Quick and Easy Meals-Part 2

Meal in a Bag-- Michelle and Trent Snow--Over 100 recipes for storable meals—the idea is to organize your food storage by meal.  You put all the ingredients for one meal plus the recipe in a bag.  My mom has really enjoyed having these meals in a bag ready to go.  They make a great gift as well.  

Microwave

Cauliflower Cheese Dish. Cook one head of Cauliflower in microwave with ¼ cup water for 5 ½ minutes, Cover the top lightly with Mayo, sprinkle with paprika, Cover with cheddar cheese, Cook again for 1 minute

Baked Potato-  Use a potato bag so your potatoes are not soggy.  See this website to make a potato bag. http://tipnut.com/make-your-own-potato-baker-bags/

Acorn Squash-Cut in half and take out seeds.  Put butter on top and microwave for 7 min.  Perfect and quick cooked squashed. 

On the stove

Burn Butter over Noodles.  We love to burn butter & pour it over noodles. If I have mazithra cheese on hand we add that too.

Spinach Egg Scramble.  Cook 2 slices of bacon, but up into bite sizes. Scramble eggs (6 eggs beaten, add 1/4 cp whole milk, beat until creamy smooth) mixing in with bacon pieces. Meanwhile, heat up spinach in a pan. Add to the spinach, 1 TBS of butter and few sliced almonds. OR you can cook green beans with bacon slices. OR you can do both. Serve with cornbread with honey butter and hot cocoa to drink.

Scottish Blitter. Water, sliced potatoes, sliced onions, butter, salt. Eat with a side veggie and bread.

Sweet n sour hamburger over rice. 1 lb cooked hamburger, then add 1 c ketchup, 3 tbsp vinegar, 3 tbsp brown sugar, warm then server over rice.

Ham Fried Rice. 1 cup raw rice (2 cups cooked), Ham, 2 eggs scrambled, Onion, Butter, Peas, carrots, broccoli, Soy sauce to taste, Fry ham, eggs and onion in butter till onion is clear. Throw in rice, and vegetables, Add soy sauce to taste.

Taco Soup. 1 Can Red Kidney Beans, Can Whole Corn, 8 oz. Tomato Sauce, Pint Whole Tomatoes, pkg. Taco Seasoning, 1 lb. Hamburger-Browned, drained, 1 onion-diced and sautéed, Cook all these ingredients together, Pour over crumbled tortillas.  Top with cheese, sour cream and green onions. (Great in the crock pot too!)

Stroganoff.  Pound of Hamburger (cooked and drained), Cream of chicken or mushroom soup, 2 cups of sour cream or plain yogurt, 1 TB Worcestershire sauce.  Serve over noodles

Tex - Mex Tacos. Simmer over medium heat, 1/2 - lb. hamburger, browned & drained, 1 (16 oz.) can refried beans, 16 oz. tomato sauce, 1/2 cup salsa, 1/2 cup evaporated milk, 2 cups cooked rice, Serve over broken tortilla chips and lettuce. Top with shredded cheese.

Creamed Tuna. 2 TB butter, 1/4 cup flour, 1/2 tsp. Salt, 1 tsp instant minced onion, 2 cups skim milk, 2 6 oz cans tuna, water-packed, Melt butter in pan over medium heat; blend in flour, salt and onion.  Add milk slowly and cook over medium heat, stir constantly till thick and add undrained tuna.  Serve over toast, Serve with peas or favorite veggie

Poor Mans Soup.  Hamburger, 1 quart of stewed tomatoes, 1 cup salad noodles raw, 1/2 pint salsa warm on stove till noodles are soft. 

Best Tomato Soup Ever.  1 can tomato soup, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1/2 block of cream cheese, 1 can milk.  Heat up soup and milk, heat cream cheese in microwave for 1 min.  Whisk in cream cheese and then stir in diced tomatoes.

Eggs Ala Goldenrod. Hard boil 6 eggs, cook and peel. Cut up egg whites and set aside, White Sauce, 4 TBS butter, 4 TBS flour, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp pepper, 2 cups milk.  Make up white sauce add egg whites.  Toast Bread serve with sauce and sprinkle mashed up egg yolks.  

