Sloppy Joe's

This is another super easy meal that can be made with stuff out of the pantry. One day when I was at work I didn't feel like going to the grocery store but I knew I didn't have anything planned for dinner. So I started searching around for recipes that use ground beef since that was the only protein I had at the time. I found this recipe and now it is what I make when I don't really feel like cooking like on a Friday.

Inspiration: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Sloppy-Joes-II/Detail.aspx
I pretty much follow this one exactly except that I leave out the green pepper b/c I don't usually have them on hand.

Ingredients:

1 lb lean ground beef

1/4 C chopped onion (I use the stuff from the spice aisle)

1/2 t. garlic powder

1 t. yellow mustard

3/4 C ketchup

3 t. brown sugar

S & P

In a medium skillet over medium heat, brown the ground beef; drain.

Stir in onions, garlic powder, mustard, ketchup, and brown sugar; mix thoroughly. Reduce heat, and simmer for 30 minutes. Season with S & P.

I usually use whatever bread we have on hand and serve it with french fries that we always have in the freezer.

I am going to try to be better about posting from now on as well as include costs. Now that I have every Friday off, expect updates then.

Easy Chinese Stir Fry

This is a recipe from another one of my favorite sites, www.kraftfoods.com. This one is so easy I follow the recipe completely. This recipe calls for Hoisin sauce which you would find in the international aisle near the soy sauce and teriyaki sauce. It is not the cheapest ingredient but it really makes this meal. One little jar I think is $3.50ish but it lasts for 2 or 3 times making this dish. Worth it for me. Oh and it is not spicy. I think I have heard it refered to as the Asian BBQ sauce.


You can't really tell but this is how I served the meal, not an individual portion. : )

Inspiration: http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/easy-chinese-stir-fry-74437.aspx

Ingredients:

1 t. oil
I usually use 2 pork chops, sliced
3 carrots, peeled and sliced (in this picture I actually had bagged carrots and they worked great too, just use whatever you have)
1/3 C Balsamic vinaigrette
2 T hoisin sauce
2 green onions, thinly sliced

Heat oil in large skillet on med-high heat. Season pork with salt and pepper. Add pork to skillet and saute until browned. Add carrots. Cook and stir 5 minutes.

Stir in dressing and hoisin sauce; stir-fry 7 minutes or until carrots are crisp tender, stirring frequently.

Add onions; cook 1 minute.

Serve over hot cooked rice or pasta.

Angel Chicken Pasta

This is one of the first recipes I made from www.allrecipes.com and it is still one of my favorites. Again this is something that makes enough for leftovers so it is perfect for us. The original recipe calls for you to cook the pasta, make the sauce and then bake the chicken with the sauce for about an hour. This wasn't fast enough for me so I put my twist on it. I just cook the chicken breasts on the stove with the sauce and it saves a bunch of time. This probably isn't the healthiest recipe but if you wanted to make it healthier you could use whole wheat pasta, low fat cream cheese and less EVOO.

Inspiration: http://tinyurl.com/AngelChicken

Ingredients:

6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I usually used 2 or 3)
Grill seasoning or S&P
EVOO
1 (0.7 oz) package dry Italian-style salad dressing mix
1/2 C low sodium chicken broth
1 (10.75 oz) can condensed cream of chicken soup (the original calls for Golden Mushroom soup but I am not a mushroom fan but I bet this would be really good if you did)
4 oz cream cheese, softened
snipped chives (I use the stuff from the spice aisle that is in the jar)
1 lb thick spaghetti or any sturdy pasta noodle you prefer

I usually butterfly the chicken breasts so they are thinner and cook up faster. I end up slicing them in the end so they don't need to look pretty.

Cook pasta according to package directions.

In a large non-stick skillet heat enough EVOO to cover the bottom of the pan. I usually season my chicken breasts with grill seasoning (since I am a Rachael Ray fan) but salt & pepper would work just fine. Saute the chicken breasts until they are just about cooked through. Remove from pan and place on cutting board to rest.

In the pan with the leftover EVOO stir in the package of Italian dressing mix. Blend in chicken broth and soup. Mix in cream cheese and chives and stir until smooth. Heat through, do not boil.

In the meantime, once the chicken breats have rested a few minutes slice them to the size you would want to eat them with the pasta. Add back in to the sauce to continue cooking in the meantime.

Once the pasta is done drain and then mix with the chicken and sauce. It thickens up easily because of the cream cheese but it is really really good. Enjoy!

Hobo Chicken

Inspiration: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Hobo-Dinner/Detail.aspx
This recipe calls for ground beef, which I did use one time. Steve thought it tasted like meatloaf, which he doesn't really like, so I tried it with chicken and he seems to like it better.

This is my fall back recipe when I don't really feel like cooking. I always seem to have the ingredients and it is a good way to use up some vegetables before they go bad. I don't have any prices for things because a lot of the ingredients I have had for a while and don't remember what I paid for them. This isn't the most glamorous of recipes but it is easy.



I make 2 pouches. One for Steve and one for me.

Ingredients:

2 boneless, skinless chicken breats

Onion, I had some left over onion in a baggie in the fridge so I used some of what was left.

3 red potatoes, sliced

3 carrots, peeled and sliced

Lawry's seasoned salt

pepper

This is me getting ready to start. Can't start cooking without a Dr.Pepper. I hate how grocery stores only sell chicken breasts in packages of 3. Usually I buy enough to make a multiple of 2 but I was at Target and chicken seems to be more expensive there. So I bought one package and threw the last piece in the freezer.

I used 2 sheets of foil, enough to make a pouch when finished. I put the chicken breasts in first and seasoned them with Lawry's and pepper. You can pretty much season them however you like but you can't go wrong with Lawry's.

Then I piled on the onions, potatoes and carrots. I seasoned each layer. Then I folded up the foil to make a tight pouch and put in a 375 degree oven for 45 minutes or until the chicken is done and the vegetables are tender.

The chicken comes out super moist. There will be some juice in the packet so I usually poke a hole in the side and drain it in the sink then dump everything on a plate. It isn't that pretty but it is yummy. It also cleans up really easily which Steve appreciates.

I have started to buy the whole carrots instead of the baby carrots because they seem to last longer. I will buy a package of baby carrots and then number use them and they dry up and don't seem very appetizing. So I have been opting for the whole carrots which don't seem to dry out. No matter how long I have them in the fridge, once they are peeled, they look as good as new.

My plan is to go to the grocery store on Sunday and really plan out my meals for next week since I haven't done so well this week. So stay tuned for more posts next week.

Sausage with Potatoes and Green Beans

Inspiration: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Grilled-Sausage-with-Potatoes-and-Green-Beans/Detail.aspx

Ingredients:

Couple handfuls of green beans, trimmed and halved ~$0.75
Some red potatoes, quartered ~$1.25
½ Onion, sliced ~$0.25 ? I have no idea how much 1 onion is
1 pound smoked sausage ~$2.50 (this was on sale 2/$5)
Worcestershire sauce (from pantry)
Salt & Pepper

Total: $4.75

Basically you just chop everything up and drop it in the pan. Season it with salt and pepper and sprinkle it with Worcestershire sauce then toss it around. Cover it with foil and put it in a 350° oven for 45 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

I put the leftover green beans in the freezer so they are ready for next time. Actually this was my 2nd time making it so those are my frozen green beans in the ingredients picture. The entire bag of green beans was $1.99 I think. I will start paying more attention to prices now that I am doing this.

Last time we had enough for 2 lunches but tonight we didn't have any left over. We were hungry.