Black Beans & Brown Rice

Black Beans & Brown Rice
1 green pepper, chopped
1/2 cup chopped red pepper
1/2 cup chopped yellow pepper
1/2 cup chopped red onion
2 Tbsp. canola oil
2 cans black beans, rinsed & drained
1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)
2 tbsp cider vinegar
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1/8 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
2 1/2 cups hot cooked brown rice

In a large saucepan saute peppers and onions in oil until tender. stir in the beans tomatoes, vinegar, garlic salt, pepper, and cayenne. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat; simmer uncovered for 12-15 mints or until desired consistency. stirring occasional. Serve over rice.


Nutrition facts
3/4 cup bean mixture & 1/2 cup rice =
327 calories
7g fat (1g saturated fat)
0 mg cholesterol
614mg sodium
55g carbs
11 g fiber
12g protein

My Review -
I'm not a huge beans fan. Honestly, I only agreed to make this dish because my husband is a big fan of beans and peppers.

But it was really good. Honestly. I don't think i'll use 2 cans of beans next time, maybe 1 full can, but we will be really good.

Barley Beef Skillet

Barley Beef Skillet
1lb lean ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced
1 can (14oz) beef broth
1 can (8 oz) tomato sauce
1 cup water
2 small carrots, chopped
1 small tomato, seeded & chopped
1 small zucchini, chopped
1 cup medium pearl barley
2 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

In a large skillet, cook the beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until meat is no longer pink. Drain. add the broth, tomato sauce and water. bring to boil. stir in remaining ingredients. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 45-50 minutes or until barley is tender


Nutrition facts
1 1/2 cup =
400 calories
10g fat (4g saturated fat)
72 mg cholesterol
682 mg sodium
48g carbs
10 g fiber
30 g protein

My Review -
OH MY MOUTH ORGASM! Seriously. This was so so yummy. I'm probably going to make this at least every other week. I can not believe how much flavor is packed into each bowl.

You have to make this!!! I was a little skeptical at first (i'd never worked with barley), but i'm a barley believer now! DO IT

You won't regret it!

Chicken Enchiladas

I didn't take pictures while cooking last week, but i did to a lot of new recipes. So I thought i'd just post the recipes & my reviews.

Chicken Enchiladas = (1 = 336 cal/ 2 = 672)
1lb Boneless chicken breast - cut into thin strips
4 tsp. chili powder
2 tsp Olive oil
2 Tbsp all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp baking cocoa
1 cup fat-free milk
1 cup frozen corn (thawed)
4 green onions, chopped
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chillies (drained)
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro, divided
6 whole wheat tortillas
1/2 cup salsa
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese


(1) Sprinkle chicken with chili powder. in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray. cook chicken in oil over medium heat until no longer pink. sprinkle with flour coriander and cocoa until blended

(2) gradually stir in milk. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Add the corn, onions, chillies and salt; cook and stir 2 minutes longer or until heated through. remove from the heat. stir in 1/4 cup cilantro.

(3) Spread 2/3 cup filling down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in a 13 x 9 baking dish coated with cooking spray

(4) in a small bowl, combine the salsa, tomato sauce and remaining cilantro (1/4 cp); pour over enchiladas. sprinkle with cheese. cover and bake at 375* for 25 minutes or until heated through.


Nutrition facts
1 enchilada =
336 calories
9g fat (2g saturated fat)
49 mg cholesterol
749 mg sodium
37 g carbs
4 g fiber
25g protein

MY REVIEW -

These were REALLY good. The only down side was the cilantro was really heavy on this. The sauce turned out really good. I will cut the cilantro in half at least next time.

Meal Planning

I like to plan my meals for 1 week. But with the holidays its been a little difficult. Hopefully I can really stick to it this week.

So this week goes

Wednesday 12/29 - Mexican Bowls
Thursday 12/30 - Beef & Noodle Casserole
Friday 12/31 - Out to Dinner - New Years Eve
Saturday 01/01 - Stuffed Peppers
Sunday 01/02- Sausage Stuffed Manicotti
Monday 01/03 - Inside-Out Spaghetti Pie (recipe re-do from a past disaster)
Tuesday- 01/04 - chicken & Wild Rice Casserole

Most of the recipes for this are from Better homes and gardens - Ultimate Casseroles magazine.

