Menu Plan Recipe: Chicken Taquitos

Taquitos are usually very slim, but these are a nice size. One of these filled me up! Boy they are delicious though.

Not too hard to make if you cook a whole chicken a couple days before. Easy as pie.

This recipe is on meal plan week 3 for Monday, June 17th. Click HERE to check it out. 

Ingredients

8 package of cream cheese, 8 oz

2 cups of cooked chicken

1 cup of shredded cheese (I used cheddar)

1 cup of fresh of frozen spinach

1/2 cup of salsa

1/3 cup of sour cream

Salt and pepper to taste

10 tortillas (homemade tortilla recipe here)
olive oil for frying

Directions

In a large mixing bowl mix together the cream cheese, chicken, cheese, spinach, salsa, sour cream, salt, and pepper. 

Add mixture into one tortilla at a time and spoon in the mixture shaped like a log. 

Roll up and with steam side down place into a frying pan. 

Brown each side. 

Strain on paper towels to remove excess grease. 

Enjoy!

Homemade Chicken Stock

Whenever whole chickens are on sale I go crazy. Not only are whole chickens yummy, but they are extremely frugal as well. You can always get a crazy amount of chicken, but you get to make homemade stock with the "trash" parts. Or should I say... the "gold" parts! :)

If you have never done it before - it's ok, it's really easy.

Ingredients
Chicken Bones (check out how I cooked the whole chicken HERE)
celery, chopped
carrots, chopped
2 bay leaves
1 tbsp pepper

With the ingredients you can just throw in whatever you might have in your fridge. It is usually items you make a nice soup with.

Directions
Put all of the chicken bones (after the chicken has been completely picked off) and put in the crock pot.
Add about 20 cups of water (try and fill near the top, if you can)
Add in your fridge veggies.
Add in the bay leaves and pepper.
I cook it for a nice 10 hours in the crock pot.
Allow the pot to cool and strain the bones and veggies.

You can freeze chicken bone for up to 1 year and let sit in the fridge for about 3 days.

Menu Plan Recipe: Cheddar Chicken and Rice Bake

Typically when you hear of Chicken and Rice Bake you usually assume it is cream of something in it. All the ingredients in that cream of something contains so many chemicals and we just want real food.

 Plain and simple. Just a quick heads up this is some good comfort food. :) 

This recipe is on meal plan week 2 for Monday, June 12th. Click HERE to check it out. 

Ingredients

4 garlic cloves, minced

4 tbsp butter

1/2 tsp pepper (I usually just eyeball it)

1 tsp salt

3 cups of chicken stock

3 cups of milk

1 1/2 cup of cheddar cheese, shredded

3 cups of cooked chicken, either shredded or cubed (shredded chicken recipe here)

1 1/2 cups of long-grain rice

parsley for garnish (optional)

Directions

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat; add in garlic, pepper, and salt. 

Add flour and mix well. 

Stir in chicken stock and milk and turn heat to medium heat. Cook like a roux. 

Add 1 cup of shredded cheese and whisk as it simmers. 

Add rice and lower heat to medium low. 

Cook until the rice is tender...about 20 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Add chicken to the rice mixture and pour into a casserole dish. 

Sprinkle the top with the remaining shredded cheese and garnish with parsley on top. 

Bake for 20 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly. 

Dig in and enjoy! :)

Menu Plan Recipe: Turkey Stuffed Peppers

  

Boy..oh boy.. these bad boys were absolutely delicious. To cut back on the calories I used ground turkey, however, you can use ground beef if you prefer to. 

Right on to the fabulously recipe. 

This recipe is on meal plan week 2 for Monday, June 10. Click HERE to check it out. 

Ingredients

1/2 pound of ground turkey

1 cup of black beans, drained and rinsed

1 large tomato, diced

2 tbsp chopped cilantro

2 tsp cumin

salt and pepper to taste

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (add more if you would like more of a kick)

2 green peppers

1/3 cup of water

shredded cheese

1 garlic clove

Directions

In a large skillet, brown the turkey and season with salt. 

Add garlic, black beans, cilantro, cumin, and diced tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 

Cut peppers lengthwise, removing stem and seeds. 

Place peppers in an oven-proof dish and fill each pepper with 1/2 cup of turkey mixture. 

Pour 1/3 cup of water on the bottom of the dish. 

Cover with foil and bake for 40-45 minutes or until peppers are soft.

Add cheese and bake uncovered for another 5 minutes. 

Enjoy!

If you have extra turkey mixture just pop it into a freezer container and save for a quick and easy meal! :)

Menu Plan Recipe: Homemade Sloppy Joes

Let me start off by staying these were to die for! Oh my goodness....I will leave it at that. :)

This recipe is on meal plan week 1 for Sunday, June 8. Click HERE to check it out. 

Ingredients
1.5 pounds of ground turkey (or beef if you choose)
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp paprika
4 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup of ketchup
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 cup of water

Directions
In a saucepan, cook the turkey until browned.
In a crock pot stir in the rest of the ingredients in with the ground turkey. Cook on low for 6 hours.
Serve with buns and fries if you choose. Homemade fries are the bomb!

