Lemon Pepper Chicken with gravy . . .

I found this in a magazine years ago and it is a staple around our house. . . next to no prep time.

Fry up some chicken strips in a little olive oil until they are browned. Towards the end add some green and yellow peppers giving them a quick fry. Add 2 cans of chicken gravy and 2 tablespoons of lemon pepper seasoning. Heat through and simmer for about 20 minutes. Serve with mashed potatoes. The chicken and gravy freezes well and reheats in a pan easily.

Fast and easy chili . . .

A pound of hamburger
4 small cans or 2 large cans of chili beans
1 can or kidney beans
1 can of tomatoes and chilis
1 can of stewed tomatoes optional
1 medium onion optional
2 cans of mushrooms optional
As much chili powder as you like

Dump all or the above together and cook for about an hour so that all the favors mix together nicely. You can add tomato juice if it needs to have more liquid.

We like to eat it with buttered saltines. You could also eat it over pasta, or add shredded cheese and a dollop of sour cream.

Chili is always easy to freeze and reheat, I make double batches and freeze one half.

Savings!

I got up early today with McCartney, my little rooster, and made a killer grocery list. I took the ;aptop in the kitchen and made a list of everything in the deep freeze. Then I put together meals with what we had. I made a detailed list of what else was needed for a complete meal and I went to Meijer. I only spent $150 and have 21 meals. WOOHOO!

I came home and fried up 3 pound of hamburger to freeze. Shredded 4 pounds of chicken breast for the freezer. Made a 2 pound meatloaf. Fried bacon, boiled eggs and made salads for lunch for Robert and I for 3 days. AND mixed and made "Letterman" hamburgers ( a recipe from David Letterman's mother that I MUST post).

I'm tired!

Guacamole . . .

I dont typically measure anything. My measurements are more like a handful, a pinch and a shake. Here is a recipe that I'm not going to try to "convert" for you because t depends on how big you avacados are. . .

Several avacados - I use anywhere from 1 to 4 depending on how much I wanna make - peel them, seed them (my favorite part) and mush them with a fork in a bowl. Add salsa, about half the amount as the avacado, a dolop or two of sour cream, about half as much ranch dressing, couple shakes of tabasco sauce to taste, salt and pepper. Mush it all together and make sure you cover as it will turn in the fridge. This is awesome made the night before so that it can be ready the following supper. I have also frozen a portion when avacados are very cheap and I want to take advatage of the price. I have also frozen the avacados after I peel and seed them.

Progress...

Last night's supper...Kentucky Fried Chicken

Tonight's supper....chicken and cream cheese enchiladas, refried beans, spanish rice and canned apricots.

And it is 5pm right now and everything is IN THE OVEN on "warm" so that we can eat as soon as hubby is home.

Patting myself on my back. Wish I could massage myself on my back.

Quesadillas to die for . . . .

Boiled and shredded chicken breast
Cooked and crumbled bacon
Shredded cheese, mexican blend or cheddar or monterrey jack
can of tomatoes and chilis
Cilantro - chopped

Fill a tortilla with the above ingredients and fold over. Heat a skillet on high. Add a tablespoon of oil and quickly fry the folded tortilla on both sides until brown and insides are melted together. Cut into quarters with a pizza cutter and dip into salsa and/or sour cream.

If you making a lot, I heat the oven to 275 and place the pan fried quesadillas in the oven to wait for the remainder to be cooked. A "stone" helps keep them crispy, but a cookie sheet will do the trick as well.

My favorite little yellow tags . . .

By the way . . . I went to the store tonight and stumbled upon a TON of clearance meat. I was doing the happy dance LOL

Lazy lasagna . . .

This is a favorite of my kids. I have changed this recipe a little from my mother in-law's recipe, but it works great. I think any changes would be easy and would work well. She called it baked spaghetti, but we like to call it lazy lasagna . . .

Line the bottom of a casserole dish with pepperoni (we use turkey pepperoni) and then layer with cooked pasta. The original recipe called for spaghetti (hence the baked spaghetti name) but I like to use rotini. My little ones seem to be able to stab the rotini better, but you could aways use elbows, bow ties, or even shells.

Follow that with layers of hamburger or sausage, more pepperoni, spaghetti sauce, more pasta etc. For those of you who do not have picky children you could even use mushrooms, peppers, olives, tomato slices, or squash. Finish the layers with addidtional sauce.

Bake in an oven for about 45 minuites depending on the thickness at 350 degrees, sometimes Icover it with foil, sometimes I don't. Pull out the casserole, remove the foil, add mozarella and place back in the oven for about 10 minutes. You can always finish off with the broiler for a couple minutes if you like the cheese a little crusty.

