Poverty Meal....Don't be fooled, it's actually good!

So, I was writing my grocery list last week and trying to think of something that uses pasta and all I was coming up with was lasagna and spaghetti and other things I do ALL THE TIME. A few keystrokes later, I found myself at food.com and discovered this lovely little recipe. The best part, aside from the deliciousness, is the cheapness and lack of weird ingredients and the good leftovers. The other best part is my kids inhaled it. My toddler actually cried when I showed him the empty pot after we had eaten all the leftovers.

Ingredients:

1 large onion, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced or some garlic powder if you don't feel like mincing garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 lb ground beef

2 (16 ounce) cans stewed tomatoes (I used one giant can of diced tomatoes) 

1 (16 ounce) can water (since I used a giant can, I only used half a can of water) 

8 ounces elbow macaroni, uncooked

salt to taste

pepper to taste

Parmesan cheese (optional...but not really)

Method:

• Throw the onions, garlic, olive oil and uncooked ground beef into a really big frying pan, or in my case, a big pot. I also sprinkled some salt and pepper on. If you have really fatty beef, you might consider cooking it separately so you can drain it.
• Brown the beef and saute the onions until they are both cooked.
• Pour in the tomatoes (undrained...you'll want that liquid), water and macaroni. At this point I also added some basil and (heehee) a little hot sauce.
• Simmer on medium for 10-20 minutes, just until the pasta is cooked.
• Top with Parmesan cheese
• Yummmm!

Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos

I love this website! I find myself going there a lot to find fun recipes.
I stumbled across this taquito recipe (because my husband loves mexican food so much) so I thought...might as well give it a try!
It's amazing! The best part.....you can totally freeze it for later! So, all you mommy's to be, or all us lazy people...this right here is a great prepared meal for those times you just don't want to cook!

Recipe:
1/3 C (3 oz) cream cheese
1/4 C green salsa
1T fresh lime juice
1/2 t cumin
1 t chili powder
1/2 t onion powder
1/4 t granulated garlic, or garlic powder
3 T chopped cilantro (or less if you don't like cilantro, like me)
2 T sliced green onions
2 C shredded cooked chicken
1 C grated pepperjack cheese

small corn tortillas (I like flour tortillas the best)
kosher salt
cooking spray

Heat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.

Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, chili powder, onion powder and granulated garlic. Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.

You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.

Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or are coming unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.

Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.

Then roll it up as tight as you can.

Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.

Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.

Crock Pot BBQ Chicken Sandwiches

I made these for dinner last night (first time out with this recipe) and it was AWESOME! The barbecue sauce appears to be the key. So if you try this, make sure and buy good sauce. We used Sweet Baby Ray's.

Ingredients:

1-2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken (I used a couple of packages of the shrink-wrapped thighs that you can get at Costco). Make sure you get all the little bits of fat off the chicken or you'll end up with greasy sauce. Yuck!
1 medium onion, sliced
1 bottle (18 oz-ish) of barbecue sauce
Buns

Method:

1.) Throw everything in the crock pot and turn it on! If you use 1 lb of chicken, you won't need the whole bottle of sauce.

2.) Cook for 8 hours on low.

3.) When you're ready to eat, pull out the chicken and shred it with a fork. Then, plop some on a hamburger bun.

4.) Dinner!

Jiffy Jambalaya

I found this recipe online and then modified it a little.  It is SO yummy.  Plus, whenever I watch "Princess and the Frog", I get inspired to whip this up :-)

INGREDIENTS:


1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound chicken breast, diced
1 pound fully cooked andouille sausage, cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 (28 ounce) can diced tomatoes,undrained
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3 drops Tabasco (or more, if you like it hot!)
1 1/2 cups uncooked instant rice

DIRECTIONS:

1. In a skillet, saute chicken, onion and green pepper in oil until chicken is mostly cooked and veggies are tender. Stir in the sausage, tomatoes, water, sugar and seasonings. Bring to a boil; add the rice. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the rice is tender.

You can also make this with shrimp, if that's your thing.

