Feb. 18, 2009 - What's For Dinner Wednesday

Kung Pao Chicken

This is the Kung Pao Chicken we make for Valentine's Day.  Our actual recipe comes from our Sunset Oriental Cookbook.  I couldn't find that exact recipe on line but here is one that is very close that you can use.  A lot of recipes call for deep frying the chicken and we don't do that and we use the hot chili peppers not red pepper flakes.  Just DO NOT EAT one of the chilis our you will be crying..  Click Here for the recipe.

Jan. 28, 2009 - What's For Dinner Wednesday

The last 2 weeks Jay and I have gotten back on Weightwatchers full board.  (We weren't strict about it over Christmas).  I have now lost a total of 20lbs.  Jay has lost 25 and his goal is to lose another 40 by his graduation in July.  I want to lose at least another 20 then I will be rid of all my baby weight but I am going to have to excercise to tone my tummy!!!  Anyways, moving on...  I love WW it is so easy to follow and we don't feel restricted in what we can eat.  It is very doable (is that a word?) and manageable!  So with doing this I haven't been doing the OMAC with my group anymore.  I instead have been stocking up on my own and doubling some recipes such as meatloaf, chicken, meatballs and such.

Here is a great recipe I found and tried this week.  It is for the slow cooker which I love to use on busy days.  I think each serving was about 5 pts.

Slow Cooker Chicken and Dumplings

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tablespoons butter
2 10.75-ounce cans condensed cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 14-ounce can chicken broth
1 onion, finely diced
1 10-ounce package refrigerated biscuit dough

Place the chicken, butter, soup, broth and onion in slow cooker. Cover, and cook for 5 to 6 hours on high. One hour before serving, open biscuits. Roll each one to be about 1/4-inch thick and cut into 1/2-inch strips. Add to the slow cooker, laying on top of chicken and liquid. Overlapping strips of dough will occur. Continue cooking until the dough is no longer raw in the center, about 1 hour. Note: Dough will not cook into biscuits as you might think. It will become like traditional dumplings. Serves: 6 to 8.

Nov. 5, 2008 - What's For Dinner Wednesday

I lost another pound this week!!!  I thought I would share this recipe it is a favorite salad of Anastasia and I.

Cabbage Crunch Salad

1 lg. head green cabbage                   3 chicken fillets cooked and diced

6Tbsp. Red Wine Vinager                 2 pkgs. Ramen noodle soup (chicken)

3/4 C. vegetable oil                         4 tsp. sesame seeds

4 tsp. sugar                                     2 tsp salt         1 tsp pepper

1 C. sliced almonds

Combine all ingredients except chicken and cabbage and mix together in a baking pan.  Bake for 10 min at 350 and then stir  it then bake another 10 minutes.  Then just add that to the shredded cabbage and diced chicken and you have a very yummy salad!

Oct. 8, 2008 - What's For Dinner Wednesday

Our dinners are changing for awhile.  Jay and I both signed up to start Weight Watchers!!!  Ok those are all the emotions I have about it!!  LOL   I am not going to do the cooking swap for the next couple of months but will still cook in batches on my own.  I need to lose baby weight still (not just from the last baby mind you) and especially if we are considering adding another baby I want to lose some weight first and Jay needs to loose weight and get in shape so we are doing this together.  This is a program we can do together and I can do while nursing (I get extra points this way )We are just using the on-line point program.  Jay thinks it would be helpful to have a blackberry now.  Go figure!  Men and their toys!

We are in our third day and so far so good.  I think it will be a good program for us and now we just need to add in the exercise!!!!  I signed up for Moms of Many  excersise challenge but have yet to start it!  I need to get on the treadmill twice this week at least.  Yes, the treadmill that sits in the corner of our playroom and constantly calls my name.  The same one my kids are all to eager to get on and the same one I promised my hubby I would use all the time if we bought it. The same one we have had over 3 years now and neither of us have put very many miles on.  Okay I am going......

Oct. 1, 2008 - What's For Dinner Wednesday

Today I am sharing a special dessert that my mom used to make when I was growing up.  (She still makes it and brings it over every once and awhile!)

