Weirdest thing I ever cooked!

I went to Sprouts to get ground beef to make meatloaf. They had a foil loaf pan full of Meatloaf! It was $2.99 a pound and the ground beef was $3.49 a pound. No brainer RIGHT?
WRONG! It is Pink. Not undercooked, PINK! There is so much in this meatloaf that I am not sure there is beef in it. I took a chance on it since I have used the Turkey loaf and it was very good!
I will need to figure something out for Dale when he gets home!?!?
Now I have made things that are not tasty, ask Dale about the Chicken Keiv I made when we first got married.
I remember I once bought a "turkey breast in gravy" and I thought it was a great price, $2.50 for a whole turkey breast. I followed the directions on the package, put it in the oven, did not remove the foil cover and waited for my AMAZING dinner to cook in the oven! Pulled it out, and it was a processed turkey loaf in yellow water.

I think I will put this item on the top of the list of weird things I have made.

I made mashed potatoes too, just a few potatoes, chopped, covered with water and a few sprinkles of salt, cooked for 20 minutes, drained, back in cooking pot with 1/2 cup milk, 1/4 cup butter and a potato masher. Yummy!
There it is, my 'recipe' for the day!
I will do better tomorrow, I am taking the kids out to dinner and I will give you the recipe for my Orzo and Spinach Salad. DELISH!!!

My weeky meal plan!

Dale is off to a week of LONG drives to and from Casa Grande
for work each night. We decided to do a “light” dinner and a bigger lunch, just for the weekend. It has been yummy and I even tried a new recipe this week. Most of the stuff I make is the same thing week after week.
I saw on Pinterest a cute meal planning board, thanks Lauren for “Pining” it!
Look at it here:
http://thecreativemama.com/the-end-of-reinventing-the-meal-menu-planning-and-the-ultimate-menu-board/
I don’t think that I need something this elaborate! But I am going to work on a way to keep track
of what we had and if we liked it and then I will have a selection of meals to pull from and a way to rotate them.
So here is my meal plan:
Friday: Homemade pizza, salad
Saturday: Grilled Chicken with Orzo & Spinach Salad for Lunch and French Toast for Dinner
Sunday: Bowties with Sausage cream sauce, added veggies
Monday: Meatloaf with Mashed Potatoes and Carrots
Tuesday: Dinner out at Fuddruckers!
Wednesday: Spaghetti with Sausage and fresh baked garlic knots, new recipe
Thursday: Country Fried cube Steaks with Mashed pots and Cream Corn

I'll start with my recipe from today, don't worry, I will get back to the other recipes this week too!

This is a recipe that I first made when I was pregnant with Ashlyn. It was yummy. I have made some modifications to it since we (Dale & Brian) do not like tomatoes.
I sub sliced grape tomatoes, Ashlyn sliced them for me today, for the canned tomatoes.
Today I added a BUNCH of veggies to it too. I put them on the side since my kids (Brian) are picky about what veggies they will eat.
After cooking the sausage, I removed it from the pan, I added the veggies to the pan and cooked them.
I then removed the veggies and did the same with the tomatoes. I then added the sausage and continued from there.

Oh, I didn't use the fresh basil since I was not willing to spend $3 on a package of it for one dish. I think I will try and grow some herbs for cooking!

Here is my grocery breakdown:
(~means about, I am not sure how much it cost for sure but it sounds like a reasonable cost!)

5 sausage links $3.57, Wal-mart, box of 12 sausages for $8.58
~Cream, left-over from another recipe,~ $1.50
~Garlic~ $0.30
Red Onion $0.40
~Olive Oil ~$0.25
Bow-tie pasta $0.88, stock-up sale at Fry's 3 weeks ago.
My 99cent store finds:
Grape tomatoes, 1 zucchini (2/$1), asparagus, 1 red bell pepper (2/$1)
~Total~ $9.65!!!


Bowties with Sausage Cream Sauce
~by Cherie (dnvrmama)
Ingredients
1 pkg bowtie pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb sweet or hot (your choice) Italian sausage, casings removed and crumbled
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup diced onion
1 (28 oz) can Italian-style plum tomatoes, drained and coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups heavy cream (I've also used half & half)
1/2 tsp salt
3 tablespoons minced fresh basil

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in
boiling water for 8 to
10 minutes, or until al dente; drain and set aside.
Heat oil in a large, skillet over medium heat. Cook sausage and
pepper flakes until sausage is evenly brown. Stir in onion and garlic, cook
until onion is tender.
Add
tomatoes, half & half, and salt. Simmer until sauce thickens, about 10
minutes. Stir cooked pasta into sauce, and heat through. Sprinkle with basil
and serve.

Why am I such a slacker?

I told myself, you can do this blog thing. But I am not so good at doing it every day. Dale made dinner tonight. It was yummy, salad, grill roasted chicken and oven potato wedges. I stopped at the store and bought a new salad dressing. Light house "family" blue cheese dressing. Too much vinegar. Not impressed with it. I will make my own tomorrow.
I have the day off, to spend it with Dale before he starts his 7 days of driving to Casa Grande. Fun for him, stinks for me! He will be taking my car and I get to drive his but only Monday and Tuesday, I am off til then.

