Freezer Cooking and Pureed Vegetables
Last month I posted about freezer cooking and wanted to share what I did this month. I started puree-ing and freezing the puree to include in dishes. Basically, I need to sneak some more veggies into my kids meals because they only eat certain vegetables. What got me into this was the cookbook Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food . I have this cookbook and I got her second one from the library, I really like the recipes so I do recommend her books.
Yesterday I pureed:
- yellow squash
- carrots
- cauliflower
- spinach
- For the squash I took 3 squash and microwaved them for about 6 minutes then cut them into cubes before processing.
- For the spinach I microwaved a cup of spinach for about 1 minute.
- For the cauliflower I microwaved them for 6 minutes.
- For the carrots I microwaved them for about 5 minutes (I used baby carrots).
Do you do this with your kids? What are your favorite recipes?
Frugal Foodie: Baked Jalapeno Poppers with Candied Turkey Bacon
It’s Super Bowl Sunday, what are you cooking? This weekend I found a big bag of Jalapenos at the .99 Cent Only store. I thought, what could I do with these?
I immediately thought, Jalapeno Poppers. However, I’m not a big “fried” person so I set out to try and make a baked recipe with some lower fat goodness. Also, the other day I tried candied bacon. YUMMMM! So I made a little myself.
Please note, you will want to wear food or rubber gloves while dealing with this many jalapenos.
Recipe: Baked Jalapeno Poppers with Candied Bacon
Time: 1 hour
Ingredients for Candied Turkey Bacon:
- 1/3 cup of maple syrup
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 10 pieces of turkey bacon
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Line cookie sheet with foil (it’s best to use a cookie sheet with edges).
- Mix together syrup and brown sugar.
- Dip strips of bacon in syrup mixture, coating well.
- Place strips on the cookie sheet.
- Spoon remainder of mixture on top of the pieces of bacon.
- Cook for 15 minutes.
- Allow to cool, then chop into small pieces.
Ingredients for Jalapeno Poppers:
- 10 Jalapenos, sliced long ways in half and deseeded
- 1.5 cups of bread crumbs
- 1.2 cup of parmesan cheese (grated
- 2 tablespoons of minced onions
- 8 ounces of fat free cream cheese
- 2/3 cup of 2% shredded cheddar cheese
- 2 eggs
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- Mix together parmesan cheese, bread crumbs and minced onions in a bowl.
- Mix cream cheese and shredded cheese together in another bowl.
- Beat eggs together in a separate bowl.
- Take jalapenos and fill with cream cheese mixture.
- Dip the jalapeno in the egg mixture on top and bottom.
- Cover the jalapeno with the breadcrumb mixture.
- Place jalapenos on foiled cookie sheet, cook for 20 minutes.
- Remove from oven and place pieces of bacon on the poppers.
- Enjoy!
Blueberry Coffeecake Muffins with Ambiance Coffee #MyBaristaMoment
If it wasn’t for coffee, I may not make it through the day. I try not to think of it as an addiction, more of a love. I prefer to buy whole beans which seems to be harder to find, at least hard to find a reasonably priced yet delicious whole bean coffee. Last year, I fell in love with Ambiance coffee from Smart and Final. My favorite find was the 2 lbs of whole bean French Roast that was under $12. It had been a while since I had been back to grab some more but went this week to grab a bag. When I went to Smart and Final I saw they were having a sale, buy a can of coffee, get a free carton of eggs. Awesome! I typically don’t go for the cans because I like freshly ground but there are mornings I don’t want to mess with the grinder. I bought the 2 lb bag of beans and a can of the ground coffee which was a great deal for only $7.99!
I enjoy goodies with my coffee as well but I don’t like store bought pastries so this week I made some Blueberry Coffeecake Muffins
Ingredients:
- 2 cups of flour
- 2/3 cup of granulated sugar
- 2/3 cup of brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon of all spice
- 1/3 cup of applesauce
- 1/2 cup of light sour cream
- 1/4 cup of 1% milk
- 1 teaspoon of baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon of baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla
- 1 cup of fresh blueberries
Topping:
- 3 tablespoons of flour
- 3 tablespoons of brown sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon
- 2 tablespoons of margarine
Directions:
- Heat oven to 400 degrees.
