Saturday Weekend Warrior:Cooking Up Meals
photo credit: quinn.anya
Saturday Weekend Warrior
By dedicating a few hours each weekend, I am saving myself a lot of time during the week. This week as we gear up for Back to School, we need to start thinking about meals that are not only simple and quick, healthy and nutritious but also keeps to our weeknight school schedule. Try planning a few meals ahead of time, freezing them, than pulling out and placing in the refrigerator the day you decide to use that meal. It’s that easy. Here’s a simple dish with meat, potatoes and vegetables all in one!
Cooking Up Meals: Make IT Now- Bake IT Later!
Family Dinner For Six
Ingredients:
1 pound lean ground beef
1 medium size onion, sliced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
6 medium size Yukon Gold potatoes, thinly sliced
1 cup corn kernels
4 Tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
1 large can diced tomatoes with juice
Ketchup
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large skillet, brown ground beef with onions. Add salt, pepper and Worcestershire sauce. Add tomatoes with juices and corn to the meat mixture. Stir until all ingredients are combined.
Lightly spray a rectangular 9 x13 baking dish with baking spray. Layer sliced potatoes along the bottom of baking dish. Spread hamburger mixture over potatoes evenly. Add another layer of sliced potatoes over the top. Drizzle with a little ketchup.
Bake covered for 1 1/2 hours or until potatoes are done. Let cool. Place in freezer, wrapped tightly or in refrigerator if you plan on using this meal within 1-2 days. When ready to bake, defrost in refrigerator. Reheat in 350 degree oven for 30 minutes. Serve with a green salad and french bread.
Recipe Tip: You could substitute green beans for the corn or even add celery or diced green bell pepper.
As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.com.
Visit my new Amazon Kitchen Store for some of my recommeneded appliances, storage and kitchen needs along with some of my favorite cookbooks and aprons to help you with your family meal planning. For high quality kitchen tools for your kitchen, visit www. NoelsKitchen.com
Would you like to join our growing Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.
National Lasagna Day:Messy Lasagna
National Lasagna Day
In celebration of National Lasagna Day, I wanted to share another one our our favorite Lasagna recipes. My family enjoys Lasagna and is always asking for seconds. This is an easy recipe for busy families and could be made on a meal planning day and frozen.
Messy Lasagna
Ingredients:
1 pound ground beef
1/2 pound Italian sausage links, casings removed
1/2 cup onioned, chopped
2 garlic cloves, pressed
3 cups , 2 ounces (26 ounces) marinara sauce (homemade is better and can be made on your meal planning day)
4 eggs
1 32 ounce container ricotta cheese (can substitute with cream cheese)
2 cups (8 ounces) mozzerella cheese
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 Tablespoons fresh parsley
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 16 ounce package lasagna noodles
Extra parmesan cheese for topping
Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a large 8 quart stockpot, bring water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles according to package instructions.
In a large saucepan, heat oil. Add onion, garlic, beef and sausage, cooking over medium heat until meat mixture is no longer pink.
Add sauce. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 25-30 minutes.
In a 2 quart mixing bowl, lightly beat eggs with whisk. Add ricotta (or cream cheese & cottage cheese), parsley, Parmesan cheese, salt and pepper.
To assemble lasagna, place 2 Tablespoons of sauce on the bottom of a rectangular baker/dish. Top with meat mixture. Spoon ricotta mixture over sauce. Sprinkle mozzerella cheese over ricotta mixture. Repeat layers. Top with Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil.
Bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake for another 15-20 minutes or until cheese on top is slightly brown. Serve.
*Recipe Note: If frozen, cook for 45-50 minutes.
Try my Easy Weeknight Lasagna recipe.
As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.com.
Visit my new Amazon Kitchen Store for some of my recommeneded appliances, storage and kitchen needs along with some of my favorite cookbooks and aprons to help you with your family meal planning. For high quality kitchen tools for your kitchen, visit www. NoelsKitchen.com
Would you like to join our growing Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.
Easy Slow Cooker Family Suppers:Pulled-Pork Tacos
Easy Slow Cooker Family Suppers
The slow-cooker as I”ve said in so many of my previous posts is truly a time-saving resource for when you don’t have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen. It’s a great kitchen tool that helps busy families make those budget-friendly hearty meals, snacks and desserts. Yesterday, our family spent a beautiful morning shopping and came home to work on a few household projects. I was able to throw this meal together in 15 minutes before we left the house. Below is a recipe for Pulled-Pork Tacos, which has great flavor and the cilantro makes this meal refreshing.
