Baked Beans

Welcome back to New Meal Mondays. Thank you for stopping by.
I think I finally have a baked bean recipe that I like. I have been trying for over a year with no success. It always seemed to bland. I realized I needed to use more flavors. This one worked. We enjoyed it this week with some macaroni salad and corn on the cob. It was really quite simple and the crockpot slow cooked it to combine all the flavors together.

I dumped 1 can of pork & beans and 1 (drained) can of red kidney beans into the crockpot, then started adding what I thought would work. Worcestershire sauce, ketchup, BBQ sauce, molasses, mustard, 1 Knorr chicken stock concentrate and some homemade dry onion soup mix my sister made for me. I then browned some breakfast sausage (what needed used up) and added it to the pot. I didn't measure just went by taste but if I had to guess I used around 1-2 Tbs for the Worcestershire, molasses and soup mix, then around 1/4 cup of mustard, ketchup and BBQ. Once I had everything mixed in, I let it cook about 3-4 hours in low.

Next time I am going to make it with ground beef and some bacon! What do you use in your baked beans? Please share I would love to try it next time.

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Fruit Delight, A Real Treat

After spending the weekend in the wonderful sunshine with family, friends, egg hunt games and fabulous food, it is hard to get back to the routine of Monday. I pray you all had a wonderful blessed Easter Weekend! Today's recipe I am sharing because it just fits with backyards, pot lucks, sipp'in ice tea, lounging under a shade tree, and simply enjoying a sunny afternoon! It is a family favorite. It comes from my mother-in-law. She gave it to me years ago but since she always makes it, I hardly do. This is one of those family dishes that is always served at holidays, bbq's, picnics, and even camping trips. It is easy to prepare and travels well. I decided to surprise my family with it last week (just because) to enjoy after dinner. It is an old recipe and probably goes by many names but in our house we affectionately call it Fruit Delight. It is a delight for sure! It has crazy ingredients such as vinegar and egg yolks. But when complete it is a cool, sweet, smooth, creamy--delight!
Here is what you need:

Ingredients:
1 bag mini marshmallows
1 can fruit cocktail
1 TBS vinegar
1 TBS water
2 egg yolks beaten
1 tub cool whip
1 package graham crackers

Open can of fruit cocktail and drain syrup into pot on stove (set the fruit aside to use later).

 Add the bag of marshmallows and melt down in the syrup on low heat, stirring often. Crush graham crackers in ziplock bag. I used a wooden pestle.

 Then sprinkle some into a 9x13 pan (save half for topping). I happen to be at my friend Heather's on this day so I divided this up for 2 smaller dishes.  So they can have some delight after dinner as well!

Once I had the dishes ready I then beat 2 egg yolks and set aside. As soon as the marshmallows were melted down I took off the heat and added the vinegar and water, mixing well. Then I slowly added the beaten egg yolks.

After eggs were blended in I set this aside to cool for at least 30 minutes. Once cooled I then added the fruit and entire cool whip container mixing well.

Then pour over the graham cracker lined pan. Top with remaining graham crackers and refrigerate until firm.

Enjoy! If you have a family favorite please share below!

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6 Reasons you may like Potato Chip Casserole: New Meal Monday

Ok, so this is not a new recipe for me but maybe for you? I was feeling sentimental (missing my dad and grandmother). And Potato Chip Casserole sounded good for dinner. This is one my Grandma Lois used to make.

If you never have had this, you may like it for the following reasons:
1) You like potato chips
2) You like cheese in your casserole
3) You like tater tot casserole
4) You like tuna casserole
5) You like any casserole
6) You like comfort food

Ingredients:
Wavy or Ruffles original potato chips
1 can tuna drained
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1/2 can of evaporated milk (regular milk will work too)
grated cheese (I used rest of havarty and colby)
pepper

 In a baking dish mix tuna, canned soup, cheese (leave some to put on top), pepper and the milk. Once combined slowly add the potato chips- careful to break up chips but not crush them. It will look like this when ready for oven:

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until casserole is bubbling. Then add remain cheese to the top and put back in oven to melt the cheese.

Enjoy! What is one of your comfort food recipes? Please share in the comments below.

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How to save money on chicken

With the crazy prices of food how is one able to stock up the freezer and still have money for other needed things...like gas for the car? Well one way that I have found is to buy my chicken in bulk. A couple of our local grocery stores will sell a bulk box of chicken breasts several times a year. 

