Sunday Dinner- Easy Turkey dinner

Another easy meal i used to make for my Hubby and I when we first got married was an easy turkey dinner.  

Take deli turkey about 3-4 slices stacked on top of each other.  (preferably low sodium)  lay a slice of chees on top and a spoonful of prepared stuffing.  now roll it up and lay in a microwave container.  Make several rolls and then cover them with a jar or gravy.

Because everything is precooked you only have to microwave for a few minutes until cheese melts and serve.  

This is also a great meal if you didnt eat all your deli meat and think it may go bad in the next few days.  if it hasnt started showing signs of spoiling yet whip this up for dinner with whatever deli meat you have.  I have done it with ham and salami and it was good too but watch out for the sodium.


I like to serve mine over toast like an open face sandwich.

Hope you enjoy this super quick meal today.  

Melissa

Sunday Dinner- Amazing Chicken Marinade

Hers another wonderful chicken recipe.  I came across this one on food.com when looking for easy dump chicken recipes.  Dump chicken is basically a sauce you marinade the chicken in and then dump into a pan to cook.  easy, simple recipes and it was perfect for my freezer cooking.

Rather then retype the whole recipe I am just posting the link to where i found it.

One change i did was: i used all lemon juice and regular mustard from the fridge cause thats what i had, and left out the black pepper because i didnt have any.  Even my kids loved it and didnt need any dip for the chicken.  which is great because they always use dip...
http://www.food.com/recipe/amazing-chicken-marinade-29598

Hope you enjoy this one too.

Melissa

Sunday Dinner- Bourbon Chicken

So as i said i have been doing some bulk cooking and freezing meals ahead.  I came across this DUMP CHICKEN recipe that i love.  it had tons of good reviews so i figured it was a good one to try and WOW.  all the reviews were right.  Tastes just like take out.

Rather then retype the whole recipe I figured i'd just post the link to the website i got it from.

Bourbon chicken.  http://www.food.com/recipe/bourbon-chicken-45809

One small change i did was to leave out the red pepper.  I wanted my kids to eat it so it was a small sacrifice although my hubby and i definitely felt like we wanted to add some back in.  :)  I also left out some water in the sauce to make it thicker and added in a bit of cornstarch.

The taste was amazing and even the kids liked it.  I made 3 batches and froze it ahead in ziploc freezer bags.  Freeze them flat so they thaw quick.  I just fill my sink with warm water and put the bag in.  it thaws in about 15 minutes.  Heat it up on the stove or microwave and serve over some rice with mixed veges.  Now its quicker then ordering take out.

Enjoy,

Melissa

Sunday Dinner- Cream Cheese Chicken

as I started nearing my due date for my third child i decided i needed to plan ahead some meals to make life easier.  I attended a OAMC class (once a month cooking) and decided to implement a few ideas.  I knew id never be able to cook 30 days of meals in one day but instead I started cooking 3 times what we were having for dinner and packing 2 meals for the freezer.  This way worked for me.  So whether your just looking for some new ideas or trying to plan ahead like me i hope you enjoy some of these new recipes.  

Cream Cheese Chicken- came from a mom i know who does once a month cooking and my kids love it.  This has a taste like chicken alfredo but is super easy.

In a crock pot mix an italian seasoning pack (usually used to make italian salad dressing), a can of cream of chicken soup, 1/2 cup chicken broth, 8oz block of cream cheese (i used the lowfat kind).  Cut up 2-3 chicken breasts into bite sized pieces and cook then serve over any pasta with the sauce. 

I tripled the recipe (except for the italian seasoning i decided 2 packs was enough), steamed up tons of chicken in the big pan and then divided them into 3 (freeze 2 and eat 1 batch for dinner).     It reheated nicely out of the freezer and all i had to cook up was noodles.  Mix it up by adding different noodles each time.  speghetti will be like an alfredo, add it to cooked zitti, macoroni, bowties, etc will be more like a hamburger helper meal. even egg noodles would be great.

Enjoy,

Melissa

Sunday Dinner- Steak or Chicken roll ups

Steak roll ups

Growing up my mom used to have us help plan and cook meals.  We also were involved in 4-h where we would participate in an annual food competition.  dont remember what it was called but every year we would have to plan out a complete meal and make at least one of the dishes for the judges to try.  This was one of the recipes i made.  

get thin steaks (and pound flat to about 1/4 inch thin, using a meat tenderizer).  lay a slice of ham and cheese on top and a spoonful of stuffing then roll up.  Make one for each of you and bake at 350 in a casserole dish.  I will admit I dont know how long it took to cook because i was doing other things but i think it was about 20 minutes i just checked it a few times until it looked cooked.  I did end up microwaving the kids one a bit because i took it out too early and when cut i saw it was still red..  If you want to you can always stick it under the broiler for a bit to speed it up to.  