Serve with some sliced french bread and butter- especially if you make it hot and spicy!

Engagement Chicken

Whether you're looking for that special someone to pop the question or you just want a different and delicious way to cook chicken, this recipe is for you! The real recipe is found here, but I didn't feel like adding all those garnishes, so I simplified it a bit and added lemon juice to the sauce.

Ingredients:

1 whole roasting chicken
1/2 cup lemon juice
2 or 3 whole lemons
salt
pepper

Method:

1.) Preheat oven to 400 degrees F

2.) Remove giblets and rinse chicken thoroughly, inside and out. Make sure it's dry-ish (like no puddles of water left inside)

3.) Pour the lemon juice all over the inside and outside of the chicken.

4.) Salt and pepper the chicken, inside and out.

5.) Prick the lemons with a fork a few times all over, then place them inside cavity of the chicken. I only needed two lemons and I had to shove pretty hard to keep them inside. I think I broke a few ribs, so don't be shy about getting those lemons to stay put.

6.) Place the chicken breast-side down in a roasting pan with a rack. Bake for 15 min at 400 degrees F.

7.) Take the chicken out of the oven and flip it over. My chicken wasn't too hot, so I could do it with my hands, but a pair of tongs or wooden spoons works too. Reposition the lemons if they fall out.

8.) Lower oven temp to 350 and bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, depending on the weight of the chicken. The recipe gave an equation of 18-20 minutes per pound plus an extra 15 minutes because it's stuffed with lemons.

9.) When the chicken is cooked, let it rest for 10 min. before serving. Take the lemons out and squeeze them into a bowl. They'll be nice and soft and everything will come out easily. Pour the drippings (which they called "marry me juice") into that bowl as well and pour the concoction over the chicken as you eat it.
10.) YUM!!!!

Glass Block Holiday Jello

So, I looked this awesome recipe up. It can be made for ANY occasion. Heck, it can be made anytime! I used this recipe for Easter. It was SO delish and you get so many compliments. I call it "mosaic jello".

Glass Block Holiday Jello

4 3-oz. packages assorted Jello (in coordinating colors)
2 packets unflavored gelatin
1 14-oz. can sweetened condensed milk

Spray 4 small food storage containers (like Tupperware/Gladware/Rubbermaid) with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Bring 5+ cups of water to a boil. Combine 1 c. boiling water with 1 package of Jello, stirring until dissolved. Place the dissolved Jello in one of the prepared containers. Repeat with the remaining packages of Jello. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, preferable overnight.

When the Jello has set, bring another 1 1/2 c. of water to a boil. While the water is heating, sprinkle 2 packets of unflavored gelatin over 1/2 c. of cold water. Allow to stand for about 4 minutes. When the water is boiling, pour 1 1/2 c. boiling water over the dissolved gelatin and stir to combine. Add the sweetened condensed milk and mix well. Allow to come to room temperature.

Lightly spray a 9×13″ pan with non-stick cooking spray. Carefully cut the colored Jello into cubes and gently toss to combine in the 9×13″ pan. Pour the cooled milk mixture over the colored Jello and, if necessary, rearrange some of the colored Jello to make sure it is evenly distributed and not sticking out of the white mixture too far.

Place the 9×13″ pan in the refrigerator and chill overnight. Cut into squares, rectangles, or various shapes with cookie cutters and serve.

Low calorie fruit smooties

These are super yummy, healthy, and low calorie.  They are great treats for Weight Watchers (only 3 pts on the new system, 2 on the old system), and are low carb too.

Ingredients:

1 c. (8oz) 1% or skim milk
6-8 fresh strawberries, or about a cup of a fresh fruit(s) of your choice*
1 tsp. vanilla extract (imitation vanilla is fine too)
6 ice cubes

Throw it all in together, blend, enjoy!

*Frozen berries or fruit work fine too- and won't change the calorie amount as long as they aren't sweetened.

If you have an 'ice cream' craving, put it in a glass or bowl after it's been blended and stick it in the freezer for an hour.  Yum!!