Crack N' Chili

I have a son who doesn't like tomatoes. I know it's a little unnatural and up until a year ago I kept hoping he'd grow out of it. He's sixteen now so I'm not so sure there's hope for tomatoes... Anyway, every once in a while I like to indulge my children and so I created this chili recipe without a single tomato on board. (Although if you're really missing them you can add some diced tomatoes on top when serving.) Sorry no pictures! I've made this recipe several times in the last few weeks and each time I've made it my camera has been out of batteries.

This stuff is so addicting we dubbed it Crack N' Chili. And yes, don't worry. It's perfectly legal.

Crack N' Chili

1 large red bell pepper, chopped

1 jalapeno, chopped

2 Anaheim chilies, chopped*

1 cup onion, chopped

1 1/4 tsp. smoked paprika (regular will work too if you have it)

3/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp salt

1 Tbsp red chili powder

1 Tbsp ground cumin

1 tsp oregano

4 tbsp butter

3 tbsp cornstarch

3 1/3 cup milk

4 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

4 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded

2 (15 oz.) cans red kidney beans

1 (15 oz.) can small red chili beans

1. Melt butter in a 5 qt. Dutch Oven over medium heat. 

2. Add vegetables and saute until tender-crisp. 

3. Add seasonings and cook 1 minute to extract flavor. 

4. Combine 1/3 cup milk with cornstarch and add to vegetables. Stir until vegetables are coated and quickly add remaining milk.

5. Stir constantly until mixture thickens, about the consistency of gravy. Slowly add shredded cheese and stir until completely melted. 

6. Add undrained beans and heat through. If you're like me and do most of your cooking during the day, at this point you can transfer everything to your slow cooker to keep it warm from afternoon to evening.

You can also add shredded pork or chicken if you like. Also top with shredded lettuce, tomatoes, a dollop of sour cream and some chives to dress this up.

*If you don't have fresh peppers you can substitute 2 (4 oz) cans of diced chilis when you add the beans

Chicken and Wild Rice Casserole

Last week I came across some chicken thighs marked down to $.79/lb. Though I prefer boneless, skinless chicken breasts, I couldn't pass up savings like that! I used some mushrooms from my Bountiful Basket for this easy dinner:

Chicken & Wild Rice Casserole
2 slices bacon
3 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 lb chicken thighs, trimmed of excess skin (or remove skin completely)
1/2 cup diced onion
1/2 cup diced celery
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp dried sage
1 cup brown rice
1/2 cup wild rice
6 oz brown mushrooms, wiped clean and quartered or sliced
3 cups hot chicken broth, or enough to cover chicken
Salt and pepper to taste
2 Tbsp chopped parsley, for garnish

Microwave bacon on high (100% power) 1 minute. Chop and transfer to a 4 1/2 qt. slow cooker. Add olive oil and spread evenly on bottom. Place chicken in slow cooker, skin side down. Add remaining ingredients in order given except parsley. Cover, cook on LOW 4-5 hours or until rice is tender. Uncover and let stand 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper if desired. Remove skin from chicken before serving, if desired. Garnish with chopped parsley.

**I ended up cooking about 5 lbs of chicken so I added some to the top of all the ingredients as well. I chopped the extra cooked chicken and plan on using it throughout this week in other meals.

****You can make this as an EASY freezer meal!****

For best results use boneless, skinless chicken cut into 1-inch pieces. Microwave bacon on high (100% power) 1 minute. Transfer to Gallon sized freezer bag. Add olive oil and spread evenly on bottom. Place chicken in bag. Add remaining ingredients in order given, except parsley. Freeze up to 3 months.
To serve: defrost in refrigerator overnight and cook as above or run bag under hot water to loosen contents into slow cooker. Cook on LOW 6 to 7 hours, or until rice is tender.

Cream Cheese Chicken And Broccoli

This is a stand-by recipe at my house. It's one of the few things my six-year-old will eat without complaining about. Lucky for us we seem to get broccoli in our Bountiful Basket just often enough to keep her satisfied. When we get a plethora of broccoli, I always make a few extras to put into the freezer.

