We're Back

It has been quite sometime since my last meal post, but now we are back in the swing of things. Today's recipe is Chicken and Stuffing. This is so easy, put 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your slow cooker and add 4 to 6 chicken breasts top with 1 can chicken broth add in onions (dehydrated or even onion powder will work) . Let it cook all day and then about an hour before you eat take the Mrs cubbinsons stuffin seasoned corn bread and follow the stove top directions like this: add 1 1/3 cup of liquid from your crockpot and a 1/4 tsp of chicken bouillon and a half cup of celery heat on stove top until it boils (it won't take long), let it simmer about 3 minutes. Stir in 1 package of stuffin' cubes and turn eat off cover and let sit 5 minutes. your chicken will be really soft and flaky so I just shred it and add it to the stuffing for my kids, you can serve the chicken on the side. (my recipe also has frozen corn it in I add it at the same time you add the celery this step is not necessary my kids eat stuff if it has corn in it, my husband prefers it on the side)

Sorry for the Delay

Brody and I went to France and have been away and I am afraid that I let my blogs fall behind so here we go, it will start again with dinner tonight and I will add new recipes from here on out including a great French Bread recipe I learned and some other things, I was also reminded that I forgot the rating system on some of the recipes I will try to remember those from now on as well. Thanks to everyone who reads this, and again sorry about the lag in my posts.

Todays Recipe Fried Rice

This is a family favorite. We had bacon and eggs for breakfast and had left over bacon and that becomes the meat for the fried rice. You can use any meat that you have. Ham and chicken work great but I have also used canned tuna before and it works just fine as well. I cook the rice in the morning in the rice cooker and stick it in the fridge, the bacon was cooked that morning, I just crumbled it. Start out by putting 2 Tbls of olive oil in the bottom of your skillet, chop up 3 green onions and let those cook in the oil, when those are translucent add into the mix 2 Tbls of sesame seed oil to the mix and add 3 to 4 cups of rice. Let that cook for about 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add in 2 Tbls of soy sauce ( there is a packet of fried rice seasoning that you can get, and add it at this time, it is good but not necessary, you can find it in the Asian food section of your grocery store) Add in your bacon, or other cubed meat, and 4 scrambled eggs ( I usually scramble them when the rice is cooking) throw 2 cups of frozen peas and keep on medium heat until the peas are warm. I mix in 1/4 of a bag of chow mien noodles because it makes my kids want to eat it but that is the only reason. With or without this is a simple quick meal. From start to finish this is really only about 15 minutes as long as your rice and meat are cooked before hand.

Todays Recipe Chicken and Swiss on noodles

Spread 2 Tbls of extra virgin olive oil in the bottom of your slow cooker, (this prevents the chicken from sticking) put your chicken in the slow cooker. Put your seasonings in the slow cooker now, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp granulated garlic, 1/2 tsp pepper, 2 tbls of Italian seasoning, and 2 tbls of onions. Pour over your chicken either 1 can of marinara sauce or 4 small cans of tomato sauce. Either way works if you use the tomato sauce you may need to add some extra seasonings. Cook on low until you are ready to eat, about 5 minutes before the meal add slices of Swiss cheese on top of the mix and let it melt. The garlic bread was just some french bread I got at the grocery store, I mixed 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp garlic and 1/2 stick of butter then spread it all the slices, wrapped it in foil and baked at 375 for 10-20 minutes (just until the butter melts). This is a very simple very tasty meal that requires very little preparation.

