Angie Gets Organized

This is why I'm trying to get organized...for my family. I am a strong believer in family meal time, but I know that without a little planning, it will be hard to keep us all together. It will also be easier to spend money foolishly on prepared foods or fast food. I love trying out new recipes, so this is my site to pass on recipes, while also organizing them into a meal plan. I hope it helps you to keep your family together. I would love to hear what others are having for dinner, or see a new recipe or two! Feel free to leave me some feedback in the comments section...at least then I would know someone is reading this!

It's not gourmet...just good food!







Thursday, March 31, 2011

Saucy Italian Orzo

Saucy Italian Orzo (from Simple and Delicious magazine) 6 servings This recipe looks sooo good in the picture! 1 lb. ground beef 1 large onion, chopped (I probably won't use this much) 3 cloves garlic, minced 2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes with basil, oregano and garlic 1 (14 oz) can beef broth 1 (6 oz) can tomato paste 3/4 c. uncooked orzo pasta (this is the little pasta that looks like rice) 1 tsp. Italian seasoning 2 c. fresh baby spinach (I don't think I'll be able to sneak this one past my husband, but I can usually sneak in some minced frozen spinach. I keep a box of it in my freezer, and just slice off some when needed in recipes. He usually just assumes it is parsley, and I don't tell him any different! :) ) 1. Cook the beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat in a large dutch oven. Crumble and cook until no longer pink. Drain grease. 2. Stir in remainder of ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15-20 min. or until orzo is tender. Add spinach; cook and stir until spinach is wilted.

Beef and Potato Hash

Beef and Potato Hash (a crockpot recipe from "The Busy Mom's Slow Cooker Cookbook") 1 lb. ground beef 3/4 tsp. onion powder 1/2 tsp. garlic powder 3 1/2 c. frozen potatoes O'Brien 2 8 oz. cans tomato sauce with roasted garlic 1 14 oz. can diced tomatoes with garlic, oregano, and basil (undrained) 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese 1. Cook ground beef, onion and garlic powder in a large skillet until browned and crumbly. Drain well. 2. Combine beef mixture with remainder of ingredients in slow cooker. 3. Cover and cook on low heat for 6-8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours. 4. Sprinkle with cheese just before serving.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Stuffed Pizza Burgers

***Really you can stuff your burger any way that you like. Here are some of our favorites*****

Always start with 2 very thin hamburger patties. Place the "stuffing" on top of one of the patties and then place the other patty over top. Use a fork to seal the two burgers together.

Pizza Burgers: Stuff with pizza sauce and cheese, add pepperoni if desired. Sprinkle burger with Italian Seasoning before grilling.

Cheddar Burgers: Stuff with a slice of cheddar, or go crazy with cheese, bacon, and onion!

Pepperjack Burgers: Stuff with pepperjack cheese. Sprinkle burger with dried red pepper seasoning before grilling (but not too much if your tongue can't handle the hot stuff!)

Homemade Hot Pockets

It is so easy to create your own hot pockets at home, and much cheaper!! Plus, you can make them to suit your family's tastes and you know EXACTLY what is going into them! Our family prefers the pizza flavored ones, but just about any cooked filling will do. Go to the hotpocket area in the frozen food section for inspiration!
These will also freeze well for quickie lunches later. Just wrap the frozen hotpocket in a paper towel, and microwave on 50% power for 1-2 min.

1 package jumbo biscuits (in a can)
Pizza filling: pizza sauce, cheese, mini diced ham cubes, pepperoni...or whatever you like!
Breakfast filling: eggs, cheese, meat (diced up ham, bacon, or sausage)

1. Flatten the biscuits to a 5 inch round circle.
2. Place about 2 Tbsp. of filling in center of biscuit. Fold sides of biscuit over each other, and then tuck the ends up, pinching closed. **If if is easier to fold, you can also fold it empanada style (place filling on one side of biscuit, fold biscuit in half over filling, and crimp shut with tines of a fork).
3. Sprinkle some Italian seasoning or sesame seeds on top of biscuit before baking.
4. Bake according to directions on side of biscuit can.

Tex-Mex Chicken Salad

Now that grocery stores are making it easier to make "gourmet" salads at home, I've come up with this recipe to imitate one of my favorite restaurant salads. You can buy a Southwest salad kit or buy the ingredients all separately if you need a larger amount (or plan on making it frequently!).

1 Southwest salad kit, with added grilled chicken slices and black bean and corn salsa

OR

1 bag salad greens
1 jar black bean and corn salsa
grilled chicken slices
Ranch dressing or Southwest Ranch dressing
Fried tortilla strips (sold in the bacon bit area)
French Fried onions
Tomato slices (if in season)
Cheddar cheese or Colby-Jack cheese

Meatball Pasta Bake

Meatball Pasta Bake
(adapted from a Paula Deen recipe)
*********I love this dish because it is sooo creamy, and doesn't dry out like some other baked pasta dishes************************
for 8x8 baking dish, serving 4-6

12-14 prepared meatballs (more or less, depending on taste)
8 oz small shell pasta (or small pasta of choice), cooked and kept warm
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 c. sour cream
1 jar of prepared spaghetti sauce or homemade
1/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese (more if desired!!)
3 Tbsp. grated parmesan cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease 8x8 baking dish. In separate large bowl, combine hot, cooked pasta with cream cheese and sour cream, stirring to melt cheeses.
2. Spoon half of pasta into baking dish. Top with half of meatballs (may want to cut meatballs in half if they are large size meatballs). Spoon half of spaghetti sauce over meatballs. Sprinkle evenly with all of the mozzarella cheese.
3. Repeat pasta, meatballs, and sauce layers. Sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Bake for 35-40 min or until hot and bubbly.

note: This dish can be made up to 1 day ahead of baking, or it can be prepared and frozen for up to 1 month. Thaw in fridge before baking.

Crunchy Pan-Fried Chicken

Crunchy Pan-Fried Chicken

1/2 c. self-rising cornmeal mix (or add 1/2 tsp. baking powder and a pinch of salt to regular cornmeal)
1/2 c. seasoned fine dry breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp. pepper
4 chicken breasts
1 large egg
1/4 c. vegetable oil

Combine first 3 ingredients in a shallow dish. Dip chicken in egg, and dredge in cornmeal mixture. Cook chicken in hot oil in a large skillet, turning only 1-2 times, until chicken is done.

Friday, March 4, 2011

New Menu for March

Well, on the last day of February I realized, "Holy Cow, I don't have a menu made up for March"! So, I'm late again getting one posted. I am trying something new this month...let me know if you like it. I found a cool organizational tool on another blog called "30 boxes". It gives me an online calendar onto which I can post my menu. There is a link below this posting that will take you to this month's calendar. I'm not sure if I'll use it or not next month, because I'm still trying to figure out how to get the calendar to show up right in my blog, without having to link you guys there. My goal is to have a quick view of the menu with the days of the week. So, if any of you are more tech savvy than me (which wouldn't take much), please let me know if you can help me do this!! So, anyways, click on the link below to see this month's menu. Most of the things are basic ideas that either don't need a recipe or you can use your family favorite. I also set a goal of trying to fix a "large meat" entree on the weekend so that I can use the leftovers later in the week. I hope you can use an idea or two to organize your dinners this month!