I'm so excited for this week. mmmmmmmmm

Tonight however, is potato chowder. I have left over potatoes from christmas. So all i needed was bacon bits, chives, and green onions.

Thanksgiving Grocery Shopping

So this year I'm hosting my first thanksgiving.

I'm excited and nervous all at the same time.

I went to the grocery store on Tuesday and tried to get the majority of our thanksgiving shopping done.

So the bill was a lot more than normal.

Total Before: 206.21 (my eyes were HUGE at this)
Club card savings: -43.55
Coupon savings: -35.75
Total Savings: -79.30

Grand total: 126.91 (thank jeebus)

The only thing I didn't buy was red potatoes and whatever desert I want to make.

Version 1 - Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

So Chicken Noodle Soup is BIG in our homestead. I love chicken noodle soup.

This is Version #1 - My Stove Top Version.

I don't normally use this version because I like to use my crockpot (which is version #2). So when I'm doing this version, I'm normally procrastinating or short on time.

Ingredients:
3 Cans chicken stock
3 Cans water
4 Chicken breasts
1 Chicken Bullion cube
Carrots
Celery
red onion
a bunch of spices

So chicken noodle soup is really hard to screw up honestly. I've done it a bunch of times, with a bunch of variations.

In this version I ad the chicken stock and water, then chop up the veggies and toss them in on low.


I leave them on low until my chicken is defrosted. (remember the procrastination part... this is where that comes in).

When the chicken is defrosted I just toss the breasts into the broth with the veggies and turn it on Medium-High.


I didn't list the spices, because honestly I don't keep track.
I'm a non-measuring kind of cook.

My staples are Onion powder, garlic powder, black pepper, seasoning salt, Italian seasoning, basil, oregano.... but there are some others I know I'm forgetting. I like spices. In my eyes bland food = bland people. Everyone can use a little more spice in their life

I leave it on medium high until the chicken is cooked through.

Then I turn it down to medium low. I pull out the chicken and use a fork & knife to just shred it.


Mean while I boil some noodles on the side.

I HATE HATE HATE soggy noodles. So I would prefer to cook my noodles on the side then add them to my soup. My husband doesn't mind soggy noodles, but I despise them.
It doesn't really matter what noodles you use. we had medium shells in the pantry, so thats what i used. We normally use whole wheat egg noodles, but I was out.

I like to serve my chicken noodle soup with a bread as a side. I switch it up though. This time I had grands jr. rolls on hand, So that's what I used.


Then once the noodles are all done.
its time to serve it up.

I put the noodles in the bowl first, then ladle the chicken, veggies, and broth on top.
Enjoy!!

P.S. - my husband thought it was VERY weird that i was taking pictures of him ladling out soup. but its all for the good of the blog. :)

P.P.S - I also plan on making this with the left over turkey from thanksgiving. One of B's favorite leftover dishes is Turkey Noodle Soup.

Tomato - Tortellini Soup

Sorry No pictures... I'll try and get some the next time I make it. Blame it on me being UBER sick

This soup is super simple & super yummy

Ingredients:
2 - 14oz reduced sodium chicken or vegetable broth
1 - 9oz package of refrigerated tortellini
1/2 of an 8oz tub of cream cheese spread with chive and onion (I use the whole tub)
1 - 10.75 or 11 oz can condensed tomato soup or tomato bisque
fresh chives

Directions:
1) In a medium saucepan, bring broth to boiling. Add Tortellini, reduce heat. Simmer uncovered for about 5 min

2) in a small bowl whisk 1/3 cup of broth with cream cheese until smooth.

3) return mixture to saucepan along with tomato soup. Heat through.

4) sprinkle each bowl with chives.

mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm.

I made crescent rolls to go with it. So yummy.

My Super Simple Stuffed Peppers

I EFFING LOVE Stuffed Peppers

Ingredients:
-Ground turkey
-1 Jar Pasta Sauce
-Brown Rice (cooked)
-4 Bell Peppers

Prep:
*preheat oven to 350*

1) Brown Ground turkey

2) add Pasta Sauce

3) Add in cooked rice. To be honest I really never measure how much rice there is.
4) cut the top off your peppers (I normally use green peppers, but you can use what ever you prefer). Hollow out the pepper and place in a baking dish.

