Stuffed Green Peppers

I made this back before I left for Colorado, but just now having the chance to share.  This was an easy dinner- I just made a little extra to freeze for a future dinner.   Stuffed Green Peppers are an all-time comfort food and can be prepared fairly healthy as well.  This dinner was prompted by the fact that we happened upon a sale at the store advertising 3 green peppers for a $1.00.  Hubby can't pass up a deal and we ended up with ten green peppers. (We actually bought 12, but used two for another recipe.)  Hence, the reason for stuffed green peppers.  I chose to substitute ground turkey sausage instead of ground beef in my mixture. If frozen, you can even warm them up in the crock pot during the day for an easy, wholesome dinner.

Ingredients:

4 green peppers

1 lb. of lean ground meat (beef, turkey, or Italian sausage) 

1/2 cup chopped onion

1 1/2 cups cooked rice

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

dash of garlic salt

1 15 oz. can of Italian diced tomatoes

1 jar or can of spaghetti or tomato sauce 

I started be steaming my rice first.  I have a rice cooker, so I used this while I was able to concentrate on cutting the tops off of the peppers, de-seeding them, and cleaning them.

I began to brown the meat.  Next, I chopped up the onions. Once the meat was thoroughly browned, I added the onion. After the rice was cooked, I added this to the meat mixture on the stove.

My next step was to add the can of diced tomatoes.  I like this added touch and it adds a bit more body and flavor. 

I let this warm slightly on the stove, remembering to give it a good stir every now and then to keep it from sticking. While I did this, I poured about 1/3 of the tomato sauce in the bottom of the pan.  

(*Note: I made a batch of four and then a batch of 6 for the freezer, so this is my "freezer" pan.)

I then scooped out a generous amount of the meat and rice mixture into each green pepper and very carefully arranged them in the pan. This was difficult to do in such a spacious pan.  My advice would be to make sure that you buy peppers that are fairly "flat" on the bottom so they "sit" better.  I did not think of this in our green- pepper-buying frenzy and was somewhat regretting it at this stage of the game...

Once I had the peppers arranged and ready to go, I poured the remaining tomato sauce over the top.  I like them saucy. 

Bake in the oven for approximately 40 minutes at 450 degrees.  Remember to periodically spoon the sauce in the pan over the peppers to keep them from drying out.  Feel free to top with cheese if that is your thing. 

If you would rather freeze, cover with foil and freeze the pan for dinner some other night. 

Enjoy! 

Cheese Tortellini Bake

I have been quite busy lately and only had the chance today to cook for my "Freezer Friends" group.  The swap is tomorrow, but my hubby will be standing in for me at the actual swap due to work obligations. I am not usually such a procrastinator, but I am happy to say it is all done and ready to go.  The upcoming week will be a busy one with three nights of parent-teacher conferences.  Then I am lucky enough to depart on a road trip over my spring break back to Colorado.  I am both eager and nervous about this trip, as I think it will be somewhat heart- breaking to return. I think I still miss it too much.  Hopefully you will see one more post form me before I leave.

Needless to say, I needed a quick make-ahead meal for the swap tomorrow.  My category this month was pasta so I chose to do a tortellini bake- pretty quick and easy comparatively speaking. Not much prep needed for this freezer meal.

Here are the ingredients listed for one family's serving:

• 1/2 pound ground beef or turkey 
• 1 jar spaghetti sauce
• 1 can diced tomatoes
• 1/4 zesty Italian dressing
• 1 can 10 oz. beef broth
• 18 oz. cheese-filled tortellini or ravioli
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

If you plan to make freezer meals, as I did, you will need to multiply the recipe times the number of families you are cooking for.  Therefore, I multiplied this recipe times 8.  Six of these will go the families that I swap with, while the extra 2 are in my freezer for some later time when I need a quick meal. 

Of course shopping for ingredients can be a real saver if you are smart.  If you are a member of Sam's Club or Costco, it can be helpful to buy your ingredients in bulk. However, I find that availability of the ingredients you need can be somewhat hit or miss.  One place I like to shop is Aldi's with the exception of produce (never fresh).  For boxed and canned food, as well as cheese, I can find a REAL deal here when buying for this purpose.  I bought all of the above ingredients (x8) at Aldi's and spent $50.46 total.  At $50.46 divided by eight meals, this comes out to be $6.31 per meal.  Remember, that each meal is enough to feed six people for one night.  For Sam and I, this can easily feed us for two to three nights.  Quite a bargain if you ask me! 

