Rice Pudding

Jack really likes rice pudding. I decided to do something nice for him so made it. :) Used recipe found here.

• 3/4 cup uncooked white rice
• 2 cups milk, divided
• 1/3 cup white sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 2/3 cup golden raisins
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil. Add rice and stir. Reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes.
2. In another saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and salt. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg and raisins. Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla. Serve warm.

Pretty simple. I omitted the raisins. Served it cold. And Jack liked it. :)

5 Minute Meals

These don't fall under the meatless category, but they are still super quick to make so don't get their own posts either. So that they don't get ignored by labels, here they are!

Fajitas - Cook your chicken or beef with some fajita seasoning and mix in some peppers and onions. Serve on a tortilla. That simple.

Meatball Sandwich- I love Costco meatballs and they can be used for quick fixes so easily! If no time to cook, throw in the microwave and serve on a hot dog bun with some spaghetti sauce and cheese. Wa-lah!

Hamburgers - We all have frozen hamburger patties in our freezer. Throw a couple on your foreman and you're done in a few minutes.

Chicken Salad Sandwiches- Love Costco's canned chicken for quick meals. Mix it with mayo, celery, onion and serve on bread, rolls, or canned crescents!

Ribs - throw some in the crockpot with BBQ sauce (okay, okay. They don't take 5 minutes to cook, but only 5 minutes to prepare!)

Meatless and/or 5 Minute Meals

I'm getting around to tagging my recipes, but when I list my dinners for the month, I don't always include every one in it's own separate post if recipes are simple. Meatless is usually my 5 minute I don't feel like actually cooking meals. So if you're looking for those, you won't be able to see them if they aren't tagged in their individual posts. So... here is my list-

Sweet and Sour Rice w/ Veggies - basic recipe, leave out your chicken or meatballs

Tostadas-shell with refried beans, lettuce, cheese, tomatoes, etc

Spaghetti - pasta and red sauce

Pasta Alfredo - pasta and white sauce (use the packet when I don't feel like making it)

Baked Potatoes - I grew up on baked potatoes as a meal with some green beans or corn. Jack thinks he needs chili or sour cream and cheese on top. Whatever. It's still a very cheap meal however you do it.

Fish Sticks & Fries - no explanation really needed :)

Mac and Cheese - Kid Dinner if I'm not really hungry

Tuna Melts or Grilled Cheese - really, any kind of sandwich can do if it's one of those days

Pancakes -I usually like spam and toast with it if I'm doing it for dinner

French Toast, Omelets, lots of breakfasts are meatless so go with that!

My fake meatless foods-

(They actually have meat, but I still consider them cheap [which is why I mainly do meatless] if they're fake meats :)

french bread pizza - I usually put our lunch meat (ham) and pineapple on it. Of course, you can always make any pizza vegetarian style

Chicken Sandwiches - you know, the cheap patties on a hamburger bun. Toppings are endless, seriously so many varieties you can make!

Chicken Strips & Pasta-roni

hot dogs

chili dogs

pigs in a blanket

Baked Pork Chops w/ sauce

This was Jack's birthday dinner. He loves these and they are a great company-serving meal. I adapted the recipe found here - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-pork-chops-i/detail.aspx

• 6 pork chops
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon seasoning salt
• 2 egg, beaten
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups Italian-style seasoned bread crumbs
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/3 cup chicken broth

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Rinse pork chops, pat dry, and season with garlic powder and seasoning salt to taste. Place the beaten eggs in a small bowl. Dredge the pork chops lightly in flour, dip in the egg, and coat liberally with bread crumbs.
3. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Fry the pork chops 5 minutes per side, or until the breading appears well browned and very crispy. Transfer the chops to a 9x13 inch baking dish, and cover with foil.
4. Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. While baking, combine the cream of mushroom soup, milk and white wine in a medium bowl. After the pork chops have baked for 45 minutes, cover them with the soup mixture. Replace foil, and bake for another 20 minutes.

