Did you know that the Dollar Tree now has a frozen food section? The one near my house does now. So the last time I was there I picked up a couple of packages of frozen soft pretzels. For $1.

Today we opened up a package for snacks. The 6 pretzels were much larger than I anticipated and came with their own soft pretzel salt to apply! What a great cheap snack. All the kids had satisfied tummies for only .16 cents each. Can't beat it!

Instead of a real smoothie today it was just lemonade (mixed sweet) with a whole bunch of ice cubes. As it turned out, this was a great way to make the juice last longer but everyone thought it was a special treat to get a lemonade icee.

And then I had a hankering for nachos. This is a recipe I got from my friend, Jessica. It's fast and easy, but I don't know about cheap or healthy.

Big chunk of velveeta cheese
One can of mexican diced tomatoes
*Heat until cheese is melted through, serve with tortilla chips.

YUM! I could eat this all day. And it's so easy and filling and not sweet. Today I couldn't find mine my mexican diced tomatoes so I did a can of regular diced tomatoes and a can of diced green chiles. I think that was a little too much liquid because my cheese turned out kind of runny. But it still tasted good!

link | posted by Real at 1:48 PM
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This summer, we are trying to make it through without turning on the air conditioning. Besides stocking up on otter pops, popsicles and ice cream and playing in the water as often as possible, I have been making lots of smoothies.

In the past, smoothie-making has had disastrous results. Nothing turned out yummy at all and no one would eat it so it was all a waste. My tried and true standard was to mix lemonade (mixed sweet with less water than usual) with frozen strawberries. You can't go wrong!

But a woman in my neighborhood told me that she made smoothies all the time. I asked her if I could get her recipes, because mine never turned out quite right. She said she didn't use recipes she just threw some of this and some of that in. It was all things that I have and use around the house. So this summer I thought I'd just try throwing some stuff together. Surprisingly, so far it's working!

Here's the basic rule for the smoothie. Put your liquid ingredients in first. Then put your frozen/solid ingredients in last. for the consistency to turn out right, I need to put in equal amounts of liquid and frozen.

Here's what I've done so far:

3 cups milk
1 cup Vanilla Mealshake
Frozen Berries (enough to reach the 6 cup mark on my blender)
*Blend till smooth


3 cups apple juice
8 oz frozen sliced peaches
frozen berries (enough to reach the 7 cup mark on my blender)
*Blend till smooth


3 cups apple-raspberry juice
8 oz frozen sliced peaches
frozen berries (enough to reach the 7 cup mark on my blender)
*Blend till smooth
**The apple-raspberry juice made for a much zippier and yummier smoothie than plain apple juice alone.

3 cups limeade
8 oz frozen sliced peaches
frozen berries (enough to reach teh 7 cup mark on my blender)
*Blend till smooth
**The lime was a touch overpowering, but still very yummy!

Here's what I still have to try:

More variety of milk-based smoothies. I'd like to try putting yogurt (refrigerated or even frozen first) in a smoothie or a little ice cream or something. But with a little guy with dairy allergies, that requires two batches and I haven't worked myself up to that yet. The first smoothie I tried to make for him was a disaster.

Also, my friend said that she just tossed in whatever fresh or canned fruit she had around the house (kind of like fruit casserole!), but I'm reluctant to try something non-frozen.

Adding bananas in. I don't like bananas mixed with stuff so it's just my personal preference that I haven't tried it yet. I know my kids and husband would love it.

Something chocolatey. Like milk, cocoa mealshake, peanutbutter and banana. Maybe some ice.

I like the mealshakes because they provide vitamins, minerals and protein plus added sweetness. But we also have a bunch of soy protein that I'd like to add in, too. And powdered vitamins. I'm going to be my own Jamba Juice!

link | posted by Real at 6:23 PM
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So I kind of messed up the Dorito casserole--mistaking chicken thighs for chicken breasts and not getting enough meat. I also substituted diced tomatoes with green chiles for just plain old diced tomatoes. It was pretty tasty. It's hard to go wrong with Doritos. But I have a problem with serving it again since it was just soups, chicken and doritos. Not really a meal, you know? Maybe I could add in some rice or something if I make it again...

