One easy meal so many options!

Chicken Soft Taco Mix

This may not look like much, but the possibilities are endless! 3 chicken breasts, 1 large jar of salsa and 1/2 packet of taco seasoning makes a TON of food!

We had this the traditional soft taco way for 2 nights, but I got to thinking that this could be used in so many ways and for very little money and effort.



Here are just a few ideas!

• Serve it over yellow rice with a side of tortilla chips for some crunch!
• Make a taco salad, with those taco salad shells they sell at the grocery store.
• Use to make enchiladas
• Serve burrito style with beans in large tortillas
• Use as a filling for empanadas. Use ready made pie crust, seal some meat inside and fry until golden.
• Make loaded chicken nachos
• Serve as filling in a baked potato
• Make some regular beef taco filling and serve alongside chicken tacos and make a taco bar -would make a fun taco night party!

Do you have any other ideas? Make a comment and share :)

Bonus Banana Crumb Cake

I had some bananas lying around that were begging to be baked into something yummy! I made this recipe and I can't say enough good things about it! I almost like it more than banana bread. I sprinkled chocolate chips on only half since not everyone likes chocolate with their bananas. Both sides were fabulous! As a bonus it makes a large pan which is nice if you have to make for a crowd.

Banana Crumb Cake
2 c. sugar
1 c. milk
1 c. walnuts (optional)
2 c. self rising flour (OR regular flour with 3 tsp. baking powder and 1 tsp salt mixed in)
1 stick margarine softened
2 eggs
3 ripe bananas
1 tsp. vanilla

Topping:
1 stick margarine
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. flour

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Mix bananas with sugar, milk, margarine, add eggs one at a time until well blended. Add vanilla.
3. Gradually add in flour mixture until well combined. Stir in walnuts.
4. Spread batter in a greased 9x13 pan (OR two loaf pans OR two 8x8 pans)
5. Mix topping ingredients until crumbly spread on top of batter, take a fork and swirl the topping so some of it goes down into the batter. Sprinkle with chocolate chips if you like ;)
6. Bake at 350 for 45 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

This tastes fabulous warm with a cup of coffee!

Enjoy!

Leftovers

Like I mentioned in a previous post - not all leftovers are created equal! There are somethings that taste great the next day (or even on the 3rd day!) and somethings that are just better saved for one night dishes.
However, you can do a few things to make your leftovers taste as if they have just been freshly made using some of the tips below.

• Chicken/Poultry  -Chicken (or any poultry for that matter) that has been broiled, baked, or pan fried will NOT taste good when reheated in the microwave. It will have that icky taste that I really can't describe. In order to stear clear of this taste you can do several things. You can reheat the chicken in the oven with a small bit of water in a baking dish. The only problem with this is that it will essentially - recook the meat and sometimes leave it slightly dry, but still better than the icky taste! My faviorite way to reheat chicken is to put the chicken in a pan on the stove and add some cooking liquid, either chicken broth, or some chicken gravy. Reheat until bubby and serve - no icky taste. This method works best with chicken that has some sort of cooking liquid originally.

• Beef - I have never had icky tasting beef when reheated, so I usually stick to the microwave when reheating. Make sure to cover the microwave safe dish with a damp paper towel.

• Pork - Another meat that just doesn't taste right when microwave reheated. I normally only make pork a one night meal. However, if I am making a smothered pork chop (one that is cooked in a sauce) I will reheat on the stove in a pan with the cooking sauce and a dash of water.

• Fish - I personally will not eat fish that has been reheated. I know some people will, but I haven't found a way to make fish taste the way I like the next day. The only exception to this is tuna noodle casserole, which oddly enough I will eat reheated.

If you know a way to reheat any other dishes, feel free to share :)

Meals for June 16 - July 16

This is the plan I am currently using. You can see that it is not exactly a month. Sometimes you need to be flexible - last month I got a good deal on chicken and had enough to carry us all of May and all the way until June 16 without needing to go shopping again. Also, if you don't feel like cooking what is planned keep in mind that all meals are interchangable, just pick another meal on your plan and make it! If you have any questions, feel free to comment :)

June

16 - Apricot glazed pork chops, rice, and veggies - season bone in pork chops (or boneless if you prefer) with seasoned salt and pepper. If you have some Badia complete seasoning use that as well. Bake at 350 on a greased baking sheet. When chops begin to brown put apricot glaze ( 3 part apricot preseves to 1 part orange juice) and continue baking until done. Serve with white rice and veggies.