First I browned all the meat in two big pans on the stove.  I added some salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic.  

Next, I let the meat cool and measured out about a 1/2 pound of ground meat into eight Ziplock one-gallon bags.  The next part is the best part. Why?  Because it is SO simple!  Take each bag and pour in the beef broth, Italian dressing, diced tomatoes, jar of spaghetti sauce, and lastly, the tortellini.  

Once the bag is sealed, mix the ingredients together. Lay the bags flat. Here are a couple of the bags of tortellini bake after all ingredients were added and mixed. 

In a separate bag, I included the cooking instructions (also posted on Facebook on our group page) and 1 cup of shredded Mozzarella cheese.  I attached these to the larger bags by stapling them above the seal. 

The directions for reheating are as follows: Thaw. Pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish. Cover with foil. Bake at 375 for 50 minutes or until tortellini are tender. Remove foil. Stir. Sprinkle with cheese. Let stand for five minutes until cheese melts and serve. 

Of course, this does not have to be a make-ahead meal at all. You can simply brown the meat and pour all ingredients directly into a baking dish and cook according the above directions.  Enjoy!

The Dinner Dilemma

Sorry for my prolonged absence.  I am sure I can find all sorts of excuses that I have not written- some of them legit and some of them not.  Last week was a little crazy, but in a good way.  I celebrated Valentine's Day with my husband with a take-in-bake heart-shaped pizza from Papa Murphy's and The "A-Team" from Netflix.  It was so perfectly us - and no crowds! Then I was invited to play Bunco with a new set of friends (Yay me!), all-the-while packing for my trip to Ohio.  

Last weekend I made it a long weekend and drove back to visit family and my best friend.  It was a wonderful weekend- played IT for my computer-challenged (But they are learning!) parents. I spent Saturday with my best friend who is enduring a time of hardship.  A friend and I pampered her as best we knew how, which included pedicures, a tasty night out (w/ valet parking ya'll!), and 2 coolers packed with pre-made frozen meals that survived the trip from Iowa to Ohio.

Speaking of frozen dinners, I should explain that although I have focused mainly on breakfast and lunch options, I have not elaborated much on what I do for dinner.  Several years ago, a close friend of mine introduced me to "meal swapping".  I was intrigued by the idea, but did not put much thought into it.  I assumed that since it was only my husband and I, that this would be unreasonable. Actually, it is even better because one meal can last us several days! 

About a year later, several coworkers were frequenting Supper Solutions, a place where you can go and prepare your own pre-portioned meals and take them home to your freezer.  This was fun, but also fairly pricey due to the convenience.  Then that was when that little lightbulb went on in my head- I remembered the meal-swapping idea from the year before!

Several of my co-workers in Colorado tried this for a year and overall (with a little practice), we found it to be fun, helpful and a HUGE time-saver.  I had dinner thawed or in the crockpot ready to go on any given day- always something new, different, and delicious. And EASY! It really required me to plan and cook one day a month (usually a Sunday). Then after the swap, I came home with 8 frozen homemade meals that serve six people each.  This was a huge help for busy work/school nights. 

When I moved to Iowa last summer, I was really missing this convenience and camaraderie,and I decided to get a group going. I now have a great group of ladies here who I exchange meals with on a monthly basis.  It. is. awesome.  Talk about saving time....and eventually saving money when you get good at it.

Since so many people have been recently inquiring about this process, I thought I would write about the details of how our dinner co-op works.  

Looking for a way to simplify your dinnertime at home? We fill our freezers every month, but only have to cook one recipe! Every month, we are each responsible for one cooking category. We make the recipe of our choice within the category (8x) (based on how many people participate in the group) and freeze them. Then, we get together once a month and swap the meals. Each person comes with a cooler of 1 meal (x7) and leaves with a cooler with that many different meals in it for the month! Throw the 8th meal in your freezer for you and your family! To ensure fairness, we ask that the meals should be enough to serve 6.

1) Cook/Prep! You cook/prep a meal from your assigned category for the month. Since these are frozen meals, you can technically cook them whenever you have time during the month, freeze them, and bring them in your cooler on the day of the swap.

Sample Monthly Cooking categories

Chicken/Turkey

(Any chicken or turkey dish, such as chicken tacos, chicken/turkey casserole, turkey enchiladas, chicken and biscuits, baked chicken breasts)

Pork/Fish 

(Any pork or seafood dish such as Italian sausage sandwiches, sausage and potato soup, ham and potato casserole, tuna noodle casserole, baked fish.)

