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.

Day 12, Nachos

Tonight, after going to our niece's softball game we stopped at a local market for ice cream (they still had pumpkin spice, booya!).  I was pretty much content to call that dinner but as soon as we left my hubby asked the inevitable question, "What's for dinner?"

Obviously, ice cream wasn't going to cut it.

Knowing we'd get home pretty late I decided on nachos.

Oven Nachos

Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Meat
1 Bag Tortilla Chips
1 8 oz Bag Shredded Fiesta Blend Cheese
1 Jar Nacho Cheese Dip
1 Can Sliced Olives
1 Envelope Taco Seasoning
Sour Cream
Guacamole
Tomato, Chopped
Green Onion, sliced
Salsa or Hot Sauce

Preheat oven to 350*
Brown burger in fry pan,

Add taco seasoning according to package directions.
While burger is cooking, heat cheese dip over low heat in a small saucepan.
Spread tortilla chips out on parchment lined baking sheet.

When the burger is seasoned and cooked distribute it evenly over the chips.
Sprinkle shredded cheese over the burger.

Top shredded cheese with sliced olives.

Bake for 5-7 minutes checking frequently.
Once cheese is melted remove from oven and pour warmed cheese dip over top.

Divide into portions and individualize with extra toppings as you like.

So good, quick and easy and my daughter said, "Why don't we have this more often?"

Day 11, Waffle Corn Dogs

You wanted it so here it is, Waffle Corn Dogs.

I found the recipe here https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipes/a53205/waffle-corn-dogs-recipe/?fbclid=IwAR1W-qW6AeGwcgndl8a7OzK16yZbZLVU9taBvJHXjwPlRZZEh_MqmktucJA&fbclid=IwAR0fEAnC7AGVa98gVPQEBcJVhK8G9UMo7bbGHxq1KEGAhbc5_QiZH1ERrGM

Waffle Corn Dogs

Below is the recipe as published, my changes are in the recipe review.
Yields:2 - 4
Prep Time: 15 Mins
Total Time:20 Mins

INGREDIENTS

4 hot dogs
1 box corn muffin mix
1 large egg
1/2 cup sour cream
2 tbsp. melted butter
1/2 c. shredded Cheddar
2 tbsp. chives
Ketchup and mustard, for dipping

DIRECTIONS
Preheat a waffle iron.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, combine corn muffin mix, egg, and sour cream. Stir until evenly combined then fold in cheddar and chives.
Cut each hot dog in half lengthwise and then in half crosswise; stick a skewer into each piece.
Spread about half of the batter onto waffle iron. 

Place hot dogs on top, then spread the remaining batter over hot dogs.
Close the waffle iron and cook until the waffle is cooked through, about 4 minutes.
Carefully remove waffle and slice into eighths.
Serve with ketchup and mustard for dipping.

Here's my honest review of this recipe and technique.  

Straight away I noticed an error in the recipe.  If you follow these directions it makes 8 of the 16 hot dog quarters you have.  So I doubled the cornbread recipe to accommodate all the hot dogs portions. 

My waffle maker is not a Belgian waffle maker so this may be why I ran into issues.  Following the directions my waffle maker overflowed and a couple of the hot dog slices oozed out of the waffle maker.  I shoved it back in and kept going.

My first attempt was literally a hot mess

The criss cross waffle design is due to pulling the outer most edges to the middle to get it to cook evenly

I asked my hubby what he thought of it.  He said the corn bread to hot dog ratio was a little off and the bites that had hot dog in it were delicious.  His recommendation was skip the skewers and just chop the dogs right up in the batter.

So when I went to make the second half of the batch I followed his recommendation and the results were much better.  

Batter is thick if you want squares you need to spread it a bit, this was the result of doing it by the scoop

The batter is pretty thick so to get nice perfect waffles I recommend spreading the batter out a bit.

Once I spread it out some square waffles were achieved.

Bottom line, the recipe is a win, the technique needs a little work and requires some patience. 

Day 10, Fettuccine Alfredo

This is a dish I make fairly frequently in many different variations.  It's done in about 20 minutes.

Fettuccine Alfredo
Serves 6-8

12 oz Smoked Sausage or Kielbasa
16 oz Fettuccine
22 oz Jar Alfredo Sauce
10 oz Fresh Spinach, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup milk
Parmesan (optional)

Cook Fettuccine according to package directions.
While waiting for water to boil slice sausage and fry in a large fry pan over medium heat.
Once you have the desired color on your sausage add chopped spinach to fry pan stirring occasionally as spinach wilts.
Once spinach is wilted add Alfredo sauce to fry pan.
I like to add the 1/2 cup mild to my sauce jar, apply the lid and shake it to get out every last bit of sauce.  Add that to the fry pan as well.
By now, your pasta should be cooked, drain your pasta and return to pot.
Add sauce to cooked pasta. Stir until pasta is well coated.
Serve with parmesan cheese if desired. 

Some of the other variations I have tried include using bacon instead of the sausage.  Kale, brussel sprouts or asparagus in place of the spinach.

Even with the veggies in the dish we usually pair this with a green salad.  My family also likes to have garlic toast with it.