17 - slow cooker chicken and dumplings/salad

18 - leftovers

19 - Fathers Day - Slow cooker beef stroganoff/egg noodles, blueberry pie - In slow cooker mix 1 can cream of mushroom, 2 small cans drained mushrooms, 1 packet dry onion soup mix. Cook on low 8 hours and serve over cooked egg noodles.

20 - leftovers

21 -slow cooker chicken tortilla soup

22 - leftovers

23 - use remaining leftovers to make chicken enchiladas - drain excess liquid, pour about 1/4 cup of liquid in the bottom of a square glass baking dish. Wrap chicken mix into small flour tortillas, place in dish seam side down. Pour another 1/4 cup of drained liquid on top of tortillas and cover with cheddar cheese. Bake 30 minutes uncovered. Serve with sour cream on top.

24 - tuna pockets, with mushroom sauce and peas - use 1 can of crecents and make 4 squares, drain 2 cans of tuna and flake mix in 1 spoon of mayo and 1 small pinch of relish, put a heaping spoon on each crecent square and wrap, pinching the edges. Bake according to package directions. In a saucepan heat 1 can cream of mushroom soup with a touch of milk to smooth it out. Pour this sauce over cooked crecents. Serve with a veggie (we prefer peas with this)

25 -Alice chicken (outback recipe) with mashed potatoes and veggies (Marc's birthday dinner!)

26 -Chinese pepper steak with rice

27 - leftovers

28 -Slow cooker chicken soft tacos - In your slow cooker mix 3 chicken breasts, 1 large can of salsa and 1 packet of taco seasoning. Cook 8 hours on low and shred chicken at the end. Serve with your normal taco fixings. We prefer soft taco shells but this is great in hard taco shells as well. You can even use it to make nachos or taco salad or just serve it on some rice.

29-leftovers

30-Beefaroni and salad (meat sauce on top of noodles smothered in cheese) - Cook 4 cups of rotini pasta and drain, place in a greased 9x13 bake pan. Brown ground beef and drain, add 1 large can of pasta sauce and season with garlic salt, italian seasoning, and some minced onion. Let this simmer at least 30 minutes. Pour this over the pasta and stir slightly. Cover entire pan with 2 cups (or 1 bag) mozarella cheese. Bake in oven uncovered for 15 minutes at 350.

July
1 - leftovers

2 - slow cooker cranberry chicken with baked sweet potatoes - In slow cooker place 4 chicken breasts, 1 can whole cranberry sauce, 1 packet of dry onion soup mix, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/4 tsp pepper, and 1/4 cup of orange juice. Mix all until combined. Cook on low 8 hours.

3 - leftovers

4 - BBQ at a friends house (not cooking)

5 -Blackened tilapia, velveeta shells and cheese, veggies - Season tilapia with blackened seasoning, cook in melted butter (about 4 TBL) in a skillet until done turning once. Prepare shells and cheese and veggies.

6 - Chicken chop suey with rice

7 - leftovers

8 - Mushroom smothered pork chops with rice and veggies

9 - leftovers

10 -grilled cheese and soup

11-homemade pan pizza with salad - if you have never made pizza crust, I urge you to try it! It is not as hard as you think and the results are great!

12 - lefrovers with salad

13 - Buffalo chicken sandwiches and fries

14 - order take out

15 - breaded chicken cutlets, baked macaroni and cheese and veggies - dredge chicken in flour, then egg, then seasoned bread crumbs, pan fry in vegetable oil in a skillet cook until just brown on each side and then place on a greased baking sheet. Bake 350 until completely cooked (about 15-20 minutes).

16 - Picadillo with rice and sweet plantains -you can make sweet plantains from fresh but I normally buy the goya frozen ones in the box, they come out just as good and are much quicker to make.

Is once a month shopping and planning for you?

I often have friends that ask how I can possibly plan and shop for all my meals only once a month. The only thing I can say is it is not for everyone. It takes work to plan, organize, and strategize meals for an entire month. Here are some things to think about when deciding if this is right for you.