I WILL make a meal plan this week, we are going out to dinner tomorrow night and taking the kids to see Star Wars Episode I in 3-D!

I WILL list my plan, shopping list and budget (need to follow that more often!)

I WILL cook every day next week but Tuesday, It is a Dining for Dollar$ at Fuddruckers! Here is a link to the flier so that the 8th graders can get some money for their class trip!
http://library.constantcontact.com/download/get/file/1102722494069-910/Fuddruckers+02-21-12-1.pdf

I WILL have a protein, starch, and veggie at every meal!

I WILL have healthy lunches planned for the kids!

Dale has been on a “beef” kick. Every night I ask him what he wants for dinner, he says, not chicken!
Ok, so tonight I made beef and black bean enchiladas. They were very yummy. Here is my break down:

1# Ground Beef $1.98
12 Corn
tortillas $0.99
Enchilada Sauce
$1.99
Black Beans, 10
oz can $1.00
Mexican Cheese
$0.50
Beef Rice-a-Roni
$0.88
Fat Free Refried
Beans, big can $1.49
Total : $8.83
I made enough for in plate of leftovers. It will be a fight to who gets them first! I have made enchilada before and this is what I did, not really a recipe, I don’t use them that often…
I browned the ground beef in a skillet. There was very little fat in the pan so I added a can of Rosita’s Seasoned Black beans. I stirred it all together until the beans were warm. I removed from heat. I opened the enchilada sauce and poured some in to an 8x11 pan to coat the bottom.
In the microwave I warmed up the corn tortillas until softened. I put ¼ cup of the meat &
bean mixture in a tortilla and rolled it up and placed it seam side down in the pan. I used all the tortillas and had about 1 cup of meat/bean left over.
I covered it with foil and baked for 45 minutes. I took the foil off and added about 1/2 to 2/3 cups of cheese. I placed it back in the oven uncovered for about 15 minutes.
For the Rice I followed the package directions but used 1 tablespoon of butter.
I added 1 tablespoon of butter to the can of Fat free beans, (I know, it’s no longer Fat free but it
tastes better) to give them some flavor. I also added about 1 teaspoon of Onion powder to them as well.
To serve I topped my enchilada with a small spoon full of sour cream.
The kids ate it up, Dale got his Beef and I got a lighter version since I added the beans and
not so much meat!
One more thing! I LOVE Wholly Guacamole! They have it on sale at Fry’s for just $1 a package.
That could by why my trip to the store this morning cost me $45. Oh, and the soda I bought! I hate making small trips to the store. I plan on meal planning next week and I will
do a single shopping trip and post what I am making so that I have to stick to
it!

Bugers and Frys

Tonight we made Burgers and Fries! It was yummy! Not so healthy but in budget!

Ground Sirloin $7.51

Bacon $1.66

Mushrooms $1.00

Onion $0.14

Swiss $0.66

Buns $1.25

Potatoes $0.92

Zucchini $0.52

Total: $13.64

So, I planned to have some Eggplant Parm that was in the freezer but Dale wanted burgers. I had the butcher put some steak seasoning on the ground beef at the store. Dale made patties with the beef and grilled them to perfection! He also grilled the zucchini with out any oil or salt!

I cooked 5 pieces of bacon, sauteed mushrooms and onions! To make the Fries I cut 1.6 pounds of potatoes into 8 pieces each. I tossed them in 1Tablespoon veg.oil. I put them in the microwave for 2 minutes, tossed and put back in for 2 more minutes. I laid them out on a cookie sheet and baked them at 400 degrees for 20 minutes, crispy fries! I bought a package of burger buns for $0.99 and used 2 for the kids and bought Onion rolls for Dale and me, so good!

We topped our burgers with mustard, mayo, bacon, mushrooms and onions.

Ashlyn has days when she likes eggs and others when she does not like them. Today was a "like egg" day. Ashlyn even asked if we could cook some more!

So we got out our better home and gardens cookbook and read the recipe!

We took out the eggs from the fridge.

I put them in there on their side, I read somewhere that that makes the yolk cook in the center!

We followed the directions and this was our result! She did a great job peeling them and even cleaned up after herself!

She made some egg salad with the eggs I cooked this morning so that will be her lunch tomorrow.

I would say that the "store them on their side" makes an nicely centerd yolk!

If you see Ashlyn, ask her how her first eggs were!

So no real recipes tonight. Just a few tips and how-to's. This is how my life is, I use a recipe as a guide, and make it my own. If you asked me how I make my eggplant parm (tomorrows dinner) I will give you a method, not a recipe.

Chicken and Bacon with Bowties & Big Time Banana Bread

I love to try new recipes! Unfortunately for my family, I love to try new recipes! I found this recipe from a cooking board I have been a part of off and on for the last 13 years. Yep, there was a very small group of people on the internet back then! That is back when we used to "dial-up" and no one could call you on the phone when you were on line!

