While they aren't really sushi it's a fun thing to make for the kids and I'm going to be experimenting with the different ways to make the rolls. For today I made 2 kinds: turkey and cheese, then roasted red pepper hummus and veggies! I've seen several ways to make the rolls, you can use rice, tortillas (and make little mini wraps), or bread. I choose bread for this time around but I think Spinach wraps would've been better. I rolled out my bread (crust removed) to flatten it, added my ingredients, rolled it, and cut it! Simple and my boys thought they were way cool!
I have had some requests for kid friendly food recipes. I finally had some good ideas and a decent way to execute it! Today, some friends and I had a "Kid Creative Food Picnic". I decided this would be a cool idea to make my "Kid Friendly Sushi Rolls". While they aren't really sushi it's a fun thing to make for the kids and I'm going to be experimenting with the different ways to make the rolls. For today I made 2 kinds: turkey and cheese, then roasted red pepper hummus and veggies! I've seen several ways to make the rolls, you can use rice, tortillas (and make little mini wraps), or bread. I choose bread for this time around but I think Spinach wraps would've been better. I rolled out my bread (crust removed) to flatten it, added my ingredients, rolled it, and cut it! Simple and my boys thought they were way cool! We also made fruit kabobs!! Don't have skewers? Did you know that for fruit kabobs you can use dry spaghetti noodles? That's what we did! The ones I have pictured I made at home but for our picnic we also had apples, strawberries, and cheese cubes! They were great! The kids had a blast! We also had awesome ranch oyster crackers, a banana pineapple cream pie, and assorted chips! The kiddos had a blast together and the food was a hit! Thanks to Kalyn for bringing her camera and taking these great shots of our picnic! Kalyn Collaborations!! :)
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Because it's sinfully good. Very punny I know. Okay, I get these pretty nasty chocolate cravings, to the point where I could like 7 heresy bars in a sitting cravings. It's ugly, also this recipe- only feeds the demon. When I get one of these delightful cravings, I don't want it to take forever to get my fix. I'm also a cookie addict. Shameless. However store bought cookies don't really do it for me. Until I discovered something, now I'm sure it's been done before me- but this little trick I discovered on my own. Store bought pre-made dough (preferably in the little bricks and honestly the Pillsbury dough is really sticky, the cheap cheap stuff from ALDI works great). A jar of peanut butter and a jar or hazel nut spread. Oh yeah. I use two cookie "bricks" and on one cookie spread peanut butter and the other spread hazel nut- I then smash them together into a beautiful morphing of sweet goodness. Repeat and bake as per instructions. The butter's make them super super moist and soft, not always pretty, but I will probably never bake cookies any other way again. If I want more cookies, sometimes I'll just spread the butter over the top (for this I usually just use hazel nut) and bake, it has the same effect as far as moist/softness. Vastly improves store bought cookies. Prepare to let go of your diet. These are amazing. I'm thinking of experimenting with these in muffin tins and "cookie bar" style as well. We'll see. I think it will be good! Also, I regret that I lack a picture for this blog, however I have one that is very similar below. I'll get my experiments posted soon! Image credit: http://www.purplehousecafe.com/2013/03/08/nutella-stuffed-brown-butter-sea-salt-cookies/
Hear that a lot too? Chicken is an easy pleaser but it gets boring after a while. This chicken bake is great, and it's quick and easy!!!! I started with frozen chicken and boiled it. I didn't boil them totally cooked, it made them soft and workable- I just hate raw chicken. So, Then I put it in my caserole dish and make a slit in the middle of the chicken breast. Then I put mild cheddar cheese in the middle and topped it with parmesan. On top of that i put in a breading of italian bread crumbs, with Nature's own seasoning, Greek Seasoning, Garlic powder, Paprika, onion powder, and some pepper. Then I place this on top and bake it at 350 degrees. When it's done it should come out of the oven looking like this. I'm one of those terrible cooks who doesn't time things. I know it's done by how it smells. I served this with a lovely green salad and mac and cheese. Which we're going to talk about in a minute. Can we talk about mac and cheese for a moment. There is a right way and wrong way to do mac and cheese. If you do it wrong- honestly, you're family doesn't love you as much as they could...
First- boil it with milk and water. Second- add a fair amount of butter or butter subsitute. Third- and this really the most important part- add shredded cheese. Simple and wonderful- extra cheese. I love stir fry! I just do, I've always loved vegetables and this is one of the first meals I ever learned to cook. I learned this dish when I was about 10. I've put differnt spins on it but this is a tried and true favorite! Start with your meat, here I used turkey keilbasa, I think it has the best flavor. I've used sausage, chicken, and shrimp too.