Slow Cooker Pulled Pork Tacos
Ingredients:
1 3 1/2 pound pork shoulder roast
2 cups of your favorite salsa, plus more for serving
1 cup of your favorite beer
1/2 cup sliced onion, plus more for serving
2 Tablespoons Taco seasoning
1 Tablespoon cooking oil
12 Corn or flour tortillas
Sour Cream
Cilantro
1 Lemon or Lime
Directions:
Optional: Trim excess fat from pork shoulder roast. ( A little fat will add more flavor to the meat.)
In a saute’ pan, heat cooking oil and add pork shoulder roast and sear on all sides. Drain off any cooking oil. Sprinkle Taco seasoning over the entire pork shoulder roast.
In a 6-quart slow cooker on low setting add onions, beer and 1 cup salsa. Stir ingredients together. Add pork shoulder roast and turn to coat. Add 1 more cup of salsa.
Cook until meat is tender and pulls apart easily 6-8 hours. Warm torillas in the microwave or oven 20 minutes. wrap in foil to keep warm. Shred the pork while still in the slow cooker and stir.
Serve on warm tortillas with extra salsa, sour cream, cilantro, lemon or lime and a glass of lemonade or ice tea.
As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.com.
Visit my new Amazon Kitchen Store for some of my recommeneded appliances, storage and kitchen needs along with some of my favorite cookbooks and aprons to help you with your family meal planning. For high quality kitchen tools for your kitchen, visit www. NoelsKitchen.com
Would you like to join our growing Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.
20-Minute Meal:Thai Chicken with Sesame Peanut Sauce
20-Minute Meal
Ever thought making a wonderful, delicious meal for your family in 20 minutes was out of your league? I am going to show you how to make a quick and delicious weeknight meal your whole family will love. There are times where the actually process of making dinner is not something you look forward to. That’s why creating a meal plan is so important. It’s the perfect back-up plan for those days when you have just about had enough and your family wants dinner like yesterday.
Thai Chicken with Seasame Peanut Sauce
Ingredients:
4-6 chicken breasts, cooked and cubed (This step can be done on your meal prepping day, chicken frozen and thawed in the refrigerator)
Seasame Peanut Butter Sauce:
Exotic blends of lime, lemongrass and garlic bring out the true traditional flavors of Thai.
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/8 teaspoon seasame oil
4 Tablespoons peanut butter (crunchy or creamy)
4 teaspoons soy sauce
4 teaspoons white venegar
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Thai Red Curry Rub (available at www.noelskitchen.com)
1 Tablespoon water
Directions:
In a microwavable bowl, heat chicken, set aside. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together oils, peanut butter, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, pepper, thai seasoning and water. Add chicken pieces and toss to coat with sauce. Serve on rice or noodles.
Recipe Note: This would be a great meal served on a bed of lettuce greens with green onion and julienne carrots. Sweet Chili Sauce is an optional topping we like to use.
As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.com.
Visit my new Amazon Kitchen Store for some of my recommeneded appliances, storage and kitchen needs along with some of my favorite cookbooks and aprons to help you with your family meal planning. For high quality kitchen tools for your kitchen, visit www. NoelsKitchen.com
Would you like to join our growing Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.
Caribbean Chicken
A fellow colleague and I were talking about recipes one day and I mentioned to her I’d like to try a new recipe in my chicken menu. I’d like to create a dish that not only brought out different flavors but kept to the easy weeknight meal. I wanted to use simple ingredients that I have on hand everyday in my pantry. Here’s what I came up with. I hope you enjoy!
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon oilve oil
4-5 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 20-ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
1 20-ounce can pineapple chunks, reserve juice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cloves
1 teaspoon Jamaican Jerk rub
1 teaspoon fresh lime juice
1/4 cup raisins (optional)
Directions:
In a large skillet pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Slowly add the chicken breasts. Cook and turn chicken breasts until they start to lightly brown on both sides approximately 5-7 minutes. Remove chicken breast from skillet and drain any excess oil and juice.
Return chicken breasts to skillet; add diced tomatoes with juice and pineapple chucks.
In a small bowl, add pineapple and lime juice and spices. Whisk ingredients together. Add to chicken mixture. (If you would like to add raisins or currents, you would add them to the dish now. As the dish cooks, the raisins become plump.) Bring chicken mixture to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook for 25 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
You may serve this dish over hot rice or as I did here with elbow macaroni noodles. (Kids choice.) This would also be very good with mango substituted for the pineapple.
