Showing posts with label meals. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meals. Show all posts

Sunday, June 26, 2016

And the preparations continue...

You know how you have one good day when you live with chronic pain, so you try to do everything you can't normally do? Of course you pay for it later... BUT you get that list dwindled ever so slightly! 

Yesterday was one such day. I was feeling able to ignore the lower pain levels. So we went to pick up my motorcycle that has sat dormant at my fiances for a couple months and bring it back to my place.

Its a good 40 minute drive and the rain decided to give my bike a bath... while I was driving it back. But its now where it should be. 

Then we were able to run errands that I can't find the energy to do during the week while I work. Upon returning home with groceries, I got the bright idea to start cooking and freezing meals again. Until yesterday, I had a grand total of 3 frozen dinners. Being nearly halfway through the pregnancy, I think I should really pick up my game on this...

I made 3 more dinner to freeze and one for me to eat while I cooked. I have decided that Louisiana Purchase boxed dinners suck.
Flavorless but leaving an after taste I can't quite place. *shivers* Anyhow... The dinners I made were all ones that I have been wanting to try but keep putting off. And had my kids begging to dig in to at least one of them. Which is one I'll be making again for dinner tonight. I started a beef stew in the crock pot while I cooked a pepperoni pasta dish (my kids want this one) and a beef and bean soup.

I'll include those last two recipes for you guys. I paid for my efforts in pain last night. But I'm a strong believer that it will pay off later when the baby is born or on those nights that I'm just too tired to cook after work. Tonight, I'll be starting all over again. I think I'll make some brownies while I'm at it too... 



So here are a couple recipes you might want to try. The soup one is a favorite of mine while my kids can't wait to dig into the One Pot Pepperoni Pizza Pasta. 



Italian Sausage and Bean Soup



Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided use
1 pound Italian sausage
1 1/2 cups each chopped onion and diced carrots
1 cup chopped celery (include leaves if you want)
1 tablespoon minced garlic in oil
1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
5-6 cups chicken broth
1 can Italian-style diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained
1 cup elbow macaroni


Place 1 tablespoon oil in a heavy pot over medium-high heat; add sausage and cook, breaking up into small pieces with edge of cooking spoon. Remove to a plate and set aside. 

Add remaining oil to same pot; saute onions, carrots, celery, garlic and Italian seasoning. Cook 7-9 minutes or until tender; then return sausage to pot. 

Stir in broth, tomatoes, and beans. Bring soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 15-20 minutes, uncovered. Right before serving, bring soup to a full boil and add macaroni; simmer over medium, stirring occasionally, 10 minutes or until al dente. Season to taste with salt, black pepper and crushed red pepper flakes, if desired. 



Substitute:

You can use ground beef instead of the Italian sausage. 


One Pot Pepperoni Pizza Pasta



Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 small onion
40 slices of pepperoni (or just wing it like I did)
24 oz jar of spaghetti sauce
3 cups penne pasta
2 cups of water
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella 


Brown ground beef and onion in a large skillet and drain excess fat.

Add some of the slices of pepperoni and spaghetti sauce.

Add pasta and water, stir and bring to a boil.



Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 15 minutes until most of the liquid is absorbed and pasta is tender.


Remove lid and sprinkle top with cheese and remaining pepperoni.

Broil until the cheese is lightly browned. 

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

New lunch idea

It's hard when you have three young and picky eaters. I don't want to make hot dogs, chicken nuggets and French fries daily. I can't afford to go out somewhere daily either. I can barely manage that more than twice a month. So today, as I'm standing in front of my refrigerator, I was trying to think of something different for their lunch. 
I had some crescent rolls, pepperoni, and cheese slices.
They'd been bugging for pizza for the past couple days and I decided to make some... Sorta. I didn't think about adding sauce this time around. 
Basically, unroll the crescents. Top with the pepperoni. 
I didn't have shredded cheese so I ripped slices in half. 
I also made some peanut butter and jelly ones, but my oldest was the only one willing to even try one. Just not good enough to substitute for a PB & J sandwich. 
For the peanut butter kind, I didn't roll them. I folded them. 
Once the toppings are ready, roll them up. I added cheese on top too, but they would be good without that. 
Pop them in the oven for about 8 minutes or so. Sadly, my kids didn't really want them. I ate a couple and really enjoyed them. Next time though, I plan to add some sauce. It's simple, quick and a better alternative. 
If you have any lunch ideas for picky eaters, leave me a comment!