What to do when ...

you don't really have all the right ingredients for taco night?

I have exactly 8 meals left to cook (counting tonight) before we depart for our big adventure in Ukraine! So, I am not buying any more food, other than what we need for breakfast and school snacks (the kids eat hot lunch at school). This means that I have to make do with whatever concoctions I can create at home ... and if you've known me for very long, or have been reading my blog, this is NOT my forte! :)Never being sure that your creation is going to work out is quite scary for a mom of 4 kids (soon to be 5, possibly 6)!
 
So, time for tacos, but I don't have lettuce, tomatoes, salsa, beans, etc. any of the normal things one would add to meat inside a tortilla to make a taco. But, leave it to me to try to create something worth eating!

1lb ground turkey
1lb ground beef
2 cups dry rice - make according to package directions (should make 3 cups when cooked)
Bell pepper (any color) *see note below


Seasoning:
1/4 cup taco seasoning (if using bulk or 1 packet)
1 tsp Mrs. Dash extra spicy 
1/4 cup freeze dried onions
1 TBSP freeze dried cilantro
Add to meat after cooking and add 1/2 cup water - simmer until water is absorbed

*Since I didn't have any fresh veggies or salsa, I added a package of chopped frozen green bell peppers. These had been on a special at the store and were $1/bag (10oz). I hate chopping things, so I stock up when these are on sale. They work great when I do a sweet and sour shrimp stir fry or for something like this as well, just to add some bulk and veggies to a meal. They also work well to add some bulk to any soup or chili dish.

I mixed everything together before putting it into tortillas and adding some Mexican blend cheese and sour cream (for those who wanted it).

Amanda said it was really yummy! :) I'll have left overs to each for my lunches for the next week . . . or maybe I'll serve it again tomorrow night so that's one less meal I have to cook . . . hmmmm :)

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I'm so PROUD of Myself!

For those who know me, I'm a "HOT MESS" in the kitchen! I can't do anything homemade and if it requires me to follow a recipe that has more than about 6 things to measure then I'm telling you it AIN'T GONNA HAPPEN!

So, I don't know what came over me tonight, but I decided that the stash of almost over-ripe tomatoes from our weekend garden picking needed to be used and guess what I was making ... spaghetti! :) We'd just gotten back from a busy day of dr appointments followed by meeting some friends at the pool, so again I'm not sure what came over me to try something new and possibly complicated. I didn't think I had time to look up a recipe, so I just decided to wing it!

~10 small to medium Roma tomatoes (from our garden) - blended or put into a food processor
26oz jar crushed tomatoes (Costoc) side note: I seriously use these for just about anything that requires pasta sauce or soup base
1 TBS crushed garlic
2 TBS sugar (I use raw organic, but regular sugar is probably just fine)
2 TBS dried parsley
1 tps dried oregano
1 tps dried basil
1 tps dried cilantro
sprinkle of crushed red peppers (if desired to add some spice)
salt & pepper as desired
1/4 cup dried chopped onions
add cooked, crumbled ground beef or ground turkey if desired
Serve over pasta of your choice! :)

Getting Started Again ... Brunch Dish made with leftovers

Well, the summer is nearly over and our visitors from Ukraine have returned to their country. We had very few meals at home during the month of July due to travel, vacations, and just being out and about instead of being at home. There are only 3 weeks until school starts, so it's time to get started again on the home cooking meals to feed a larger than "average" family on a budget, while saving money for an upcoming (hopefully) trip overseas! :) 

I will also post my August menu planner (see sidebar). With so much food stocked up that we didn't use in July, it looks like I won't need to purchase much in August for main dish ingredients. So, I took inventory of my three fridge/freezers and wrote down everything I had and then sat down to the calendar. What I have a lot of is whole wheat pasta and sauce, so we will be having some type of pasta dish twice a week during August. In order to make this work for me, I have to keep it to simple recipes that I know I can fix and every now and then pick something new that works with the ingredients I have on hand.

This morning I searched the internet for a low-carb breakfast idea for eggs/ham (using left over ham) and found one that didn't use bread or potatoes. SIDE NOTE: I need to loose 15lbs (minimum) before travel time and the only way I know how to do that is with low-carb meals.* On top of this one being low carb, it meets my requirements of less then 6 ingredients and other than chopping ham takes less than 20 minutes to put together. Ashley even helped out.

BREAKFAST BAKED HAM & EGGS
1 lb. ham, cubed 2 c. milk 1 tsp. salt 1 c. grated cheddar cheese 6 eggs, slightly beaten Mix together well and pour into 9 x 13 inch pan. Cover and refrigerate overnight. Bake uncovered 50-60 minutes at 350 degrees.

*note on low carb eating ... I have a stock pile of frozen chicken breasts from Costco so on nights that I fix a pasta dish for the family I will eat that instead.