5) spoon mixture into hollowed out peppers. I alternate spoon fulls with mozzarella cheese.

6) When full, top with a little extra mozzarella.
7) Place in preheated oven for 20-30 minutes.

SO YUMMY!
So quick
So awesome!

My Lasagna

So Lasagna comes in all shapes, forms, and flavors. And to be honest my lasagna changes just about every time I make it depending on the mood i'm in, and what I have in the house.

Last Nights Version of Lasagna

Non-bake lasagna noodles
Jennie-O Turkey (Extra lean)

Mozzerella Cheese (shredded)

2 Jars Pasta sauce (you're choice)


1) Preheat oven to 375*

2) Cook turkey in pan until cooked through. I season mine with my old standards: onion powder, garlic powder, pepper, Italian seasoning.

3) spray pan with non stick cooking spray (trust me it helps).

4) spread a thin layer of pasta sauce on the bottom of the pan

5) layer the lasagna, cheese, meat, sauce. Lasagna, cheese, meat, sauce. Be careful not to overfill the dish.

6) Bake for 50-60 min.

Simple, easy, yummy

Meal Planning Monday

Meal Planning Monday!!!!!!!!

This week is different than most.

B only works 2 days this week. So I'm just building a generic plan for my meals. I'm going with just meal 'options'. and not set days this week.

Option #1 = Basil Pesto Chicken w/ veggies and rice
Option #2 = Lasagna
Option #3 = Spaghetti with homemade french bread
Option #4 = Upside Down Pizza Casserole
Option #5 = Potato Chowder w/ Cheese Biscuits.

Meal Planning Monday (on a tuesday Morning)

I've been a bit of a slacker lately because I've been on duty for the last 4 days. Then B & I had one day off together. Now i'm going back to work for 3 more days.

But I was able to pull together a Meal Plan last Night

The days on this are all Subject to change...

Tuesday - B's homemade Tomato Basil Chicken w/ Brown rice

Wednesday - Baked Pesto Chicken (side dish TBD*)

Thursday - Chipotle Mac & Cheese

Friday - Upside down Pizza Casserole (recipe re-do**)

Saturday - Taco's in pasta Shells (recipe re-do**)

I'm excited for this week. I really like to work and it seems like I've been getting more and more opportunities at my new unit.

But i'm also trying 2 new recipes this week, which is always exciting to me.

------------------------
* TBD = To Be Determined
** Recipe Re-do = a recipe already posted on this site

Apple Pie Bread

I've been posting about this recipe all day on facebook and I have several friends DYING to get their hands on this recipe.

FYI, I have NO CLUE where my camera is. So these pictures are kind of crummy. Sorry, the cell phone camera is all I have today.

Ingredients

• 1 (21 ounce) can apple filling
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature (I used 1 cup Apple sauce)
  
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup (packed) dark brown sugar (I had light brown sugar, so thats what I used)
  
• 2 eggs
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour (I used Whole Wheat flour)
  
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon (I didn't measure... but I know its a lot more than 1 teaspoon)
  
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup raisins (didn't use this)
  
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts (or this)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9x5 loaf pan. (I used 2 smaller pans, but I could have put it all in 1)


2. In a medium bowl, use a potato masher to break up apples in the filling; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, white sugar, and brown sugar. Stir in eggs, apples, and vanilla extract until well blended.


Sift together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt. Stir into apple mixture, then stir in raisins and walnuts. Pour batter into prepared pan.

3. Bake in preheated oven for 60 minute, until a toothpick inserted into center of the loaf comes out clean. Let bread cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely.

Wanna Bite?

Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins.

As part of Hip2Save's Holiday Challenge I am baking 3 different breakfast type foods.
The first of the 3 is the Blueberry Coffee Cake Muffins. I found the recipe here.

