Crockpot Roast or London Broil & Sandwiches (Freeze shredded meat for sandwiches in freezer bags)

MEAL #1

You can use any type of Chuck, Sirloin, or London Broil for this dish. I use whatever is cheaper at the grocery store that week. Take one packet of Italian salad dressing dry mix, one packet of brown gravy mix, and one ranch packet. I combine those with one cup of water to mix up the packets. I pour that over my meat, and then I add enough water to cover the meat. Cook on high in a crock pot for five hours or on low for eight hours.
We serve this with potatoes and a green vegetable.

MEAL #2

This one is really simple.. I shred the meat, and I place it in plastic bags for the next day. I also store a little cup of the broth in the refrigerator for each of us. I pack whole wheat sandwich bread, meat, an apple, and a salad for lunch the next day.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

http://www.daydreamkitchen.com/2012/09/pumpkin-spice-cupcakes-with-cream-cheese-frosting/

The link is to one type of cupcake, but I make something much easier.
Recipe courtesy of Amanda Wilson.

CUPCAKES:

Take one can of pumpkin puree and combine it with one spice cake mix and as much milk as you like to make the mix moist. Fill cupcakes 2/3rds full for about 20 minutes at 325, and then you can frost or not frost. We like these for breakfast this Fall without the icing.


FROSTING:

• 1 package (8 ounces) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Frozen Yogurt Dots

http://theothercourtney.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/frozen-yogurt-dots/

Matilyn loves these! She calls them yogurt bites. I have to be really careful with how many I give her. She'll eat the equivalent of a large cup of yogurt for a snack if I do not watch her.

It's a very simple recipe. You just fill a sandwich bag with yogurt, cut a small hole in the corner of the bag and make lovely little dots on a sheet pan. Freeze those, then put them back in the rinsed out yogurt container. Matilyn gets these after snack time on the weekends and as dessert after dinner. Use any kind of yogurt you like!

Shredded BBQ Chicken & Chicken Soft Tacos-My Basic Freezer Chicken Recipe

 MEAL #1
**We freeze 12 bags of this chicken per month. The bags thaw in five minutes under cold water in the sink.
Here's the recipe I found on Pinterest. The chicken is delectable! This is one of our favorite recipes.
http://www.thekitchn.com/dinner-recipe-barbecue-pulled-chicken-in-the-oven-or-slow-cooker-recipes-from-the-kitchn-168003

Barbecue Shredded Chicken
8 to 10 servings
3 to 4 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs, or a mix of thighs and breasts
Olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 (or more) cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground black pepper
12 (1 1/2 cups) ounces barbecue sauce (low sodium and low sugar is key, either store bought or homemade-Bi-Lo and Ingles have an all natural low sugar brand I love) plus more for serving
Heat the oven to 325°F. Remove the chicken from its packaging and pat it dry.
In a Dutch oven or heavy pot (with a lid) heat a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Cook the onion and garlic for 5 minutes or until quite soft. Add the smoked paprka and stir. Add the chicken piece by piece, stirring to mix well with the onion. Stir in the salt and a few generous grinds of black pepper. Pour in the barbecue sauce and bring to a simmer. Turn off the heat.
Cover the pot with a heavy lid and put in the oven. Bake, covered, for 90 minutes, or until the chicken is extremely tender. Remove from the oven and use a slotted spoon to remove the chicken to a large bowl. Use two forks to shred the chicken finely.
Meanwhile, while you're shredding the chicken, put the sauce, uncovered, back on the stove over high heat. Bring to a boil and reduce the liquid in the pan to about half of its volume. Pour this thickened sauce over the chicken and stir.
Serve with buns, slaw, avocado, and extra barbecue sauce on the side.
Refrigerate for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months. We freeze single meal portions in freezer bags. Thaws very quickly.
Slow Cooker Instructions:
Follow the recipe as written above, but instead of putting the chicken and sauce in the oven, pour it all into a slow cooker. Cook for 5 to 7 hours on LOW. If desired, you can lift out the chicken and reduce the sauce in a separate pan on the stovetop, but this may not be necessary; it simply depends on your preference.

MEAL #2

 I use plastic sandwiches bags for food storage because it is less to keep up with the next day. I try to be environmentally friendly, but I spend way too much money per year on plastic storage containers. Here's what I do for meal #2 as I clean up meal #1.
I pack my chicken in plastic bags, one for me and one for my husband.
I cut up one tomato, one onion, cilantro, one jalapeno, and I combine those items with cheese and shredded romaine lettuce in a second bag. Bag three gets a little bit of salsa and sour cream. We each get two wraps in a fourth sandwich bag. Take that to work, heat the chicken and wraps, and then pour all the other items on top of each wrap. It is a wonderful lunch, and it tastes much different than the meal you had for dinner the night before.

Leftovers can sometimes be boring because you are eating the same meal twice. I will post a different lunch recipe for every dinner recipe.

The image below is from http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/santa-fe-grilled-chicken-tacos-50400000112449/.
I haven't started taking pictures of my dishes just yet!

Crockpots, Dutch Ovens, & Money--Oh My!

Has a picture of a delectable dish on Pinterest ever made your mouth water? Have you ever made one of those dishes and been less than impressed? I have... Have you ever wished someone you trusted would cook those meals and give you feedback? I have, and that is what I am going to do for you! My husband and I love to cook, and we have started paying attention to our food budget. It is alarming how much we have been spending on food at home and in restaurants!  My goal is to spend $100 a week on food for a family of three, cook most of our meals, and eat like Kings! $100 a week on food is expensive, but that is cheap compared to what we have been spending eating out. We used to spend $100 a weekend easily. My family consists of two adults and one child.

I have three new goals in my kitchen!
1. Budget my food expenses.
2. Cook healthy meals for my family.
3. Utilize leftovers in fun and delicious ways.

The purpose of this blog is to try new recipes from Pinterest, Food Network, other websites, reader suggestions, and my own personal creations. I will let you know if they worked for my family, any leftover suggestions I have, and other information for your meal preparation.

I hope you enjoy the ride as you follow along with the Brown's and our cooking experience!
Thanks for reading!