These really are delicious. I didn't have bread crumbs so substituted some crushed croutons and Ritz. I wish I would have snapped my own picture after I cooked them with the sauce because it looks just as good as it tastes (and I'm usually not a pretty food person), but I did take one while frying them. I ended up making 8 pork chops and doubled the sauce. Enjoy!

Taco Salad

Simple, fast, cheap meatless meal!

lettuce

black beans

corn

taco seasoning

cheese

salsa

corn chips

french dressing OR ranch dressing

Mix together, enjoy! :)

Tortellini Caesar Salad

I first had this several years ago and it's my go-to to impress whenever a salad is needed. :) I was hosting a play date lunch and used the leftovers for dinner with some yummy bread!

1 package of (9 ounces) frozen cheese tortellini
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup plus 1/3 cup shredded parmesan cheese,
divided
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups torn romaine
1 cup seasoned croutons
halve cherry tomatoes, optional

cook tortellini according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a samll bowl, combine the mayo, milk, 1/4 cup parmesan cheese, lemonjuice and garlic; mix well. Drain tortellini and rinse in cold water; place in a large bowl. Add the romaine parmesan. Just before serving, drizzle with dressing and toss to coat. Top with croutons and tomatoes if desired.

And I love my garlic so usually put 5-6 garlic cloves instead, YUM!

Shake and Bake Chicken

I really liked this! I used the recipe here - http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/easy-shake-and-bake-chicken/detail.aspx

adding slight alteration using recipe found here - http://www.kraftrecipes.com/recipes/shake-n-bake-spicy-74651.aspx

• chicken breasts
• 1/4 cup BBQ sauce*
• 1/2 Tbsp mustard*
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon paprika
• 1/4 teaspoon sage
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup butter

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C).
2. Mix together BBQ sauce and mustard. Lightly brush the chicken breasts. *came from 2nd recipe
3. Mix flour, salt, paprika, sage and pepper together in a bag. Add chicken in a bag and shake until well coated.
4. Melt butter/margarine in a 9x13 inch baking dish in the preheated oven. Place chicken in the baking dish skin side down and bake for 20 minutes. Turn pieces and bake another 20 minutes until tender and juices run clear.

Shake and Bake Potatoes

These were good, but not amazing. Probably won't make again. I'm looking to duplicate some I loved when I was younger. I may try adding some flour next time to make them more breaded. Anyway, I found recipe here - http://www.food.com/recipe/shake-and-bake-potatoes-13244

• 8 -10 small red potatoes, washed and cut into cubes
• paprika
• cumin
• dried basil
• dried oregano
• garlic powder
• ground cayenne pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil or 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt
• fresh ground pepper

Directions:

1. 1
   Mix the spices in a plastic bag, add the oil.
2. 2
   Place the potatoes in the bag and shake to coat.
3. 3
   Spray an aluminum foil covered baking sheet with "Pam".
4. 4
   Place potatoes on baking sheet.
5. 5
   Bake in a preheated 350°F oven for one hour.
   
   
   

Biscuit Pizzas

I was surprised how yummy these are. Biscuits can be bought for like 3 for $1, sometimes even .25 so this is great without spending too much money when you do not feel like making dough and doing the whole sha-bang.

can of biscuits

spaghetti sauce

cheese

add any toppings you like

Spread the biscuits to thin circles, top with sauce and cheese and bake for 10 minutes. That's it!

September Dinners

1- tostadas

2- biscuit pizzas

3- Albertsons pizza

4- shake and bake chicken and potatoes

5- hamburgers

6- toquerville.chicken alfedo

7- pancakes, bacon and eggs

8- tortellini caesar salad

9- birthday date - under $5 eating out

10- taco salad

11- pork chops

12- leftovers

13-mexican rice and bean quesadillas

14-frozen chicken pot pies

15-black bean salad

16-mexican rice and bean casserole

17- cheddar broccoli soup

I fell off the bandwagon and forgot to keep up with what we were eating... Somewhere in there we fed sister missionaries so I made the tortellini caesar salad again, sloppy joes one night, sesame noodles another, pastrami sandwiches... Then I was out of town the last week of September, so just check back for October's menu :)