Cream Cheese Chicken With Broccoli
Ingredients
1 ½ pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 package (1 ounce) Italian salad dressing mix
2 cups sliced mushrooms*
1 cup chopped onion
1 can (10 3/4 ounces) condensed low-fat cream of chicken soup, undiluted
1 bunch broccoli, chopped
1 package (8 ounces) low-fat cream cheese, cubed
1/4 cup dry cooking sherry
Hot cooked pastaDirections
Toss chicken with olive oil. Sprinkle with Italian salad dressing mix. Add to gallon sized freezer bag. Add mushrooms and onion. Combine soup, broccoli, cream cheese(cut into small chunks) and sherry and mix well. Add to bag & Freeze.
To serve:
Place in 5-quart slow cooker. Cover; cook on LOW 3 hours. Stir and continue to cook on LOW 1-2 hours more.
Serve chicken and sauce over pasta. **if using canned, don’t freeze; add to slow cooker after defrosted

Lemon Pepper Chicken (x2)

Last week boneless, skinless chicken was on sale for $1.39/lb here. Naturally, I stocked up... Last time I bought a bunch of chicken, I bottled most of it for easy casseroles and soups. This time, I decided to freeze it into meal size portions.

But why just freeze plain ol' chicken when you can freeze an entire meal?

So last week I made two different versions of Lemon Pepper Chicken. The first was made for dinner that night for my family. The second I put together as our dinner cooked. By the time dinner was ready to eat, I had three additional meals to put into the freezer for lazy days down the road.

Lemon Pepper Chicken

2 1/2 - 3lb boneless, skinless chicken
2 lemons
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup finely diced onion
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 1/2 Tbsp dried rosemary
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp black pepper (or to taste)

With olive oil, gently oil an 8x11-in dish with a paper towel. Arrange chicken to tightly fill the dish in a single layer. In a small bowl or a liquid measuring cup, mix juice from one lemon, garlic, onion, vinegar, rosemary, salt and pepper to make a paste. Rub seasoning all over the top of each breast of chicken. Pour any remaining liquid from the cup evenly atop the chicken. Thinly slice remaining lemon and est a slice on top of each piece of chicken. Cover dish tightly with foil and bake at 350 degrees F. for 45 minutes. Serve with seasoned wild rice or garlic herbed mashed potatoes.

*Leftover chicken is delicious diced cold and added to a green salad.

While the above recipe cooked, I had time to put together three additional meals for later. I chose to make all three the same since it's one of my favorite recipes. It lasts at least 3 months in the freezer so that gives me plenty of time to work through these!

Make-Ahead Lemon Pepper Chicken (for the oven or the Crock-Pot)

2 cups chopped onion
about 2 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts or thighs
1 lemon, thinly sliced and seeds removed
1 cup pitted green olives (optional)
1 tablespoon olive brine from jar or red wine vinegar
2 tsp herbes de Provence
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp dried minced parsley (about 1/2 cup fresh)

Place onion in gallon-sized freezer bag. Arrange chicken over onion. Place lemon slice on each piece of chicken. Add olives, brine, herbes de Provence, bay leaf, salt and pepper. Slowly pour in chicken broth. Freeze.
To serve from the Crock Pot: Defrost & add to 4 1/2 qt. slow cooker. Cover; cook on LOW 5-6 hours or on HIGH 3 to 3 1/2 hours or until chicken is tender. Stir in parsley before serving.
**If I didn't think ahead to allow time for defrosting, I simply run hot water over the bag to loosen it from the meal. I then plop the entire frozen blob into my Crock Pot and add about 30 minutes to the cooking time. Still comes out great!
To serve from the Oven: Defrost completely & place contents of bag into a 2qt. casserole dish. Cover tightly and cook at 350 degrees F. for 45 minutes.

Recipes for leftover Turkey

For Thanksgiving we fried a turkey... for the day after Thanksgiving we fried another one. Here are a few recipes that I use my leftover turkey in. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have!