I kind of enjoyed this recipe. I would (& did) make a few changes:
Attached is the recipe, but here is what I used:
Mexican Cheese $1.50
Wacky Mac $1.89
Bacon Bits $0.50
Milk $0.60
Cream of Chicken soup $0.88
Garlic Powder $0.01
Flour$0.05
Chicken $1.50
Mixed Veggies $0.88
Crescent Rolls $1.88
Total $10.23
I thought it was ok. I used pork bacon bits, because I had them, I used wacky mac, since it was the only veggie pasta I could find at my Fry's. I used garlic powder since I like to leave the salt out. Dale & Ashlyn add salt anyway. I served it with frozen mixed veggies and crescent rolls. I also did not taste the cheese. I think I will leave it off next time, wasted calories. I did make it in advance and let it sit in the fridge until I was ready to leave for church tonight. I set the time bake and baked it for 45 minutes at 350. The noodles were overdone, even though I cooked them for 6 minutes and the bag said to cook them 10. I guess this is not a make a head meal!


chicken-bacon bowtie bake
from Family Circle, December 1, 2011
1 large boneless, skinless chicken breast (12 ounces)
4 slices turkey bacon
1 pound tomato and spinach farfalle (such as DeCecco)
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups fat-free milk
1 10 3/4 ounce can 98% fat-free condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
1 1/4 cups shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend
Directions
1. Heat broiler. Coat a 2-quart broiler-proof baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Place chicken breast on greased broiler pan and broil 4 inches from flame for 6 to 7 minutes per side until internal temperature registers 160 degrees F. Remove to plate and cut into 1/2-inch
pieces. Keep warm.
3. In a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook bacon about 5 minutes until crisp. Chop and reserve.
4. Cook pasta following package directions, about 12
minutes. Drain.
5. Stir flour into milk and combine with soup and garlic salt in a medium-size saucepan. Simmer for 2 minutes untilthickened; stir in 3/4 cup of the cheese.
6. Return pasta to pot and stir in chicken and soup mixture. Spoon into prepared baking dish and top with bacon and remaining 1/2 cup cheese.
7. Broil 4 inches from flame for 2 to 3 minutes or until heated and lightly browned on top. Serve immediately.



Big Time Banana Bread! I am not going to tell you how much this cost, I did not figure it out, sorry. I used a few bananas I had in the fridge that were VERY ripe and 2 bananas that were starting to get polka dots! I made 1 loaf and 12 muffins. I have been using this recipe for at least 8 years.
When I was pregnant with Ashlyn, I found a website, babycenter.com I met some great women there. We all loved to cook. A friend named Bren shared this recipe with me, along with many others, and in time I will get them on here too!
It is not a healthy food item, but so yummy! I think that baking is one of my favorite things to do!
Please try this recipe! You will not be sorry! It freezes well too!

I also have a weight watchers version but, I have not tried to make it, maybe next time!







Big Time Banana Bread
by Bren
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
6 eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups mashed, very ripe bananas (about 6-7 mashed by hand with a fork)
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sour cream or heavy cream
2/3 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray bottoms ONLY of 2 loaf pans with non-stick
cooking spray. Beat butter in large mixing bowl with mixer set at medium speed
until light & fluffy. Add both sugars and beat well. Add eggs and vanilla;
beat until well blended. Add mashed bananas and beat on high for about 30
seconds.
In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt, & baking powder; mix
until combined well. Add flour mixture to butter mixture alternately with
cream. Fold in walnuts. Pour batter evenly between the 2 loaf pans. Bake until
browned and toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15
minutes. Cool in pan on wire rack for at least 10 minutes. Remove from pan
& cool completely. Slice & Serve. Serve alone, or with butter or with
cream cheese.
This tastes even better the next day.

Chicken Wings!

So tonight I grilled a package of chicken wings. 13 wings for $7.08 was only $0.54 a wing! I made a $0.88 box of Chicken Rice-a-Roni and added some Broccoli. I got the broccoli at Ranch Market for just $0.50! It was on sale! I Love that store!

So to make the chicken I turned the grill on High, closed the lid and let it get nice and toasty!

I went back out and turned it down to Low. I put the chicken wings on and shut the lid. So I baked them, kind of.

While they were on the grill, I melted 1/4 cup of butter, mmm butter! I added 2T garlic powder and a few shakes of L&P Worcestershire sauce.( <-- Spell check thinks it's spelled wrong, is it?)

Mixed it all together then I basted the chicken with it after turning the chicken over and cranking the heat to High!

It was very yummy!

I ate all the broccoli. I added 1/4 cup of margarine to it, since I used the last of my butter on the chicken. I squeezed a lemon on top and it was DELICIOUS!!!

Simple dinners can be kind of healthy. 1 chicken wing with the skin has only 65 calories and 5 g of fat. I didn't add too much to it with the butter but it sure was yummy.

I thought about adding a photo of what the kids plates looked like after they tried to eat the chicken wings but I thought that would scare you from trying this!

Give it a try, you will like it! I think next time though, I will just do the garlic butter on chicken breasts.

I have a meeting at 6 tomorrow so I will leave dinner up to Dale. I will let you know what he made and how much he spent. I wonder if he can come up with dinner from the fridge and pantry with out a trip to the store! I know there is a meal in there, we just have to look for it!