This is it:

A 40 lbs box of chicken breasts. I usually will get it unfrozen and I am able to get it ready for the freezer right away. This time I got it frozen so I am having to let it thaw a bit before I can process it. For the entire box it is $59.60 (before tax) which makes it $1.49 a pound. It is a great deal. 

And as you can see, they are big portion sizes. For our family of 3 two breasts this size will more than feed us at any one meal. The first thing I do is get my supplies ready. I pre-cut a stack of freezer paper and grab the masking tape and permanent marker. I then cut the meat in half and trim off extra pieces of fat. For our family I wrap 2 chicken breasts in each freezer paper package. When I am all done I feel like I have been in a butcher shop. So I then disinfect everything really good. When the mess is cleaned up I happily take multiple trips to the freezer in the basement to fill it up! 

This is my third time getting a box of chicken like this. The meat is good and I have never had it go bad before I can use it all up. If you are local the stores I have gotten these from are here and here if you are not local I would call around to your local stores...it wouldn't hurt to ask.
What are some ways you save on meat?

linking up at:Faith Filled Food For Moms

Chicken Enchiladas

I found this recipe on Pinterest, I got the full instructions from here
This was easy and very delicious to make and I was able to adapt it to what I have on hand as well as our taste buds.

Ingredients:
2 cups shredded chicken
6 flour tortillas
1 can chicken broth
1 small can green chillies
1/2 can of diced tomatoes
3/4 cup of sour cream
3 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
1 cup shredded cheese
garlic seasoning to taste

The first thing I did was shred the chicken and seasoned a bit then mixed in some cheese to the shredded chicken. I used what cheese I had on hand 1/2 havarti and half colby. I then placed some of the chicken mixture on the flour tortillas, folded and placed fold side down into a greased baking pan. I continued until pan was full.

Then I melt the 3 Tbs of butter into a sauce pan on medium heat. When it is melted I add the 3 Tbs of flour and stir to mix the flour in. I then let it cook for 1 minute.

I then add 2 cups of chicken broth and let it thicken on med-low heat. Once it has thickened I added the sour cream, chilies, and crushed tomatoes. Pour over the the enchiladas, top with the rest of the cheese and bake for about 20-25 minutes on 350 degrees. When finished baking turn on broiler for 1-2 minutes to finish melting the cheese. Enjoy!

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One Pan Cheesy Smoked Sausage & Pasta

This dish I have made 3 times now. It is becoming one of our favorites. It is versatile in that I have made it a little different each time and every time it comes out yummy! The original recipe I found on Pinterest which led me here for the complete instructions on how to make. Two things I have learned about my cooking: one I need to go ahead and spend the money needed for ingredients I wouldn't usually buy, in order for me to make something tasty for my family. The other is that I like not having to follow a recipe exactly. I am learning that I enjoy cooking when I can make it my own. So that is what I have done here. 

Ingredients I used were: avocado oil, smoked sausage, garlic seasoning salt, half a can of diced tomatoes, a scoop of roasted tomato cream cheese, about 1/2 a cup of creamy havarti cheese, 1/2 cup canned evaporated milk, 1 can chicken broth and about 8oz dry pasta. You can truly add any kind of cheese, milk and noodles. I have made with garlic flavored cheddar cheese, added sour cream, and used several different types of noodles too. I have found this to be a forgiving recipe...that's my kind of dish! But again if you want the recipe I originally used see it here

Now lets cook! First I swirled around my large pan some oil then added the sausage sliced up and sprinkled some seasoning on it. I lightly brown the sausage.

Once the sausage is ready I then add the can of chicken broth, milk, canned tomatoes and noodles. I give it a good stir, let the mixture come to a boil, then cover and turn down to cook around 12-15 min on low. I stir the mix every few minutes and re-cover (just because stuff tends to stick to the bottom of this pan)

Once the noodles are done I then add the cheeses and give it a good stir, and let it all melt in. 
Then it is time to enjoy. I serve it up usually with a salad. Yum! 

 What's for dinner tonight?

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Linking up at: Faith Filled Food For Moms

Crockpot Creamy Italian Chicken

I found this recipe in small recipe book that I have had for a few years.

 It is titled: 101 things to do with a slow cooker.

 It was yum! To quote my daughter "mom, this is 100 plus 100 % good!"

Here is what you need: 4 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts, 1 envelope dry Italian salad dressing mix, 1 can (10 3/4 oz) cream of condensed chicken soup. Mix the salad dressing and condensed soup together, then "smother" over the chicken breasts in crock pot. The recipe book says to cook on high for 6-8 hours or on low for 10-12 hours. The chicken I used was not frozen solid so it did not need the full 6 hours to cook. 

