Bountiful Baskets and Menu for March 3rd through 9th

As you can see, this week's basket was pretty awesome. There is some new foods for us to try, but mostly just favorites that we have often. As you can see we got a pineapple, a cantalope, 8 bananas, 6 Kiwis, 6 bananas, 3 yellow mangos (if you haven't had these before, you have to wait until they are wrinkled to eat. They look bad, but it is good), 3 bell peppers, 5 Anaheim peppers, some brussel sprouts, 3 english cucumbers, broccoli, butter lettuce (still living.. with roots on it), and Yukon Gold potatoes.

From all that perfect produce, I came up with a great menu for suppers this week. I will bold the recipes that I plan on posting!

Saturday: Tuna Casserole and Green Beans (fail, we ate out)
Sunday: Turkey Steaks, Cheesy Mashed potatoes (left over russets), and left over salad
Monday: Cheesy potatoes and ham (left over frozen potatoes made to hashbrowns) tossed salad
Tuesday: Chicken burritos (black beans, chicken, onion, lettuce, peppers), Spanish rice
Wednesday: Lettuce wraps and Chow mein
Thursday: Lasagna and green salad
Friday: Roasted red potatoes and oven roasted whole chicken with applewood rub

A sweetly savory treat for lunch!!

Sometimes the kids want to have something special for lunch.. and I don't blame them. Well, I have been wanting to have some sweet potatoes recently, and I just really enjoy them roasted in the oven. A couple day care kids and I went off to Walmart to see what special treats we could find, and this is what came to mind for me. Also, I had been eyeing some strawberries that were on "Rollback".  

Here is what I did to create our yummy sweet taters:

 Step 1 (pictured above): Peel and dice those suckers. I think mine are in 1 inch peices.. maybe some smaller some bigger because I am not a professional chef....

Step 2: Take your ingredients, pictured above, and toss them all together on a sheet pan. I use about 2 TBLS of oil for 2 sweet potatoes, then salt and pepper to taste. If you like yours sweet, this is where you could add some cinnamon, nutmeg etc.

Step 3: bake the potatoes at 425 until you are happy with the tenderness. This batch took 20 minutes. I have had it take up to 40.. just watch them.

Pair with a little cheese melt and some strawberries and you have a delicious and healthy lunch.. YUM! The kids ate their lunch all up with no complaints, in case you wondered how it went over.

Hey all! I know that it has been so long since I have posted and I am working on some great up and coming healthy eating posts for you as soon as I take my state Property and Casulty Insurance exam this weekend. Until then, I want to share with you my new found love that I refer to as produce Christmas... Bountiful Baskets. Please check them out and see if there is a location near you! It has saved us tons of money in the long run. Check out the last few baskets that I have received:

Burrito filling

When our family has tacos/burritos, we don't use the old fashioned taco seasoned beef..we make this delicious and easy recipe handed down from Trevor's mom.

What you need:
1 lb ground beef
1 can chili (whatever kind you like)
2 or 3 TBLS bbq sauce (again whatever kind you like is fine)

You start by browning the beef, like this:


After the beef is browned, drain the fat off. Return it to the pan and add the chili and the bbq sauce, like this:

Mix it all together and heat through. It will look like this:


Just put on a soft tortilla with your favorite taco fixings! MMMM...

Taco Salad..sorry no pics :(

Tonight we had one of Trevor's most favorite meals! Taco salad is pretty easy and delish!

First you make the meat. Here is what you will need:
1 lb ground meat
1/2 C salsa
the juice of 1 lime

Brown the meat and drain it if needed. After draining, add salsa and the lime juice, then let it heat through. YOU DID IT!

Here is the construction order of the PERFECT salad:

Take a pretty good handful of Nacho Cheese Doritos and crush them up on your plate. Take some salad, today I diced up some iceberg lettuce and added tomatoes, but you can used bagged no problems, and top the chips with it. Add a sprinkling of the meat, a bit of shredded cheese, Hidden Valley Ranch, and a bit of salsa.

There you have it. A delicious and healthy meal in minutes! I will post pictures next time we have it, I swear!

Sweedish Meatballs

To make these meatballs, I followed this recipe:

1 egg
1/2 c dehydrated onion
1 1/2 lbs. ground beef
1/2 c. milk
Salt
1 TBLS grill seasoning
1 c. oatmeal
1 can mushroom soup

Mix all ingredients except the soup together, form into balls (smaller balls are best), brown on both sides in butter. Place in crock pot. Put in soup and 1 can water. Simmer in crock pot for 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Serves 8.

Andruw and Caity loved rolling the meatballs:


I browned them off in a frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil before throwing them in the crock pot


Serve over rice. I used brown because that is what I had!

Creative cooking on a budget

So, about a week ago, my friend Jennifer G. moved into her own place. The situation being what it was, she didn't have a pan or money to buy one until she gets paid again. She was just sooo sick of eating foods that can be cooked in the microwave, and she really craving a grilled cheese sandwich. She asked me if I thought that tin foil would work. Since she has an electric stove, I thought that it would be a good plan, and encouraged her to try it. Here is what she did:

Place tinfoil over a unit with the heat on medium. Butter the bread on the outsides and put a slice of cheese on the inside. Place the buttered surface on the hot tin foil and let cook until golden:

Turn the sandwich and let cook on the other side as well. It may not be perfect, but it is a creative way to cook when you don't have a pan....moving day perhaps?