Friday, November 11, 2011

Cooking Day #3

So it's that time again! Cooking day! Here is what I made this time around-
Chicken Chili x2
Lemon Honey Schnitzel x2
Chicken Enchiladas x2
Cranberry Chicken x2
Teriyaki Chicken Drumsticks x3 
Chimichangs x2 {Recipe HERE}
Crispy Chicken Buffalo Wraps x2 {not a freezer recipe}
Potato Cheddar Soup {Not a freezer recipe}
Pork Loin
Roast 
And the food for all this cost $156. I think we will get about 20 meals out of all this. Not too bad. I have to show you my new Christmas toy -
 A food saver! Yay! It sucks out all the air so that when you freeze it there is no freezer burn. I'm excited to see how it works! Brock is modeling the finished product.
 Also- I learned a neat trick. When pouring a liquid into a bag, I always spilled it all over. One hand to hold the bag one to pour. Not a good combo. Well, if you fold the bag over a cereal box....
 Tada! So much easier! Anyway, here is our freezer, nice and full again! Can't wait to share all the recipes with you.

Chicken Parisienne

This dish was pretty good. I was a little worried about it actually. When I assembled it on cooking day, it didn't smell super good. All it is, is chicken breast, cream of Mushroom soup, mushrooms and sour cream. This was so easy to cook. Out of the freezer, thaw and into the crock pot. Shred the chicken and serve over mashed potatoes. There you have it. This smelled delish in the pot and tasted surprisingly good. And thanks to Pinterest, I learned a sweet trick. To easily shred chicken- just put cooked breasts into a bowl and with a kitchen aid {or I use a Bosche} and the paddle attachment, shred. Worked like a charm! SO EASY!
 The verdict- I loved, Tim like pretty well, Brock was a little weary of it and Delilah-
Well she like it. A lot. Will definitely be making this again! Let me know if you want the recipe. I'll be happy to share it!

Friday, October 21, 2011

Navajo Tacos

I love tacos. Who doesn't? So much you can do with them, customize them to your likings. And the toppings. I love toppings. I was excited when I saw a 3 ingredient freezer taco meat recipe. The recipe suggested serving it in a pita {?} but I thought it would go better on fried dough. Isn't everything better on fried dough? Anyway-
 As per the recipe alls you need it 1 Lb ground beef, 1 C salsa and 1 8oz can stewed tomatoes. I added in a can of black bean, cause we like 'em. Anyway brown the beef, drain and add the rest of the ingredients. Stir together and there you have it. An easy Navajo Taco topper.
 To make the fry bread- I totally cheat and use Rhodes rolls. They are so yummy. Just de thaw- flatten- fry. Easy as that. Add your toppings and your set!
This is a meal I most definitely will be making again. The meat was so easy and it was delish. You could easily spice this up with a hotter salsa. I like it hot, but kept it mild for the kiddos. My family loves this dinner. Hope you like it too!

Colorado White Chili

I had two issues with this soup right off the bat. First of all, it's called a "White" chili... Does that look white to you? Secondly, it's called a chili. I don't know about you, but in my chili experience, there is usually a few different types of beans. This soup called for ONE can of beans.. Strange maybe it's a Colorado thing that I am not familiar with? Besides those two things this soup was ok... It had some strange seasonings. Ground cloves? Not a fan in a soup, personally, but I'll try anything once. Everything else was pretty standard- cooked chicken,beans, corn, pepper, oragano, cumin, green chilies etc.
 Tim really liked this soup. He did comment that he thought it could use a little more of a kick. Maybe jalepenos instead of green chilies next time. I did not like this soup. It was the cloves. Just didn't do it for me. Brock would only each the chicken. I think D liked it. I would make this again minus the cloves. Perhaps some black beans. I think it would be really good with shredded cheese and tortilla chips too. So, if you want the recipe just holler and I'll type it up!

Cottage Pie

AKA Shepard's pie. I never really liked this dish growing up. Not sure why. This version is your basic ground beef, ketchup corn with a topping of mashed potatoes and shredded cheese. Nothing to special. I decided to give it a try because I have never made it before.
 It wasn't too bad. I suppose I'd make it again. Tim and I liked it. D ate it and B wouldn't even touch it. No surprise there. I did really like how easy it was. Just pop it out of the freezer and then pop it into the oven. Just make sure you take the foil off first because the cheese will stick! Everyone has a Shepard's Pie recipe. My guess is that you can freeze it -just cook the beef before hand-. So if you want this one leave a comment and let me know!

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Chicken a la King

I have to apologize for this post a little bit. I made this dish when my parents were visiting and while cooking it was a little crazy. I had my zoom lens on my camera {not sure what the proper name is} so, the pictures are not great. Anyway- here is what it looks like cooking. It was really thick. Almost like gravy. I added some half and half and it helped quite a bit. It was also a little flat so I added garlic pepper and garlic powder. It helped a lot.
 And here we are over pasta. I was nervous to serve this since my parents were eating it. But, everybody liked it. I really liked it too. I will definitely be making this again! Check out the recipe HERE

Monday, October 10, 2011

Chicken Lelani

This dish was...interesting...I wanted to make it because it was a casserole dish. Something I didn't do last time. Although, I am not sure why I chose this one. It has lots of celery in it {cream of celery soup too} and Tim is not a fan of celery. But it was easy so I figured I'd give it a try. It has a chow mein noodle bottom, layered with a creamy chicken mix, topped with almonds. This is what it looked like before going into the oven-
 I also made these Olive Garden Breadsticks. They were YUMO. I found the recipe on Pinterest and of course I didn't pin it :(  So  if I ever find it again I will share. It was good and SO easy!
 The whole plate. I am going to be honest. I was not a fan of this dish. It just wasn't very...appeasing. And it didn't re-heat the best either. Brock didn't like it, Tim tolerated it and D didn't even try it. Needless to say, I won't be making it again. But if you are interested in the recipe, check it out HERE