Tonight for dinner we had waffles, fruit salad and scrambled eggs. It was pretty easy. Just added water and oil to the Krusteaz mix and tripled the recipe for the waffles. For the fruit salad I threw some grapes and chopped, fresh peaches and apples into a bowl. It didn't look like enough so I grabbed a can of pineapple chunks, drained it and threw that in, too. Then I added a couple of tablespoons of limeade to the mix to sweeten everything up and make sure the apples didn't turn brown (vitamin C is an anti-oxidant, you know). It was perfect. Light, yet filling. And everyone loved it.

link | posted by Real at 6:15 PM
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A friend of mine said she tried this several months ago. She LOVED it. Her husband loved it. Her kids loved it. I'm thinking of trying it. Looks simple enough, though not particularly healthy...... In fact, maybe I'll try it today (it's 5:30 and I don't have a dinner plan yet!). I'll let you know how it turns out.

3 boneless chicken breasts, cut up
1 pkg. Doritos
1 can Rotel
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c. grated cheese
Line casserole dish with Doritos. Mix Rotel and soups. Layer chicken then mixture. Top with grated cheese and bake at 375 degrees until cheese is melted approximately 30 minutes.

link | posted by Real at 4:34 PM
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Everybody give a warm round of applause to the Freezer Fairy! We look forward to many wonderful eats!

link | posted by Real at 4:14 AM
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I've been trying literally for weeks to think of some clever way of introducing myself. I'm a mom, like you, and I dread the question:
What's for Dinner?

It's not that I hate cooking. I just hate having to cook Every.Single.Night.
So I don't. I cook a couple nights a week and then once a month or so, I spend the whole day cooking and freezing copies of meals. My Dinner Fairy lives in my freezer. And I love her. She always has an answer to the question.

I've posted a few recipes I had laying around, some freezable dinners and some other things. Look for the label below: freezer fairy and see what I'm up to!

One important note: My family is only 5, so the recipes are about half the size of those by Real, the original dinner fairy. Check the authorship notes (I appear as Edge) and make sure you know what you're getting!

Labels: freezer fairy

link | posted by Sarah Jean at 8:48 PM
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2 T. Dijon mustard
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1/2 c. Parmesan cheese
2 t. dried parsley
1/2 t. garlic powder
2 lbs of chicken breasts (about 4)
1/2 c. bread crumbs (seasoned, or add some basil and parsley)
1/4 c. panko or crushed Ritz crackers

Mix mustard, mayonnaise, cheese, parsley and garlic in a gallon bag. Squish it. Then add the chicken breasts. In a separate bag (only need a quart size for this), mix the bread crumbs and Panko. Panko is japanese breadcrumbs. It's...kind of coarser. I don't know how to explain it. More like cracker crumbs. My grocery store has it in the Asian foods section. If you can't find it, use crushed Ritz crackers. That's it. You freeze those bags together.

On serving day, dredge the sauced chicken in the bread crumb mix, and then bake at 350 for 25 minutes or so. You know, until it's done. It depends on what thickness of chicken breasts you use, I guess. You can serve it with noodles and red sauce or whatever.

Labels: chicken, dinner, freezer fairy

link | posted by Sarah Jean at 8:47 PM
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1.5 lbs of chicken breasts, cut into stir fry bite pieces
(You can also just take pre-frozen chicken breasts or tenders, and cut them when you serve.)
1/2 bag (about a lb.) of frozen stir fry veggie mix
sauce:
1/4 c. honey
2 T. frozen orange juice concentrate
1 clove of garlic, minced
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. crushed red pepper flakes

Real simple. Put the chicken in a bag. Put the veggies in a bag. Put the sauce ingredients in a bag and seal and squish. If you want, add a cup or two of rice in a bag and put all 4 bags (chicken, veggies, sauce and rice) in one big bag.