It was easy! I then just fixed up some buttered noodles and served with a veggie. 
It was so good, I forgot to take a picture before we ate it all. 

What's for dinner at your house tonight?

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Sharing on: Thrifty Thursdays 

New Meal Monday: Baked Talapia and Yams

Baked Talapia and Yams

Hi friends. Thanks for stopping by! Ok, for the record, it is NOT easy to document your real life with the intentions to share later on your blog. And do you know why that is... well it is because real life happens. Case in point...things were going well. To start with I remembered to charge the batteries for the camera so I can take pictures as I go. I had everything I needed to try a new recipe, dinner was in the oven on time, etc. The phone rings its mom to tell me she is running behind at work and as she is speaking I spy on the refrigerator a post card. It was a reminder of a meeting I needed to attend that night. I search for the time on it, sure enough the meeting is a 7pm. I glance at the clock which reads 6:15. UGGG! I quickly get ready, let hubby know that it will be just him and our daughter eating together and run off to the meeting. The photo above is one that I took after I got back from the meeting and reheated for myself. But it was still yummy!

To start with about an hour before I needed to cook the talapia I started the yams. I love them baked with some butter and cinnamon on top. Dear hubby and sunshine like them same as always. Sweet with "juice" to pour over them. I have been experimenting with how to make these without using the canned yams. My problem with the fresh is how do I get the "liquid" that the can ones always come in. I grew up just straining the canned yams and fixing them once strained. Dear hubby grew up with the liquid going into the baking dish along with the canned yams and then once you add the butter and brown sugar it becomes this sweet "juice" in which to pour over the baked yams upon serving. I hope I am making sense. Anyways I want to make more fresh items but still cook them in a way that I know my family will eat them. So I have made what I think is close to what dear hubby grew up with.

I peel and cut up the yams and put them in the baking dish. I then take about 2 Tbs of butter and melt it then add that to about 1/2 cup of warm water. I then add some brown sugar (about 2 Tbs) and a few dashes of cinnamon. I don't really measure this because I am still experimenting. Then I bake them for about 45 minutes or so until the yams are soft. You could then add the marshmallows (but I didn't this time).  If anyone has an idea what I can use instead of water I would love for you to share in your comment.

 

A tip for baking whole yams: put foil under them, they leak when baking and make a mess. 

While the yams are in the oven I get started with the talapia:

For the talapia we tried a seasoning that dear husband brought home. It is a sweet rub from Traeger. The first thing I needed to do was to pat dry the fish. Then I drizzled olive oil in the pan and use a basting brush to coat the fillets. Then I coated them with the sweet rub.

I covered the fillets with foil and baked at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or so (I check often). Then I took the foil off the top and turned on the broiler to finish cooking the last five minutes.

Next week I hope to have a more finished meal to share....if real life works out like that!

New Meal Mondays

We have arranged Monday evenings to have my mom over to enjoy dinner and game night with our family. I am not usually very creative when it comes to everyday cooking and have treated it over the years as a chore. But I have been convicted about what and how I am feeding my family. I have been challenged to get out of my comfort zone, to do better for them. So, over the last year I have been learning more and have been trying new recipes out and since we have been having a little success lately I have declared to the family that Mondays would be "New Recipe Night". My goal is to share with you starting next Monday what we cooked up.

For the record I am no cook. In fact I used to say that I hate to cook. I grew up the oldest in a house of six kids with a mom that cooked most everything from scratch. And even though I had to help a lot in the kitchen, I never enjoyed it. As hard as my mom tried, it didn't stick. It did however burn. Every time my dad would see me in the kitchen he would say, "Oh, looks like local burn and serve is at it again!" It was all in fun, but he was right... I burned a lot. My worst fiasco in the kitchen was the time I forgot a pan of eggs that I put on to boil for hard boiled eggs. They were on the stove for so long that the shells turned black. Seriously!
Thankfully I never caught the house on fire.

But I have grown since then. I did a Bible study on the Proverbs 31 woman over a year ago that changed my mind on cooking and feeding my family. I found it here where they talk about feeding my family is a basic need that my family has. I can choose to bless them by providing the best I can to nourish their bodies and souls. A way to show them I love them. So it is for them that I am willing to learn, to try, to do better. So tune in next week when I post on what we will try this week. And a big thanks to my mom, she was ever so patient with me in the kitchen. Now she gets to enjoy my cooking!

The crazy part of my story-- I have always loved baking... more on that another time.