Todays Recipe Pork Roast and Carrots

Easy easy easy recipe here. I got a couple of pork roasts on sale at Sam's club and had them in the freezer. Take your pork roast and put it in your slow cooker with 2 cups of water. Season the roast with 1/2 tsp granulated garlic, 1/2 cup chopped (or dehydrated) onions, 1 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp pepper. Place baby carrots around the roast and set the slow cooker to low. That's it. Just let it simmer, about 15 minutes before you serve, mix in a separate bowl mix 4 tsp of water with 2 Tbls of cornstarch. Mix these well and add to the slow cooker. This will help the liquids turn into a gravy. If you want your gravy thicker just make the same cornstarch and water mixture again and add it. The potatoes are the same mashed with skins to save time and energy. You can cut up the potatoes into wedges and actually put them in the slow cooker the same time you do the carrots. I didn't have any potatoes and didn't get to the store until late and that is the only reason I didn't add them to the mix.

Todays Recipe Chicken and Rice Casserole

This is a very easy casserole. You mix 1 can cream of chicken soup in the bottom of your casserole dish with 1 can of water. Add to that 3/4 cup uncooked long grain rice, 1/4 tsp pepper, and 1/4 tsp onion powder, 1/8 tsp granulated garlic, and 2 cups of a frozen vegetable of your choice. ( I like mixed veggies for this but we had peas in the freezer so peas is what I used). Top with chicken, my family only needs 4 chicken breasts, you can put as much as will fit on the top. Also this works with boneless skinless or boned chicken. Now I usually do this while my chicken is frozen and then cover the casserole with foil and put it in the bottom of the fridge until about noon. At lunch time I set the cook time on my oven (this is really handy since no matter where you are your oven will turn on at the time you set it so you never have to hurry home to put dinner in the oven) My oven turns itself on in the late afternoon, if you don't have a self starting oven just pop it in about an hour before you want to eat. Bake at 375 for about 45 minutes. After 45 minutes uncover the casserole and sprinkle the top with cheddar cheese and return it to the oven for about 10 minutes so the cheese can melt.

Todays Recipe Taco Soup

Okay so this recipe sounds like it is a harder one but it is a very easy and simple meal. I start out the night before by soaking dehydrated beans in the fridge overnight. If you have canned beans you don't need to worry at all about this step. Start by putting ground beef in your slow cooker and setting it on high, add 1/2 cup dehydrated (or if you have them fresh) onion and 1tsp of cumin (you can also use taco seasoning mix if you prefer but cumin is a regular spice and it ends up being cheaper). After about 45 minutes your meat should be cooked enough to drain off excess fat and even if it is not quite done yet it will have all day to cook. Turn the slow cooker to low and add in 2 tomatoes chopped, either 3 cups of beans or 3 cans of beans. I usually do a mix one cup (or can) of pinto, black, and kidney. Add in one large can of tomato juice, 1 can sliced olives, and 2 cups of corn (or a can of corn) This makes a lot of soup but the great thing is that you can put it in Ziploc bags and freeze it. One batch of soup makes 3 meals for my family, I just pull one out of the freezer in the morning, put it frozen in the slow cooker on low, then its ready by dinner time. I usually serve it with tortilla chips (the kids love to dip them) cheese, sour cream and chopped olives. It is great if you prefer nachos, just layer with chips, soup, then cheese. Throw this in the microwave until the cheese melts and serve with toppings.

Todays Recipe Cream Cheese Chicken

warm 2 tbls olive oil in the bottom of your slow cooker. add to that one package of Italian salad dressing mix. Add your frozen chicken to the slow cooker, let that cook for 5 hours on low. After your chicken is cooked add 1 can of cream of chicken soup and 1 package of cream cheese. Mix to combine and let that warm over the chicken for and hour to as long as you need to let it cook. I have left mine in there for another 3 hours before and it tastes just fine. For the potatoes to go the cheap and quick way buy a bag of potatoes, (whatever is cheapest at the supermarket) and take 1and 1/2 per person, wash and cut into pieces, leaving the skin on. Boil until soft then drain off water and using a hand mixer add in milk until the mixture is creamy. It will be lumpy because of the skins but it really tastes good. Instead of milk you can use sour cream and it gives it a baked potato flavor in your mash. The green beans are just canned french cut green beans warmed and served. We also had home made rolls that night but they weren't out of the oven when I took this picture. If you want the bread or rolls in 30 minutes recipe let me know and I will add it to my blog. Oh also for a slightly more tasty recipe you can instead of olive oil use 1/2 a stick of butter, at our house I am trying to loose some weight so I try to cut out fat as I can.