Quick and Easy Meals-Part 1

I was asked to give a presentation to my ward Relief Society Sisters.  They wanted me to share ideas to keep meals simple and quick for busy women.  We all know how important eating dinner together.  But it can be hard to do someday's when you are all running to and fro.  I thought I would share with you the information I gathered.  I got a lot of recipes from friends and neighbors and compiled these in sections of:  Crock Pot,  Microwave, On the Stove,  Sandwiches, Frozen Meals, Salads, Casseroles, and Website Helps.  

If you have recipes that you use that are quick and easy please post them in comments.  Hope this helps keep your meals simple gets your family together!  

Part 1:

“Consider 5 fundamental practices that have the power to fortify our youth:  family prayer, family scripture study, family home evening, family dinner together, and regular one-on-one interviews with each child.  It takes courage and will power to avoid over scheduling so that your family can be home for dinner.”—Elder Larry R. Lawrence.

Tips in keeping meals simple-

• Plan ahead—try to make a meal plan for a month or week at a time and then check your plan the night before or morning of, will save headache later on-make a shopping list at the same time so you will have everything on hand when you need it
• In planning meals I like to alternate meats and this helps me plan.  Example:  Mon-Beef Tues-Chicken Wed-Pork Thur-Veggie  Friday-Fish  Sat.-Leftovers Sunday-Breakfast
• Food Storage—if you have items on hand that you use a lot; you won’t be running to the store a lot. 
• Use what you have to avoid waste and don’t be afraid of adapting a recipe to fit with what you have
• Make mixes of commonly used items
• Make multiple meals at once and freeze for another day

Crock Pot

Pork roast, 2 apples sliced, 1 onion sliced, 32 oz veggie broth, fresh rosemary chopped and 4 cloves garlic minced. Put everything in Crockpot, cook on low 8 hours high 4-6 hours....

Pulled pork in the Crockpot. One pork roast (have the butcher cut the fat off if you can), on jar of picante salsa, 1-2 cups brown sugar, I do about 1 1/4. Let it sit in crock on high all day, the longer it cooks the better it is. You can pull it apart about half way through. You can eat it on sandwich rolls or in tortillas or in salad.

Ribs in the Crockpot. Smother in bbq sauce, so tender after cooking all day!—Serve with baked potato or cook potatoes onions and carrots with it all day.

Carnitas in the crock pot. 1 pork shoulder roast, 1onion chopped, 4cloves garlic minced, 3/4 c water, 1/4 c brown sugar, 2tsp chili powder, 1 orange quartered, 1 lime quartered, 1/2 tap salt, 1/4 tap pepper. Put everything in the Crockpot for 6-8 hours on low. Shred and serve with tortillas, lettuce, cilantro, tomatoes, and limes

Beef Roast-Roast. 2 cans mushroom soup, 1 dry onion mix cook on low.

‎Pork Roast. 3 pound pork roast in crock pot with an envelope mushroom onion soup mix and a can of whole cranberries. Cook on low 5 to 8 hours. This is the best roast ever!

Chicken soft tacos. Just throw a few chicken breasts into the Crockpot, pour a jar of salsa over the top and let it cook on low all day (or on high if you only have a few hrs). Use it as the base for tacos, adding whatever other ingredients you enjoy. OR pour

BBQ chicken sandwiches.  Pour BBQ sauce over the chicken breasts, after putting them in the slow cooker. Serve on hamburger buns. 

Nature Scavenger Hunt

Going camping or going to be outdoors with kids?  I just love when it gets so hot to hit the mountains because it is cooler and so beautiful.  This idea is nothing new but every time we do it, we discover new and exiting things.  I made this easy and fun scavenger hunt to do with the family. You can make teams or do it as individuals.  I decided to just have everyone pick 10 things to do on the list and then come back to camp.  It's not a race--everyone who does 10 things wins a prize.  Here is the document I did today. It's not fancy or beautiful just plain and simple Overly Scavenger Hunt and here is one I found that we did two years ago.  Camping Treasure Hunt.  Use it, change it for your family needs.  Go hit the trails.  Here are some of the ideas on the list:

1. Find 4 pieces of human litter and put it in the trash or bring back to camp
2. Find a dandelion and bring it to show the group
3. Watch an animal eat
4. Listen to a bird sing
5. Listen to the water from a stream or creek for a few minutes without talking
6. Find an insect and write what it is called on the back of your paper
7. Feel the texture of three different kinds of trees
8. Feel the texture of three different kinds of rocks bring back your favorite to camp
9. Find an animal hole in the ground
10. Watch a butterfly or moth fly