Meal plan March 23rd - March 29th 2014

We will be trying a bunch of "new to us" recipes over the next few weeks. I have added links to the original sources so those awesome bloggers can  get the credit!I probably will alter many of the recipes a bit to suit my family's taste

The end of the week will be busy with a band concert for the girl and I am out of town Friday evening - late Saturday afternoon so the family will be eating Freezer meals, Yay for them and no worries for me! :)    Side note, I'm so happy to be spending some relax / scrapping time with 2 of my favorite gal pals! ;) Wahoo!
 
Sunday - Meatloaf  See my post here for details 
Monday - Cheesy Chicken and Rice casserole NEW!  See recipe here

Tuesday - Baked Pork Chops NEW!   see recipe here
Wednesday - Teriyaki Chicken (in the Crock Pot) NEW!  See recipe here
Thursday - Quesadillas  NEW! See recipe here

Friday - Ravioli & Garlic bread (leftover from the freezer) See recipe here
Saturday - Sheppard's pie (Made ahead from the freezer) See my recipe here  and See my original post here  :)

Breakfast this morning was a family favorite... Biscuits and gravy... (recipes coming soon)

Meal plan Jan 26th - Feb1st 2014

I'm working on meal planning again for many reasons...
1. My kids have after school activities 4 days a week
2. I'm working part time (which I love and am grateful for!)
3. I want to use my crock pot more due to the fact that my oven and stove are propane and the price of propane has skyrocketed here in the Midwest.

Sunday: Hungarian Goulash
Monday: Bacon and Cheese Chicken
Tuesday: Steak fajitas
Wednesday: Potato soup
Thursday: Tater tot hot dish (it's a MN thing!)
Friday: Sweet Garlic Chicken ( NEW! I saw this allover FB and want to try it!)
Saturday: Ravioli with Italian beef

All these recipes will be made in the Crockpot!

Here is the Steak Fajita recipe :)  Print

Ingredients:
1/2 cup salsa
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 pound of steak, trimmed of excess fat. Flank is good I generally use tenderized round (AKA cubbed steak)
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips   (you can use all green peppers to save $!)
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 green bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips
1 large onion, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons minced fresh cilantro for garnish (dried is OK too)

Directions:
In a small mixing bowl, combine salsa, garlic, lime juice, salt and pepper. Place flank steak in a 4-5 quart slow cooker and pour sauce over steak, making sure to coat steak well. Add bell peppers and onion. Cover and cook on low heat setting 6 to 8 hours (OR on high heat setting 3 to 4 hours).

Remove steak and vegetables from juice and let steak stand 10 minutes before slicing. Slice steak thinly across grain of meat. Serve with peppers and onion. Garnish with fresh cilantro and your favorite toppings.

*TIPS*

If you want more heat use a spicier salsa or add diced Jalapeños.

This is great with guacamole or a Mango Salsa!

For more tender meat place your beef on the counter for about an hour before adding to crock pot. I'm not sure why this works but it does for me.

I highly recommend cooking this on Low Vs. High!


My favorite Guacamole (that my husband will eat!)
1 ripe avocado mashed
1-2 Tablespoons finely diced red onion
1 Teaspoon lime juice or to taste
salt to taste
cilantro to taste 1/2 Teaspoon dried or 1 teaspoon diced fresh
1 roma tomato diced (optional)  I do not add this when the Hubby is sharing :)
1 diced Jalapeño (optional) I do not normally add this for myself.

If a recipe does not have a link either it is new, I do not have it typed up yet or its a recipe i never do the same way twice :) It's just how I roll...

Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Bread

* UPDATE *  I have made this 4-5 times now and you really do need to weigh the ingredients! The results are MUCH better!

Isn't it funny what can result from looking up info online? I was looking for tips on freezing bread dough and I ran across this awesome bread cooking forum called The fresh loaf. There I found wonderful advice, tips and yup recipes!

I have also been thinking it would be nice to have something easy and warm for breakfasts and something I could take to work that was also a bit healthier than a bagel. This bread looked like it would fit the bill by still being a bit indulgent but also being an OK food choice.

