What's on Your Plate

I love omelets for breakfast when I have time to devote to them.  This one was made with 3 egg whites (I don't like the yolks.), 1/4 cup cheese, diced broccoli stalks, sweet potatoes, and onions.  I used nonstick cooking spray and my Rachael Ray cookware.  It was yummy and filling.

Turkey Stroup

 

We had a LOT of leftover turkey this year, so I headed to Rachael Ray's site to get ideas.   Now, Rachael is the one I believe coined the word stroup.   It is a cross between a soup and a stew.   I modified a recipe of hers, leaving out celery and ravioli (of all things).  Here it is:

• 1 quart of chicken stock
• shredded turkey
• onion
• carrots
• bay leaf
• chopped up broccoli stalk (in lieu of celery)
• noodle shells
• poultry seasoning
• 1 can crushed tomatoes

I sauteed the onions, carrots, and broccoli stalks in 5 Tblsp. olive oil.  Then I added the stock, turkey, crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, seasoning, and noodle shells.  I cooked it for 30 minutes on low once it came to a boil.  There is enough for 4 or 5 meals.  (remove bay leaf before eating)

For more GOODEATS, head over to Fishmama's GoodCheapEats.

Enchilada Casserole

I recently roasted a whole chicken.  When we were done, I picked off the rest of the meat and turned it into this:  Enchilada Casserole.  I did not have a recipe but looked in my pantry to see what I could use.  Here is what I came up with:

• 
  
  chicken picked from the bones
• 
  
  tortillas (I used 6 I think.)
• 
  
  1 can of green chili enchilada sauce
• 
  
  1 can cream of chicken soup
• 
  
  grated Mexican cheese

Here is how I made it:  Spray a casserole dish with nonstick spray.  Place a couple of spoonfuls of chicken in each tortilla, along with a little of the chicken soup.  Roll each up and place seam side down.  On top pour the can of enchilada sauce and sprinkle cheese all over.  Place in a 400 degree oven for about 20 minutes.

I even had enough for the freezer.  There are 2 in each of these containers.

Enjoy!

Tuna Pasta/Veggie Salad

Today at http://www.lifeasmom.com/ we are sharing picnic recipes.  Recently, I wanted to clean out my pantry of some of the items that have been stockpiled. I came up with a tuna/pasta/veggie salad.  

This was out of my head, so you could use pretty much anything:

• 
  
  1 box of whole wheat penne pasta
• 
  
  1 pouch of Starkist tuna in water
• 
  
  steamed broccoli and asparagus
• 
  
  feta cheese
• 
  
  red peppers
• 
  
  red pepper flakes
• 
  
  parmesan cheese
• 
  
  4 T. balsamic vinaigrette salad dressing

Enjoy!

Mexican Skillet

For more good cheap eats, go to http://www.goodcheapeats.com/

My son loves Mexican food, and in searching the web for an EASY recipe, I came upon this from Libby's.  It needed to be a recipe that I could *stretch* for several meals.  Since I am on weight watchers, I didn't want to calculate the points for this, so it is all for him. 

After his scoop taken out, it still made enough for 3 more meals, which I put in the freezer in single serve containers.

Here is the recipe if you want to try it:

• 1 can of black beans, drained (I had some in the freezer; they freeze really well.)
• 1 can chili beans, drained (I did not have these.)
• 1 container olives (I did not have.)
• 1 lb. hamburger
• flour tortillas (I used 6.)
• 1 jar salsa
• 2 cans refried beans (I economized and used 1.)
• 1 pk. shredded cheddar cheese
• 1 container sour cream (I did not use this since he doesn't like it.)
• I threw in a can of diced green chilis I had

Brown hamburger in a  skillet, add black beas, chili beans, salsa, and olives.  Continue cooking until hamburger is completely cooked, set aside.  Place 3 tortilla wraps on bottom of 9x13 pan.  Spread a layer of refried beans and then hamburger mixture over wraps.  Add cheese, repeating layers as many  times as ingredients allow.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes or until cheese is melted.  Serve with sour cream.

Blueberry Parfait

Two things I love are blueberries and Kashi cereal.  For a healthy dessert I pair the two with lowfat vanilla Greek yogurt.  Yummmmooooo

Baked Ziti

We have eaten this before, and it is a great hit!  Here is the recipe:

Baked Beef Ziti

Servings 8
Preparation Time 20 min
Cooking Time 50 min


Level of Difficulty :Moderate

Ingredients
12 oz uncooked ziti
2 tsp olive oil
2 medium garlic clove(s), minced
1/3 pound(s) raw lean ground beef
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes
1 cup(s) part-skim mozzarella cheese, shredded


Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat; add garlic and sauté 2 minutes. Add beef and cook until browned, breaking up meat with a spoon as it cooks, about 3 to 5 minutes; drain off any fat and set pan back over medium heat.