It's Banana Pudding and our whole family loves it!!

I always double this recipe:

In a bowl mix 2 eggs, 3/4 Cup sugar and 5tbsp. flour.  On the stove heat up 2Cups of milk and then pour in the sugar mixture.  Stir until thick then add 1tbsp. butter, pinch of salt and 1tbsp. vanilla.

When I pour this into the serving dish I layer it with bananas and graham crackers!  Yummy!!

Happy Cooking!!

Sep. 24, 2008 - What's For Dinner Wednesday

One of the ladies cooked this for our swap one time and I cooked it this month for the swap.  

Everyone raved about it.   This is for 6 recipes 

Taco Soup--   

6 lbs groud beef browned with onion & garlic 

6 can (28 oz) petite diced tomatoes with juice 

6 cans corn undrained(10 oz) 

6 cans kidney beans in chili gravy undrained(10 oz)  

6 oz. taco seasoning   

Simmer all day over very low heat , let cool & freeze in gallon size bags   

This is from my memory so you may need to adjust or remind me if I forgot 

something ;)    you can also add, canned olives, black beans, 6oz. ranch 

seasoning, green chilis etc.   

Sep. 18, 2008 - What's for Dinner Thursday!

My freezer is full again but what a crazy day!  I love once a month cooking but this is the first month I had to actually do all my cooking on one day and that is not much fun!!!!  Things were just busy and my budget tight so I ended up doing all the cooking on Thursday, the day of the swap!!!  Anastasia had a home Ec. day.  She helped me plan and bake.  She made all the pizzas and I made taco soup and breakfast burritos.  We also organized the pantry and made our menu!   Normally I can cook up a batch of meals here or there and that works much better!  But it is done and my freezer is once again full of wonderful meals.  Here is what I have: Pasta primavera, pigs in a blanket, crunchy chicken strips, lemon rosmary chicken, pork loin roast, frozen fruit for smoothies, penne pasta bake, italian beef, pancakes, chicken spinach enchiladas, heartland beef and rice, sausage mcmuffins. 

I also got some groundbeef and chicken on sale so I am going to make up some more recipes.

Also I wanted to share for those of you interested in trying OMAC check out this site it is all about doing it with a group.

Happy Cooking!!!

Aug. 27, 2008 - What's for Dinner Wednesday??

We had our swap last week and our freezer is full or I should say was full.  It is quickly disappearing with this crew.  This month we got: Chicken Sate wtih peanut sauce, super burger patties, bacon hash brown roll ups, Duggar's Family Tater Tot Cassrole, Beef stew, homemade "uncrustables" PB&J, marinated chicken, chicken and bows, chicken quesadillas, vegetable beef soup, chicken Enchiladas, kings ranch chicken, french toast, ham/cheese buns, hot wings, wet tacos, refried beans and sasauge mcmuffins,  YUM YUM!

This week I am sharing the Chicken Quesadilla recipe.  I made it this month and the kids and I just had these for lunch today.

Freezer Chicken Quesadillas

Assembly Directions:

In a mixing bowl, mix chicken, sour cream, salsa, cheeses and chili powder.

Freezing Directions:

Place chicken mixture in a quart-sized freezer or storage bag. Seal. Place quart-sized freezer bag inside of a gallon sized freezer bag. Add tortillas. Seal, label and freeze.

Serving Directions:

Thaw contents of the quesadilla kit. Remove tortillas and separate. Lay them out on a flat surface, such as a clean counter, and divide the filling evenly between the tortillas. Fold each tortilla in half. Spray a fry pan with cooking spray. Cook the quesadillas one at a time in the pan, lightly browning them on each side. The cheese in the filling should melt. After each one is done, remove it from the pan. Using a pizza cutter cut each quesadilla into 3 pieces.

Comments:

*You can easily mince chicken in a food processor or mini-chopper.

My kids love these! It’s nice to have the filling totally ready and in a kit form.