On serving day, cook the rice, stir fry the veggies, then the chicken until all browned. Add the sauce and cook to thicken. Serve over rice. Takes about 25 min start to finish.

Labels: chicken, dinner, freezer fairy

link | posted by Sarah Jean at 8:46 PM
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tomatillos from the Muum (as many as you can steal from the pile o' produce, which this summer, was a lot)
cilantro (a bunch)
garlic (one clove)
green chiles or jalapenos or anaheims or poblanos (I buy the canned, diced ones because I have a fear of chopping chiles)
sugar (not more than a couple tablespoons)

Peel stuff that needs peeling. Chop everything. Then puree most of it. Leave some big chunks of tomatillo, though. Mix it all together. To help you out, I put notes on the picture over there >>>>>>>>>>>>











Mmmm.
This has such a citrusy, fresh taste, I really love it. Mmmm.

Labels: salsa, tomatillos

link | posted by Sarah Jean at 8:45 PM
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Why my kids call this granilla, I do not know. Granola, vanilla, granilla.

Granilla

• 5 c. rolled oats
• 1 c. shredded coconut
• 1 c. sliced or slivered almonds
• 1/4 c. sesame seeds or sunflower seeds (shelled, please)
• 1/2 c. wheat germ

Stir that all up in a BIG bowl. In a glass measuring cup (1 qt. size works best), combine:

• 3/4 c. of any combination of molasses, maple syrup (REAL syrup, please) and/or honey
• 1/2 c. vegetable oil
• 2 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. nutmeg
• 1 t. vanilla

Stir that all up in the smaller bowl or cup, then pour it into the big bowl. Stir until it's all wet. Now you can either bake it in the oven or in the microwave. Either way, your house is going to smell great, and you're going to need two 13x9 pans, lined with foil. You don't have to line the pans with foil, but if you don't you'll have to, like, wash them. And who wants to do that?

So, if you want to do the oven, divide the raw granola between the two pans and throw them in a 300 degree oven. After 20 minutes, take them out and stir it up. Leave them in there for 10 or 15 minutes more (do you like your granilla crispy or extra crispy?). Then take it out and let it cool.

If you want to do the microwave, just keep it in the bowl. You're going to microwave for 8-10 minutes total. You have to stir it after the first 2 minutes, the second two minutes, then each minute after that. REALLY. It's like chex mix. You are heating oil and if you don't stir it and distribute the heat, it can actually burst into flames in your microwave. And that's no good for anyone. So only set the timer for 1 or 2 minutes at a time. Then, when it's cooked enough for your tastes, dump it out on those same foil lined pans and let it cool. See? So the microwave is faster, but you have to babysit it and you don't save any dishes. *shrug*

When it's cool, put it in ziploc bags. Sooooo good over yogurt for breakfast. Or at night. Anytime, really.

Labels: breakfast, granola

link | posted by Sarah Jean at 8:44 PM
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1 large can pineapple chunks
1/2 c. soy sauce
1 T. molasses
2 T. brown sugar
1/4 oil
3 T. cider vinegar
1 t. garlic powder
6 chicken breasts, boned and skinned
1 bell pepper

---

Drain the pineapple chunks, saving the juice, and set the chunks aside. Mix the juice with everything but the chicken and bell pepper. Marinate the chicken breasts in the refrigerator (I use a freezer bag for the whole thing--works great) for 6-8 hours, or overnight.



Drain the marinade and (make the blond hunk) grill the chicken. Slice the chicken and the bell pepper in to strips and serve with the pineapple over rice. This got 5 stars from our picky band of future food critics.



This recipe from the book: Lion House Entertaining (see link below). If you aren't from Utah, the Lion House is where ritzy wedding receptions get held in Salt Lake City. Something especially romantic about being married in Brigham Young's house? I don't know. But they are famous for their fabulous food.