Add oregano, thyme, rosemary, salt and pepper; stir to coat beef. Cook until herbs become fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes and bring mixture to a boil; reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
Spoon a small amount of beef-tomato mixture into bottom of a 4-quart casserole dish (just enough to cover surface); top with half of cooked ziti. Next, layer with half of remaining beef-tomato sauce and half of mozzarella cheese. Layer with remaining ziti and then top with remaining beef-tomato sauce; sprinkle with remaining mozzarella cheese. Bake until cheese is golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes. Slice into 8 pieces and serve. Yields 1 piece per serving.

From Weight Watchers

Chicken Spaghetti

I have never tried this, but it sounded good so I made a batch for the freezer during my freezer cooking morning.  Here is the recipe from The Pioneer Woman Cooks:

Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 45 Minutes Difficulty: Easy Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 cups Cooked Chicken

3 cups Dry Spaghetti, Broken Into Two Inch Pieces

2 cans Cream Of Mushroom Soup

2 cups Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

¼ cups Finely Diced Green Pepper

¼ cups Finely Diced Onion

1 jar (4 Ounce) Diced Pimentos, Drained

2 cups Reserved Chicken Broth From Pot

1 teaspoon Lawry's Seasoned Salt

⅛ teaspoons (to 1/4 Teaspoon) Cayenne Pepper

Salt And Pepper, to taste

1 cup Additional Grated Sharp Cheddar Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Cook 1 cut up fryer and pick out the meat to make two cups. Cook spaghetti in same chicken broth until al dente. Do not overcook. When spaghetti is cooked, combine with remaining ingredients except additional 1 cup sharp cheddar.

Place mixture in casserole pan and top with remaining sharp cheddar. Cover and freeze up to six months, cover and refrigerate up to two days, or bake immediately: 350 degrees for 45 minutes until bubbly. (If the cheese on top starts to get too cooked, cover with foil).

Cheeseburger Meatloaf

So, this is our favorite meatloaf recipe.  This was the second time I made it; it comes from Crystal.

1 1b. ground beef

1 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese

3/4 cup uncooked regular oats

1/2 cup milk

2 Tbsp. minced onion

1 large egg

1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. pepper

1 cup chili sauce (I substituted barbecue sauce.)

Preheat oven to 350 Degrees.  Combine first 11 ingredients in a large bowl.  Stir until just blended.  Shape mixture into loaf, and place in an ungreased 8x4 inch loafpan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Pour chili sauce over meatloaf, and bake 15-30 minutes more or until meat is no longer pink inside.  Let stand for 10 minutes.  Drain and cut into 8 slices.

Chocolate-Almond Biscotti

Chocolate------It's just about my favorite comfort food of all time.  I found this recipe when I was visiting different blogs one day.  It calls for cocoa AND dark chocolate morsels, so this is for the REALLY chocoholic.

Chocolate-Almond Biscotti

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

1 cup dark brown sugar

1 3/4 cups unbleached flour

1/3 cup cocoa

1/2 teaspoon finely ground decaf coffee (instant would work as well)

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole almonds, toasted

3/4 cup dark chocolate chips, tiny ones if you can find them



Preheat oven to 300°. Line a large cookie sheet with parchment or a silpat mat. In large bowl, beat eggs and extracts with hand mixer. Blend in sugar. Sift together flour, cocoa, coffee, baking soda, and salt. Mix to blend. Stir in almonds and chocolate chips. Spoon batter into one long log down the center of parchment. Bake for 50 minutes. Remove from oven. Leave oven set to 300°. Wait 5-10 minutes, then slice large cookie log crosswise into 1/2 inch slices. Place slices on cookie sheets and bake for 25 minutes. Turn cookie slices over and bake another 25 minutes. Cool completely. Store in an airtight container.

