Day 20, Pork Nacho Soup

Pork Nacho Soup

This soup was so amazing tonight.  This is a great one to make as planned leftovers allowing yourself to cook once and eat twice.  

Every time I make pulled pork I always make way too much.  Last time I thru the leftovers in the freezer.  Today I decided to make a yummy soup from those leftovers.

To make shredded chicken, pulled pork or bbq beef I just throw around 3 lbs of meat into the crockpot with either a bottle of salsa, BBQ Sauce or Honey Mustard and let it cook 6-8 hours and then shred.  Easy Peasy and delicious every time.

Now on to the soup.

Pork Nacho Soup

3-4 cups cooked chicken, pork or beef (mine was picante pork)

1 can Condensed Cheddar Cheese Soup

1 can Condensed Cream of Chicken Soup

2 cans milk (just use the empty soup cans to measure)

Optional toppings:

Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Sour Cream

Corn Chips

Cilantro

Lime Wedges

Mix soups and milk in 3 qt crockpot and whisk until smooth, add meat. Cover and cook on low for 4-6 hours until hot.

I think this would also be delicious and could easily stretch even farther by adding a can of white beans, corn or green chilies. 

For a little more zip use Fiesta Nacho Condensed Cheese Soup, this would be my preference but since I'm trying to use up what's in my pantry I used the Cheddar.

Say Grace and Enjoy!

Starting Grocery Budget $100

Day  20 Balance Remaining $30.79

Question of the Day, Do you ever repurpose your leftovers making them into something completely different?

Answering the question of the day in the comments will get you entered to win a Toastmaster 10 x 16 Griddle.  I will randomly choose the winner from those entered on January 31st.

Day 14, Elk Taco Casserole

Elk Taco Casserole

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground Elk, or whichever ground meat you've got

1 10.75 can Condensed Tomato Soup

1 cup Salsa

1/2 cup Milk

1/2 cup Uncooked Instant White Rice

1-2 cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Extras:

Corn Chips

Shredded Lettuce

Chopped Tomatoes

Sliced Olives

Avocados 

Sour Cream

Directions:

1. Brown ground meat in a large skillet until meat is cooked through, stirring to break into small pieces.  Drain fat if necessary. 

2. Stir soup, salsa, milk and rice into burger. Remove from heat and spread into an 8x8 square casserole dish. Cover with foil.

3. Bake in a preheated 400* oven for 25 minutes.

4. Remove from oven, uncover, and top with cheese.  Return to oven for an additional 10 minutes until cheese is melted and lightly browned.

5. Build your bowl:

I like to start with a layer of corn chips in the bottom of a bowl.

Top with Taco Casserole

Then add your fresh ingredients and a dollop of sour cream.

Say Grace and Enjoy!

Starting Grocery Budget $100

Day 14 Balance Remaining $54.85

Question of the Day, Sour Cream or Guacamole?

Answering the question of the day in the comments will get you entered to win a Toastmaster 10 x 16 Griddle.  I will randomly choose the winner from those entered on January 31st.

Day 8, Lemony Sweet Rolls

Lemony Sweet Rolls

As the holiday season comes to an end I always turn my focus to Spring, despite the fact that Winter has just barely started.

One of the flavors that always seems like a light and refreshing change from the spicy flavors of fall and winter is lemon.  I love all things lemon. This recipe is lemon in lemon topped with lemon, how can you go wrong? 

Lemony Sweet Rolls

Makes 12 rolls

Ingredients:

1 boxed Lemon Cake Mix

2 1/2 - 3 cups All Purpose Flour

1 pkg (1/4 oz) Active Dry Yeast

1 1/4 cup Warm Water (120*-130*)

For Filling:

3/4 cup Granulated Sugar

Zest of Two Lemons

1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract

1/4 cup Butter, melted

For Icing:

4 oz Cream Cheese, room temperature

1 cup Powdered Sugar

Juice of Two Lemons

Directions:

1. Combine cake mix, 1 cup flour and yeast in large mixing bowl or stand mixer. Add water. Beat on medium speed 2 minutes.  

2. Stir in additional flour 1/2 cup at a time just until soft dough forms. (dough will still be sticky)

3. Turn soft dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead gently just 6-8 times.  Do not over knead as this will create tough dough.

4. Place dough ball in a greased bowl. 

5. Cover with plastic wrap sprayed with non stick cooking spray and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, approx 2 hours.

6. Meanwhile, in a small bowl, mix granulated sugar, lemon zest, and vanilla until well blended.

7. Once dough has risen, punch dough down. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface; roll dough into an 18x10 inch rectangle.

