Day 30, Finishing the Challenge with Sausage, Pasta and Balsamic Green Beans

And just like that the month long challenge is over. (I'm just now realizing I still haven't used my Instant Pot)

I'm looking forward to continuing on with cooking more than dining out, though my husband has been craving A&W Cheese Curds.

I'm open to suggestions for a new challenge or simply continuing on with fast and simple meals. I would love any and all feedback.

I've thought about posting some "West Coast Savings" aka couponing in Oregon, seems most other coupon blogs are Midwest or East Coast based and we often don't have the same deals or the same stores.

Or, meal planning based around weekly grocery ads perhaps?  Be sure to let me know.

I was wanting to finish out the month with a bang but I went with the simplest of meals, nothing fancy here. 

I pan fried kielbasa  and made artisan pasta from a box.  I served this with our favorite home canned balsamic green beans.

Day 29, Spring Picnic

As the days get longer and warmer we always enjoy eating outside.  Sometimes we'll take it to go and head to our favorite spot on the river or  lake while other times when time is a little leaner we like to light a fire and just enjoy the back yard.  Last night was my nieces last dinner with us ending her week long visit.  The girls really wanted to have a picnic, make silly videos and have a nerf gun war in the back yard. 

I picked up some big sub sandwiches from Walmart along with some potato and pasta salad from the deli.  My niece picked out some chips (I wouldn't normally do chips AND salads but, kids happen).  Seasonal fruit choices are beginning to expand and they make the perfect no fuss side.

Since we had the fire, they requested one last night of S'mores on the sea salt caramel banana chocolate chip cookies.

Day 24 - 28, Teriyaki Chicken, Leftovers, Hot Dogs, Hamburgers and Frittata

My niece has been staying with us for the last week so this week's menu had to be kid friendly.  Bonus, the weather has been just awesome so we cooked outside twice, roasted smores and simply enjoyed the backyard.

https://showmetheyummy.com/slow-cooker-teriyaki-chicken-recipe/
Slow Cooker Teriyaki Chicken
I defrosted the chicken in the microwave just long enough to soften it enough to cut it into large chunks, I chose to cook it on high and it was shreddable after four hours on HIGH.
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1/2 Cup Chicken Broth
1/2 Cup Soy Sauce
1/4 Cup Seasoned Rice Vinegar
2 Tbsp Honey
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1/4 tsp Ground Ginger
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
2 lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast
1/4 Cup Water
2 Tbsp Cornstarch

Cilantro, Red Pepper Flakes, Green Onion and Sesame Seeds for garnish.

Rice or Pasta for serving.

Instructions: 
1. Spray crockpot with cooking spray.
2. Whisk together broth, soy sauce, vinegar, honey, brown sugar, garlic, red pepper flakes, ginger and pepper.
3. Pour half of sauce into prepared crockpot.
4. Add in chicken and top with remaining sauce.
5. Cover and cook on HIGH 4 hours or LOW 8 hours.
6. Remove chicken and set aside.
7. Whisk together water and cornstarch in a small bowl, then stir that mixture into the crockpot.
8. Place chicken back in, at this point I shredded chicken with hand mixture. cover and cook on HIGH for an additional 30 minutes or until sauce has thickened. 
9. During this time prepare rice or pasta for serving.
10. Enjoy!


Frittata
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 lb Frozen Shredded Hash Browns
1 pint Eggs or Egg Substitute
1 Cup Milk
1 lb Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 tsp Black Pepper
5 oz Frozen Spinach, thawed and excess moisture squeezed out
1 lb Chopped Ham

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350*
1. Spray 13x9 baking dish with cooking spray.
2. Layer bottom of baking dish with hash browns.
3. Mix eggs, milk, 3 cups of the cheese, pepper, spinach and ham in a large bowl.
4. Pour over hash browns.
5. Bake until knife inserted comes out clean, about an hour.
6. Sprinkle remaining cup of cheese and bake an additional 5-10 minutes.
7. Enjoy!

Hot dogs and hamburgers are pretty self explanatory so I won't bore you with that, we didn't do anything special.  Roasted the dogs over the fire and hubby BBQ'd the hamburgers. 

We did however enjoy Smores with a very special twist, stay tuned to find out what.

Day 23, Delish Best Enchilada Pie Recipe Review

I love, love, love all those Tasty and Delish video recipes.  Sometimes the turn out just like the video.  Other times I look at the ingredients list and can just tell by the instructions that it'll never turn out like the picture.  I thought I would occasionally try them here so you don't have to. 