Nutritional Info:

Per Serving: 190 Calories; 6g Fat (28.9% calories from fat); 13g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 30mg Cholesterol; 362mg Sodium.

Exchanges: 1 Grain (Starch); 1-1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 1 Fat.

Aug. 20, 2008 - What's For Dinner Wednesday

 I am getting ready for our cooking swap tonight and cannot wait our freezer is bare.  I am waiting to go shopping for supplementing till the swap.  This month there were 6 of us participating and we each made two dinner meals and one either lunch or breakfast meal.  I made Chicken Quesadillas, French Toast and King's ranch chicken.

Here is the King's Ranch Chicken Recipe:

King’s Ranch Chicken

Ingredients

• 1 pk corn tortillas
• 2 c chicken, cooked and cubed (or substitute turkey)
• 12 oz cheddar cheese, grated
• 1 cn cream of chicken soup, condensed
• 1 cn cheddar cheese soup, condensed
• 1 c tomatoes with gree chilies (such as Ro-Tel brand)
• 1 1⁄4 c milk
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 freezer food storage bag, jumbo

Instructions

Chop cooled, cooked chicken meat into largish chunks. Tear tortillas into 1-inch wide strips.

In a large baking dish, alternate layers of tortillas, chicken meat and cheese (reserve 1/2 cup of cheese for topping) until all the chicken is used. Combine the remaining ingredients and pour over the layered mixture. Top with reserved cheese.

Cover with plastic wrap, then seal with aluminum foil.

To freeze: flash freeze casserole, then place frozen, covered dish into jumbo freezer bag.

To prepare: thaw casserole before baking. Remove plastic wrap, then replace foil. Bake covered casserole at 350-degrees until hot and bubbly. You may remove aluminum foil 10 minutes before taking the casserole out of the oven to melt cheese.

Allow to stand 5 to 10 minutes, then cut with spatula and serve.

This recipe, also known as King Ranch Chicken, is a favorite at pot luck suppers for it's zesty flavor.

Frugal home cooks like it, too, because it stretches a little chicken a long way--and it's a great dish to disguise the last bits of turkey after Thanksgiving!

This is a picture of the six I made for the swap.

Aug. 15, 2008 - What's For Dinner Wednesday (Friday this week)

I wanted to share a recipe that I love and haven't made for awhile and just made tonight.  HOMEMADE PIZZA- YUM! YUM!  It is with a Garlic Pizza Crust.  It is a great Friday night treat and much cheaper than take-out or delivery.

2 pkg. yeast (I use 2 Tblsp. of bulk yeast)                                         

2 C. tempid water (90')

2 Tbsp. sugar

1/2 C. Oil

1 tsp. salt

5 1/2-6 C. flour

3 cloves crushed garlic

Dissolve yeast in water and add sugar..wait a few minutes..add oil and salt and garlic.  Mix in 3 cups flour and whip about 10 min. till it leaves the side of the mixer bowl.  Add reamaining flour with dough hook or by hand.  Knead till smooth.  Allow to rise twice in the bowl and punch down. (This can be rushed a bit) oil baking sheets and use finger press out to edges.

Makes 2 pizzas, cookie sheet size.  Let rise a bit and top with favorite topings.  Bake at 425' for about 20 minutes. 

The above picture is what Anastasia made from one of the doughs.  She rolled out the crust in an oval shape and then topped with toppings on the inner part.  Starting about 2.5inches down she started cutting the dough in one inch strips from the outer edge to her sauce and continued doing this on both sides leaving another 2.5 inches on the bottom.  Next she took two strips at the top and criss-crosssed them working her way down.  Then for the top and the bottom she rolled each up and then tucked under the "wings".  It turned out great!

You can make 12 snack size by forming dough in a pie pan, top with toppings and bake then freeze in zip lock bags.

I am going to try this week to make the dough and freeze in two balls it then thaw and use and see how that works.  If it works well than I will make them for next month's swap.

Happy Cooking!

Jul. 9, 2008 - What's For Dinner Wednesday

Here is this week's recipe.  We just had our OAMC swap and my freezer is stocked again!!  Yipee!!!  One of the ladies made Ravioli Soup.  Every thing looks so good.  We each did two dinner meals and one breakfast meal this month. 

