Ground Beef Stroganoff

So I am all for easy and cheap dinners! Especially having a child who likes to get into everything it's hard trying to cook and make sure he's not getting into the pots and pans. I'm almost tempted to put this on our weekly rotation of meals for dinner! It's so cheap and most of the time you have everything on hand! So lets begin

Beef Stroganoff

Ingredients:

1lb ground beef

1/2 onion, chopped

1 can Cream Of Mushroom soup

1 packet Brown Gravy

1/2 cup Fat Free Sour Cream

Salt and Pepper to taste.

You can use egg noodles, rice or mashed potatoes to pour it over

Brown and cook the ground beef with the onion. Once it is done Drain the beef and set aside. 

Start the noodles if thats what your planning on doing that. While the noodles are cooking, take the cream of mushroom soup, and gravy mix (plus however much water it say's on the packet) and heat in a pan. Once mixed together add the ground beef and onion mixture. Let simmer for 15-20 minutes. Then add the 1/2 cup sour cream. Once mixed together serve over noodles.

Update: I've eaten this for leftover for lunch and i seriously can't get enough of it! It's so yummy!

Crock Pot Refried Beans without the fry!

I wanted to make a simple meal that involved as little time as possible. I came across a refried bean recipe and figured one night we could do bean burritos with mexican rice. It was so simple and REALLY CHEAP! Plus it made a ton so if you really wanted you could use it to make bean dip...mmh!

Crock Pot Refried Beans

Ingredients:

3 cups dry pinto beans (rinsed, no need for soaking!)

1 onion, diced (optional)

1/4 Jalapeno, diced (optional)

2 tbsp taco seasoning or Cumin

2 tbsp garlic, minced

salt, to taste

pepper, to taste

5 cups water

4 cups chicken stock

Rinse the beans and set aside. Add the onion, jalapeno, beans and seasonings to the crock pot. Slowly add the water and chicken stock. Stir it so that it's well blended. Cook on HIGH for 8 hours. Once cooked drain the liquid but leave a little extra to add to the beans later. I just took a measuring cup and scooped some out into a bowl. Take a potato masher and smash the beans until you get the consistancy you want. Slowly add the reserved water until its smooth.

Crock Pot Turkey meatball and Tortellini Soup

So we FINALLY had some decent snow here in SLC and I wanted to make a soup. I didn't want to make a typical every day soups so I wanted to try this Meatball Tortellini soup. It sounded yummy and super easy! I had most of the stuff on hand. I have to say that it was a pretty good recipe. My little guy loved it, so thats always a plus! 

Crock Pot Turkey meatball and Tortellini soup

Ingredients:

1/2 bag frozen Meatballs (turkey, or italian)

1 bag frozen Cheese Tortellini

3 cans Beef Broth

1 Can Cannellini Beans

1 can Diced Tomatoes in italian blend

1/2 Onion, diced

2-3 cloves Garlic, minced

2 stalks Celery, cut into small pieces

1/2 tbsp Italian Seasoning

Salt & Pepper to taste

grated Parmesan Cheese

Add the meatballs, beans (undrained) and tomatoes (undrained) to the crock pot. Then add the onion, celery, garlic, and seasonings. Lastly add the beef broth. Mix well. Cook on low for 6-8 hours.

30-40 minutes before serving add the tortellini.

And BAM your done!

Buffalo Chicken Tortilla Wraps

Mmmh. I love a nice simple dinner that's a bit on the healthy side! I am a huge fan of spice and I love buffalo wings! I came across these buffalo wing strips at Target and had to get them! I figured I could make a little wrap out of them make it a semi healthy meal.

Buffalo Chicken Wraps

Ingredients:

4 Boneless Buffalo Chicken Strips

Whole Wheat Tortillas 

Lettuce

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.

Cook the chicken for 18-20 minutes.

Put your chicken on the tortilla with some lettuce and wrap it up.

If you really wanted you could add some ranch to it and even some cheese!

Enjoy!

Eating Healthy? Eh kind of!

Since the new year I have been trying to eat a little bit healthier. It's pretty hard for me since I'm such a food lover! I love trying new recipes and eating new things even if it involves 3 sticks of butter! But now that I am working out I figured I need to at least TRY and eat healthier, even if it only last a month or so! I will be posting some some what healthy meals. Whether you make them for lunch or dinner is totally up to you!

Chicken Spring Rolls

Ingredients:

Rice paper (you should find them in  your local grocery store if not try an asian market)

2 Chicken Breast

Lettuce

Any other veggies you want to put in the roll.