Labels: chicken, dinner, freezer fairy

link | posted by Sarah Jean at 8:43 PM
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12 rhodes bake'n'serve rolls, thawed but not risen
(you can make fresh rolls for this, too, but I only do that when I'm stocking the freezer--just let the dough rise, then break them into roll-sized bits for the next step, before they rise again)
8-10 oz of cooked, chunked chicken (you can use the canned stuff from costco)
1/4 c. sour cream
salt, pepper, thyme, dried onion
1 beaten egg
bread crumbs

So, you mix the chicken, the sour cream and your seasonings together. It makes like, a chicken salad kind of thing. Yummy.

Then you take a roll. Mash it. Real flat. Ya, so it makes a 3" circle or so. Put a spoonful (not too big) of the chicken mixture in the middle and wrap it up, sealing the edges as best you can. They leak anyway, sometimes. Nothing for it. Do that 11 more times.

Once you have your cute little wrapped up rolls, brush them with beaten egg and sprinkle them with bread crumbs. Or whatever. You can roll them in the egg and then in the breadcrumbs, but that just gets my hands and counters dirty.

Then you can freeze them (flash on a plan and then into a ziploc), or put them in a greased pan (13x9" works nicely) and bake for 20-25 minutes at 375 degrees. They rise a bit in the oven and as you're making them, so they end up about 4" in diameter. Serving sizes are about 1 for kids, 2-3 for adults. Teenage boys--6 each. Easy-shmeasy.

They are quite hot inside when they come out, so you may want to break open those meant for little people that lack the sense to test temperature before stuffing entire chicken-stuffed rolls in their face. A gift of my experience, to you with love.

Labels: chicken, dinner, freezer fairy

link | posted by Sarah Jean at 8:42 PM
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Makes 2 loaves

3-4 c. boiling water
¼ c. cream of wheat
1 c. rolled oats
½ c. grape-nuts

Pour the water over the cereals and let sit for 15-20 minutes, until it’s cool enough to touch. You can just use 1 or 2 of these, or the cereal your kids left sitting untouched for breakfast. That's how I usually start this recipe.

Add:

¼ c. molasses
½ c. honey
2 T. yeast

And stir well. Let it sit another 10 minutes.

Now you should have a dark brown, gloppy, lumpy mess. That’s good.

Now add:

1 T. salt
2 eggs
½ c. sliced almonds
2 T. sesame seeds

And any other stuff you have around—wheat germ might be good, or sunflower seeds. You are a creative person.

Now start the flour:

3-4 c. of whole wheat flour
2-4 c. of white flour

Stir and then knead in the flour – as much as you can.

Let it rise in a buttered bowl with buttered (or sprayed) plastic wrap on the top. In an hour, come punch it down. It will be sticky again—that’s ok. Let it rise another hour (whole-grain breads get 2 rises), then punch it down and cut it in half. Make it into loaves and put them in the pans. Let it rise (proof? Whatever-) one more time in the pans for 20-30 minutes. Bake it for 25-30 minutes in 375 degree oven. If you want to get fancy, you can brush with butter or egg and put extra seeds or nuts on top. When it comes out, let it cool for 10-15 minutes and then take it out of the pan. Put it in a plastic shopping bag or an unsealed Ziploc bag—this will keep your bread from getting hard and stale before it’s even cool, especially if you live in the desert. J Enjoy, you nutty baker!

Labels: bread

link | posted by Sarah Jean at 8:40 PM
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for each serving to feed 4-5 people, you need:
1 lb ground beef
1 c. of frozen mixed veggies
1 can of tomato sauce (the little cans)
1 T. worchestire sauce
salt and pepper, herbs and spices (I like garlic, and basil or thyme, but you can be creative!)
1/4 c. fresh chopped onion or 2 T. dried chopped onion or 1/2 t. onion powder
2 c. of mashed potatos (I use instant)
maybe some cheese for the top

So you do a little math, and it's not exact--for 3 family-sized servings, I used 4 lbs of ground beef, and 2 cups of veggies, and 1 large can of tomato sauce...

