Happy New Year!!

I wanted to start off 2012 blogging and hope that it inspires me to keep going. Since I currently don't have anything inspiring to write, I thought I would post an e-mail I sent to a couple of friends this morning with meal ideas.

Crock Pot

Salsa Chicken: I use this for chicken taco night. Place 3-4 split chicken breasts in the crock pot and cover with Pace Picante Sauce. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. Take meat out, remove the skin and bones, shred chicken and place back in crock pot to keep warm and incorporate the juices while you prepare tortillas and the fixings.

Italian Beef: Place a 3-ish lb rump roast in the crock and cover with 1 packet of Zesty Italian dressing, 1 packet of Au Jus and 3 cups of water. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Take out roast and shred meat. Place meat on sandwich rolls with bbq sauce or put some of the Au Jus in a bowl and dip like french dip.

Beef Stroganoff: Place the following 5 ingredients in crock: 2 lbs stew meat (cut into 1-2 in cubes), 1 can cream of mushroom or chicken, 1 can cream of celery, 1 packet onion soup mix and 1 cup burgundy (or red) wine. Cook on low for 7-8 hours. Serve with cooked egg noodles and sour cream. Peas are a very yummy compliment to this meal.

Pot Roast: Brown a chuck roast (3-4 lbs in size) on the stove. In the meantime cut an onion or 2 into slices and chunk up 2-3 stalks of celery and place them in crock. Place the roast on top of the veggies and cover with a can of cream of celery and a packet of onion soup mix. Cook on low for 8-10 hours. Remove roast to platter to cut and serve. Discard veggies and spoon out gravy to serve with the roast.

Hirino Psito: This is a shredded pork for sandwiches recipe. http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2009/03/crockpot-hirino-psito-slow-roasted-pork.html

Chili is also an easy thing to cook in the crockpot.


Make Ahead and Cook Later…(you can make these earlier in the day and keep covered in the fridge until you are ready to bake them)

Three Cheese Baked Rigatoni: I like to think of this as "fake" lasagna.

1 lb of ground beef
4 1/2 cups rigatoni (or 12-13 oz)
One 25 oz jar of marinara sauce
2 cloves of garlic, pressed
1 tsp olive oil
3/4 c ricotta cheese
1/4 c grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 c (or 3 oz) shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Prepare rigatoni according to pkg directions and return to pot after draining. In the meantime, brown ground beef in a lg skillet. Drain fat and return to skillet. Add the marinara sauce, garlic and olive oil; bring to a boil. Lower heat, cover and simmer for ten minutes. Stir the sauce into the rigatoni. Place half the rigatoni into a 3-qt casserole dish. Top with combined ricotta and Parmesan cheese. Add remaining rigatoni and sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Cover; bake 20 minutes. Uncover; bake 5 minutes more.

Lemon Greek Chicken: This is *so* yummy! I omit the mushrooms because I don't like them. ;o) http://www.pamperedchef.com/recipe_search/recipe.jsp?id=49756

Braised Beef Chuck Roast: This slow cooks in the oven for 4 hours and is a great Sunday meal. :) http://bakeoff-flunkie.blogspot.com/2009/12/braised-beef-chuck-roast.html

Meatballs: Make them in the morning and store them in the fridge until you get home and can prepare them.

Here is a great "article" from The Sister's Cafe on making freezer meals. The "author" just bakes her stuff frozen. http://www.thesisterscafe.com/2010/08/freezer-meals-2


Enjoy and Happy New Year!!!

Chicken.

What I really want to post about is the sweet talk I had with my 6 yr old last night. What I have time for is to tell you that Nob Hill has boneless/skinless breasts and thighs on sale for $1.99/lb! Below is a delicious recipe that you prepare in advance, freeze and then defrost and bake whenever you want it:

Amazing Chicken

- 2 lbs chicken breasts or pieces
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1/2 c ketchup
- 1 TBSP lemon juice
- 1/4 of an onion, minced
- 1 pkg onion soup mix
- 1/4 c vinegar (I use red wine vinegar)
- 1/4 c honey
- 1/4 c canola oil
- 1/2 c apricot jam

Place chicken in a large, Ziplock bag. Mix remaining ingredients together and pour over chicken. Remove excess air, seal bag and freeze. When ready to consume, defrost and then bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes.


I prepare several of these at once. With summer coming, I might try cooking in the CrockPot on low for 4-6 hours instead.

Enjoy!

Frugal Cooking

Our family is back in a season of some major penny pinching and I was wondering if any of you wanted to comment on what are some of your favorite penny-pinching meals.

We have a second freezer and when whole chickens go on sale ($.99/lb or less), I buy a few and put them on ice. Last week I pulled one out (it was a 4 1/2 pounder that cost me $3.58!), roasted it for dinner with homemade french bread (I love my breadmaker!) and salad. I then had leftover chicken for a second dinner.

If you feel like commenting, you can select "anonymous" and then add your name to your comment if you want to disclose who you are. :)

Over and out because now I really, really stink!

If I Had a Day...

If I had a day to myself, I would want to spend it looking at cooking blogs and drinking coffee. I would, of course, need a laptop to do this so I could be somewhere on the coast.

What are some of your favorite food blogs?

Oh Sweet Yumminess!

I discovered the yummiest granola bar at Trader Joe's yesterday. It's a Sweet, Savory & Tart Trail Mix granola bar and it's only 150 calories per bar.

I think this may become my new favorite post-kids-to-bed-need-to-munch-on-something snack/dessert.

4:00 Coffee

Looks like my 4 o'clock coffee is back on the rotation! Thank goodness I love it so. :)

Dips & Vans

While I'm on the subject of things that I love (which makes me want to gush about my kids!), can I just tell you how much I LOVE my minivan?! Back in the day I would have been insulted if it had even been suggested that I would drive a minivan someday. I would quickly correct you that I would be in a SUV all the way. Am I eating some serious crow now and it is mighty delicious. I took a trip to Costco with my little men and as I am unloading my cart (after loading them in), I am unbelievably grateful that I have so much room for my stuff (we have a 2004 Siena with the fabulous feature of a sunken trunk area) even with a double stroller stowed in the back too. If you don't have one, I highly recommend that you purchase one if you are in a family way. ;o)

Speaking of Costco, I made the foolish mistake of going there not only hungry, but with a case of PMS. Consequently I am the "proud" owner of the Creamy 5 Layer Onion Dip and the Jalapeno Artichoke Dip. They aren't exactly in small containers either. What was I thinking??? Clearly I was thinking with a hormonally challenged brain and empty stomach!

Anyone need dip?