8. Brush dough with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar/zest mixture.

9. Roll up jelly-roll style along the long side of the rectangle. Pinch seam to seal.

10. Cut crosswise into 12 even slices.  Place cut side up in a greased 13x9 baking pan.  

11. Cover with a clean towel and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, approx 1 hour.

12.  Bake 20-25 minutes in a preheated 350* oven until puffed and lightly browned.  Cool Slightly. 

13. Beat cream cheese, lemon juice and powdered sugar until a drizzle consistency is reached, if too tart or if you'd prefer a thicker icing you can add additional powdered sugar, mixing until desired consistency is reached. 

14. Drizzle over warm rolls and enjoy!

We had to sample the two end pieces right away 😉

Starting Grocery Budget $100

Day 8 Balance Remaining $84.64

Question of the Day, What are your favorite flavors you associate with Spring?

Answering the question of the day in the comments will get you entered to win a Toastmaster 10 x 16 Griddle.  I will randomly choose the winner from those entered on January 31st.

Day 7, Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Breast

Crock Pot Honey Garlic Chicken Breast

with Garlic and Olive Oil Jasmine Rice

A friend of mine had recently posted this recipe on her facebook page and I thought it sounded simple and delicious, not to mention a perfect "So You Forgot to Defrost" recipe since I started with frozen chicken breast this afternoon. http://www.skinnypoints-only.com/crock-pot-honey-garlic-chicken-breast/?fbclid=IwAR3TSCZ9u8J0ikg2YrQPKGoP5lyWZT-dsr4zu183P3Sj-x0gCYREBgDziok

Crockpot Honey Garlic Chicken Breast

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breast

1/2 cup Ketchup

1/2 cup Soy Sauce

1/4 cup Honey

4 Cloves Garlic, crushed

1 tsp Dried Basil

Directions:

1. Cut chicken breast into 4-6 large pieces.

2. Combine ketchup, soy sauce, honey, garlic and basil in a small bowl and whisk together.

3. Place chicken breast in bottom of slow cooker.

4. Pour sauce over chicken.

5. Cook on low for 4 hours. (since my chicken breasts were frozen I cooked mine on high for 2 hours and then turned it down to low)

6. Say grace and enjoy!

Serve with rice or noodles and veggies. We had ours with rice that I picked up for free using Ibotta.  

Starting Grocery Budget $100

Day 7 Balance Remaining $84.64

Question of the Day, Rice or Pasta?

Answering the question of the day in the comments will get you entered to win a Toastmaster 10 x 16 Griddle.  I will randomly choose the winner from those entered on January 31st.

Day 6, Sloppy Wapiti

Sloppy Wapiti

Tonight was a "so you forgot to defrost" moment for sure.  You would think that since I'm writing this blog and participating in this challenge that I would be at least planning a little, that I would be at least a little bit organized.  You would be wrong.

While I was on one of the meal prep pages I follow on facebook yesterday someone mentioned that they were having Sloppy Joes for dinner.  I thought, that sounds good. It's been a while since I've made Sloppy Joes.  Do you think that prompted me to set out a pound of burger to thaw? Nope, sure didn't.

So once I got home tonight I grabbed a pound of elk burger from the freezer, used the pull apart microwave thawing method that I've mentioned previously and got to cooking.

Sloppy Wapiti

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground Elk (or whatever meat you've got)

1/2 Yellow Onion, diced

1 cup Ketchup

2 Tbsp Brown Sugar

2 tsp Worcestershire Sauce

2 tsp Prepared Mustard (I used Dijon)

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

4 Hamburger Buns

Directions:

1. In a large skillet brown ground meat and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink.  Drain if necessary.

2. Stir in ketchup, sugar, mustard, garlic powder and salt. 

3. Bring to a boil, reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

4. Serve on buns.

5. Say Grace and enjoy!

Excellent with added cheese and condiments of your choice, I even sometimes like it with a little slaw on it.

Tonight we had our Sloppy Wapitis with choice of mac salad or potato salad that we still had leftover in the fridge and some tater tots that were in the freezer. 

Starting Grocery Budget $100

Day 6 Balance Remaining $84.64

Question of the Day, Did you know what Wapiti was before clicking on this link?

Answering the question of the day in the comments will get you entered to win a Toastmaster 10 x 16 Griddle.  I will randomly choose the winner from those entered on January 31st. 

Day 5, $2.50 entree of Creamy Chicken Lemon Parmesan

Creamy Chicken Lemon Parmesan

After a long day working and running errands I didn't even start dinner until after 6:30 but we were eating by 7:00.

I browned some chicken breast in olive oil while bringing a large pot of water to bowl for the pasta.  

