Meal Ideas That Worked

Tomato Beef Stroganoff

2009-03-09T17:32:00.000-07:00

ANOTHER new recipe! (Actually...if the week goes as planned, almost every night will be something new!)

Tonight and tomorrow night are both busy nights and so both are planned to be crock pot meals! I love my crock pot!

1 boneless chuck roast (2 1/2 lbs) cut into large chunks
1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (6 oz) tomato paste
1 package (6 oz) sliced fresh mushrooms - (I used a can)
2 packets (1 1/2 oz each) beef stroganoff seasoning
2 cups cooked noodles
1 c. sour cream (as I'm typing this, I just realized I forgot to add this!)

1. Combine roast, tomatoes, tomato sauce, tomato paste, mushrooms, and seasoning mix in crockpot.
2. Cover and cook on low for 8 - 10 hours, or on high for 4 - 6 hours.
3. Add noodles the last 20 minutes.
4. Stir in sour cream at the end of cooking time.

So even with my oops of forgetting the sour cream....it was delicious!! The boys loved the noodles but avoided the meat chunks. (Unknown to them, they still ate some shredded pieces blended in with the sauce!) We had a fresh salad and applesauce with it....nothing special but two healthy things that the boys eat! They each got an Oreo for trying something new (and eating most of it!) Oh the tricks we do to get our kids to eat!!! Hope your family enjoys it too!

MIni Taco Quiches

2009-03-09T17:11:00.000-07:00

Sunday night was another new meal...mini taco quiches.
They were very good but between that and the side of Spanish rice, this mommy-to-be had heartburn! (To be honest, I had it before we ate, so I can't completely blame the meal!)
Here's the recipe:

1 lb. ground beef
1/3 c. chopped onions
1/3 c. sliced black olives (I used chopped so they wouldn't be as noticeable to the boys)
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1/4 c. water
1 package taco seasoning mix
2 T. Franks RedHot original cayenne pepper sauce (I only used a dash...nothing near 2 Ts!)
1 egg, beaten
4 flour tortillas (10 in.) - best if room temp.
1/3 c. sour cream
1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Grease 12 muffin pan cups. Set aside.
2. Cook beef and onions in skillet until meat is browned; drain. Remove from heat and stir in olives, tomato sauce, 1/4 c. water, taco seasoning, Frank's RedHot sauce, and egg. Mix well.
3. Using a 4 in. cookie cutter, cut each flour tortilla into 3 rounds. Fit tortilla rounds into prepared muffin pan. Fill each tortilla with meat mixture. Top each with sour cream and cheese. Bake 25 minutes or until heated through.

I found that I had more meat mixture, so mine made more than 12. I don't know how much sour cream and cheddar cheese I used - I just put some on top of each. I was surprised they took 25 minutes, but it took that long for the tortilla to crisp up some. Jayden's favorite part was the tortilla shell and Christopher wanted his cut up but then gobbled the whole thing. (He's our eater!)
Let me know if you try them and what you think! Enjoy!

Grilling out

2009-03-09T16:12:00.000-07:00

Saturday was such beautiful weather we had to grill out!! We had bratwurst, fresh salad, and a potato/onion dish I threw together. I was kind of picturing German fries/I don't know exactly.

Anyway, whatever it was, ended up being good!

Cube about 5-6 potatoes and dice 1/4 onion. Soak in water for a few minutes. Drain and spritz with spray butter and toss with Mrs. Dash. Cook in oil, stirring every couple of minutes. When browned, drain on paper towel. (I then sprinkled some seasoned salt on them).

Very simple and very tasty! The boys enjoyed them!

Chicken 'N Dumplings

2009-02-16T16:39:00.001-08:00

Tonight I tried a new Crockpot recipe from my friend Rachel. It was very good! I've never made chicken 'n dumplings, but this seemed easy enough since it was all done in the crockpot!

2 c. cooked chicken (I used 2 huge chicken breasts and let them cook in the crockpot with other ingredients)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 soup cans water
4 t. flour
2 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules (I crushed 2 chicken bouillon cubes)
1/2 t. black pepper
1 can refrigerated buttermilk biscuits (8 biscuits)

Combine all ingredients except biscuits in crockpot. Cut biscuits into quarters and gently stir in mixture. Cover and cook on low 4 -6 hours.

I let the chicken cook with all ingredients except biscuits for about 4 -6 hours and then added the biscuits later and turned it to high. I think the biscuits would've been better if I would've gotten them in earlier (they were a little doughy) but it still was good. I have more crockpot recipes to try this week too, so check back!!