Looking at the recipe the first time I admit I was a bit apprehensive. It looked complicated. I was pleasantly surprised that while it took a bit more time than my favorite sandwich bread it was not too bad at all (at least as far as bread is concerned)

Here is a link directly to the recipe cinnamon raisin oatmeal bread

It is helpful to have a kitchen scale. Any serious baker will tell you it is better to weigh ingredients for baking. (I invested in a scale over the holidays when Aldi had them for $9.99).

Do not be like me... I did not read the directions fully and did not measure the water I soaked my oats in OOPS!!! Luckily it worked out OK... Phew...

Also after reading other peoples experience I only did 2 rise cycles. My first rise took some time. A few hours. Then I kneaded the dough and made it into 2 loaves. Yes the recipe calls for making 3 but I have larger stoneware loaf pans so I was pretty sure it would be fine. If you are using Pyrex bread pans definitely do 3! Or make rolls as another poster on the forum did. I will do that next time to try it out!

Next time I make this I will also slightly warm the water I use to soak my Oats. I think this may have hindered my rise a bit. Although a slower rise can create more flavor.  I was also a bit short on raisins but It was still fine.More would definitely be better though!

If you have NO experience with dough this would probably not be my choice for your first bread endeavor. It does take a bit of knowledge and experience to get a "feel" for if a dough is going to work out. If you have mixed and kneaded at least a few loaves successfully you should be fine :)

If you decide to give this a try hopefully this is what you will end up with... Enjoy!

Mmmmmm... Lots of melty butter to make it extra yummy!

OMG Bacon cheese burgers!

Most years my little family stays home on July 4^th. We like to have a nice family day that includes some fireworks, fun and (hopefully Great) food. I try my best to cook our main meal over our fire pit especially since we built what I affectionately call my “redneck” grill.

Our menu looked like this:

Bacon cheese burgers

Loaded baked potato salad

Green salad

Simple I know that’s why I try to bring something special to the table and this year I tried something new with our Burgers.

To start I diced about  1/3 of a red onion to yield about ¼ cup

Add salt and pepper about ½ teaspoon of each

Then I added some shredded cheddar I had in the freezer.
      (Note: in some of the pictures it shows a white cheese. That is because I forgot to take pictures of all the steps when I made them with Cheddar and When I made them the other day to freeze ahead all I had was mozzarella so I said what the heck, let’s give it a go!)

When you have all this mixed up  add  1.5 pounds of ground beef
         (Approximately an 80/20 blend. (I cannot tell you a specific fat content because we now get our beef from a local farmer and I do not know for sure the ratio at which the butcher grinds the meat/fat)

To make the patties more uniform I enlisted the help of my large stainless scoop. 

I scooped 1 portion, made a small patty then added a thin slice of butter, yes butter. 

This was a new one for me but I had heard the tip from a friend so I said “OK, why not” I mean its butter how could it be bad? The slice was about a teaspoon worth, or as thin as you can get from a cold stick of butter. Then add another scoop and continue to form your patty. 

Now the best part… wrap your patties with 2 slices of bacon. Mine is thicker and super smoky because along with the beef we just got our first whole pig so my bacon does look a bit more “rustic”

Now throw them on the grill!

When they are just about done top your burgers with your favorite cheese.

Don’t forget the buns! I splurged and got really nice buns and buttered them up and grilled them slightly before building our burgers. 

Top however you like!

We were very hungry by the time they were done so I do not have a good picture of the finished product :)

Here is the Printable

Ingredients:

 Red Onion
salt
 pepper
shredded cheddar cheese
1.5 pounds of ground beef
1 stick of Butter (not Margarine!)
Burger buns

Instructions:

Dice approximately 1/3 of the onion to yield approximately ¼ of a cup and add it to a medium mixing bowl. Add ½ a teaspoon of salt and black pepper. Add ½ a cup of shredded cheese. Mix these all up well then add your ground beef. Mix well to distribute flavors but try not to over work the meat as it can make the burgers more tough. I find using my hands is the best way to mix them well.

Scoop approximately 1/4^th of a cup of meat mixture and make  a small patty then added a thin slice of butter. Then add another 1/4^th of a cup of meat mixture to form your patty.