You can also so stuffed chicken

just filet the chicken breast and stuff with anything.  you could do ham and cheese, we like to do broccoli and cheese, My husband did it with broccoli and goat cheese once and it was great, (i have pictures but they dont look as good as it tasted).  the last time i did it with feta and swiss with the broccoli. i covered and Baked at 400 until it was cooked.  about 20 min again but depends on how thick your chicken is.  then i took the lid off and broiled for about 5 min to brown the top. 

serve these with a side salad or veges and you've got a great meal.  These do freeze easy too if you want to make extra and freeze ahead for another day. 

Enjoy, 

Melissa

Sunday Dinner- Stuffed Turkey loaf

One of my friends asked for this recipe and so it inspired me to post it here.

This is one of my favorites and my husband loves it too.  When i was younger my parents had a friend that passed on this recipe and over the years i have altered it slightly to make it easier.   Some people have time to Make their own marinara sauce I just open whatever jar is in my cabinet. :)  I love short cuts.

So here is my adaptation.  I dont have many measurements because everyone has different tastes of how much spice or cheese they like. This is something you just kind of have to play with until you get what you like.  But heres the basics.

Stuffed Turkey Loaf

1-1.5 lbs. of ground turkey (its also great made with chicken)
1 package of frozen chopped spinach (thawed and drained)
Shredded cheese blend (I use whatever i have but mozzarella, or an Italian blend works good) 
about 1-2 cups of pasta sauce
Bread Crumbs
an egg (beaten)
Italian seasonings
salt to taste

1.) Preheat over to 375.

2.)Take turkey and add seasonings, a dash of salt, about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs and the egg.  Mix thoroughly.  You are making a meat loaf so you want to be able to shape into a loaf.  If it seems too soggy add more bread crumbs.  On occasion I will even throw in some Parmesan cheese (the powdery kind) to add thickness.

3.) Shape into a long loaf and place in an oven safe dish.  Now carve a channel down the middle lengthwise. This is where you will put the stuffing.  The more room you lake the more you can stuff.  Basically you want your loaf to be a long "U" shape if you looked at the end of it with the sides fairly tall as this will be what you will fold over to cover the stuffing.

4.) Loosely spread the spinach evenly across the bottom of the channel.  Then spread about 1/2 cup of cheese or more if you like it really cheesey.  This is your preference.

5.) Now carefully fold over the sides of the turkey loaf to cover the stuffing and pinch on the top to seal.  In the end you want it to just look like a loaf with no cheese or spinach showing.

6.) Now pour pasta sauce over the top and around the sides and place in oven about 40 minutes until turkey is done.  I like to sprinkle some cheese on the top during the last few minutes.

When done you should be able to cut into about 8-10 slices.  Serve with salad or even a small scoop of pasta on the side.

Alternatives:
*** The last time i made this I pureed a small onion, a half a green pepper, and some fresh basil from my garden and used that as the seasonings.  It was wonderful and the flavor was blended perfect throughout. My husband said it was the best he remembered, and it snuck in some extra veges for the kids.

*** I have made mini personal sized loaves too and only put small amounts of spinach in my kids and added chopped pepperonis for a "pizza loaf".  Everyone got their own loaf and they loved the kid friendly version.

*** Short on time?  This recipe can be done tandem in the microwave and oven to save half the cooking time.  Honestly this is how i cook it all the time.  Just put it in a microwave & oven safe dish.  Start in the microwave for about 15 minutes then move to the oven for about 7-10 minutes.  This is great in the summer and keeps the house from getting hot.

My family loves this recipe I hope you find your own variations to make it special for your family.

Melissa

My stockpile photos

I keep saying we are well stocked up...  Just wanted to show you what ONLY a few months of couponing has done for us here...

heres the stockpile "pantry" we built in the basement. Notice the wall isnt quite finished.  I couldnt wait and hung shelving anyway.  lol  lots of pasta, juice, soup, soy joy bars :), crackers...

heres the bottom half of the basement "pantry". Cereal, paper towels, soda & chips (for our memorial party), some cleaning products, maple syrup etc...

and heres a peak at some of our toiletries...  I dont have a photo of the kids bathroom shelf yet.  I also have a bunch I havent organized yet and will end up in an overflow bin in the basement.  Right now theres a bunch of Dove mens body wash just lined up on the floor and our big soaker tub is full of stayfree and kotex.  lol...   

I found some pantry racks at home depot.  They are about 12" wide and 4 " deep: 2 shelves each.  we bought 3 for each closet.  It works great inside the door.  The reason we chose the 2 shelf kind was because we could vary the heights by how we hung them.  In order to fit tall bottles on the top shelf we measured how tall a bottle was and hung the next shelf that far apart.  for example in the photo the nexxus shampoo is a top shelf and the toothpaste is the bottom shelf on the same rack.   We have pretty deep closets with lots of wasted space.  On the floor I have a big Rubbermaid bin.

In the basement pantry I used the same kind of rack but it was wider and 6 feet tall.  It has all short fixed shelves but works great for shorter items like mayo, soup, pasta, and helps to keep these within easy reach.

How do you organize your stockpile???

