Thursday, May 27, 2010

"Re Fried" Beans in the Slow Cooker


I've been wanting to try and make my own re fried beans for some time now. I found a recipe that I thought would be simple and since it received great reviews, I decided to give it a try. They were so good! Everyone loved them! This recipe makes enough to freeze some for later use.
Recipe courtesy of AllRecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 onion, peeled and halved
3 cups dry pinto beans, rinsed
1/2 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and
chopped
2 tablespoons minced garlic
5 teaspoons salt
1 3/4 teaspoons fresh ground black
pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin, optional
9 cups water
Directions:
1. Place the onion, rinsed beans, jalapeno, garlic, salt, pepper, and cumin into a slow cooker. Pour in the water and stir to combine. Cook on High for 8 hours, adding more water as needed. Note: if more than 1 cup of water has evaporated during cooking, then the temperature is too high.
2. Once the beans have cooked, strain them, and reserve the liquid. Mash the beans with a potato masher, adding the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency.
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Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Freezing Meals

Since some of the meals I post are meals that can be made and frozen for later use, I thought I'd explain how to do just that. One of the recipes I made to freeze ahead was the Tex-Mex Lasagna. I made one for that night, to eat, and 2 to freeze. To freeze a meal, I line an 8X8 pan(cheap aluminum one from the dollar store) with a long piece of foil. I spray the foil with cooking spray. Then I assemble the meal( in this case the lasagna) as directed(this recipe does not get cooked before freezing it). Next I lay a piece of cling wrap on the top of the lasagna, then fold over the long ends of the foil and pinch the open ends closed. I then put the pans in the freezer and let them firm up for at least a few hours. Once frozen you can remove the lasagna while in the foil, from the pan, and put it into a ziploc bag. I remove them from the pans so that I can use the pans again to make additional meals. Once you're ready to cook the meal. Put it back in the pan(while still in the foil), remove the cling wrap and bake. You will need to add more time to the baking time if you do not thaw the meal first.
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Tuesday, May 25, 2010

Tex-Mex Lasagna

















This week was my pick for our facebook group's ROTW. I decided to go with a recipe I found for Tex-Mex Lasagna. It was really good and my whole  family liked it! I did make a few changes which are shown in bold. I made one lasagna for our dinner tonight and 2 additional lasagna's in an 8X8 pan for later use. I'm trying to make more meals that can be put in the freezer. I'll explain how you can make freezer meals later this week! It cost me about $7.00 to make 3 small lasagnas, which feeds our family of 4. Add a side of beans and that's only about $3.00 a meal!

Ingredients

  • 1  pound  lean ground beef
  • 1  cup  frozen diced onion, red and green bell pepper, and celery(I chopped 1/2 cup fresh onion, and omitted the peppers and celery)
  • 3  garlic cloves, minced
  • 1  tablespoon  chili powder
  • 1  teaspoon  salt-free chipotle seasoning blend(I didn't have this on  hand. I sprinkled some garlic powder, onion powder, cumin, salt and pepper)
  • 1  (24-oz.) jar mild salsa( I used hot salsa. It was HOT, but yummy)
  • 1  (15-oz.) can dark red kidney beans, drained(I used a can of seasoned black beans)
  • 1  (10-oz.) can enchilada sauce
  • 1  (10-oz.) package frozen whole kernel corn, thawed(I used 1 can of ranch beans, since I knew my family would rather not have corn in it)
  • 16  (6-inch) fajita-size corn tortillas(I cut these into 1 inch pieces to make it easier to layer)
  • 4  cups  (16 oz.) shredded Mexican four-cheese blend
  • Toppings: sour cream, chopped tomatoes

Preparation

1. Cook first 5 ingredients in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, stirring often, 10 to 12 minutes or until vegetables are tender and beef crumbles and is no longer pink.
2. Stir in salsa and next 3 ingredients. Cook 5 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated.
3. Layer 1 cup beef mixture, 2 tortillas (overlapping edges), and 1/2 cup cheese in a lightly greased 7- x 5- x 1 1/2-inch baking dish. Repeat layers once. Repeat procedure with 3 additional 7- x 5- x 1 1/2-inch baking dishes. Cover dishes with nonstick aluminum foil.
4. Bake, covered, at 350° for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 5 more minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Serve with desired toppings.
Note: To use a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish, prepare recipe through Step 2. Omit 4 corn tortillas. Layer one-third beef mixture, 6 tortillas (overlapping edges), and 2 cups cheese. Repeat layers with one-third beef mixture, remaining 6 tortillas, remaining beef mixture, and ending with remaining 2 cups cheese. Bake, covered, at 350° for 40 minutes; uncover and bake 10 more minutes or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Recipe courtesy of MyRecipes.com


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Monday, May 17, 2010

Freezing Cookies

 I love homemade cookies, but they start to lose their appeal quickly as they sit in a cookie jar, dry out, and crumble. The solution...freeze your cookies. Whenever I make cookies, I let them cool, put them into quart size freezer bags, and stack them in the freezer . When we're ready for another bag of cookies, I just take a bag out of the freezer and let the cookies thaw out on the counter. Pin It

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Meal Plan Monday

Here's my meal plan for this week AND next week! I know it's late...I've been way too LAZY lately! I decided to make a plan for 2 weeks to help save some time and money. Time, because some of the things I make this week can be frozen for next week. Money, because I think making double of one dinner is sometimes cheaper than making 2 completely different dinners. Less waste.Personally I don't think making a meal plan for 2 weeks is that much more work than making a plan for one week. Most of the second week is duplicates.

Tuesday: Chili in the crockpot and corn bread(I'm making a double batch of Chili and freezing half)
Wednesday: Cinco De Mayo party-I'm bringing a layered bean dip and chips
Thursday: Chicken and tortellini salad(new recipe) and garlic bread
Friday: Meatball sandwiches, green salad and mozzarella sticks(I'll freeze half of the meatballs for next week)
Saturday: Chicken cacciatore(new recipe) and garlic bread(I'll freeze half of cacciatore for next week)
Sunday: Out to dinner for Mother's Day
Monday: Chicken fajitas
Tuesday: Chili that was frozen from previous week and cornbread
Wednesday: Beef and broccoli stir fry and rice
Thursday: Chicken tortellini salad and garlic bread
Friday: Meatball sandwiches, green salad and mozzarella sticks
Saturday: Chicken cacciatore and garlic bread
Sunday: Chicken fajitas

Check out other great meal plan ideas at I'm an Organizing Junkie! Pin It

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