The best part about this is how easy it freezes. After I have layered the lassagna, I add the final sauce and freeze it. If you use some pre-browned hamburger or sausage, you could easily make 2 or 3 of these in about 30 minutes after the kids have gone to bed. It doesn't require any defrosting when you are ready to use it. Simply pull it out of the freezer and pop it into the oven. You may need to add some extra cooking time for a frozen batch. I even make the ones I am going to freeze in disposable pans so I don't have to clean up. Lasagna pans stink to clean!

Perfect for nights when you've had a rough day and you have nothing ready. All you need is some cheese and some garlic toast and you have an awesome meal!

Money Savers . . .

Here are some ways I scrimp and save . . .

1. I LOVE clearance meat. Nothing makes me happier than saving 30% or more on meat. Now, it goes without saying that you have to be careful and make sure it hasn't already gone bad, but usually you can get some great deals. I immediately cook it and freeze it or simply freeze it depending on the meat. I pre-cook all my ground meats and stew meats. It saves tons of time and it's easier to defrost pre-cooked. When it's on sale, I also precook, shred, and freeze chicken as well for quesadillas or tacos or barbeque or casseroles . . .

2. I save all my margarine tubs and sour cream containers etc. They are awesome to freeze sauces or meatballs in and they can be tossed when I'm done. Once again, I hate to wash dishes.

3. Cheese can be frozen. I will by shredded cheese, which we go through like mice, when it's on sale and toss it in my deep freeze. Saves me a ton, and I always have it handy!

4. I also shop in bulk. I love Sam's Club. It is well worth the cost of a membership for the food alone. We buy large bags of cheese, butter, chicken wings, etc. The seafood is usually frozen individually which is awesome. We also shop the meat department for the hamburger, fresh seafood and roasts. It kills you to write that big check, but when you don't have to shop for weeks it makes up for it.

Save, save, save

Helpful Hints . . .

I had a co-workeer a couple summers ago tell me how she tackled the supper rush each night. She had 2 small children and both she and he husband worked full time and went to school. They NEVER ate out. She had some awesome hints and she's the one that got me to prepare better for meals. Here are some things I learned from her, sprinkled with a fewe things of my own . . .

1. Buy disposable pans. I don't do this all the time, because I am a tight wad with my money, but I do it with some of the more messy meals. Any baked pasta, or cheesy potatoes can get so baked on and difficult to clean. What's the point of doing a quick and easy dinner if you are in the kitchen for 3 hours scrubbing a pan? They are also far easier to stack in the freezer if you are doing a batch of stuff at the same time. You can also get pans on clearnace after the holidays. The pans with the printed christmas designs get clearanced out cheap at the end of the season.

2. Pre-brown hamburger or sausage. I've already posted about the hamburger, but you can also pre-brown sausage for pizzas, gravys, and pastas.

3. If you are making spaghetti for dinner, make twice as much sauce and freeze half. It doesn't take any more time than a regular batch and then the next time you have saved a bunch of time. Same thing with chili or soups.

4. My friend would cook one Saturday a month and make about 15 meals for the month. I don't have the time or the energy for that, so I do it on a smaller scale. If I have extra time on a Sunday evening particualrly after my weekend grocery shoppingtrip, I make about 3 meals for the week and either freeze them or simply pop them in the fridge. That way most of the prep is done and all you have to do is heat it up.

5. When I come home from the grocery, I always make a list of meals that we can make with the food I purchased. That way you don't have to stand in front of the fridge with your mouth open in a daze for 20 minutes trying to decide what to make for dinner. (Come on, I'm not the only one who does that) It's way easier to look at the list and decided what sounds good or what works for the time you have.

Stroganoff . . .

For this stroganoff recipe I use flat iron steaks because it cuts so easily and is so tender. You can also use beef strips or even round steak that you thinly slice. I have even bought meat that is specifically cut for making jerky since it is already thin. I suppose you could use stew meat also.

Brown 1 pound of beef thinly cut in a skillet with 1 tablespoon of oil. When done add 1 can of mushroom soup and 1/2 cup of water. Stir in a package of onion soup mix. You can add mushrooms either fresh or canned if desired. Cook on medium for 20 minutes or so, until flavors are melded together and soup is evenly cooked. Reduce heat and add 1/2 cup of sour cream and just heat through, do not boil or cream will turn.

Serve over egg noodles.

Let's start out simply . . .

The biggest time saver I use is pre-browning hamburger. I used to come home with a large container of hamburger, break it into pound hunks and wrap and freeze it. Then I had to defrost in the microwave, and then brown it. UGH! Now I buy the "big mama" size hamburger container at Sam's Club (like Cosco) and break it up something like this :

I usually make 2 - 2lb meatloafs and freeze them (awesome recipe I'll post later). Then we make about 16 - patties, stacked on wax paper and frozen. Then I make my husband brown and bag the rest in quart size ziplock baggies. He makes 2lb and 1lb baggies.

This pre-browned meat is perfect for tacos, spaghetti, sloppy joes, chili, baked spaghetti etc.