Once the chicken breast was nearly cooked thru I added the jar of sauce, turned it down to a simmer, covered it and let it finish cooking while waiting for the pasta to cook.

Once the water was boiling the pasta was done in just a short eight minutes, I drained it, returned it to the pot and poured the sauce with chicken on top.

Served with home canned green beans.

 

Now the coolest thing about this meal is that it cost about $2.50.  Today it didn't cost me anything because all of these items were already on my pantry shelf and the meat was in the freezer.

I never pay over $2 a pound for chicken breast.  I cooked about a pound tonight.  I likely paid between $1.49 and $1.99 for this chicken.

I have eight boxes of this pasta, seven still remain.  Why so many? Because they were FREE after using my Ibotta rebate!

I have six jars of this pasta sauce remaining as well, I paid between .50-.75 a jar between coupons and Ibotta.

I am finding the hardest part of this pantry challenge is that I set the $100 budget.  It's really hard for me to pass up a bargain so I'm finding it's best if I don't even look at the ads or my Ibotta app.

I did however break into my grocery budget envelope Saturday.  I was at Walmart for something else non grocery and made the mistake of walking by the Christmas clearance section, they had big bags of trail mix marked down 75% so I spent $3.50 to pick some up.  Hopefully I don't regret that by the end of the month.

Sunday we dipped into our entertainment/dining out budget and celebrated our nephew's Baptism.  Since we ate out for lunch neither of us were hungry come supper time but our daughter wanted what she calls a "gourmet lunchable"(it's not really a lunchable at all).  It was $2.75.

Today I picked up my hubby's soda and English muffins. Basically I figured we have about $25 a week so I'm still ahead of the curve so far.  

Starting Grocery Budget $100

Day 5 Balance Remaining $84.64

Question of the Day, Do you use Ibotta or other savings apps?

Answering the question of the day in the comments will get you entered to win a Toastmaster 10 x 16 Griddle.  I will randomly choose the winner from those entered on January 31st. 

Day 2, Meatball Subs on Almost Homemade Buns

Meatball Subs on Almost Homemade Buns

The feast of Rose Bowl leftovers continues tonight with meatball subs.

These meatballs are awesome if you ever want to give them a try, I got the recipe off the OceanSpray Cranberry label at Thanksgiving. It's just 2 pounds of meatballs, a can of cranberries and a 12oz bottle of Heinz Chili Sauce.  Heat on the stovetop in minutes or in the crockpot on high for a couple hours.

I made my rolls from Rhodes Frozen Loaf Dough.  A loaf makes four nice sized hoagie rolls, if you want a footlong one loaf makes two.

I wrapped my frozen loaf in plastic wrap sprayed with cooking spray and allowed it to thaw on the counter top for a couple hours.

I then used scissors to cut the loaf lengthwise and then cut those in half again crossways. Place these on a greased baking sheet and cover with the same greased plastic wrap that you allowed the bread to thaw in. 

Place somewhere warm and allow to double in size.  Remove plastic wrap and place in a preheated 350* oven for 15-20 minutes.

Enjoy the amazing smell of fresh bread baking!

Assembling my sandwich consisted of hollowing out a shallow well on one side of the split open roll just to keep the meatballs from rolling out.  Then cheese, I put it on both sides because cheese is just that amazing.

You could eat it right now just like this but I popped mine under the broiler for a few minutes until the cheese was nicely melted and just starting to turn gold.

I let everyone make their own plate choosing from leftover potato salad, macaroni salad and veggies that still remained even after last night's soup.

Say grace and enjoy!

Starting Grocery Budget $100

Day 1 Balance Remaining $100

Question of the Day, Do you ever get a chance to make homemade bread?

Answering the question of the day in the comments will get you entered to win a Toastmaster 10 x 16 Griddle.  I will randomly choose the winner from those entered on January 31st. 

Day 1 Dinner, Cheesy Creamy Veggie Soup

Cheesy Creamy Veggie Soup

Yesterday was New Year's Day and that means college bowl games. Any thoughts of starting a diet were going to be postponed until the 2nd. Since the Oregon Ducks made it to the Rose Bowl we knew we wanted to watch the game and enjoy all your typical snacks. 

With kick off came the first round of snacks, a meat and cheese platter, veggie tray and chips and dips. The really naughty foods came out at half time 😉

Everyone knew the hot food was coming so much of this initial spread was left untouched.  Not wanting any of it to go to waste I turned the leftovers into tonight's dinner.  A delicious cheesy, creamy vegetable soup.  While I don't have an actual recipe I can walk you through what I did. 

I've made some variation of this soup many times over the years.  It's always slightly different, never quite the same but always delicious. 

