The Great Freezer Fill Up!

I got a GREAT deal on ground beef at Albertson's last week. It was on sale $1.58 per lb and then I had a 50 cents off coupon making it $1.38 per lb! Cheap! I bought 20 lbs and got to work.

Browned the meat with a bit of salt....

Drained the fat...

Put 2 cups each in freezer bags for future meals. I made a few batches of taco seasoned meat and a batch of sloppy joe seasoned meat.

MMM!! I love having things like this ready to go for dinner on busy nights!

I also scored 4 blocks of 2 lb Tillamook Cheese for $2.99 each on sale WITH a coupon. I grated all of that and bagged it the same way.

Chicken Pot Pie

Not sure where I even got this recipe, but it is now a family favorite and my go-to recipe for when I need to take in dinner to someone. It's EASY!! And it tastes so good for being semi-homemade.

You will need:
1 cup pre-cooked, diced chicken
1 cup frozen mixed vegetables
1 1/2 cup frozen hashbrowns
(I like using the southern style, but shredded will work also)
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup white flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp celery seed
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
2 9" pie crust
(I buy the Wal-Mart brand pre rolled crust that come 2 per pkg for about $1.50 Saves time and it tastes homemade. )

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. In a saucepan, over medium heat, cook onions in butter till soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk.
(I use this Chicken Base that I get at CostCo. It stores well in the refrigerator and is inexpensive.)

Simmer everything over medium heat until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.

Put one of the pie crust into the pan. In a bowl, mix chicken, veggies and hash browns together.

Dump into pie pan.

Pour hot mixture over the chicken, veggies and hash browns. Spread evenly.

Put second pie crust on top and pinch edges together. Slit at least 4 holes on top. I use a fork to make decorations with.

Here is the fun part. If you want to, you can freeze this at this point! So often times when I make this, I make two pies at once...one to eat or give away, and then one to freeze and eat later on a busy night!

Bake for 30-35 minutes at 425 degrees if the pie is not frozen. If frozen, let the pie stand for one hour before baking, then bake at 425 degreees for 55-60 minutes or until center is bubbly through the slits. Cool 10-15 minutes before serving.
Serves 6-8 people

Christmas Salad

I know it's too early to think about Christmas but whenever I make this salad the colors remind me of that time of year. (And it is a fancier salad that I bring to a lot of holiday parties!) It is SO good!!

You will need:
1 bundle fresh spinach leaves (I remove the stems, yuck)
1 head of iceberg lettuce
1 bundle of romaine lettuce
1 small cont. plain feta cheese
1 cup craisins
1 cup chopped glazed (candied) walnuts
1/2 cup finely chopped red onion
1 bottle Brianna's poppy seed dressing

Wash all lettuce and dry. Chop into bites sizes pieces and toss together in large bowl. Crumble feta cheese onto salad. Add craisins, walnuts and onions. Toss together. Add a bit more of everything to decorate the top of salad. Serve with poppy seed dressing.

It feed a crowd and it's delicious! Enjoy!

M&M Cookies

OH!! These are so good that I stole the recipe for them. Which is funny to me because I have since seen this recipe word for word a few other places.

So the "big family secret recipe" that was not to be shared with others? Not so secret after all.

Why do people recipe horde like that? So weird. Anywho...here is the yummy recipe free for the taking!

Ingredients:
1 cup Crisco shortening
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 eggs

Mix together.

Add 2 1/4 cup white sifted flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt

Mix together.

Add 1 cup M&M's.
Mix.

Drop 1 spoonful size cookie dough onto ungreased cookie sheet spacing them about 1" apart.
Decorate with more M&M's pressing them slightly into the dough so they won't fall off.

Bake at 375 degrees for 10 minutes.

Enjoy!

Lemon Chicken with Green Beans and Red Potatoes

I got this recipe (and lots of other great ones!) from Kelly over at Kelly's Recipes. We loved it so much that I have now made it three times and I kid you not, it's delicious! We eat a lot of chicken around here so I was thrilled to get another recipe to "mix it up" a bit and that is also healthy!