Turkey Recipes

Chicken and Squash Stew

This is a fantastic Fall stew, especially during harvest time. The only thing that didn't come from my garden in this recipe was the chicken (with the exception of some of the spices)! Even my picky eaters gobbled this up. I've found that it helps them eat their food when they can help me pick it first from the garden.
Also, the hands-on time for this recipe is minimal. It took me less than 10 minutes to throw everything into the slow cooker and walk away.

Chicken And Squash Stew

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken thighs
3 lbs winter squash, peeled and chopped into bite-size pieces
3 large potatoes (I used red potatoes), peeled and cubed
4 medium tomatoes, cut into quarters
3 large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 small onion, diced
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 tsp ground celery
1 tsp ground black pepper
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp ground cumin
2 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup fresh basil

Combine the chicken, potatoes, squash, carrots, tomatoes, onion, broth and seasonings in a 5-qt slow cooker. Cover; cook on Low for 6-8 hours or on High for 3-4 hours. Before serving, use a fork to lightly shred chicken. Serve each bowl with a few leaves of fresh basil. 

**If you don't have winter squash, yams or sweet potatoes are fantastic in this! I've used pumpkin, Acorn, butternut, yams and sweet potatoes and it's always turned out great.

Cregg's BBQ Sauce, BBQ Pulled Pork

My sister's family came to visit us a couple of weeks ago and while they were here my brother-in-law shared his recipe for his BBQ sauce. This is some of the most delicious sauce you will ever have on your BBQ so it would be a crime not to share it! The night that he shared his sauce with us, I grilled some chicken and pork loin to go with it. That's right, we had some meat with our sauce. It's that good. You'll grill just so you can have something to go with your sauce! The rest of the sauce I used a few days later as BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches. YUM!

Cregg's Delicious BBQ Sauce (aka the best sauce ever)

1 1/2 cups tart berries (He usually uses blackberries, but we subbed in rasberries)
24 oz tomato paste
1 1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup molasses
2/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cayenne pepper
6 cloves garlic
2 Tbsp black pepper
1/4 cup vinegar
2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp seasoned salt

Puree berries in a food processor or blender. If you'd like, strain the berries through cheese cloth to remove seeds. We didn't do this, but I would suggest this step if you don't like the crunch of the seeds. In a large bowl, combine berries with remaining ingredients. Add more cayenne pepper if you like it HOT or less if you like it mild. Use this sauce over grilled meat, as a marinade or add 3-4 cups of it in your slow cooker with a 2-3 pound pork roast. This recipe makes about 8 cups.

Slow-Cooked BBQ Pulled Pork

4-5 cups Cregg's BBQ Sauce
2-3 lb pork loin roast

Add pork roast to a large slow-cooker. Pour BBQ sauce over top of the roast, filling slow-cooker at least half way up the side of the roast (about 4 cups). Cook on LOW 7 hours. Shred pork with a large fork and return to cooker. Cook an additional 1-2 hours on LOW. Serve on toasted buns with a slice of sharp provolone cheese.

Chili Verde (Not to be confused with green chili!)

In my bountiful basket last Saturday I got a whole bunch of yummy Chili peppers PLUS I finally have some tomatillos ready from the garden...

Of course this meant I had to make some of my world famous Chili Verde! (Okay, you got me.. it's not world famous, but it did win first prize in our neighborhood chili cookoff... so almost, right?) Most of my recipes are not this much trouble. This recipe is a bit of a process from start to finish, but there are some short cuts to quicken it up if necessary. For example, the first time I made this I used chilis from my freezer that I had already roasted and peeled. You can also used canned peppers and soup. It will still be good, but not as good. Overall, the work is worth it in my opinion. I usually make a HUGE batch so I have enough to enjoy for a few days. Last time I meant to put some in the freezer but we ate it all in just a few days. It's good on just about anything- Eggs for breakfast, nachos for lunch or smothered burritos for dinner.