Wrap your patties with 2 slices of bacon.

For best results grill burgers outdoors.

When the burgers are just about done top your burgers with your favorite cheese.

Butter both sides of the burger buns and grill them till they are golden.

Top with whatever other toppings you like!

This is a very basic burger recipe that you can easily tweak to your own tastes.

You could add some Worcestershire, hot sauce, diced Jalapeños just about anything.

My family loved them and I am making them for my daughter (at her request) and her friends when we celebrate her birthday tomorrow.

Wait till I tell you about our Desert!

Chicken Cordon Bleu casserole

Some meals are just a pain! There I said it! For me Chicken Cordon Bleu is one of those meals. We love it but I hate preparing it! It is just soooo putzy! We are talking like a 10 here folks.

About a year ago I ran across this recipe on Pinterest for Chicken Cordon Bleu casserole It is soooo good! Yes it is still a little bit putzy but it makes a lot! Today I actually split it into 2 8x8 casserole dishes and freeze one (I will let you know how that turns out later).

A few changes I make are that I personally hate swiss cheese. I know I'm missing out but I just can't get around it. I usually use a mix of whatever I have on hand. I have used Mozarella, Colby jack, Monterey jack, you name it. All have turned out fine. I do always use the Parmesan called for. I also usually make my own breadcrumbs. I actually haven't purchased bread crumbs in years!

Also I am thinking of using this sauce mixture as my "go to" Cream soup.It is that good and so versatile!

So head on over to Cooking Classy And drop Jaclyn a note to say thanks for this delicious recipe.

My Putz Factor... 3.5 but soooo worth it!

Edit 7.21.13   I have frozen this multiple times and it turns out awesome! I put it in an aluminum disposable pan (usually the smaller square) and freeze it (uncooked) after its frozen I can fit this size pan in a large zip top bag of in my large foodsaver bags. I try to take it out of the freezer the morning I want to bake it or at lease a few hours before. It takes 45 minutes to an hour depending on how frozen it is. Since it has raw chicken in it I err on the side of cooking a little longer.

Farm fresh Chickens...

I have been ordering roasting chickens from a local farm for about a year. They are a great value for pastured chickens. The family is great to work with and the chickens are well Delicious!

All that being said I'm glad it will be a few months (probably 6) before I will be able to get more. I still have 6 whole in the freezer from the batch I got in August and yesterday I picked up 8 from the last batch for the year. This batch I decided to cut up before freezing (I need the room in the freezer but more on that in a bit). I am getting much more proficient at cutting the chickens apart but it is still a bit of work. I finally finished cutting about 8:30 PM last night (picked them up at 4 and ate dinner somewhere in there too). Today I portioned all the pieces out and vacuum sealed them. I also de-boned the breasts and cut 4 into thinner fillets and coated them with crushed corn flakes and some seasonings and froze them so they will be already for a quick dinner.I thought about adding marinade to some of the chicken but could not make up my mind so I just went with plain for now.

I saved all the bones and Carcases and boiled them for broth / stock. I now have 5-6 quarts to freeze in smaller serving sizes. I will be working on that tomorrow.

I still need to do a bit more freezer organizing as I will have another beef Quarter coming in a week or so. Last year meat from the same farm took up a good 2 shelves in my 13 Cu/ Ft stand up freezer. Oh I forgot to mention I just got a beef 1/4 from the farm that I get my chickens from. At least theirs is a smaller breed (Scottish Highland) so it barely took up one shelf. Yummy steaks by the way!

Now what's for dinner tomorrow? No idea... LOL... but at least I have options again :)

Orange Chicken

Do you love Chinese food? My family does but between the expense and the MSG it is not something we indulge in very often. So I was super excited to make this Orange Chicken this week. It hit the spot and I was in heaven while eating this! If you like oriental food this is definitely for you. I must say this rivaled any Oriental restaurant food I have ever had! My one Best part was everyone LOVED it :)

Sorry I do not have a Picture to share. It was a super busy night and I just needed to get everyone fed.