Thai Peanut Dipping Sauce

3 cups Mr Yoshida's original sauce

2 tbsp Peanut butter

hot chili (to taste)

Cook the chicken until its done. Cut into strips, set aside.

 Rinse and cut veggies. 

Take warm water and put it into a bowl. 

One at a time take rice paper and put into warm water, quickly take out and set into a plate. The rice paper will get sticky so try not to let it get folded. Put chicken and veggies onto the roll. Roll up and set aside. Repeat

Mix the Yoshida's sauce with the peanut butter. I heat up the sauce a little bit so the peanut butter doesn't clump. If you want it to have more of a peanut taste add some crushed peanuts or add less Yoshida's. If you want the spice add a spoonful of hot chili. 

Coconutty dream bars

I absolutely love anything with coconut in it, so when I came across this recipe I knew I had to try it! Plus it only called for 6 things so I knew it would be quick to make. And honestly this would be the best recipe to throw together at the last minute for a get together. Or when someone calls and say's to bring dessert to a family party and your frantically trying to find something that's yummy, cheap and easy. I almost want to have all of the ingredients on hand just so I can make it on a random night I'm craving something sweet. It would also be amazing with a scoop of ice cream! Mmmh I'm literally drooling as I type this! Anyway, down below is this amazing recipe so I would suggest QUICKLY reading this then RUNNING to the grocery store to get these ingredients!

Coconutty Dream Bars

Ingredients:

20 Graham Crackers or 2 packages

 1 1/2 sticks of butter, melted

1/4 tsp salt (optional)

1 1/2 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 bag Sweetened Coconut Flakes

1 can Sweetened Condensed Milk

Preheat oven to 350 

Crush graham crackers into crumbs and mix into melted butter and salt. I would suggest that if you use salted butter to not use any salt. You could use a food processor or even put them into a ziplock and use a rolling pin to smash them.

Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray and press crumb mixture onto the bottom of the pan. 

Mix the coconut flakes and the chocolate chips in a bowl and then spread evenly onto the graham cracker crust.

Pour the sweetened condensed milk over the top of the coconut mixture and put in the oven for 30 minutes.

Take out and try not to eat the whole thing by yourself!! 

found recipe on this site

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars With Streusel Topping

For our Christmas Eve party I was assigned to make a dessert. At first I was thinking about making these really yummy twix that I have a recipe for (I will post it later!). But me being me I decided to try something new! Whenever I have to bring something to a party or a get together I always want to make something I've never made before! Not the smartest idea considering that the recipe may not turn out right. But so far they haven't! I've heard from several people that this Paula Deen recipe for Caramel Apple Cheesecake is to die for. So I decided it was something I would try. And I must say, everyone who tried it LOVED it! I was so proud of myself! I also made homemade whip cream with whipping cream and powdered sugar to go on top. I must say this is a long process and it has many steps but it is well worth it! And I would highly suggest prepping everything before you begin to bake that way you don't stress about hurrying to put it together once the step before is over.

Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars With Streusel Topping

Paula Deens Link

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
• 2 (8-ounce) packages cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 2 tablespoons, divided
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and finely chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• Streusel topping (recipe below)
• Caramel Topping ( I used the caramel sunday syrup in the bottle, it makes it easier to drizzle.)

Streusel Topping:

1 cup firmly packed Brown Sugar

1 cup All Purpose Flour

1/2 cup Quick Oats

1/2 cup Butter(1 stick), softened

In a small bowl combine all ingredients until Crumbly, set aside.

Here we go!

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.

In a medium bowl combine flour and brown sugar. Cut in butter until it is crumbly. I don't own a Pastry Blender so I used a potato masher and worked just fine! You could even use a fork or your hands!

Press evenly onto a 9x13 pan that has been well greased or lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown. I baked mine for about 20 minutes. It depends on how thick you layer the crust.

In a small bowl stir chopped apples, nutmeg, cinnamon and 2 tablespoons of sugar. Set aside.

In a large bowl beat cheesecake with 1/2 cup sugar with an electric mixer at medium speed until no longer lumpy. Slowly add one egg at a time, then vanilla.

Add Cheescake to warm crust, then top with apple mixture evenly. Add the streusel topping making sure the cheesecake is fully coated.

Bake for 30 minutes or until Cheesecake is set. Take caramel topping and drizzle it on the Cheesecake.