Ravioli Soup

1 pound lean ground beef (2 1/2 cups browned meat)

1/4 cup soft bread crumbs

14 cup grated Parmesan cheese

3/4 tsp onion salt

2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 garlic cloves)

1 tablespoon olive oil or vegetable oil

1 1/2 cups finely chopped onion ( I usually omit this for picky kids)

1 28-ounce can Italian-style or plain crushed tomatoes in puree

1 6-ounce can tomato paste

1 14 1/2 ounce can beef broth or bouillon

1 cup water

1/2 teaspoon sugar

1/2 teaspoon dried basil leaves

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1 12 ounce package plain ravioli without sauce (located in the frozen or refrigerated section)

Grated Parmesan cheese

Brown the ground beef in a large pot, combine remaining ingredients except fro frozen ravioli and additional Parmesan cheese.  Bring soup to a boil; reduce heat.  Cover and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Thaw and cook ravioli according to package directions until just tender.  Drain ravioli; add to soup.  Salt to taste.  Serve with Parmesan cheese.  Makes six generous serving

Jul. 2, 2008 - What's For Dinner Wednesday

Here is what we are having for dinner tonight.  Another lady from my cooking swap made it.  I can't wait it looks really yummy!

Chicken Alfredo

Assembly Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix bread crumbs, garlic powder, paprika, onion powder and black pepper in a shallow container.  Beat egg in a separate bowl. Dip chicken in egg and then dip in the breadcrumbs coating each side. Place chicken on a lined cookie sheet and bake for 40 minutes.  Cool chicken.

Freezing Directions:

Place chicken on a baking sheet and flash freeze. When frozen place it in a gallon freezer bag or container. Place Alfredo sauce in a small freezer container or sandwich bag.  Place sauce bag inside chicken bag or container. Seal, label and freeze.

Serving Directions:

Thaw ingredients. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray. Place chicken in baking disk and cover with Alfredo sauce. Cover with aluminum foil. Bake for 20 minutes or until dish is hot and bubbly. In the meantime, cook spaghetti according to the package directions. Serve chicken on top of spaghetti.

Jun. 25, 2008 - What's For Dinner Wednesday?

This week I am getting ready for another cooking swap that will take place the 2nd week of July.  This time we are doing two recipes each and then a breakfast or snack type item.  I am making taco meat, meatloaf and Banana bread.  (Ground beef was on sale!)  I have the taco meat done and 5 of the meatloaves. I rand out of tomato sauce to do the other 2.  Next week the kids are going to help me bake the banana bread.  We have a lot of bananas stocked up in our freezer.  If you have never saved overripe bananas you are missing out.  As soon as any bananas get over ripe we stick them in the freezer and save them for banana bread.  They work great, just thaw and use.  I always use my recipe from my Better Homes and Garden cookbook.  I like it the best.

Jun. 18, 2008 - What's For Dinner Wednesday

While my mom was here to help watch the kids she brought stuff with to bake.  One of the recipes was an eclair cake (from Paula Deen).  It was sooo yummy.  Here is the recipe and pictures that Anastasia took of them baking together.

ECLAIR CAKE

Ingredients & Directions:

Cake: 1 1-pound box graham crackers 2 3 1/4 ounce boxes instant French vanilla pudding 3 1/2 cups milk 1 8-ounce container frozen whipped topping, thawed Frosting: 1 1/2 cups confectioner's sugar 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa 3 tablespoons butter, softened 1/3 cup milk 2 teaspoons light corn syrup 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract Butter the bottom of a 13x9x2-inch pan. Line the whole pan with graham crackers. In bowl of an electric mixer, mix pudding with milk; beat at medium speed for 2 minutes. Fold in whipped topping. Pour half the pudding mixture over graham crackers. Place another layer of whole graham crackers on top of pudding layer. Pour over remaining half of pudding mixture and cover with another layer of graham crackers. For frosting, blend together sugar and cocoa. Add butter and milk, mixing well. Add corn syrup and vanilla. Stir until creamy. Cover cake with frosting and refrigerate for 24 hours. Yield: 20 to 24 Preparation time: 10 minutes Cooking time: Allow 24 hours to cool in refrigerator Ease of Preparation: Easy Recipe Courtesy of Paula Deen