Mike gets irritated when I call my Chili Verde recipe "green chili". I keep telling him that it means the same thing but the first time I made it, I called it Chili Verde- so..he insists I must always call it Chili Verde or I must be talking about a different recipe. I have another recipe that I dubbed "green chili" the first time I made it.

Chili Verde

2-3 lb pork loin roast cut into bite-sized chunks
1 Tbs chili powder
1 Tbsp cumin, ground
1 tsp salt
1 bunch cilantro, washed & chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 large roasted jalepenos, chopped (you can use 2 [4 oz]cans instead)
8 med chili peppers- roasted, peeled and chopped (or 4-6 [4oz] cans)
5 cloves garlic UNpeeled
9 tomatillos, roasted
3 cups water
3 tsp chicken soup base or bouillon
2 tsp dried oregano
2 limes, juiced (or 1/4 cup lime juice)
2 cans cream of chicken soup
  or 1 1/2 cup white sauce mix

Cut pork into bite-sized chunks. Mix chili powder, cumin and salt in a small bowl. Coat pork pieces with seasoning mix then brown in a large heavy skillet. Do this in batches if necessary to be sure each piece browns well.

Add pork to large crockpot. Chop onion, cilantro and add to crockpot. Remove papery shell from tomatillos, wash and cut in half. Roast tomatillos with cut-side down. Roast peppers, tomatillos, and garlic by grilling at 500 F with the lid closed for 8-10 minutes or you can place them on a cookie sheet under a hot broiler for 8-10 minutes. (If grilling, place the smaller peppers, tomatillos and garlic in foil to prevent it from falling through the slats.) When peppers are done being roasted, place them in a plastic bag and seal to allow peppers to "sweat" for a few minutes.

Remove skins and seeds then place peppers, tomatillos, and peeled garlic into a food processor or blender. Pulse to chop finely or puree (whichever you prefer). Add pepper mixture to pork and onion.

Add water and chicken bouillon. Stir and cook on HIGH for 3 hours or LOW for 7 hours. Add white sauce mix or cream soup and oregano. Stir until creamy. Keep on LOW or Keep Warm until ready to serve.

Serve over warm tortillas, use as a soup garnished with fresh chopped lettuce and tomato, use it to smother burritos, serve over nachos, ENJOY!

I just had to show off my yummy tomatoes from the garden. Look how red they are- all the way through! You just can't buy that at the supermarket. And in case you are wondering... yes. They tasted as good as they look! :)

Minestrone Soup & Pesto Dip

Here's another one for the Crock-Pot on hot days. In my bountiful basket Saturday, I bought the Italian pack add-on which had a bag full of herbs. I used some to season my soup and the rest I used for a yummy pesto sauce to spread on my bread to go with dinner. Some of the herbs are growing in my garden also, so I had lots of oregano and rosemary to make a strong pesto instead of an all-basil version.

Minestrone Soup

1 large onion
1 lb cooked ground beef (optional- we didn't use it)
2 (15oz) cans diced tomatoes
3 cups water or vegetable broth (I used the vegetable broth I saved from blanching my veggies on Saturday)
2 c. beef broth (again, leftovers from the last roast I made- it's been int he freezer)
2 large carrots, peeled and sliced
2 (8 oz) cans tomato sauce
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley (or 1 Tbsp. dried)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil (or 1 tsp. dried)
1 Tbsp chopped fresh oregano (or 1/2 tsp dried)
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
2 large cloves garlic
1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans
1/2 lb fresh green beans, cut (or 1 15 oz can)
1 (15oz) can kidney beans
1 cup. uncooked pasta
1 small zucchini, sliced
1 cup fresh spinach, optional

Chop and slice onions and carrots into bite-sized pieces. Add to slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients except pasta, zucchini, and spinach. Mix thoroughly. Cook on LOW 6 hours. Add pasta, zucchini and spinach if desired. Cover and cook 1 hour longer until pasta is tender. Serve with hard rolls and fresh pesto.