Eat from the Pantry Challenge: Update

We began the challenge last Thursday, and I'm happy to report we are doing well.  Here is what we've had so far:

Thursday night:  Steak, brown rice, beans

Friday:  We are in the South, so we had blackeyed peas, collards, brown rice, and fish (instead of the southern tradition of pork on New Year's)

Saturday:  Burgers and homemade fries

Sunday:  Crockpot Cranberry Chicken, Betty Crocker mashed potatoes, corn

Menu for Eating From the Pantry

Since I go back to work next week, my menu will mostly be simple, simple, simple.  These are my main ingredients I will work around:

1.  Steak
2.  Hamburgers
3.  Ragu spaghetti sauces
4.  Betty Crocker boxed potatoes (gotten real cheap!)
5.  canned veggies
6.  brown rice
7.  Chili already made and in the freezer
8.  Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
9.  Cheese:  mozzarella and cheddar
10.  polenta
11.  frozen crab cakes
12.  frozen tilapia
13.  hot dogs
14.  bread dough and pepperoni to make homemade hot pockets for son's snacks

These are some meals I am thinking of for next week:

1.  Hot dogs/Betty Crocker potatoes/veggie
2.  Turkey tetrazzini with leftover, frozen turkey
3.  Steak on the grill w/brown rice/veggie
4.  Sushi (our eat out night)
5.  Cranberry crockpot chicken w/Betty Crocker potatoes/veggie
6.  Chili with Ritz crackers
7.  Burgers on the grill/homemade fries/veggie
8.  Spaghetti and meatballs

I will post the Turkey Tetrazzini and Cranberry Crockpot Chicken recipes as I make them.  I have so much beef and chicken, that some of these recipes will rotate.

Eating From the Pantry Challenge

In January I will be participating in Eating from the Pantry, hosted by  Crystal.  The objective is to eat as much as possible from the resources we have on hand.   I am a single mom with a 15 year-old son, so here will be my goals:

1.  Buy only dairy and produce from the grocery store
2.  Use the money saved to reduce my debt.
3.  Continue to play the CVS/WAGS game so I get most paper products/personal hygiene products FREE.

Here are pictures from my freezers and cabinets to prove that I need to do this:

Turkey Cassserole

If you are like me, you often don't know what to do with leftover turkey.  Here is a recipe that even my son liked.

Cut turkey (or chicken) into bite size pieces.  saute 1/2 cup chopped celery and 1/2 cup chopped onions in 1/4 cup butter or margarine.  Mix togehter chicken, the sauteed vegetables, salt and pepper to taste, 1 can cream of chicken soup (I used cream of mushroom), 1/2 cup of sour cream and 2 cups of cooked rice (I used noodles!),  Place in greased casserole dish.  Grate sharp cheese on top.  Bake 400 degrees for 20 minutes uncovered.

Review: Progresso Panko Bread Crumbs

This week I got a full size box of Progresso Panko Bread Crumbs in the mail.  Along with it came 5 $1.10 coupons and a recipe.  Here is the recipe:

1 pkg. chicken breast tenders

1/4 cup flour

1 egg

1 TBLSP. water

1 cup Progresso Panko Bread Crumbs

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1.  Heat oven to 425 degrees.  Line baking sheet with aluminum foil; spray with cooking spray. (This makes for easy clean-up)

2.  In shallow dish, place flour.  Coat chicken with flour.  In another shallow dish, mix egg and water.  Dip chicken in egg mixture.  In another shallow dish, mix bread crumbs and Parmesan.  Dip chicken in bread crumb mixture.  Place on baking sheet.

3.  Bake 15 to 20 minutes, turning once, until chicken is no longer pink and coating is golden brown.  Serve with your favorite dipping sauce.

**For extra crispy tenders, I drizzled with olive oil before baking.

These were WONDERFUL!  I have tried to make oven fried chicken before, but these were so crunchy.  I would definitely buy these bread crumbs.

Homemade Salsa

I got this recipe when I was at Curves the other day:

1. Drain one can of hominy
2. Drain one can of black-eyed peas
3. Cut up one tomato
4. Cut up one red pepper, green pepper, yellow pepper and 2 jalepena peppers without seeds
5. Mix all together with salt, pepper, cilantro
6. Add one small bottle of Italian dressing
7. Serve with chips of your choice.

**I used a can of tomatoes since I did not have a fresh one. I also did not have green peppers, but I did have yellow and red. You can play around with the peppers.

Turkey Tetrazzini

I had two ziploc quart bags of leftover, chopped turkey from Christmas.  I am the type of person who wants turkey for Thanksgiving AND Christmas because that is the only time of year I buy it.  Tonight, in keeping with my theme of "Eating from the Pantry," I made this recipe.  It came from my former church's cookbook from 1996. 

1 8 oz. can sliced mushrooms
2 Tblsp. melted butter
1 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. pepper
2 cups cooked diced turkey or chicken
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c. sour cream
1 8 oz. package of spaghetti noodles
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Cook mushrooms in butter in skillet for 1 minute over low heat.  Add salt, pepper, turkey, soup, and sour cream, mix well.  Cook spaghetti according to box directions.  Drain.  Alternately layer spaghetti and turkey mixtuyre in a 13x9 inch baking dish  Sprinkle with cheese.  Bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes.  6 servings.