Baking with Grandma:

May. 28, 2008 - What's For Dinner Wednesday

The following recipe was used in our OMAC and they are soo good.  One lady made them the first month and then I made them for the group the next month with extras for us.  I love having burritos on hand for a quick meal for myself or the kids.  In our house they don't last long though!

Breakfast Burritos

I used the following recipe & made 90 burritos

Ingredients:

84 eggs
5.25C water
14C Shredded cheese
7lb Sausage --I used 4 regular & 3 hot
90 flour tortiallas , fajita size

Assemblye directions:
Cook sausage in skillet , cool & crumble

Blend eggs & water in large bowl &  cook in skillet

mix eggs& sausage, add & mix cheese

heat 12 tortillas in micro    to warm slightly so they fold without breaking
add a full 1/3C of filling to each tortilla & roll up

* I used the rectangle  foil pans & split the eggs & ssg in half after cooking & added chesses . Made mixing very simple*


Freezing :
To freeze, place the rolled up burritos seam down on a cookie sheet & freeze until firm .  
Place separately in freezer bags or by the bakers dozen(13) in gallon size freezer bags.

** I placed the rolled burritos seam down in the rectangle foil pans & flash freezed that way **

May. 21, 2008 - What's For Dinner Wednesday

This is a very yummy recipe from my friend Tina.  She cooked it for our first swap.  She usually makes up several batches herself and then uses them during baseball season when trying to get dinner quickly on the table for her family.

 Tina’s “Emergency” Dinner

 4-5 chicken breasts (or turkey)                              1 tbs. Lemon juice

1 bunch or package of broccoli (frozen or fresh)     ½ tsp paprika or curry

2 - 10 oz. cans Cream of chicken soup               2tbs. chicken broth (or more)

½ cup mayonnaise                                        4 oz. herb-flavored stuffing mix

Cook chicken

Cook broccoli

Mix together soup, mayonnaise, lemon juice, paprika and broth

Layer the following:  meat, broccoli, sauce, stuffing.

You can either bake now, then freeze; or freeze and then bake…

 Bake then freeze:

Bake the casseroles at 350°; or bake frozen at 300° for 1 hour

Freeze, then bake version:

Wrap casseroles

Freeze

Thaw and bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes; or  bake frozen at 300° for 1 to 1 1/2 hours (check after 1 hour)… 

Stuffing Tip

For a cruncy texture, don’t cook the stuffing, just sprinkle the bread cubes/crumbs over the top.  For a softer texture-cook the dressing and layer on top-  Your choice!

May. 14, 2008 - What's for Dinner Wednesdays

I am so excited we just finished another OMAC swap and the food looks great!!!.  I love doing this and having a freezer full of food.  It is one less thing to think about now.  I just go to the freezer in the morning and pull something out to thaw for dinner that night.

This month we will be having:

Breakfast Burritos, Parmesean Oven Fried Chicken Sticks, Presto Mac, Oriental Pork Chops, Shish Kabobs, red beans and rice, Sloppy Joe Buns, Quiche in a bag, lasagna roll ups, marinated chicken breast, best homemade chicken soup, chicken alfredo, cheesburger quiche, freezer chicken quesadillas      YUM! YUM! 

Today I am sharing a dessert.  It is one of my favorites and has probably helped add the pounds to this pregnancy! LOL!!  This is the closest I have found to my grandmother's peach cobbler.  She never had a specific receipe it was just a little of this and a pinch of that.

Three Minute Cobbler  350*  
1/2 c butter
1 c flour
1 c sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 c milk
1/4 tsp salt
1 (16 oz) can fruit pie filling

Melt butter in casserole dish.
Stir in flour, sugar, baking powder, milk, and salt
 until all lumps are gone.
Dump the fruit on top, but don't stir it in.
Bake for one hour at 350 degrees.