Menu Plan Recipe: Mixed Veggie Pasta

Sorry guys! I have had company over this weekend and wasn't able to post a couple of recipes from this menu plan. On the other hand, we accomplished so much around the house! :)

We love to have this on the menu at least once every month. It is just so darn yummy. When the garden really starts to grow I can just pluck out the veggies I need and it will be such a frugal dinner!

On to the recipe now lovelies. 

This recipe is on meal plan week 1 for Sunday, June 2. Click HERE to check it out. 

Ingredients

2 medium green peppers, cut into 1-inch pieces

2 medium zucchini, cut into 1-inch pieces

4 oz whole mushrooms, sliced

1/3 cup chopped fresh basil (we just pluck it from the garden) or 2 tbsp dried

3 tbsp olive oil

2 tbsp red wine vinegar

2 tsp Italian seasoning

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 cups of uncooked spiral pasta

1 bag of shredded cheese (2 cups)

Directions

Heat oven to 450 degrees. 

Place peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms in a medium size casserole dish. Sprinkle evenly with basil.

In a small bowl, mix oil, vinegar, Italian seasoning, salt, pepper; drizzle evenly over veggies. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes uncovered. 

Meanwhile, cook and drain pasta. 

Reduce temp. to 350 degrees. 

Add pasta to veggie mixture; toss to coat. 

Sprinkle with cheese. Bake about 15 minutes longer or until the veggies are tender and the cheese is melted. 

Meal Plan Recipe: Baked Potato Sausage Casserole

I will have to admit this baked potato sausage casserole was to die for! The lovely husband ate quite a bit of it. That always makes me feel good because I just prepared a delicious meal for him. 

This is what simple food is. :) Yum!

This recipe is on meal plan week 1 for Wednesday, June 5th. Click HERE to check it out. Shhhh...we were supposed to have this on Wednesday, but we went to a Nationals Baseball game. We just whipped up this delicious recipe on Thursday. No biggie. :)

Ingredients

1 bag of frozen broccoli (or you can use a head of fresh broccoli)

1 1/2 pounds of potatoes (we used Russet), peeled and chopped into small chunks

3 sweet sausages (you can either use chicken or pork - we used pork)

3 cups of shredded cheese (whichever kind you prefer)

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp paprika

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes (you can use more if you like really spicy dishes)

3 garlic cloves, minced

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium pot bring water to a boil. Toss in your potatoes and boil for about 7 minutes or until they are soft. Add your broccoli into your potatoes and steam for 1 minute. Drain water. 

Saute your sausages until they are completely cooked.
Place sausages, potatoes, broccoli into a 9 x 13 dish. Add your spices and garlic and toss mixture together.
Cover with shredded cheese.
Cover with aluminum foil. 

Enjoy!

Menu Plan Recipe: Layered Chicken Enchilada

Before I even get into the recipe part I will say the lovely Husband thoroughly enjoyed this! Heck even I did, but just seeing him really enjoy something that I have made brings joy to my heart.

This recipe is on meal plan week 1 for Monday, June 3. Click HERE to check it out. 

Ingredients

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded (I use one and cut them in half..shhhhh) ;)

9 tortillas

2 cups of shredded cheese

2 cups of red enchilada sauce (recipe here)

1 cup of corn

1 cup of black beans

1 tbsp olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

garnish with parsley (optional)

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Spread 1/2 cup of your enchilada sauce on the bottom of a dish. Arrange about 3 tortillas (depending on your type of dish) in a single layer on the sauce. 

Top with shredded chicken, corn, and black beans. 

Sprinkle cheese over top and repeat the layering about 2 more times until you have run out of your ingredients. 

Transfer to the oven for 30 minutes or until the cheese has melted. 

Garnish with parsley (from our garden) - totally optional. 

Enjoy!

Recipe: Enchilada Sauce

If you have never had homemade enchilada sauce before then you are missing out. It is so easy to make and requires mostly on-hand ingredients. The best part of this sauce is knowing what is in it! :) 

Ingredients
1/4 cup of vegetable oil
1/4 cup of chili powder
2 tbsp of flour
1 cup of tomato sauce
1 cup of water
1/4 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion power
salt to taste

Directions
Heat oil and stir in flour and chili powder, stir constantly until it is a nice brown color. Reduce heat.
Stir in water, tomato sauce, cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder. Bring to a nice simmer.
Simmer for about 20 minutes so all the flavors can absorb into your yummy enchilada sauce.
Enjoy!

Check out more recipes HERE.

Meal Plan Recipe: BBQ Chicken Quinoa Salad

Loaded salads are absolutely delicious! Nothing beats them in the Summer...besides ice cream, of course. Putting the salad on top of lettuce is totally optional. I think it makes more for lunches the following day.

This recipe is on meal plan week 1 for Sunday, June 2. Click HERE to check it out. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup of corn

1/2 cup of black beans (if using canned, then rinse and drain)

1 cup of cooked Quinoa
1 cup of shredded BBQ chicken (I use one chicken breast and split then into two)

2 tbsp shredded cheese (which ever kind you prefer)

4 tbsp BBQ sauce (we use Sweet Baby Ray's - yum!)
cilantro for garnish (optional )

Directions

Cook the chicken and shred. 

Toss together the corn, black beans, Quinoa, and chicken. Add a pinch of salt and pepper. 

Serve with shredded cheese, BBQ sauce, and cilantro. 

Dig in and enjoy!