Roly Poly PB Chocolate Balls

2009-01-19T14:10:00.000-08:00

It's a snowy day and I'm out of the first trimester - I can look at food again! What a concept!!

I have a Cheerio Cookbook that I got for the boys because there are a lot of fun craft & recipe ideas in it. We tried one today that is kind of like buckeyes only with Cheerios. Christopher and I just tasted one and they are very good!

The ingredients are:

1 c. milk chocolate chips

2 T. water

1 c. creamy or crunchy peanut butter

1/2 c. powdered sugar

1/2 c. light corn syrup (although today I only had 1/4 c. light so I mixed it with 1/4 c. dark corn syrup and I don't think it made a difference)

2 c. Cheerios

1. Line cookie sheet with waxed paper

2. Place the chocolate chips and water in 1 quart saucepan. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture is smooth. Let the chocolate cool while preparing the candies.

3. Place the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and corn syrup in a medium bowl. Stir until well blended. Stir in cereal until evenly coated.

4. Lightly spray your hands with cooking spray. (And take off any rings!) For each candy, roll 1 T. of the mixture into 1 1/2 inch ball. Place the balls on the cookie sheet and press them slightly so the bottoms of the balls are flat.

5. Spoon about 1 t. of the cooled chocolate onto each ball. Refrigerate until firm, about 30 minutes. Store the candies in a covered contained in the refrigerator.

Christopher and I really like them. It made about 20-24 balls.

Dressed Chicken Breasts with Angel Hair Pasta

2008-10-26T12:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a recipe that Matt made for me back when we were dating and it has been a favorite since. It's called Dressed Chicken Breasts with Angel Hair Pasta.

1 c. Hidden Valley Ranch Original salad dressing
1/3 c. Dijon style mustard
1/2 c. butter
4 boneless chicken breasts
1/3 c. dry white wine
10 oz. angel hair pasta (cooked and drained)
chopped parsley

In small bowl, whisk together salad dressing and mustard. Set aside. In medium skillet, saute chicken in butter until browned. Transfer to another dish to keep warm. (In the case of kids that don't want to see chicken, cut into bite size pieces to mix with pasta later.)
Pour wine in skillet; cook over med-high heat, scraping up any brown bits from skillet, about 5 minutes. Whisk into dressing mixture; blend well. Serve chicken over pasta with sauce; sprinkle with parsley.

Below is Christopher enjoying his "spaghetti!"

Tuesday night

2008-10-03T18:25:00.000-07:00

Tuesday night was had spicy sausage kabobs. I made them Monday night and let them marinate until Tuesday afternoon. As I made the marinade, I wondered how the honey would affect it. It actually was very good! Not very spicy...next time I might leave out the honey and try it with Worcheshire sauce or something. I didn't make them as kabobs either, I put the veggies in my electric skillet on low and the sausage pieces on a skillet on the stove. I loved the carmelization that everything had! It was delicious! Next time I think I'll make rice to go with it too! Here's the recipe...

SPICY SAUSAGE KEBABS (Makes about 8 Kebabs)

1/3 cup honey
¼ cup spicy brown mustard
¼ cup vegetable oil
1 T. soy sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
1 tsp. ground ginger
1½ Pound smoked sausage cut into 1 inch pieces
1 medium green or red peppers cut into bite size pieces
8 pearl onions or small onion wedges
8 mushroom caps
1 medium zucchini cut into 1 inch pieces

Prepare Marinade by combining honey, mustard, oil, soy sauce, and ginger: blend thoroughly.
Add sausage and vegetable pieces and stir. MARINATE 1 hour or more. (over night works too)
Assemble skewers by alternating sausage and vegetables as desired.
Grill or broil 4 minutes on each side. Basting with the left over Marinade if desired.

You could also do this as UN-KEBABS and just grill it in a foil lined Pan.

**A couple things I've heard or read somewhere to keep in mind - always marinate meat separate from veggies, always cover marinating food, and don't reuse marinade (mix up some fresh if you want to baste with it). I've also heard that you should put meat on one skewer and veggies on another, but I think that's going a bit far. Although I did end up cooking mine separate but that's just because I did a bunch of veggies and they didn't fit in one pan with the meat.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

2008-09-29T18:03:00.000-07:00

Sour Cream Noodle bake (from my mom and my aunt)

1 pound ground beef (cooked and drained)
1 T. Margarine
1 8 oz. package of noodles, ( Cooked)
1 8 oz. cans of tomato sauce
Salt to taste. (About a teaspoon)
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1 cup cottage cheese
1 cup sour cream
3/4 cup cheddar cheese

Mix and simmer the beef, margarine, noodles, tomato sauce and salt for 5 minutes.
Add cottage cheese and sour cream.
Pour into baking dish and bake at 350 for 30 – 45 minutes.
Top with cheddar cheese during the last 5 minutes.

