Easy Chicken and Dumplings

Alright, so I haven't take the time to blog in a VERY, VERY, VERY long time. I have still be using my crock pot pretty frequently and I am always looking for new easy and cheap recipes.  I still have a budget for groceries. I now go to the Grocery store twice a month and I can feel the irritation emanating from the cashier when i put all by food on the conveyor belt. I feel compelled to always over share and tell them how much I loathe the grocery store, and that I wont be back for 2 weeks.

I have read some of the blogs that say 30 days of meals for $100 or dinner for $2.00 per night. Now Im pretty cheap, but Im not looking to eat rice and beans every night. My goal budget is to spend $100 per week. This includes breakfast, school lunches, and dinner for at least 6 nights per week. For a family of 3 this allows me to make some yummy meals throughout the week. Spring sports season is starting up and I always like to have my meals planned out for the next two weeks. This not only keeps us from eating out, but also helps my hubs get anything started before I get home from work.

When I found this recipe for chicken and dumplings and I knew that I wanted to try it! I live in the south and we call it "Dumplins". I grew up eating chicken n' dumplins as a kid. My aunts can whip up an awesome pot (shout out to Aunt Donna and Aunt Lisa) which is always available during the holidays. Well, Im not one for slaving away during the week making dough and cleaning up a big ol' mess. This meal took a less than 30 min to make so Im sure I will keep this one in the rotation for sure.

Ingredients:
2 cans of canned biscuits (I used Great Value butter milk biscuits 10ct. a pack of 4 was $1.78)
3 cooked chicken breasts cut or shredded (I boiled 3 frozen chicken breasts you get in a 3lbs bag for $7)
1 32oz chicken broth
1 can cream of chicken
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
Cut biscuits in quarters. Bring your chicken broth to a boil and add uncooked biscuit dough stirring frequently for 10-15 minutes. Reduce heat to low. Add cream of chicken and stir. Add cooked chicken and salt and pepper to taste.

And that's it... We added Brussels sprouts to the side and it was so darn good. There is always plenty left overs for my husband to take to lunch the next day, so that covers another meal.

One useful tip to make this cook faster is planning ahead. You can pre cook chicken breasts on Sunday or even buy a rotisserie chicken. Either way this meal is very easy to make and just as yummy to eat.

Homemade Ganola Bars

So i know that it has been a few months since my last post. I know I have been a super slacker, but this summer has been CRAZY! We bought a new home and moved, there has been T-ball games and practices, baby showers, birthday parties, and cook outs. Now that we are settled in and school will be starting soon (yay!) I hope to send out some new recipes to all those who care.
One thing that I love to prepare on Sundays are breakfasts for the week. My husband leaves the house around really early o'clock (im not sure when he leaves all I know is that it is still dark outside). And I am the type of person that has the absolute minute planned out as to when I get out of bed and still get to work on time. I have a grumpy kid who hates to get up in the morning so he usually wears his next days clothes to bed to save time in the morning. (Dont judge me) Yes, hitting snooze 2-3 times is worth it to me. I dont care about your data that says you do not get any more sleep by hitting the snooze button. Even so, we have getting up and out of the door in 20 minutes down to a science in my house. To avoid grabbing fast food or pop tart I have found and slightly tweaked a delicious home made granola bar recipe.

Disclaimer: If you have a peanut allergy I want to sincerely apologize that I have likely got you so excited about a yummy granola bar; however, this isn't for you unless you want to risk Anaphalaxis.


What you need:
1 jar of peanut butter (we are PB snobs and always have Jiff Natural)
1 12oz Honey
1 bag of Granola (I by Nature Valley oats and Honey but the Bear Naked brand is good too!)
1 3/4 cup of Protein powder (My husband always has protein powder so this time it is Chocolate Peanut butter, but you can pick different flavors too)











Directions:
Mix the honey and peanut butter together and microwave for 45-60 sec. Mix granola and protein powder together. Fold in the honey/peanut butter into the granola mixture. Press into a lightly greased pan and chill for 1 hour. You can cut the bars in the pan and it will make around 20-22 depending on how you cut it. We keep the bars in the fridge all week because if they get too warm they are a little crumbly.











Per MyFitnessPal 1 serving is
                      Cal     CHO     Fat    Protein    Na   Sugar

Per Serving:

369

34

21

17

153

20

The upfront cost for this is a little pricey seeing as though the protein powder will run you between $18-20, but it lasts for several recipes. The breakdown is about $0.50-0.75 per bar which is pretty cheap once you compare it to the Cliff Bars and Supreme Bars.