Day 9, Buffalo Ranch Chicken Pasta Bake

The highway in and out of our little town was still closed today.  This is one of those little towns that you love to live in but don't enjoy shopping in because our market is overpriced on just about anything that isn't on sale.  With that in mind I was determined to make dinner from just what I had here at home.

I remembered that my daughter had asked last week for Buffalo Chicken Bake, with last week pretty well planned out I told her maybe this week.  She was thrilled to find out that I had all the ingredients on hand for that to be dinner tonight.

I originally found this recipe on facebook which lead me here https://insidebrucrewlife.com/buffalo-chicken-pasta-bake/?fbclid=IwAR2wqlhr2keO0muURObXgiie6RfrT5ljzC_5UhgXt0IzolV2owxcWh0xBRU

Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake
Serves 6

Combining buffalo chicken, cheese, and pasta in one casserole creates a meal that everyone will love. This Buffalo Chicken Pasta Bake is delicious and can be on the table in 30 minutes.

PREP TIME10 minutes
COOK TIME20 minutes
TOTAL TIME30 minutes

Ingredients
8 ounces - 2 cups uncooked, penne pasta (or substitute cooked cauliflower)
1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
3/4 cup ranch dressing
1/3 cup hot sauce
2 cups shredded, cooked chicken (rotisserie or canned)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
green onions, for garnish

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 

Spray a 8-inch casserole dish with nonstick spray.
Cook the pasta noodles, according to the package directions.
Stir together the cream cheese, ranch, and hot sauce until creamy.
Add the chicken, 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese, and cooked pasta noodles to the cream cheese mixture and stir to combine. 

Spoon into the prepared dish.
Combine the remaining two cheeses and sprinkle over the top of the pasta. 

Bake for 20 minutes, or until cheese on top is melted.
Remove and serve immediately with green onions, hot sauce, and ranch drizzles.

Tonight I opted to use canned chicken because that's what I had but it is excellent with the rotisserie chicken as well. I will occasionally pick up a pre-made rotisserie chicken on my way home from work for what I call a semi homemade dinner.

I also only used cheddar today because I didn't have mozzarella on hand, no one seemed to notice a difference from previous times I've made it because let's face it, cheese is amazing.

As we were eating this tonight my daughter and I were discussing how good the sauce might be as lasagna or even pizza so you might see that twist in the future.

Tonight we served this up with a salad on the side.

Day 8, We don't need dinner every night, do we?

We live in a little mountain town that has one highway in and out.  Yesterday a landslide closed that highway.  Knowing we wouldn't be going to work today we slept in.  A late breakfast lead to a later lunch, long story short come dinner time we weren't really hungry.  Since I don't feel the need to force feed my family we just decided to have some snacks and family movie time.

We each picked a guilty pleasure and passed them around, chips, dip, cheese, crackers and ice cream for hubby and daughter.

As of now the highway is still closed but I will be cooking tomorrow 😃 I'm not sure what though, but come on, would you expect anything else.

Since I'm not cooking tonight I thought I'd make this post be about something else.  I floated the idea of this blog several years ago and had a decent response.  But what really helped give me the nudge I needed was the fact that we were eating out WAY to much and spending too much money.  I was also near my highest weight ever, not quite but close. 

Truth time, the amount we spent eating out last month was embarrassing, at least to me since I'm usually so frugal. So here's the truth bomb, we spent nearly $800 last month eating out, that is ridiculous!!!!  In contrast the groceries that I had to buy for this first week of April cost me a mere hundred dollars.  So I'm well on my way to a great savings this month.

Along with the monetary savings let's talk about weight loss.  Keep in mind, I'm not on any kind of diet and I've been eating each of the dinners I've posted.  Yes, I have been kickboxing 3-4 days a week but I was actually doing that on a free trial pass for a couple of weeks before I started this challenge.  This week I lost almost 6 lbs!  If that doesn't speak to the crazy amount of calories, sodium and large portion sizes in a restaurant meal I don't know what does.

I'm hoping the weight loss trend continues with the simple change of cooking at home, saving me money and calories.

Day 7, Thai Peanut Noodles

Rarely do I make a vegetarian meal.  My husband is a meat and potatoes kind of guy.

I was inspired by a recipe I found at https://showmetheyummy.com/thai-peanut-noodles-recipe/

This was tasty and amazingly fast.  I had everything ready to go in the time it took to cook the noodles. Even my carnivorous husband went back for seconds.

Thai Peanut Noodles
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 pound spaghetti

Sauce
3 large cloves garlic minced
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger optional
1 tablespoon Sriracha more or less to taste
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1/4 cup peanut butter use an all natural, no sugar only variety

Topping
4 large Fried eggs
Fresh cilantro minced
Green onion sliced
Salted Peanuts chopped
Freshly squeezed lime juice

Instructions:

Cook your pasta according to box directions. Drain.
While the pasta is cooking, make the sauce and prep the toppings.

Sauce
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together all ingredients until fully combined. Set aside.
If peanut butter is a little clumpy, that's ok, it will melt once it hits the hot pasta.

Assemble
Mix sauce together with drained pasta until fully combined.

Top with fried egg, cilantro, green onions, peanuts, and a squeeze of fresh lime juice!
Enjoy!

My hubby and daughter opted in for the fried egg on top.

I'm not a fan of fried eggs so I just went without and it was still amazing.