Strong Italian Pesto
1/4 cup roasted whole almonds*
2 large cloves garlic, peeled
2 oz. (about 2 cups packed) fresh Italian herbs
    (I used a combination of basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme and marjarom)
1 medium fresh tomato, quartered
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, shredded
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil (or more if desired)

Process the almonds and garlic in a food processor until finely chopped. Add the herbs, cheese, tomato and salt and process until thoroughly combined and the consistency you like. With the food processor running, drizzle in the olive oil through the chute. Add more salt to taste if necessary and more olive oil if desired. This will keep several days in the refrigerator or you can freeze it. Pour it into an ice cube tray to freeze, then transfer pesto cubes to a heavy-duty freezer bag.

*If using raw almonds, spread them on a baking sheet and place in a 350 F degree oven for 8-10 minutes. Use your toaster oven if possible.

Chicken & Broccoli- Crock Pot Style

Italian Chicken with Broccoli

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 -inch pieces
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tbsp Italian Seasoning
2 cups sliced mushrooms (8oz package fresh or two 4-oz cans)
1 cup chopped onion
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 lb broccoli, chopped
1/4 cup dry sherry
1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese (optional)
hot cooked pasta or rice

Toss chicken with olive oil. Sprinkle with Italian Seasoning. Place in a 5-qt slow -cooker. Cover; Cook on LOW 3 hours. After 3 hours, Coat large skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Add mushrooms and onions, cook 5 minutes over medium heat or until onions are tender, stirring occasionally. Add soup, broccoli and sherry (and cream cheese, if using) to skillet, cook and stir until hot. Transfer to slow-cooker. Cover, cook LOW 1 hour. Serve chicken over pasta or rice.

Vegetable Lasagna for the Crock-pot

It's still much too hot to turn on the oven so I converted this lasagna recipe for the Crockpot. For this veggie lasagna you can use any kind of vegetable. I used about 1 cup broiled eggplant, 1 cup steamed Swiss Chard, and 1 cup zucchini- all chopped and mixed together before assembling. You can also use shredded carrots, broccoli, mushrooms, tomatoes or whatever you like best!

Veggie Lasagna (in the Crock-Pot)

28 ounce pasta sauce
8-12 ounces lasagna noodles
16 oz part skim cottage cheese
3 cups lightly steamed vegetables
8 ounces part-skim mozzarella cheese, grated
1/4 cup shredded parmesan

Spread a thin layer of sauce on the bottom of CrockPot. Cover with a layer of noodles (3 or 4 noodles should be enough). Spread 1/3 of the cottage cheese over the pasta (you can use a cake spatula). Spread 1/3 of the remaining pasta sauce over the cheese. Spread 1/3 of the vegetables over the sauce. Sprinkle 1/3 of the mozzarella over the veggies. Repeat twice starting with the noodles and ending with the mozzarella. Sprinkle parmesan on top. Cover and cook on Low 4 hours. Remove cover and allow to stand 5-15 minutes before serving.

To prepare eggplant:

Cut eggplant in half lengthwise then slice into 1/4 inch slices. Brush with olive oil and sprinkle 2 Tbsp lemon juice and dried basil (if desired)on top. Put under a hot broiler for 8-10 minutes until eggplant is golden brown. Chop into bite-sized pieces.
 
*You can use any lasagna recipe in the Crock-pot. Just don't pre-boil the noodles and assemble as usual. Cook on low for 4 hours.

Roast, Mashed Potatoes, Homemade rolls, Blueberry Pie, Shepherd's Pie

Last night I finished off my grocery shopping with 14 pounds of roast, 64 oz. Plain yogurt, 16oz sour cream, 2 packages of hotdogs (for camping), and 1 lb yeast (grocery total: $46) so we could have a tasty Sunday Roast today. Here’s how it went:

Easy Slow-Cooker Roast

3-5 lb beef roast (rump, chuck, etc)
2 Tbsp Montreal Steak Seasoning (I also really like Mrs. Dash for grilling)
1 large onion, sliced

¼ cup brown gravy mix

1 cup water

This morning before I got ready for church I seasoned the roast with some Montreal Steak Seasoning on both sides. I prepared about 5 pounds roast so I’d have enough leftover for a couple other meals and some for hubby’s sandwiches. I placed it in the slow-cooker with one large sliced onion on top and ¼ cup brown gravy mix stirred into 1 cup water poured over it. Cook on Low at least 8 hours.

When I got home from church, I decided to bake some rolls to go with dinner. While I was at it, I figured I’d make some hotdog buns for camping this weekend and sandwich rolls for hubby’s lunch this week. While not the quickest bread recipe, this is one of my favorites. From start to finish it takes about 2 hours which really isn’t too bad. Here is the recipe that I used.

Best Dinner Rolls Ever


7 cups Bread Flour
2 tsp salt
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbsp Instant Yeast
½ cup butter
2 cups milk
½ cup water
2 Tbsp vinegar

Combine 3 cups flour with salt, sugar and yeast. Melt butter with milk and water in small saucepan. Allow to cool until lukewarm. Pour butter mixture into flour mixture and stir until combined. Add an additional 3 cups flour. Dough will be sticky. Gradually add remaining cup of flour until dough pulls from sides of bowl. This should be about ½ cup flour. Take the remaining flour and sprinkle it onto a clean surface where you’ll be able to knead the dough for about 5 minutes. Dough should be smooth. Return dough to bowl, cover with a cotton dish towel and let rise about 45 minutes or until double in size. Shape into rolls and let rise (covered, of course) another 30 minutes or until doubled. Bake at 400 F for 20 minutes for rolls- 30 minutes if making bread. Makes 3 dozen rolls.

About 1 hour before serving time I started to peel the potatoes for mashed potatoes. I think the potatoes taste better if I add about 1 Tbsp salt to water that I’m cooking them in.

While the potatoes were cooking I decided I’d make a blueberry pie for dessert. I actually cheated a little here and used some oats (which supposedly I won’t have until tomorrow when I go to the Family Home Storage Center to buy some..) but it was for a good cause. Leave a comment if you want to yell at me for cheating, but to be fair I’ll bake another pie tomorrow and give it away to a lucky neighbor!

Pie Crust

1 ½ cup flour

½ tsp salt

1 ½ tsp sugar

½ cup oil

2 Tbsp cold milk

Combine dry ingredients. Add oil and milk and mix until crumbly. Press into pie tin (don’t roll out or it will be chewy instead of flaky). Use half dough for the bottom of the crust and the other half for the sides. Flute edges if desired. At this point you can freeze the crust for later use or Bake 10 minutes at 400. Allow to cool and add pie filling.

Blueberry Pie

1 prepared pie crust

Filling:

3 ½ cups blueberries (fresh or frozen)
¼ cup flour
¼ cup sugar
¼ tsp nutmeg
¼ tsp cinnamon
Topping:
¾ cup rolled oats
½ cup flour
½ cup soft butter
½ cup sugar

Combine filling ingredients, pour into prepared pie crust. Combine dry ingredients for topping. With a fork, cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over filling. Bake at 350 F for 50 minutes. Remove and allow to cool 15-20 minutes before serving. Serve with vanilla ice-cream.


(By the way, most fruit pies can be made with the same recipe, subbing out the type of fruit and keeping the rest the same)I set the pie aside at this point so I could bake it while we were eating dinner.

15 minutes before serving time I started a pot of water to boil for the corn on the cob ($.19/ea at Wal-Mart).

While the water was coming to a boil, I finished off the potatoes, put the rolls into the already heated oven (remember, 400F), and took the roast out of the crock pot. Make SURE you save the drippings from the roast for gravy. Even if you aren’t planning on making gravy for your meal tonight, it’s still worth saving for easy gravy down the road. You can also use it to flavor beef soups and more! Also, when removing the potatoes from the pot they’ve been boiled in, save the water if you’ll be making gravy.

Garlic Mashed Potatoes
 
5 pounds potatoes, peeled and boiled
¼ cup butter
½ cup sour cream
½ cup milk
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp black pepper
1 Tbsp dried parsley

Combine ingredients while potatoes are still hot. Mix with Beaters on medium until smooth. Add more milk depending on desired consistency. Serve with warm brown gravy.