You will need:

6 tablespoons olive oil
2 lemons, 1 thinly sliced, 1 juiced
4 cloves garlic (I used 1 heaping tsp from jarred garlic, it was all I had and we are not huge garlic fans)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
3/4 lb green beans (I used frozen string French kind, but you can use canned or regular ones also)
8 small red potatoes, quartered
4 chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 450. Coat a large baking dish with 1 tablespoon olive oil. Arrange lemon slices from 1 lemon in a single layer on the bottom of the dish. In large bowl combine remaining olive oil, lemon juice of 2nd lemon (I cut this to half the 2nd time around as the kids didn't like it as lemony as Dan and I had,) garlic, salt and pepper. Add green beans and toss to coat. Using tongs, remove green beans and arrange them on top of lemon slices. Add potatoes to same olive oil mixture and coat. Arrange on inside edge of dish on top of the beans. Place chicken in olive oil mixture and coat. Place chicken in dish. Roast for 50 minutes. Remove chicken and continue roasting potatoes/beans if necessary.

Getting ready to go in the oven...And ready to eat!! This feeds our family of five PLUS there is enough left over for Dan's lunch and for mine and Lauren's lunch the next day. For something so easy, tastes so good AND I get an extra meal out of it? YES!! Love it!
Thanks Kelly for passing this along!

Luscious Lemonade Tarts

Yes I did walk right up to the frozen food section in Wal-mart on a Saturday and take a picture of the shells. I have no shame. And I now seem to carry my camera everywhere which makes me want a smaller and lighter one!

So here is what you will need to do to make these lovelies...

Pour 1 3/4 cups cold milk into a bowl.
Stir in two small packages vanilla instant pudding
Mix.
Add 6 oz frozen concentrate lemonade. (A lot of other flavors might be tasty too!)
Mix.
Add one regular sized tub of Cool Whip, thawed.
Mix together and let set in fridge for at least 20-30 minutes.

Buy 2 pkgs pre made pre cooked phyllo dough mini shells. (In the pastry section of frozen foods)
Spoon lemonade mixture in till full.

With canned whipped cream, add a dollop to the top and then if you are feeling fancy, add some lemon zest or a raspberry on top as well.

They are seriously so delicious and I've never had leftovers. Ever. So that says something right there, right?

(You can get another package out of this mix - I usually have enough left over that I could've made more. But I know Dan likes to sneak spoonfuls of it from the bowl so I pretend that I have extra when I am really just leaving it in the fridge for him!)

Seven Layer Mexican Dip

Here's what you'll need:
1 small can refried beans or bean dip
1 (8 oz) sour cream
1 pkg taco seasoning mix
1/2 cup mayonnaise
3 -4 mashed avocados 1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 T. Worcestershire sauce
1 small can sliced olives
green onions
1 tomato diced (I just used canned and drain them really well)
1 pkg Mexican blend shredded cheese

Spread the beans into the bottom of a round or square serving dish with 2 inch sides, I used an 8 x 8 glass pyrex dish.
Mix the sour cream, taco seasoning and 1/2 c mayonnaise together and spread on top of the bean dip. Refrigerate in between adding each layer.

(I couldn't show a picture of the refried beans - I think they are GROSS!!! I had to skip that part for you. Hey, I never said I worked for the Food Network, you aren't getting perfection here!)

Mix the avocados, lemon juice, 1/2 c mayonnaise and Worcestershire sauce together and then spread on top of the sour cream mixture.

I use a glass dish because I think the layers look fun from the side.

Sprinkle cheese all over top until well coated. Add olives, chopped green onions, tomatoes. Serve with tortilla chips.

Now you are going to think I'm crazy for making this if I a) hate refried beans, or beans of any sort for that matter and b) don't care much for avocados. But this is the YUMMIEST dip and I'm willing to deal with a few beans to make this for my husband, Dan. I make this a lot for family gatherings, pot lucks or for when Dan has his game night with his friends.