I have used cherry, peach and apple pie fillings my favorite are the peach and cherry.

Happy Cooking!

May. 7, 2008 - What's For Dinner Wednesday

One of the ladies in my OAMC group made these and we ate them last week.  They were sooooooo good!!!  My family could have eaten two pan fulls.

Chicken-and-Spinach Enchiladas

Prep: 15 min., Bake: 30 min., Stand: 5 min.

Ingredients

1 (10-oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed
1 (16-oz.) jar medium salsa with cilantro, divided
2 (10-oz.) cans enchilada sauce
1 (8-oz.) package cream cheese*
2 1/2 cups shredded or chopped roasted chicken
10 (7- to 8-inch) flour tortillas
1 (8-oz.) package shredded Mexican four-cheese blend
 Toppings: shredded lettuce, guacamole, chopped fresh cilantro, chopped red onion, halved grape tomatoes

Preparation

1. Drain spinach well, pressing between paper towels. Set aside.

2. Stir together 1/4 cup salsa and enchilada sauce, and set aside.

3. Microwave cream cheese in a medium microwave-safe bowl at HIGH 1 minute or until very soft. Add spinach, chicken, and remaining salsa, and stir until blended.

4. Spoon a heaping 1/3 cupful chicken mixture down center of each tortilla. Roll up tortillas, and place, seam sides down, in a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish. Pour enchilada sauce mixture evenly over top of rolled tortillas; sprinkle with shredded cheese.

5. Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes. Serve with desired toppings.

*1/3-less-fat cream cheese may be substituted.

Note: For testing purposes only, we used Tostitos Medium Salsa and Old El Paso Enchilada Sauce.

Yield

Makes 5 to 6 servings

Apr. 30, 2008 - What's For Dinner Wednesday

Last night we had meatloaf for dinner.  We all really like meatloaf including miss picky, Alexa.  I have always used my mother-in-law's recipe.  This one however I only had to pull from the freezer, thaw and cook.  When I stocked up on ground meat a couple of weeks ago I made two meatloaves for the freezer.  Let me tell you how nice this is!!!  So next time you make meatloaf go ahead and make two and stick one in the freezer for another time!

Here's the recipe:

2lbs. ground beef or turkey            

1 cup oatmeal

2 eggs      

1 small can tomato sauce (if using ground turkey then use tomato paste)

1/4 cup dried minced onions

Favorite seasoning to taste.

I mix all the ingredients minus the beef together and then add the ground beef.  One of my kids usually likes to help mix it all togther because they get to use their bare hands. (after thouroughly washing them of course )

Then just shape it and cook.  We have an oil core electric skillet that I always cook it in at 350' for 10 minutes and then I turn it down to 250' for 25-30 minutes. I also pile in green beans, carrots, potatoes and onions in there.   I imagine it can be done in the oven at 350 for probably 45 min to one hour.

Happy Eating!

Apr. 25, 2008 - God is so good!!

I never stop being amazed at God's provisions and blessings!!  A few weeks ago when I participated in the food swap we each made enough to share with an elderly couple in need and also put together some foods from our pantrys.  Well my friend who was coordinating this received a thank you letter from this couple and here is what she said:

Thank you so much for the food and meals. What a nice surprise. I
hope you don't mind but we gave some to other families with children in
need. So your food box helped 4 different homes.
Thank you, A & B

WOW!!!  This means a lot to me as just a few months ago we were really strapped and struggling ourselves and received help from some people. Jay and I prayed to God that we wanted to return the blessing and soon.  I am so greatful God was able to use me in this small way to help provide for 5 other families.  We also this month were able to help another family financially which was such a blessing as we don't have the "extra funds" at all right now to do this but we prayed and God provided!!!! 

So as we eat our meals from the swap this month we will be sure and say an extra prayer for the other families that these meals went out to that they might be blessed and that if they don't know Jesus they will get the opportunity to!

Thank you Lord!!

 19"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.20But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal;21for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21