As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.com.
Visit my new Amazon Kitchen Store for some of my recommeneded appliances, storage and kitchen needs along with some of my favorite cookbooks and aprons to help you with your family meal planning.
Would you like to join our growing Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.
Meal Planning With Seafood:Seafood Dinner Ideas
Seafood is not something that is on my family’s menu very often. My last trip to the grocery store, I decided to introduce at least three different seafood meals. Meals that were very basic and that I could introduce easily to our kids. The first dish was a Marinated Toasted Black Pepper Tilapia, which was recommended by a fellow consumer at the grocery store. It was already perfectly marinated and our first experience tasting this type of fish was delicious. It wasn’t too salty nor bland. I just popped the fillets in the oven, and added a salad as a side dish. You could also serve this with your favorite rice dish, and you would have an exceptional seafood dinner in no time. It will definitely be on my grocery list for future menu planning. I served the Tilapia with a Spinach and Nectarine Salad with a Honey Dijon Vinaigrette.
For Sunday’s menu, I wanted something simple and quick for our meal that didn’t require the use the oven. An easy sandwich sounded like a good idea for our lazy Sunday night menu. We’ve had Chicken Salad Sandwiches on our Sunday Dinners before and I wanted to try making a refreshing sandwich using the imitation crab that I picked up on my last grocery trip. Crab flavored seafood is simply Surimi. It is inexpensive and can be stored unopened in the refrigerator for up to 2 months and in the freezer for up to 6 months. If opened, it must be used within 3 days. It’s a perfect ingredient for creating salads, sandwiches, casseroles and soup.
Crab Salad Sandwich
Ingredients
1 pound crab flavored seafood
1/4 cup mayonaise
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 teaspoon fresh lemon
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 green onions, chopped
Directions:
Open package of crab flavored seafood and blot with a paper towl to remove exces water from meat. Place into a bowl and with a fork pull apart meat to make it slightly ”stringy”.
In another bowl mix together the mayonaise and cream cheese until smooth and creamy consitency. Add lemon juice, stir. Add crab mixture and lightly stir. Add celery and onion. Mix well and refrigerate one hour before serving on your favorite sandwich roll. I served mine on a homemade roll; recipe to post soon.
What are some of your family’s favorite seafood meals?
As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.com.
Visit my new Kitchen Store for some of my recommened appliances, storage and kitchen needs along with some of my favorite cookbooks and aprons to help you with your family meal planning.
Would you like to join our growing Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.
Easy Recipes And Make-Ahead Meals For Busy Moms
The Seasoned Ground Beef make-ahead mixture in this recipe is so versatile for a busy mom and a fun creative alternative to your Twice Baked Potatoes recipe.
Zesty Taco Topped Potatoes
Ingredients:
4-6 baked potatoes (bake in oven at 425 degrees for 1 hour or microwave on high for 12 minutes)
1 1/2 cups prepared Make-Ahead Seasoned Ground Beef
1/4 cup water
2 teaspoons taco seasoning(reserve 1 teaspoon)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
3/4 cup shredded taco cheese blend
1/2 cup ranch dressing
Directions:
Wash and scrub potatoes. Prick several times with a fork. If you have the time, you can place the potatoes in the oven and cook or on a busy night, place potatoes in the microwave and microwave on high 12 minutes.
Add 1 teaspoon of the taco seasoning to ranch dressing. Mix and set aside.
Meanwhile, place seasoned beef mixture in a skillet on low heat, add water, taco seasoning and cumin. (If making this recipe immediately after making the seasoned ground beef mixture, you can omit the water and add ingredients to sauce.) Cover and simmer 5 minutes or until mixture thickens.
When potatoes are fully cooked, slice potatoes lengthwise and fluff with fork. Top with ground beef mixture, cheese and ranch dressing. Other topping such as olives, peppers or sour cream can also be used.
Make-Ahead Meals For Busy Moms:Seasoned Ground Beef
Make-Ahead Meals For Busy Moms
Discover an easy way for make-ahead meal planning and getting dinner on the table in 30 minutes or less. Later in the week on my meal planning day, I’ll share with you step by step instructions on how you’ll be able to to create two different meals with this simple main ingredient recipe.