• You have to cook almost every night - Yes I cook every night, or every other night if we are having leftovers (which is often). I do try to plan for at least one night of take out a month, and there are always "go-to" items in the pantry in the event that I do not feel like cooking what is planned, but cooking or prepping is involved in some way, shape or fashion.
• You need to eat leftovers - For some people this is not a big deal, but I know some people who do not enjoy eating leftovers. I will say that not all leftovers are created equal and some foods just don't taste the same the next day. There are also things you can do to your leftovers that will help make them taste better as if they have"just cooked" - but I will save that for another entry!
• You cannot have brand loyalty or be "picky" when it comes to certain foods or meals - I say this because in order to stick to a budget (currently our monthly budget is 200 dollars) you need to shop what is on sale, use your prepared pantry and make meals that are simple, yet filling. Almost all the brands taste the same in my opinion, so when you can - save! Which brings me to the next item...
• You will NOT be eating steak every night - Many of the staple meals I make each month include chicken, ground beef, turkey, fish, and pork. Steak is not purchased often and is considered a special occasion food. Even fish can get pricey at times and we often buy frozen.
• Size of family and eaters in the household will change your monthly plan - Currently it is only me and my husband who eat the meals, since Evelyn is only 3 months old. Almost all of the meals I make are for 4 people, which means leftovers for the next night. If you have a larger family you can always stretch meals by making salads or other sides to make your main meals go further.
• You need to shop sales - When I find staple items for my pantry on sale, I stock up. No this does not mean you need to create an "extreme couponer" stash - but having stock of items you use often is always helpful, especially if you know they will be used. We also coupon, but not to the extreme. We compare prices of store brand items with the coupon items, and buy the cheapest one (this goes back to the picky thing).
• You need to use what you have on hand before thinking of what you can buy and make - This takes time and effort. There are many times I begin planning great things I want to eat that month, only to realize that making those items would require me to buy several items I don't normally have on hand. As an example, If a recipe calls for something like "seasame seed oil" that I normally don't keep around, buying that would increase the cost of that meal and in turn my budget. It may not seem like a big deal, but go to the grocery store and buy every item for 2 or 3 different meals and it adds up quickly! If you look at your pantry and use most of the items available to create different meals, you will always save. This goes back to the importance of having a prepared pantry.

If this seems like a good fit for you, stick around for some great recipes and tips! If not, stick around anyways, you may find something that is helpful for you and your family. :)

The Prepared Pantry

Having a prepared pantry is essential for being able to shop and plan for once a month shopping. Without a prepared pantry, you will find yourself going to the store for "just a few things" and leaving with more than you bargained for. Now, I know this is not the most organized space, but it does have quite a few things that are important for many quick meals.

• Canned soups (cream soups, as well as noodle soups) these can be used as the base of many meals, as well as a meal themself with a sandwich of course 
• Tomato sauce, pasta sauce, tomato paste, diced and/or stewed tomatoes. Many recipes call for these items and are always handy in the pantry.
• Chicken and beef broth
• Salsa
• Variety of pasta (I keep elbows, rotini, and spaghetti on hand at all times)
•  Cereal (always keep a box of plain cornflakes in addition to your breakfast favorites)
• Bread crumbs
• Biscut mix or pancake mix
• Baking supplies: Flour, sugar (both white and brown)
• baking mixes such as cake mix, and brownie mix - to satisfy that sweet tooth!
• Canned veggies such as olives, beans, sweet potatoes
• RICE - many, many meals can be put together with rice. I buy large amounts and store in a bucket I actually purchased in the pet section that is for storing pet food!
• Coffee - another must in our house. Keep some instant around as well for baking.
• Italian salad dressing - makes a great marinade and can be used in many recipes.

In addition to a prepared pantry, you should also have a prepared freezer. I stock up on bags of frozen veggies - peas, mixed, carrots, corn, italian blend, stir fry mix, really anything you like. Almost any meal can come together with some frozen veggies, rice, and a meat! Frozen bags are also VERY cheap usually running 1.50 for a big bag, sometimes less if you have a coupon.

For this blog I am going to share many recipes and tips for shopping once a month and having things on hand to make great meals all month long. I will admit that very few of the recipes I use are originally mine. I use quite a few internet sources and cooking sites to make my meals. However, I sometimes tweak or change things to better suit our tastes. The goal is to stick to a budget and eat good healthy meals.