Hopefully I will get another post soon. Im currently planning a Minecraft birthday party for less than $100 and have some other budget friendly meals to share. 

Slow cooker Beef Rotini

One of my favorite go to meals is spaghetti. I love spaghetti as left overs and I love how easy on the budget spaghetti is. The only bad thing is that it can get old very quickly! I have tried it all different ways- baked spaghetti, spaghetti-spaghetti squash and it is all very good. In attempts to cook the tried and true but make it a little different I used rotini noodles.

Ingredients: Serves 4-6
1 can Hunts Spaghetti sauce (use whichever you prefer, but this is a good buy at $1 per can... Im not a sauce snob)
1 lbs of cooked ground beef
1 box of Barilla White Fiber Rotini (This is SOOO good and Kroger often has is on sale for $1, but you can use any brand that you prefer)
1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese

You obviously do not have to freeze this meal before you make it; however, I still prefer to have everything prepared before the week starts. I freeze the sauce and beef and defrost the night before. Since the meat is already cooked, you are merely warming the sauce. I cooked on high for 2 hours or you can do low for 4 hours and then set to warm. On the stove boil your pasta. I bought the Barilla White Fiber Rotini because #1: it was $1 per box and #2: the nutrition is very comparable to whole wheat pasta. Stir in the pasta and 1/2 cup cheese. Then you are ready to eat!

You can pair this meal with a side salad or garlic bread. Hope you enjoy this easy-budget friendly slow cooker meal! (The leftovers are the best part in my opinion).

Slow cooker Italian Chicken

I have come across several recipes called Italian Chicken, but this one is a little different that what you will typically find. My sister in law shared this recipe with me and is a big hit at our house. When I make my slow cooker menu I typically have both Italian Chicken and the Slow Cooker Roast recipe because they both take similar ingredients but have different tastes.

Ingredients: Serves 4-6
2-3 chicken breasts
2 packets of dry italian seasoning
1 jar of pepperoncinis

Sometimes I buy the bags of frozen chicken and add the frozen chicken breast to the slow cooker and then add the italian seasoning and full jar of pepperoncinis (juice and all). Or you can prepare it in a freezer bag ready to defrost when you need it.

Cook the chicken on high for 3-4 hours or low for 6-7 hours

Once the chicken is done remove and shred. I will also typically cut up a few peppers and add back to the slow cooker. Throw away any remaining peppers that you dont need.

This time we added the chicken to slider buns and topped with Siracha Cream sauce (see my recipe on the Siracha Taco Recipe) Slow Cooker Siracha Pork Tacos

This is defininatly a great recipe and easy to make. Let me know if you have tried this before and how you served it (on rice, or did you eat it straight from the slow cooker because it is so darn good!)

Slow cooker sweet pepper beef roast

This meal is a frequent visitor in my house. It is so delicious and so simple to make. We make this with beef roast; however, we have made it with pork as well. My favorite is beef but if one or the other is on sale then I will go with whichever is easier on the budget.

Ingredients:
2 lbs beef roast (i dont get a particular cut, whichever is on sale)
1 dry ranch dressing mix
1 dry italian dressing mix
2-3 small peppers (i buy a jar of pepperoncini)
1 stick of butter (i buy the vegetable spread- Blue Bonnet)

In your freezer bag place the roast, and the dry ranch, dry italian, and dry gravy mix and freeze (obviously). I defrosted the meat the night before and added the peppers and the stick of butter on top. DO NOT ADD ANY FLUID. Cook on low for 6 hours.

Typically I serve this on buns topped with mustard. The meat will shred in the slow cooker in a delicious gravy. I think it would be good with cole slaw on top too, or even on a baked potato. This usually does not last long in the house. My husband with go back several times and get more meat before he realizes that he is already stuffed.

On the night we made this meal, I had met a group of girls from church for Lifegroup. So my husband was in charge and he made steamed cabbage and broccoli to go with the beef roast. When I walked into the house it was the worst smell ever. (Dont ever cook cabbage and broccoli on the same night- trust me!)

I also usually make the beef roast when I make Italian Chicken because they both call for dry italian mix and pepperoncinis. Make for easier shopping trip! Check out the Italian Chicken post!