Here is the Printable: Asian Orange Chicken

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons orange juice (I had Cuties on hand. I zested 1 used 3 for the juice)
1/4 cup lemon or lime juice (I used lime)
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon grated orange zest
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons chopped green onion
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional) I left it out
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons water


Chicken:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
   If you want to bread the chicken you will also need
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

  This is how I made it...
If you do not want to bread the chicken do it this way:

1. Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil until thickened, about 10 minutes. 
2. While the sauce boils dice your chicken and heat oil in a pan, add chicken to the pan and cook until chicken is browned on all sides. 
3. Add sauce to chicken
4. Add corn starch to water to make a slurry, add cornstarch slurry to chicken and sauce. Cook until sauce thickens about, about 10 minutes
5. Serve over fried or white rice.

If you want the chicken breaded do it this way...

1. Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cool 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Place the chicken pieces into a resealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
3. In another resealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake to coat.
4. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken into the skillet, and brown on both sides. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels, and cover with aluminum foil.
5. Wipe out the skillet, and add the sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water; stir into the sauce. Reduce heat to medium low, add the chicken pieces, and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. 

Fried Rice printable

This recipe is very adaptable to your personal preferences.
For the rice you can use any combination of whatever rice you like. Cooked cooled rice works best for fried rice. I either cook mine the night before or in the morning and let it cool in the fridge.  Our favorite is a blend of basmati and brown rice. You can add cooked diced chicken or beef as well as any other vegetables you like.

 Ingredients:
3 cups of cooked rice
3 slices of bacon (diced)
1 medium onion diced
1 Tablespoon sesame oil
2-3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tbsp oyster sauce
1 carrot, finely diced or Julienned
1/2 cup peas
1 egg (optional)

Directions:
Cook Bacon in pan you will cook rice in.
When the bacon is just about done add diced onion and cook until it is translucent.
Add sesame oil, push onion and bacon to the side. Add egg and scramble.
When egg is cooked mix together with bacon and onion,
Add rice, oyster and soy sauce. Stir rice continually until all ingredients are mixed well.
Add Peas, stir to mix well. Add carrots, continue to stir/toss rice.


Helpful equipment: Wok, Stir Fry pan or Large Skillet

Meal plan 4/22 - 4/28

Sunday - Glazed meatloaf
Monday - Orange chicken w/ fried rice NEW
Tuesday - Grilled Burgers w/grilled potatoes
Wednesday - Kielbasa w/ peppers & onions
Thursday - Tater tot hot dish
Friday - Chicken enchiladas (filling for this is leftover from last weeks grilled chicken tacos. I will just add some cooked rice to the filling)
Saturday - Grilled steak... I need something no fuss and easy since I will be busy hosting my Pampered Chef show :) I am sooo excited!

On my list to try this week... Home Made yogurt... I have been doing lots of reading so we will see what happens :)

Best Glazed Meatloaf I Have Ever Eaten

I love meatloaf, always have, but I struggle with making meatloaf with good full flavor. I never make it the same way twice so  I have been searching for recipes. While I love Ree the PW I do not like her meatloaf recipe. So sorry Ree! I have found a Crock pot recipe that is pretty good and have made multiple times Here is that recipe Mary's Meatloaf .  While watching my much loved PBS cooking shows last weekend Bridget made a glazed meatloaf that looked good and not to putzy. I normally do not like glazed meatloaf because in my experience the top it just slimy and mushy. I must say that this recipe is really good! It did take a bit of time to assemble but I made enough for 2 dinners :) The glaze tasted great and was caramelized beautifully! Here is the recipe Glazed Meatloaf from Cooks Country

*UPDATE *  I have changed the basic recipe just a bit to reflect how I make it.  here is my printable...

 

To make cleanup easier I lined a large sheet pan with foil and placed an oven safe cooling rack on top. I then put a smaller piece of foil on top of the rack and poked a bunch of holes in the foil so grease could run off. (I hate grease soaked meatloaf!) It worked well. They still needed to be washed but it was not too bad considering

If you do not like Thyme you may need to decrease the amount of that herb. It was a tiny bit too much for me. I did not use all the glaze on the loaf. Next time I will either use it all or cook what is left in a pot on the stove to serve with the meatloaf. We all really liked the taste of this.It is a keeper in my book and I will make it this way again.

