I love to freeze things, especially since I can make a weeks worth of meals and freeze them for a later date. Sometimes, while preparing my favorites that take a little longer than I like to be in the kitchen, I make doubles. For example, I will make a double batch of chicken spaghetti, one for now, and the other for later. Then, a few weeks or so later, when I get home, I just pop the frozen spaghetti in the oven to bake and we have a home cooked meal!!! Also, the beauty of prep and freeze is that my husband can pop it in the oven for a meal for him and the boys if I am not going to be home! Its better than going to McDonald's and easy enough for your man to fix!!!
Here is the recipe for chicken spaghetti, and if you have had it, you know I am famous for it!!!
CHICKEN SPAGHETTI
1 LB GROUND TURKEY
1 LARGE ONION
1 CAN OF SLICED MUSHROOMS
1 CAN OF LEISURE PEAS
2 CANS OF TOMATO SAUCE
1 CAN CRUSHED TOMATOES
1 CAN PETITE DICED TOMATOES
1 PKG OF AMERICAN CHEESE-NOT THE SINGLES WRAPPED INDIVIDUALLY THAT IS FAKE!
1 PKG OF ANGEL HAIR PASTA
2 TBSP OF CHICKEN BULLION - GRANULES OR CHICKEN BASE - NO CUBES THEY DON'T WORK IN THIS
1/2 CUP VEGETABLE OIL
COOK AND SHOP TURKEY MEAT(IN A SEPARATE SKILLET) IN A SAUCE PAN SAUTE ONIONS WITH THE OIL AND CHICKEN BULLION. COMBINE WITH ALL TOMATOES, MUSHROOMS, AND 6 PIECES OF CHEESE. LET ALL THESE INGREDIENTS COOK FOR ABOUT 15 MINUTES. MAKE SURE TO STIR SO THE CHEESE DOESN'T STICK. FINALLY, ADD THE CAN OF PEAS AND LET SIMMER FOR ABOUT 15 MORE MINUTES. IN WATER, BOIL THE ANGEL HAIR PASTA. THEN, LAYER SAUCE WITH PASTA IN A CASSEROLE DISH. TOP WITH AMERICAN CHEESE, COVER AND BACK 350 DEGREES FOR 25-30 MINUTES.
SERVE WITH GARLIC BREAD AND SALAD.
This is SUCH a great meal! It serves and army and has all the essential parts to every meal: meat, veggies, dairy.
Make extra to save for another meal when you don't have time to cook and you can enjoy it time and time again!
Remember to serve on paper plate with plastic forks for easy clean up! You can also take the leftovers to work and enjoy a delicious home cooked meal away from home.
***I am aware that it is called "Chicken Spaghetti" and I use ground turkey...Just keeps ya guessing when you eat it!"
Sunday, April 11, 2010
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
20 Minute Chili
Like I have said before I am a HUGE fan of soup...especially CHILI!!! I have a great recipe that takes 20 minutes to cook and dinner is ready!
Ingredients:
1 lbs of ground beef
1 large onion
1 can of petite diced tomatoes
1 ca of crushed tomatoes
2 cans of tomato sauce
1 can of pinto beans
1 package of chili seasoning
dash of garlic salt
dash of pepper
(I add red pepper flakes because we like it spicey)
Chop onion and add to ground meat and cook, pepper to taste. Then, in a soup pan add cooked meat and onions with all other ingredients. Add two cans of water and let cook on medium high for 20 minutes.
Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, saltine cracker, and sour cream.
So FAST, so SIMPLE, and SO GOOD!!!
Ingredients:
1 lbs of ground beef
1 large onion
1 can of petite diced tomatoes
1 ca of crushed tomatoes
2 cans of tomato sauce
1 can of pinto beans
1 package of chili seasoning
dash of garlic salt
dash of pepper
(I add red pepper flakes because we like it spicey)
Chop onion and add to ground meat and cook, pepper to taste. Then, in a soup pan add cooked meat and onions with all other ingredients. Add two cans of water and let cook on medium high for 20 minutes.
