April Plan

I hope you don't mind another repeat from me.  Sweet and Sour Chicken is the plan for April.  Thanks! 

March Plan--Oriental Pork Ribs

Hello!

I hope you are ok with a repeat again.  I am going to prepare the Oriental Pork SpareRibs that I did last April.  If anyone wants an adaptation to the recipe, please speak up now.

Beef Taquitos

Kellie's plan is Beef Taquitos this month.  They just need to be placed on a cookie sheet and baked for apx. 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees.  Serve with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream and your choice of side dish. 

Sweet & Sour Chicken

12 skinless, boneless chicken breasts
2 eggs, beaten
Cornstarch
Oil

Trim and cut chicken breasts into desired sized pieces.  Dip the chicken breasts into the egg and then roll and pat them in the cornstarch.  In a small amount of oil, fry the chicken pieces until just browned.  Place the chicken in a shallow baking pan. 

Sauce:

2 ½ C. sugar

2 c. chicken broth or bouillon
1/3 c. soy sauce
1 ½ c. vinegar
1½ c. ketchup
2 tsp. garlic powder

Mix all sauce ingredients together.  Pour the sauce over the chicken in the shallow baking pan.  Bake uncovered for 60-90 min. at 325 degrees.  Turn chicken every 15 minutes while baking, being careful not to knock off the coating.  I like to cook it until it is bubbly and the sauce thickens a little.

An option is to add red and green peppers, onion, and pineapple chunks or tidbits the last 15 minutes of baking time.

Freezer Meal Instruction:

Thaw meat and sauce.  Combine and cook in the crockpot or follow the directions above.

Creamed Chicken over Biscuits

1/4 c. diced onion
1 c. diced celery
1/4 c. butter
1/4 c. flour
2 tsp. chicken bouillon
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. basil
1/2 tsp. thyme
4 c. milk
3 c. cubed cooked chicken
2 c. steamed carrots
1-2 c. peas

Place carrots in a small saucepan.   Cover with water.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 8-10 min. or until vegetables are tender.  Drain and set aside. 

In a saucepan, sauté onion and celery in butter.  Add the flour, bouillon, pepper, basil, and thyme.  Stir in the milk.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir until thickened.  Add chicken and peas.  Serve over warm biscuits

Biscuits:
2 c. white flour
1 c. wheat flour
4 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 T sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 tsp. cream of tartar
3/4 c. butter
1 egg
1 c. milk

Combine dry ingredients.  Cut butter into the dry mixture.  Add egg, milk, and more flour as needed.  Knead lightly and roll out 1 " thick.  Bake at 450 degrees for 12-15 min.

Freezer Meal Instruction:  Defrost, warm and serve over biscuits

November Plan for Kellie

Chicken Rolls are the plan for November.  I will double check the recipe and make sure that it is correct.  See you Monday!

Kellie's October Plan

The Esplin's finally purchased a BBQ, so if it's ok with everyone, we are going to do Lemon Chicken again so that Will can improved is chicken grilling skills:)

Enchilada Casserole

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 small onion
1 sprinkle of garlic salt
1/2 T chili powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 1/2 8 oz. can of tomato sauce
1 can drained black beans
1 can drained corn
1 can chopped olives (optional)
10 corn tortillas
1/2 lb. grated cheese

Brown and crumble hamburger.  Add onion, seasonings, beans, corn, & tomato sauce.  Simmer.  Layer in the bottom of a 9 x 13 pan:  tortillas,1/2 ground beef-sauce mixture, olives, 1/2 of the grated cheese.  Then repeat.  Carefully pour 2/3 c. water over the top.  Bake at 350 for 30 min. covered.

For frozen meal:  I don't love how corn tortillas freeze, so I froze the meat sauce and cheese separate.  Store the corn tortillas in the fridge and then thaw the meat and cheese to complete the instructions above.  I've included the olives as an option if your family likes them.

Kellie's August Plan

Hello Ladies!!!  I have been craving Summer salad.  Tisha said it would be okay if I repeated her BYU Spinach Salad from a few months back.  The recipe can be found under the label "Tisha" or "other." 

I have found when I serve salad, my family eats it best if I set it up like a salad bar and they pick and choose their own toppings and amount of dressing. 

Have a Great day!

Kellie

Oriental Pork Ribs

1 med. onion, sliced
3/4 c paced brown sugar
1/4-1/2 c. soy sauce
1/2 c. ketchup
1/4 c. honey
2 T. cider vinegar
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
5 lbs. country style pork ribs
sesame seeds & green onions for garnish (did not include)

Place onions in the bottom of slow cooker.  Combine brown sugar, soy sauce, ketchup, honey, vinegar, garlic, ginger, and red pepper in large bowl.  Add ribs and turn to coat.  Place ribs on top of onions.  Pour sauce over meat.  Cover and cook on low for 5-6 hours.  Place on serving platter and sprinkle with sesame seeds and green onions to garnish.

(I did not put the onion inside the frozen meal..I will include one to be used when preparing)
Thaw and throw into the crockpot for 5-6 hours.  I usually serve this meal with broccoli, rice, and fruit in season.