I hope you like it too!

What we ate last week and this weeks plan

Time got away from me last week so I never posted last week’s dinner plan. Here is what we ate last week.

Sunday …  Easter ham I saved .50 a LB and got the same cut as the Spiral Ham I normally get from Aldi and looked up a glaze recipe. Basic Ham glaze

Monday…  I was under the weather so I caved and we had frozen Pizza from Aldi

Tuesday…Scalloped Potatoes and Ham A-la The Pioneer Woman Ree Drummond

Wednesday… Rush hour Chicken Fajitas One of my favorite recipes from my time as a Pampered Chef consultant. Every Busy mom needs this recipe!

Thursday… Sloppy Joe’s

Friday… Pork Chops w/roasted sweet potato wedges

Saturday… Burgers on the grill w/ Loaded baked potato Salad

And here is the plan for this week…4/15/12 - 4/21/12

Sunday …  Whole Chicken roasted in the Crockpot

Monday…  Cheeseburger Macaroni

Tuesday… Shredded Chicken Hard Tacos courtesy of Nick at Macheesmo

Wednesday… Pulled Pork (not totally sure of how I will prepare this yet except it will be in the Crockpot

Thursday…  Tortellini bites (basically served with a Parmesan and butter sauce)

Friday… Pizza

Saturday… Meatloaf, I saw a great episode of Cooks country this weekend and I want to try out their recipe.

Enjoy!

So sorry I have not had a chance to type up my Easter bread recipe's I will get to it I promise!

Our Mostly Homemade Easter…

This was one of the most fun and rewarding Easter's I have prepared for my family! Yes it was some extra work but so worth it and well received. I can not tell you how empowering it was last week to walk out of Target only having purchased Starburst jellybeans (with a coupon of course!) and 1 small toy for each child. (the books were purchased from the school book fair) As I looked at the people around me with carts full of pre-packaged treats I just smiled to myself and had faith that my plans would workout.

** Disclaimer... I have nothing against prepackaged treats! I believe in choice. I wanted to try something new. My kids are already hoping the "Easter bunny" will make/bring these awesome treats for them again next year :) What can I say... I'm a lucky wife and mom!

I Love Easter!

Here is the list of things we made...

  Family traditions…
  Hopping Bunny rolls
  Easter Bread
  Colored eggs. I tried the bake in the oven method and was not super happy with it.

New to us…
  Homemade “Cadbury” Crème eggs
  Peeps
  Reese’s eggs with milk, semi sweet and white chocolate
  "Solid" milk and white chocolate eggs with the kids initials on them. I poured my leftover dipping chocolate onto Parchment paper and formed an egg shape. Then made their initials with leftover chips. The Kids LOVED them :)

Breakfast menu...

Easter eggs! I tried the bake in the oven method and was not super happy with it.
Easter Bread,
Hopping bunny rolls
Cantaloupe
Home made pork sausage

The Recipes…
Homemade Cadbury Crème eggs… These are seriously good!

·         1/2 cup light corn syrup

·         1/4 cup butter, room temperature

·         3 cups confectioner’s powdered sugar (I used ½ organic only because I had it)

·         1 teaspoon vanilla (I used a clear variety)

·         1/4 teaspoon salt

·         yellow food coloring (I made mine a bit more orange to look like farm fresh eggs)

·         1 (12 ounce) bag milk chocolate chips

I followed the instructions here. Homemade Cadbury Creme Eggs

These were pretty easy. Here are my tips and things I learned…

When rolling out centers of eggs it was very helpful to keep my hands dusted with powdered sugar. It was still sticky work but it helped. 

              *Side note I Love my Flour sugar shaker(s) yes plural, I have 4 of them and use them all! What do I have in them? Let me tell you…  cinnamon/sugar blend, flour, powdered sugar & one has baking soda (I use this for cleaning sticky pots/and and for stained counter tops).

Definitely use parchment paper.

I thinned my chocolate with a bit of coconut oil.

I had to do the dipping method since I do not have any molds. 