Garnish with shredded cheddar cheese, saltine cracker, and sour cream.
So FAST, so SIMPLE, and SO GOOD!!!
Monday, March 29, 2010
Semi-Homemade Spaghetti Sauce
Have you ever thought, "I'd love to make spaghetti sauce but it just takes too long. And, I don't really have a good recipe." Well, I have a semi-homemade sauce that takes 20 minutes and tastes like it has simmered all day.
I buy a jar of pre-made spaghetti sauce. I have used red pepper flavor, spicy tomato, garlic and herb etc. You can use any red flavored sauce. In a pan I brown either Italian sausage, ground beef, or ground turkey with onion. For the meat, it all depends on what I have on hand or what I just bought at the store. Then, I add a small can of mushrooms, a can of tomato sauce, a can of crushed tomatoes, and some chopped red bell pepper. Add a dash of pepper and a little garlic salt and you have it! Let simmer for 20 minutes or so and you have a wonderful, simi-homemade spaghetti sauce. Right before I start my sauce I put my pan of water on to boil. Then, by the time all the ingredients are simmering in the sauce the noodles are boiling. Sometimes, I will toast some bread or rolls to go with it as well. Serve this on your paper or plastic plates for easy clean up!
You don't always have to make an over the top dinner 100% from scratch. You can always add other ingredients to liven up a sauce that is already made! Remember to SIMPLIFY!!!
I buy a jar of pre-made spaghetti sauce. I have used red pepper flavor, spicy tomato, garlic and herb etc. You can use any red flavored sauce. In a pan I brown either Italian sausage, ground beef, or ground turkey with onion. For the meat, it all depends on what I have on hand or what I just bought at the store. Then, I add a small can of mushrooms, a can of tomato sauce, a can of crushed tomatoes, and some chopped red bell pepper. Add a dash of pepper and a little garlic salt and you have it! Let simmer for 20 minutes or so and you have a wonderful, simi-homemade spaghetti sauce. Right before I start my sauce I put my pan of water on to boil. Then, by the time all the ingredients are simmering in the sauce the noodles are boiling. Sometimes, I will toast some bread or rolls to go with it as well. Serve this on your paper or plastic plates for easy clean up!
You don't always have to make an over the top dinner 100% from scratch. You can always add other ingredients to liven up a sauce that is already made! Remember to SIMPLIFY!!!
Sunday, March 28, 2010
Marathon Cooking
Part of the reason that my family eats at home so much is because I do MOST the cooking and preparing in advance. I am very much a "planner" and a "schedule follower". I do not like to be late, or people that are late, for that matter. Nor, do I like surprises or not being prepared for something. Thus, the COOKING MARATHONS. I plan my grocery store trips around my weekly menu. I decide what I want to feed my family and then I go shopping. Normally, I go shopping on Friday after school before I pick my boys up. That way, we have food for the weekend AND I don't have to go to the store with my kids! Trust me, with a 2 year old and a 10 month old I avoid that in every way possible.
So, Saturday morning arrives and we get up and eat breakfast and then I take the boys to our "Mommy and Me" music class. When we get home, we eat lunch and then NAP TIME!!! During nap is when all the magic happens. I have purchased everything I need for the week already. Now, it is prep time. I usually make a soup for the week, a casserole, something Jack and I can take for lunch(to reheat), and something easy if we have a late night. So, I begin preparing. I chop everything that needs to be chopped, I brown all the meat, etc. If I want to make mashed potatoes I go ahead and make them and leave them in the pan. Then, the night we eat them reheat on the stove and add a little milk and butter for freshness. You would never know that they were cooked and mashed 3 days before. This week I am making a cabbage casserole. So, I browned the meat, cooked the onions, chopped the cabbage, and put it all in the casserole dish. Tomorrow night when I get home, I will add the can of soup that goes in it and stick it in the over. Then, about an hour later dinner is complete and I haven't had to spend ANY time in the kitchen. While it is cooking I usually play with the boys,give them their baths, etc. On Saturday afternoon is also the time that I prepare the crock pot meals. I get my meat in the bag and the veggies chopped. The moral to the story is; if you plan ahead then there is no reason to eat out.
I have also noticed that since I spend one afternoon in the kitchen it has dramatically decreased the time I spend cleaning up. I clean as I go on Saturday or reuse the pans as I am cooking. Then, I load the dishwasher. That is another thing, I have saved money because I only run my dishwasher once a week on the day I cook. Since we use paper plates during the week the clean up is almost nothing. All I do is load the pan that the food was cooked in and the rest goes in the trash.
If Saturday afternoons are not good for you try Sunday, or Friday evening. The most important thing is to plan, plan ahead. You can also plan to have a night out each week. You can decide NOT to prepare for a meal IN because you have planned to be OUT.
Also, don't forget the power of leftovers. Jack and I will eat for lunch, what we had the night before a lot. For one, you don't waste food, you don't have to eat out at lunch, and its better for you!
Just remember there is always a SIMPLE way to do things. Just THINK ahead and PLAN what you want to do! Then, you won't be left wondering..."What's for dinner?"
So, Saturday morning arrives and we get up and eat breakfast and then I take the boys to our "Mommy and Me" music class. When we get home, we eat lunch and then NAP TIME!!! During nap is when all the magic happens. I have purchased everything I need for the week already. Now, it is prep time. I usually make a soup for the week, a casserole, something Jack and I can take for lunch(to reheat), and something easy if we have a late night. So, I begin preparing. I chop everything that needs to be chopped, I brown all the meat, etc. If I want to make mashed potatoes I go ahead and make them and leave them in the pan. Then, the night we eat them reheat on the stove and add a little milk and butter for freshness. You would never know that they were cooked and mashed 3 days before. This week I am making a cabbage casserole. So, I browned the meat, cooked the onions, chopped the cabbage, and put it all in the casserole dish. Tomorrow night when I get home, I will add the can of soup that goes in it and stick it in the over. Then, about an hour later dinner is complete and I haven't had to spend ANY time in the kitchen. While it is cooking I usually play with the boys,give them their baths, etc. On Saturday afternoon is also the time that I prepare the crock pot meals. I get my meat in the bag and the veggies chopped. The moral to the story is; if you plan ahead then there is no reason to eat out.
I have also noticed that since I spend one afternoon in the kitchen it has dramatically decreased the time I spend cleaning up. I clean as I go on Saturday or reuse the pans as I am cooking. Then, I load the dishwasher. That is another thing, I have saved money because I only run my dishwasher once a week on the day I cook. Since we use paper plates during the week the clean up is almost nothing. All I do is load the pan that the food was cooked in and the rest goes in the trash.
If Saturday afternoons are not good for you try Sunday, or Friday evening. The most important thing is to plan, plan ahead. You can also plan to have a night out each week. You can decide NOT to prepare for a meal IN because you have planned to be OUT.
Also, don't forget the power of leftovers. Jack and I will eat for lunch, what we had the night before a lot. For one, you don't waste food, you don't have to eat out at lunch, and its better for you!
Just remember there is always a SIMPLE way to do things. Just THINK ahead and PLAN what you want to do! Then, you won't be left wondering..."What's for dinner?"
Saturday, March 27, 2010
Taco Soup
I am a HUGE soup fan!!! So, you will see many recipes for soup on my blog. For one, I think its EASY. Two, most of the time, they have everything you need in them for a balanced meal; meat, veggies, cheese, and add a roll or cornbread and there you go! This one is a favorite in the Ballenger house! TACO SOUP and it only takes about 20 minutes to make!
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 can of white corn(or yellow, but I prefer the white)
1 can of Ranch Style Beans
1 can of Rotel tomatoes
2 small cans tomato sauce
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 package of taco seasoning
1 package of ranch dressing mix
Cook ground beef then in a soup pot add all other ingredients PLUS two cans of water. Let simmer for 20-25 minutes. Serve with cheese, sour cream, and corn bread.