Tonight I decided to try the Best Enchilada Pie featured here https://www.facebook.com/delish/videos/171711953714148/

I decided this was a perfect So You Forgot to Defrost recipe because I made it with canned chicken, so no need to defrost anything.

Best Enchilada Pie
Serves 6

Ingredients:

Cooking spray

5 

medium flour tortillas Tip: use burrito size, I used taco because that's what I had

1 tbsp. 

extra-virgin olive oil

1/2 

medium onion, chopped

2 

cloves garlic, minced

1 

(19-oz.) can enchilada sauce (I used green sauce)

3 c. 

shredded chicken (I used canned chicken)

1 

(15-oz.) can corn, drained

1 

(15-oz.) can black beans, drained and rinsed (I used navy beans)

3 c. 

shredded cheddar

3 c. 

shredded monterey jack

Pico de gallo, for serving

Freshly chopped cilantro, for garnish

Sour cream, for garnish

Directions: 

1. 1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a 9” springform pan with cooking spray. Arrange 4 tortillas in bottom of pan, pressing up sides. Bake until lightly golden, about 15 minutes.
   
2. 2. In a large skillet over medium heat, heat olive oil. Add onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until fragrant, 1 minute more. Add enchilada sauce and chicken and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat.  
3. 3. Assemble pie: Spoon an even layer of chicken on top of baked tortilla crust then top with half the corn, black beans, and cheeses. Top with remaining chicken, corn, and black beans; then place remaining tortilla on top and sprinkle with remaining cheese. 
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
4. 4. Bake until the tortillas are deeply golden and cheese is melty, 40 minutes.
   
    
5. 5. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes, then garnish with pico de gallo, cilantro, and sour cream.

My review of this recipe and technique is favorable.  

I did not have burrito size tortillas on hand so I used soft taco size.  I would advise against this.  I had to use one more tortilla than what the recipe called for to make it around the pan and they still did not go far enough up the side of the pan which became problematic later when serving.

The taste was wonderful with a few having seconds.  The tortilla is hard to cut through both during serving and when eating.  The top tortilla is covered in cheese making it hard to cut through and the bottom can be 4 or in my case 5 layers thick in spots.  My hubby ended up pulling the tortilla crust from the bottom and tore it into strips and put it on top.  The tortilla does add nice flavor with the sides adding a little crunch.

I went with green sauce and white beans.  I think it could also be delicious with beef, either shredded or ground, black or pinto beans and red sauce.  Same dish but a completely different taste.

Serve with salad. 

I had made cheesecake filled chocolate eggs for Easter, I had the filling ingredients left over so decided to throw it in a graham cracker crust tonight for dessert. 

Instant Lemon Cheesecake

Ingredients:

1 Graham Cracker Pie Crust

1 tub Philadelphia Cheesecake Filling

1 can Lemon Creme

Spread cheesecake filling in graham cracker crust, top with pie filling.

Refrigerate until served.

Day 19-22, Birthdays, Pizza, Easter and Manicotti

As I was stressing out about falling behind on my posts my daughter gently reminded me that, "you don't need to post every day you know."

It's true, I hadn't done anything particularly post worthy or interesting.

Now, I'll get you up to speed.

Friday the 19th was my youngest sister's 30th birthday so we went to her mom's house for a surprise party.  Dinner was a Nacho/Taco bar and it was amazing.  This is really the ultimate in solutions when you forget to defrost, let someone else feed you 😋

Saturday I was uber busy prepping Easter deliciousness so cheapo, frozen, cardboard pizzas were for dinner.

                                                            Bunny's Got Back Cookies

I made crispy rice cereal treats from every flavor of Peeps I could find. Root Beer Float, Pancakes and Syrup, Blue Raspberry, Fruit Punch, Sour Watermelon and Cotton Candy.

                                          Cheesecake filled chocolate eggs with lemon yolks.

Sunday was of course Easter and my family does it potluck style, there was a ton of food including a frittata that I will be featuring here later this week because it is suitable for a night that you forgot to defrost.  It has become a family favorite and we never have an Easter without it.

Frittata before baking, stay tuned for the finished product later this week.

That brings us to tonight.  Tonight I decided to make the manicotti that I was going to make last Thursday.  It's so easy, pretty quick and simple enough that even my picky eater likes it.

Easy Manicotti
Serves 6

1 lb Ground Meat
1 24 oz Jar Spaghetti Sauce (I used Vodka Sauce)
1 8oz Box Manicotti Pasta
14 String Cheese
1 1/2 Cups Shredded Mozzarella Cheese

Preheat Oven to 350*
Grease 13 x 9 baking dish.
Pour 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce in bottom of baking dish.

Brown ground meat until cooked. Drain off excess grease if necessary and return to pan.

Add spaghetti sauce to meat and heat until warm.

Meanwhile cook manicotti according to package instructions.
Once manicotti is cooked carefully place a string cheese in each piece of manicotti and place in baking dish.  

Repeat with all 14 manicotti.

Spread meat sauce over the top of the pasta.

Cover baking dish with foil and bake 25-30 minutes.
Remove foil, sprinkle shredded mozzarella over the top of sauce and return to oven for an additional 5 - 10 minutes until melted.

Enjoy!

We enjoyed this dish with a garden salad with Italian croutons.

Day 18, Best Laid Plans and Grilled Cheese

Today I set out to make Easy Manicotti.  With the vision in mind I went ahead and pulled a pound of ground beef from the freezer at 6:30 this morning and put it in the kitchen sink (yes, I am aware this is not the preferred method of defrosting).  I was going to prepare the manicotti early this afternoon before running my daughter to the barn, doing some Easter shopping and going to the gym.  That way I could just throw it in the oven when I got home tonight.  We decided to go to the barn a little earlier and I forget to prep dinner.  I head into town just planning to make it when I get home.

Well....I get to the gym and start to walk in when I hear a splattering sound behind me, I turn around to see green liquid spewing from my van.  Clearly radiator fluid, I call hubby, he tells me he'll do some research and have an answer for me by the time I get done with my workout.

40 brutal minutes later I call him back and he tells me I likely need a new thermostat or at the very least a new radiator cap.  We discuss whether or not it's safe to make the trek home.  I picked up both a thermostat and a radiator cap on my way home and we decide hubby will remain near his phone, and I'll watch the temperature gauge and he'll take care of it all when I get home.

No problems at all getting home but I'm just exhausted and drained by the time I get there.  My dear hubby is waiting in the driveway when I get home to fix the van.  I tell him, I'll head in to make dinner.

Ugh, I forgot to refrigerate the ground beef, it's still in the sink oh, and today was the warmest day we've had this year.  The meat is stinky and I don't feel like thawing a new one. I could make it vegetarian but my pot was not clean from cooking noodles last night.  It's late.  I'm ready to sit down.  I'm just done.  Can you relate?  Ever have days like this?

Grilled Cheese it is, I promise hubby I'll make every effort to make it a really good grilled cheese.

I had some Texas Toast bread leftover from meatball soup night.
I had an assortment of cheeses.
I had tomatoes.
I had spices.
We were good to go.

I prefer to spread mayo rather than butter on my bread before grilling.  It provides the needed fat and is always spreadable unlike butter that I've literally ripped my bread to shreds with.

I sprinkled an assortment of Monterey Jack, Mozzarella, and Parmesan cheeses.

Add sliced tomatoes.

I sprinkle Italian Seasoning and Garlic Powder over the tomatoes and top with the second slice of bread.

Now we totally could have rounded out this meal with a nice salad or a vegetable soup but it was a "pop a can of Pringles" kind of night.

Be sure when these days happen you give yourself a little grace.

Day 17, Slow Cooker Lo Mein

Today I worked early and had about an hour at home before I had to leave for the afternoon/evening so I thought I'd take the opportunity to throw dinner in the crockpot.  It was still a pretty late night dinner though because I didn't read ahead far enough in the recipe to realize that it needed an extra hour once I got back home 😕oh well, it was still delicious and hubby's lunch is taken care of for the next couple days.

I found this recipe at https://showmetheyummy.com/slow-cooker-lo-mein-recipe/

Slow Cooker Lo Mein
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1/4 cup soy sauce 
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar 
1/4 cup hoisin sauce 
1 teaspoon sesame oil 
2 tablespoons chili garlic sauce 
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder 
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 
1/4 teaspoon black pepper 
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts 
1 head broccoli stems removed and discarded, florets roughly chopped 
1-2 carrots julienned 
1-2 red bell pepper sliced 
1 (4 oz) package sliced mushrooms I substituted sugar snap peas because I don't like mushrooms
1/2 pound spaghetti cooked separately according to package directions 
Sesame seeds, green onions, cilantro for garnish 