It varies so much because my available vegetables varies.  Tonight I made it with onion, garlic, carrot, celery and broccoli.  In the past I've included various peppers, cauliflower and potatoes as well. It's a great way to use up leftover or extra veggies or veggies that are nearing the end of their life.  Not to mention, when I eat broccoli I only like the florets, but when making soup I don't shy away from using more stem.

Tonight I started by sauteing onion, celery and carrot in a stock pot until the onion became translucent.

  

Then I added some minced garlic and sauteed an additional minute.

Then I added about 5 cups of water, enough to cover my veggies and brought it to a boil.  I added an appropriate amount of veggie and beef Better Than Bouillon.  You could also us canned, boxed or homemade broth for this step.

Once the soup was boiling I covered it and reduced the heat to a simmer.

Meanwhile I pan fried the leftover summer sausage until it was just lightly browned and starting to crisp up a bit.

Once the veggies are tender I like to use my immersion blender to puree the soup.  My family will eat almost any veggie if there's not a lot of texture and they can't pick out any one component.

Once blended I added the summer sausage and about a cup of heavy cream that was leftover from some holiday baking.

My secret ingredient to make quick soups taste like you put in the time is adding 1/2 to 1 tsp liquid smoke.

I then finished it off with a couple cups of cheddar cheese and left it on the heat just long enough to get that cheese melted.

Salt and Pepper to taste.

Typically, soup may be served with saltines or oyster crackers but I used Ritz and they made it so delicious.

I have made this soup with all types of broth. I've also used cream cheese, sour cream and even just milk in place of the cream.  Of course any cheese will also do.  It's really a refrigerator soup, whatever you've got in there will work just fine.  If it's too thick add more liquid if it's too runny add some instant mashed potatoes to thicken.

Say grace and enjoy!

As for the rest of our day, my daughter and niece requested chocolate chip muffins for breakfast. 

For lunch they wanted some of the leftover naughty foods, so they enjoyed taquitos, chicken nuggets and mozzarella sticks.  Hubby had leftover Navy bean and ham soup.

Starting Grocery Budget $100

Day 1 Balance Remaining $100

Question of the Day, Could you make a full meal from items currently in your fridge? If so, what?

Answering the question of the day in the comments will get you entered to win a Toastmaster 10 x 16 Griddle.  I will randomly choose the winner from those entered on January 31st. 

Day 1 of 30 Day Pantry Challenge

Day 1 Goals, Leftovers and Inventory

A dutiful blogger and home economist that is a little more organized would likely tell you to take a full inventory of all your pantry and freezer items and make a meal plan accordingly, I am not that blogger. Well I can tell you to do that and it is likely a good idea but I'm not doing that myself, at least not for week one.

Why am I not taking inventory?  

Because I have so much food on hand week one should be a no brainer.  

I'm a casual couponer (formerly an extreme couponer) and I love Ibotta.  I stock up on items whenever I can.  We are a hunting and fishing family and have a well stocked freezer.

I'm setting a goal of not spending more than $100 on groceries this month.  I think I could do with less but my husband likes his coffee creamer and soda (only from a can) and they don't give either of those items away.  The only other things I'm planning on purchasing is bread, dairy, eggs, if needed and fresh produce.

I know roughly what I have on hand:

I have lots of meat, thanks to my hunters

Several jars of various pasta sauces, thanks to Ibotta

Several boxes of plain and a few flavored pastas, another Ibotta surplus 

Man oh man do I have rice, plain, flavored, dry, instant, as well as heat and eat.

Home canned veggies along with a few store bought.

Frozen bread dough

Biscuit mix

Corn bread mix

This is why I'm not taking an inventory yet.

Week one will be mostly about using up our perishables that are in the fridge.  For example, yesterday's veggie and meat and cheese trays are going to be tonight's creamy, cheesy vegetable soup.  Waste not, want not right?

What about breakfast and lunch?

I have a ton of cereal, granola bars and oatmeal for quick week day breakfasts.  Hubby likes an English muffin with sausage and cheese every morning, these will have to be purchased by week 2 (he really drags my budget down 😉). I've got pancake, muffin a waffle mix if we want to have a bigger breakfast on the weekends.

Lunches for hubby is usually leftovers and there should be no shortage of those since I'll not only be cooking more often but I've also got previous leftover meals in the freezer. For my daughter and myself, we can also do leftovers or I've got lunch meat in the fridge and freezer and plenty of canned soup and convenience foods.

As the month draws to an end I will likely have to get a little more creative as my family grows bored with spaghetti. 😁This is where an inventory and a little more planning may be necessary. 

Please follow me on my journey, hopefully I'll have some pointers and insights as well as some delicious recipes to share.

I will post again tonight to let you know how our first dinner goes.