Sunday Dinner- Easy MICROWAVE lasagna

I missed sending this out yesterday.  It was mostly written but I got busy and just couldnt get back to it.  Sorry its coming out late. 

Heres a favorite of mine from when I was a Tupperware consultant. and yes you read in right MICROWAVE lasgna.  I never knew how easy lasagna was until I started making it in the microwave.  I hope it becomes a favorite of yours too.

Ingredients:
1 box of NO BAKE lasagna noodles.  (these exist I promise.  I buy Barilla but theres probably others out there)
1 small container of cottage cheese (I use low fat)
1 bag of shredded cheese
and any chopped veges you want in it, onions, pepers, broccoli, spinach ect... (i like to use left overs)
1 lbs of ground meat: beef, turkey, chicken  (I have been  using turkey and chicken a lot lately)
1 jar of favorite pasta sauce
1 microwave container I use a med deep Rock n serve from Tupperware.  if you need one let me know and I can help you find a rep. or I may have extras left in my basement form when I sold it.

Directions: 
1. First brown the ground beef and drain excess fat
2. In your microwave dish add enough sauce to just cover the bottom then layer noodles over it. You may have to cut/trim noodles to fit depending on the size of your container. 
3. Now add a spoon ful of cottage cheese and a handfull of shredded cheese then add another layer of noodles.
4. Next cover noodles with a small spoonful of sauce and then some of the ground beef and some veges.  and cover with noodles.
5. Continue with layering cheese noddles sauce and beef/veges until your container is full. The amount of each will vary depending on your container.
6. I always finish the top with a layer of noodles lightly covered with sauce and sprinkled with cheese.  My husband likes the top a bit crunchy

Cook on high in the microwave for 20-30 mintues (depends on microwave wattage)  you may want to cover the top for most of that time to prevent sauce from spattering.

***If you have used a microwave AND oven safe container you may put it in the oven at 350 for the last 5 minutes to brown the top.  I have an old tupperware called overworks that does this.  I wish they still made it as I coo in it ALL the time.


Serve with a light salad and you've got a great healthy meal.  Let me know how it comes out for you. 

Melissa

Sunday Dinner

Check back here to find favorite easy recipes of mine or new recipes I might be trying.

Holiday Entertaining tips

The holidays can be stressful for a lot of people. I recommend First plan ahead and ask for help. We still get together as a large extended family 25 or so people. Everyone brings a dish to share. This helps take a lot of pressure off everyone. Then just relax, and have fun creating new memories.

We've been doing it for so long that most people have a signiture dish they bring. I typically bring the green bean casserole with frenchs onions and then some desserts. Heres my favorites.

I like to make things that look difficult, fancy, and are delicious. I even recycle snacks. How do you recycle a snack. A few years ago I found a recipe i believe from Kraft magazine for Oreo truffles. Its the easiest thing to make and everyone always asks for the recipe.

Oreo Truffles
1 bag of oreo cookies (I have used store brand too)
1 package of cream cheese (I use the low fat version and have been told it tastes better)
Melting chocolate or chocolate chips (I use wilton melting chocolate. it melts so evenly)
Sprinkles or garnish
Peppermint extract (my secret ingredient)

Crush oreos in a food processor. Mix in cream cheese. I do this all in my food processor. Scoop out mixture into small balls. I like about 1/2 TBS size. They are the perfect size bite and you get tons out of the batter. put in freezer for at least an hour. I usually leave overnight.
Take balls out of freezer. Melt chocolate in microwave following directions on package. Dip truffles in melted chocolate and sprinkle with garnish.

I like mine minty like a girl scout cookie. If you like that too add a few drops of peppermint extract to the melted chocolate before dipping. Get creative for the garnishes I have chopped up left over peppermints, used crushed cookies, chopped nuts, drizzles white chocolate over the tops. Just make sure you do it when the chocolate is still wet so the garnish sticks...


Another recycled treat...
Not quite homemade Designer Cookies
take inexpensive butter cookies and dip them in chocolate, garnish and then serve or package in decorative containers for gifts. For a designer look I like to mix up the way they are dipped and use several different garnishes. Its easier then you think.

Try these ideas
Dont dip the whole cookie instead hold it like you would if you were dipping it in a cup of tea. Dip only half of the cookie in chocolate. Dip some in white chocolate.
Drizzle the chocolate in stripes over the top (i like this on the pretzel shaped ones).
Garnish with chopped peppermints, nuts, sprinkles, I use whatever I can find in the pantry.
Dip some in chocolate and then drizzle the white over the top
do some the opposite way, white chocolate with dark on top

Find fun containers at the dollar store. I like to put mine in mini muffin wrappers. You can find those in the grocery store or at a craft/cake decorators supply store. Wilton melting chocolate is in craft stores/cake decorating supply stores

I hope you enjoy these fun tips. I will share more as the weeks go on.

Remember you dont have to be martha to make your friends think you are.

Melissa :)

www.FrugalRImama.com and Scott Common sense community are having a $100 visa card giveaway and it inspired me to share this tip. Go on over and see how you can win...