to toss the shells with butter.

Southwestern Chicken Pot Pie: (This is an invention and so I do not have completly accurate sizes)

1 pkg frozen deep dish pie shells
1 pkg roll out pie shells
2-3cups shredded or diced chicken
1 can ro-tel
1 can black beans (2 if you like)
2 cans cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken
1 cup shredded taco cheese
1 can of corn optional ( I would like to add corn, but my husband doesnt like corn mixed in things so I don't, but I think it would be good)
Also some fresh chopped cilantro would be a good addition

Mix all the ingredients except the pie shells. Pour into the frozen pie shells.
Top with the roll out pie shells and trim the edges and crimp. You will have leftover pie crust that you can make cute little cut out shapes with and place on top.
I usually wet my finger tips a bit to help them stick.
You could also lightly spray the top with non stick spray.
Use a knife to slit holes in the top of the pie in a criss cross shape.

This makes 2 pies.

Place on cookie sheet and bake for 30 minutes or until crust is golden.
You can freeze one pie and cook it straight from the freezer for about an hour. Leave the foil on for the first half if you do it this way.

Sausage Breakfast Casserole: (I like this one because you don't have to let it sit over night...but you can if you need to!)

1 pound bulk pork sausage
1/3 cup chopped onion
4 cups (16 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1 can (10-3/4 ounces) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
DIRECTIONS
In a large skillet, cook sausage and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Transfer to a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese. Combine eggs and soup; pour over cheese. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted near the center comes out clean. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting.