Since we aren't eating out...Menu Ideas

[christinadei]

My son (the world's pickiest eater EVER) loves this meal-

BBQ cups

1.5 pounds ground beef
finely chopped onion
bottled bbq sauce any kind
refridgerator biscuits (not grands)
cheddar cheese

Pat the individual biscuit dough into a flat circle and place in a cupcake pan--it should go up the sides.

finely chop the onion and saute until tender, brown ground beef and add bbq sauce.

Fill each cup with meat mixture and bake at 375 for about 20 minutes. top with cheddar cheese (shredded) and bake for about 5 minutes more.

We have these with a veggie and it's a complete, easy meal.

HTH

We do this too, only I usually leave out the onion. DS loves to help. We also do a pizza cup variation, use spagetti sauce instead of bbq and top with mozz. cheese adn pepperoni or any other pizza toppings. We also do a taco version, with taco seasoning in the ground beef and then cheddar cheese on top with onions, black olives, etc. on top. Mmm, a favorite at our house. And so quick and easy to make.

 

[MEM]

"Fix it and Forget it" cookbook Is that on the web??? Just wandering, I have the hardest time fixin stuff after I get off work in the evenings, I just hate it, been looking for crockpot ideas, that my picky daughter will like . Thanks

Yes, try http://www.amazon.com.
They also have a Fix it and Forget it, Lightly.
Real recipes from real people. I use both volumes all the time.

 

[jenr812]

Swiss Chicken Casserole

1 4.5 pound bag of frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts
6 slices swiss cheese
1 can cream of mushroom soup (can subsitute other cream soups, but you can't taste the mushroom!)
3/4 cup milk (sometimes I add a bit more)
garlic powder, onion powder, pepper to taste
1 bag of stuffing mix (premixed with seasoning)
1 stick butter


Spray crockpot with cooking spray. Place frozen chicken breasts in crockpot and layer cheese slices on top. Mix soup with milk and seasonings and spoon over top. Pour dry stuffing over top and pour melted butter over that. Cook on low 8 hours or high 5 hours. YUM! Tastes like Thankgiving. SErve with your favorite veggie.

I only buy the frozen chicken when it's on sale BOGO free. This makes a lot. Feeds my family of 5 (including DH who is a big eater) and DH has extra to take for lunch too.

 

[jenr812]

Chicken Crunch

2-3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cut into bite sized pieces
1 can cream of chicken soup
8-12 oz sour cream
garlic powder, onion powder, pepper to taste
1 stick butter, sliced
1 - 1 1/2 sleeves of Ritz crackers, crushed
rice

Spray 9x13 pan with cooking spray. Spread chicken pieces over bottom of pan. Mix soup, sour cream and seasonings and spoon over chicken. Place butter slices randomly over mixture. Cover with crushed crackers. Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Meanwhile, cook rice acc. to package directions. Serve chicken mixture over rice. My whole family LOVES this and it's great because such a small amount of chicken feeds all 5 of us. This tastes great with peas.

 

[newtowdw1]

We have taken the challenge (and boy is DH excited )

Tonight the kids (8 and 4) are having fish sticks, yogurt, carrots and fruit salad. We are having peel and eat shrimp in tomato garlic sauce over brocolli and green beans (we're Atkins freaks). Everything is from the freezer or pantry. The kids would eat the shrimp, but NO WAY am I wasting shrimp on them

Tomorrow we're having eye of round (bought the whole loin and cut it into steaks) and salad.

Wednesday is pork butt in mustard/BBQ sauce, crockpot with frozen veggies. OR English muffin pizzas for the kids and I'll build one on pounded chicken breasts.

Thursday is breakfast for supper

Friday--hmmm. Taco salad.

Thanks for the challenge. I told DH that for everytime he suggests we eat out I'm taking the money we'd spend and putting it toward the trip. He DOES like that idea!

 

[patsal]

1 lb. chicken cut into strips, and browned
when finished browning add and stir
1/2 jar cheese whiz or queso dip
1/2 jar slasa
fill soft flour tortilla shells and place in baking dish, top with salsa and shredded cheese bake 350 for about 15 minutes (until cheese melts)
serve with shreded lettuce, onion, tomato and sour cream on the side or just plain.

In additon, I used to spend a fortune at the regular grocery store--I was able to cut the cost of groceries by as much as 50% by switching to an off brand store--Like Aldi or Save-a-lot. I am still picky about a few things (Ketchup, soda, coffee creamer)but overall I have not noticed a difference. I shop a regular grocery sotre monthly and the idscounts weekly. I save about $350 a month.

 

[Taja]

Other than traditional beef stew, I don't make "meals" in the crockpot. I tend to slow cook meat (roasts, chicken breasts, etc.), then portion them, freeze them and thaw them a day or two before planning to use them. You can serve them plain, with sauce, in salads or sandwiches, as you choose. If you plan to freeze what you cook, cut your seasoning by about 50% and don't use salt while cooking. The freeze/thaw/heat cycle intensifies seasoning.

My low-cost crowd food is sweet and sour meatballs, but you could substitute chicken quite easily. Brown the meatballs, make the sauce and tuck everything into the slow cooker for the day. You still need to make rice or pasta and a veggie or two, but that's pretty simple. It's an easy-hostess meal!

My high-end crowd food is traditional beef burgundy (veggies used for flavor only, then removed). Much more prep required, but it's another easy-hostess entree. It cooks all day in the slow cooker and I do other things!

 

[Gymbomom]

Thank you everyone for the GREAT ideas!!! I am so excited to be cooking in the kitchen!
Keep them coming!
Corey

 

[alliecats]

For all you crock pot lovers, I have a question. Are they really safe? I mean, do you worry about them plugged in when you are at work all day? Also, can you recommend a good and reasonably priced model?
Thanks!

 

[Leota]

I make a weekly dinner menu plan & stick to it. It has cut my grocery bill tremendously. I base it on what is on sale & what I have in the pantry. It has cut down on impluse buying at the grocery store & wasted food. It helps us beat the temptation to go out because I will have meat thawed & a plan for dinner instead of that "I don't know what to make" thing you can get after work sometimes. It also helps me make a plan to incorporate leftovers if possible, or to double up on some cooking that can be easily frozen for a later date.(ie. sauce, soups, stew etc).

 

[CheapMom]

For all you crock pot lovers, I have a question. Are they really safe? I mean, do you worry about them plugged in when you are at work all day? Also, can you recommend a good and reasonably priced model?
Thanks!

I use mine all the time- I never really worried about it. I have never heard of a crock pot calamity either so I guess they are safe.
As far as a good model- I would just suggest that you get a big one. I had one that was 2 qts (I think) It was too small. Finally I just went out and got the biggest one they had.

 

[newtowdw1]

I have a big oval one. I can cook to whole chickens at once. Or a whole pork butt, and freeze what we won't eat. I do not worry about it. More importantly, DH doesn't either, and he loves to worry.

 

[bengalbelle]

I use mine all the time- I never really worried about it. I have never heard of a crock pot calamity either so I guess they are safe.
As far as a good model- I would just suggest that you get a big one. I had one that was 2 qts (I think) It was too small. Finally I just went out and got the biggest one they had.

Allie
Just to add on here, make sure you get one with a removable pot for easy cleaning.

 

[ckoncurat]

"Fix it and Forget it" cookbook Is that on the web??? Just wandering, I have the hardest time fixin stuff after I get off work in the evenings, I just hate it, been looking for crockpot ideas, that my picky daughter will like . Thanks[/QUOTE

You can get it at amazon. It costs $16. They also have used ones from $9.50 and up.

 

[jenr812]

Allie
Just to add on here, make sure you get one with a removable pot for easy cleaning.

I second this suggestion. I originally had a non-removable one and it was sooo hard to clean. I got a larger, removable one a couple years ago and rarely if ever used the old one. In fact, I just gave it away a couple months ago. DEFINITELY get one with a removable insert!

 

[torianne31]

-1 # boneless pork cut into very thin strips (can use beef or chicken too)
-1 bag coleslaw mix
-1 egg, beaten
-1 1/2 cooked white rice (GREAT way to use leftover rice!)
-minced garlic
-chopped onion
soy suace
salt
pepper
1 - 2 tbs oil
Heat oil over medium high heat in a large skillet or wok. Add pork, onion, and garlic. Cook until pork is done and onion is translucent: abut 3 - 5 minutes. Add the coleslaw mix. Stir fry until starting to wilt, adding more oil if necessary - about 5 minutes. Stir in soy soy sauce, salt and pepper to taste. Make a well in the middle of the skillet. Add egg to center of skillet. Cook until set. Break up with a wooden spoon and stir into pork mixture. Add rice to skillet and stir until heated through.

**Use the tri color deli coleslaw mix from the produce section that does NOT include the dressing mix. Using frozen chopped onions and the minced garlic that comes in a jar will save chopping time. This dish takes about 20 minutes from start to finish.


I generally service this with an asian salad and gingered pears and my kids love it... nice on those late nights.

 

[torianne31]

I use my crockpot every Tuesday and Thursday night. I work until 8 pm on those nights so it's up to DH to get he and the kids fed. I do the main dish so all he has to do when he gets home is do a side dish and serve it up... My favorite site for crockpot ideas is: http://southernfood.about.com/library/crock/blcpidx.htm

It's got great ideas for all kinds of crock pot recipes and they have it broken down into categories - beef, poultry, side dishes, etc.

My favorite recipe from that site is a crock pot Turkey breast.

-1 whole Turkey Breast, defrosted
-1 stick butter, melted
-pepper to taste
Wash turkey breast and pat dry. Put turkey into slow cooker breast side up. Sprinkle with pepper (and any other seasonings of choice). Drizzle melted butter over all. Cook on low for 10 hours.

It's not pretty to look at, but when the meat is sliced and on the plate, it's DELICIIOUS. My son loves turkey and this way he can have it more than just once a year.

 

[NotUrsula]

To feel more secure about leaving a crock pot, make sure to plug it into a GFCI outlet; that will shut the power off if there is any fault w/ the wiring.

For quick recipes, take a look at the cookbooks by Holly Berkowitz Clegg.
She lives/works in South Louisiana; her recipes include some very good creole/cajun recipes that can be made quickly. There is a sample selection of recipes on her website, http://www.hollyclegg.com/default.cfm

BTW, if you like homemade pizza, use your food processor to make the dough; MUCH less trouble to do that way. Also, use instant yeast, not active/dry. My favorite dough recipe is Wolfgang Puck's; that stuff is SO good: http://www.wolfgangpuck.com/recipedetail.php?Alias=RE_WP0096

 

[ptrbryant]

Parmesan Chicken (not to be confused with the type with red sauce):

Frozen chicken breasts or tenders (as many servings as you need)
Shredded (not grated) Parmesan cheese
Light mayonnaise
Seasoned salt

Preheat oven to 350. Coat each frozen chicken piece lightly with mayonnaise. Cover both sides with generous amount of parmesan cheese. Place in 9 x 12 baking pan. Sprinkle seasoned salt lightly on top. Bake for 30 - 45 minutes.

We usually serve this with a side salad and pasta, but it really goes with just about anything!

Karla B.

 

[luv2nascar]

thank you torianne31 for the pork fried rice recipe
I decided to make it for dinner tonight
It came out great. DH loved it. I didn't have the asian slaw but I will get that for next time. I put carrot pieces and mushroom slices in along with onion and garlic and added a litte ginger but it was great.
It really was super easy and tasty.

I will be adding this to my list of things to make.

now I'd like to share one of my super easy recipes with you guys.

Ingredients:
2/3 cup Hungry Jack® Mashed Potato Flakes
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3/4 to 1 teaspoon garlic salt
1 (3 to 3 1/2-lb.) cut-up frying chicken, skinned if desired
1/3 cup margarine or butter, melted

Preparation Directions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Grease or line with foil and grease 15x10x1-inch baking pan or 13x9-inch pan. In medium bowl, combine potato flakes, Parmesan cheese and garlic salt; stir until well mixed. Dip chicken pieces into margarine; roll in potato flake mixture to coat. Place in greased pan. Bake at 375°F. for 45 to 60 minutes or until chicken is fork-tender and juices run clear.

I used chicken tenders that were boneless and skinless for this.
I added onion powder, parsley, salt, & pepper to the cheese & potatoe coating. My family raved about this chicken.