This you can just throw right in, other meats need to brown or boil first. Then I pop in packages of frozen vegetables. Yes, fresh is always better but I don't always have the time to chop and cook all my fresh stuff. I add a tablespoon of oil and cover- stirring continually. You'll know it's down your larger veggies are softer (not mushy, you still want them firm.) Then you need a carb or starch. I do either rice or pasta. Today I boiled pasta. Once my pasta was cooked I added a touch of olive oil and garlic to the noddled. Then put my veggies over it! Spices I add: this is the crucial part. I like garlic zeesty stir fry, not orientail stir fry. I use garlic, basil, oregano, morton's all purpose, and Greek seasoning. Italian seasoning is another good one to add and if I want it to kick, I add cajun when i brown my meat. (Sometimes I'll do this over rice. When over rice I start by boiling chicken (or browning saucage both work for this) and then sauteing it with shrimp in butter garlic and cajun makes this super awesome!!! Then I stir fry the veggies in and put it all together. Tons of flavor. This version is milder. Personally, I don't like packaged noodle mixes. They're high in salt and not the best quality. However, sometimes, you need to use them. SO, here's house I cut out the salt content, boost the flavor and make them something quick and tastey. Here's what we start with, packaged Fettuccine alfredo (yes, it's a blashphemy but sometimes the budget calls for it), frozen shrimp, and some Parmesan. All these brands are Aldi brand foods. I make this to feed about 6 to 7 people. So I take 4 packages of the blasphemy, with extra water and bring to a boil with Garlic, Oregano, Parsley, and no-salt greek seasoning, lemon and pepper is good too. Thaw shrimp in water and remove tails. The pasta should cook quickly- I add the excess water becaue it dilutes the satl content. Once my pasta is tender, I take the excess water and add it to my saute pan. Once Pasta is about tender, add a package of frozen peasand parmesan cheese (I add a decent amount- it does raise the fat content) and put on simmer . It should look a little something like this. Next step is the shrimp: You've placed your excess water in your Saute pan. Now place your thawed shrimp in with 2 to 3 tablespoons of butter (because I always add too much butter. Saute your shrimp in your sauce and butter, adding some further garlic, oregano, (or Italian seasoning), parsley, and no-salt greek. Your shrimp will curl tight as they cook. Using a slotted spoon like this: take shrimp and place into alfredo and peas. You can add some of the butter-sauce- but too much will make your dish soupy. Like this!!! Once you've put all your shrimp it (or you can save to put on top- i like to mix mine in)- stir together and serve!! You can add a little parsley and ground black pepper to garnish!
ENJOY! Everyone has a couple meals thay are complete comfort foods. This is one of mine. This isn't a quick meal but it's a favorite. Meatloaf, cheesy mashed potatoes, green beans, and melon. It's a yummy in my tummy meals that's always a favorite. Let's start with the meatloaf. You will need.
2lbs 85% lean ground beef. 1 to 1.5 cups italian Bread crumbs (or crushed croutons) 2 Large Eggs 1/4 cup brown sugar Garlic Powder 3 Teaspoons Onion Powder 3 Teaspoons Cavendars Greek Seasoning 5 Teaspoons Mortons Nature's Own Seasoning Optional 2 Teaspoons Ketchup (Or tomatoe sauce but I think ketchup tastes richer) Hickory Smoke BBQ sauce Worcestershire Sauce Mix meat, eggs, bread crumbs, and spices in large bowl- consistency should be as stuck together not crumbly. Place into caserole dish- size depending on desired thickness. Over meat then put on Worcestershire sauces first, then Ketchup and BBQ sauce. Mix and layer over top evenly. Enough to evenly cover top. Bake 375-400 for 45 mins or longer depending on pan size *For another tastey twist, I like to chop green bell pepper and fresh onion into my meatloaf, just make sure your meatloaf is bound well so it won't fall apart around the vegetables. Cheese Potatoes: Russet Potatoes (I usually do 1 medium potato per person) 1/2 to 1 stick of butter 1 large table spoon Sour cream 2 cups mild shredded cheddar cheese (add more if you like it really cheesey) Wash, Peel and Boil Potatoes melt in butter and sour cream then add shredded cheese and mix. I like to add some greek and mortons' seasoning to this too and freshly ground black pepper. COST: MeatLoaf: (Feeding 8 people) 2lbs 85% lean ground beef –(HyVee Grocery) 2.48 per pound (sale item) Italian bread crumbs- Progresso Brand- (Walmart ) 1.78 1 dozen eggs- prices vary- (Walmart) Aprox. 2.00 Domino Brown Sugar- (Walmart) 1.39 Heinz Tomato Ketchup (Walmart) 2.48 Kraft BBQ Sauce- (Walmart) 2.47 Lee and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce- (Walmart) 3.36 Cavender’s Greek Seasoning 4.95 =20.91 Expensive, yes. (Aldi stores have comparable items to all ingredients save the Greek Seasoning-lowering cost. Also note, if you have these already in your fridge, or budget them into your grocery budget, this meal cost goes way down. Secondly, all ingredients save your ground beef can be used in other meals. Splitting the cost of this meal, by whatever other meals you make). Cheesy Potatoes: (Feeding 8 people) 10 lbs bag Russet Potatoes: (AldI) Approx. 4.00 1 container Sour Cream- (Walmart) 1.78 1lbs butter: (Walmart) Aprox. 3.50 1 bag 4 cups Mild cheddar Shredded cheese (Walmart) Approx 5.00 =14.28 Expensive, yes. Once again, you can use these ingredients for other meals as well. I aldo had a bag of green beans (1.25) and some fruit to complete my meal. How does your family eat?
We live on a budget, a tight one. I feed my family, on less than 400 a month for food. This means finding more than just a weekly sale. Costs vary upon region as well as the markets and stores. We live in the rural Midwest. We shop for the majority of our foods at ALDI stores. Our ALDI is clean and incredible affordable. Yes, you bag your own groceries and need a quarter for a cart, but the bang for your buck makes it worthwhile. It’s more than just finding the cheap store however. Meal planning, knowing your needs, staples, and luxuries, keeps food cost low. We don’t waste a lot (and we don’t eat a lot of leftovers either). Bi-weekly I plan the meals for the next two weeks and then I plan our shopping list accordingly. I take into account what we already have along with what we love to eat. I price items and fit the total cost according to the allotted budget for that trip. Surprisingly, this takes very little time. I’m a list-maker; I take a shopping list for every trip. A little planning ahead goes a long way to saving money. As this blog expands, I’ll share the total cost for each meal. I’ve fed my family dinner on less than ten dollars. |
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