Slow cooker Meatloaf

Who does not love a big hot slice of meatloaf with a side of mashed potatoes? Well if you dont like meatloaf then you are CRAZY! To me, meatloaf is one of those comfort foods that is always what the doctor ordered. Now, if you have read any of my blogs, you know that I really am not a fan of cooking ground beef in the slow cooker. It all goes back to a stuffed pepper recipe that was HORRIBLE! The whole meal had to be thrown out. I think the thought of another ruined meal keeps me cooking the ground beef on the stove.

But, I am not above facing my fears. I tried a meatloaf recipe, and I liked it. (Read that sentence again like you are Katy Perry).

Ingredients:
1 small chopped onion (you can saute them if you are feeling froggy)
2 TBS tomato paste
1/3 c broth
2 tsp soy sauce
3 lbs ground beef
2 eggs
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 tsp Worestershire
1 cup Ketchup

Mix tomato paste, soy sauce, worestershire, broth, and onions. Combine onion mix with eggs, bread crumbs, and combine into meat. I added the loaf mixture to the freezer bag and stored it in the freezer.

We defrosted the meatloaf the night before and added it to the slow cooker before heading to church Sunday morning. Keep in mind when crock pottin' whatever is on the bottom will cook faster. I took aluminum foil and made 6 small balls. I then layered 2 sheets of foil and punched holes in the foil to allow the fat to drip down. I then sat the meatloaf in the slow cooker and added the ketchup. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. With most meatloaf recipes in the oven you add the ketchup the last 10-15 minutes that the loaf is cooking. You can really do either, I just like the ketchup to be nice and congealed. (That sounds gross, so I hope you know what I am talking about.)

Do you want to know the best part??? My 5 year old at the meatloaf. WHAT!!!! I know I was so excited it made me wish that I had hid some vegetables in it before cooking.

I of course made some instant taters and opened up a can or two of green beans.

There were plenty of leftovers for the next day, and our dog spicy even got a small taste. I may not have fully committed to cooking raw ground beef in my slow cooker, but meatloaf will clearly be the exception.

Hope you enjoy your meatloaf, and keep some leftovers for meatloaf sandwiches for lunch the next day.

Slow Cooker Siracha Pork Tacos

My husband and I LOVE spicy food. Recently Subway has had a Spicy Siracha Steak sub that has this creamy Siracha sauce on it, and it is SOOO good. (Yes, I do eat foods that are made outside of the crokpot!) Well it got me thinking that I would love to find a slow cooker recipe that centers around Siracha sauce. I decided to combine a korean pork taco recipe I had along with the Siracha sauce. I also found a recipe for Siracha cream sauce which can be made mild (pansy-mouth)- hot (Lips on Fire!).

The night that I made this recipe I was oh so grateful for that little slow cooker pot. It was a busy day at work, I pulled in the driveway at 5:20 pm to find my 5 year old running around outside, not ready for T-Ball practice that started in 10 min. I go inside to find my husband hobbling around due to a pulled muscle in his back (poor guy could not even put his shoes on). We arrived at T ball practice late (I don't like to be late, and if I am ever late... it is due to my husband- he has his own time zone). I got home just as my sister pulled in so that we could go to a children consignment sale. We stood in a line that resembled black Friday shopping and I got home around 9 pm. One thing that I did not do was eat fast food. Everyone had a delicious meal even though it was a crazy night.

Ingredients:
Pork:
2 lbs pork loin
4 TBS Soy Sauce
2 TBS Peanut butter (definitely optional!!)
1 TBS light Corn Syrup
1 TBS Red Wine Vinegar
1 TBS Minced Garlic
2 TBS Siracha Sauce
1 tsp EVOO

Taco filling:
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 bag shredded cabbage
corn tortillas

Sauce
1 1/2 TBS sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup Mayo
2-3 TBS Siracha Sauce (more or less depending on taste)

In my freezer bag I added all the "Pork Ingredients to" the pork loin. I defrosted the bag the night before and put it on low for 6 hours. Once the meat was done, my husband shredded the pork in the slow cooker. We then sauteed the shredded cabbage in 1/2 cup vegetable broth. This step is not necessary and can be skipped if you want crunchier cabbage.

Prepare the sauce by whisking together the Mayo, Siracha, and sweetened condensed milk. I warmed the corn tortillas on the stove and then made the tacos. Just layer with pork, cabbage, and the Siracha cream sauce. The pork is not spicy at all so you will be getting most spice from the cream sauce.

This meal was SO good!!! My husband said this can be on the menu anytime I wanted it! Since there is always alot of left overs another idea I had was to get the Asian Salad ready mix in the grocery and put the pork on top.

Hope you enjoy the recipe and let me know how hot you made your Siracha cream sauce!