- In large bowl, mix together dry ingredients.
- Add remaining ingredients except vanilla and blueberries.
- Once the mixture is thoroughly mixed, fold in vanilla and blueberries, being careful not to pop the blueberries.
- Scoop into muffin cups or greased muffin pans.
- For the topping, combine all ingredients until the mixture is crumbly.
- Add topping into the middle of the muffins by taking a spoon and creating a shallow “well” and pouring the topping in and sprinkling it on the top of the muffin mixture.
- Bake for 18 minutes.
- Cool and enjoy!
These taste great along with Ambiance coffee and the best thing about these muffins, they are not high in fat since they are not made with oil or eggs and only margarine in the topping. Also, my kids love them too!
When I was shopping for my Ambiance coffee, I found Hot Beverage Sprinkles at Smart and Final made by Ambiance. I got the vanilla sprinkles to add to my coffee, yum!
In other exciting news…….
Right now Ambiance and Smart and Final are having a sweepstakes, when you buy any Ambiance coffee you can enter your receipt onto the website here: www.smartandfinal.com/Ambiance2012/default.asp for the chance to win a giftcard or a DeLonghi BCO264B Cafe Nero Combo Coffee/Espresso Maker! Be sure to save your receipt!
Read more of my shopping adventures:
This project has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for #collectivebias #CBias #MyBaristaMoment
Slow Cooker Franks and Beans #SFSmarties
Superbowl Sunday is quickly approaching!
This week on sale at Smart and Final:
Hoffy Beef Franks, 35-40 OZ., Selected Varieties $4.99
12 packs of Coke, $2.79 each (must buy 5)
I picked up some Hoffy hotdogs this week and my kids loved them! Also, the package was HUGE! Definitely worth it if you are entertaining this weekend for Super Bowl Sunday!
We had a busy weekend this weekend so I made a slow cooker franks and beans lunch. It was easy and kids loved it!
Recipe: Slow Cooker Franks and Beans
Time: 5 minutes to prep, 2 hours in slow cooker.
Ingredients:
4 Hoffy Franks, sliced
3 cans of Pork and Beans
1/4 cup of brown sugar
6 ounces of coke (1/2 12 ounce can)
1.5 tablespoons of minced onion
Directions:
Pour all ingredients into slow cooker.
Cook on low for 2-8 hours.
Serve warm.
This recipe is perfect if you want to throw in lunch in the morning on a lazy Saturday or before church on Sunday. Also, this would be a great slow cooker meal on Super Bowl Sunday!
Want a little kick? Add a couple teaspoons of some hot sauce!
I recommend using a slotted spoon to grab the beans and franks but some people like the juice so you can also have a solid spoon out as well.
This shop has been compensated as part of a social shopper insights study for Collective Bias , all opinions are my own. #CBias #SFSmarties
Frugal Foodie: Dollar Store Chicken Casserole
Growing up, my mom’s favorite frugal and easy recipe was Tuna Casserole. I have used this also many times with my kids and wanted to share my chicken version. All of the ingredients are simple and were purchased at the dollar store, more specifically Dollar Tree where the canned peas were only $.79 cents and they had Healthy Request Campbells Cream of Chicken soup (my favorite).
This recipe is not only easy and under $5, it contains protein, veggies and carbs!
Recipe: Dollar Store Chicken Casserole
Time: 15 Minutes
Ingredients:
- 1 bag of egg noodles
- 1 can of chicken
- 1 can of cream of chicken soup
- 1 can of peas (drained)
- 1 tablespoon of lemon pepper seasoning
Directions:
- Boil noodles, then drain.
- In a large bowl, combine noodles with remainder of ingredients.
- Top with shredded cheese if desired.
- Serve warm.
Frugal Foodie: Once a Month Cooking AKA Freezer Cooking
At one point, I loved going grocery shopping to find deals. I couponed weekly and went to the stores at least a few times a week. Oh how times have changed here. I have actually started doing once a month shopping. I will do a big haul of our meats, pastas, cheeses etc. Basically everything I can get away with shopping for once a month. I will then do a quick shop every 2 weeks for the milk, breads and produce.