Instructions
1. Whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, hoisin, oil, chili garlic sauce, garlic powder, ginger, and black pepper. I doubled all the sauce ingredients because I wanted it extra saucy
2. Pour 1/3 into a greased crockpot. 
3. Add in chicken and cover. 
4. Cook on HIGH 3-4 hours or LOW 6-8 hours. 
5. Stir in 1/3 more sauce and all the veggies: broccoli, carrots, red bell pepper, mushrooms.
6. Cover and cook on HIGH for 1 hour. 
7. Shred chicken. I actually used my hand mixer to shred the chicken before adding the veggies.
8. Stir in remaining sauce and cooked pasta. 
9. Taste and re-season, if necessary. 
10. Serve and enjoy!

Day 16, Meatball Marinara Soup

Another night getting home at 8 o'clock and needing to put dinner on the table fast.  I am embarrassed to say that my pictures are lacking and not that great.  I was so hungry that I didn't even get a shot of dinner in the bowl.

If you're used to blogs full of artfully staged food you're in for a rude awakening.  In keeping with the theme of the blog my photos are also taken in a hurry while I'm cooking.  The picture of the finished product is literally of my portion that will be going in my mouth. 😄

On that note here's what was for dinner tonight, 30 minutes from the time I walked through the door until we were eating.

Meatball Marinara Soup
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Oil
1 Onion, diced
2 Cloves Garlic, diced
4 Cups Vegetable Broth
28 oz Can Crushed Tomatoes
1 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
1/4 tsp Crushed Red Pepper Flakes
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 lb Frozen Meatballs
2 Cups Spinach, chopped

Serve with bread, topped with parmesan and mozzarella cheese, browned under the broiler.  I used Texas toast, it was amazing!

Instructions:
Soften onions in oil over medium high heat for approximately 5 minutes.
Add garlic and cook an additional 1 minute.
Add vegetable broth, tomatoes and spices and bring to a boil.
Once boiling add meatballs.
Return to a boil.
Add chopped spinach and allow to wilt.
Enjoy!

This would also be amazing with grilled cheese sandwich for dipping.

Day 15, Fast and Yummy Potato Soup

I got home at 8 o'clock tonight with $200 worth of groceries in tow.  It was all hands on deck to unload the van and then I promptly scooted them on out of the kitchen so I could dive right in and get dinner started.

I was thinking the whole way home, wondering what I was going to make that I could get done in a half hour or less.  Then I remembered one of my favorite shortcuts and was kicking myself that I didn't remember to include it in my initial "staples" post.

The shortcut, frozen hash browns, the diced ones.  Just think of all the time you'll save not washing, peeling and dicing spuds.

I think part of the reason I may have overlooked this item is because we are in Spring heading towards Summer and soups aren't on the brain as much as they are when fall sets in.  But as I was driving home tonight, near dark, in the rain, I thought to myself, this feels more like a Fall day than Spring.  Just like that, soup was on my mind.

This soup is so amazing, it's not my all time favorite potato soup but it's near the top of the list. But when it comes to speed, this recipe is Queen.

I had the groceries put away and we were eating within a half of hour of me getting home.

Fast and Yummy Potato Soup
Serves 6-8

Ingredients:
1 Onion, chopped
1 Tbsp oil
48 oz Chicken Broth (tonight I used Better than Bouillon) 
32 oz Bag Frozen Hash Browns (get the diced, not shredded. Sometimes I even get the ones with peppers)
1 lb Ham, Chopped 
10.75 oz Can Condensed Cheddar Soup
10.50 oz Can Cream of Chicken Soup
12 oz Can Evaporated Milk
4 C Shredded Cheddar Cheese (my family likes the extra sharp)

Instructions:
In a large pot heat onions in oil over medium high heat to soften.
Add broth to pot and bring to a boil.
Once boiling add hash browns and return to a boil.
Add chopped ham, return to boil.
Add both soups and evaporated milk and bring back up to a simmer.
Add shredded cheese, reserving enough for garnish if desired and stir until melted.

Remove from heat and serve garnished with reserved cheese if desired.

For those keeping track, I'm still saving money and losing pounds 😍not a lot of pounds this week, but I'm not dieting and the scale is still heading in the right direction.

Day 14, Taxes, Cleaning and Leftovers

Upon waking this morning I started working on our taxes, procrastinate much?  I know.

Once that was finished I started in on conquering Mt Weiland aka, the laundry pile and the never ending sink of dishes. 