Seasoned Ground Beef
Ingredients:
*Recipe Note: For a family of six or more, double your ingredients
2 pounds lean ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, pressed
1 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
2 cans (8 ounces each) tomato sauce
2 Tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
Directions:
Place ground beef in a large family skillet. Cover and cook over medium heat 12-15 minutes or until no longer pink, mixing and chopping beef turning it into crumbles. Drain. Set aside.
Add onions, garlic and celery to skillet. Saute until onions are golden. Add ground beef, stir until mixture is combined. Add salt, pepper, Worcestershire sauce and tomato sauce. Reduce heat to low and simmer 15-20 or until thickens. Remove from heat and cool.
Spoon about 2 cups into a freezable container, leaving 1/2-inch space at the top. Seal and label containers. Freeze. Use within 3 months.
For use during your weeknight meal, simply put 2 cups into a refrigerator container and refrigerate for up to 2 days.
This recipe is a lifesaver on those extra-busy days.
As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.com.
Visit my new Kitchen Store for some of my recommened appliances, storage and kitchen needs along with some of my favorite cookbooks and aprons to help you with your family meal planning.
Would you like to join our growing Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.
Slow Cooker Black Beans And Ham
Today was an exciting day here in the Sierra Foothills. Nevada City celebrated the visit of the 2010 Amgen Tour of California for the very first time. This is the largest cycling event in America. The 2010 Amgen Tour of California is a Tour de France-style cycling road race, presented by AEG, that challenges the world’s top professional cycling teams to compete along a demanding course from May 16-23. (Feel free to watch the start of this amazing event on my Noel’s Family Meals channel on YouTube by clicking the link below.
Amgen Tour of California May 16, 2010
We of course are voting for Lance Armstrong and Levi Leipheimer, two of the most amazing cyclists for Team Radio Shack.
After a morning of celebrating such an exciting event, meeting some of the cyclists and getting autographs, (below is Mark Batty from Team Spider Tech signing autographs for us.)
I wanted to be able to have a simple dinner. This morning I took out the slow cooker because there is nothing easier than slow cooker cooking. No standing over the stove. I just spent a few minutes cutting up a few ingredients like some leftover ham from last night’s dinner, tossed in a few cans of black beans and tomatoes with chilies and spices, put the lid on and walked away. About six hours later, dinner will be ready.
Slow Cooker Black Beans and Ham
Ingredients:
3 15 ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes with chiles and spices
2 cups cooked ham, diced
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon Southwestern Seasoning
2 cups water
Directions:
Place all ingredients in slow cooker. Stir well. Place lid on and turn slow cooker to low setting. Cook 4-6 hours. Serve with tortillas and sour cream. *Recipe Note: I added some juice of a fresh lime and some raspberry habanero sauce as a topping.
As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.
Would you like to join our Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.
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Baked Mashed Potato Omelet with Tomato and Feta
Do you ever find yourself with leftover mashed potatoes and gravy? My family loves mashed potatoes but I used to find that there were times we had leftovers in the fridge that no one ate. Here’s a simple, yet delicious meal that be made for any meal time. Choose your own vegetables by using whatever you have on hand.
Baked Mashed Potato Omelet with Tomato and Feta
Ingredients:
1 Tablespoon oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
12 eggs(we use farm fresh eggs from our chickens)
3 1/2 cups mashed potatoes
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
1/2 cup Garlic Feta cheese
2 grape-vine tomatoes, sliced
1 Tablespoon Dill seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium skillet over low heat, add 1 tablespoon oil. Add peppers and onion, stirring for 8-10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender.
In a mixing bowl, whish eggs, mashed potato, Parmesan cheese, dill seasoning, salt and pepper until well combined. Stir in vegetables.
Pour mixture in a lightly coated 9×12 baking dish. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Remove from oven. Add slices of tomato and sprinkle feta cheese over the top.
Slice into wedge-like squares. Drizzle with gravy.
*Recipe Note: As egg mixture is baking, you can re-heat your leftover gravy. Vegetables vary in this dish as I said. Some suggestions are: Artichoke Hearts, Mushrooms, Asparagus, Squash or Zucchini.
Do you have a favorite Mashed Potato and Gravy recipe?
As always, my quick and easy recipes for Busy Moms can be found on my website Noel’s Kitchen Tips.
Would you like to join our Family Cooking Club? Share recipes and tips with others? Join the Family Meals Matter Cooking Club on Facebook.
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