Since I started this, I wanted to start once a month cooking. It’s a day when you cook your meals for the month then freeze them. This was my first time doing this and I made about 15 meals including:
- Meatballs (completely cooked then frozen)
- Spaghetti Sauce (cooked in a pot then frozen)
- Hamburger Patties (uncooked but seasoned and shaped then frozen)
- Chili and Taco Meat (cooked in a large skillet then frozen)
- Chicken Packets (seasoned and sauced then frozen uncooked)
- Pork Chops (seasoned and sauced then frozen uncooked)
What I used:
- FoodSaver Vac 1050 Vacuum-Sealing Kit, White
~ My sister in law gave me this which she bought at a yard sale. I love it, works great so if you find a Foodsaver at Goodwill or a yard sale, snatch it up. I did find a “backup” vacuum sealer at Savers for a buck on dollar day. I have also included an amazon link below, it’s only $35, not bad and you can buy the bag rolls at Walmart or Target or at Amazon. - Hamburger Press, you can find these at Walmart I believe for under $10. I use a heavy duty metal one but I found a press for $3.69 with free SS shipping from Amazon.com: Norpro 507 Hamburger Press
My thoughts:
I loved doing the once a month cooking because there are nights when I am too tired to cook. I can grab something from the freezer and pop it in the oven, skillet or slow cooker. Overall, I spent about 4 hours prepping, cooking and sealing. It wasn’t too overwhelming and my recipes were pretty simple.
My Tips:
- Make a list, scope out the recipes you want and make a grocery list of the items you need. Shop the day before and don’t forget the seasonings!
- Plan out a whole day for this, with prepping, chopping, cooking and sealing it can get time consuming.
- Make sure you have room in your freezer, by designating one section to frozen meals you will always be able to grab the meal the night before and place it in the fridge to thaw and cook the next day.
- Bulk cook the items at once, for example I bought 4 pounds of lean ground beef. I cooked 2 pounds together and seasoned it and broke it out by pound and marked it with chili/taco meat. The other two pounds I put in a bowl and made 4 batches of meatballs and froze each batch individually.
- Make sure your bag is sealed tight by pressing on it to make sure no air is let out. I always do a second or third seal to ensure no air is going to get in there.
- Have a sharpie and be sure to date everything with instructions how to cook it.
- If you are freezing something in bulk that has the potential to get frozen together, first freeze them on a cookie sheet for about an hour then freeze them in a bag. For example, I did this with my hamburger patties so they wouldn’t freeze into one big patty.
- Cooked or uncooked? I did some searching and I wasn’t sure, should I cook all meals before I freeze them? I found mixed reviews and I think ultimately it’s up to you and the recipe you use. For all of my chicken I just broke it out into dinner servings and froze it raw with the marinade or seasonings and that way I could just throw it in the skillet. For something like the meatballs, I wanted them cooked before hand to make it easier on me later.
Sources:
I used a couple cookbooks, a couple of website and made some up these up on my own.
- Once-A-Month Cooking: A Proven System for Spending Less Time in the Kitchen and Enjoying Delicious, Homemade Meals Everyday
- onceamonthmom.com/ She offers great recipes and meal plans for free!
- once-a-monthcooking.com/how.html A few tips on getting started.
- www.realfood4realpeople.com/freeze.html List of what freezes well and what doesn’t!
I’ll share some recipes soon!!
*There are Amazon affiliate links included in this post, all opinions are my own.
Sharing International Delight Iced Coffees with a Friend #IcedCoffee #Cbias
Recently, I shared with you all about the new Iced Coffee from International Delight: cleverpinkpirate.com/2012/01/05/international-delight-iced-coffees-a-phoenix-winter-treat-icedcoffee/
I was able to pass along some of this delicious coffee to another blogger, Julie from www.alittlebiteoflife.com
I wish I could have delivered them personally but this was the next best thing. Something about getting to send coffee to a friend is pretty neat. I know I personally get busy and have barely any time to keep up with friends but wish I could have more coffee dates with them. Giving friends coffee is like getting to have coffee with them. Well, kind of and some times it’s the closest we can get.
I hope Julie enjoys them as much as I do!
In my last blog post about these coffees I promised I would share a recipe well here it is……
<insert fascinating drumroll here>