I would always start my cornbread way before the soup because I knew it took forever to cook in the oven. Then, I discovered that you can cook cornbread in the MICROWAVE in 4 minutes!!! I use the JIFFY cornbread in the little white and blue box. It is 88 cents and goes a LONG way! Mix all the ingredients in a glass baking dish(1 box use and 8x8 two boxes use a 9x13) and pop in the microwave for 4 minutes. Make sure that you spray the bottom of the baking dish with PAM or grease with olive oil before you mix the ingredients in it to avoid sticking. By the time you have mixed and cooked your cornbread that soup should be about finished!!!
Then, if there is any soup leftover dish it into microwavable containers and refrigerate or freeze for later use! Then, for the next meal, or a week down the road you have soup ready to serve! Remember to SIMPLIFY!!!
Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 can of white corn(or yellow, but I prefer the white)
1 can of Ranch Style Beans
1 can of Rotel tomatoes
2 small cans tomato sauce
1 can of crushed tomatoes
1 package of taco seasoning
1 package of ranch dressing mix
Cook ground beef then in a soup pot add all other ingredients PLUS two cans of water. Let simmer for 20-25 minutes. Serve with cheese, sour cream, and corn bread.
I would always start my cornbread way before the soup because I knew it took forever to cook in the oven. Then, I discovered that you can cook cornbread in the MICROWAVE in 4 minutes!!! I use the JIFFY cornbread in the little white and blue box. It is 88 cents and goes a LONG way! Mix all the ingredients in a glass baking dish(1 box use and 8x8 two boxes use a 9x13) and pop in the microwave for 4 minutes. Make sure that you spray the bottom of the baking dish with PAM or grease with olive oil before you mix the ingredients in it to avoid sticking. By the time you have mixed and cooked your cornbread that soup should be about finished!!!
Then, if there is any soup leftover dish it into microwavable containers and refrigerate or freeze for later use! Then, for the next meal, or a week down the road you have soup ready to serve! Remember to SIMPLIFY!!!
Monday, March 22, 2010
Leftover CHICKEN! Recipe #1
So, you have some chicken leftover. What are to going to do with it!? Here is a yummy dinner that takes minutes to prepare!!!
Ingredients:
Leftover chicken - white or dark meat cut into bite size pieces
2 cups of cooked white rice(you can use the 90 sec Uncle Ben's Original Rice...just don't heat it..Just dump it in! I use 2 bags for a 9x13 casserole dish)
1 large can cream of chicken soup
3-4 slices of American cheese(broken up into pieces)
2-3 stalks of green onions chopped
1 package of frozen broccoli(thawed)
Combine all these ingredients into a casserole dish and mix. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Serve with slices of bread or rolls!
SO TASTY! VERY easy prep and it goes along way! You may even have some leftover for lunch the next day!!! Happy cooking!
Ingredients:
Leftover chicken - white or dark meat cut into bite size pieces
2 cups of cooked white rice(you can use the 90 sec Uncle Ben's Original Rice...just don't heat it..Just dump it in! I use 2 bags for a 9x13 casserole dish)
1 large can cream of chicken soup
3-4 slices of American cheese(broken up into pieces)
2-3 stalks of green onions chopped
1 package of frozen broccoli(thawed)
Combine all these ingredients into a casserole dish and mix. Bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. Serve with slices of bread or rolls!
SO TASTY! VERY easy prep and it goes along way! You may even have some leftover for lunch the next day!!! Happy cooking!
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Crock Pot Dinners
The hour between 5:00 and 6:00 p.m. can be one of the WORST hours of the day! You have just picked up the kids, you are home, and now the daunting task of dinner! You start rummaging through the fridge, pantry and realize everything you have will take too much prep time and there are screaming children in your living room. Cereal it is!!! All of this can be avoided if you invest in a crock pot! They can be your best friend! I learned this from my mother and it has saved my life.