Todays Recipe Beef Stroganoff

I thought I would start with a very basic recipe, it may be basic but this one is very good.
I start out in the morning putting hamburger straight from the freezer into the slow cooker. You can add fresh chopped onions if you want but I am all about quick and easy so I add about 1/2 cup of dehydrated onions into the slow cooker with the meat. Season with about 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and let that cook on high for about 2 hours. When I get the kids eating lunch I drain off any fat that may be in the slow cooker and add 2 cans cream of mushroom soup and 1/4 cup water. Stir this in, you may have to chop the meat up with your spoon a little but it should fall apart easily. After that is all mixed in you add about an 1/8 teaspoon of garlic powder and 1/4 teaspoon of paprika and stir that in. Now you are pretty much done until 30 minutes before dinner time. 30 minutes before dinner time boil water for your egg noodles, while those cook add about 1 and 1/2 cups of sour cream to the slow cooker (I use fat free don't tell my husband he can't tell the difference) stir that in and add another 1/4 teaspoon of salt. When your noodles are cooked just add those right into the slow cooker and let simmer while you get your salad and veggie ready. I usually do peas with this meal, my kids love them, I get store brand frozen peas and add water to a bowl and stick them in the microwave for 2 minutes and they are done. As for a salad, store mixes are great but if you are on a budget the cheapest way to go is with a head of lettuce, some carrots, cabbage, and any other salady veggies you may want, salads take less than 5 minutes and really finish off a meal well.


My Husband gives this recipe 5++ stars and asked to have it for his special birthday dinner meal. He likes stroganoff.

Now we get to the fun part

I have decided that introducing the concept to everyone is not enough. When I started it I just didn't have enough recipes to make it through a week let alone a month. I have done a lot of research and have found quite a few that work wonderfully so everyday I am post a new recipe that I have done, with pictures, and how and when I did it and my husbands star rating. His star rating is 1-5, 1 being not so great to 5 beyond wonderful. If everything goes well I hope to actually have videos of easy meals and bread making (I make fresh breads and pastries for my family every week) that kind of stuff before long. If anyone has any questions or hang ups and need help please let me know, I will try to help post solutions, email whatever is best for you.

Schedule

Okay now we are almost done with the hard parts. I realize that every family need is different, or if you are single you will have a schedule more like wake up throw dinner in the slow cooker go to work get home and eat. I'll share with you the schedule that I find works best for my family. You will have to find your own schedule, you may be able to adapt mine, or through it out completely and do things on your own time. I have very young kids and I find that taking them off their schedule even for 1 day throws everything out of wack. I will be honest though, things aren't always on schedule and they do end up watching more TV than I would like to admit, but we try to stick to the schedule. This is our schedule:

6am-7am Kids wake up play time
7:30 am Breakfast for kids
8am Mommy starts dinner preparation
9am snack time for twins, baby goes down for a nap
10am signing time videos baby wakes up
11:30am Lunch time and play time
12:30pm Nap time for everyone
1pm Mommy does dishes left from morning (or night before) basic clean up and house work
2pm Mommy quiet time (nap time)
2:30pm Kids wake up
3pm snack time
4pm Daddy is home kids spend time with daddy
4:30pm Mommy finishes dinner sets tables and empties dishwasher
5pm Dinner time
5:30pm Kids are done play time while mommy and daddy clean up dinner
6pm Bath time for all baby to bed right after bath
6:30pm twins brush teeth and wash faces
7pm book time and bed time

This system really works well for me, there has only been 1 day that I haven't had dinner ready to be cooked or in the slow cooker by 9 am. I have much more energy in the morning, I find that preparing dinner early is much easier and I never have to worry about things. I actually have this schedule posted in my house so if we ever have a babysitter (yeah right) or guests over they know what our kids need to be doing and when. There are always exceptions like outings to the zoo, air force museum, and such but it all really does fit into the schedule.