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature (I used 12 tablespoons apple sauce instead)
  
• 1 1/2 cups sugar
• 3 extra-large eggs, at room temperature ( I used organic Large Eggs)
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  
• 8 ounces (about 1 cup)sour cream (I used non-fat sour cream)
  
• 1/4 cup milk (I used non-fat milk)
  
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I used whole wheat flour)
  
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 half-pints fresh blueberries, picked through for stems (I cheated and used canned blueberries, drained them, and then used them)
  

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Place 16 paper liners in muffin pans.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. (again, I used applesauce instead of butter)

With the mixer on low speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, then add the vanilla, sour cream, and milk.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. With the mixer on low speed add the flour mixture to the batter and beat until just mixed.

Fold in the blueberries with a spatula

and be sure the batter is completely mixed.

(Instead of scooping batter into cups, I put it into a Large ziplock bag, snipped 1 corner and used that to fill the many different cups)

Scoop the batter into the prepared muffin pans, filling each cup just over the top,

I made 12 cupcake size muffins, 8 mini loafs (star shaped), and 12 mini muffins.

and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until the muffins are lightly browned on top and a cake tester comes out clean.

The only difference I can see between using butter vs apple sauce, is the rounded top on the muffins. These came out very flat, but they are (in my opinion) much more moist with apple sauce, not to mention less than 100 calories per large muffin or star loaf.

I had to HAD TO try one...

So yummy!!!

Happy Baking!

P.S. Don't judge the room of no furniture. lol. We moved from a 580 sq ft. apartment, to a 1400 sq ft house. We just ran out of furniture.

I got this recipe Here.

Zesty Beef Casserole

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon cooking oil
1 pound lean ground beef [again, I used ground turkey]
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 cup chopped red pepper

1 (14 ounce) can of stewed tomatoes (with juice), chopped

2 cups medium egg noodles [I used whole wheat wide noodles]
1 (12 ounce) can of kernel corn (with liquid) [nope, still didn't use corn]
1 1/4 cups water
1 (4 ounce) can of diced green chilies
1 (1 1/4 ounce) envelope of taco seasoning mix
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 cup grated jalapeño Monterey Jack cheese

Sliced black olives, for garnish

Directions:

Heat cooking oil in large frying pan on medium. Add next 4 ingredients. Scramble-fry for about 10 minutes until beef is no longer pink. Drain.

Add tomatoes with juice. Stir.

Transfer to ungreased 3 quart casserole.

Add next 7 ingredients. Stir. Bake, covered, in 350°F oven for about 1 hour, stirring once at halftime, until noodles are tender but firm.

Sprinkle with cheese. Bake, uncovered, for another 5 to 10 minutes until cheese is melted.

Garnish with olives.

Italian Potatoes & Chicken

So I don't remember where I found this 'recipe' or if i just made it up. Either way its good. This wasn't on my menu for the week. But, B really wanted it and I had all the ingredients except for the potatoes, so I went ahead and made it

Italian Potatoes & Chicken

I diced up roughly 8-10 red potatoes. We use more because B LOVES him some tatters

I had 5 thin sliced chicken breasts in the freezer

I stab the chicken breasts a bunch then pour the Italian Dressing over the chicken breasts
I had 2 partials bottles in the fridge

I used the red pepper Italian dressing to soak the chicken in
Then I stabbed the chicken a bit more.
I used my go to dish. My 13 x 9 glass dish
I poured a bit of the original Italian dressing to the bottom of the pan
Then I tossed about 3/4 of the potatoes on the bottom.

Next, I placed the chicken on top of the potatoes, and poured the rest of the dressing they were soaked in on top. Next I added the rest of the potatoes around the edges of the chicken

Then the cheeeeeeeeeseeeeeeeeeeeee... mmmmm. I love me some cheese. I used shredded parmesan. But I have also used mozzarella.

Then I placed it in the oven at 350 for 45-60 min. I'm still getting used to this oven, So I think after all was said and done it was over 60 min in the oven. and I ended up turning the temp up to 400* and putting tin foil over it. for the last 10 minutes.

It was so good, and we were so hungry... I forgot to get pictures of it before we ate it

but here it is after we were done stuffing our faces

It is seriously so good. We use this dish about every other week. SO nummmy.