Brown Gravy
2-4 cups potato-cooking water (if water was unsalted, add 1-2 tsp salt)
2 cups roast drippings (or 2 cups beef broth + 1-2 Tbsp Montreal Seasoning)
¼ cup cornstarch or ½ cup flour
½ cup water

Heat potato water and drippings to a gentle boil. Combine cornstarch and water to achieve a smooth paste. Slowly pour, while stirring, cornstarch mixture into boiling liquid until desired consistency. Don’t pour too much all at once or you’ll get lumps! Also, if gravy is satisfactorily thickened before you’ve poured all your cornstarch into it, then stop!

Time to eat! Don't forget to put your pie in at 350F. Set the timer so you don't forget about it...
Oh! And leftovers.. If you're putting them away anyway, you may as well make them into a meal as you do it. Leftover Sunday dinner makes a yummy Shepherd's Pie!

Shepherd's Pie

1/2-1 lb roast - cut into chunks
1 cup brown gravy
1 cup corn
1 cup green beans
2 cups mashed potatoes
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Combine roast, vegetables and gravy. Spread mashed potatoes over meat mixture and top with cheese. Bake for 30 minutes at 350F or cook in your Slow-cooker on low 4 hours.

I actually just "put away" the leftovers right back into my slow-cooker and then put the dish into the refrigerator. We'll have Shepherd's Pie one day this week. I still have enough roast leftover for another meal as well. Maybe I will turn it into taco meat tomorrow and make some fresh tortillas to go with it.

And the pie.. was awesome. Only problem I had with it is that I ate too much and will go to bed with a tummy ache... whoops.

Shopping Day & Easy Chili

I’m SO glad today is over!
I started the day with a pot of chili in the Crock-Pot because I knew I had to go shopping tonight.

Easy Chili
3 cans kidney beans
2 cans chili beans
2 cans Mexican-style diced tomatoes
16oz tomato sauce
1 yellow bell pepper- diced
1 ½ cup meat mix (that I made the other night)
1 Tbsp ground cumin
1 tsp black pepper
1 ½ tsp oregano
3 Tbsp red chili powder

Combine Ingredients and set to LOW for 6+ hours.


For lunch today we had our last two oranges and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Then I spent the next FOUR hours mowing the lawn… (Went like this: mow a couple stripes, chase kids and drag them back home.. Mow a couple stripes, empty the bagger, repeated SIXTY times! Ugh!)


By the time I was finished mowing the lawn I was free to go grocery shopping. Although I did eat & feed the kids first (thankfully). The chili turned out pretty good, but could have used a big onion diced up in there…We ate the last of our home-made bread with the chili (Just two more “mixes” left).

Shopping… with three squirmy little girls… Aaaaa!… As a last resort I bought 3 Nutri-grain bars at the check-out at Wal-Mart. There goes almost enough money for an entire pound of meat, but hey it got us through the check-out process. Next time I'll try to remember to bring a treat in my purse or something...

But all in all, we survived. The kids were wiped by the time we got home and I don’t blame them since we didn’t get back until an hour past their bedtime. I then spent the next hour putting away groceries. Of course I had to take some pictures first. (My hubby rolled his eyes at me)

Oops. Forgot the chili! It's been "keeping warm" for quite a while now... That’s not going to fit into the refrigerator, so I bag it up to put into the freezer instead. I probably won’t want chili again for a few days anyway.

If you’re lacking an extra set of hands, by the way, you can improvise by using a cup to hold your bag open for you.

Ok so how did I do? I spent $136.87 today. I got most of what I needed, but I still need to go to one more store tomorrow and to the Food Storage Center on Monday to complete my list. (With the exception of a few gallons of milk, few dozen eggs and one more round of produce. ) Some things were more than I expected to pay- but the biggest difference in price was only $2 which isn’t too terrible. Also some things were a bit cheaper so that was fantastic and it actually all evened out. I love to see my full refrigerator at the beginning of a pay period!