You can cook anything in a crock pot. My favorite thing to do is when going to the store by a beef roast, turkey breast, whole chickens, Cornish game hens, hams, and others of the like. You also need to invest in some onions, fresh garlic, carrots, browning bags(for crock pots) and a few bottles of cooking sherry. What I do is, when I get all these items home, I prepare meals for days and weeks at a time. I put, for example, a rump roast in the browning bag, chop some onions, a few cloves of garlic, slice a few carrots and throw it all in the bag. Then, I toss that bag in the freezer. A day or week later before I leave for school around 7: 00 a.m. I take the browning bag out of the freezer, dump the bottle of cooking sherry in the bag, seal it, and put it in my crock pot on LOW and leave. Magically throughout the day all these flavors merry and the meat cooks. When you arrive home at 5:00 p.m. dinner is complete! I usually open a can of peas or green beans, and a package of instant potatoes to add to the meal. The BIG BONUS, inside the bag, are veggies and meat of course, and GRAVY for those potatoes!!! Strain off the juice and you can use as is or turn it into a creamy gravy with some flour and water in a skillet. VOILA! You spent about 10 minutes preparing a meal that tasted like it took all day!!! Use those paper plates and plastic forks and you have a well balanced simplified meal with your family.
Recently, at a book fair at school I bought a book titled CROCK POT - THE ORIGINAL SLOW COOKER RECIPES. Invest in one of these books and you have a mountain of meals that cook for you!
Many may ask, "What about cooking food while you are not home? Aren't you afraid of something catching on fire?" When used correctly crock pots can be one of the safest forms of cooking. Unlike pressure cookers and stove tops they are designed to stay on for long periods of time and can with stain the task of cooking for 10-12 hours at a time. My mother has done this for 30 years, at least once a week, and has NEVER encountered a problem! Unlike the pressure cooker, where we now have the infamous, "Exploding Dinner", these are safe!
If you do not own a crock pot, now is the time to invest in one! Or two!!!
You can cook anything in a crock pot. My favorite thing to do is when going to the store by a beef roast, turkey breast, whole chickens, Cornish game hens, hams, and others of the like. You also need to invest in some onions, fresh garlic, carrots, browning bags(for crock pots) and a few bottles of cooking sherry. What I do is, when I get all these items home, I prepare meals for days and weeks at a time. I put, for example, a rump roast in the browning bag, chop some onions, a few cloves of garlic, slice a few carrots and throw it all in the bag. Then, I toss that bag in the freezer. A day or week later before I leave for school around 7: 00 a.m. I take the browning bag out of the freezer, dump the bottle of cooking sherry in the bag, seal it, and put it in my crock pot on LOW and leave. Magically throughout the day all these flavors merry and the meat cooks. When you arrive home at 5:00 p.m. dinner is complete! I usually open a can of peas or green beans, and a package of instant potatoes to add to the meal. The BIG BONUS, inside the bag, are veggies and meat of course, and GRAVY for those potatoes!!! Strain off the juice and you can use as is or turn it into a creamy gravy with some flour and water in a skillet. VOILA! You spent about 10 minutes preparing a meal that tasted like it took all day!!! Use those paper plates and plastic forks and you have a well balanced simplified meal with your family.
Recently, at a book fair at school I bought a book titled CROCK POT - THE ORIGINAL SLOW COOKER RECIPES. Invest in one of these books and you have a mountain of meals that cook for you!
Many may ask, "What about cooking food while you are not home? Aren't you afraid of something catching on fire?" When used correctly crock pots can be one of the safest forms of cooking. Unlike pressure cookers and stove tops they are designed to stay on for long periods of time and can with stain the task of cooking for 10-12 hours at a time. My mother has done this for 30 years, at least once a week, and has NEVER encountered a problem! Unlike the pressure cooker, where we now have the infamous, "Exploding Dinner", these are safe!
If you do not own a crock pot, now is the time to invest in one! Or two!!!
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