When modern technology was busy cleaning our unmentionables I threw myself into organizing my pantry shelf and got rid of so much expired product. (like 3 tall kitchen garbage bags worth)

Every time I hear the statistics about how much food Americans waste and throw away every day. I always think to myself, there's no way we waste that much food.  Well guess what?  I may not waste as much as the daily average on a daily basis but I made up for it today and was frightened at how long some of the items had stayed in my home and somehow flew under the radar during previous cleanings.  The winner was a bottle of dressing that had fallen off the back of the shelf and rolled under, 2009 was it's expiration date, 10 years!!!!!  And before you even ask, I have no idea how it had gone unnoticed that long, I've pulled the entire shelf out away from the wall at least annually to clean, around, behind and under.

I ate breakfast around 1 o'clock this afternoon so when hubby suggested dinner and a movie I reminded him that we weren't dining out for dinner for a couple more weeks.  He reminded me that I hadn't had lunch yet so we'd call it linner (the love child of lunch and dinner, think brunch).  Go for an early linner and then a movie.

In the spirit of not wasting any more food darling daughter had a variety of leftovers at her disposal thanks to the fact that I've been cooking every night.

An important part of cooking efficiently and on a budget really is trying not to waste anything.  I know some people don't like leftovers.  I'm fortunate that leftovers are my husband's preferred lunch on his work days and when we have a lot of leftovers we do usually designate one night a week to eat leftovers for dinner.

Often leftover soups will be portioned out and go in the freezer for later consumption.  We also have a dehydrator and can dehydrate some meals to be later used on camping or backpacking trips.

If your family really and truly won't eat leftovers try to cook accordingly and keep your portions in check.

Day 13, Shepherd Tot Pie

So, do you remember last week when I said it was funny that because I was writing the blog I was actually planning enough that I didn't actually need the So You Forgot to Defrost planning?  Well, that lasted exactly a week and I've been totally improving all week.  Just trying to keep it real folks.

I went into town a few times but either didn't have a grocery list, didn't have enough time or wasn't coming straight home for perishable groceries to stay cold, can anyone else relate?  That meant we were at the mercy of what was in the house already, supplemented by what's available at the Dollar General.

Tonight I merged a couple recipes, based on what I had on hand, remember, I've mentioned a few times that busy night cooking often means flexibility and adaptability.

I like Shepherd's Pie and I like Tater Tot Casseroles (well some of them, I despise cream of mushroom soup) so tonight I combined the two in a dish I'm calling Shepherd Tot Pie.

Shepherd Tot Pie

Ingredients:

2 lbs Ground Meat (whichever you prefer, tonight I used 1 lb beef and 1 lb elk)
32 oz Frozen Tater Tots
1/2 Onion, Diced
1 Tbls Olive Oil
10-12 oz Frozen Vegetables
1/4 C Tomato Paste
1 3/4 C Beef Broth 
2 Tbls Flour
1/2 tsp Salt (I skipped this because I used Better Than Bouillon for my broth)
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
2 C Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Preheat oven to 350* 
Grease 13 x 9 baking dish
In a large fry pan saute onion in olive oil for 5 minutes over med-high heat, stirring occasionally.
Add beef; cook an additional 5-7 minutes, stirring occasionally until thoroughly cooked. Drain if necessary.
Add mixed vegetables, tomato paste, salt and pepper; cook over medium heat 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until veggies are hot.

Mix broth and flour with whisk. 
Add to meat mixture, heat to boiling; cook for and additional 3 minutes, stirring constantly, until thick.

Add 1 Cup cheddar to thickened mixture and stir until melted and evenly distributed throughout meat.

Spoon into baking dish and spread evenly.
Top with one even layer of tater tots.

Bake for 50 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle with remaining 1 Cup cheddar cheese.

Bake an additional 5 minutes.
Remove from oven and allow to set for 5 minutes before serving.


So this wasn't the fastest recipe for a busy night. It goes together quick but does require quite a while for baking.  But I did still forget to defrost and had no plan for dinner until about 4:30 this afternoon.  This is totally suitable for an evening that you're home at a decent hour but still have a lot to do and just want to whip something up quickly, toss it in the oven and tackle whatever chore you've still got left or better yet sit and relax for about an hour until it's done baking.  I did dishes with my time.

My picky daughter said she was "quite impressed," and she also told me yesterday that it was, "nice that I've been cooking every night."

Glad she hasn't missed eating out too much.