A small 2 Qt Crockpot works great as a double boiler to keep your chocolate warm.

Take your filling/insides out of the freezer in batches of 5-6.  They get soft quick and the harder they are when you dip them the better!

Let them sit on the counter to set up as long as you can. I rushed mine back into the freezer so the kids would not see them. When I took them out later they had a lot of condensation on them and remained a bit sticky.

Here are some of my production pictures...

Mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm!

Peeps…

I followed these instructions here. homemade peeps how to tutorial and recipe

 Homemade Peeps Recipe:

• 1 envelope unflavored gelatin
• 1/3 cups cold water
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup water

MY Tips...
You definitely need a thermometer that goes to 238 degrees. Mine only went to 220 and I think I over cooked my sugar mixture a bit. I also slightly over whipped my sugar mixture. These set up quick and can be a bit tricky. Here is another good tutorial and I may do it this way next time. I also overfilled my small piping bag. Lesson  learned! Here is how mine looked… 

 I decided toward the end when the marshmallow was setting up fast to make "Peep Nuggets" 

As for taste I liked the blue peeps better because I covered these with sugar I dyed. It is much finer than the store bought Pink colored sugar.

side note... if you let these sit out they will dry out and get stale to the point where they taste a bit like "Circus Peanuts" Candy

 Breakfast Sausage , I’m still perfecting my blend of spices but this is a pretty good start… 

1 lb. ground pork
1 Tbs. fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 Tbs. fresh cilantro, finely chopped
1 Tbs. brown sugar *
1 Tbs. dijon mustard
1/2 Tbs. olive oil
1/2 Tbs. kosher salt
1 tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. grated nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Form into eight 2" wide, 1/2" thick patties*Leave out the brown sugar and it will taste a lot like Jimmy Dean Breakfast sausage 

the bread recipes will be posted in a bit... :)

How was your weekend? Did you do or make anything special or new?

Meal plan for week of 4/1 - 4/7

Sunday...  Chicken Enchiladas
Monday... Chicken teriyaki with fried rice
Tuesday... Diablo beef (arm roast in Crock pot) New
Wednesday...   Garlic Chicken
Thursday... Pizza (home made) We did not end up having this last week :)
Friday... not sure what is going on yet... I think we are going to a pot luck banquet so I need to figure this out.
Saturday... Sour Cream and Bacon Crockpot Chicken New

Banana muffins and a tip for serving them to your family hot out of the oven first thing in the morning

My hubby had to be up and out early this Saturday morning to help with our district Pine wood derby so I wanted something hot for him and the kids. So I made Banana muffins.

Sorry the picture kinda stinks. It was early and my brain was not yet fully functional and I had not yet had coffee :)








Now I know what you are thinking... How did you whip those up at such an early hour? Well the trick is I had made the batter a few weeks ago and froze it in the muffin wrapper! Yes you can do that!

First here is the recipe I used... Banana muffins It is similar to the recipe I grew up with but it uses melted butter instead of shortening (Bonus if you ask me!) Line your muffin pan with liners (paper or silicone) Fill 1/2 to 2/3 full (I tend to under fill when I am going to freeze them. I feel they bake better). A metal scoop works great for this! and pop into your freezer. After they are frozen you can remove them from the pan and put into a zip top freezer bag.

When you are ready to bake put the # of muffins you want to  bake back into a muffin pan, put it into your oven  and turn it on to the desired temp. Bake for the normal time knowing you may need to bake them a few extra minutes but do the toothpick test to be sure (insert a tooth pick into the center of muffin and if it comes out clean it is done.)

Hubby really liked these. He said they were moist an yummy and the Girl liked the slight crispy-ness on the top.