First, brown all the ground beef and split it between your containers. 1.5 qt. casserole dishes work best for this--you can use gladware type, like I do, or the foil disposable kind, like my sis. So you brown the ground beef, then put it in your containers. Add the veggies, tomato sauce, onions, worchestire sauce, salt, pepper, herbs, etc. Mix it all up. You should still have some room at the top for the potatoes. Slap the potatoes on top, sprinkle it with cheese if you like, and cover it. Then mark and freeze. When you don't feel like cooking, pull it out (hopefully in the next month or so) and pop it in the microwave or oven for an hour or so. Don't bake plastic containers.

Labels: dinner, freezer fairy, ground beef

link | posted by Sarah Jean at 8:37 PM
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Although I never officially posted a grocery shopping list, I was in fact able to jot down what we didn't have on hand and go buy it at the store. I also decided that there was no way I would keep certain produce fresh enough to make it worth my while to do a two week list all at once. So I just bought for the first 7 recipes from menu #1.

On Sunday we had the Taco Salad and Cafe Rio rice. I had a nice little surprise. Moriah wanted to make dinner with Chris helping. I told him that I had the ingredients for any of these 7 recipes and they could choose and make whatever they wanted. Moriah picked the taco salad. I made some bread in the background while Chris and Moriah set to work. I didn't have to be consulted at all which was nice. Also, since they knew I had all the ingredients for that recipe, I didn't have to answer a bunch of questions about if or where we had something. They just looked until they found it. It was so organized that all the kids wanted to help and soon Chris had them all working on different parts.

The taco salad was a big hit, as usual. The rice wasn't loved or hated--except by me, who loved it. So Chris didn't think it was worth the work of putting all the veggies in it. But I think we'll do it again because it added a bit of nutrition and vitamins to just regular old white rice and I think it would be something nice for the kids to grow into loving.

Monday we had Mandarin-orange chicken served over brown rice. I liked it. I think I may have been teh only one. The kids didn't like all the onions and peppers in it. Of course! And my husband didn't like the oranges in it because it was too sweet. So either way, I lose. I thought it was a fairly nice way to do something different. I didn't love it enough to make it all the time, but once in a while would be a nice change. However, since I'm alone in that opinion, I probably won't make it again.

Tuesday we attended a barbecue. One of the people who attended owned a restaurant and had brought some rice. I think it's Greek or at least Mediterranean. But the rice is yellow and is sprinkled generously with Paprika. I liked it. They had a lot leftover and sent us home with a whole casserole dish of it.

Today I made the Chicken Rolls and Sugar Snap Peas. I just felt like peas instead so I switched it up. It's much easier to switch stuff up like that when you have a plan to go by. I didn't really feel like making dinner tonight (surprise surprise!) but knowing we had the ingredients all on-hand and that the produce would go bad if I didn't get to it (I had a PLAN for it, after all!) and having the recipe right there....kind of made me do it.

So I served chicken rolls, yellow rice and sugar snap peas. The rice was neither hated or loved. The Chicken rolls were everyone's favorite, as usual. I messed up on the recipe for the peas. One direction says to "drain well." That's an important step. Be sure you don't skip it. Other wise your sauce gets to watery and doesn't stick to the peas. I thought they were alright. I mean, they were definitely edible, but they weren't something I'd go back for. My husband didn't like the orange in the sauce, but otherwise thought they were fine. I was thinking I might like it more orange-y, not so watered down as ours was because I failed to "drain well."

Overall, this week has been a success so far. We've enjoyed a few days of good eating and the fact that I am actually organized and have a plan means that I'm not so stressed.

link | posted by Real at 7:30 PM
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Ever wish someone would wave a magic wand, and easy, nutritious dinners would appear on your kitchen table?

...So do we.

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• November 2007

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