Beef 

(Any beef dish such as Sloppy Joe’s, beef burgundy with rice, French dip sandwiches, taco casserole, seasoned burgers for the grill w/buns.)

Pasta

(With or without meat, such as spaghetti pie, macaroni and cheese, chicken alfredo, baked ziti.)

Breakfast 

(Such as breakfast casserole, pigs in a blanket, muffins, breakfast burritos, sticky buns.)

Soup/Stew/Chili

(Chili, white chicken chili, chicken noodles, potato soup, minestrone, beef stew.)

Vegetarian

(This does not necessarily mean vegan- just without meat, such as cheese and onion enchiladas, mac and cheese, eggplant parmesan, or veggie soup.) 

Dessert

Ideas???

I simply rotate names through the list every month.The categories can be changed as we go….I know not everyone likes everything listed, but at least this allows some variety for different preferences. Remember, this is to make our lives easier so I encourage people to use their own tried-and-true things they cook at home. No fancy recipes are necessary, but the blogs below offer some great ideas!

2) Freeze! The meals are usually frozen flat in a Ziploc freezer bag, or you can choose to use aluminum pans if necessary. Type up the prep instructions and ingredients (Or post on the private facebook group page like I made for our group!) and securely attach to each bag or feel free to write directly on the bags if you wish. (There are excellent tips about this- stuff I didn’t even think of- at the second websites below!)

3) Swap! We swap at a certain designated place on the same day every month. It only takes about 10 minutes.

Here are some websites of other co-op groups similar to this so you can see how they work or recipes that are helpful...

www.dinnersinthefreezer.blogspot.com

www.freezerfriendz.blogspot.com

www.onceamonthmom.com

Stay tuned for some upcoming "freezer meal" recipes! 

If you have ever participated in a food swap or co-op?  What do you like about it?  If not, would you ever try it? 

Mini Egg Frittatas

So I think it is due time for a recipe.  I came across these on Pinterest awhile back and gave them a try.  Hubby seems to like them, as they are steadily disappearing from my freezer. I usually make them on the weekend and then freeze individually. It is a great way to get a protein-rich breakfast on the go.  I have made a couple different varieties and you can pretty much fill them with whatever veggies, meats, and cheeses you desire! 

*Makes approximately 12-16 Mini Frittatas

Ingredients: 

8 eggs

1/2 cup of skim milk

teaspoon salt

(I used dashes of pepper and garlic salt too.)

1 cup shredded cheese (You pick what kind!) 

Assorted mix-ins such as chopped veggies or meats

The first time I made these I simply used what I had in the fridge: leftover sliced cold-cut ham, chopped broccoli florets, sliced carrots, chopped onions, and shredded Swiss cheese.  


The second time I made them I used shredded pepper jack cheese, chopped onions, chopped green pepper, 1 small can of diced green chilies, and 1 can of Rotel tomatoes.  (This batch turned out much more moist and then resulted in "wetter" eggs when defrosted.) 


 Heat your oven to 350º F. 


Chop any veggies or meat that you plan to add to your frittatas. I chose to sautee the vegetables lightly, however you could add them fresh.  It is your choice. 


Either coat a 12-cup muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray, or I would recommend using the metal muffin-cup liners, as the frittatas would be much easier to remove.  *However, this means you would have to remove the metal liner before reheating in the microwave when ready to eat. 


Whisk together the eggs, milk, salt, and any other desired seasonings in a medium bowl, then evenly distribute the egg mixture among the muffin cups.


Add about 2 tablespoons of mix-ins to each cup.  Then add cheese to each cup.


Bake the frittatas until they are puffy and the edges are golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. (If necessary, run a butter knife around the edge of each one to loosen them before removing them from the pan.)


I then allow them to cool. I must add that the frittatas do "deflate" slightly after taking them out of the oven so they end up being much smaller servings than you think.  I have found that two makes an ample breakfast for one.  If you can find one of those pans that make the giant cupcakes this might work beautifully for the perfect-sized frittata. 


After cooling, place frittatas one-by-one in a sandwich bag.  I stash them in the freezer.  To reheat, I simply remove the metal liner if necessary, place it in a bowl, and microwave anywhere from 1 to 2 minutes.  I then like to mush mine up with a fork!