The Month of Planning

What I have found to be the best way to keep track of what we are going to have for dinner is a white board. I purchased one on clearance and it works perfectly. The dates are correct and everything is scheduled for that month. Things do change, sometimes the day of I change what we are going to have but I always know that we have what we need to eat that day or week. We have dinner with my parents every Sunday so I know that I don't need to plan for those days, but sometimes they are gone or we are gone or someone is sick so I always keep a back up meal planned in one of the empty spaces at the bottom of the calendar.

The kitchen must haves

Okay now the kitchen must haves are:
Your note cards
Your recipe book
Your master shopping list
A slow cooker, (any brand none last forever I am on my 2nd one)
A rice cooker is also handy ( mine just broke and we haven't had the money to buy a new one so you can do without but they take a lot of time out of cooking too)
And this pretty much is the list, you won't always use the slow cooker or the rice cooker but it is so easy just to throw everything into the cooker and not worry about it anymore.

Recipes

I find that my recipes are usually prone to spills and splatters so I keep mine on regular paper inside clear plastic sheets. All these are organized into a binder that I keep right in the kitchen. I also have a kitchen math made easy, in a pinch substitutes and reference guides in my book, they are all right there ready to go, ready in case they are needed. The binder is useful because all the recipes are there however it is easy to take out and put back, (this was always my problem before, the recipes never found their way back to my box). If anyone would like any of the kitchen guides just let me know and I will email you a copy.

After your cards are done

Now I realize that the hard part will be getting all of your cards done, (it took me about a week) but trust me the system works. I store them in a regular recipe box. I have about 100 recipes now ready to go, favorites, new meals, and traditional like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Now that your cards are done you need to transfer all the ingredients onto a master list. Mine is a spreadsheet, I keep copies of it on the cupboard so that when I realize I am low on something I highlight it so I know I need it at the store. On Sundays I go through the ads as well and highlight what is on sale that corresponds to what meals I was planning on that week. This saves lots of money! Each store has a different highlighter in my system so I know what I need to get where. Also, if I am ever running low on toilet paper or paper towels I don't forget them in my shopping. It is a good idea to leave some space so as you come across things that you may have forgotten or are new to your meals that you have a place to write it down.

Organizing meals

Okay now what you need to do is get some 3x5 or 4x6 index cards. What I do on these is write what your going to have for dinner, like Beef Stroganoff on the front. On the back left side you write everything you will need to make this meal. Not amounts just ingredients. For stroganoff you need cream of mushroom soup, ground beef (or stew meat), sour cream, pepper, salt, garlic, paprika, egg noodles, and onions. On the back right side list all other things you will need for the meal, like peas and salad. You need to follow this same system for all meals you normally have, or as you come across recipes. Keep these cards for reference so you will always know what you need for any meal any day. Using this system you can plan meals weeks or months in advance.

The First Step

The first step is to realize that you want to enjoy something better than cereal for dinner each night. I have 2 year old twins and a 1 year old little boy, my life was total chaos, and I admit it, my temper always seemed to be on edge and at 4:30 pm I would get so discouraged when I had to think of what to make for dinner. To be honest with you my kids had pancakes and cereal quite often because it was quick and easy and I didn't have to spend 2 hours in the kitchen making dinner.
The real first step is to write down EVERY food item in your kitchen and pantry. (I wrote mine on the back of a store receipt) it doesn't matter right now where it is written just to you know what you have and how much of it there is. I promise after you are through with this step you will never go to the store for laundry soap and leave with $100 of everything BUT the soap. Once you have that list done you need to write down your favorite recipes on a piece of paper and all the ingredients for those dishes, once that is done your are finished with step one.