*This was a HUGE hit tonight. Jayden loved it, and Matt and I are looking forward to the leftovers tomorrow at lunch! Tomorrow night is another recipe from my aunt - it's marinating in the fridge now - spicy sausage kabobs. I'll keep you posted!!

Baked Quesadillas

2008-09-19T17:49:00.000-07:00

Thanks Aunt Ginny! Another simple and delicious sounding recipe!

Baked Quesadillas
(4 servings)

1 cup strips of cooked steak or chicken
1 cup shredded Monterrey Jack cheese
½ Cup Ranch Dressing
¼ Cup (small can) diced green chilies, rinsed and drained.
4 (9 inch) flour tortillas, (heated)
(Optional) salsa and guacamole

Combine steak or Chicken, cheese, dressing, and chilies in a medium bowl. Place about ½ cup of this mixture on each tortilla. Fold in half to seal.
Place quesadillas on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes or until cheese is melted.
Garnish with salsa and guacamole, if desired.

Beef Taco Skillet

2008-09-19T17:43:00.000-07:00

This recipe sounds so good! I think I'll try it next week! My Aunt sent me this one (and many more that I'll get posted ASAP.)

Beef Taco skillet
Prep: 5 min. Cook 20 min. Serves 4

1 lb. ground beef
1 can Campbell’s Tomato soup
½ cup salsa
½ cup water
6 flour tortillas ( 6 inch) cut into 1 inch pieces
½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook beef until well browned, stirring to break up chunks.
Drain fat.
Stir in soup, salsa, water, tortillas.
Heat to boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 5 min. Stir. Top with cheese.

Options; Stir in ½ Sour cream OR Use corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas and shredded Mexican cheese blend instead of Cheddar.

Cheeseball

2008-09-16T02:53:00.001-07:00

Here is a simple (nut-free!) cheeseball recipe. I made it this weekend when we had family in town, and there wasn't much left! It's super easy, doesn't have nuts (which is great for me, since I don't like them), and has a spice/kick that my husband likes. Personally, I liked it best on Wheat Thins.

Mix 1 package (softened) Cream Cheese with 1 stick (softened) butter and 1 package dry Ranch salad dressing mix. Form into a ball and cover with Seasoned Pepper. Refridgerate unntil needed!

Super simple, super messy (when forming a ball anyway), and the seasoned pepper is what gives it a little kick.

Capellini caprese (spaghetti according to the boys)

2008-09-15T19:21:00.000-07:00

So tonight's recipe was from a Kraft food magazine. To the boys I called it spaghetti without red sauce. It was SUPER easy and took about 25 minutes total to make. Next time I probably wouldn't use as much garlic, but it was good all the same. Christopher gobbled it up, Jayden ate most of it.

1/2 lb capellini or spaghetti (I'll be honest I don't know what capillini is!)

1/2 cup (I added more once it started to cook down) Kraft Tuscan House Italian dressing
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic
3 cups halved grape or cherry tomatoes
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese (I also sprinkled Parmesan on because the boys and I love it!)
1/3 cup fresh basil finely sliced (left it out....didn't have it)

Cook pasta as directed on package.
Meanwhile, heat dressing in large skillet on med-high heat. Add onions and garlic; cook and stir 2 min. Add tomatoes; cook 5 min. stirring occasionally.
Drain pasta. Add to tomato mixture;mix lightly. Sprinkle with cheese and basil.

I served it with garlic bread and meant to get out the salad, but forgot! It was super simple and good. We have some leftovers that will probably go with me to work tomorrow, but I'm not sure how it will be leftover. I'll probably grab a yogurt too just in case!

New idea

2008-09-15T19:13:00.001-07:00

I can't believe I'm doing this! I really don't enjoy cooking, but find myself doing more and more of it. It's not that bad if I have the time to plan for it, get the groceries, and the boys cooperate and let me do it! When our playgroup gets together, the subject of food usually comes up. We all feel we have picky eaters and we get stuck in a rut as far as meal ideas. So after I tried a new recipe tonight and it worked, I thought I needed to share it! Since I'm addicted to blogging, I thought this might be a way that would work.
My hope is to post recipes that work for me and if you have some that work for your family, please email them to me and I'll be glad to post them too! I probably won't have many pictures because I don't usually think to take pictures of my food...I'm not a fancy chef...they wouldn't be pretty anyway! But if you send me pictures of your recipes, I'll be glad to post them! Let's get cooking!!