Navajo Tacos for April's meal

Optional Items to add:  lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, onion, olives, salsa , cheese, and corn
Taco Meat:

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
onion flakes
salt and pepper
2 cans light red kidney beans
2 cans tomato sauce
Ole' Taco Seasoning Taco Seasoning (mine has wheat, but I'm happy to use a different one if needed)
(I used Chile Powder in Jen's)

Scones:
(I included a double batch with the frozen meal)
1 T. yeast
1 c. warm water
1 egg
3 T. oil
1 tsp. salt
1 T. sugar
3 c. flour

Scones:
Soften yeast in water and sugar.  Add egg, oil, salt, and half the flour.  Mix and add the remaining flour and knead for 4-5 minutes.  Let raise until double.  Roll out and cut dough into desired sizes and then fry in hot oil. 

For frozen dough:
Take dough out of bag and place it in a bowl covered with platic wrap or a towel.  Let it thaw and rise for 3-4 hours (I'm guessing).  Roll or Stretch dough into desired pieces apx. 1/4 "-1/2" thick and then fry in heated oil.  You can replace scones with Fritos or Tortilla corn chips if you'd rather not deal with the grease.

Macaroni Beef Dish

Macaroni Beef Dish
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, diced
2 cans tomato sauce
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. Italian Seasoning
1/4 tsp. crushed dried red peppers
2 cups elbow macaroni
1 1/2 c cottage cheese
1-2 c. grated cheddar cheese

Cook meat in large saucepan until browned.  Drain off fat.  Add onion and green pepper;  cook 1 minute.

Stir in sauce and seasonings.  Cover and cook over low heat for 45 minutes.

Meanwhile, add 1 T. salt to rapidly boiling water. Boil macaroni for 7-10 minutes.

Layer half the macaroni and meat sauce in a 13 x 9 pan.  Spoon cottage cheese on top and sprinkle with cheese.   Repeat layers of remaining macaroni, meat sauce and cheese. 

Bake at 375 for apx. 30 minutes with loosely covered foil.  If frozen I think I would cook it at 350 for about 2 hours (sorry I don't know exact time...watch it until it's bubbly.)

Beef Taquitos

Beef Taquitos
1 1/2 lbs. ground hamburger
1 1/2  c. salsa
1 1/2 c. shredded cheese
16 tortillas (I like the uncooked ones from Sam's)

Instructions:
Cook up ground beef and drain excess grease.  Mix in the salsa and cheese.  Warm the tortillas for apx. 1 min.  Add 1/3 cup of filling into each tortilla and wrap tightly.  Place on a cookie sheet or Silpat, leaving space between each taquito. 

Bake at 400* for apx. 15 minutes or until crispy.

This is a simple meal that I  usually serve with lettuce, tomatoes, sour cream, corn, and black beans.

Chicken Rolls

1 8 oz. pkg. of cream cheese

¼ c. butter
1/8 tsp. pepper

Soften and cream the above ingredients.

Fold in: 2 c. cubed chicken

1 4 oz drained slices & Pieces mushrooms  (optional)

Unroll 2 cans of plain crescent rolls.  Spread apx. ¼ c chicken mixture on each roll.  Roll up and seal.  Dip in melted butter.  Roll in finely ground dressing. (I blend a package of Stove Top in my food processor or blender)  To avoid rolls sticking together, flash freeze at this point if using it for a freezer meal.  Thaw  before cooking.
 

Place on an ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 375* for 15-20 min. 

Serve with gravy.  I usually use a can of Cream of Chicken Soup thinned with milk.

Dried Soup Mix cooked up works great too.

I usually make my chicken rolls with refrigerated crescent rolls, but also like making them with a bread recipe.  Make sure that the dough is rolled thin and they are defrosted completely before cooking if frozen.   I simplified this recipe from Girlfriends on the Go.
 

Chicken Pocket Recipe:
2 ½ c warm water
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. yeast
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. salt
1/3 c oil
6 c flour

In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water.   Add salt and oil.  Mix in 6 cups flour and knead in mixer.   Let dough rise for about one hour.  Divide the dough into 3 balls and then roll out each ball into a thin circle. Cut each circle as if slicing a pizza into 8 or 12 pieces.  Each piece should be about the same size as the refrigerated crescent rolls.  Place 1/3 c of chicken mixture in center of each triangle.  Pull up the corners  and roll like a crescent roll.  Dip in melted butter and then dressing .   Let rise until double in size.  If freezing, flash freeze chicken pockets at this time.    Otherwise, bake at  400*for 20 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with chicken gravy.

Usually served in the Esplin home with gravy, green beans, jello, and green salad

Lemon Herb Chicken

This is a lemon marinade that came from Tisha. I put it over chicken breasts. It's best to set out in the fridge the night before so that the marinade soaks in while the chicken defrosts.

You can cover and bake in the oven, cook in your slowcooker for 4-6 hrs. on low, or throw on the grill. We had it in the crockpot last night and it worked well. We also served with Lemon-Dill Rice, green beans and fruit salad.

Lemon Herb Chicken: (MARINADE)
1/2 c lemon juice
1 grated rind of lemon
2 tsp of salt
1 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp basil
1/2 tsp thyme
2 cloves garlic
1 c oil

Dill-Lemon Rice Mix

2 c long grain rice, uncooked

2 tsp. grated lemon peel

2 tsp. dill weed

2 tsp. chicken bouillon granules

To prepare:Combine Dill-Lemon Rice mix, 4 c. water and 2 T butter in a medium saucepan.Bring to a boil over high heat.Cover and reduce heat.Simmer for apx. 15 min. until liquid is absorbed.

Good Luck!

Kellie