Oh and I was extra nice and made hubby an egg sandwich while the muffins were cooking. So if you see him today and he is in an extra good mood... you are welcome... :)

Meal plan 3/25 – 3/31 (First published 3/26/2012)

Back from another bit of a bloggin break... I'm working on getting back on track with my meal plans and letting you all know what we have been up to. Please try some of these recipes they are seriously good :)


Sunday, Grilled Marinated Turkey breast ... This was new for us and oh so good!
Monday, Steak Fajitas in the Crock Pot with Mango Salsa ... This has become a favorite
Tuesday, Herb Crusted Pork Chops ... New
Wednesday, Tasty and Tender round steak W/ scalloped potatoes ... New
Thursday,  Crock Pot Cream Chese Chicken
Friday, Home made Pizza See my pizza post here...
Saturday, Chili because I can start it in the morning and just leave it. The Hubby and I have a busy day with the kids so I need something that will be ready when we get home. I have leftover cornbread in the freezer I will serve with it.

Potato soup... mmmmm... (First published 2/12/2012)

We love Potato soup! Or is this a chowder? I really do not know . All I know is It's good :)

I think this is a good basic recipe that can take on many flavors depending what your family likes. I made this a 2 weeks ago and think it may be in order today as well since it's easy, I have all the ingredients, it's super cold here and we have been a bit under the weather so need something simple but yummy.
Pictures were a bit spotty on this one. I love to take food pictures but I am so used to just moving along or doing 3 other things at the same time so I forget sometimes. I know it's hard to believe but it's true :)  

I hope you like it too!

Potato soup

Printable recipe for Potato soup / chowder

4-5 small potatoes peeled & quartered

2 carrots peeled and chopped fine (a food chopper helps a lot here)

1 ½  cups chicken (or vegetable) stock

1 cup milk

½ to 1 tsp chicken bouillon granules to taste

½ small onion diced fine

1 tbsp butter

1 clove of garlic pressed or diced fine

Salt and pepper to taste

¼ - ½ cup shredded cheddar, or colby or Jack cheese whatever you like

Optional… you could easily add any of these that you like and have on hand!

Diced cooked ham
diced cooked chicken or turkey
crumbled bacon
leftover rice or Quinoa
Diced green onion tops
Steamed Brocoli
Corn

...please ignore the ugly green striped walpaper behind my cooktop. Someday it will be tile but untill then just don't look.Thank you :)

Put peeled & quartered potatoes into a 4Qt saucepan.  Add stock and diced carrots. Bring to a boil and cook covered until potatoes are fork tender.

Meanwhile melt butter in a small sauté pan, add diced onions, cook onions until they are translucent, add garlic sauté for 30 seconds or so or until the garlic is fragrant.  Add to potato mixture.

Hmmm my garlic press is starting to look a bit rough... It is well loved!

Add milk to potato mixture along with salt and pepper to taste (for us 4-5 turns on the S&P grinder is good). 

 If you need a bit more flavor add some chicken bouillon granules or herbs of your choice (start with ½ a teaspoon). 

Just before serving use a wooden spoon or potato masher lightly smash the potatoes to your desired consistency. If you like big chunks that is just fine.  If you mash the potatoes a lot the soup will get very thick which is OK if you like it that way (we do). You can add some water or stock to thin the soup if you need to.

Add a bit of the shredded cheese just before serving, then add a bit to each person’s bowl if they like.

Add any of the optional ingredients anytime after the initial cooking of the potatoes. You could also use ham, bacon, broccoli etc as toppings or serve as a “toppings bar”

My family really liked this but wished I had added some bacon. What can I say , they are carnivores…

I served it with homemade corn bread. Biscuits or a fresh loaf of bread would be nice too.

Meal plan for week of 1/29 - 2/4 (First published 1/30/2012)

Sunday - Potato Soup / Chowder
Monday - Cheesy chicken chili (in the Crockpot) New to us
Tuesday - Teriyaki steak with fried rice
Wednesday - Oven fried chicken
Thursday - Sloppy Joe's (in the Crockpot)
Friday - Leftovers
Saturday - shepherds pie (from the freezer)

Meal Plan for week of 1/22 – 1/28 (First published 1/22/2012)

Sunday,  Smashed Potato Soup (This was the Plan but I was tired so we had a Bear Creek Broccoli Cheddar soup instead.) I never said I was perfect but for a mix this is good soup!

Monday,  Chicken Cordon bleu (in the Crock pot)

Tuesday, Italian Hoagies

Wednesday, American Chop Suey

Thursday, Garlic Chicken

Friday, Pizza

Saturday, Tacos